Weekend Events in Bucks County. May 3-5
Peddler’s Village is having their annual Strawberry Festival on Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5 from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm. Enjoy strawberry treats such as shortcake, fritters, jams and jellies, strawberry butter and of course chocolate-covered strawberries! There will be a pie-eating contest, stiltwalkers, banjo players, Got Strings Youth Orchestra, pony rides and more. Peddler’s Village is located in Lahaska at routes 202 & 263.
Join the Roxy Reading Therapy Dogs in Doylestown on Saturday, May 4 from 9:00 am until 11:30 am for “Strut Your Mutt with Roxy”. Walkers may walk with or without their own dogs, participate in the Derby Parade, take part in the Hat Contest, and have fun while helping to raise money for literacy throughout Bucks County. You may register online in advance or at the event. Check in at 9:00 am at Fanny Chapman Park on Boro Mill Hill Road in Doylestown.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |Events this week in Bucks County. April 8 – April 12
This is the last week to enjoy the handicraft of many local quilters throughout our area. Peddler’s Village has hosted it’s annual quilt competition and display since January 14th, and the display will end this Wednesday, April 14th. If you have not had the opportunity yet to admire the talents of many throughout our area, I encourage you to visit Peddler’s Village soon!
Flemington, NJ Restaurant Week will be taking place from April 7th through April 13th, and benefits many restaurants throughout the area. All participating restaurants or bakeries will donate a percentage of their profits to the Flemington BID Scholarship Fund, which in turn assists two Hunterdon Central graduating seniors (one male and one female) with college expenses. Those seniors have already identified business as their college major.
Willow Wellness and Chiropractic Care of Doylestown is hosting a free seminar on Wednesday, April 10 starting at 7:00 pm. They will introduce you to all-natural ways to help coughs, upset stomachs, fevers, infections and more through the use of oils and chiropractic care.
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a new home in 2013.
There are a lot of great homes in Yardley, Newtown and all of Bucks County
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |Spring real estate market in Yardley & Newtown, Bucks County
If you live in the Yardley, Newtown area, you know that March was a cold, cold month. Looks like we are finally going to get some nice spring weather, this weekend.
It is hard to believe, how the Yardley, Newtown area real estate market turned around, at the start of the year. Since January, it seems as though few people want to sell, and many people want to buy. I have had listings in Yardley, specifically Yardley Estates, as well as listings in Newtown, that have sold in days, often with multiple offers, and in several cases, at prices above the asking price.
I suspect, that this will be an extremely busy real estate weekend. As an example of what is happening in the market right now, I will be showing a buyer houses in the Newtown area, at prices up to about 750,000. We have about 5 houses to look at, which is an incredibly low number of homes, given the price range we are looking at.
Because of the lack of inventory of homes, buyers really have to alter their perspective on the home buying process. After about 5 years of conditions that heavily favor sellers, buyers who are not prepared properly, will lose homes to those buyers who have taken time to adjust to current market conditions. It is a good time to review steps that buyers can take to put themselves in the best possible position.
First, I would suggest that buyers speak with a lender, and actually get approved for a mortgage as an early step in the home buying process. When a buyer makes an offer with an actual mortgage approval, rather than just the standard pre-approval letter, it will put the buyer in a much stronger, competitive position. It is really important that buyers get their financial picture in order, so that they can structure an offer that is as strong as possible.
Next, I think buyers need to make sure that they are realistic in their expectations about the market and pricing. While real estate prices in Yardley, Newtown and throughout Bucks County, have not recovered fully, it is clear that we are back in an appreciating market. For homes that are priced correctly, given location, condition, etc., the probability is that offers will come quickly, and they will be pretty close to the asking price. After many years of buyers achieving discounts from the asking price of 6 to 10%, homes with realistic asking prices will sell now sell quickly. Motivated buyers will need to adjust their thought process.
Finally, I think that buyers will need to re-adjust their thinking, so that if they are motivated to buy, they will need to be prepared to make much faster decisions, than what buyers have been accustomed to. It does not mean that buyers shouldn’t make well thought out, and informed decisions, it just means that they will need to be prepared to move quickly in order to have an opportunity to purchase well priced, new listings.
It is still a great time to buy a house in Yardley, Newtown, or anywhere in Bucks County. Prices are still considerably lower than they were at the height of the market, and interest rates are still at historic lows.
For sellers, if you are thinking of putting your house on the market, it is a great time to speak with me, so that I can show you how to get the highest possible price for your home, in a real estate market that is seriously lacking in houses for sale. We have not heard that in a long, long time! I can be reached at 215-519-1399 or email Marty@MartinMillner.com
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |Shadow Inventory
Definition of ‘Shadow Inventory’
A term that refers to real estate properties that are either in foreclosure and have not yet been sold or homes that owners are delaying putting on the market until prices improve. Shadow inventory can create uncertainty about the best time to sell (for owners) and when a local market can expect full recovery. Also, shadow inventory typically causes reported data on housing inventory to understate the actual number of inventory in the market.
Investopedia explains ‘Shadow Inventory’
With the unprecedented number of foreclosures stemming from the subprime mortgage meltdown of 2007-2008 and the overall housing market collapse during that crisis, lenders were left with significant real estate holdings. Many lenders were slow to put their inventory up for sale for fear of flooding the market and further driving down prices, which would in turn lower their potential ROI.
The utterance of the term “shadow inventory” can conjure up fear, uncertainty and mystery about the future of the housing market.
First coined to describe the volume of lender-repossessed properties that haven’t yet reached the market as REOs (bank-owned listings), the term has been expanded by some to include homes in a foreclosure process and even those with delinquent loans that haven’t yet entered the foreclosure process.
These various definitions have added to the confusion about its potential threat to the housing market and economy as a whole.
One of the great economic success stories of 2012 was that the housing market finally found a bottom, and even began to show signs of a nascent recovery. But even as positive data on the real estate market began to trickle in early last year, not everyone was convinced. The main reason for skepticism were millions of homes that had not yet hit the market, but probably would soon — either because they were already inforeclosure or because the homeowners were so far behind on payments that foreclosures were imminent. These properties, which last year were estimated to range anywhere from 3 million to 10 million in number, were dubbed the “shadow inventory” of homes.
The reason the shadow inventory was thought to be bad news for the housing market was that when these homes finally did go up for sale, they would overwhelm the demand for housing, which had slowed in recent years due to the poor economy and sluggish population growth. But a recent report from analytics firm CoreLogic says that the shadow inventory as of October 2012 has fallen to 2.3 million, a 12.3% drop year-over-year. In other words, this catalog of homes has been reduced significantly without the detrimental effect on nationwide home prices that some had feared. So what happened, and why has the dreaded shadow inventory not yet sunk the convalescent U.S. housing market? I asked Sam Khater, Deputy Chief Economist at CoreLogic, and he outlined three key reasons:
Investors Got in on the Game
The housing recovery was prevented for so long in part because of tight credit standards and because so many homeowners owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth. This left many homeowners unable to take advantage of increasingly cheap prices. But by 2012, home prices had fell so far that it became lucrative for investors — either investment vehicles like real estate investment trusts or individual investors looking to earn extra income as landlords — to snap up real estate at historically low prices. Khater says the speed and enthusiasm with which investors bought these properties was a bit of a surprise, and one of the main reasons why the market was able to work off a significant chunk of shadow inventory without it depressing home prices.
Lenders Ramped Up Principal Forgiveness
When a homeowner cannot repay his mortgage, mortgage lenders often end up losing a lot of money even after they repossesses and resell the home. Homes sold after foreclosure sell for a deep discount, and going through foreclosure proceedings is very costly for banks as they must continue to pay taxes and upkeep costs while the process unfolds. So modifying a delinquent loan so the borrowers can remain in the home, even if it means forgiving principal, can sometimes make sense for all parties involved.
The problem is that the securitization of home loans, whereby loans are pooled and sliced up into different payment “tranches,” or bundles, made it so that there wasn’t one specific investor who could decide to modify a loan. And the fight over who would bear the losses when a mortgage was modified prevented much modification from happening at all.
Beginning with the $25 billion mortgage settlement between the nation’s largest mortgage servicers and states attorneys general, however, the tide began to shift a bit. Banks have been forced, because of the terms of that settlement, to engage in principal-reducing mortgage modifications, which have helped keep homeowners out of foreclosure and, thereby, their homes off the market. According to a recent report from the OCC the share of loan modifications made by servicers in the third quarter of 2012 that include principal reduction have risen 110.6% when compared to the similar period in 2011.
Many Homeowners Remain Underwater
Even with the improving housing market, many homeowners remain underwater. Paradoxically, this has buttressed the housing market of late, as it keeps these homeowners from putting their property on the market. These homeowners being locked out of the market, combined with avid interest from investors in cheap residential real estate, has led to the amount of homes for sale being historically very low. And when supply is restrained, prices go up. As prices rise, more homeowners will get out from their underwater mortgages. “This dynamic will unlock some borrowers, but it won’t lead to a flood of new homes on the market,” Khater says. “It’ll be more of a slight opening of the spigot.”
All this goes to show that predicting the movement of large, complex markets like housing can be difficult even for experts who make a living doing just that. A year ago, many smart people took a look at the inventory waiting on the sidelines, and couldn’t imagine the market being able to absorb it. The fact that lenders are more aggressively modifying mortgages and a new investor class has stepped up to take advantage of cheap prices shows that even the savviest of analysts can be caught off guard by new trends.
The number of homes in “shadow inventory” dropped from 2.6 million in October 2011 to 2.3 million in October 2012, according to a new report from CoreLogic.
Shadow inventory refers to the supply of homes that are in foreclosure or have seriously delinquent mortgages but are not yet on the market.
Many housing experts once predicted that the shadow inventory would cause overall inventories to skyrocket and place downward pressure on home prices. Yet an increase in short sales and loan modifications have helped to lessen the impact, analysts say.
“The size of the shadow inventory continues to shrink from peak levels in terms of numbers of units and the dollars they represent,” says Anand Nallathambi, president of CoreLogic. “We expect a gradual and progressive contraction in the shadow inventory in 2013 as investors continue to snap up foreclosed and REO properties and the broader recovery in housing market fundamentals takes hold.”
A new report from CoreLogic shows that the shadow inventory of homes fell 12.3 percent in October from a year ago.
Also known as pending supply, shadow inventory represents the houses that are intended for sale but aren’t yet on the market.
There are 2.3 million units in the shadows, which represent a seven month supply.
“The size of the shadow inventory continues to shrink from peak levels in terms of numbers of units and the dollars they represent,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “We expect a gradual and progressive contraction in the shadow inventory in 2013 as investors continue to snap up foreclosed and REO properties and the broader recovery in housing market fundamentals takes hold.”
Here are some key points from the report.
- As of October 2012, shadow inventory fell to 2.3 million units, or seven months’ supply, and represented 85 percent of the 2.7 million properties currently seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or in REO.
- Of the 2.3 million properties currently in the shadow inventory (Figures 1 and 2), 1.04 million units are seriously delinquent (3.3 months’ supply), 903,000 are in some stage of foreclosure (2.8 months’ supply) and 354,000 are already in REO (1.1 months’ supply).
- As of October 2012, the dollar volume of shadow inventory was $376 billion, down from $399 billion a year ago.
- Over the three months ending in October 2012, serious delinquencies, which are the main driver of the shadow inventory, declined the most in Arizona (13.3 percent), California (9.7 percent), Michigan (6.8 percent), Colorado (6.8 percent) and Wyoming (5.9 percent).
- As of October 2012, Florida, California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey make up 45 percent of the 2.7 million properties that are seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or in REO. In October 2011, these same states made up 51.3 percent of all the distressed mortgages that were at least 90 days delinquent, in foreclosure or REO.
Weekend Events in Bucks County. March 15th – 17th
Sugarloaf Crafts Festival
Lovers of fine crafts and art will find more than250 top artisans displaying and selling their unique creations in pottery, sculpture, glass, jewelry, fashion, home décor, furniture and home accessories, items for the garden, and photography.
Date and Time: Friday, Saturday, Sunday March 15th – 17th Friday and Saturday 10:00am – 6:00pm , Sunday 10:00am – 5:00pm
Location: Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, 100 Station Ave. Oaks, PA 19456
Cost: Adult Admission (At The Door) $10
Admission Good ALL Three Days!
Children Under 12 Free
St. PATRICKS Weekend Celebration
St. Patricks Day and start Spring on a greennote. Live music both days , 1 to 5 pm.. Wine tastings and other items available for purchase. Case discounts available.
Date and Time: Saturday and Sunday, March 16th and 17th, 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Location: Crossing Vineyards 1853 Wrightstown Rd., Washington Crossing, PA
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Irish Fest
Free event for the whole family! Join us starting at noon for a day filled with Irish Music, Irish Food, and of course Irish Beer! Music: Hobnail 12:00pm-8:00pm, Free The Lawsuits 10:00pm Food: Corned Beef Shepherd’s Pie Lamb Stew Cheddar Stout Fondue (Regular menu also available) Beer: Irish Dry Stout |
Date and Time: Saturday March 16th, 12:00pm – Close
Location: Triumph Brewing Company, 400 Union Square, New Hope, PA 18938
Cost: $5 cover starts at 9:00pm
New Hope and Lambertville Restaurant Week
The Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce has announced the fourth annual New Hope & Lambertville Restaurant Week scheduled for Sunday, March 17 through Friday, March 22, 2013. This year, 22 restaurants will participate in the week, long promotion of either a fine dining. $29.95 prix-fixe dinner or $19.95 prix-fixe dinner.
Date and Time: Starts Sunday March 17th March 16th
Location: Participating Restaurants
Cost: $29.95 prix-fixe dinner or $19.95 prix-fixe dinner.
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a new home in 2013.
There are a lot of great homes in Yardley, Newtown and all of Bucks County.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |
What to do when an appraisal comes in too low
With the recent uncertainty and shifts in the real estate market, REALTORS® are experiencing sale contracts that are falling out of escrow due to appraisals that come in below the agreed upon purchase price.
Low appraisals are not necessarily wrong, but it does create a situation in which the lender might not approve the loan. The appraiser is merely comparing the value of a certain home with other comparable properties in the area.
Lenders will only fund a mortgage up to a certain percentage of the appraised value of the home. If the appraisal comes in low, the parties to the transaction must come up with a solution to the problem.
So, what are your options when this happens?
- Appeal errors or bad comps to the appraiser. Maybe they miscounted bedrooms or under reported square footage. If you find errors, or feel like there are more recent, better comps, work with your agent to send the correct information and the applicable comps, to your lender, who can then relay the information to the appraiser.
- Come up with more cash than you had originally planned to bridge the difference, or you can work with the seller to split the difference.
- Renegotiate the purchase price. A low appraisal is a disappointment for everyone, and assuming there are no glaring errors in the appraisal, it might be in the best interest of the seller to bring the purchase price down. If this sale falls through, and the appraisal was correct, the next deal that comes in front of the seller will most likely result in a similar appraisal. He reality being that the value of the home is less than the agreed upon price for the home.
- Change lenders. Your new lender may have the ability to get your transaction a fresh start or find a way to work around a low appraisal.
- If all of the above solutions do not work, then you may just have to walk away from the deal.
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a new home in 2013.
There are a lot of great homes in Yardley, Newtown and all of Bucks County.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |Weekend Events in Bucks County. March 8th – 10th
The Irish Rovers – The Beginning of the Long Goodbye Tour
The internationally-acclaimed, long-time Irish folk stars begin what will evolve into their final tour after a lifetime of ‘roving’ – experience them now, while you still can!
Date and Time: Friday March 8th, 7:30pm
Location: Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, PA 19038
Cost: $29.50 and $35.00
Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame Bus Trip
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a place to honor the game. When it opened on June 12, 1939 in Cooperstown, N.Y., the Hall of Fame officially became the home of baseball by serving as its cornerstone and housing the stories honoring the greats of baseball’s past. With over 38,000 three-dimensional artifacts in the Hall of Fame’s collection, each visitor can get a glimpse of what makes baseball special to them.
Date and Time: Saturday March 9th, 6:30am – 10:30pm
Location: Doylestown Parks and Rec. 425 Wells Road, Doylestown, PA 18901. Meet between 6-6:15 am Central Park Tennis Courts Parking Lot.
Cost: $74 Adult (18-64 yrs)
$67 Junior/Senior (13-17 & 65+)
$55 Child (12 & under)
Country legends The Oak Ridge Boys string of hits include the platinum chart topper Elvira plus the number ones Bobbie Sue, American Made, I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes, Fancy Free, Touch A Hand, Make A Friend and Gonna Take A Lot Of Riverfrom ten gold, three platinum and one double platinum albums!
Date and Time: Sunday March 10th, 2 shows – 3:00pm and 7:30pm
Location: Sellersville Theatre, 24 West Temple Ave, Sellersville PA 18960
Cost: $39.50 and $50.00
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a new home in 2013.
There are a lot of great homes in Yardley, Newtown and all of Bucks County.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |
Buying HUD Homes
HUD (Housing and Urban Development) is the federal agency that takes responsibility for FHA backed loans that go wrong… A HUD home is a 1-4 unit residential property acquired by HUD when a loan backed by FHA, goes into foreclosure.
Here are some specifics about the process of buying a HUD home:
- HUD becomes the property owner and offers the home for sale to recover the loss on the foreclosure claim.
- HUD homes are appraised and then priced at fair market value for their area. The homes are sold “as is”, but the price has generally been adjusted down to reflect repairs that the homeowner will have to make.
- HUD homes are sold using a bidding process. There is an offer period, during which, sealed bids are accepted from your agent. Once the offer period closes, all bids are opened, and HUD will generally accept the highest bid, or the bid that brings them the highest net.
- If your bid is accepted, your agent will be notified within a couple of days. You will be given a settlement date – usually 30-60 days from the date of the accepted contract.
- If no one makes an offer for a HUD home within a certain amount of time, HUD will lower the price. The price will continue to drop until an offer is made and accepted.
So, what is the best way to safely purchase a HUD home?
- Find the right real estate agent. Only agents who are registered with HUD may represent home buyers and investors in the purchase of a HUD home. The best way to track down the right agent is to go through the website that lists HUD homes in your area, and determine which agent has the most winning bids.
- Be sure to inspect the property before making an offer. The listing agent has access to the property and can show it to you.
- Make an offer based on the process above
- Get your financing in order so you can close in a timely fashion. It could be as soon as 30 days from acceptance date. It would really be in your best interest to secure financing before you make an offer.
Weekend Events in Bucks County. March 1st – 3rd
Weekend Events in Bucks County. March 1st – 3rd
Kids Night Out
Want to get out for a night on the town? Or maybe just a quiet evening? Let the kids have their night so you can have yours. This program is modeled after our popular climbing camp program. It will keep kids engaged in climbing and adventure based activities throughout the evening.
Date and Time: Friday March 1st, 6:00pm – 9:00pm (Drop off and pick-up anytime in between)
Location: Doylestown Rock Gym, 3853 Old Easton Rd, Doylestown, PA 18901
Cost: $35 per child ($20 for DRG Members); $15 per sibling
- Ages 5 -12
- Pizza and all climbing equipment included
Cordus Mundi & Bel Canto Childrens Chorus in Doylestown Concert
Cordus Mundi will be singing a collaborative concert with Bel Canto Children’s Chorus (Joy Hirokawa, director) considered by many to be the best children’s choir in a several county area. Both Cordus and Bel Canto will sing separate sets, and the two groups will then join together for a group of combined SATB pieces conducted by each of the groups’ directors.
Date and Time: Saturday March 2nd, 7:30pm
Location: St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 301 N. Main St.,, Doylestown, PA 18901
Cost: $15, with children under 12 admitted at no charge.
| Volunteer Work Day |
Help us maintain our grounds! Wear clothes you don’t mind getting wet and/or dirty, and bring your own water bottle to refill. We hold this event rain or shine. Give us 4 hours and we’ll give you lunch!
If you’re interested, call Jenn to pre-register (215-785-1177 x14). Meet in the auditorium to sign in, get breakfast, and be assigned a task.
Date and Time: Saturday March 2nd, 9:00am – 2:00pm
Location: Silver Lake Nature Center, 1306 Bath Rd, Bristol, PA 19007
Maple Sugar Festival
Crisp and cold! The sap is running! join us as we travel to the “sugar bush” to collect some sweet sap to bring back to the kettle. We will discuss the historic significance of maple sugar in America as well as the methods used for processing this sweet treat. Sharing this bounty of the forest is an experience not to be missed. Tasty Maple Treats available for purchase.
Date and Time: Saturday March 2nd, 11:00am – 1:30pm
Location: Peace Valley Nature Center, 170 N. Chapman Road, Doylestown, PA 18901
Cost: NO FEE for program, no pre-registration needed.
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a new home in 2013.
There are a lot of great homes in Yardley, Newtown and all of Bucks County.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |
Weekend Events in Bucks County. February 22nd – 24th
Weekend Events in Bucks County. February 22nd – 24th
Pairing Wine and Dessert
Event Manager Kate Sielski will warm up your winter with a special class filled with tips on how to pair wine and desserts. Includes instruction, wine tasting and assorted sweets.
Date and Time: Friday, February 22nd, 7:00pm
Location: Crossing Vineyards. 1853 Wrightstown Road, Washington Crossing PA 18940
Cost: $40 per person.
Monthly Outdoor Flea Market
Monthly flea market-to be held the 4th Saturday of each month.
Residence and business owners are welcome to sell their old and new “Stuff”
Call or email: Colleen at 215-295-1139 x 102. colleens@snipesfarm.org
Date and Time: Saturday, February 23rd, 8:00am – 11:30am
Location: 890 W Bridge St, Morrisville, PA 19067
38th Bucks County Designer House Empty House Party
Love the “Before & After” photos in decorator magazines? Can’t seem to get enough home makeovers on HGTV? Then you owe it to yourself to attend the anxiously anticipated 38th Bucks County Designer House & Gardens Empty House Party, the ultimate “Before!” Stroll the grounds, explore the empty house and meet the Design Team as they share their elaborate plans to transform this expansive, stately manor house. Enjoy light fare, decadent desserts, a copious candy bar and wine and soft drinks. Bid on items in our silent auction donated by designers, restaurants and local businesses; participate in our raffles. Tour the “After” from April 28 – May 26.
Date and Time: Sunday, February 24th, 2:00pm – 6:00pm
Location: 360 Old Dublin Pike, Doylestown, PA 18901
Cost: $25 in advance – $30 at the door
Bucks County Symphony Orchestra Winter Concert
The Concert will consist of two works: 1. Mozart; Coronation Mass,K.317 Central Bucks High School Symphonic Choral, Cynthia E.Young, Director Maria Aleda, Soprano 2. Mahler: Symphony No.4 in G Major, Maria Aleda, Soprano
Date and Time: Sunday February 24th, 3:00pm
Location: Central Bucks South High School, 1100 Folly Rd, Warrington, PA 18976
Cost: Soprano $18.00 each – advance sale $20.00 – at door, $15.00 each - Seniors, Students – free
Feel free to contact me if you are looking for a new home in 2013.
There are a lot of great homes in Yardley, Newtown and all of Bucks County.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |Chat With Marty