Q: My home has been for sale in Rhawnhurst too long. I wanted to move before the kids started school, so I put it up for sale at the beginning of the year. No bites. I really want to move! How can I help it to sell faster?

A: Currently, there are 1,640 homes for sale in Northeast Philadelphia. Not counting the almost 350 pending sales, that’s still more homes on the market than have sold in the past six months. Even if zero homes went up for sale for the rest of the year, it would take more than six months to sell out the current inventory. Yours is one of them. continue reading »

Q: I lost my job and can no longer afford my home in Wissinoming. I don’t have any money to bring to settlement, so selling it for less would be problematic. My agent listed my house for sale in January for $94,900, because I owe $83,000 and I needed to make sure the sale covers my closing costs. No one is even coming to see it. My agent tells me the average sale price for the same house in my neighborhood is about $78,000. Can I try for a short sale?

A:  Short sales are not easy, and, despite their name, they are anything but short in process. There have been many homes that didn’t make it through the short sale process and have ended up in foreclosure.   Contact the Loss Mitigation department of your mortgage company to find out what documentation is required to apply for a short sale. Usually you will need the following items, among others: continue reading »

Getting married can be the most exciting time in someone’s life.  Thinking about personal financial issues during this time is not often high on the list of priorities, but it should be at least on the totem pole.

The merging of two lives from a financial standpoint can be complex, and should be discussed before the couple gets married.  This is an even more complex discussion for couples getting married for the second time, especially if children are involved.

Some of the most basic decisions revolve around budgeting.  Who will be responsible for paying the household bills?  Will the couple have separate bank accounts or one joint account?  Does the couple have the same approach to money . . . is one person a saver and another a spender, and have they discussed how they will manage this once they are married?  continue reading »

I always forget about it every year – forget about it, of course, until I receive a call from my mom around noon or pull up to the street on which I grew up only to be met by road partitions and a cruel reminder that I have to drive a few blocks to find a place to park.
Both of those things happened this past weekend when I drove down to Northeast Philly for the weekend on Saturday and realized that the annual block party for the section of my childhood street was in progress. continue reading »

Q: I am buying a home in Bells Corner, and I’m supposed to settle this Friday. My mortgage lender is telling me now it might not happen on time. She said the underwriter needs more paperwork, and I might even need a co-signer. I was pre-approved and have given everything they’ve asked for, why do they need more two days before closing?

A: More and more I have seen missed settlement deadlines and underwriters asking for more information and taking longer to review files. Getting mortgage loans in time for settlement has definitely been a nail-biter lately. I advise my clients to make sure all their paperwork and verifications are in as early as possible so the lender can do their job. continue reading »

Q: I want to buy a three-bedroom house in Morrell Park to be close to my parents. The problem, is I am only approved for $120,000 and most of the homes I like cost more. Should I wait and see if the market gets better, or should I just look elsewhere?

A: The average price in Morrell Park today is $186,000. It will be extremely difficult to find a home in Morrell Park for $120,000, especially since the lowest price for a home right now is just under $150,000. Just so you know, only four homes have sold in the past year for less than $150,000. continue reading »

Are you considering applying for a mortgage or a car loan sometime in the near future?  Have you checked your credit report recently?  It is better to know ahead of applying for a big loan.  There would be nothing worse than getting your hopes up to make that big purchase only to find out that there are some unexpected items on your report.  The lending environment has not really improved much despite the improvements that we have seen in the financial sector since the market downturn in 2008-09.  In order to secure good lending rates, your credit score has to be in excess of 700-720. continue reading »

Q: I am looking for a home and my agent told me to go to my bank and get pre-approved first. What should I bring with me?

A: Your lender will check your credit, so you don’t need to have your credit score ready, but there are many items that a mortgage lender will need to process your loan, including: continue reading »

Q: How is the real estate market in Northeast Philadelphia? It is a good time to sell or buy?

A: It is good news for qualified buyers and homeowners looking to upsize.

The now-expired Homebuyer Tax Credit definitely boosted sales in the spring. It helped to sell many of the homes on the market, and home values and sales were looking up. However, the number of homes coming onto the market is increasing faster than homes are being sold. Now that the Tax Credit expired, the only thing enticing the small pool of buyers, who still have their credit intact in this economy and can actually get a mortgage, is the fantastically low interest rates. continue reading »

Congress is mulling over what to do about the soon-to-expire Bush tax cuts that were enacted in 2001 and 2003.

As a result of the sunset provision in the tax law, you may have read about the fact that there is no estate tax in 2010. If you were wealthy and had the choice, this would be the year to die.

A great example is George Steinbrenner, who passed away last week. If we assumed that the only asset he held at his death was the Yankees, he saved his family approximately $450 million by dying in 2010 (assuming the value of the Yankees at $1 billion and federal estate rate of 55 percent). continue reading »