Happy Memorial Day!  (Delaware Soldiers and Sailors Monument - Wilmington DE)Remember those who served and be sure to visit the parade on May 30 at 6:00 PM.Hope you had a great day! Take some time and enjoy your summer! David HenkeLong & Foster Real Estate Inc – Devon, PA/Wilmington, DEOffice: 610-225-7400/Direct: 610-618-0808http://www.DelawarePAHomes.com  05/28/2018

I know the calendar is saying it's April and Spring is here, but really? Last night I drove through light snow to get to a meeting in Kennett Square. The wind was cruel and fellow attendees tried to talk about anything but the weather.So, I get it. We have no control over it. But still my garden is trying to do its usual Springtime thing. Daffodils are still blooming, primroses are trying hard to bloom, the spirea is sending forth white sprays of tiny blossoms, and the flowering quince is trying very hard for its buds to open.Then, it suddenly occurred to me that I needed to find a new landscaper to apply mushroom compost mulch to my flower beds. Hope the guy someone on Nextdoor recommended comes through with a bid. And will the neighbor's teenage son really come through with his promis... 04/10/2018

Top Rated Junk Removal Wilmington-Newark Delaware Low Cost We remove anything from anywhere Well there are some things we cant remove but we remove just about everything from a single item to the contents of a whole home or estate.  Our clients love our friendly on time low cost service.We remove items from attics, basements, sheds, apartment buildings and condos.  Looking to replace furniture?  Give us a call.  Pool table or exercise equipment in a basement?  Give us a call.  Moving in or out and have unwanted items that have to go in a hurry?  Give us a call.We also remove above ground swimming pools, sheds, most decks and other small structures like children's play/swing sets!We guarantee our prices will beat all the National chain prices.  Why pay more?  04/08/2018

DELAWARE NEWS The New Castle Historical Society announces several events for April:The Amstel and Dutch houses will open for the season at 10 a.m. on April 4. Tickets available at the Arsenal, 30 Market Street. Also, the annual meeting will be Tuesday, April 10 at the Arsenal at 7 p.m.  And join "History Rocks", a party and learning session about the Society on Friday, April 13 at 7 p.m. Fee is $10 a person for light refreshments, music, dancing, and cash bar. Winterthur Museum and Gardens have opened their exhibit of garden follies (based on traditional structures from the U.K. built by rich estate owners). Also new is "Dining by Design", which is a comprehensive exhibit of all you ever wanted to know about dinnerware (I was only able to absorb about 1/4 of it at a time--lots of small ... 04/02/2018

DELAWARE EVENTS First Saturday in the First State programs on Saturday, February 3 will include:"An Eagle on his Button and a Musket on his Shoulder: African-American Soldiers in the Civil War" 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the John Bell House, 43 The Green, Dover. Discover USCT heroes from Delaware who fought to win freedom and equality. As a border state, Delaware held a complicated position regarding slavery. Tours led by historical interpreters in period dress begin at the John Bell House on The Green every hour and last approximately 45 minutes. Offered at the same times are guided tours at Legislative Hall exploring the life of Herman Holloway, one of Delaware’s most prominent African-American politicians, who served as both a State Representative and State Senator during the 1960s.From ... 01/31/2018

If you are looking for good news about real estate in Northern Delaware, be prepared to look at the following with your "positive attitude" hat firmly in place.If you are a potential home seller, compare the numbers for this past December to the previous year. Seven percent fewer homes were on the market, which means that buyers are starved for homes to buy.If you are a buyer looking for a home, the median sales price was $218,700, compared to $225,000 a year ago. And interest rates are still under 5%, which makes it historically still great news. Through the last 20 years, rates for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage ranged from 7.29% to 7.73%. The peak year was 2000 with a rate of 8.64%.So the good news is that you need to evaluate your family's situation--is it time to buy a larger home, ... 01/20/2018

Although the weather people were predicting a big snow storm for today,  only the southern part of Delaware seems to have been hit hard. Up here in northern Delaware, although they are saying on TV that Wilmington had 4 inches, my neighborhood just had maybe an inch of slushy white stuff.It was so wet that I went out this morning and used a push broom to get it off my driveway. My big achievement was actually using the half hour before the snow started this morning to clear the last of the oak leaves off my patio. I like to use the blower on vacuum setting and have it mince the leaves. That way they can be used as mulch on my garden beds.   But back to the snow, I did put some snow melt on the driveway and walk, which is good, because they are predicting "black ice" tonight and tomorrow... 12/09/2017

Top Rated Junk Removal Wilmington - Newark Delaware Reviews Delaware Junk Removal removes anything from anywhere for less!We are always proud to post reviews from our customers!Tom S. - We are doing major work in our house and needed to get rid of a lot of things that we will not use or that no longer work. Larry and the guys came in and went right to work and were in and out in less than an hour, Very impressive!!!! Also what was awesome was I called him to give the list of items we needed to have removed and he came out the same week, which was very important to us. A very friendly and polite group who I highly recommend to anyone that needs items removed from their house and their prices were the best out of all of our research and well worth it. Thanks Larry and Crew!!!!! Josh P.Lar... 11/23/2017

The world and the world of Real Estate have changed since I got into selling historic homes almost 30 years ago, so what follows is a review of points to remember before you list or sell an historic home in today's market.1. Don't worry if it does not have a glitzy interior but retains original features such as marble mantles.2. Don't worry if it's not "open plan" but worry if so many interior walls have been removed that the house has lost its original character.3. Worry if you have removed all the original millwork.4. Worry if you have made the fireplaces either disappear or have changed them into something that looks like it came from Home Depot.5. Worry if it still has "knob and tube" wiring, because your buyer won't be able to get homeowners' insurance.6. Worry if it has a well whi... 11/01/2017

DELAWARE EVENTSThe George Washington Society is hosting a talk on Monmouth, the Battle that Silenced George Washington's Critics by author Garry Wheeler Stone on Thursday, November 2 at 6 p.m. at the Ed Oliver Golf Club. 800 N. DuPont Road, Wilmington. Buffet dinner $25. RSVP KimBurdick@aol.com.First Saturday in the First State is coming up on November 4, and the popular First State Heritage Park's 18th Century Market Fair is back. This free event is fun for the whole family.   Living history trades and craft demonstrations,  entertainers,  food--all with an 18th century twist!  Rain or shine, on the Green in downtown Dover, Delaware. Includes guided tours of Legislative Hall and the Old State House. Winterthur   Two events upcoming on November 4 are worth noting. 1) Treasures Revealed ... 10/30/2017

I noticed recently that the crop of milkweed bugs which were hatching on my Asclepias had suddenly decided to put on a show. They marched off the milkweed pods en masse to the scrolling metal trim at the top of a stake which was supposed to keep the plant from drooping.OK, I get that. A much more artistic location. But from a bug's eye view? Not sure about that, but they must have felt the spirit to march off in that direction. I wonder if they heard music leading them on?  Was it Claude Debussy's Deux Arabesques?   I may never know. But this morning, one of the milkweed pods opened and the fluff covered seeds emerged, waiting for the wind to carry them away.  The bugs also marched off somewhere else and only a couple of the stragglers remained. I'm sure they knew what they were doing, ... 10/17/2017

Recently Closed - Perfectly Smooth Delaware Home Purchase      When I first spoke to my client, we went over what she was looking for in a loan - monthly payment range, timeline, rate, costs, and how the process would go.      This was a fun one - perfect credit, down payment in a single savings account, salaried and on her current job for more than 2 years, renting the same current residence for more than 2 years as well.      "The good news, Ms Buyer, is that you're going to have a much easier loan process than you probably expect", I told her.  2 weeks later, with next to no documentation from our borrower, we were clear to close.  We waited the final 2 weeks to settlement joking that "if something goes wrong, it's not going to be with your loan!"      With a conventional loan and th... 10/12/2017

North Wilmington Townhomes    North Wilmington Single Family Homes    North Wilmington Condos     North Wilmington Bank Owned Homes     North Wilmington Short Sale Homes    North Wilmington Active Adult 55 Plus   Addicks Estates AftonAshbourne HillsAugustine HillsBallymeadeBellevue HillsBellevue ManorBellevue Manor AdditionBirch KnollBlue Rock ManorBrandywine HillsBrandywine HuntBrandywoodBuckingham GreeneBuckingham HeightsCardiffCarrcroftCarrcroft CrestChalfonteChanninChapelcroftChathamClair ManorClaymont AdditionClaymont CentreClaymont HeightsClaymont ManorClaymont TerraceClaymont VillageClearfieldCliff HouseColonial WoodsConcord ManorDarley WoodsDartmouth WoodsDartmouth Woods IIDeerhurstDelaview ManorDevonEdenridgeFairfaxGraylyn CrestGraylyn Crest NorthGreen AcresGreen MeadowGreentr... 10/06/2017

Recently Closed - Cash Out Refinance in Wilmington, DE       Over the past few months I've been working with a few clients on their retirement planning, namely how home ownership and mortgage financing fits into the picture, after they inquired about a potential refinance.  A few years ago, I helped them refinance their Delaware home with a low rate 15 year mortgage, and the plan at that time was to pay the loan off as fast as possible and sail into retirement nearly mortgage-free.     As it does, life had other plans for these wonderful people, and they now had the need for some renovation money, but were trying to find a way to get it without a) dipping into retirement funds or b) increasing their monthly debts.  How does one get a bunch of money without it impacting their monthly deb... 09/13/2017

This weekend was perfect weather for the Brandywine Festival of the Arts, running the weekend after Labor Day pretty much since 1991. We have had this event with rainy weather, and dry weather with mud from a previous storm,  but the weather smiled on this event for 2017.There were about 250 exhibitors, ranging from painters, printmakers, woodworkers, metal workers (i.e. these bells), jewelry makers, gourmet food purveyors and children's toys and clothes for all, as well as the traditional event t-shirts.As always, people brought their dogs and watering bowls were available for these pets, since it was a warm day. The one thing I noticed was that there were more people with humongous strollers, each one holding one or two children  and taking up a whole aisle between exhibits. I almost ... 09/10/2017

Recently Closed - Term Reduction Refinance in Wilmington, DE       This blog post could also be titled "when things come together perfectly".  You know what I mean.  When a client has their stuff together, in every aspect of having their stuff together.  Great credit, great communication, responsiveness, a low debt to income ratio, and plenty of equity in their home.  This situation is the "unicorn" of the mortgage industry, and when we get em', we sure do appreciate them to balance out the puzzles that we're usually issued by clients.      The result of combining one of the industry's best loan processes and a 'unicorn' loan file can result in some pretty great things - in this instance, a loan was taken from application to clear to close in just 6 business days.  Appraisal, title, and... 08/15/2017

           The  Market Report is in for July, 2017 in New Castle County, Delaware. For the year to date, the number of new listings is up 4.4%. Closed sales are also up, by 12% points, which is good for sellers. Also good news for sellers is that the median sales price is up half a percentage poing over July of 2016--not a lot, but still progress. More good news is that average days on the market is down 14% over July of last year.Also, single family detached inventory is down over 12%, which is making it even harder for buyers to find a home.So my advice to buyers is to find a good Realtor® and sit down and figure out a strategy for finding the perfect home. And sellers of older and historic homes--it's time to contact Carolyn Roland, Your Older and Historic Homes Resource and  find ou... 08/02/2017

  Find all sorts of goodies in this brick end unit townhouse.   Beautiful hardwoods Eat in kitchen Bathroom on every floor Concrete porch Wooden Deck Attached oversized garage Much More! 07/25/2017

DELAWARE EVENTSStart your weekend with a bang on July 1 at Fort Delaware State Park. at 12:15 p.m. witness a heavy artillery demonstration from one of the largest Civil War-era cannons that still fires on a regular basis.  Then at 1:15 join a soldier or civilian for an inspection of the fort's many rooms and areas. Meet some of the various individuals who lived and worked at the fort in 1864.  July Fourth Events Dover- 4 p.m. – 10 p.m. Food and Craft Vendors on  Martin Luther King Blvd. North (formerly Duke of York St., next to Legislative Mall) 4:00pm – 4:30pm at The Old State House, 25 The Green. Join us as we read the Declaration of Independence and ring the Old State House bell. 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.Free Children’s Activities Moonbounces, pony rides and petting zoo on the west end of Legi... 06/29/2017

Open House - 1230 N. Tatnall St. Wilmington DE 19802Presented by Edith Elzie with Keller Williams Realty - Call Edith at (704) 421-3363Wednesday, June 14, 2017 5 -7-p.m. This 2 bedroom historic gem with modern improvements exudes charm and makes it an ideal choice for chic urban living. Features include all brick exterior, transom window above the front door, 9 ft. ceilings, freshly painted 1st. level, hardwood floors on the main and upper levels and all replacement windows. The move-in ready home, situated on a tree-lined street, is in a fantastic location within walking distance to the business district, downtown nightlife, highly rated restaurants, theatre, Brandywine Park and its’ walking & biking trails, YMCA, shopping and banking. Only minutes to I-95, Christiana Health Care, The ... 06/09/2017