By Stephen Metzger
Sean Dorn leads a tour of West Philadelphia -- all the coolest places to live, eat, drink, catch live music and generally make merry!
By Inman News Feed
Home Sale Hindsight Tara-Nicholle Nelson Inman News Q: Please explain why the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will not allow a buyer to purchase a home that was previously sold within 90 days? We have asked this question numerous times and everyone just goes around it and says FHA will not allow this type of loan. We have seen several properties that we really want, but we keep being rejected because we have to go FHA (we have only a 3.5 percent downpayment). Why is this a rule? Are there any ways to work around it? A: The only thing you can do to work around this issue is to restrict your house hunt to homes near or past the 90-day time frame. You must close your purchase or escrow at least 90 days following the closing of the previous purchase -- and honestly, many sellers will simply prioritize offers from wannabe buyers using conventional (i.e., non-FHA) financing. Let's get clear on what this rule is and why it exists. FHA doesn't actually offer loans; it simply insures loans made by mortgage lenders against the risk of default. That just means that if you...
The Zestimate (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home's value. The Zestimate is pulled from data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account. Variations in price also occur because of negotiating factors, closing costs, and timing of closing.
By Inman News Feed
Part 1: Living by the building code Arrol Gellner Inman News Editor's note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series. "When I built my addition, the building inspector made me tear out the bedroom window and put in a bigger one! Personally, I don't think it's any of his (deleted) business how big my bedroom window is!" I hear these kinds of gripes from disgruntled do-it-yourselfers all the time. Not to rub salt in the wound, but in most such cases, a passing acquaintance with the building code -- and even more important, an understanding of its intent -- would have saved these folks an awful lot of frustration. Though it may seem like it at times, building codes weren't formulated to harass do-it-yourselfers. In fact, they arose to protect public health and safety during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time when a population explosion in American cities was leading to ever more squalid and unsafe living conditions. This was an era in which tenement apartments variously lacked heating, natural light, access to fresh air, or a means of escape in case of fire. On a larger scale, poor...
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