Growing up in Philadelphia

Nostalgia makes everything look a little better. As a young boy growing up with modest means (to put it mildly), there wasn't a lot of money available for entertainment. And growing up in the city, I don;t have any stories about hunting or fishing or exploring underground caves.

Luckily, when I was really little, I could, for 50 cents, go the Benner movie theater, pay 25 cents to get in and have 15 cents left for a bag of popcorn and 10 cents for a box of candy (both much smaller then they would be today). Of course the day of those neighborhood theaters has long gone, with the closing last year of what was a new movie when I was young.

When I got old enough to leave the neighborhood myself, the city of Philadelphia was a source of lots of adventures. And if you were creative it didn't cost a whole lot. In fact , a pretty good day could cost less then $1.50

In those days you got a transfer at that would allow you to change buses for free. Every time you got on a bus you asked, and you received. You could then use that to get on another bus, and with proper planning, you could take travel around the entire city for one fare.

In my case I would take the 59 trackless trolley (this is actually a photo of the place where I got on - with the Bushrod Library in the background) down to the Frankford El . For a snack you could buy a soft pretzel for 5 cents (or 6 for a quarter) and then you boarded the train and you were on your way to Center City . In Philadelphia, we don't talk about downtown, we talk about Center City - downtown was what people in South Philly called their neighborhood when they didn't call it South Philly.

I got off at 5th Street, and had choice of places to visit. I could go to Independence Hall National Park , and from there it was short walk to Betsy Ross's House, or Ben Franklin's House, or down to 13th Street to buy 13 coverless paperback book's from Robin's Bookstore . And City Hall, the Free Library, or the Art Museum were always worth a trip. In any case, Center City Philly was a terrific place to wander around, filled with sights and smells that dazzled the young mind.

Still holding a transfer, when it was time to go home, I would get on the Broad Street Subway and take it north to the Fern Rock Station where I took the "Y" Bus (no longer in service) to Castor and Cottman and caught the 59 going south to go back home.

All in all a pretty good day - and all those paperbacks - not a bad way to build your library when you're young.

REALTOR Code of Ethics - Article 1, Part 1

A Little while ago I told you I would be posting the Video series published by NAR on the REALTOR Code of Ethics.
One of the oldest Codes of Ethics in the United States, the Code is a living document which breakes the obligations of REALTORS into three categories, Duties to Clients, Duties to the Public, and Duties to Other REALTORS.
This Video explains the First obligation of a REALTOR - the obligation of a professional to their Client

Short Sales & Foreclosures in Philadelphia

During any market, good or bad, people look for bargains. In the current market, there is a lot of curiosity and interest by consumers in the difference between foreclosures ,pre-foreclosure properties and short sales.

Strictly speaking, every property is a pre-foreclosure property. The term however is used to indicate a home where the homeowner is in default under the current mortgage, and the next step for the lender might be to begin the foreclosure process. Once a lender begins the foreclosure process, they have taken steps to secure the property which was pledged as security for a debt which is now delinquent. In Pennsylvania, this process culminates in a Sheriff Sale. At the Sheriff Sale, the bank will bid an amount equal to the debt, the delinquent interest, the late fees and all of the costs incurred taking the property to the sale. If there is a third party who bids a higher amount, they will be the purchaser at the sale. The amount bid by the lender is not related to the market price of the property, but to the outstanding debt. Once the lender owns the property, they will evict any tenants (or former owners) and then price the property at a market price and begin to market the property.

Short Sales were formerly fairly rare, but with a higher level of delinquencies, have now become a portion of the real estate market. The actual of a short sale is a sale where title has transferred; where the sales price was insufficient to pay the total of all liens and costs of sale; and where the seller did not bring sufficient liquid assets to the closing to cure all deficiencies. As you can see, this is a situation where settlement has already occurred. More properly, what most buyers get involved with is a potential short sale, which is one where the listing (and/or selling) agent reasonably believes the purchase price may not be enough to cover payment of all liens and costs of sale and the seller is unwilling or unable to bring sufficient liquid assets to the closing.

These sales require a buyer with a lot of patience, a cooperative seller, and a listing agent with a lot of persistence since the process involves not only the agreement of the seller, but the approval of the lender, who is probably receiving less then the amount they are owed. Approval of a short slae by a lender may involve not only the primary lender, but possibly approval for other individuals who have an interest in the original mortgage loan, or possible releases from lenders who hold junior liens (liens that were recorded after the first delinquent loan). In the current market, many lenders are more responsive and more flexible then formerly, but the process still varies from lender to lender, and approval times can be anywhere from two weeks to as much as 4 or 6 weeks.

While I might not avoid a property that was a potential short sale, I would, as I said before, be prepared to be very patient, and to determine prior to making any offer, just how ready I was to wait as long as it takes to get an answer.

REALTORS and Department of Justice Stop Litigation

In a huge announcement today, the Department of Justice and the National Association of REALTORS came to an agreement which ended the DOJ's persecution of the real estate industry.

The protracted three year battle ended up being a sort of non-event, since REALTORS will still be doing business the way they have for years, benefiting consumers and competing on a large and varied field.

I had the privilege of breaking the news on AgentGenius earlier today! Still won't double post though, so read it here!

People Count More than Advertising

Growing up in Northeast Philadelphia, people always used the business in the neighborhood. Everyone know that Mickey Callan's dad Lou Calinoff made great pizza, and every 10th one was free. People talked about the Pepper Hash at Lenny's Hot Dogs, and their friends went there to try it. You knew that Nate at Nate's deli was a little abrupt, but you didn't have the wait you had a the Castor Deli.

In those pre-franchise days, where there were few national companies, every one's insurance agent, lawyer, tax man (accountant), and real estate agent was some body's friend, and that was how you knew then and why you used them. Today its a little harder. And advertising isn't the same as knowing someone or getting a referral from a friend.

So social media comes to the rescue. People get to meet on-line and become friends, trading information and making referrals. Recently a friend of mine, Paul Chaney was on Twitter and posted a link to an article called "Ads Versus the Consumer Voice- Who wins?". The thrust of the article was that people really haven't changed, but the media they use to communicate has.

Today, waiting to get home to Philly in a condo in Los Angeles, I see a link posted by a man in Lafayette Louisiana , written by a man in England that I want to share with people in Philadelphia.And the information travels around the world and across the country in less then 20 minutes from start to finish. Amazing technological advance isn't it? And yet it all leads back to the same thing people have done for years, rely upon other consumers experience to make their commercial choices. Recommend someone today- bet both people will appreciate it.