Harleysville-Lansdale Real Estate and More: May 2009

If you live in the Harleysville or Lansdale areas of Montgomery County, PA and are looking for some summer fun at the local parks, you won't have to look far.  There are several parks in this area that offer numerous amenities to please the whole family.  As a parent of young children in this community, I've had the opportunity to visit many of the parks and two of our family favorites are described below.

Fischer's Park, Towamencin Township (2225 Bustard Road, Lansdale, PA 19446).  As Towamencin Township's largest park, this is a nature lover's haven.  Covering over 77 acres of wooded land, this park is especially popular with my twin boys, Jack and Andrew.  The park boasts 3 miles of walking trails.  Some of the trails are paved, others are gravel, and some even venture into the forest.  The trails are great for walking and biking, but if you go, bring sturdy shoes or a mountain bike.  The park claims fame to one of Lansdale's most beautiful scenes- the Towamencin Creek runs through the property and over a scenic waterfall.  If you're lucky, you'll catch glimpse of some of the parks stunning resident swans.  This area of the park is very popular with both the children splashing in the shallow waters of the creek and with the area fishermen.  Every year the park hosts a Fishing Derby and also a Phillies Home Run Derby on one of the few Connie Mack baseball fields in Towamencin Township.  

If you enjoy music and the arts, you'll find plenty of opportunities to enjoy them at the Arneth Entertainment Center.  This outdoor amphitheater is host to numerous performances throughout the summer, whether it be movies under the stars, music concerts or plays put on by local artists.  Hungry?  Bring your appetite and a picnic lunch to enjoy under one of the parks many covered pavilions.  Charcoal grills are present on the property and the pavilions may be reserved for gatherings.  Finally, there are very clean bathroom facilities for use, so no need to worry about the little ones!  Learn more about this great park by visiting www.towamencin.org.

Parkside Place  (1 Parkside Place, North Wales, PA 19454).  If you have young children, this park will definitely provide great entertainment this summer!  Probably the most popular attraction is the park's towering climbing castle, slide and playground aptly know as ParkSci Playground.  This adventurous playground was built by hundreds of community volunteers in 1995 and has been a popular spot with young and old alike ever since. Parkside Place is also a popular walking spot, with half mile loops of flat, paved trails.  The park also has numerous lighted tennis courts and basketball courts for the sports enthusiasts and is also home to Upper Gywnedd Township's community pool.  Parkside Place also has an outdoor ampitheater that hosts summer concerts.

Forgot your picnic basket, but want to enjoy lunch or dinner at one of the numerous picnic tables in the park?  Not a problem, as you can enjoy a great lunch or dinner by visiting the Parkside Deli, open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  They serve everything from tasty pulled pork sandwiches and fries to more flavors of popsicles and treats then you can count.  The deli also has clean and convenient restroom facilities nearby.  For more information on this great addition to the suburban Philadelphia area, visit www.uppergwynedd.org.

So if you are already lucky enough to live in Montgomery County, PA or are planning to purchase a home in this beautiful area, you won't be disappointed with the parks and recreation services.  For a full list of other parks to visit this summer, check out the website:  www.parks.montcopa.org.

Copyright © 2009, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved. Lansdale Area Parks and Recreation - Things To Do - Free Summer Fun in Montgomery County, PA

What is a Short Sale?

A short sale occurs when the sales price of a property is too low to pay off the mortgage balance(s) and all other necessary selling expenses (closing costs, other liens or judgments, etc). In this case, a lender may agree to accept less than what they are owed to allow the sale to proceed. Although there are exceptions, lenders will usually require some proof of a financial hardship before agreeing to discount the outstanding mortgage balance. There are also many other criteria that lenders consider in the decision to approve a short sale and that approval must be received for a sale to occur. Approvals are usually obtained by communicating and negotiating with a bank's loss mitigation department. If approved, the lender receives the proceeds from the short sale. Although the sellers receive no proceeds, they are usually relieved of at least a sizable portion (and many times all) of the mortgage debt.

What is Foreclosure?

A short sale is not foreclosure. In fact, a short sale is a means to prevent foreclosure. In Pennsylvania, foreclosure is the legal process that banks must follow in order to have a property sold at a Sheriff’s Sale to recoup the debt owed to them by a defaulting borrower. The Sheriff’s sale is the ending event of the foreclosure process and often takes 4 months or more from the initial filing of a foreclosure complaint by the lender. Because of the legal fees, filing fees, Sheriff’s fees, and months of accruing mortgage interest, foreclosure is a very expensive process for the lender. In many cases, a bank would rather take a smaller loss via a short sale rather than risk an even greater loss after foreclosure. This is especially true if a short sale can be completed before foreclosure is initiated and foreclosure costs start to accumulate onto the debt owed to the bank.

If you are a home buyer interested in purchasing short sales, foreclosures, or other distressed properties, click here to search for these specific properties.

If you are facing financial difficulty, would like to avoid foreclosure, and would like to consider a short sale, Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for assistance in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania.

Q.  How much money do I need to buy a home?  

A.  Typically, home buyers need about 6-7% of the purchase price to buy a home plus whatever down payment they choose to make on the home they are buying.  For example, assume you want to buy a $200K home and put 5% down.  The down payment is $10K plus expect another ~$13K in closing costs which totals $23K.

Closing costs typically include:

• Mortgage Fees ~2.25%
• Tax Escrows ~1.5%
• Transfer Tax ~1.0%
• Miscellaneous* ~0.5-1.0%
• Title Insurance ~0.75%

*Miscellaneous fees include the costs of the home inspections, recording fees, conveyancing fees, and tax reimbursements to the seller. 

In this scenario and assuming a conventional mortgage with a rate of 4.75% over 30 years, your mortgage balance is $195K and the total monthly payment would be $1,244.54.  This includes $991 for principal and interest, $212 for real estate taxes, and $42 for homeowners insurance. 

There is another way to structure this purchase that will require less money at closing.  An FHA (Federal Housing Authority) loan will allow for as little as 3.5% down.  So if you offer $210K and ask the seller to pay $10K in closing costs (seller assist), you will only need ~$7,500 in cash to close. 

Assuming the same mortgage rate (4.75%) over 30 years, your mortgage balance would be $206K and the total monthly payment would be $1,421.89.  This includes $1,076 for principal and interest, $212 for real estate taxes, $42 for homeowners insurance, and $93 for mortgage insurance. 

The key with using a seller assist is that the appraisal done by the lender must support the higher selling price ($210K in this case, not the $200K net selling price). 

Now is a great time for home buyers.  Home prices have come down, interest rates are still at historical lows, and the government is offering the first time home buyer tax credit of $8,000.

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.

Join us for the Harleysville Country Days Parade on Saturday, May 23rd.  Re/Max Realty Group will host an open house from 10am-1pm that day.  There will be food and activities for the kids (moon bounce, mini golf).  The parade starts at 11am and marches right past our office.

We'd love to see you there!

439 Main Street, Harleysville PA  19438

According to a National Association of Realtors^® survey conducted in March, "first-time buyers accounted for 53% of transactions".  First-time buyers are definitely boosting the real estate market in Montgomery County PA.  For homes in the County priced from $200,000 to $300,000 (largely a first-time buyer market segment in our area), the number of homes pended in April increased by 18% from the Q1 monthly average and 63% from the dismal monthly average for November through January.

While this is welcome improvement, Montgomery County's April pending home sales for this price range are still down by 30% and 24% versus the same month in 2007 and 2008, respectively.  So, we still have a ways to go, but are headed in the right direction.  By comparison, April's pending sales for homes priced above $400,000 (not typically first-time buyers) remain down by 57% and 52% versus the same month in 2007 and 2008, respectively.  Like most areas of the country, our upper prices ranges continue to struggle quite a bit more.

Not burdened with another property that must be sold, first-time buyers enjoy an advantage that makes them very attractive to would-be sellers.  Combined with lower home prices and historically low interest rates, these reasons alone provide plenty of incentive for a buyer to enter the real estate market.  However, first-time buyers overwhelmingly cite the $8,000 tax credit as a significant motivator in their decision to buy.

From personal experience, seven of my last eight transactions all involved a first-time buyer; most specifically mentioned the tax credit as a factor in their decision to buy.  From a Realtor's^® perspective, the above are all reasons to welcome this market segment into one's business plan.  More than any other market segment, they're the ones who are willing and able to buy a home right now.  As an added reason, I also find that they are more eager to listen, learn, and benefit from the experience and knowledge of a good Realtor^®.

- 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.