C21AGVoices

Buyers are returning to the housing market. Each month, The National Association of REALTORS® tracks homes under contract to sell, but whose closing has not yet happened.  It calls them “pending sales” and publishes a monthly report to quantify them.  The Pending Home Sales report is important because it’s meant to predict future home sales activity.  […]

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Photo courtesy of Creativecommons.org I’m from a smaller town in North Eastern PA that in the fall is abundant with haunted hayrides, harvest festivals, and some of the best foliage in the state. To get a little dose of home I did some research to see what Philadelphia had to offer this time of year. […]

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In this 4-minute video, turf grass specialist Carmen Magro demonstrates the proper way to prepare your lawn for Spring.  His tips include: How to seed “worn down” areas of a lawn How to control thatch to promote a healthy lawn How to fertilize a lawn without “overdoing it” The Fall season is one of the […]

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As household budgets get pinched and credit markets tighten, a growing number of Americans are making “hardship withdrawals” from their 401(k) plans. One major fund group cites a 15 percent increase in activity from this time last year for various reasons including staving off foreclosure and medical emergency. However, 401(k) loans should only be made with careful […]

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In an effort to provide “the most market support possible”, Fannie Mae is cutting one of its mandatory loan fees by 0.250 percent, effective immediately. Fannie Mae introduced the Adverse Market Delivery Charge in December 2007 to offset foreclosure and delinquency losses.  The initial fee was a quarter-percent of the amount borrowed.  Then, as market conditions worsened, […]

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Photo courtesy of Creativecommons.org Whether your are moving, collecting, selling or rummaging Craigslist.org is the best place to find new and used goods on the net. Craigs is the online version of your newspaper’s classified section. You can find a job, a pet, furniture, a car, and even a date. When I first moved to Philadelphia I […]

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When functioning properly, gutters can extend the life of a home. By directing water away from the physical structure, gutters protect a home’s foundation, its siding, and its landscaping. The key to reliable gutter performance is simple — keep them clean.  Twice annually, experts recommend a thorough gutter cleaning and the project can be a […]

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Earlier this year — and for the first time in its history — the FHA changed its funding fees and mortgage insurance structure. Effective October 1, 2008, it’s repealing those changes. Partly to keep FHA home loans affordable, and partly to comply with new laws, the FHA is rolling back its up-front fees and ongoing mortgage […]

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I attended the Phillies game last night and had the misfortune of sitting next to a Red Sox fan named Phil for 9 innings. I was there confident that this will be the season to cure our 100+ season Championship drought (since the Sixers 1983 Championship, the four major professional sports teams have played over […]

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I’m thinking about this now, because I am considering whether to make a move from Glenside to Mt. Airy.  Even though Glenside is a nice town, and I love the Glenside Farmer’s Market, there is not much else holding me here.  Mt. Airy, on the other hand, has the Weaver’s Way Co-op, multiple farmer’s markets, […]

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