Mortgage Rate UpdateKnow Your Credit Score In the past, it wasn't out of the question to obtain a mortgage with a FICO score in the low 500 range. In fact, if you were willing to accept the payment, you could even do so with little money down.Today, however, if you have a low FICO score, you may not be able to get a mortgage. In fact, depending on how much of a down payment you can afford and the mortgage program you are applying for, you may be looking at a minimum score of 680 to obtain a mortgage.The point is, your credit score is more crucial than ever-not just for getting a low rate, but for qualifying for a mortgage at all.So, before you sign a purchase contract or apply for financing, take the time to have your credit profile checked out. Often, there are steps you can take to h... 12/24/2009

  What Are Points and When Should You Pay Them?   Points are up-front fees paid by the borrower to obtain a better interest rate on a loan. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. And while a lower interest rate may result in a lower monthly payment, it is important to consider how long you intend to be in the loan and to compare current interest rates to historical market trends. This will help you to determine whether paying points is a worthwhile investment. Let's look at a sample scenario. If you take out a $300,000 mortgage and decide to pay one point in order to lower your interest rate, this would translate into an up-front cost of $3,000. To keep things simple, we'll assume that paying this one point will save you $50 a month. This means it will take you 60 months to r... 12/23/2009

Wilmington Delaware Real Estate Market Update Dec. 20, 2009 Active Single Family Homes Min. 3 Bedrooms ....... 61 Active Town homes, condos and 1 & 2 beds ....... 655 Pending homes (waiting for settlement) ......... 80 Sold homes last 30 days .........51 Sold homes in Wilmington are down @ 15% from last week with the holiday season approaching.  Plenty of great deals out there right now.  Search for all the homes for sale in the Wilmington Delaware area including Claymont Delaware, Hockessin Delaware, Greenville Delaware, Pike Creek Delaware, Bear Delaware, Newark Delaware and surrounding areas. 12/20/2009

Between 1851 and 1854, Quaker merchant Joseph Shipley built this Gothic Revival mansion to reflect the beauty of an English country estate. Indeed, Rockwood is a magnificent site, once having a view of the Delaware River in the distance.  Today, Rockwood Mansion, a part of Rockwood Park, is owned and operated by New Castle County, with the help of the Friends of Rockwood.  The mansion was given to the County by descendants of Shipley, but the furniture had to be purchased by the Friends from the family, piece by piece, creating the beautiful setting you see today. The Rockwood Park entrance is located just south of Shipley Road on the Washington Street Extension  just north of the city of  Wilmington, Delaware.        A recent Christmas party for the Friends of Rockwood saw the house de... 12/16/2009

The Delaware Art Museum Holiday House Tour was held December 12, and it proved to be a mix of art centered homes, artists' studios and homes decorated for Christmas. I had a great time talking to Rick  Rothrock, who sculpts in stone and whose home is a virtual gallery of his work. Then we visited the home of The Memegers and were wowed by his studio with its sunny glass-enclosed walls and the poured in place concrete table that stretched across this former basement. An artcentric home, below, in Brandywine Falls overlooking the river featured an art collection, some pieces having been made by the Golinkoff/Ballens' son. They so liked the dining room furniture that they invested in the company that made it. The Christmas spirit was much in evidence in the beautiful Westover Hills home of... 12/13/2009

  Wilmington Delaware Real Estate Market Update Dec. 13, 2009 Active Single Family Homes Min. 3 Bedrooms ....... 60 Active Town homes, condos and 1 & 2 beds ....... 655 Pending homes (waiting for settlement) ......... 93 Sold homes last 30 days .........72 Sales in the City of Wilmington continue to be slow with approx. 10 months supply of homes available.  Buyers are in a very good position with home prices falling in many cases and with a intrest rate in the mid 4% area for a fixed rate.  Buyers also can use the Federal Tax Credit and the First time home buyers credit allowing them to purchase a home for as low as $500 in many cases. Its good to be a buyer in Wilmington right now! Larry Hultberg Delaware Realtor 302-530-9186 Search for the newest listings in the Wilmington Delaware ar... 12/13/2009

Real estate in Wilmington, DE covers a wide range of values currently from about $20,000 to 1.5 million. The city is very diverse in culture and economics and draws lots of banks and corporations so there is a fair amount of transient activity even in today's market as we approach 2010. There is some new construction here and there, but it is an older city so there aren't large tracts of land to be developed although the Wilmington Riverfront is growing by leaps and bounds and lots of old commercial and industrial properties as well as residential are being bought up and converted. Real estate in Wilmington, DE is in a fairly large supply right now at over 500 listings with a city that has a population of roughly around 73,000.                          There is a lot to do in Wilmington... 12/09/2009

It's not that time of year, but due to the continuing changes in Washington, we are already seeing some movement in local races as the parties and politicians begin to position themselves for 2010. It's too early to get a feel for who will do what in the next election, but I did have the chance to stop by both Party Headquarters to try to learn where we should be looking to get a feel for the future.  There are an unending supply of political sites both locally and nationally to satisfy almost any viewpoint, but if you just want to get up to speed on the local situation, these will provide a great place to start.  The first few can be used to learn the basics of the state government.  Then there are just a few current blogs representing both sides of the spectrum. For basic contacts and... 11/28/2009

I just wanted to pass on a quick reminder from Rep Mike Ramone on Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage. It's that time of year for the annual Medicare Prescription Drug Enrollment review.  Each year, Medicare makes changes to their plans.  ELDERinfo and Delaware Medicare Partners will be providing information on the plans at community events throughout the State of Delaware.  ELDERinfo, the Delaware State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), provides unbiased information and counseling to people covered by Medicare. For New Castle County, the scheduled events include: Thursday, November 19, 9:00-12:00 Tuesday, December 8, 9:00-12:00 MOT Senior Center 300 South Scott Street Middletown Call for Appointments at 302-378-4758 Monday, November 30, 9:00-1:00 Christiana Care Hospital John... 11/15/2009

A meeting will be held on November 19, 2009 at 7 PM at the Carriage House in Rockwood Park on Washington St. Extension to discuss a New Castle County Department of Special Services sewer rehabilitation project which is scheduled to begin in late 2010. If your home in North Wilmington is to be affected, you have probably received a letter notifying you of  the meeting. The interesting part about this notice is that it will have a picture of your house and markers showing where the rehabilitation will be located. I received a notice, and it says that at no cost to the homeowner, the County will line the pipe with a new cured in place pipe liner. The liner will form a new water tight pipe inside the existing lateral reducing leakage, resisting roots, and extending the life of the service l... 11/15/2009

A charming piece of history is the Historic Greenbank Mill in Wilmington, DE. It dates back to at least to the 1760s and it is thought to be the site of an old Swedish Mill before the present mill was built.  The Swedish mill is believed to date back to 1677. The Mill was devastated by fire set by arsonists in 1969 and then rebuilt. A group known as The Greenbank Mill Associates worked extremely hard at getting the mill restored. It was again ravaged in 1999, this time by Hurricane Floyd. The waterwheel had to be replaced amongst many other major repairs. It was again flooded in Sept. of 2003 in a storm that caught the New Castle County area by surprise. This time there was not nearly the damage that was done by Floyd. There were many volunteers that helped in the cleanups and repairs t... 11/08/2009

An interesting piece of history that is still alive and active is the Wilmington and Western Railroad in southwest Wilmington, DE. It dates back to the 1860s when it was chartered to move supplies back and forth between the mills on the Red Clay Creek to the Port of Wilmington. It ran all the way from Landenberg, PA to the riverfront. Today it is still running and is a wonderful attraction for the whole family. It runs from the Greenbank Station at Prices Corner out to Mt. Cuba in Greenville where it stops long enough that you can have a picnic. There's a beautiful view of the Red Clay Creek and a park like area where you can relax at the Mt. Cuba stop.    Some of the typical events they offer are the Mt. Cuba Express as mentioned above, the Hockessin Express where the train stops in Ho... 11/08/2009

Welcome to the Finest Fully Accredited  Delaware Online Real Estate School with the best prices available. Check out our website www.RowlettCareerSchool.com. Our passing rate meets or exceeds any other online course provider.  Get your Delaware Real Estate License here.  Captain Wayne Rowlett and the Rowlett Career School offer the finest online real estate school in the Industry. Please take a few moments to explore our site where you will find detailed information on our full service online real estate school and live classes.   http://www.rowlettcareerschool.com/de-delaware.htm                                            Home        FAQs       Career Info      Bookstore      General Info      About Us     Contact Us           Select a state below for approved courses    Online Real E... 11/04/2009

For the last 28 years, the Junior League of Wilmington has sponsored a giant "garage sale" at various locations in Wilmington.  The Whale of a Sale usually is held in vacant retail space, the locations echoing the latest downturn in commercial real estate. This year, it will be held at the former Vanity Fair location in the Shipyard Shops, a location that didn't work out for outlet shops at 900 S. Madison St. in Wilmington.  Gowns for $20, furniture, player pianos, all bring in buyers; last year about 2400 people came, raising $35,000 for local charities. The doors open 8 am Saturday, November 7, 2009.  There will be a line at the door!  It ends at 1 pm, and bring your own containers, and there are no dressing rooms. Admission is free, and you will be helping many local people who benef... 11/03/2009

 Community Events In Wilmington Delaware. Please come out to make it with us for this worthy cause on Saturday, November 7th 2009 as the Delaware Futures' will be hosting their Inaugural 5K Run.  The run will be located at the Wilmington Riverfront andd will start at 9:00am.  The onsite registration opens at 8:00am so be sure to be there early!  Racers will automatically receive a T-shirt displaying the student artwork of the name and logo of this run.  The entry fee will be $16.00 until November 4th, 2009 and $20.00 on the day of the event.  In today's society, a high school education no longer guarantees a bright future.  As college has become more imperative, it has also become an unattainable goal to many students.   Lack of preparation and finances often lead to many students not f... 10/31/2009

Wilmington Delaware Home For Sale - Wilmington Delaware Real Estate Great Home For First Time Home Buyers! 7 Cypress Ave. Wilmington Delaware $1,000 down for qualifed buyers GARAGE! Home Price $162,000 Finished Basement! Updated Kitchen! Short Sale. Beautiful well built brick front ranch home in popular neighborhood of kiamensi gardens. Main level has a large living room galley kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a full bath. The Lower level was just refinished to add 2 bedrooms, family room, laundry room and plumbing for a 1/2 bath. attached to the home is a large 1 car garage and a driveway that leads to a covered carport and a large fenced rear yard with 2 sheds. This home has it all and is close to everything. just minutes to Christiana mall, pike creek, Delaware park, and everything NewCastle ... 10/27/2009

Oct. 25, 2009  The News Jornal reported that Fisker Automotive http://karma.fiskerautomotive.com/ may soon announce that they will be building what they call the "worlds first luxury plug-in hybrid electric vehicle at the old Boxwood Road Gm Plant. According to the company website American automaker Fisker Automotive was recently approved for a conditional loan of $528 million by the Department of Energy (DOE).  The next generation Karma will be built entirely in the U.S It looks like they plan on making 75,000-100,000 of these cars a year and the resulting vehicle will sell for about $39,900 after federal tax credits. With 50 miles of electric range and more than 350 miles of total range, the Fisker Karma with its proprietary Q-DRIVE powertrain developed by Quantum Technologies, will h... 10/26/2009

This is a great opportunity to live in the heart of Pike Creek Valley! What a great area to live in and so close to lots of great areas and fun things to do! This two story for sale in Pike Creek, DE is priced to sell  quickly and has a lot to offer. It has four bedrooms, two and one half baths and a generous sized one-car garage. A very nice lot with great curb appeal adds to the desirability. The enclosed back porch overlooks a semi-private back yard which is perfect for the kids. This two story for sale in Pike Creek, DE is a great home to raise a family in! A great floor plan and nice curb appeal to drive home to. A big formal living room with exposed hardwood floors is to the right as you walk in the center hall foyer and then a cozy family room with wood burning fireplace is on th... 10/22/2009

This is a cute and affordable Cape Cod for sale in Elmhurst, Wilmington, DE. A really nice opportunity for a first time buyer! Very charming with some nice updates to boot! The entry is a nice enclosed porch that opens to a cozy living room. The eat-in kitchen has an adjoining mud room and pantry space. A nice Cape Cod for sale in Elmhurst, Wilmington, DE. The back door opens to a nice sized fenced in yard. There's also an outside entrance to the basement! Some of this home's updates include the roof, heater, A/C and hot water heater. Also, most of the house was re-drywalled and wiring and the electric service updated. This is a first time buyers delight. Many first time buyers are taking advantage of the "Perfect Storm" of low interest rates, lowered prices and the $8,000 First Time Bu... 10/22/2009

Visitors to the environmental center at the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge , whether they come by foot, water taxi or car, are greeted by a 10-acre botanic garden. Native plants, benches, flagstone paths, rivulets and a statue of Russell W. Peterson by sculptor Charles Parks set the tone of this scene overlooking the Christina River and the Wilmington skyline. Peterson left his mark on Delaware with the Coastal Zone Act of 1972, a law intended to protect Delaware's coast from heavy industry. In the 1960s, he started a battle with oil companies who saw the Delaware River as fertile ground for new industrial uses.  But Gov. Peterson's love of nature stood in the way as he recently told an enthralled group (of which I was a part) at the Delaware Historical Society.  Commerce Ma... 10/12/2009