We get it, Daily News. You don’t own an updated map and you don’t send reporters to the Northeast unless someone commits a crime or gets elected to office.

So allow us to explain, then, that Burholme is absolutely not in the Far Northeast (Far should be capitalized, by the way; it isn’t in your story).

The Far Northeast begins along Grant Avenue, north of the Northeast Airport. Burholme begins at Tyson Avenue which is roughly three miles south. continue reading »

A pup gets groomed at Kristine Johnson's Parkwood-based grooming business. Photo from Kristine Johnson.

Kristine Johnson, a Parkwood resident, is no stranger to hard work. She currently works two jobs: one a sales job for Verizon in Exton and the other as a part-time dog groomer from a dog salon she currently runs from her house, Pampered Pups Grooming Salon.

“The goal is to get it so I can do this full-time and get a storefront somewhere,” she said.

When coming back from her day job, Johnson takes clients during the nights or the weekends, making for little free time. But she’s determined to build her client base and follow her dream.

“When I first started, I just told all of my friends. And they started telling all their friends and so on. Right now, I have about 60 clients. If I want to be doing this full-time I need about 500,” she said. ”I’ve always loved animals. I have two dogs and a cat [that] I own and I volunteer at Animal Control. I have two foster kittens from there that I’m working on getting homes for right now. I would always take my dogs to the groomers and think, ‘I’d really love to do this.’” continue reading »

The Liberty Bell Youth Organization named its new gym after slain police Sgt. Patrick McDonald. Photo by Stephen Schultz.

The Liberty Bell Youth Organization Friday celebrated the grand opening of its gym, but the Far Northeast athletic association was also marking another occasion.

Officially named the Sgt. Patrick McDonald Memorial Gym, the facility honors the slain police officer who was killed on the job three years ago Friday. continue reading »

Q: Finding the right home in the Far Northeast has been very nerve wracking. I started looking in March and have found at least three homes I wanted to buy. But each time I wanted to make an offer on one, it was already under contract. My agent says I need to be quicker making decisions. Exactly how long after you see a home do you have to make the offer?

A: Nobody knows exactly. It’s a mystery how much time you have from the moment you walk out of a house for sale to the moment it receives an offer from someone else. You could see a house on Wednesday morning that could be sold on Wednesday night. Or you could see a house in November that doesn’t sell until June. continue reading »

Q: I am the landlord of a duplex in the Far Northeast. I have a tenant moving out who only paid $500 a month in rent for the last nine years. I want to raise the rent for the next tenant but I am not sure how much to charge. What’s fair rent these days for two bedroom apartments?

A: How much you’ll be able to fetch for rent depends on size, condition and how many bedrooms and bathrooms. Location will also play a big role in how much tenants are willing to pay for a duplex. Rents vary throughout the Northeast and even across the Far Northeast. continue reading »

Q: I would like to buy a good duplex in the Far Northeast. I plan on living on one floor, and renting out the other to cover half my mortgage. How much will I have to spend to find something?

A: With almost 50 duplexes for sale in the Far Northeast, there is plenty of inventory to choose from. However, since you want to live there and use the rent from a tenant to help you pay your mortgage, your two hurdles will be: continue reading »

Q: I am thinking of selling my house this year, and a real estate agent left me a flyer saying now is the best time to sell. Will the $8,000 First-time Buyer Tax Credit really help me sell my house this spring? Or is this guy full of it?

A: It’s always busier in the spring in Philadelphia real estate. But this year, big tax credits hinge on buyers getting into sale contracts by April 30, 2010. They have until July 1, 2010 to close the sale. continue reading »

The real estate market held its own in Northeast Philadelphia last year as home prices and sales dipped in most neighborhoods, somewhat due to many foreclosures. But it looks like the market may be close to leveling off.

The average Northeast home listed for $173,000 in 2009 before selling at the average price of $161,500, dropping slightly from $166,400 in 2008. The number of sales also went down with just 3,073 homes sold compared to 3,161 in 2008. The average number of days on the market was 65 in 2009 — not much different than 64 in 2008.* continue reading »

Incumbent Democratic candidate for city controller addresses the Parkwod Civic Association.

Parkwood Civic Association President Mike Hatala got right down to business at last night’s meeting, leading with the Pledge of Allegiance, then calling up the group’s guest: incumbent Democratic city controller candidate Alan Butkovitz.

Butkovitz will face off against Republican candidate Al Schmidt in the Nov. 3 election. The Democrat first addressed what he said have been  the three focal points of his past year as city controller:

• spending time looking at failures in service
• emphasizing money and viability as an important role in the city’s collection of funds
• being an independent voice in analyzing Mayor Nutter’s budget and financial plans

Continue reading for a recap of the rest of meeting, more from Butkovitz and a numerical break down of the city’s finances. continue reading »

The streets are silent, but the kids are busy

The streets in my Far Northeast neighborhood are quiet… too quiet. Now that I spend my days working from the comfort of my own computer, I am more aware of what happens on our block. The papers are delivered at 6:30 a.m. During the school year, the various buses arrive promptly at their designated times. The letter carrier arrives at our doorstep at 11 a.m.   continue reading »