Harleysville-Lansdale Real Estate and More: October 2009

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Wordless Wednesday - Fall Foliage on the Perkiomen Trail.

The benefit of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage is very simply in the money you can save due to the lower interest rates offered with these mortgage products.  That’s not to say that there aren’t risks involved with an ARM as there are many varieties of ARMs with varying degrees of risk.  However, an appropriate ARM for an appropriate borrower will balance that risk to an acceptable level and still provide a nice financial reward.

By way of example, here is my own experience with the savings produced by selecting an ARM.  My current mortgage is a 7-year ARM and I am 6+ years into it (74 months actually).  At the time that I took out this mortgage, the prevailing rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan was about 5.0%.  By taking the Adjustable Rate Mortgage, I was able to get a rate of 4.125% (with no points) and I originally mortgaged $217,000.  Now, all the necessary figures have been provided to generate the comparison below.

As I am about to refinance and payoff this current mortgage, I look back happily on my decision to use an Adjustable Rate Mortgage as it saved me $8,378 in payments to date.  I also have to factor in that, even with the lower monthly payments, the ARM actually paid off $3,168 more in principal than the fixed rate mortgage would have.  That brings my total savings to $11,546.  Of course, I’m now in the position of refinancing which costs money that I would not have had to pay if I just had a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.  Those costs are about $2,200 (Pennsylvania is among the highest in the nation when it comes to title insurance costs).  So, I still saved $9,346 by going with the ARM.

As for my new mortgage, I was tempted to go with a 30-year fixed rate this time around.  But on a recent dip in mortgage rates, the spread (or difference) between the 30-year fixed rate mortgages and a 5-year ARM was about 1% again.  Where I live (in Lansdale PA) I was able to get a 5-year Adjustable Rate Mortgage at and attractive 3.75%.  My plan is to keep the same payment as my current mortgage with the difference being applied to pay down the principal more quickly.

This is just one illustration of how using the correct Adjustable Rate Mortgage can save a significant amount of money for the borrower.  There are certain scenarios and certain borrowers for which an ARM is not the right mortgage product.  Conversely, I often see buyers considering a 30-year fixed rate mortgage when it absolutely makes more sense for them to use an ARM (i.e. a buyer who knows they’re only going to be in the home for a few years). 

The bottom line is that a borrower should really educate themselves about the different mortgage products available and carefully weigh the risks and rewards of each one.   Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages are very attractive right now, but you could literally and unnecessarily be giving away thousands of dollars to the bank by only considering this type of mortgage.

To use a handy Mortgage Calculator Click Here.

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. The Benefit of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage.

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 to buy or sell a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Wordless Wednesday - Fatherhood.

Montgomery County PA Home Prices and Home Sales through September 2009. The streak of declining prices continues, but shows encouraging signs of slowing.  Montgomery County homes prices have fallen for 22 consecutive months as of the end of September.  The average price of a home fell to $300,715 this past September versus an average of $306,100 in September, 2008; just a 1.8% decrease.  If you’re looking for positive signs in the real estate market, you have to see this as a potential sign of a bottoming in home prices.

On another positive and related note, the number of home sales rose sharply in September.  The number of residential home sales in Montgomery County increased to 702 units this past September from 637 units last September; better than a 10% increase.

Many factors can play into the results for a given month.  For example, the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is currently set expire at the end of November.  This looming deadline has certainly had (and will have) an impact on the number of sales in the months leading up to that deadline.  If Congress extends and/or expands this tax credit (which they are currently debating), we would probably see a continuation of more positive numbers in the housing markets.  If the tax credit simply expires, we could see some reversal of the recent positive indications.  The general state of the economy also has an enormous impact on the real estate markets (and vice versa).  While we’ve seen some signs of improvement in the overall economy, it seems quite fragile and any deterioration there would weigh negatively on our real estate market.  So, we forge ahead and look for a trend to become clearer as the months go by.  I’ll continue to monitor the real estate market in Montgomery County and post these market reports on a monthly basis.

If you’re a home buyer, there are a few things for sure.  From your point of reference, home prices have slid back pretty nicely from an all time high average of approximately $368,000 in 2007.  If you combine the current price discount with the very attractive interest rates available right now (near 5.0% for 30-year fixed and near 4.0% for 5-year ARM’s), you have some pretty compelling reasons to consider a purchase.  You also have to realize that nobody will truly be able to tell when the market has hit a bottom until they can take a look several months back and say, “Oh, that was it.”

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 to buy or sell a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Montgomery County PA Home Prices and Home Sale - September 2009.

I felt the need to re-blog this post because a lower radon threshold is something that all buyers, sellers, and homeowners in general should be aware of.  This will certainly have an impact on many real estate transactions in Montgomery County going forward, but knowledge can minimize those impacts.  As Erica points out, the current EPA Action level remains at 4.0 pCi/L, but look for a reduction to 2.7 pCi/L in the future.  Also, the costs that Erica gives for radon testing and remediation are consistent in Montgomery County as well.

-Scott

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 to buy or sell a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Wordless Wednesday - Testing the Waters.

Looking for something fun to do this October?  Philadelphia and the surrounding suburban counties host some of the Top Halloween Haunts in the country.  Consistently ranked in the Top 13 are the Bates Motel in Chester County, Shocktoberfest in Lancaster County, and Terror Behind the Walls in downtown Philadelphia.  In addition, you can have a very scary time at Scream Mountain and Scare Brothers, both located in Montgomery County, PA.

Scream Mountain is Montgomery County’s newest haunted attraction.  Located at Spring Mountain Ski Area in Schwenksville, PA, Scream Mountain has a haunted ski lodge and haunted hayride.  Legend says that years ago, miners and their families who lived and worked at the mountain were murdered while they slept by arsonists.  The burned victims still haunt the grounds looking to exact revenge on anyone who sets foot on the mountain. 

For those who suffer from claustrophobia, they may not make it through the entrance passageway in the haunted ski lodge.  Once inside, there are all kinds of fun, scary and gory surprises awaiting the brave visitors including a room that has no way out!  After the ski lodge, visitors board the hayride that takes you up through mountain’s wooded trails.  Again many surprises will be found throughout the 20 minute ride.

For the true thrill seekers, you can also experience Nighttime Vertigo which is a zip-lining/canopy tour through the darkness of the haunted woods.  Tickets for Nighttime Vertigo are sold separately and reservations are a must.

There really is no better way to spend a cool October evening than to get in the spirit of Halloween and enjoy a good harmless scaring!  Once you get home, be sure to light a fire, make s’mores and tell ghost stories!

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Scream Mountain at Spring Mountain
Scream Mountain features a Haunted Hayride, Ski Lodge and Nighttime Vertigo
Dates:  October 2-4, 9-11, 16-31
Cost & Times:  Peak (October 16-17, 23-24, 29-31 - $30), Non Peak ($22 for adult, $20 for 12 & under), Tickets for Nighttime Vertigo are sold separately at $69 each
Location:  Spring Mountain Ski Area, 757 Spring Mount Rd, Schwenksville, PA  19473
Website:  www.SpringMountainAdventures.com/screammountain.php

 
Scare Brothers
Scare Brothers features the House of 1,000 Zombies which includes Claustrophobia, Dungeon of Darkness, The Circus of Fear, and The Haunted Nightmare
Dates:  October 2-3, 9-11 16-18, 22-25, 29-31
Cost & Times:  Fridays & Saturdays ($25 for adult, $18 for 12 & under, 7pm-midnight), Sundays & Thursdays ($25 for adult, $18 for 12 & under, 7pm-10pm)
Location:  354 S. Warminster Road Hatboro PA 19040 (Inside Station Park Business Center)
Website:  www.ScareBrothers.com

 
Bates Motel
Consistently ranked in the Top 10 haunted attractions in the U.S, the Bates Motel features a Haunted House, Hayride, and Corn Maze
Dates:  October 2-4, 9-31
Cost & Times:  Fridays & Saturdays ($40, 6:30pm-10:30), Weeknights ($30 for adult, $25 for 12 & under, 6:30pm-9:30pm)
Location:  1835 Middletown Road (Rte. 352), Glen Mills, PA  19342
Website:  www.TheBatesMotel.com

 
Shocktoberfest
Often ranked in the Top 13 haunted attractions in the U.S., Shocktoberfest features Toxic Asylum, Biohazard Hayride with Saw Kill, and Prison of the Dead
Dates: October 2-4, 9-11, 15-18, 22-25, 29-31 and November 1
Cost & Times: Fridays & Saturdays ($34, 7pm-10pm), Sundays & Thursdays ($34, 7pm-9pm)
Location: 94 Park Avenue, Sinking Spring, PA 19608
Website: www.Shocktoberfest.com

Terror Behind The Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary
Often ranked in the Top 13 haunted attractions in the U.S., Terror Behind the Walls features Intake, Lock Down, Infirmary, Night Watch, Yard Out, and The Experiment
Dates:  October 2-4, 9-11, 14-18, 20-25, 27-31 and November 1, 6-7
Cost & Times:  Saturdays ($30, 7pm-midnight), Fridays & Sundays ($25, 7pm-11pm), Weeknights ($20, 7pm-11pm)
Location:  22^nd Street and Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia
Website: www.EasternState.org/Halloween

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What’s So Great About Montgomery County PA?  Tops for Halloween Haunts.

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 to buy or sell a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.  WSGA Montgomery County PA: Tops for Halloween Haunts.