HBA Newswatch
February 29, 2008
LAND DEAL LOSES GROUND
COATESVILLE’S PLAN TO SELL PROPERTY TO WEST BRANDWYINE HITS A SNAG
By R. JONATHAN TULEYA, Staff Writer
COATESVILLE — The city is seeking a new buyer for its 66-acre property in West Brandywine because a $1.27 million deal to sell it to the township is crumbling, a city official said this week.
The transaction between the neighboring municipalities took what could prove to be a crushing blow earlier this month when the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources denied West Brandywine’s grant application for more than $355,000 that would have been used to buy the site.
Known as the Conti property after its former owners, the land is in the northwest corner of routes 82 and 340. Coatesville acquired it several years ago as part of a failed plan to develop a municipal golf course and training complex.
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STATE OFFICIAL: PA. ADJUSTABLE-RATE MORTGAGE HOLDERS TAKE ACTION
HARRISBURG — About one-eighth of the nearly 200,000 Pennsylvania families with adjustable-rate mortgages will have their loans reset this year, with an additional 15,000 resetting in 2009, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Secretary of Banking Steve Kaplan is urging Pennsylvania these homeowners to take action before their loans become unaffordable.
“One of the most common mistakes made by homeowners who fall behind on their mortgages is not talking to their lender,” Kaplan said. “It is absolutely critical that borrowers take the time now to determine if their payments are going to rise and whether they’ll be able to meet the new obligation. In many cases, the lenders want to avoid foreclosure as much as the homeowners.
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SAY GOOD-BYE TO GRANITE COUNTERTOPS
High-end kitchen and bath renovations just aren't boosting a home's value the way they used to. Sellers who succumbed to home over-improvement syndrome are feeling the pain.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The granite countertop's glory days might be over.
During the housing boom, updating a kitchen with high end materials like cherry wood cabinets and a Viking stove was a sure bet to boost a home's value. Homeowners often recovered about 80% of the cost when the house was later sold.
But with so much more inventory on the market for buyers to choose from, they just aren't as impressed with the bells and whistles. Now most upscale renovations are returning less than 70% of their cost, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Remodeling magazine.
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