Welcome home to this lovely spacious 2 Story Twin on a desirable block in Bells Corner.
Modern and spacious living room, separate dining room, and a full eat-in kitchen with exit to a new deck for outdoor entertaining, compliments this home.
Other Features of this home:
Additional Powder Room on 1st Floor
Neutral wall to wall carpeting throughout
New Central Heating and Air
Finished Basement w/ separate laundry area & exit to rear outdoor concrete space
Areas of specialty include: Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kensington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !
Stephanie Somers takes you on a Sneak Peak Tour of the new Remax Office in Northern Liberties.
As you can see there's lots still happening in our new office space on the 5th floor of The Rialto Building, as we prepare to make our official move into this amazing location in Northern Liberties.
Top agents and consumers will love being surrounded by an incredible array of gastro pubs, fine restaurants and casual fooderies as well as shopping, galleries, boutiques, and entertainment. Parking is free and abundant so we hope you'll stop by to see the Somers Team on your next trip to Philadelphia.
So grab your ticket and come along with me as I take you on your sneak peak tour of the new Remax Office at 1033 N 2nd Street, 5th floor in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia.
Areas of specialty include: Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kensington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !
Remax Affiliates, soon to be Remax Access, is moving to Northern Liberties !
Any day now we'll be in our new space on the 5th floor with its great views of all of Philadelphia at The Rialto Building, a 7 story all glass professional building. It is part of the Piazza project, an area surrounded by an incredible array of gastro pubs, fine restaurants and casual fooderies as well as shopping, galleries, boutiques, and entertainment.
The excitement is building amongst our staff and clients who all love our more centralized location which will allow us to serve a great portion of the Riverfront Community as well as serving the Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery real estate markets.
Here's Chris from his new office space saying hello and welcoming you to see the amazing views from the Remax office space of the Rialto Building inNorthern Liberties:
Areas of specialty include: Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kensington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !
Here are a couple of things that Stephanie and I were thinking about this week:
1. Smartphone revolution- I switched from a Blackberry to a Palm Pre this past weekend to have a touch screen. I have not been super happy with my blackberry, plus my wife Stephanie has been very happy with her Palm. These gadgets are just amazing. I think soon everyone (outside of business professionals) will have smartphones. So if you agree, own some Apple (APPL), Research in Motion (RIMM) or Palm (PALM) in your portfolio (disclosure - we own PALM) and I am sure we own the others in various mutual funds.
2. Toll Brothers - Did the recent news that Toll Brothers announced suggest that the end of the housing market has come and gone ? Their press release is worth reading - you can read it here .
3. Lawrence Yun at NAR - 2010 forecast - Wow !!!! See it here: 2010 Sales to Rise 15 percent . I think most Realtors will really like what he is saying about Realtors incomes for 2010. I am bullish on the economy and the housing market in 2010 but think his forecast is too optimistic.
4. Lesson Learned - "Fear is fueled by lack of knowledge, and only by facing that fear can you overcome that fear." Stephanie Somers
For the longest time we have been putting off buying a music system for ourselves. Music happens to be something that we both enjoy very much and is extremely therapeutic, whether we listen to punk rock or a classical composer that we do not understand. Thus, we finally went and bought something that we will enjoy for our home. But the fear of all the technology involved was really a deterrent for us. We sucked it up, we bought it, we got tangled up in instructions, freaked out several times, but we made it through. The fear is behind us and have a future of musical bliss ! HARD WORK ALWAYS PAYS OFF !
5. Expertise- In order to be an expert at something, you need to have many many hours of experience. It takes a long long time to be an expert. We agree with Malcolm Gladwell, author of "Outliers" where he talks about the most successful folks that become experts at something put in about 10,000 hours into that. That seems to be the common denominator ! Is a lot of hours but so be it !
Please comment on what your thoughts are in regards to these items or please share your own random thoughts from your week !
This Condo, in the heart of Northern Liberties, has over 1400 sq feet of living space. There is 8 years left on the 10 year tax abatement, 1 car off street deeded parking, and easy street parking.
The master bedroom suite has a master bath with 20' high ceilings, painted brick, a formal vanity space, and exposed timber beams.
The main gathering room is enormous with 20' tall ceilings and 20' high timber beams.
The original brick has been white washed and offers a perfect background for art, decorative textile, or hanging sculpture.
There is also a 2nd floor loft level w/ a bedroom suite including a full bath with washer and dryer.
Areas of specialty include: Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kensington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !
This 1 bedroom 1 bath Loft Style Condo offers 1 car covered garage parking. The property is a warehouse conversion with 4 units. This unit is on the 2nd floor rear of the building.
There is an open and modern layout, exposed beams and duct work and hardwood floors.
Enjoy preparing your favorite meal in this kitchen with its beautiful granite, stainless steel appliances with a breakfast bar, gas cooking, dishwasher, microwave and disposal. There is space for a dining area that is open to the main living space.
The bedroom loft area overlooks the living room. The bedroom has amazing closet space and offers enough square footage for a huge bed and several pieces of furniture to create a sitting area or work space.
Areas of specialty include: Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kensington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !
RE/MAX Chief Executive Officer, Margaret Kelly, talks about the government's extension/expansion of the first-time homebuyer tax credit. Certain existing homeowners can now qualify for the credit and homebuyers have until April 30, 2010 to put a contract on a house.
If you need further assistance in understanding how this homebuyer tax credit applies to you or need assistance in locating a new home please contact the Somers Team today - we look forward to hearing from you.
Areas of specialty include: Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kensington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !
Each week I will start to post some random thoughts related to both the national real estate market and our local Philadelphia real estate market in addition to related thoughts about the economy, investing and so forth.
October flurry- I met with Jim Makara today on a home inspection in Old Kensington. Jim mentioned that October was his best month EVER for home inspections. He did 57 of them !! Wow ! This was more for Jim than any given month even in the heyday in 2004 and 2005. On a side note, Jim is one of the best home inspectors in the Philadelphia area. His company is Countywide Home Inspections .
Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension- I do not expect the extension to have a huge lift on the market November through January. In fact, expect these months to be slow, maybe even VERY slow. For the most part, I think that every first time homebuyer that wanted to purchase a property DID. It will take a few months to gear this back up again which could make for a very busy spring. Hear that sellers ?? Have your property on the market in January and February. For more info on the credit, see this wonderful blog by Loreeno Yeo:
Investors left out ? - I still wonder why there are no incentives for investors for non-owner occupant properties. These are the ones that we need real stimulus as the financing is the hardest to procure !
Realtor.com - It appears that Realtor.com is fading fast. If you did not see the action in MOVE this week, I would check it out. (MOVE is the publicly traded company that owns and operates Realtor.com) MOVE got clobbered on a weak quarter as well as a sluggish forecast. The value of enhanced listings on Realtor.com is not nearly as valuable as it used to be. I am glad we decided to focus on other areas of the Internet for our Internet Marketing.
Investment Idea- There are many regional banks that are not carrying the bad loans... they have strong balance sheets and super management. These banks will benefit dramatically from all the other banks that are going out of business courtesy of the FDIC. Spot them out in you area and consider making an investment in them. These stocks could easily double or triple in the next couple of years. Jim Cramer wrote about this as well in "Getting Back to Even".
Customer Service- If you are a bank doing a REFI for a local Realtor, by all means give that Realtor customer service in terms of returning calls or emails. Otherwise, you just lost a great referral source. This happened to me recently. It was frustrating, but I just took my business to a different bank. Not just my REFI business, but all of the accounts of our main office / business as well. And guess where those future referrals will be going ?
Short Sales- I get at least one call a week from companies wanting to negotiate the whole short sale deal (saying I do not have to do anything) and of course they would be the buyer. Every time I say I am not interested. How can I tell my seller "Oh by the way, I know you hired me, but now I am going to have some third-party company negotiate your short sale for you. Basically what they are trying to do is defraud your lender into giving them a great deal and bribe me to do both sides of the commission as well as the resale of the property". Just watch, we will be hearing more about this subject in the future.
Please comment or elaborate on any or all of these thoughts !
One of my favourite bloggers on Active Rain, Loreena Yeo, put together this great blog on the new Home Buyer Tax Credit that breaks down all the specifics.
Jan 1 – November 30, 2009 Rules as enacted February 2009
December 1 – April 30, 2010 Rules as enacted November 2009
First-time Buyer – Amount of Credit
$8000 ($4000 married filing separate)
$8000 ($4000 married filing separate)
First-time Buyer – Definition for Eligibility
May not have had an interest in a principal residence for 3 years prior to purchase
-Same-
Current Homeowner – Amount of Credit
No Provision
$6500 ($3250 married filing separate)
Effective Date – Current Owner
No Provision
Date of Enactment
Current Homeowner – Definition for Eligibility
No Provision
Must have used the home sold or being sold as a principal residence consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years
Current Homeowner – Home Purchase Price
N/A
There is no provision that the "repeat" homebuyer must purchase a property more expensive than the one sold. Only that the home purchase must be less than $800K.
Termination of Credit
Purchases after November 30, 2009.(Becomes April 30, 2010 on Date of Enactment.)
Purchases after April 30, 2010
Binding Contract Rule
None
Written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close
Income Limits
$75,000 – single, $150,000 – married, Additional $20,000 phase out
$125,000 – single, $225,000 – married, Additional $20,000 phase out
Limitation on Cost of Purchased Home
None
$800,000
Purchase by a Dependent
No Provision
Ineligible
Antifraud Rule
None
Purchaser must attach documentation of purchase to tax return
Purchase by a Dependent
There was no age limitation on the original bill and amended for the November Tax Credit. Taxpayer must be at least 18 years old to qualify for the credit. For married taxpayers, the taxpayer shall be treated as meeting the age requirement if the taxpayer or spouse meets the age requirement.
Repeat Buyers
There is no criteria that home buyers must "move up" in house. Only that they
lived in the house for the past 5 out of 8 years as a primary residence. The new
purchase price must not exceed $800,000.
Super-serving Frisco, Plano, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Little Elm, Prosper, Celina, Richardson, Dallas M-Streets, Dallas White Rock Lake area communities and other surrounding areas.
Instead of re-inventing the wheel regarding the tax credit extension, am reblogging a featured post on Active Rain about it. What I like about it is that one has to be under contract by April 30 instead of settling by April 30. I think this should bode well for the spring market.
Since she wrote this, the President did sign this bill so it is official. There is a lot of debate over the tax credit. The good news is that it is REAL stimulus. I still think it should be open to all buyers and there should be some sort of incentive for investors, but that is another story. At least for now, the housing market did receive the necessary extension and expansion of the the Home Buyer Tax Credit !
The much-anticipated extension to the home buyer tax credit has finally been approved. The Senate's vote yesterday resulted in a 98-0 win and today it was passed in the house. The bill now moves to the President's desk for a final signature.
First-time home buyers have been eligible for tax credits of up to $8,000 since last January as part of this year's economic stimulus package. The newly backed program will expand the credit to include existing home owners.
Under the revised program, those who have owned a home for at least five years will be able to apply for tax credits of up to $6,500 when they purchase their next home. To qualify, buyers will have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30.
The maximum purchase price on a home will be $800,000 with vacation homes not eligible. Income limitations are $125,000 for single tax payers and $225,000 for joint filers.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) have been lobbying hard for the extension and expansion of the tax credit. NAR claims that so far, about 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the program and they estimated that 350,000 of these buyers would not have otherwise purchased.
The tax credit is also set to be extended for another year for military personnel serving outside of the United States until June 30, 2011.
Senator Johnny Isakson, who heavily pushed for the extension, along with his own version that would have increased the credit to $15,000 stated, "This is probably the last extension."
But, is this really true? When April 2010 comes around and the housing market is still not in full recovery mode, will the politicians be able to let this go and actually come to an end, or could it possibly become a more permanent subsidy?
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Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
screen. I have not been super happy with my blackberry, plus my wife Stephanie has been very happy with her Palm. These gadgets are just amazing. I think soon everyone (outside of business professionals) will have smartphones. So if you agree, own some Apple (APPL), Research in Motion (RIMM) or Palm (PALM) in your portfolio (disclosure - we own PALM) and I am sure we own the others in various mutual funds.
his best month EVER for home inspections. He did 57 of them !! Wow ! This was more for Jim than any given month even in the heyday in 2004 and 2005. On a side note, Jim is one of the best home inspectors in the Philadelphia area. His company is 
The much-anticipated extension to the home buyer tax credit has finally been approved. The Senate's vote yesterday resulted in a 98-0 win and today it was passed in the house. The bill now moves to the President's desk for a final signature. 
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