"Help Wanted"

I just noticed that there was a "Help Wanted" sign outside a hair salon on the block of 18th and Cheltenham. I think the name of the place is "Photo Finish" - which I thought at first was some kind of photography place but they do hair.

I don't think that the place has been there long and I have noticed it from time to time. So if you live in the area you might want to check it out. It's also located right near the bus stop for the routes "C" and "22" bus that run along Cheltenham Avenue.

I don't know how long the sign has been there but if it sounds like a job that might interest you then you should go and see if they are still hiring.

Leaf Collection Begins For Our Area!

I should also mention about the area's collecting of the leaves. LaMott/Cheltenham has 4 scheduled pickups for leaf collection. Two of the pickups are for loose leaves and the other 2 are for bagged leaves.

The first leaf collection for the area is scheduled for Friday, October 26, 2007.

Leaves can be raked to the curb as early as one week before the scheduled pickup.

* - By the way they were right on schedule which was kind of disappointing because I was hoping to rake some more leaves to the curb. I was hoping that because of the rain that they wouldn't be picking up the leaves.......so now the next schedulted loose-leaf pickup for our area is November 30th

We Have Lost Our Beloved Mailman!

Because of problems with an injury we lost our beloved mailman Jim!

He sent me a letter explaining it all and I subsequently found out that he sent a letter to everybody in the area! (I still have the letter and will post more about it when I have the letter in front of me)

I know that I will miss him and I'm sure that a lot of the other residents will miss him too. But the fact of the matter is that being a mailman is a very physical job and as much as we hate not to have him anymore we don't want his injury to get worse.

I have met our new mailman and have had a chance to talk to him - I have to get his name! - and he seems very, very nice.

Our Little Local Library - The LaMott Library

I got the cutest little email from someone that works at our local library - The LaMott Library. He expressed his thanks for me putting the library hours on my LaMott Page.

Actually its called The LaMott Free Library

also included is The LaMott Community Center (in the same building)

7420 Sycamore Avenue
LaMott, PA 19027
215-635-4419

lamott@mclinc.org

Our library may not be the biggest but it is definitely the most friendly!

The Quarterly EIT Statements Are Due By The End Of This Month!

Earned Income Tax!

I have really come to hate filling this out!

Just in case you don't know residents are required to fill out and file quarterly Earned Income Tax statements. The Earned Income Tax is a 1 percent tax on earned income that has to be paid quarterly. If you make under $3,000 a year then you don't have to pay the tax but you do still have to fill out the form - even if you have no earned income for the past quarter. You have to fill out the form and note the reason why you don't have any earned income - to make a long story short you have to fill this out regardless of whether you have any earned income that has to be taxed.

The next quarterly statement is due by October 31st, 2007 and it is for income made between July 1st and September 30th of 2007. And just like the federal tax you have the yearly form which is due by April 15th of next year.

Now we already have 2 other taxes that have to be paid by homeowners in the area. One is the property tax and the other is the school tax. And this earned income tax would be the third tax payment that has to be made / filled out.

I still hate it!

The Community Garden(s)

Would it be the community garden or the community gardens? There is more than one gardening plot that is here!

What you are looking at is a picture of the community garden that's located right inside of LaMott! It is a block away from Penrose Avenue and is located (on one side) at the 1800 block of Graham Lane. It is a block long and most of the gardening plots are used by the residents but there are some students from Temple University that also use it. As long as I have lived here there have been issues with the garden such as people coming from as far away as New Jersy to use one of the plots.

But of the people that do have plots there they are quite friendly for the most part. A lot of them love gardening just for the love of gardening.

If you are a resident and are interested in getting a gardening plot there the best thing to do would be to ask one of the gardeners about who to contact in order to get one of the plots. It doesn't cost you anything to have one of the plots BUT you do have to agree to the upkeep and maintenance of your gardening plot.

According to what I have heard the area is owned by Temple University and they have a campus located just across the street

A View TO A Post Office!

Of course you have to know that I took this picture as I was walking up the hill and to be quite honest with you I probably took this picture just so I could stand still and rest!

For those of you that don't know this is a view of our newest post office as it is being viewed from Penrose Avenue. As you can see if you are going to this post office from Penrose Avenue then you are going to be walking up the hill!

Some people consider the walk good exercise and it just reminds me of the people that I see walking around our neighborhood who are out just walking - some are getting their exercise and some are just out walking!

So if you don't have a car but need to get to the post office - don't worry because you're not alone. At least our local post office is within walking distance if you live in the LaMott/Cheltenham area - although its much closer to the LaMott area.

The post office has all the services of a regular post office. Of the times that I have been there there are usually 2 people manning the customer service. The lines can get quite long sometimes and there have been times that I have been to the post office and while standing in line I have heard other people "grumbling" about how long it is taking to get waited on - but oddly enough it is usually coming from the people who have driven there and not those who have walked there (including me).

The people that work there are very nice - especially one lady in particular - I hope she is the one that waits on you because she is very pleasant and very personable. (I have even seen her handle herself in situations where a good amount of calm is needed). There is also a guy that works there that has long brown hair - he's a "character" - and I mean that in the most nice possible way!

Of course you can get your postal needs done, there is also a stamp machine there that is working - oh I say about 80% of the time, they have post office boxes available (*A side note here - I noticed at the post office at Broad and Stenton in Philadelphia that the rates for the post office boxes have gone up!) and the usual array of post office stationary, etc that you can purchase!

New Song Added To LaMott Radio Playlist!

A new song has been added to the LaMott Radio playlist!

It has been some time since I have updated the playlist and I just wanted to make mention of it now.

In case you haven't heard the station before it is an Internet station and the format is half local information regarding the Cheltenham, LaMott and Philadelphia areas and half romantic music.

Give the station a listen, vote for your favorite songs and if you visit the station's website you will find out all the contact information including the request line where you can request music.

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.................