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Philadelphia, PA Real Estate News

By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
  Yesterday Stephanie and I met with our new tenants for one of our investment properties in Philadelphia.   It was a little unusual for these tenants sublet from our prior tenants so we met to go over a new lease. The people we met were so nice, courteous and friendly.  We took a tour of the property and were amazed.  It was in better condition than when the first tenants moved in.  They were very neat and painted some of the walls very nice colors.  The property almost looked staged in a way as if we were putting it on the market !! I left the meeting with a feeling of pride.  It certainly feels great to be able to provide quality housing to great people.  I think that is one of the intangible benefits that investors forget about.  Investors are always crunching the numbers, looking ...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
"Every moment is a moment."  Stephanie Somers Today Stephanie and I took a few hours break in the whacky world of Philadelphia Real Estate.  For the third time this summer, we took a walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge which is amazing. Below are 4 photos I took on our journey: 1.  The Ben Franklin Kite - which is at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge 2.  A lovely view of I-95 and Old City... from a distance there are the River Church condos in Old City which we have listed ! 3.  An awesome vew of Center City 4.  A savoury drink at N 3rd Restaurant in Northern Liberties after a long walk ! Today was a nice way to enjoy a few hours of the last of the summer ! Philadelphia Real Estate                 The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog                                                    
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
From the NLNA: Please join us for the August NLNA Zoning Committee Meetings. The committee consists of 15 volunteers, and the meetings are open to the public. NLNA Zoning Committee Meetings Monday and Tuesday, August 25 and 26 7:00PM, NLNA Office 700 N. 3rd St. Zoning Committee Meeting 700 N. 3rd St.  NLNA Office AGENDA Monday 8/25/08 7:00 - 7:10 - updates-minutes 7:10 - 7:50 - Ed Fink - 1130-32 N. Bodine St. - R10 - Presentation for two single family dwellings with pilot house and under-sized rear yards 7:50 - 8:50 - Brian Phillips - 632-34 N. 5th St. (5th & Fairmount Ave.  SW corner) - L4 - Proposal for a 5 story building with 130 units and 130 parking spaces. 8:50 - 9:30 - Joe Volpe - 932 N. Hancock St. - R10 - Proposal to use site for creating flower arrangements to be used at Cesca...
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Dryer Vent Build Up: The Stuff of Nightmares By John Ryley; reposted by Chris Zoto of Dryer Vent Wizard of Pennsylvania Without proper maintenance, the dryer vent is a potential fire hazard for homeowners, though most are unaware the problem even exists. The result is venting systems that clog over time, with each load of laundry creating more of a hazard.   "It's hard for people to think of their clothes dryer as a fire hazard," said John Ryley, owner of the Dryer Vent Wizard (DVW), Dry Clothes, Safe Homes franchise, whose company specializes in maintaining, cleaning, repairing, replacing and altering dryer vents for residential and commercial consumers. Clothes dryer fires account for 15,600 structure fires, 15 deaths and 400 injuries each year, with an estimated $88 million in proper...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
  We had a listing appointment on Monday where everything was going great.  I had great rapport with the potential sellers, a fantastic Q&A session answering all the questions regarding pricing, strategy, marketing, advertising, our experience and so forth.  I was on fire ! Then a final question was asked by the husband: Are you excited to sell my house ? I almost froze on the question and thought "Oh my God - am I excited ?  Am I not excited ?"  I have not froze on a question on a listing appointment in years !!  But I took a moment and smiled.  I remembered that this is what it is all about.  Helping people accomplish their goals, being part of their lives, and really being excited and feeling honor and pride that you are the one that they are choosing to help them with one of the mo...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
There is so much happening in the Old Kensington community in terms of redevelopment, new construction, beautiful condo conversions and the like.  This neighborhood is becoming a big part of Philadelphia Real Estate . Below is the zoning committe scheduled for today: Wednesday, August 20, 2008, times belowat the Putnam Building 1627 North 2nd Street Opportunity for residents to review and ask questions about plans for three separate zoning issues.  If a vote is scheduled, residents who live within a two block radius are eligible to vote. 6:30 pm:  1522 North 4th Street:  Presentation only.7:00 pm:  1818-24 North Front Street:  Conversion of an existing commercial building into residential/commercial units.  A vote will be taken. 7:30 pm:  1218 North 2nd Street.    Single family home pla...
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By Fred Glick, We fixed real estate
(arrivva, inc.)
Yes, finally, the trick is being found out.   Not a single buyer of mine called me and shrieked like Wil Smith came to their house about the $7500 tax credit.   People are getting mad instead.  They are realizing the credit is just an interest free loan and if the make more than 75k single/150k married man-woman couple, they get even less.   We could all get into the whole single, married, unmarried or gay/lesbian couple stuff, but this is a real estate blog.  But, why does your heart have anything to do with your money?   People need the money for the down payment as an interest free loan, not tax credits.  They need realistic underwriting guideline for income, assets and appraisals.   They need lower interest rates.  The difference between treasury and mortgage backs are bigger than ...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
  Every time I turn on the TV, I hear the doom and gloom of the housing crisis and the mortgage mess.  Yes, we are in it.  But what I have been hearing is how long the "pundits" are saying we will be in it.  Into the later part of 2009 ?  Into 2010 ? 2011 ????? WRONG !! Maybe so, if oil were to go to $170 a barrel and with high inflation, mortgage rates would go into the mid 7s.  The FED would be forced to raise rates. I was a bit worried myself that rates would climb over 7 percent with the increase in the price of oil and other commodities over the last couple of months     But how nicely things have changed with the collapse in oil and commodity prices !!!  And is anyone talking about it ?  Not yet !!  Here is the scenario:  If oil keeps on its downtrend and other commodities such as...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
Previously I posted How to choose the right investment Property - Know what you are doing - part 1 This provided 8 steps of the process - this post will go over step 1: 1.  Know your goals - Is your goal resale ?  Long term buy and hold ?  Immediate cash flow ?  Income ? There are numerous benefits and advantages of buying and selling real estate.  I think it is critical for an investor to have well defined goals in the beginning of the process to help them gain focus on what they are looking for.  Once one has focus, many types of properties can be eliminated right off the bat. Thus, why are you looking to own real estate ?  What benefits are you looking for ?  Is it simply just to make money now or is it more of a longer term building weath strategy ? Basically, there are 2 key compon...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
An Evening Stroll Down Liberties Walk -  The Somers Team     Last night, Stephanie and I took a lovely walk down Liberties walk as I had two major appointments - an eye exam and a hair cut appointment.  I say major in that we are so busy with real estate it is hard to make the time to do things for ourselves but we are getting better at that and finding balance in our lifes.         A brand new eye glass store just opened at Liberties Walk - Eyecandy .  The store is definitely worth checking out.  The also have another store at Rittenhouse Square which I hear is awesome too.  Stephanie helped me pick out some new frames - they were described by Kate at the store as "geeky chicy" ... not sure if I am spelling that right.  I get to pick up the glasses in a few days so am excited about tha...
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So not only does Smarter Agent provide amazing mobile GPS technology for consumers through our real estate partners (brokers/agents), they also take great care of their employees!  I have always been excited to have the opportunity to work for Smarter Agent, informing realtors and consumers alike about our real estate mobile applications, but it doesn't hurt to be given GREAT seats to a Phillies/Marlins game for a job well done!  I grew up in New England and will ALWAYS be a Red Sox fan first and foremost, but I enjoy watching the Phillies play. With all of our traveling, Stormy and I (aka The Smarter Agent Girls) hadn't had the opportunity to attend any games, but that all changed as we joined two other members of the Smarter Agent team for a day game at the Citizens Bank Park in Phila...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
Almost every day, we will receive a call or an email from an investor looking to pick up an investment property or a homeowner looking for a property that "needs work".  Often times, they will ask "what about foreclosures ? "  "what about HUD homes ? "  and the like ? The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities out there and always will be in my opinion, in both sellers markets and buyers markets.  The strategy is to know what you are doing from the beginning before getting your feet wet.  We have met with countless sellers who made in their opinion "a great investment" and when we go to meet with them, unfortunately we may have to tell them that their investment was not so great, either because they overpaid, they did not understand the comparable sales, they were mislead,...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
Stephanie and I had the opportunity to take a moment out of the day and take a walk at Liberties Walk and Liberty Lands Park in Northern Liberties today. Frequently on the weekends at Liberties Walk local artists will set up booths where they display their art, jewelry, crafts and the like.  Today we met Diane and purchased the gray soft sculpture vase made out of wool. The day was quite pleasant - with great weather and a fun group of people in Northern Liberties ! We continued our walk into Liberty Lands Park - park maintained and run by the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association .   We saw a grey woodpecker which had a good ole time going from tree to tree and pecking away !  Stephanie took a photo of myself lounging on a rock right outside the park (picture below) Philadelphia...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
Stephanie and I received a card in the mail yesterday from our client Brian, a new homeowner in Fishtown (Philadelphia Real Estate).  Brian was simply awesome to work with.  His girlfriend found "The Somers" on our Philadelphia Real Estate Website from a Craigs List ad.  She told Brian these are the realtors for you !  We really appreciate that as Brian was one of best buyers to work with - he was relaxed, listened to what we said, followed our recommendations and together we found him a beautiful home for a great price in Fishtown !  His note was as follows:     Chris and Stephanie, Thank you so much for all that you did for me !!  I love my new home and it wouldn't be mine without your help !  When you are nearby, stop by.  Thank you for the plant !! Brian p.s.  Now I have a dog !    ...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
My Realtor has 20 Years of Experience. That means he is good. Right?   Wrong !!!  The below are the questions you should be asking: 1) Is your Realtor a Full Time Realtor ? Full time means the Realtor is a career oriented professional not just doing it "on the side" in addition to their "real job".  2) Does the Realtor have a History of Sales in your area? Representing recent buyers and sellers in a given area shows expertise and knowledge of the specific neigborhood.  3) Does your Realtor have a Licensed Assistant and a Team? Teams and Assistants are incredibly important when your Realtor is perhaps unavailable. They will know you personally and understand your needs. Face it, stuff happens, Realtors have other clients with needs, and you do not want to wait if your call or question is...
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By Fred Glick, We fixed real estate
(arrivva, inc.)
In an article published by Forbes from realtor.com, PHILADELPHIA was ranked #4 of best cities to buy a home. Although topped nationally by Houston, Austin & St Louis, Philly is #1 on the east coast and beats out any west coast cities! If you are thinking about moving to the Northeast, please check out Philly.  We'll show you why you will love it too!
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By Fred Glick, We fixed real estate
(arrivva, inc.)
By Alan J. Heavens INQUIRER REAL ESTATE WRITER The summer doldrums, a down real estate market. Even with 85 percent of his 167 units sold, Symphony House developer Carl Dranoff said he was looking for a surefire way to get million-dollar-condo buyers to look his way. How about a free Smart Car (retail value: $16,590) and a $75,000 parking space in the high-rise's garage to go with the next three units sold? "It was a great marketing move," said Dranoff, considering that gas prices are still high, there's a yearlong waiting list for Smart Cars, and he's also promoting his "green" development farther down the street, at 777 S. Broad St. "Our phone traffic has quadrupled over July, and we expect agreements of sale for all three in a couple of weeks," he said today. Even though year-over-y...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
About six weeks I posted a blog entry about Stephanie and I buying an investment property in Bridesburg (Philadelphia Real Estate) - see Investment Property in Bridesburg .    Our goal was to have the property updated and rented by August 1st.   We have the property fully updated - we received an application yesterday from a very nice couple who want to move in July 24th.   So we were really close to accomplishing the goal. The property took a little longer to get ready.  We made the decision to have central air installed at the property now instead of later.  That increased our rennovation costs by several thousand dollars but the decision was based on getting a little bit more monthly rent as well as a more qualified tenant at the same time.  Further, in this part of Bridesburg, it is...
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By The Somers Team, Delivering Real Estate Happiness
(The Somers Team at KW Philadelphia)
  Yesterday we listed a property in Juniata (Philadelphia Real Estate) from a seller who found us online.  She found us from our answering a Trulia question concerning the Philadelphia Real Estate market.  We had a great meeting last night, she is very happy to have found us, and we are thrilled to be hired to sell another property in this neighborhood. More importantly, this further shows an opportunity for sellers to meet and find expert realtors through online sites such as Active Rain and Trulia.  And reinforces the importance of realtors to have a presence in the online community. My wife Stephanie and I have worked hard and really enjoy building our online presence in the Philadelphia marketplace.  And our clients certainly appreciate it too ! As an agent, are you building your on...
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By Stacey McCarthy, @SmartGirlsOwn
(McCarthy Real Estate)
Croydon's best kept secret is out. Everyone in Lower Bucks knows that Fritz's Famous Sticky Buns has the best sticky buns. One bite and their deliciousness will haunt you for years to come. The cream cheese icing ones are incredible - the sticky sweetness is oh so dreamy! I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't had one. Of course, being from Northeast Phladelphia, I didn't always know about Fritz's, so it's kindof new to me. The novelty hasn't worn off yet, but I don't think it will. I try to have them on the menu at all my broker's open houses. They are now a staple in my Philadelphia Food roster. Count them in the line-up with water-ice and cheesesteaks, because there's nothing like them. Is your mouth watering? Well you'll have to wait until tomorrow because Fritz's is closed on Mondays....
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