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

This is a buyer's market but the credit crunch has caused some buyers to be out of the market. This has resulted in the rents going up in some areas of Bucks and Montgomery counties. Some investors who can not sell have listed their homes for rent or lease with option to buy. There are some good opportunities for lease- purchase out there.

There are several different ways this can be done, but before you put down money on lease options please read the fine print, get an attorney and be careful.

1. You should sit down with a loan officer and see why you can not get a mortgage this year. If it because of income, is your income going to increase next year?

2. You do not have down payment . Are you going to be able to save enough or are you getting a bonus?

3.Your credit is not good. What are the things you have to do to improve your credit/ How long will it take to show up on your credit?

4.If you put down  money for the option, can you afford to lose it if you do not buy.?

There are good opportunities to buy but be careful who you work with and do your due diligence before signing anything.

Wood Winds Condominium  For Rent  $1350 plus utilities

Features a large Living room with Dining area, and a full kitchen and powder room on first floor.

On second floor there is a large master bedroom and second bedroom.There is also a small room that could be an office.

The condo is located close to train station.You can take the R2 train to center city Philadelphia.see schedule at www.septa.org

Washer,Dryer and refrigerator are included. The living room has a sliding door to nice back yard.

This is located in Hatboro Horsham School district and is available now.

mls id 5137571

Eagles fans can celebrate with free toppings for every touchdown . I enjoyed the game on Sunday and took advantage of the offer at Papa John's on Monday. I gave them my Eagles schedule .Hope it brings a referral.

If there is a Papa John's in your area you can take advantage of their offer. For every touchdown they Eagles score you get a topping free and if the Eagles win they will double the toppings. This offer is good after game day at participating Philadelphia area locations. You have to ask them for the details. You can order online at papajohns.com Ask for Eagles special the day after Gameday.

If you would like me to mail you the schedule for Eagles please email me , your name and address.

gita01@aol.com

If you have a question about real estate  in Philadelphia , bucks or Montgomery counties, call me or email me and I will try to tackle it .

Townhomes in Windrush and Courts at Woodfield offer several floor plans with 2 , 3 and 4 bedrooms and  garage and many  have basements. They are less than 10 years old, some may be slightly older. They have gas heat and central air .

In the last 6 months homes have sold from  between $299,000 to $350,000.

The development has tennis courts and a tot lot. It is within walking distance of Township Park,   Police station, and Elementary school. The park has walking trail,playground etc.

The home owner's association fees are not too high and includes lawn care and snow removal.

These home are located in   Central bucks school district .Visit www.cbsd.org.

Genuardi's  grocery is located close by .We also have  Mcdonalds, , Outback Steakhouse, Randazzo's Pizza, and Subway .

Based on information in TREND our multiple listing service, there were 37 homes that settled in August 2007. the average price was $674,989 , the low price was $190,000 and the high price was $1,500,000. these were on the market for an average of 60 days and do not include homes not listed in mls.

There are 24 homes under contract for an average price of $583,479 , with low price of $339,975 and high price of $1475,000 and days on market of 62.

buckingham township is located in Central Bucks School District. Visit www.cbsd.org for information about schools.

I will provide monthly statistics. You may subscribe to my blog or email me gita01@aol.com

http://activerain.com/blogsview/philadelphiahomes

When we talk of Real Estate we  have all heard' Location, location, location. '

You finally prepared your home for sale. You interviewed two  agents and the agents give you two different price ranges. You have been keeping an eye on home sales in the development and in your town and your house has more upgrades and is nicer than another house. Why should you list for less than the other house ? The only thing you did not like about your house is that it backs to a busy street.

You like the price mentioned by one agent as it is  much higher than the price mentioned by the second agent. The second agent explains that location adversely affects the value of your home.

Statistics show that location is important in real estate. The following will increase the value of a house.

1.Homes on Cul de sac

2.Homes with great views.

3.Homes close to transportation and shopping and recreational facilities.( But not so close that thers is too much noise or traffic0

4.Homes on nicely  shaped flat lots.

5 Homes in great school districts.

The following will adversely affect the value of your house.

1.Homes on busy streets .

2 Homes on corner lots as there is more traffic.

3.Homes on sloping or flag lots.

4.Homes with view of cemetary, industries , etc.

5.Homes by railroad tracks or near power lines.

1. Being unrepresented.  Sellers may be experienced  and may have sold a house before or may be investors or attorneys. Do you have experience buying houses?. You may have bought a house 10 years ago, but laws may have changed. You might want to ask an attorney or buyer's agent to help you with the transaction.

2. Making the deposit check out to the seller. How will you be protected if the seller cashes the check and you do not get approved for the mortgage and seller refuses to return the deposit.? Your attorney or agent wil guide you about the deposit check.

3.You might not know what the homes are selling for and may offer more that what it is worth. an agent will help you with the comparable sales in the area. you can probably look up some sites on the interent, but some of them are not accurate.An agent has upto date information. If you think you are saving buying from FSBO , you might want to think again.The FSBO is probably trying to save the commission.Both of you are going after the same savings.

4.You might feel awkward negotiating and making a low offer or  offending the seller. The agent can do this on your behalf.If you have a buyer's agent you can negotiate the fees for buying 'sale by owner,'  in advance with the agent ,

5. Failing to have contingencies like inspections, appraisals and obtaining the  mortgage in the contract.Failing to ask for seller's disclosure is a mistake as well.

If you know the market well, if you are an attorney yourself or will use an attorney you might get some good deals , if not be careful . Remember BUYER BEWARE.

In the last week I received two calls from prospects looking to rent and they asked if we could offer a lease purchase option.

One of the listings is available for purchase or rent so we are negotiating a lease purchase option.

The other landlord is an investor and is not thinking of selling next year, so we can not offer the option.

I received an email from a lady yesterday through AR . She wants me to help her find a property for lease with option to buy. Unfortunately the email address is not correct  and my email bounced back.

There have been weeks this summer where I did not receive any leads and now 3 leads in one week all for lease purchase options , I wonder if I should develop this niche.

If I work with such clients I will have a good year in 2008 when they buy and I would not have to spend time showing homes as they have already found the home.

I will work with them throughout the year and  educate them about their credit and financing needs .

I had a few friends over past weekend.After dinner we talked about downsizing and how much time it takes to take care of the yard. Most women liked the idea of moving to a 55plus community so that they could have more free time on weekends. But the one thing they said was they were not ready to move into a neighborhood of all  "old people" .These women were all in their 50s. I have seen women in their 70s tell me the same thing.

As a seniors Real estate Specialist I try to farm to 55plus people and I have spoken to many people who want to move to a maintence free life style but not necessarily to a 55plus are. They say they like to be near younger people. When taking the SRES course, I read that anyone who is 10 years older than you is old and for a 80 yr old 90 is old , while he is not too old.

My friends are not ready to move and their husbands said they can get someone to take care of snow and lawn rather than move right now. They feel  they are still young.

I wonder when do people think of moving to 55plus communities?

According to statistics in TREND MLS service, there were 32 residential homes that settled in August , 2007 in Warminster township.

The average price was $305,141 , highest price was $455,000  for a 4 Bedroom single house . Among the other sales was a 3 bedroom 3 bath condo in 55plus community of Centennial Station and lowest price was $113,500 for a 1 bedroom 1 bath condo in Meadowwood Condominiums.

the homes were on the market for an average of 69 days, from date listed to date they went under contract. This does not include houses not listed in multiple listing service.

As of this date there are 27 homes under contract ranging in price from $81,900 to $394,900 for an average days on market of 47 days. The average listed price of these homes was $257,226.

I will provide monthly statistics for Warminster township. If you would like to receive this information, you may subscribe to my blog or email me at gita01@aol.com