Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery Counties Real Estate. Tips for home buyers, home sellers by Gita Bantwal,Realtor at ReMax Centre Realtors.

I joined Active Rain on  February 25th, 2007 and just posted my profile, because I read about it in Realtor magazine. I visited my parents in India for 5 weeks between March and April and when I returned the jet lag and home sickness caused me to be up at 5 am instead of my usual 6 am. The extra  hour is the main reason I found time to become actively involved with Active Rain.

I started out by commenting on posts that I read  and was inspired to write my own blogs .

First of all I thank Neal Bloom and Margaret Woda for inviting me to the ACTIVE RAIN BRONZE HALL OF FAME GROUP . I  realized I had 50k points only after I  read your message . I am honored to be invited to this group. I enjoy reading your blogs and you may have seen my comments.

I have learned a lot along my journey and can not thank AR enough. I learned about  The Art of Marketing from

Marty Garaughty and his group, Internet Marketing and web design from Brad Carroll and Bobby Carroll, and read some interesting posts by Ann Guy,Rob Robinson,Steven Shewell, Jason Sardi who all belong to  ' Pennsylvania Professionals .' group. I thank Bruno Rolden of Free Real estate Flyers for some great tips.

I thank all who have read my blogs and taken the time to comment.

Before I joined AR I did not even worry about 'Google and page rank.' Now if you search for Realtor with my first name my name appears on google. Recently a lady was looking for a Realtor named Gita on the west coast.The lady called me and said she had heard about me from someone and asked whether I could help her sell a house. I told her I am in Pa but I could refer her to an agent. She realized she had the wrong agent. I took down her name and number and referred her to an agent on AR but it did not work out.  But because of AR I could be found on google with just my first name and the other agent was not found.

I do not have a transaction from AR yet but came close . Thanks every one.

Centennial Station is an active adult community located  in Warminster, Bucks County, Pa.

Some of the amenities it offers are an aquatic center with heated  indoor pool, and whirlpool, activity center with craft room,billiards room, card room, and ballroom. There is a bank and hair salon on the premises. It is located very close to a Hospital.

Based on information in multiple listing service 13  units sold in last six months and varied in price from 122k for a 1 bedroom 1 bath unit to $285k for a large 2 bedroom , 2 baths unit.

Some units have garages. Dogs are not allowed .

As of today there are several units for sale including a 1 bedroom, 1 bath, for $124,900 , 2 bedroom 2 baths for $189,900 and a 3 bedrooms 3 baths for $264,900.

You can view 1000s of  available listings in  mls by going to www.gitabantwal.com and clicking on home finder.

 If you are thinking of moving to Philadelphia area and would like my relocation package please contact me at gita01@aol.com.

I have live in Bucks County for over 30 years and am within 10 minutes of bordering Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties.

Please read Relocating to Bucks County? Look up these resources at http://activerain.com/blogsview/261375/relocating-to-bucks-county

If you want to move to Doylestown please look up www.doylestown.org

Doylestown is named for William Doyle who built William Doyle Tavern in Doylestown in 1700s.

Doylestown Boro is the county seat of Bucks County and the Bucks County Courthouse is located in Doylestown Boro. the telephone number is 215-348-6000. The official web site of Doylestown is www.Doylestownpa.org

The Mercer Museum and Fonthill Museums are located in Doylestown.

The Bucks County Free Library is located in Doylestown.Telephone number is 215-348-9082

You can commute to Philadelphia from Doylestown , by taking R5 Septa train. Look up schedule at www.septa.org.

You can take the bus to New York Port Authority from Doylestown .Look up www.transbridgebus.com.

There are great Restaurants in Doylestown.People who enjoy boro living can walk to some good restaurants.

You can look up available home in Doylestown by going to www.gitabantwal.com and clicking on home finder.

I usually have open houses on Sundays. The last 4 weekends have been good as far as turnout. I had 5 people each time. I do not have any transaction from these 20 buyers. But the future looks hopeful. there were 2 who loved the house but have a house to sell. Atleast there are buyers looking. Two are looking to buy in the spring and are willing to be prequalified. Two were neighbors whose house is on the market for sale. One other lady loved the house but does not want to move till June , when the son graduates from school. The others were working with other agents.

I do not know what will happen, but Real estate is a numbers game, and the fact that I could add these people to my data base is great.

If the market is slow, and you have no buyers on a sunday, it is a good idea to host an open house .If you do not have listings , you can host an open house for another agent. But there are some buyers looking to buy.

Sellers are usually uncomfortable with a lock box and are eager to have it removed as soon as the house is under contract. There will not be any showings once we have your home under contract, but many poeple will need access to your home. It will be more convenient for the agent if the lock box is on until all the contingensies have been satisfied, unless you work from home and do not mind being there to let them in.

You will be informed of all inspections in advance . 

1. The home inspector, the radon and termite inspectors etc. The agents accompany the buyers and the inspectors. The inspector has to come again in a few days to pick up the radon kit.

2.The bank appraiser  will come in a few days. He takes measurements and pictures of the interior and exterior.

3.The home insurance company usually sends a representative.

4.If there are issues with home inspection , more inspectors or contractors will have to come  to give  estimates .

After the above inspections it is safe to remove the lockbox and then have it installed again the day before settlement for the final walk thru on day of inspection.

I read an article by Lou Sessinger ,a columnist for the Intelligencer, in the newspaper dated August 19,2007,  about a book by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson. They are the world's leading brand consultants. . The book is "Career Distinction, Stand out By Building Your Brand."It prompted me to go to their web site and read more about them. Go to their web site www.careerdistinction.com

Lou mentions that in August, 2007  issue of Entrepreneur magazine there is an article "Whats In A Name?"  in which William Arruda says, that in today's increasingly web oriented business world, if you don't show up in a google search of your name , you don't exist." This is so true in our Real Estate business.  I clicked on Entrepreneur magazine article , and it is very interesting.

I have not read the book yet but I clicked on the online ID calculator for my GQ. It is a neat tool.With your score you also get some tips on how to improve it. The book has information on how to build your online ID. I am going to put it on my list of books to read.

The online ID score is a number between 1 and 10 baased on the number of hits that you get when you look up on google. The average online score is 5.8 and seems in the study according to the article in the intelligencer, Real estate agents have an average of only 4.5 but I bet they are not on AR.

If you are curious about your GQ  go to www.careerdistinction.com/onlineid/  the online ID calculator.

The annual Warwick Day will be held at Warwick Park in Guinea Lane on October 6th from 11 am to 5 pm. It has always been a fun filled day, with something for every one. Warwick residents and their friends look forward to it every year.

They have a variety of food and entertainment besides activities for kids.

There is a petting zoo area,  and  also mini golf . Pony rides are available for a nominal fee.

Children's pavilion has a puppet show at 12 pm, magic show at 12.30 pm, diaper derby at 1 pm, Peanut Toss at 1.30,  Pie eating contest at 3 pm, and a water balloon toss at 4 pm.

Look up details and info about purchasing tickets at www.warwick-township.org

This is a Buyer's Market and there are some good buys if you look around no matter what your price range. There are internet sites like Realtor.com and Company sites like www.ReMax.com  where you can find homes.

I looked up the multiple listing this morning and found 34 listings in Bucks County priced under $100,000. Most of them are mobile homes.

The least expensive is a 2 BR mobile home in Bensalem for $14,499.

There is a  1 bedroom condo in Warminster for $83,000 and an efficiency for $79,900.

If you are thinking of buying a home, please talk  to a loan officer and see how much  you qualify for .There is a lot of good information on internet for home buyers.

If you are looking to buy a house in Philadelphia,Bucks,Montgomery counties go to www.gitabantwal.com and look up 1000s of listings.

Certain home improvements to your primary residence may qualify for tax credits if they are energy related and conserve energy and meet IRS guidelines. Go to IRS web site and also  talk to a professional. This applies to qualified improvements made between January 1 , 2006 and Decemebr 31,2007. 

You need to save your receipt and Manufacturer's Certification. Credits are based on cost of product and does not include labor and are a percentage of the cost.

Products include insulation, exterior doors, windows,storm doors, heating and cooling systems,etc. Please read the guidelines as not all products qualify.It is important to get professional advice from Tax accountants  regarding IRS rules.

I was delighted to read a message from an AR member congratulating me on my featured post. I had no idea what it was. I signed into AR and looked up and there were over 40 comments on the blog I posted on Sunday before going to the office. All the comments were for my blog

" IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO GET INTO REAL ESTATE?

http://activerain.com.blogsview/1781971/IS-THIS-A-GOOD

I got same great advice from everyone and if anyone is thinking of getting into Real Estate now,  they can certainly benefit from the experience and wisdom of Rainers.

I thank AR for featuring the post and I thank each and everyone who took the time to offer advice.I will use it to advice my client , and it will not look like I am discouraging  or encouraging her to  get into Real estate.