Erie Real Estate

City taxes - up - down - the same?

  The city of Erie still doesn't have a 2009 budget. 

City Council deliberated for more than three hours Thursday evening, it narrowly rejected a proposal to approve Mayor Joe Sinnott's preliminary, no-tax-increase budget.

Council instead agreed to meet again Monday night for more deliberations.

"We're rushing now to get something done," said Horan-Kunco afterward. "There is no need to rush. We need to understand what's in this budget."  Yes, I hope that they understand what's in the budget.  Also, why does it always seem like "we're rushing"?  Here's a news flash - there's going to be another budget for 2010 and the year after that and so on.

PNC to sell 11 area National Banks

Customers of at least 11 National City Corp. branches in northwestern Pennsylvania will soon be banking with another company.  

The news is the result of an agreement between the Justice Department and PNC Financial Services Group Inc., of Pittsburgh, to sell off or divest at least 61 National City branches in western Pennsylvania to comply with federal antitrust regulations.

Who will buy them?  Will Wells Fargo come in to have a retail banking center which would compliment their mortgage product?  Time will tell. 

Millcreek - no tax increase

Millcreek Township supervisors  today approved a $22.1 million preliminary budget for 2009 that calls for no increase in real estate taxes.

The good news is taxes won't go up. But that comes at a price.  For 2009, the supervisors said they would replace only two of four retiring police officers -- and those two jobs would be refilled only at midyear.

They also plan to do fewer road projects in 2009 and will clamp down on overtime.

This budget is available for review at the township office. After taking public comment they'll vote on it on December 30th.

Wow! What a price

 

4127 Burton --  $38,900

7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, over 1,200 sq ft.

Large fenced yard with deck.

Bank owned.  Terrific opportunity awaits.

Rate Buydown Gains Traction

An effort by the National Association of REALTORS  to spur home sales through a mortgage-interest rate buydown appears to be gaining traction. Reports in major news media like the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal today quote sources familiar with a meeting between U.S. Treasury officials and NAR in November in which the buydown proposal was discussed.

Under the Treasury plan, lenders would sell newly issued mortgage-backed securities to the government provided the interest-rate on the loans collateralizing the securities was no higher than 4.5 percent. Although NAR supports a buydown , it does not take a position on how low interest rates should go.

To pay for the plan, Treasury would issue bonds at 3 percent, creating a 1.5-percent spread that it could use for buying the securities. Those securities would then be purchased by secondary mortgage market companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are under federal conservatorship.

 

Treasury Alerts REALTORS to Fraud Scheme

If a buyer tries to use a "personal promissory note" or "private offset bond" to buy a home, the matter might be an attempt at fraud and you should let the U.S. Treasury Department know, a notice from the Treasury's Office of Inspector General says. 

Click here to read the notice in full, with contact information

Harborcreek - taxes go down

That's right, taxes go down in Harborcreek with  the 2009 budget.  By about more than $697,000 from this year.  Largely because the township has paid off its loan for Shades Beach improvements. 

Supervisors will vote Dec. 17 on a proposed $5.1 million budget that includes money to buy the vacant mall .  The mall has been on the market for quite some time.

Harborcreek Township has not raised taxes in 18 years - WOW!

New listing - 1356 W 24th

  Great price of $33,933.  Bank owned.  3 bedrooms, family room, almost 1,500 sq ft.  Fenced yard, garage.