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People buy things for its "utility", the pleasure or service received from a product or service, be it food, clothing, house cleaning, a car, a wide-screen TV, a computer, a hair cut, a manicure, and …a home. I can attest first hand to the fact that when I show potential homebuyers a home, I don’t hear: "Oh look honey, we can make $15,000 on this kitchen when we go to sell it in 7 years", or, "Wow, this wonderful back yard will net us $50K in 2015. People generally don't think like that. They are looking at a home for its potential use and pleasure, its utility.  This doesn't mean the homebuyer shouldn't be prudent with their money. Most people should eventually buy a home, but not everyone and not at every point in their lives. Obviously, responsible lending practices, coupled with a true understanding of what one can afford in a home are omnipotent. And the time to determine what one can afford is not in the kitchen of that “dream home” that was just viewed, but in advance with your lender and REALTOR®. There are those that argue that a home's future appreciation is extremely important in making a purchasing decision. I certainly don't advocate purchasing a home to experience negative equity! But are we talking short term, or long term? Homeowners benefit from the power of leverage. Over 10 years, a $10,000 investment in the stock market at a normal 10 percent rate of return would yield $23,600. The same investment as a down payment on a $200,000 home at a normal appreciation rate of 5 percent would return nearly 5 times the stock market return, at $100,300.1 In addition, 60% of a homeowner’s wealth is from their home’s equity.2 Then there are those who are completely frozen to do anything in fear of home prices falling. Unfortunately they are missing out on taking advantage of the currently low mortgage rates, good inventory, sellers who are willing to negotiate, the opportunity to become a new homeowner, and will continue to live in a place they’d rather not be. This phenomenon is fed by a media who continues to report on housing issues at a national level; all real estate is local! It is prudent to consult with a Realtor who is familiar with the local market and do one’s own research. Those looking to purchase a home for its income potential and/or as an investment have a completely different set of goals. The main concern for purchasers for these types of properties are capitalization rates, gross annual incomes, gross rent multipliers, and return on investment. Not what room or back yard they are going to relax in at the end of a long day. Ask a potential homebuyer the reason they are looking to purchase and a good majority of the time their answer will most often be “utility” in nature: "We need more space." "I need to find a home closer to work." "I am relocating to the area and need to find a home that will suite my family's lifestyle." "We have one child and one on the way and we need at least 3 bedrooms with a back yard." "I am looking for a single family with a home office." To sum it all up, a home pays an annual dividend: A roof over your head and the personal enjoyment that the real estate provides. Isn't that the real reason people buy homes? I hope this basic fundamental principle hasn't been lost. John Badalamenti, Weichert, Realtors®, Collegeville, PA 1The National Association of REALTORS® Wants You To Know, February, 20082HUD,Homeownership and Its Benefits, Urban Policy Brief #2, August, 1995
Disclaimer: The above should be considered reliable, but not guaranteed.
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When I first met the Sellers of this very unique and special home, the Gulph Mills Bird-In-Hand School House, we discussed the need for some background research. Having been involved in several Gulph Mills real estate transactions (as a Realtor), including one of the remaining Gulph Mills - mills, I was more than happy to help. Rich Dougert, President of the Gulph Mills Civic Association was very kind to provide some background information about the Bird-In-Hand School House, as well as its relation to Gulph Mills Village. The Gulph Mills Civic Assocation also has as wonderful web site dedicated to Gulph Mill's rich history. Anyone who travels on Gulph Road on a regular basis is familiar with the infamous "Gulph Mills Hanging Rock" when, on Friday Morning, Dec. 19th 1777, George Washington and his Army started their march to Valley Forge from their encampment in Gulph Mills and passed under the famous overhanging rock. Picket Post Restaurant also on Gulph Road (now a fine restaurant, Savona) was once headquarters to Aaron Burr. "Bird-In-Hand was the initial name for Gulph Mills, named after a local tavern here.. There are several homes in Gulph Mills that date back to the early 1700s, such as the Bird-In-Hand General Store and the Blacksmith Shop a block away from Holstein Rd. on Trinity Lane. Gulph Mills was aptly named to this area due to the number of mills along Gulph Creek. The Gulph Mills came into vogue as the milling business along Gulph Creek picked up during the Civil War. The area was referred to "The Gulph" by soldiers on their way up to Valley Forge during 1777. They marched up South Gulph Road. Correspondence around that time rerers to the natural topography, a gulph or deep depression. Washington's generals wrote letters from "The Gulph".1 "Before the Revolutionary War, groups of children were educated in private homes in Upper Merion. Later, they were taught by traveling teachers. Schools were built in thriving communities all over the township to establish a regular education schedule. The Public School Law was passed in 1830, requiring municipalities to conform to standards of education, but as you can see, the township was way ahead of them. During the early period, 1733-1825, Swedesburg School, Union School, Flint Hill School, Henry School near Valley Forge, Holstein School, and Sturgis School in Gulph Mills were established. From 1830-1880, The Old Camp School, the Bridgeport School, the Crooked Lane School, Roberts School, the Evergreen School, the Bird-In Hand School, the Merion School, and the Abrams School were built." 2 In 1880, The School District of Upper Merion purchased the parcel of land to build the two-room public school house known as the Bird-In-Hand School House in Gulph Mills. The land that the school house is situated on was originally deeded in 1811 to Richard Roberts with permission to build a dam in Gulph Creek which makes sense as current records show the property (1.96 acres) line extending to the edge of Gulph Creek. In 1930, Upper Merion felt it needed to modernize its schools and sold the remaining school houses and land. In 1931, Judge Frederick Smillie (then Montgomery County District Attorney) purchased the home and converted it into a private residence. The Upper Merion Lyceum also held meetings at the Bird-In-Hand School for a period of time. Judge Smillie had a long and distinguished legal career. His father, George Smillie, a premiere engraver at the U.S. Treasury Bureau of Engraving and Printing - etched the infamous picture of George Washington on the One Dollar Bill. Sometime between when Judge Smillie purchased the school house and an owner or two before the present one, a family room fronting the original entrance to the school, the current front door, a horse barn with hay loft (currently an oversized 2 car garage), plus a two stall horse barn at the bottom of the property - where all added. The Seller tells me that about 8 years ago, an elderly woman with her son and niece came wandering up the driveway to revisit the place where she went to school. She was in the last class of the Bird-In-Hand School of sometime in the middle to late 1920's. The owner was happy to show them around. The woman pointed out the floor boards in the kitchen as the location of the girls coat closet, and where the outhouses sat in the backyard. The woman promised to forward on a class picture, but as often happens, the promise was forgotten through no ill will, but just forgotten. I wrote local King of Prussia historian J. Michael Morrison, and the author of two very popular books on the area, "King of Prussia, Images of America", and "King of Prussia, Then and Now". I was delighted to hear back from Michael and to my amazement; he sent me an email with an attachment of the Bird-In-Hand School House taken some time around 1900! When I opened the picture, I immediately had goose bumps, as did the owner upon opening the file I sent them. Picture on the right c. 1900 Courtesy of J. Michael Morrison, Author. 
The owner of the Bird-In-Hand School House and I where honored to have J. Michael Morrison stop by the home to view the property from a historical perspective. When he opened the door to his car and took a look at the home, I could see his eyes light up. Michael also pointed out several import observations about the home, one of which was his notice of the steps to original front and back entrances of the school - having been made of original King of Prussia Marble from the King of Prussia foundry. Evidently this particular marble was used throughout the county, including the Montgomery County Court House in Norristown. The Seller and I where duly impressed with Michael and his overall enthusiasm of our local history and immense knowledge of the area.
Michael has informed me that he is considering writing another book; we will have to look for it as I am sure it will be as enjoyable as his others.
I was able to locate (as well as obtain a copy from the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds) what I believe to be the original deed for the land purchased for the school dated September 3, 1870. The deed states that the property was sold from a Henry & Elizabeth Levan to the "Board of School Directors of Upper Merion Township" for One Thousand Dollars. The deed lists Henry Levan's occupation as a "butcher". I had an opportunity to view the original deed at the Montgomery County Historical Society (of which I am a proud member) beautifully written in long hand. To top it all off, several weeks ago I was contacted by Alan J. Heavens, Real Estate writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Philadelphia metro area is fortunate to have such a prolific writer of everything related to real estate. Alan told me he was going to write a piece about what Sellers and Buyers are requiring of their real estate agent and brokers in this market and would I and my Seller be interested? Hence, the article which appeared in the Nov. 4th, 2007 of the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer entitled: "The parent-figure broker".
Not only are the Seller and I quoted in the article on matters related to selling a home (myself from an agent's perspective and the owner from a Seller's perspective), a rather large picture of the Bird-In-Hand School House was featured on the front page of the article, and a smaller one pictured in insert. I am grateful to Alan to have been chosen, along with my Seller to take part in his article. It is the hope of the Sellers that whoever purchases the home not only enjoys it for many years to come as they have, but also treasures it as an important piece of Upper Merion, Gulph Mills, and King of Prussia's rich history.
Class Dismissed! John (John B.) Badalamenti, Weichert, Realtors For Additional Information and Pictures on the Gulph Mills Bird-In-Hand School House Go To: http://www.birdinhandschoolhouse.com/ 1Rich Dougert, President, Gulph Mills Civic Association. 2 J. Michael Morrison, Author.
Disclaimer: The Information Above Deemed Reliable, But Not Guaranteed.
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The Grand Opening Celebration of the Philadelphia Premium Outlets begins on November 8th and will run to Nov. 11th, 2007. The Philadelphia Premium Outlets (Roseland, NJ Based Chelsea Property Group, a Division of Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG) will feature 120 designer and name brand outlet stores and is expected to create 800 to 1000 new jobs and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. Located at 18 West Lightcap Road, Limerick, PA 19464, the outlets are located 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia in Limerick Township off Route 422 at the Sanatoga Exit. For Additional Information, Go To Their Main Web Site: http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=75
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Alan J Heavens, Philadelphia Inquirer Real Estate Writer wrote a very comprehensive article in last Sunday’s Edition, Sept. 22nd, 2007 entitled "What Is Your Home Worth? The region's housing market is healthy despite national troubles."
Here are some excerpts from the article (full article link, below, plus a link to an interacgtive map of home-price and and sales data for the region ): Observers of the local real estate market say the eight-county Philadelphia region has so far managed to dodge the crashing prices that have beset some other major U.S. metropolitan areas. Clearly, the yearly double-digit price increases and same-day sales that characterized the hot market of 2000 to 2005 are over. This region's diverse economy is not dependent on home construction. The local staples - health care, pharmaceuticals and education - all are growing service industries. People here tend to be conservative about how they finance home purchases. An Inquirer analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data shows that subprime loans are not as prevalent in the eight-county region as they are in comparable metropolitan areas. Compared with other parts of the country, the number of foreclosures and mortgages in delinquency relative to the number of loans is low here, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association and RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures.
To view the full article, go to: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/9943907.html To see interactive maps of home - price and sales data for the region, go to: http://go.philly.com/homeprice On Sept. 30th, Alan Heavnes wrote another article in response to "Reader' Addtional Questions on Prices: What excatly is a median price and why did we use it?": http://www.philly.com/inquirer/real_estate/10048797.html
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On Sept. 6, 2007, The Board of Supervisors of Lower Providence Township held a public hearing on the Living History Overlay District zoning ordinance. The Board adopted the ordinance which will allow plans for the American Revolution Center (ARC) museum to kick into gear, the first of many needed to be completed before the project can move forward. Here is a summary: - The National Center for the American Revolution (ARC's parent organization) bought 78 acres in the congressionally authorized boundary of Valley Forge National Historical Park from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
- The zoning amendment limits development to 25 percent of the 78 acres, or less than 20 acres.
- The American Revolution Center would include a 130,000 sq. ft museum (almost 50% will be housed underground), a hotel, conference center, restaurant, & tavern, plus other amenities.
- The American Revolutionary Center owns an extraordinary collection of objects, of which 15,000 will be on display.
- The museum would be the first in the county to tell the entire story of the American Revolution.
- There are many other stages in the process that need to take place before construction can begin, such as traffic studies, and permits from several agencies, including the PA Department of Transportation.
Sources: On Sept. 14, 2007 Nancy Petersen, Staff Writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote a comprehensive article: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20070913_Lenfests_donation_buys_land_for_American_Revolution_Center.html The American Revolution Center provides a host of informative facts and information about the plans:http://www.americanrevolutioncenter.org/facts.aspx Lower Providence Township has also provided Informational Handouts, Pictures, & Descriptions of the plans:http://www.lowerprovidence.org/twp_news.htm Residents of Lower Providence Township can watch a rebroadcast of the hearing on Comcast 27 until the end of September: http://www.lowerprovidence.org/documents/News2007-09-06-RebroadcastBOSmeetingSept62007.pdf
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Revised. Here Is The Web Site For The New Norristown Studios At Logan Square: http://www.norristownstudios.com/images.htm For those of you not familiar with the Logan Square Shopping Center, it is located at the intersection of Markley Street (Route 202) and W Johnson Highway in Norristown. The Ports of the World used to be there for years and for all the times I passed there, I always felt that it was a great location, although huge and under utilized somehow. The current Peanut Gallery Restaruant & Tavern (previously known as The Glass Rack) has been doing business there for 34 years. The location offers a straight shot to King of Prussia to the south which opens up to all the area's major routes (202, 422, & 76), and pretty much a straight shot up to Blue Bell and points north. The Norristown Transportation Center is 5 minutes away with local bus and rail lines, including connection to Philadelphia (R6). This past Friday (August 17, 2007), I heard a report on KYW Newsradio that a developer was unveiling plans for a major development project in Montgomery County which would also a include a 100,000 square foot film studio with eight sound stages (I wonder if this would be larger that the Silvercup Studios in Long Island City outside of Manhattan?) at the Logan Square Shopping Center In Norristown. Michael Ruser, Property Manager at Logan Square Recently Commented: "The proposed project will utilize the existing 150,000 square feet Ports of the World occupied and will require the building to be expanded by an additional 100,000 square feet. The existing tenants include Dunkin' Donuts, M.A.B. Paints, PNC Bank, Honda Motorsports, U.S. Maintenance (large national company in approx. 50,000 square feet) RiteAid, Cottman (Auto Repair), Plymouth Produce, Sessano Deli and Cafe, Social Security, Montgomery County Records and Storage, West Coast Video, a large book store and a few smaller tenants. Logan Square is home to 500+ workers on any given day during the work week. We are excited to be part of the process of bringing such a large industry to Norristown, Montgomery County and the state of PA." If this does go down, it'll be a big boost for Norristown, the outlying areas, Montgomery County, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a whole in many ways! Very, very exciting news!
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The PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. just revised its 2007 U.S. Market Risk Index (New Market, New Model, Mark F. Milner, Chief Risk Officer, PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Summer, 2007) ranking the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas by the likelihood that home prices will be lower in a couple of years.  Riverside, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; and West Palm Beach, Fla. came in high in the MSA index. On the other hand, Texas, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania MSAs made up the lowest ranked group — or those dealing with a less than 10 percent chance of declining home prices.
The Full 12 Page Report Can Be Viewed On-Line: http://www.pmi-us.com/media/pdf/products_services/eret/pmi_eret07v2s.pdf
Source: Daily Real Estate News Realty Times, Blanche Evans (06/20/07).
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A smart move for Buyers is to consider getting their FICO score early in the homebuying process. FICO (based on the Fair Issac's credit reporting system) pools information from the major credit reporting agencies; many mortgage companies use a FICO score to base their approval. But how do you obtain your FICO score? Many potential homebuyers shopping for a mortgage are not aware of the drop in credit score they might experience every time a mortgage broker or banker pulls their credit report. This is not something you'll want when when you are about to purchase a home.  There are two basic fundamental systems at work here: MyFICO has a great web site set up to learn what your FICO score is, what mortgage rate you will receive (based on current average mortgage rates), and for a reasonable fee, advice on improving your FICO score (Suze Orman offers credit coaching, etc.), plus and a whole host of very valuable information. In addition, and this is key, you will not be penalized for obtaining your FICO score on this site: www.MyFico.com
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Google introduced its new Street View version of its Google Maps today, a revolutionary way to view streets & neighborhoods. If you’re familiar with 360° virtual tours for real estate, Street View has some of the same functionality. You can zoom in and out; do horizontal pans (but not vertical pans). It will display the street name and show the direction (N.E., S.W., etc.) and the resolution is above average.
This first version is limited to select cities: NYC, San Francisco and Miami. Think about the possibilities for viewing real estate: shopping, restaurants, places of interest, etc., etc.!!! Here’s a link to the main page, with an introductory tour: http://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/index.html
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 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook For Real Estate Brokers & Agents
A fellow Realtor® in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area (Lenn Harley) was kind enough to bring this "occupational outlook" direct from the U.S. Government to our attention (please see link, below). - Real estate brokers and sales agents often work evenings and weekends and usually are on call to suit the needs of clients.
- A license is required in every State and the District of Columbia.
- Although gaining a job may be relatively easy, beginning workers may face competition from well-established, more experienced agents and brokers in obtaining listings and in closing an adequate number of sales.
- Employment is sensitive to swings in the economy, especially interest rates; during periods of declining economic activity and increasing interest rates, the volume of sales and the resulting demand for sales workers fall.
One of the most complex and significant financial events in peoples’ lives is the purchase or sale of a home or investment property. Because of this complexity and significance, people typically seek the help of real estate brokers and sales agents when buying or selling real estate... http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos120.htm#outlook
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What where mortgage interest rates (30 year conventional), oh, say 10 years ago this month? Don’t know? OK, here’s the answer: 7.94%.
How about 15 years ago this month? Still don’t know? OK, here you go again: 8.67%.
I was recently doing some research and stumbled upon on a very interesting (plain mind you, but interesting) web site that I would like to share with you - that lists monthly 30 year conventional interest rates all the way back to 1971: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/MORTG.txt
What’s the point of this mind numbing exercise you ask?
The point, pure and simple is this: We are still experiencing record low interest rates.
There is really nothing else to add other than that.
Have fun with the list and draw your own conclusions.  John B.
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