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

Buckingham Square is a community of Single Family homes in Buckingham Township, Bucks County built by Westrum Development .

It is located off route 313 and Cold Spring Creamery road and is in Central Bucks School District www.cbsd.org

There are homes with various floor plans , 3 or 4 bedrroms, 1 or 2 car garages and some have basements.

5 homes sold in the last 12 months. the lowest price was $355,000 for a 3 bedroom,home with 1 car garage and basement, the highest price was $415,000 for a 4 bedroom home.

The homes were on the market for an average of 35 days. Number of days is days from listing date to date it went under contract for sale.

At this time there are 4 homes on the market priced between $$355,000 and $$445,900. They have been on the market for an average of 100 days.

the above does not include sale by owners and is subject to errors and omissions.

Look up all available homes at www.gitabantwal.com

Bensalem township has homes that are priced to sell to first time home buyers. there are condominiums and single homes.

I lookes up the multiple listing recently to help a buyer and found 33 single homes under $250,000.

At this price and the low interest rates, it is cheaper to own than to rent.

This is not the time to buy if you are not sure about your job or how the economy will affect your ability to pay your mortgage, but if you are comfortable with your situation then this is certainly a good time to buy.

You can take advantage of First time buyer tax credit if you qualify.

There are many homes to choose from.

The lowest price was $140,000 for a single house , owned by a bank.

There are 14 homes with a garage,

there are 20 homes with a basement,

8 homes have both a garage and basement.

Make a wish list and call me with your list, I will try to make your dream of home ownership a reality.

I enjoy working with First time home buyers.

Look up all avalable listings at www.gitabantwal.com

If you are looking to buy a home in Hatboro Horsham school district look up www.hatboro-horsham.org to learn about this great school district.

If you are a first time buyer you can take advantage of the first time buyer tax credit.

I looked up the multiple listing and found 41 homes under $300,000.

Two bedroom condos in Maple Valley are listed in $160s and above.

There are a wide variety of homes in Saw Mill Valley.

two bedroom , ranch style condos are listed at 180s and aboveTwo bedroom townhouses are listed at low $200s and above. There are twin homes in $220,s

You can look in Horshamtowne and find 3 bedroom townhomes with basements starting in low $250s .

there are a few single homes listed under $300k.

If you would like to look up listings in Horsham go o www.gitabantwal.com.

Call Gita Bantwal at ReMax Centre Realtors 215-343-8200x124

You may have heard of the $7500 tax credit for the purchase of your first home and may not know how it works. Please know that you do not get $7500 cash for buying a house but that it is a tax credit that you get over 15 years.( It works more like a interest free loan). But read the details before you rush to buy.

Look up all the details at www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

You can read the eligibilty requirements and details of how this works.

If you qualify , and wish to take advantage of the tax credit , the next important thing is to talk to a loan officer so that you know how much you qualify for.

Once you are pre approved you can start looking for homes in your price range . Ask your friends to refer you to a good Real Estate Agent that they have worked with or interview a couple of agents and then choose an agent that is qualified and you feel comfortable with. Please use a Buyer's Agent who will represent you.

Remember if you do not choose buyer agency relationship in Pa, the agent represents the seller. When you go unrepresented to new construction, the builders agent is working for the  builder. You should be accompanied by your agent at the initial visit.

If you are looking to buy a house in Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery counties call Gita Bantwal at ReMax Centre Realtors 215-343-8200x124 . If you are looking to buy anywhere else I can refer you to a qualified agent in the area.

I am an Accredited Buyers Representative and hold the ABR designation.

Look up all available listings in Philadelphia and suburbs on www.gitabantwal.com.

The Villas of Lamplighter Village, These are built by Katz. They are homes with courtyard settings. They have one and two story designs. they are priced from upper $300s .There is new construction as well as resales.

Meridian of Valley Square .The terrace style homes are within walking distance of shops at Valley Square including Wegmans, Michaels,Staples,and Restaurants like Changs . There is new construction as well as resales. they start in mid $300s and are also built by Katz builders.

To look at any home in Warrington call Gita Bantwal at ReMax Centre Realtors 215-343-8200x124 . I am a Seniors Real Estate specialist.

visit my web site www.gitabantwal.com

Bucks County has a lot to offer. One of the things I love about it is no matter where you go,  you will find a Farmer's Market.

This is a great time to look for Mums, Pumpkins and more.

Here is a partial list :

1. Doylestown Farmers Market, State and Hamilton Streets,Doylestown.www.doylestownfarmersmarket.com

2.Newtown Farmers Market,2150 S Eagle Rd,Newtown,  www.newtownfarmersmarket.com

3.None Such Farm Market,4458 York Rd,Buckingham, www.nonesuchfarms.com

4.Perkasie Farmers Market,Market and 7th street,

5 Plumsteadville Grange Farm Market,5901 Easton Rd,Plumsteadville, www.plumsteadvillegrange.org

6.Rice's Country Market, 6326 Greenhill rd,New Hope,

7.Solly's Farm Market,707 Almshouse rd,Warminster

If you would like to look at homes in Bucks County call Gita Bantwal at ReMax Centre Realtors 215-343-8200x124 Visit my web site www.gitabantwal.com and look up all available listings.

I looked up the multiple listing to see the real estate activity in Upper Southampton township for August.

This does not include homes not listed, new construction not reported and commercial and multi units.

There were 10 settlements in August. The average price was $328,330 , the highest sold price was $575,00 and the lowest price was $154,999. The homes were on the market for an average of 60 days, the number of days from listed date to date it went under contract for sale.

There are 10 homes pending settlement right now , the lowest listed price is $159,900 and the highest listed price is $499,999.These were on the market for an average of 68 days.

There are 68 active listings . Among them there is a 2 bedroom condo in Belmont Station Condos for $208,900, a two bedroom condo in Steamboat station for $209,900 and a 2 bedroom condo in Gravel Hill Station in $200s . there is a single house for $250,000.

If you are looking for  new construction David Cutler Group is building new homes . It is an enclave of 44 single family homes. 4 of which are part of the above mentioned list.

If you would like to look at any home in Southampton please call Gita Bantwal at ReMax Centre Realtors 215-343-8200x124 .Visit my web site and look up all available homes at www.gitabantwal.com

If you would like a free market evaluation of your home go to www.gitabantwal.com

This is a buyers market. There is a large inventory of homes for sale in some areas and many of them are SHORT SALES.

A short sale occurs when the amount owed by seller is more than the market value or sale price.

Many sellers who bought two or three years ago may have also obtained a second mortgage and now find that they can not pay the mortgage . They can not sell either because they owe more than they can get.

The Bank has to approve the Short Sale. This takes time. Sometimes weeks or months.

The most important thing to know if you want to buy a home that is going to be a short sale  is that you need PATIENCE . make sure you have a contingency clause in the agreement if you do not want to wait for ever. If you are renting right now make sure you can extend the lease month to month so that you will not be without a home .

If you want to make an offer on a short sale or a  pre-foreclosure home, you have to be pre qualified or better still pre-approved to improve the odds of your offer being accepted.

In most cases it will be an 'as is 'sale, but you should go ahead and have the home inspection.

After submitting the offer all you can do is wait , wait and wait . Find a good Real estate agent to work with , for there are some good opportunities out there.

Whether you are looking for a home to live in or to buy as an investment , Yardley Commons is a great buy.

The community is located close to the Delaware River. You can walk to the train station and take the train to center city, or walk to the  boro which has great  shopping and restaurants. It is within easy commute of Philadelphia and Princeton, NJ and Trenton from where you can take the train to New York.

I looked up the multiple listing to see recent sales. Here is what I found.:

 A 1 bedroom 1 bath sold for $147,000 in May 2008. and a two bedroom sold for $164,000 in May

 A 1 bedroom unit  sold for $158,000 in April 2008  and another sold for $168,000.,

A  2 bedroom units sold in August  for $175,000 and another  2 bedroom sold in June for $177,000.

12 units sold in last 6 months. They were on the market for an average of 101 days , from listed date to date it went under contract for sale.

The information is subject to errors and omissiosn and is not guaranteed and seller concessions may not have been included. If you would like a free market evaluation please email me gita01@aol.com

or call Gita at ReMax Centre 215-343-8200x124 .

If you would like information about the school district go to www.pennsbury.k12.pa.us/

Doyelstown Station Condos were built by Pulte Builders. There are several different floor plans.

The community is located within minutes of Routes 202 and 611, Doylestown Hospital, Delaware Valley college, Doylestown boro with its cultural events, museums, and fine dining, Septa train station (look up schedule at www.septa.org) .

You can walk to Central Park and Kids Castle.

If you would like information on the school district go to www.cbsd.org

I looked up the multiple listing and here is information on some active listings:

10 yr old 3 bedroom , 2 car garage, finished walk out basement listed for $349,500

5 yr old 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage,finished basement, listed at $375,000

5yr old Braddock model , 3 bedroom,2 full baths,2 half baths, listed at $379,900

Here are some recent sales

9 year old Amberleigh model sold for $310,000

8 yr old Braddock model sold for $365,000.

2 yr old Brandon 2 model sold for $365,000

10 yr old Brandon model sold for $385,000

3 yr old Rosedale model sold for $390,000

3 year old Deerfield sold for $430,000.

If you live in Doyelstown Station and would like a free market evaluation of your house call Gita Bantwal at ReMax Centre realtors 215-343-8200x124.

Look up all available listings at www.gitabantwal.com