Break time is over

Sometimes when you walk away from something like this it's hard knowing how to get back.
We've chosen this point.
After nearly two months of inactivity we're going to get things rolling again here and start updating you on the latest real estate news as long as what's happening with our radio careers.
Unfortunately, not a lot to report on the latter front.
For various reasons we probably will not be returning to WGPA, but still aren't quite sure where we're heading. We have several options on the table right now and are looking for the best one. Rest assured, though, that readers here will be the first to know.
So, what's news?
We figure the best jumping-off point will be a couple articles Jeff wrote recently for CNNMoney.com:

The mad dash for housing help

Homeowner group slams Countrywide

Stop the Noise!

First things first: We are no fuddy-duddies.
We love to see our neighbors have fun. Heck, we're big fans of fun and think having fun is, well, fun.
But there are limits.
And our limits are being tested this week.
Nitwits with M-80s, firecrackers, pineapples and all other sorts of annoying noisemakers are littering our beloved river this week with their juvenile nonsense.
And it's only going to get worse.
As the week wears on and July 3 morphs into July 4, the decibel level is going to skyrocket like those wonderful bottle rockets, Roman candles and other fireworks paraphernalia shooting into the sky.
Which, by the way, we don't mind.
Whistles shooting through the sky and bursting into dazzling colors make us happy.
Things that do nothing but rattle the eardrum don't.
So, at the risk of sounding like joyless curmudgeons, we applaud the work of the New Jersey State Troopers who this week are clamping down on the idiotic loophole in Pennsylvania law that allows Garden Staters to come over here and buy fireworks, even though they're illegal in the Keystone State and illegal for residents on the Pennsy side of the Delaware to buy them.
In fact, we're hoping for massive enforcement efforts this week - not just to protect our eardrums and those of our beloved pups, but to protect the people who will try to use fireworks who don't know what they're doing.
This is a matter of public safety and common sense.
So if you want loud, senseless noise, go to a rap concert.
But stay off our river.

Church dispute in Lower Naz

Faith Unity United Church of Christ finds itself in an interesting quandary with the Lower Nazareth Zoning Hearing Board.
The two sides are disputing how much land the church needs to build a new place of worship on Hecktown Road.
Faith Unity believes it needs 2 acres of land to build, while the townshp contends it must have 5 acres. That's a lot of real estate in LNaz.
Interesting sidelight is that Ron Gano, a Realtor at Prudential Paul Ford and a former colleague of ours, is representing the church.

Lynn Pietrouchie February 15, 1949 -- June 25, 2007

It's our sad duty to pass along the following e-mail, sent out today by Frances Flynn Thorsen, managing editor of RealTown.com:

Lynn Pietrouchie February 15, 1949 - June 25, 2007

It is with profound sadness that we share the news that Lynn Pietrouchie has passed away.

Lynn is loved and admired in many corners of the real estate industry. Her commitment, discipline, kindness, and good humor have been a fountain of inspiration for many of us for many years.

Lynn was a REALTOR with Realty World Benchmark Realty in Bethlehem, PA, for many years. Prior to joining Realty World she worked at Sandra Lee Labarre REALTORS, also in Bethlehem. Lynn also worked for the Bethlehem Housing Authority for many years.

Several weeks ago Lynn called me and asked me to construct this e-mail in a way that includes her thanks for the prayers and good wishes that fellow REALTORS have issued in the last year and a half as she faced the effects and treatments for brain cancer.

Lynn paid close attention to death announcements during this time and she was determined that the news of her passing contain certain key ingredients.
The following are Lynn's words:

"I wish to thank all members of the real estate community who were gracious with their love and support and prayers in this last year and a half. I also want to thank all those agents I had a chance to work with over the years for their professionalism and for many friendships that were born during the course of our work together."

Lynn also wished to caution real estate professionals about the use of cell phones. Lynn had more than one type of brain tumor and her closest medical advisors told her that one type is consistent with a type of tumor that is connected to cell phone use. She strongly suspected that cell phone use was a strong contributing factor leading to her disease and she was concerned about the lack of awareness among consumers despite growing evidence about the dangers of cell phone use. (For a recent report on such dangers, go here.

She leaves a loving husband, Chris Gawlik; a devoted daughter, Michelle Pietrouchie-Summers, who is also a REALTOR; two beautiful granddaughters, Alexa and Madison; and a sweet son-in-law, Robert Summers.

We extend our condolences to Lynn's family and friends. We will miss her greatly. We will cherish our memories and carry Lynn's inspiration with us forever.

All local, all the time

Today's lesson emphasizes the point that real estate, like politics, is local.
As explained by CNNMoney's Les Christie, some markets are holding their own quite well and pretty much unaffected by this so-called national housing crisis.
Remember this and then take a look at Les' story: It matters no more to someone from the Lehigh Valley what's happening in the Los Angeles real estate market than it would what's happening in the Los Angeles job market. It's an economic fact that some areas will prosper while others falter. In contrast, the prime rate is the prime rate, gas prices are gas prices etc.
But the national real state market is not your local real estate market. Remember that.

Web site rallies the troops against Realty Transfer Tax increase

In case you weren't aware, Gov. Ed Rendell and the rest of the Harrisburg mafia have been looking at ways to close the dreaded "budget gap," which of course means that they haven't found ways to tax you enough to pay for their spending habits.
One of their ideas is to raise the realty transfer tax, which is a levy that you must pay when closing your house. The 2 percent tax is usually split between the buyer and seller.
Under Rendell's plan, the state's half of the tax would be raised to 1.99 percent, ostensibly to pay for more than $1.6 billion in raod, bridges and mass transit improvements.
This is a horrible idea, and we've said so.
So while we've already addressed this issue on the show, we felt it was worth talking about again as the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors has set up a Web site to try to rally opposition to the proposal.
You can view votenoonrtt.com here.

Jose DeJesus killed in auto accident, services tonight

The Lehigh Valley real estate community lost one of its own recently.
Jose M. DeJesus, 37, died in an automobile accident Saturday.
Jose worked for Countrywide at both of the Ramos Realty Agencies in Allentown
and Bethlehem and he also had an office in Easton.
Services are this evening from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sell-Herron Funeral Home, 1145 Lehigh St., Allentown. Funeral is 8:45 Thursday at Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church, Allentown.
Our condolences to his family.

Bethlehem ups rec fees

Bethlehem developers are getting hit with new recreation fees.
City council Tuesday gave first approval to an ordinance that slaps buildiers with a $1,500-per-unit fee for new developments. In the near term, Bethlehem leaders hope the increased fees will generate some $1 million from the redevelopment of Martin Tower.
Still, some council members weren't satisfied. They said the city's fees will still be too small compared to surrounding municipalities.

The Poconos' housing disaster

And you thought it was bad here.
While Lehigh Valley home sales have been taking a beating in year-over-year comparisons, the news is much worse for the Poconos.
At least Lehigh Valley sales in May were up (nearly 14 percent) from the previous month, even though they were down 20 percent from the year before.
In Monroe County, May sales were down 35 percent from April. And average market time? While we've fretted over the 51 days it takes to sell a home in the Lehigh Valley, the average time in the Poconos is 100 days!
Ouch.
The Pocono Record has the whole depressing story here.

Sen. Boscola, what are you wating for?

So let's veer from real estate for a minute ...
The local papers (the Morning Call broke the story, the Express-Times followed today) have been reporting about some incredibly tasteless remarks that state Sen. Lisa Boscola's chief of staff made on the Lehigh Valley Ramblings
blog.

Without getting into the vile specifics, Kieklak made staggeringly indecent remarks about U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent and sexist, misogynistic comments regarding Sam Bennett, who is expected to challenge Dent next year. Boscola also is regarded as a possible candidate for Dent's seat.
Kieklak has offered to resign, but Boscola has not accepted yet, choosing instead a wait-and-see approach until she talks more with Kieklak.
We would just pose one question: After digesting this decidedly sordid affair, what exactly would it take for Boscola to fire someone?
Just asking.

Mortgage rates surge

Here's a story you can expect to see more of during the course of the year.
Mortgage rates have hit a four-year high, resting uncomfortably at 6.74 percent as they climbed nearly a quarter point over the past week.
Creeping inflation and an economy that is stronger than expected likely will continue to fuel the interest rate increase.
According to Doug Duncan, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, rates likely will top out around 7 percent this year.