A View From A Post Office

Actually what you are really seeing is a view from our local post office. That street that you see below is Penrose Avenue and if you are familiar with this view then you know that it is an uphill walk from there!

Actually it is quite a nice view except if you are afraid of heights!

It's Hot As Heck!

There is just nothing more to say! It is as hot as heck outside! The current temperature is 95 degrees!

Go thee and find an air conditioner!

And STAY THERE!

While a lot of the houses in the area are older house a lot of them don't have central air (like mine). We rely on the kindness of the air conditioners that we have in our windows.

As a matter of fact while I was walking home the other day I heard an air conditioner in a neighbor's window and it sounded like it was winding down to its last legs. It sounded like metal was rumbling around in the air conditioner. In fact that air conditioner didn't sound too good at all. So I guess it's time for them to get a new air conditioner.

While there are lots of sales on air conditioners, I generally find that the Shoprite at the Cheltenham Mall have good deals on air conditioners. Sometimes you can get a good air conditioner there for under $100.

I Noticed A Lot More Houses For Sale

As I went to the store Saturday I noticed that there were a lot more houses for sale. One house that previously had a "For Rent" sign on it now has a "For Sale" sign on it. There is one particular house on Cheltenham Avenue that was previously up for auction now has a "For Sale" sign on it as well. There is also another property for sale on Cheltenham Avenue.

I don't know the circumstances of why these houses were put up for sale. I do know that the area had and still has a lot of older residents but some of them have died off and I guess either their estate or their heirs want to sell the property.

As much as I love this area I hate seeing property being put up for sale. I'm sure that whoever put these houses up for sale had their reasons and they are probably very good reasons too. It's hard being able to stay in this area. The property taxes are high and we get 2 property tax bills a year. Someone told me that in Philadelphia there is only one property tax bill a year.

Crossing Cheltenham Avenue!

Ever try crossing Cheltenham Avenue? It's no picnic let me tell you!

At the time that I took this photo you can see that it's hardly no traffic which is a rare occurence! On some Sundays there seems to be hardly any traffic and Saturdays seem to be the worse!

Often times when I'm trying to cross Cheltenham Avenue the drivers will take pity on me and stop and let me cross. But since Cheltenham Avenue is 2 lanes going both ways that means that the other drivers have to cooperate as well!

In this picture you're looking at the Philadelphia side of Cheltenham avenue going towards Broad Street. I think I was on my way to the store when I took this picture.

There is not a Septa bus in sight!

Well The 2nd Property Tax Bill of the Year Came Yesterday!

The 2nd property tax bill came in the mail - and by God its a BIG one! I don't know about your property but the bill for mine is over $2,500! Now you can't pay this property tax bill in installments but you do get a (2% - I think) discount if you pay this property tax bill early.

There was a reference to the "Homestead" Act but you must have already filled out the form for that. If your property is part of the Homestead designation then you can pay your property tax bill in three installments. However there are some conditions and there are also some very stiff penalities. If you claim the Homestead option and choose to pay your property tax bill in installments then you are not eligible for the discount. Also too if you pay your installments late then you could be charged a 10% penalty.

Now I looked this all over when I got the property tax bill and I thought that it would just be a good idea to have this money saved in advance of the time that it was due. That way you would have the money early enough to be able to pay the discounted amount. But not everyone has this financial capability.

To tell you the truth I really think the best option for paying this property tax bill is just to have the money saved up in advance so you can pay the discounted amount.

Quarterly EIT Taxes Due By July 31st

This reminder popped up on my computer screen! It's a good thing that it did because I totally forgot about it!

Just in case you don't know - EIT stands for Earned Income Tax. It is a tax that the residents pay on their income. Currently it's 1 percent of our income that is taxed. However the residents have to file an estimated tax return quarterly - every 4 months. The current one is due by July 31st - which - this time - is on a Tuesday and not the weekend.

What you have to do is fill out the quarterly tax form - which you can get from the company that is handling the taxes - and send it in along with your payment. I have talked with these people on more than one occassion and I have found out that while you don't have to send in the actual copies of proof of your income you DO have to fill out the form - regardless of how much your estimated income is. You will not be reminded to send in the tax form and you won't get a reminder in the mail. You have to remember to do this on your own! (Which is one of the reasons why I have put a "reminder" on my desktop).

If you make less than $3,000 a year you won't owe any tax BUT you still have to fill out the form and send it in.

I don't have the address in front of me but I will add it.

Lots of friendly chatter on the Cheltenham Bus Today

The Cheltenham Bus was full of friendly chatter today as we each went to our different stops. Just in case you don't know the Cheltenham Bus is our local bus that runs throughout the Cheltenham area. It goes to the Cedarbrook Mall, the Cheltenham Mall, and the train station. For area residents that are over 55 the fare is free. For residents under 55 the fare is $4 per trip But you can buy a 10 trip ticket for $10 - that makes it $1 per trip.

There was a time back where our beloved local bus was in threat of being cancelled but the township decided to split the week with Abington so now our Cheltenham Bus runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I think that this is much better than not having the bus at all. I do wish that that Shoprite logo was on the bus because that was advertising revenue for the bus - thus helping us to keep it running.

Foreclosure Laws In Pennsylvania

In previous posts I have talked about the devastating effects of having one's home go into foreclosure so I thought that it would be a good idea to post here about the foreclosure laws in Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania Foreclosure Law

- Pennsylvania Judicial Foreclosure Available: Yes

- Pennsylvania Non-Judicial Foreclosure Available: No

- Primary Security Instrument: Mortgage

- Timeline: Typically 90 days

- Right of Redemption: No

- Deficiency Judgments Allowed: Yes

In Pennsylvania foreclosure law, lenders may foreclose on a mortgage in default by using the judicial foreclosure process.

Pennsylvania Judicial Foreclosure

According to Pennsylvania foreclosure law, the lender must send a notice of intent to foreclose to the borrower before any foreclosure proceedings may begin.

The notice of intent must be sent, by first class mail, to the borrower, at their last known address and if different, to the property secured by the mortgage. The notice should not be sent until the borrower is at least sixty (60) days behind in their mortgage payments.

Foreclosure Law in Pennsylvania - Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

In the notice, the lender must make the borrower aware that his or her mortgage is in default and that it is their (the lender's) intention to accelerate the mortgage payments if the borrower does not cure the default within thirty (30) days. This means that the remaining balance of the original mortgage will come due immediately.

Pennsylvania foreclosure law states that if the borrower does not cure the default by paying the past due amount, plus any late charges that have accrued, within the thirty (30) days, the lender may then file a suit to try and obtain a court order to foreclose on the property.

If the court finds in favor of the lender and issues an order of sale, the property will be sold at a Sheriff's sale under the guidelines established by the court. The borrower has the right to cure the default and prevent the sale at any time up to one hour before the Sheriff's foreclosure sale.

Lenders have up to six months after the foreclosure sale to file for a deficiency judgment. Borrowers have no rights of redemption under Pennsylvania foreclosure law once the foreclosure sale is complete.

Cheltenham Community Station

Cheltenham does have its own community station on Comcast Cable's channel 42. It is a listing of news, bulletins and current events in and around the area of Cheltenham and LaMott. You can also access this information online by going to:

Cheltenham Community News

You can also find out how to have your community announcement added to the community bulletin board. It seems to be an easy process. You can also view more Cheltenham and LaMott related information by going to my LaMott Pages.

There isn't any similar kind of station for community news if you have Dish TV or satellite TV.

Free Barbecue At The Cheltenham Shoprite!

That's right! The Shoprite at the Cheltenham mall was going to have a free barbecue. It was officially supposed to start at 2pm - unfortunately I was on my way home. But I did get to see them set up! They had the biggest grill I have ever seen and people were already lining up for the free food! It was part of a promotional thing to promote a cookbook that had receipes by men only.

May 15th - Primary Election Day!

Yes I went to vote today. For those of you who in the area that don't know where our local polling place is it is the LaMott Community Center which also houses our local library.

I went during the later part of the afternoon and as always the volunteers that were there were helpful as usual. They are there to answer any questions that you may have.

As far as the number of people that were voting it wasn't a large amount but at the time that I was there the voting booths were busy and there were a number of cars parked all around.

I do know that there was a question being put before the voters in our area about the area imposing another tax on income - supposedly to reduce the amount of money that residents pay in property taxes. The cost of the property taxes in this area has always been a very sore subject for the residents here because the taxes are so high! And what makes it worse is that we the residents get 2 separate tax bills in the mail! I don't even think you can pay them in installments - the property taxes have to be paid in full - both times!

The Students are moving in (or out?)

I saw a small uhaul truck parked outside and of course its because of the students. As I write this I don't know if they are moving in or out. I'm guessing that they could be moving in but I don't know for sure.

With all the rumors circulating around about whether or not Temple's Tyler School of Art will close their campus in Cheltenham you wouldn't be able to tell by all the students that are moving in (or out). I know some of the students don't want it and I know that some of the parents don't want it. I see the students all the time either walking to the school or coming from the bus stop and walking towards the school. There was a time back when the students used to sun bathe on the grounds of the dormitory. I have seen some students on the campus with their easels painting - mostly the scenery around them. I've seen a few students who live in the Lynnewood Gardens Apartment complex which is right across from the school. There are cars parked everywhere! The campus has a pretty big parking lot from what I can see but still there are cars parked all around the campus including the street that I live on. I hear the sounds of the car doors slamming, the students talking, the students arguing and the students laughing.

I don't mind the noise too much. It's always good to hear activity in the area. I do mind when they park their cars in front of the driveway. I have heard from other neighbors about this when the cars are blocking their driveways and they have had to call the police.

So this "moving in" period is bound to last for the next couple of days.................

A Job Opening For A Mailman

I was at our local post office yesterday and the was a notice on the front door announcing a job opening for a mailman. If you're interested here is the contact information for our local post office:

800 Ashbourne Rd,

Cheltenham, PA 19012

(215) 887-4551

You should also remember that the price of stamps go up on May 14th. The stamps will go up 2 cents from 39 cents to 41 cents. So while I was there I stocked up on some 2 cent stamps. As a matter of fact I advise you to get your stamps as soon as possible because I'm remembering the last time the price of stamps went up and I was at the post office (not our local post office but another one) and the place was packed! And to make matters worse they were out of the 2 cent stamps. ( wasn't going to waste my trip so I bought 3 cent stamps.)

But back to the job opening for a mailman......If you are interested in the job you can contact the post office at the number above.

I do remember one time when our regular mailman was on vacation and the replacement one had said how much he liked the route and how he would like to have it. I wonder where he is?

Local Gas Prices?

If there is one thing about this area its that people are always in their cars! So I found this little widget thingie that lists the prices of gas locally. It should be on the right side of this blog. I just pasted this widget today and while its showing up ok in Netscape, it's not looking to cool in Internet Explorer. This isn't the first time I've had problems like this when I add something new so I'm going to wait awhile and see how it goes.

Back to the gas prices! With the weather getting warmer people are out more and that means more driving and more getting gas. I have seen people come into the local BP and buy a dollar's worth of gas and they weren't ashamed to admit it! So if you're wondering where the cheapest gas prices are in this area - here ya go!

Spring is Here!

I took this picture as I was going to the store today. (I have to learn to take better pictures!). Flowers are popping up everywhere and I'm not just talking about the dandelions.

It seems more people are putting plantings on their property than last year - that's probably why I have seen so many cars at the Home Depot at the Cheltenham Mall.

Of course with this nicer weather more people are out and the kids are out playing around and more people are working on their houses.

This House is NOT for Sale!

Today as I was walking down Willow Avenue to go to the store I noticed a sign on one of the houses (actually it was a note) that said (in no uncertain terms) that "This House Is Not For Sale". I got a smile on my face because I know that these people must have gotten a lot of people asking them if their house was for sale. At least they put up a note that said that it wasn't for sale. Politely speaking the home wasn't the best looking home on the block but that didn't really matter. It can really be hard to maintain a home - especially when its an older home. If and when you don't have the money either you do the work yourself or it just doesn't get done! Now that the weather is starting to get nicer I see more and more people working on their homes and some of them are doing it theirselves. I'm not going to say that they love working on their houses (maybe some of them do) but when the weather is nice they are out there.

I don't know what's the story with the "This House Is Not For Sale" house. It could be any number of reasons. The people that live there may be older and can't do the work theirself or it could be a reason of not having enough money. Whatever the reason is I can certainly identify. Outside work like trimming trees, painting a house or just general outside repairs and maintenance can cost a pretty penny. Not everybody that lives here is rich and there are a lot of older residents who are just getting by with their pension or social security.

I have receive more than a few mailings that said something to the effect of "We want to buy your house" - how they got my name I will never know. I actually had someone knocking on my door asking if this house was for sale (which I thought was rude!). Realators are always on the lookout for houses that are for sale in this area. I have even had people see me outside and ask me if there were any properties in the area that were for sale. I have kept my eye out for properties that are for sale and have given this information to a few of them. As a matter of fact I noticed 2 "for sale" signs today as I was walking to the store. One was right on Cheltenham Avenue between 19th and 17th streets and the other property for sale was a few blocks up.

It's a terrible thing not to be able to pay for repairs or general maintenance but just because a house is not the most prettiest one on the block doesn't mean that it's for sale.

People Are Looking For.......

Power of Attorneys in Wyncote

This was one of the latest internet searches that led to my LaMott Directory Page. The top attorney listed is located at Logan Square which is a very far distance from Wyncote in Philadelphia. Although I know that people will travel a greater distance if it means that they will find a good attorney but there are attorneys that are located within the Wyncote area.

There is an Eastern Montgomery Chamber of Commerce which I'm sure would have some attorneys as members. There are 2 attorneys listed in the LaMott Directory. One is located in Abington and the other is located in Jenkintown.

Earned Income Tax?

In case you aren't aware of it, Cheltenham has what is called an "Earned Income" Tax. What this means it that your earned income is taxed. Every 3 months you are required to pay the estimated tax on your income and then at the end of the year you file (and pay) your earned income tax for the past year. The yearly tax return is due by April 15th which is the same due date as the federal and state income tax.

Now if your income is less than $3000 for the past year then you don't have to pay the tax BUT you do have to file the return. The consequences of not filing the return is fees and penalties!

I remember when this tax was first introduced some years ago and I remember filling it out and mailing it back in. However I have talked to some people who said that they just ignored it and didn't send it in. (Sometimes I wish that I had done the same - sigh!). I don't know if anything happened to them as a consequence and I was just not willing to take the chance.

But the bottom line is that this tax is mandatory and has to be paid.

To find out more about this tax you can call the Township's Administration Office at:

Township Administration Building
8230 Old York Road
Elkins Park, PA 19027
215-887-1000

Another Sad Story About Someone Losing Their House

I just found out about this yesterday. Another neighbor in the area has lost their home - not their house, not their property - but their home! It's always so sad to hear stories like this because I know that people in this area have lived in their houses for years! Unfortunately in this case the cost of the property taxes was the culprit! Mind you, the property taxes in this area are very high and what makes it worse is that there are 2 property tax bills that are due each year! Someone told me that in Philadelphia there is only one property tax bill.

The first property tax bill due in April is the smaller of the two. The second property tax bill is due in September and is more than twice the amount of the first bill! When the property taxes are paid as part of the mortgage bill that makes things a little bit easier but not everyone has that type of mortgage.

I do not know the particulars of this neighbor's situation so I don't know what their financial status was (or is) but I do know a little about this property tax thing. On the property tax bill itself it says that the property taxes have to be paid by the end of the year or their will be a lien put on the property. And of course if that lien isn't paid then the property can be sold for the property tax amount owed. Now here is where I get a little foggy.......Does that mean that whatever the house sells for the property tax bill is paid but what happens to the amount that the house sold for that is more than the tax bill itself? Does that extra amount go to the property owner or does it go to property tax people? Is the house being sold for its fair market value or for the amount of the property tax owed only?

I've seen a lot of ads and literature about how their are sales of properties for the amount of back taxes owed so does that mean that they are selling the properties for just the amount of the property taxes owed?

It may seem like a very good opportunity for the real estate investor but it is not a very pleasant experience for the people that are losing their homes.

By the way from what I have heard the people that lost their home are temporarily living in a house a few blocks away. As a matter of fact from what I have been told their property has already been sold!

Robbery Attempt At The PathMark in the Cedarbrook Mall

I heard about this on my way home from shopping. A man tried to rob an armoured car guard with pepper spray. He sprayed it in the gurard's face and the guard turned around and shot the robber multiple times. The robber managed to get away but he collapsed a short time later and that was when he was found by the police. He is currently in the hospital.

Now this happened today around 1 pm and I didn't hear it on the news until about 4pm. I heard it on KYW News Radio. So by the time the local TV news comes on there should be more information about it.