Archives for February 2013

Wallingford Elementary Hosting 2013 Summer Recreation Program

February 28, 2013 by admin

Wallingford Elementary School Hosting Township's 2013 Recreation Program

Wallingford Elementary To Be Site Of Township’s 2013 Summer Recreation Program

Nether Providence Township Commissioner Larry Baker announced that there will be a change of venue for the township’s 2013 summer recreation program.

Due to the upcoming Nether Providence Elemenatary School renovations that are scheduled to begin in March or April the popular summer recreation program will be held at Wallingford Elementary School this summer.

News regarding registration for the summer program will be posted as it becomes available. Last year over two hundred children took part in the program which runs from late June to the end of July.

Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

PHFA Offers 2.95% Mortgages To First Time Home Buyers

February 26, 2013 by admin

PHFA Offers Below Rate Mortgages To 1st Time Buyers

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) through it’s Keystone Home Loan Program, is offering below market mortgages to first time home buyers in Pennsylvania.

The current 30 year fixed rate for first time buyers using the Keystone Home Loan Program stands at 2.95%, which is almost 1% lower than the prevailing rate. The cost for a $100,000 mortgage at the PHFA rate would be $418.91 as opposed to $465.96 at a market rate of 3.8% – cheap money even cheaper!

The program does impose income and purchase price limits on potential buyers, but they are not too stringent. For example a 1 or 2 member household can earn up to $97,800, and purchase a home in Delaware County up to $387,000. The Keystone Home Loan Program is summarized on the agency’s web site.

Weichert Financial is a a PHFA participating lender, and Steve Madonna is available at 610- 566-2045 to answer any questions regarding this money saving program for first time home buyers.

Steve and I would also like to offer first time home buyers $500 toward their closing costs for choosing Weichert and Weichert Financial!

Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Buyer Appointments Up Sharply In 2013

February 23, 2013 by admin

Showings Are On The Rise In 2013

TREND, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that serves the Philadelphia metropolitan area, reports that online appointments rose over 30% in January 2013 when compared to January 2012, despite a 13.5% drop in regional housing inventory.

TREND figures also report that on average homes on the market in January 2013 saw slightly less than 2.5 appointments during the month. Last year average appointment activity for the month was approximately 1.2 visits.

This encouraging data is another indicator that the demand for housing in the region is on the rise. Coupled with lower inventory levels, increased buyer appointments, and decreasing Days On Market, indicates that the Spring market has begun.

In Delaware County January settlements are 12.02% higher and Pending sales are up 25.82% when compared to last year.

Wallingford PA Real Estate Wallingford, PA 19086

The Attack Of The Zombie Title

February 23, 2013 by admin

Wallingford Real Estate - wallingford PA = Zombie Mortgage

Lenders Double As As A Supernatural Force In Zombie Titles

Imagine you have gone through the nightmare of foreclosure on your home. You have moved out of the home after receiving notice of foreclosure and thinking the bank is now the owner. Sometime later you are again haunted by the spectre of documents asserting that you are still the owner of the home, and that you are responsible for back taxes and fees, even bills for municipal services, and you do not live in the home!

How can this happen?

Add the term zombie title to the growing list of ominous real estate terminology.

Title is the legal document that assigns ownership and responsibility of a piece of real estate to a rightful owner. In the case of a zombie title the lender who foreclosed on a property either through legal delays, or by choice, fails to take title to the property, thus avoiding the costs and responsibilities of ownership of the home. In this title limbo there seem to be no repercussions for the lender that initiated the foreclosure, but plenty of legal and financial challenges for the home owner.

The zombie title will continue to hang over the owner’s head until the lender, at it’s discretion, decides to finalize the process by taking title to the home.

It would seem to make sense to impose guidelines so that homeowners know whether or not their home is going to be sold. If a lender schedules an auction, sheriff’s sale, or another kind of foreclosure sale, that lender should be required to finish the process within a set amount of time. Whatever that timeline is, it should be clear to the homeowner that they will not be subject to financial and legal hassles without end.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Foreclosure – Judicial Vs Non-Judicial

February 19, 2013 by admin

Wallingford PA Real Estate - Wallingford PA Judicial Vs Non Judicial Foreclosure

Pennsylvania Is A Judicial Foreclosure State

News released last week reported that foreclosure filings nationwide fell to their lowest level since 2007, and were down 28% from January 2012. The number of reported filings was reported at just over 154,000, drastically off the high water mark of 357,000 in March 2010. Florida took over the number one spot, as nearly 1 in every 300 homes in the Sunshine state are in foreclosure.

Each individual state determines the process in which foreclosures will be handled. There are two types of foreclosures are known as judicial and non-judicial foreclosure. Under both systems time frames and terms can vary greatly from state to state. The following is a review of the two different foreclosure procedures.

Judicial Foreclosure

A judicial foreclosure is a court supervised process that starts with a lender filing a complaint against the borrower and recording notice in the public record that they are placing a claim on the property. This complaint is legally known as Lis Pendens, the Latin word for “a suit pending”. The complaint details the amount of debt, the borrower’s default on the debt, and the amount owed. The court is asked to allow the lender to foreclose on the home and take possession of the property as a remedy for the borrower’s non payment.

The home owner is served notice of the complaint and is permitted to dispute the claim and present counter claims that payments were not made. If the court determines that the borrower has a valid claim a trail is held to determine if the foreclosure should occur. However in the vast majority of cases the lender’s foreclosure action is undisputed since the borrower is in default and can not offer any facts to the contrary.

If the court determines that the borrower did default, and that the debt is valid, a judgement is issued in favor of the lender for the total amount owed including court costs. The court will establish the total amount owed based upon an affidavit from the lender itemizing the amount due.

The court will authorize a sheriff’s sale of the property, which is an auction of the property which must be held in public. Procedures for sheriff sales vary from state to state, but the property will be sold to the highest bidder. In most cases the lender is the highest bidder for the property and they take title and then are able to sell the home. At this point the home becomes a real estate owned (REO) property.

Pennsylvania is among the 22 states in the country that use the judicial foreclosure process.

Non-Judicial Foreclosure

The requirements for non-judicial foreclosure are established by state stature with no court supervision, and vary greatly from state to state. The lender informs the borrower that they are in default and typically a Notice of Default is recorded. The home owner may cure the debt within a mandated period. If the debt can not be satisfied in the specified time frame the lender records a Notice Of Sale. The timing issuance of the notices vary from state to state.This notice is generally also published in area newspapers and legal publications. After the notice time has expired the property goes to public auction and as in the case of judicial foreclosure, the property is sold to the highest bidder.

This process is typically must faster than in states that conduct judicial foreclosures.

Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Archives for February 2013

Judicial Foreclosure

Non-Judicial Foreclosure

S. Clark Kendus