Pennsylvania Real Estate Incentives

1824 Fairhaven Drive, Tobyhanna

Raised Ranch with a new facelift! 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 1 Car Garage, Fresh Paint, New Carpet. Call Connie Foland 570-972-0140 and ask about MLS# 10-1375.

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Pennsylvania Real Estate Incentives

What are your plans for Feb. 14th ,come to the Pocono Mountains

Couples Night to aid Haitian relief
Ris-K Lingerie is partnering with the American Red Cross to raise funds for Haitian Relief. A Couple’s Night for Valentine’s Day will take place 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11.

A door donation of $10 minimum per person will go entirely to the Red Cross to be sent to Haiti.

The event will feature pole dancers, belly dancers, zumba and hooping demonstrators, as well as ladies in lingerie. Many local restaurants will donate food and prizes for the event.

Ris-K Lingerie is at 580 Main St., Stroudsburg. For information, call (570) 422-6900.

Valentine’s Dance in East Stroudsburg
The American Legion Auxiliary Post 346 will sponsor a Valentine’s Day dance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at the American Legion, 201 E. Fifth St., East Stroudsburg.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. There will be complimentary beverages and snacks as well as a cash bar. Entertainment will be provided by The McWilliams Brothers.

For tickets and information, call (570) 897-6442.

Spring St. celebrates Valentine’s Day
Spring Street businesses have a full and varied schedule of events, contests and special offers for Pre-Valentine’s Day, Feb. 13, on Second Saturday.

Main Street, Newton, N.J., is hosting the first Newton Ice Carving Showcase in front of the Fire Museum, 150 Spring St., beginning at noon and featuring Bob Johnson from Decorative Flairs Ice Carving of Denville, N.J.; Jake Dominguez from the Lake Mohawk Country Club in Sparta, N.J.; and Brett McClain from Freehand Custom Carvings in Newton, N.J.

The carvers will begin at noon and will have four hours to complete their carvings and then the sculptures will be relocated along Spring Street in lighted displays until 8 p.m. for the Second Saturday Valentine’s Weekend Sweetheart Walk.

Other activities will include children’s Valentine’s Day crafts, a Word Jumble contest, a wedding day photo contest, a Valentine’s Day raffle and live music with singer-guitarist Omar Mendez playing love songs from 4 to 7 p.m. Several Spring Street eateries and area businesses will offer specials for the day.

For information, call (973) 940-3178.

Mountain View Vineyard Valentine special
Show that special someone just how special they are with an afternoon of sipping wines and sampling “Death by Chocolate” cheesecake and a variety of other treats dipped in chocolate from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, and Sunday, Feb. 14.

There will be an array of gift items available for purchase. This is a free event.

Mountain View Winery is at 1220 Neola Road, Neola. For information, call (570) 619-0053 or visit www.mountainviewvineyard.com.

Valentine Charity Ball
Shepherd’s Maternity House of Monroe County will host its eighth annual Valentine Charity Ball at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, at Ridgecrest at Stroudsmoor Country Inn, Stroudsburg. All proceeds will benefit Sherpherd’s Maternity House.

Featured will be a social hour with hors d’oeurves and a cash bar. During the social hour, Susan Spannagel, a local harpist, will provide entertainment. A four-course dinner will be served at 5 p.m. Throughout dinner and the evening, DJ Mike Carmella will present music for listening and dancing. A silent auction will offer a variety of items donated by local businesses.

Cost is $75 per person or $750 per corporate table of eight, and includes a full-page display in the evening’s program. For information or to make a reservation, call Pat Stys at (570) 730-1163. Reservations must be made by Saturday, Feb. 6.

Music of bygone era at Valentine’s concert
Most people are unaware that Valentine’s Day had its origins in the 19th century, when young men left their homes to join the battle in the Civil War. Much of their longing and despair was expressed in the music of that era, which is the focus of Lehigh pianist Helen Beedle’s show, “A 19th-Century Soiree,” which she brings to Mauch Chunk Opera House in Jim Thorpe on Sunday, Feb. 14.

A professor of music at Lehigh for more than 20 years, Beedle has carved out a niche for herself at concerts and music festivals across the country with an emphasis on the salon music of the Civil War era.

A benefit for the Jim Thorpe Chamber of Commerce, Beedle’s performance begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www.MauchChunkOperaHouse.com or by calling (570) 325-0249.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Booklovers’ Ball
For the fifth consecutive year, the Booklovers’ Ball will be take place at Skytop Lodge on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, Feb. 14. Barrett Paradise Friendly Library in Cresco will be the beneficiary.

The night will begin at 5:30 p.m., with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. A four-course dinner will follow at 6:30 p.m. The eight-piece Doug Smith Band will play contemporary and classic dance numbers for most of the evening.

The highlight of the night will be a live auction. Among the “lots”— all donated by the community — are an original watercolor by John James, an original watercolor of Stroudsburg’s “Sweet Creams Café” by Tim Weaver, a night with Broadway’s “Mamma Mia” on March 24, a Penn State Football Weekend and more.

In addition, a silent auction will offer a variety of special treats, including gift baskets, golf packages, spa treatments, signed Penn State sports memorabilia.

Also, the drawing for the 2010 Heart’s Desire Car Raffle will be held. The holder of the winning ticket will get to choose one of three brand-new 2010 vehicles. Only 500 tickets will be sold, at $100 each. Tickets are available at the library.

The cost is $75 per person, $150 per couple, or $750 for a table of 10. Black tie is optional.

For information or to make a reservation, call Marion Weidman, at (570) 595-8909 or Cindy DeLuca at (570) 5957171 by Sunday.

Visit the paranormal on Valentines Day
“Haunted! Mind Mysteries & the Beyond” with supernormalist Dick Brooks will have a special Valentine’s Day showing at 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, at The Houdini Museum Theater.

This Psychic Theater presentation tells the tale of hauntings at 1433 N. Main Ave., Scranton, that were connected to the tragic murder/suicide/electrocution that occurred in the building.

Photos and newspaper articles of the happenings are on display. From notes found in the attic, participants are taken through the seven steps to a successful seance in the haunted building that’s more than 100 years old. Much of the story is based on real people and events including infamous area spiritualist George Valentine, “the man who challenged Houdini,” of Wilkes-Barre.

The performance includes experiments with audience members in mind control, telepathy, clairvoyance, telekinesis, psychometry and sightless vision. The story ends with a dark seance.

The presentation features paranormalist Dick Brooks and psychic investigator Dorothy Dietrich.

The show begins at 8 p.m. Reservations are required and should be purchased in advance. Tickets are $35 by reservation only. The presentation takes three hours or longer.

The Houdini Museum Theater is at 1433 N. Main Ave, Scranton. For information, visit www.Houdini.org or www.PsychicTheater.com or call (570) 383-9297.

Feb 14th has Tradtionally been a day for Lovers.  Start your own Tradition.  Say I love you to all your family and Friends.  What happened to the Secret Valentines?  Enjoy and Have Fun in the Pocono Mountains. 
Happy Valentines Day from the Staff at Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way, LCC

Pennsylvania Real Estate Incentives

Realtors Take Action to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credit

REALTORS® from all around the country (including Commonwealth’s Pocono Realtors) recently sat down in front of cameras to send Congress an important message: the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit is working. But with the credit set to expire soon, it’s not enough.

Watch this video (video link click here – http://bit.ly/zs5fB) to learn more, and then send your own message to Congress telling them to extend and expand the tax credit.

How to send to your letter:

Subject:
Homebuyer Tax Credit: Extend and Expand

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

As a Realtor and a constituent, I can assure you that the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit has definitely been a success. Homebuyer interest and housing sales increased almost as soon as the ink was dry on the tax credit legislation. Today’s lower prices and interest rates appeal to consumers, but it’s been the tax credit that has attracted people to open houses and to homeownership.

That progress could grind to a halt sooner than you think. Congress must act NOW to extend the credit through 2010. Otherwise, uncertainty will return and the market might again be frozen — possibly as soon as October.

A homebuyer is eligible for the tax credit only if the home is “purchased” before December 1, 2009. That means that buyers have to find a house, complete a contract, satisfy any contingencies, secure financing and go to closing by November 30. Accomplishing those tasks by November 30 will become more difficult with every passing day. In today’s market, it generally takes between 45 and 60 days to go from contract to closing.

The market has improved, but it has not yet fully corrected itself. The credit needs to be extended for an additional period of time and expanded in order to build upon the progress that’s been made. Uncertainty about the future of the credit will dampen consumer demand. The best way to assure continued housing activity is to extend and expand the credit and to do that NOW.

We can’t wait until late in the year to see what happens. Consumers will drop out soon if they can’t predict what’s in their future. Please act NOW to extend and expand the credit through 2010.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

Pennsylvania Real Estate Incentives

PA First Time Home Buyers – Get an advance on your tax credit to use for closing

Now there are even more reasons to buy homes in Pennsylvania.

We blogged recently that the federal government gave first-time home buyers incentive to buy a home because they added an opportunity to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act tax credit of up to $8,000 by first-time buyers to use the tax credit as a down payment or for closing costs. (Check out our recent blog post from June 8th – More reasons to buy Pocono Real Estate)

Then, today, the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS announced that Gov. Edward G. Rendell created a plan to award a portion of the $380 million in federal economic recovery funds to assist Pennsylvania home buyers. According news from PAR, nearly 1,000 families will receive thousands of dollars to help make down payments on new homes, more than 5,000 families across Pennsylvania will find affordable housing and jobs will be created for some 3,000 workers.

These down payment and closing cost assistance programs will come in the form of advances on the tax credits and will be administered through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Tax Credit Advance Loan Program (TCS) and Keystone Assistance Loans (KAL).  Borrowers can use a portion of the tax credit in the form of a second, short-term, low to no interest loan to fund the down payment or closing.

There is plenty of Pocono real estate available. If you have always wanted a home of your own and have never had a chance before, now might be the perfect time.

Pennsylvania Real Estate Incentives

More Reasons to Buy Real Estate Now

More reasons to buy real estate now!

It seems that the federal government really wants you to buy a home if you are a first-time buyer. Remember all the buzz about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers who buy a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. Qualifying taxpayers could claim the credit on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns.

Well, if you haven’t already gotten your home, maybe because you didn’t have enough of a down payment or enough for closing….guess what, it was just announced that some states, Pennsylvania included, will allow first-time home buyers to use the tax credit as a down payment or for closing costs. That’s right. Through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Tax Credit Advance Loan Program (TCS) borrowers can use a portion of the tax credit in the form of a second, short-term, low to no interest loan to fund the down payment or closing.

There is plenty of Pocono real estate available. If you have always wanted a home of your own and have never had a chance before, now might be the perfect time.

Learn more about all of these programs by visiting: www.IRS.gov, www.realtor.org and search for the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act and then visit www.ncsha.org/uploads/tcalp.pdf to learn about your options in Pennsylvania.