HBA Newswatch
February 14, 2008
FAMOUS BUILDING OWNERS LOOK TO RENT
POOR HOUSING MARKET CITED AS REASON BEHIND DECISION TO ALTER SELLING PLANS
By R. JONATHAN TULEYA, Staff Writer
COATESVILLE — The owners of the recently-emptied Famous Building on the 300 block of East Lincoln Highway said this week that they still intend to renovate the building and sell it off as condominiums.
But first, at least some of the rehabbed units, likely will be rented as apartments.
Ray McCool, a partner in the West Chester-based McCool Properties with his two sons, said the project has become a victim of the lagging real estate market. “The building is sitting there empty now, so we have to go forward,” McCool said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “To go forward we’ve made the business decision to rent … If they don’t sell, we will rent what is not sold. We can’t just sit on an empty building there.”
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CHESCO FORECLOSURES BUCK TREND
By Sarah E. Moran, Special to The Mercury
Foreclosures in the Philadelphia region — and Chester County in particular — fell between 2006 and 2007, a national study revealed Wednesday.
According to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., mortgage research company, foreclosures in the five-county Philadelphia area fell 32.1 percent from 2006 to 2007, to 16,246.
In Chester County, the number of foreclosures between 2006 and 2007 fell even more, by 43.4 percent, or from 424 properties in default during 2006 to 240 last year.
Foreclosure allows a lender to recover what a homeowner owes on a defaulted mortgage loan by either selling or taking ownership of the foreclosed property. A loan is usually considered in default when a homeowner is 30 or more days late in making a monthly mortgage payment.
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ECONOMIC STIMULUS NOW LAW
Rebates will be in the mail come May
By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — President Bush signed legislation on Wednesday to send $300 to $1,200 rebate checks to millions of Americans as a "booster shot" for the economy.
Rebates are to go out beginning in May to taxpayers and low-income people, including seniors living off of Social Security and veterans who depend on disability checks. Businesses would get tax breaks for investing in new plants and equipment.
"I know a lot of Americans are concerned about our economic future," Bush said. "Our overall economy has grown for six straight years, but that growth has clearly slowed."
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NO DECISION FOR BLOOMINGDALE AVE. HOUSES YET
Workshop planned to discuss Wayne special-use concept
By Rachel Perry
The Radnor Commissioners voted in favor of remanding to the HARB (Historical Architectural Review Board) the application for a “certificate of appropriateness” to demolish two Bloomingdale Avenue house and replace them with five new single-family ones.
The commissioners said that one of the main things that needs to be discussed is the financial impact of the project.
Giving the HARB more time to review the project — although it has already recommended that the certificate be denied — will “make your job much easier,” township solicitor David Blake told the commissioners.
Another weighty item was the announcement of a public workshop on Saturday, March 1 at 10 a.m., held in the Radnor Township Municipal Building. The workshop, presented by Keating Construction Co., will give an outline of the company’s concept to redevelop a special-use area in Wayne Business Overlay District.
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