If you own a business or work for a non-profit or are a professional in the Berwyn Devon area you should know that the Berwyn Devon Business & Professional Association just laucned a new web site. Designed to keep members informed and to give the public information about the association, its members and its meetings it is still being developed. But this is a great step forward for the business community providing them another way to be in front of consumers.

Any ideas for the site can be directed to Info@BerwynDevonBusiness.com.

Here are the movies that Jeremy our son made for each month he was in Iraq, as posted on you tube in chronological order.  Each portrays a month of their deployment, some are longer than others, there is some humor through out but also some typical Marine Corps attitude, a couple of bathroom shots so apologies to the easily offended. All came home safe and sound this deployment.

October, Jeremy got blown up in this movie, the humvee you see damaged was the one he was riding in, however we never found this out till he came home.

 November

December

Christmas - 12 days of Christmas

January

February this is a parody on a famous movie - see if you know which one?

March

April - Coming home

Well I was just getting worried as I had no active listings and I have customers looking for homes. This last week has been busy, several listing appointments, let me tell you our market is busy. If your home is not selling then you need to find out why? There can be several reasons but you need to know.

Anyway, this morning I got this call following a meeting with a customer last week to come and get their home listed. This is a wonderfullly maintained one bedroom one bathroom first floor condo. The location of the development Old Forge Crossing and the home within the development is great. It is steps from parking, so no long walks with armfuls of shopping, and it is just a short walk to the pool or tennis.

Old Forge Crossing has about 40 acres and has its own duck pond and two tennis areas, one with a single court and the other with two courts, a club house and pool. These are all covered by the monthly fee, which also happens to cover water, trash, gas for the dryer, hot water and cooking as well as maintenance, snow clearing and common areas maintenance, good value at $204, although it is rising in August to $210. there is a one time capital fund contribution equal to six months fees.

Each unit has its own laundry, and its own personal and private access, no apartment style corridor buildings here. Cats are allowed but they unfortunately don't allow dogs. For further details on this listing feel free to go to http://37.oldforgecrossing.com for photos and a virtual tour. We will be posting a video as soon as I can get my son to edit my efforts.

But if you want to be close to the coffee shops and restaurants of Wayne, Berwyn and Paoli this is a great place to live, King of Prussia Mall and the nearby movie theatres are only minutes away. Access to the PA turnpike is available either at Downingtown or King of Prussia and if you need to go to the airport well it is probably about forty five minutes. Food shopping close to here includes Trader Joe's at Gateway Shops which is always busy and Whole Foods in Devon as well as Superfresh, Acme and Genuardis as well. The local state store is also in Gateway Shops just a couple of doors down from Trader Joe's.

So come and see this great home, in a great location.

I asked Eric May and Donald Geragi of Prosperity Mortgage who recently spoke to us at Long & Foster in Devon to share some information about reverse mortgages, how they work and who can use them. This is a great way for seniors to provide income for themselves or to help a grandchild purchase their first home using the equity they have built up in their own homes.

Reverse Mortgage loans are managed, controlled and backed by the federal government, offering total safety and security to senior homeowners. 

The home must be designated as the primary residence as the benefits of a reverse mortgage are extended to the homeowner for as long as they continue to live in the home.  Also, included is an outline of the requirements and steps needed to apply for any of these programs. 

Reverse Mortgage loans, including the most popular, HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) offered by HUD and FHA insured, as well as the HomeKeeper® Reverse Mortgage - secured and backed by Fannie Mae, offer a variety of attractive financial solutions to consumers who currently own or have  substantial equity in their homes.  All of these products offer homeowners the ability to have access to a portion of the equity in their primary residence ... Tax Free!  Distribution of these funds can be taken in virtually any manner the homeowner chooses, including:

•·         Lump Sum Cash

•·         Credit Line

•·         Term - monthly payments

•·         Tenure monthly payments

•·         Or any combination of these

Payment plans to Reverse Mortgage holders can be changed at any time by the homeowner. *(Actual benefit amounts will be determined when application is signed and dated by the homeowner(s) and accepted by HUD)

There are no qualifying requirements for these programs related to credit, employment, income or assets. The amount of funds available to the homeowner is based on:

•·         The lower of the ages of all the owners on the deed of the property (all   must be 62 years of age at closing),

•·         The lower of either the appraised value of the home, or the county in which the property is located (established by the lending cap of the loan that is selected; HUD HECM or Fannie Mae HomeKeeper®), and

•·         Outstanding balances of existing mortgages or liens on the property.  After paying off any existing mortgage / liens from the available equity, all remaining funds can be used for any purpose the homeowner chooses! 

The loan amount required to be paid back (the amount of funds used over the life of the loan with any accumulated interest) only becomes due when and if the last owner on the deed, decides to move, sell the property, or the home passes into an estate.  The property may then be sold by the estate to settle the loan or it may be acquired with alternative funds.  Any and all remaining equity or property appreciation after the loan debt is settled goes back to the homeowner or to the heirs of the estate.

 Once the reverse mortgage loan is in place the homeowner:

•·         will never have to make a monthly mortgage payment

•·         will never have to move from their home

•·         will never have to give up title to their home

•·         and the homeowner, or the heirs to their estate, can never owe more on the loan than the home's value (reverse mortgages are non-recourse loans)

Another important benefit of a Reverse Mortgage Loan is that the proceeds do not affect * Social Security or Medicare benefits.  * (Need based programs such as Medicaid could be affected and one is urged to contact Medicaid directly with your individual circumstances, if you currently received these types of benefits)

All fees and closing costs can be financed with the proceeds of a Reverse Mortgage. Other inspections may be required and are the responsibility of the homeowner if applicable, including well, septic, termite, flat roof certification, etc.

A required step in the application process is for the homeowner to attend a reverse mortgage counseling session delivered by an approved and certified HUD agency and the AARP. The session generally takes about 1/2 hour or less. Reverse Mortgage Consultants can provide a list of counseling agencies that borrowers can visit or call to make an appointment with.

At the conclusion of this session borrowers receive a certificate (letter) that is required to be processed with the loan application when it is forwarded to HUD for the loan's approval.

 For further help please contact Eric May at PROSPERITY M O R T G A G E,  MAC # M7478-011, 92 Lancaster Avenue, Devon, PA 19333, 610.225.7456  Office, 484.716.4299 Mobile, Eric.May@Prosperitymortgage.com.  Or go to his website at www.ericmaymortgage.com

In every market there are ways to save and make money. Even during the Dreat Depression there were people were making lots of money. So here we are in a market continually described as the worst housing market for several decades. If you have funds is there opportunity? Absolutely, you can look for foreclosure properties but to be honest buying foreclosure properties is a lot of work.

Another option if you are buying for yourself is to buy land and then build, this will save you substanial amounts for several reasons. first you save on transfer tax, you will pay this on the land price not the price of the house, consider that most new construction is three times the price of the land, for example if you pay $600,000 for a piece of land on the main line the house will generally be priced at $1.8 million or more. So you pay transfer tax on the $600,000 not the $1.8 million.

Secondly, builders have generally cut back and so they have workmen who need work, so you may be able to negotiate a good price for the building part of the contract as well.

Thirdly, you can incorporate green elements into the design of the home and working with an architect will also allow you to have the house you want without settling for a standard design.

So consider if there are lots available where you want to live, and whether this a an option for you in this current market.

To me, childhood dreams, fantasies and treehouses are directly linked.

As a child I always dreamed of owning a tree house, a big one, one where elves could live nearby, high up so that it is all hidden in the leafy branches away from our parents spying eyes.  My brother did for a while have a little platform high up in a tree. You had to climb up it with a rope and it was very hard to do, on top of which girls were not allowed. I didn't care though it was to tricky to get up to that tiny little platform.

When I married and had 3 boys, my husband built a treehouse for our 3 sons. It was made of old lumber from our neighbor who built a very nice family room extension on his house. Our boys always played with the girls next door (they grew up like brothers and sisters) and so in this treehouse girls were allowed. Lots of friends also came around and enjoyed that treehouse and a marvelous place to arrange a water fight from, just so long as you had water. When you ran out of water and had to hoist more up with a bucket you stood the chance of getting absolutely drenched by the ground attack.

Longwood Gardens built 3 treehouses to inspire and conjure up our childhood fantasies and hopefully inspire us to build a treehouse for our kids and grandkids...........  

This past Friday our office took part in our company's community service, offering our time to a local organization that I hold in high esteem Surrey Services for Seniors. Of course I forgot my camera and we did not take any photos, but we helped prepare lunch, took care of some yard work for various clients of Surrey, ferried one lady to a hair appointment, put in some screens for another lady, and made a group of visits bringing home made cookies, plus changed light bulbs and planted a bunch of plants.

It is such a delight to help those within your community and when I organize these events I am always amazed how touched the Realtors are by all these elderly seniors who are striving to remain in their homes as long as they can. You gain so much more than you give. Why not see what lives you can touch locally and take some friends with you.

When choosing an agent to represent you what should you be looking for? Professionalism, integrity, skill yes they should exhibit all of these but what else?

Is your agent working at this full-time? Do they know the market and the price bracket you are budgeting? What I mean by this is that one township can have very different markets at different price points. For example in our own township the statistics show that homes priced below $400,000 are in short supply and the market is still a seller's market as there is a shortage of homes in this price range. But homes priced over $1 million are in over supply which means that it is a buyers market. In fact if you examine each township around us in different price brackets you will get different results. Does your agent know this or are they just telling you that it is a buyers market because that is what the national press says? How many homes do you need to loose before you realize they do not know the market. Do they even know how to put this information together for you and explain it to you?

Can your agent recommend a selection of mortgage brokers and bankers, home inspectors, plumbers, electricians and contractors? Can they recommend a good restaurant for a special occassion? Do they know interior designers or stagers? What about if you need some one to plow snow? In other words are they a local expert or just an order taker having no real interest in providing a high level of service to their clients.

How experienced is your agent, are they comfortable explaining the paperwork and the process to you? Do they have support if needed? What happens if they or a family member get sick? Will someone else cover for them or will you get dropped and forgotten?

How good is your agent at listening and answering your questions? Do they talk and never ask you questions? Are they interested in what you like and dislike about a house? Do they show you different houses or do they just show you the same thing over and over, even when you have said this is not what you are looking for?

How good are they at communicating with you? Do they even ask what is the best method or do they presume how they will communicate with you?

What diffentiates your agent from everyone else? Do they have testimonials? Can you talk to previous customers of theirs?

These are just some of what you should be considering when choosing an agent? What is important to you?

After many months of low inventory in our area, Radnor, Tredyffrin and Easttown townships in Pennsylvania we are seeing an abundance of homes being placed on the market. Amazingly in our area we are also seeing a large number of homes for sale by owners.

So what sells a home?

There are many things that sell a home, pricing it right, preparing it for sale correctly, maintenance of the home, having the correct paperwork prepared, and marketing of the home correctly. It is a combination of all of these not just any one of them. Dropping the ball in one can hinder and slow down or even prevent a sale. Buyers are still very particular and even with a low inventory there are plenty of stories of buyers walking away from from properties that have issues at inspections that can not be negotiated or resolved.

More agents are holding Sunday Open Houses as well as other days and evenings because we have been seeing a lot of buyers looking on their own before finding an agent to represent them. Sellers also believe the agent is doing more by holding Open Houses and is more involved in the selling of the property.

But these last few weeks with summer approaching, even with these low temperatures this week, we are seeing more houses come on the market as this is the time of year to sell.

But remember, it is a combination of those points above that will sell your home, so if you are considering selling in the near future find an agent who knows how to market and can advise you correctly on what sells a home.

For the second year running John McClintick a local painter in the Berwyn Area organized a builders competition giving several local builders a chance to contribute to the Hurricane Relief in Louisiana. Last year three teams particiapated and this year that increased allowing more homes to be framed and sent down to Habitat for Humanity to use in building homes for those in need. What is great about the whole process is that it raises funds for the local Habitat for Humanity chapter as well.

The competition has gathered great support from local builders and trades suppliers as well. Times vary for the 12 man teams to frame a house from about 5 hours to just over 2 hours. But here is John Mclintick himself to tell you a little about the competiton: -