Tuesday, February 12, 2008

ह्यूज कॉमर्शियल बिल्डिंग ओं हिघ सत.













































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19464-Pottstown (High St Historic District)
FOR SALE
$145,500 Waaay below Market






















Global Realty Marketing
Tom Orlando and Jack Johnson
Email Tom Orlando


Work: 215-206-6723
Toll-Free: 888-327-0355
Cell: 484-995-1024
Fax: 610-327-3160

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Details
Address: 221 E High St Pottstown Type: Commercial Style: Single Story Bedrooms: 6 Bathrooms: 3 Suite: No Living Area: 6,700 square feet Year Built: 1880
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Description
Want a unique property on Historic High in Pottstown? This could be your GREAT investment. Priced to sell WAY below other comparibles. 3000 Sqft retail space on first floor. 900 sqft on second and 3rd floor. Renovate all the floors and get income from the whole bldg
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Brokered and Advertised by Global Realty Marketing LID 1535991
Information is deemed to be correct but not guaranteed.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Local Grants

I have not been a lifelong resident of Pottstown though I know its a great town that is working hard to improve all of the time.
One of the things the town offers is called The Homeownership Initiative Program. It pays up to $5,000 for home improvements. This is something I took advantage of Since I bought after January 1st of 05. Now technically its not a Grant. Its a SOFT LOAN. It requires no payments and no interest as long as you occupy for at least 7 years. Now if you leave before the 7 years is up then the amount you borrowed is prorated and the balance is paid back to the town at the settlement table.Its great for residents and Realtors alike. The bennefit is obvious for a resident. As a realtor I make sure all of my sellers know about the program and make sure its offered to all of my buyers as long as the home is in the 'Core Redevelopment District' and is occupied by the buyer. Maps and applications can be found at the borough website: http://www.pottstown.org/economic-Information.htm
There are 2 other programs that should be noted. One is the Facade Grant. It applies only to commercial buildings in the Historic District.This IS a Grant, though its a special kind. Its a 'matching grant'. This means that if you put $1,000 into the improvement of the outside of your building, Pottstown will match it if your application is accepted. The cap on this grant is $5,000. So if you wanted a $10,000.00 Improvement to the outside of your Commercial Building for half the price this is the Grant for you.The last program is the multi-unit version of the home-ownership initiative program that I first mentioned. It basically awards money the same way but allows its applicants upto $15,000.00 for converting a two-unit into a single. This could be a valuable tool for the savy owner occupant.Hope this helps and encourages some of you to take a closer look at Pottstown. A home search is available on my website: www.Iknowjackandtom.com
~Jack

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

I found this article from BankRate.com

.
I was inspired to post it because I knew people in need of Forclosure help and
its definately scary if you don't know what to do. My own advice though I would say go to http://www.hemap.org/


Its a very informative website and it tells about grant help if you are behind because of an uncontrolable circumstance and how the mortgage company can't forclose once you have had your "face to face" meeting with the lawyer. But this website is only for those in Pennsylvania. I am very willing to talk to anyone about this too. You can find my number on my website www.IknowJackandTom.com



Ok now the article. I hope this can help people.




Mortgage companies say that the last thing they want to do is foreclose, because seizing a delinquent borrower's house costs money. It follows, then, that the key to keeping the house is to make it less expensive for the lender to work with you than to foreclose.
How does one go about working out a plan to keep his or her home?
When you fall behind on payments, your chances of getting cooperation from the mortgage servicer are better if you follow these guidelines.
Step-by-step plan for seeking help:

Respond to the mortgage company's phone calls and letters.

Seek advice and negotiating help from a third party.

Figure out if your problem is short-term or long-term.

Decide what you want and ask for it.

Document income and expenses; keep all correspondence with the servicer.

Be persistent in your quest to talk to the right people at the mortgage company.
Respond to the mortgage company's phone calls and lettersThe mortgage servicer is the company that collects monthly payments, passes along the payments to the homeowners insurance company and tax collector, and makes phone calls and sends letters when borrowers fall behind.
Academic researchers have found that, in about half of foreclosures, the delinquent borrower never talked to the servicer.
"Our biggest challenge is getting folks to respond," says William Rinehart, vice president and chief risk officer for Ocwen Financial Corp., a large servicer of subprime mortgages in West Palm Beach, Fla. Fear, embarrassment and shame keep delinquent borrowers from talking to servicers. "These folks, in many cases, are financially unsophisticated, so the whole process is intimidating to them," Rinehart says. "They feel that if they just ignore it, it will go away."
It won't.
Delinquencies and foreclosures have been rising nationwide for more than a year. As mortgage lenders lay off loan officers, mortgage servicers hire debt collectors and loss-mitigation specialists. Ocwen's loan resolution department has 123 full-time employees. A year ago, it had about 70 employees.
"We train our collectors to have empathy," says Teresa Bratcher, Ocwen's director of foreclosure prevention. "These people, for the most part, didn't choose the circumstances that they're in."
Tip: Answer the phone and open your mail, but don't agree to any terms until you read the next tip.
Seek advice and negotiating help from a third partyRespond to the mortgage servicer, but don't be rushed into making a promise that you can't keep. Before making a deal with the servicer, describe your situation to an attorney, accountant or a knowledgable mortgage person, advises Neil Garfinkel, a lawyer with Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson law firm in New York City.
When you are in danger of foreclosure, "those are perilous waters and you want to make sure you have a good adviser who can maybe serve as an intermediary to the lender," Garfinkel says.
Another place to go is a housing counseling agency or a consumer credit counseling service. A good place to start is the NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions' Web site. NeighborWorks counselors will make referrals to local agencies.
"I urge people to get some kind of help with this process, to the extent that they can," says Michelle Lewis, president of Northwest Counseling Service, an agency in Philadelphia that offers mortgage counseling. "They can go out and do it on their own, but they need to be cautious."
Tip: Choices for guidance include consulting an attorney, a credit counselor or a housing counseling agency.
-- Updated: Oct. 25, 2007

Saturday, January 12, 2008

New Listing 3 Bedroom in Reading PA $59,900

$59,900


One of the finer homes! Close to Perkiomen Ave this beautiful 3 story colonial has upgrades galore! Very well maintained outside. Front of home has welcoming wooden porch and stairs. Rear of home has romantic deck off bedroom and patio below adjacent to 3 car parking; a rare thing in Reading city. Inside admire the 9 ft ceilings on first floor and new hardwood in the living room and dining room. Kitchen is newer and will be painted a neutral tone for new buyers. 3 roomy bedrooms adorne the 2nd floor and there's pleanty of storage in the 3rd floor walk-up attic which could be made into 4th bedroom. The basement is a comfortable place to be too with its own full bath. Priced to sell. Make your appointment TODAY! Agent: Call to see. Home on Lockbox. Call 484-995-1024. All offers can be faxed to 610-327-3160



New websites to provide you with Real Estate Information

Hey everyone!

Tom and I just finished another website!

Its really great and very informative!

http://tomorlandoandjackjohnson.point2agent.com/

We also have a Myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/iknowjackandtomdotcom

and an AOL IM screen name: IknowJackandTom

While these are great sites please don't forget our main website:
http://www.iknowjackandtom.com/

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tom and Jack

Friday, January 11, 2008

Time to eat a pork sandwhich

My partner Tom and I joined forces in mid fall 2007. I remember when he was showing me around he would always say, 'we don't make much money, but we eat good'. That half serious statement and its deeper philosophical meaning stuck with me. We both work our asses off for our clients. If you're not careful, the stress could take you down. So our indulgence is food and it allows us to get away from the stress and remember the things we enjoy and why we do what do; even if the moment is efemeral.

Saw this on another website. Tried it. YAY! Thats all. Eat well and enjoy my friends.
source: http://visualrecipes.com/recipe-details/recipe_id/505/Barbecue-BBQ-Pulled-Pork-Sandwiches/



Authentic Pulled Pork BarbecueYou're going to need:About 5lb of cheap bone-in pork roast: butt or shoulder (whichever is cheaper)CharcoalWood chipsBBQ bunsBBQ marinadeBBQ spice rubBBQ sauce (optional)Let me talk about these ingredients a bit. Tough, otherwise bottom choice meat is perfect for BBQ. The slow cooking process breaks it down and makes it nice and tender. The cut in this thread is a butt. It cost about $6. Crazy, ain't it?In regards to the rest: I like match-light charcoal. It's just easier to start and it ensures an even burn. I like apple wood. It has the best smoke flavor I've tried and doesn't taste gimmicky like mesquite does to me. BBQ buns must be big, and have sesame seeds. Just because, OK?Sauces, marinades and rubs can be made at home with your own ingredients with a little research and time. Otherwise, pick to suit your preference, but I can highly recommend Stubbs. I'm so in love with Stubbs I don't even bother making my own stuff right now - although I am planning on doing so in the future. This recipe uses Stubbs pork marinade, Stubbs BBQ Spice Rub and Stubbs Spicy BBQ sauce to finish things off.

Step 1:
Now then. Let's BBQ! Put your roast in a big plastic container and pour the marinade in.

Step 2:
Put this in the fridge overnight. Turn it a few times as you think about it to marinade evenly.

Step 3:
The next day, setup your grill. Line the sides with charcoal. We want indirect heat on our roast.Light it up!

Step 4:
Remove your now marinated roast into a pan.Pour the reserve marinade into a container. Keep it for later.

Step 5:
When your coals are nice and hot and grey and no more chemical starter smell remains, sprinkle some wood chips over the coals. I don't soak the wood chips in water because I tried that and it just doesn't work on charcoal. It's best to just keep them dry. You have to use a lot more wood (like a whole bag) but at least you get results.

Step 6:
This will ignite the wood pretty fast.So quickly put your roast pan in the center of the grill.

Step 7:
And close the lid. This will stifle the fire and the chips will begin to smoke heavily. NOTE: Don't shut any of the vents, top or bottom, of your grill. Just enough air needs to get in to aid combustion. Too little and your fire will die.

Step 8:
Every half hour or so, the wood chips will smolder out and stop smoking.

Step 9:
I just sprinkle more chips in through the grill and some land on the grill itself. This starts up the smoking again. After the first couple of applications, you can also poke a stick around in the charcoal to reactivate the smoke rather than adding more chips, but you're basically going to have to be out there every half hour or so stoking up the smoke.

Step 10:
And so it goes. For three hours.

Step 11:
And now we come to the real secret to making good BBQ when all you have is your cheap charcoal grill. The CROCK POT!

Step 12:
Take your roast off after three hours of smoking. Try and tear it apart with a fork. You won't be able to, it's still too tough.

Step 13:
No, we're going to have to do this right. To do it right, we gotta slow cook it until this meat submits to our will. We accomplish that with between 6-8 hours in the Crock Pot on LOW.Do what you have to do to get the meat in the pot, I had to cut mine in half or so.

Step 14:
This is the part in the process where you add your spice rub. Coat the meat with it:

Step 15:
Then pour in the marinade you reserved.

Step 16:
And now, cook this bad boy for 6-8 hours. You can't really overcook it, or at least I haven't yet. This roast took 8 hours before it was falling apart. You can tell because when you stick a fork in it it truly just melts. I also turned the meat over around 4 hours in so no part of the meat wasn't submerged in the marinade at one point or another.

Step 17:
When your roast has truly had the precious time it needs to become REAL DEAL BBQ, take it out. It should look something like this:

Step 18:
And now the pulled pork part, wherein you "pull" the pork apart into shredded, sandwich-ready yumminess.

Step 19:
When you're all finished, you're left with a big pile of delicious BBQ pork (note the bone at top of picture that this meat simply "fell" off of). Can you believe all this was $6? Well, OK, maybe more like $15 once you factor in the wood and the fixins, but heck - this is a lot of food. I have successfully fed eight people with this.

Step 20:
Plate your pulled barbecue pork or make sandwiches out of it.Top the bbq pulled pork with some sauce - if you like. This is utterly optional. This meat tastes fantastic just like it is.Top with coleslaw, you can find my coleslaw recipe in the appetizer category or use the search feature.