HBA Newswatch
March 28, 2008
DEVELOPER TAKES SLAPP SHOTS AT PENNSBURY AND ITS RESIDENTS
Do you know what a SLAPP lawsuit is? Pennsbury residents are learning. SLAPP suits are alive and thriving in Pennsbury Township. A SLAPP suit is an acronym for a "Strategic Law Suit Against Public Participation." In such a suit, a developer sues an organization or an individual in an attempt to intimidate the defendant into dropping a protest against the developer's proposed initiative. SLAPP suits typically involve the environment-for example, local residents who petition to change zoning laws to prevent a real estate development might be sued in a SLAPP suit for interference with the developer's business interests.
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SELLERS RELY ON MARKETING SAVVY, INCENTIVES IN TOUGH CLIMATE
By Rachel Koning Beals
CHICAGO -- Curious home buyers filing through a renovated five-bedroom mid-century ranch in North Caldwell, N.J., on a recent weekend could be heard gushing over the home's condition.
Some ventured to call the $799,000 listing "immaculate" and "pristine," lingering inside and outdoors long enough to get a sense of home life in this kid-friendly, upscale New York suburb, recalled Phyllis Pezenik, an agent who attended the high-traffic open house.
Positive buzz, owed to some elbow grease and a good dose of reality from these owners and their agent, is just what's needed to sell homes in all price ranges and regions this spring, say real estate experts.
"It's a job [to sell a house]. There's just no way around it," said Pezenik, vice president of residential sales at Manhattan-based agency DJK Residential.
Location, condition and, above all, price, can make or break a speedy, problem-free sale under most conditions. It's especially true in an economy.
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THORNBURY SUPERVISORS GIVEN UPDATE ON ANDOVER BASIN
By Catherine Sutton-Martin
Thornbury Township engineer Lisa Catania of Catania Engineers Inc. updated the supervisors, March 19, regarding the sedimentation basin at the Andover subdivision."Everything is working properly," she said. "The system is functioning as a sediment basin but the silt remains suspended in the water for a longer time."
When asked why the problem is occurring, Ms. Catania said one of the theories is the soil blending process that was required.
The subdivision is being built on the site of a former orchard at Routes 352 and 926.
Arsenic was found and the developer was required to remove a portion of the top soil, haul in clean soil and "blend" or mix the soil left on site with the clean soil.
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