DELAWARE NEWSThe biggest news I have for Delaware historic home lovers is that Stonum, the country home of George Read, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, is now on the market. We already have had some public attention from the local newspaper, and two TV stations. We have also been fortunate to have visits from both the staff of the George Read II house museum and the New Castle Historical Society, as well as the University of Delaware CHAD. Everyone has contributed their observations about how some of the features in the home may have been changed or moved and have promised more info to come. The buyers of this home begun in 1730 are going to be very lucky to have modern investigative studies updating the National Landmark nomination forms and the HABS forms from 1936.  Reader... 09/01/2019

I had the pleasure to participate in a panel discussion hosted by the Internal Revenue Service at Penn State University's Malvern, PA campus on May 23. The panel consisted primarily of attorneys (both private and IRS attorneys) and myself, an Enrolled Agent and Certified Tax Resolution Specialist with the Exton, PA accounting firm of Keystone Financial Solutions, IncThis is an annual IRS presentation where IRS and Pennsylvania officials speak about various tax issues that are of interest to the accountants, CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and attorneys in attendancee. The other panel members discussed the innocent spouse rules, offers in compromise, and appeals. The collection topic I discussed was the different installment agreements available to taxpayers, what happens when a taxpayer defaults... 07/09/2019

If you are a broker or realtor that has employees, or if you handle the payroll tax compliance for your employer, it is most important that you understand your potential tax liability.The IRS is most concerned about employer payroll compliance as payroll taxes withheld by employers account for nearly 72 percent of all revenues collected by the IRS. Accordingly, noncompliance and cheating in this area is one of the biggest problems for the nation’s tax system. Between March 25 and April 5, IRS revenue officers visited nearly 100 businesses around the country suspected of having serious issues with employment tax compliance. Business owners were informed about ways to catch up with back payroll taxes, how to stay current and the potential for civil and criminal penalties. "Payroll taxes f... 04/15/2019

Thursdays and Sundays are Body Combat days.  At least they are for me when Michael Hartman is teaching! Michael Hartman, in my humble opinion, is truly the heart and soul of ACAC.  He is one of many wonderful instructors at ACAC and he embodies all that is good in the world.  He's enthusiastic about teaching, he's hilariously funny, he's kind, he's open-minded, he's welcoming.  He encourages me to come and "just do what you can" when I'm having a flareup of knee issues. Today, I was running a few minutes late and as soon as I entered, I heard my name being called out.  Entering his class is like being Norm in the sitcom Cheers!  He teases, he encourages, he includes. When he says he's not teaching on a certain day, my mind says "I think I'll sleep in". My knees are totally screwed up an... 02/28/2019

Who doesn't love pizza?  There are many versions of a good pizza and coming from South Philadelphia, and being of Italian descent, I think I can claim some semblance of being an expert in this area.  My favorite restaurant in the area as I've mentioned ad nauseum is Limoncello.  They have several really good pizzas there.  My friend Leann's favorite here is The Carne Pizza, or as I like to call it, the cholesterol lover's pizza.  It has sausage, pepperoni, meatballs and salami Toscana.  They make a really good upside down pizza, where the mozzarella is under the tomato sauce.  (I'm using sauce here to refer to pizza gravy so as not to confuse the uninitiated).  Another friend prefers their Margherita Pizza, which is tomato sauce with fresh mozzarella and basil.  All of these pizzas are ... 02/09/2018

Last week's word was Local and I detailed a lot of my favorite local places.  You can read about them here.A lot of folks in the Philadelphia suburbs refer to Philadelphia as going "downtown".  Philadelphia, the place where I was born raised is a wonderful town, truly up and coming nowadays.  Growing up there was a wonderful experience, truly a village where our doors were never locked and when my mom was working we were babysat by close neighbors.  On a summer night, we sat out on our steps, socialized, laughed and probably cried some with people who were like family.Moving to the suburbs when I got married was a culture shock to me.  Our first home was in Newtown Square where there were no sidewalks, not many street lights and it was so quiet that I couldn't sleep.  I was fortunate in... 01/24/2018

It looks like historic preservation was at the top of the agenda this morning for over 50 civic minded volunteers who gathered at the Chester County General Services Center for an exchange of ideas. Led by members of the County Planning Commission and sponsored by the Chester County Historic Preservation Network (CCHPN, on whose board I sit), we learned how to be more effective in preserving our historic resources.Because the County has preservation friendly wording in local ordinances, attendees learned how to use these resources to encourage zoning and code officials to enforce code violations which often lead to demolition by neglect.Sometimes volunteers feel they are preaching to the choir in their townships and boroughs, but they found a lot of common concerns in the networking mad... 01/20/2018

One of the definitions of local, according to Merriam-Webster is: of or belong to or characteristic of a particular locality or neighborhood.  When I think local, I think about the West Chester area.  Where do you go for dinner locally?  Living in the West Chester area, one of my favorite local spots is Limoncello.  Everyone who knows me knows this is my favorite "go to" place.  It's the first place I think of when I have a happy hour with friends, and it's where I go for lunch and it's where I buy gift cards for my clients if they are celebrating something or as a Christmas gift on their first Christmas in their new home.  Another local favorite if you like sushi is Kooma.  I took this photo when I was there for a late lunch, long after the lunch crowd had gone.  I don't eat sushi but ... 01/17/2018

 October 7 was the first Saturday in October, and local historic home fans know what that means--it's Chester County Day's 77th annual house tour. (left Franklin St. home)            For many years, a friend and I have been showing up the night before at the historic Chester County courthouse in West Chester Pennsylvania for the preview slide show to decide which of the 31 sites we want to visit. There is no way to see them all, so you need to choose the homes which you find most appealing.  It's usually cool and breezy, sometimes rainy on "The Day" as it's called. But this year brought temperatures in the mid-80's. It was no problem in the morning, as we chose to visit the homes around Marshall Square park in the Boro. But the afternoon brought the heat, and getting from the parking in... 10/08/2017

On last night's Town Tours and Village Walks,  we visited Trimbleville,  which was a key spot as the British army followed a maze of local roads on September 11, 1777 on the way to meet Washington's Continental army in Chadd's Ford. Local loyalists led Generals Howe and Cornwallis and 8500 soldiers through this peaceful village which was described as looking today much as it looked that day. Villagers could see dust rising from the Great Valley road and could hear cannons and gunfire across the fields. A local Quaker had warned Washington of their route, but he was ignored because the Quakers did not take up arms or support the revolution with their pacifist stance and could not be trusted.The one thing the Quakers did well was keep records, and from these records, we find the exact rou... 06/30/2017

Chester County originally included present-day Delaware, Lancaster, and Berks counties. In 1729, Lancaster County was formed, creating the western boundary of Chester County. In 1752, a northern boundary was established with the creation of Berks County. With the drawing of the Mason-Dixon Line in 1764, Chester County's southern border was determined. Shortly after, residents began to petition to have the county seat removed from Chester. Not until 1786, however, was permission granted and the first court convened at Turk's Head.  Two years later, the county seat of Turk's Head was renamed the county seat of West Chester.Last night, West Chester was the site of the roll out of this year's summer series of Town Talks and Village Walks, beginning at the Chester County Historical Society o... 06/16/2017

Homes for Sale in the West Chester BoroughWhy Do People Live here?West Chester Borough is a very cool college town and also the county seat of Chester County.  There is a thriving restaurant and shopping community, a wonderful hotel, a theater, and many small town events, i.e., Old  Fashioned Christmas Parade, Restaurant Festival, Chilli Cook-off and so much more.Looking for a home in West Chester Borough?Interested in finding homes for sale in the borough?  Most search functions online don't allow for that specific a search.  Contact me and I'll put you on the list to be emailed whenever a home in the borough that fits your wish list comes on the market.  To search for homes in the West Chester area in general, you can click here.  You will need to sign in but no worries,  if I contact... 03/22/2017

West Chester Ackworth Allegiance Applebrook Applegate Appleville West Arborview Arbours At W Goshen Ashbridge Ashbridge Farms Ashford Ashleybrooke Est Ashwell Audubon Autun Bala Banbury Beaumont Bernay Woods Beversrede Birchlan Birmingham Birmingham Hunt Bittersweet Black Horse Run Blue Rock Meadows Bow Tree Bradford Chase Bradford Pointe Bradford Ridge Bradford Square Brandywine @ Thorn Brandywine Chase Brandywine Hill Brandywine Hills Brandywine Hunt Brandywine Knoll Brandywine Overlook Brandywine River Brandywine River Estates Branford Village Brigadoon Brighton Vil Brinton Sq Brinton Village Brinton Woods Brintons Bridge Brittany Woods Broad Run Brookfield Brookmeade Canterbury Carroll Hill Caswallen Century Farms Chandler Ridge Charter Chase Chatwood Cheshire Knoll Chesterdale Farm... 01/24/2017

This is West Chester PA Real Estate and homes for sale in West Chester Pennsylvania.  These homes for sale are sorted by neighborhood:West ChesterAppleville West Applebrook Applegate Arborview Arbours At W Goshen Ashbridge Ashbridge Farms Ashford Ashleybrooke Est AshwellBeversrede Banbury Beaumont Bernay Woods Birchlan Birmingham Birmingham Hunt Bittersweet Black Horse Run Blue Rock Meadows Bow Tree Bradford Chase Bradford Pointe Bradford Ridge Bradford Square Brandywine @ Thorn Brandywine Chase Brandywine Hill Brandywine Hills Brandywine Hunt Brandywine Knoll Brandywine Overlook Brandywine River Brandywine River Estates Branford Village Brigadoon Brighton Vil Brinton Sq Brinton Village Brinton Woods Brintons Bridge Brittany Woods Broad Run Brookfield Brookmeade Canterbury Carroll Hill ... 07/27/2016

It's frustrating being a buyer in today's seller's market! This has been a very challenging market for buyers in our area.  Particularly in the price ranges under $500,000.  Homes are being snapped up in multiple bid situations and it's very easy for a buyer to lose confidence in their agent if they keep losing out on houses they love.   It seems, at times, like an uneven playing field, with agents posting new listings but not allowing buyers to preview it with their agents until the Sunday open, often, with the house being sold before the Sunday open.    It's hard to say whether this is an unethical practice because without the knowledge of what sort of conversation the listing agents are having with their sellers.  We don't know that the seller isn't instructing their agents to market... 06/13/2016

04/07/2016

This weekend was the epic blizzard of 2016 on the east coast.  It snowed from Friday night through Saturday night and dumped about 28 inches of very heavy snow in our area.This photo was taken during another snowstorm when JJ was a bit younger but he had a very similar reaction to this year's snow.  He likes the fluffy, light snow that he can plow through.  Not this year.  The snow was so heavy that at one point, he was following me and he actually got stuck!  I had to turn around and lift him out of the snow and carry him!  Poor little fella!Today's word is nothing.  Literally, besides shoveling, I did nothing.  The office was closed, the roads, for all intents and purposes, were closed, the gym was closed and I blissfully did nothing but cook, read, and watch TV all day!When Sunday ca... 01/27/2016

I have a pool.  It's the best investment I ever made in my home and the worst experience of my life as far as things getting done around the house.  If I ever moved again, I would want a pool, but I would want to buy a home with a pool, not put one in.  It's the most frustrating exercise.  Unless you like to do general contracting and keep everyone happy and on schedule, it's literally almost a full time job.  You need, first and foremost, a pool company.  You'll also need a landscaper to grade the property after the pool is in, and plant shrubs, flowers, etc.  The pool will likely come with some sort of decking (concrete, pavers, etc.).  Some will come in the pool package, the rest, you'll need to meet with the company and pay extra for.  Don't forget fencing which is not included and ... 01/04/2016

Starting about now, the Chili Cook-Off is one of my all time favorite happenings in West Chester borough.  One year, I participated in my office's chili making and while we didn't win, we sure did have a good time.  It's a gorgeous day in West Chester today and I'm looking forward to tasting award winning chili and hanging with some friends, making new friends and maybe even seeing some old friends.  If you are there and see me, please do stop and say hi!Enjoy the day Chester County!  10/11/2015

The Chester County Historic Preservation Network had their annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner at the Grove United Methodist Church at 490 West Boot Road in West Chester, PA. It was a great chance to meet Historic Commission members from all over the county and hear about their successes establishing preservation ordinances to preserve historic homes and businesses. We also had a chance to hear a little about this historic congregation, said to be one of the earliest Methodist churches in the state.  The original school and church was a log building from the early 1700’s.Then another larger church was built, to be later replaced by the present serpentine stone church from around 1900. It was built on the “Akron Plan,” popular at the time. This was an auditorium form worship space (the "... 06/19/2015