Wallingford News

A Wild Night In Wallingford As Hurricane Irene Passes Through

August 28, 2011 by admin

The Wallingford area faced wind gusts over 50 MPH and rainfall amounts that exceeded 5 inches as Hurricane Irene made it’s presence known on Saturday and Sunday. There were numerous power outages, fallen trees and limbs throughout the area. The rain began around 11:30 AM on Saturday and started in earnest around 4:00, and fell steadily throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Official weather records for Wallingford record a combined total of 5.70 inches of rain for Saturday August 27 and Sunday August 28 during Irene’s visit. Maximum sustained winds were recorded at 40 MPH on Saturday, and 39 MPH on Sunday, with wind gusts of 52 MPH on both days of the storm.

Take a look at some scenes of the storm’s effects on the Wallingford area:

Video Of Crum Creek Along Avondale Road

Wallingford Real Estate - Crum Creek Condo PArking Lot Flooded Out

Crum Creek Spills It's Banks And Floods The Crum Creek Condo Parking Lot Forcing Residents To Park On Avondale Road

Wallingford Real Estate - Avondale Road Under Water

Avondale Road Flooded Out By Crum Creek

Wallingford Real Estate - Construction Material Carried Away By Crum Creek

Large Pipe From Sewer Reconstruction Project Swept Downstream

Uprooted Tree At Putters Lane And Providence Road

Wallingford Real Estate - Fallen Tree Along Providence Road

Large Oak Tree On Providence Road That Owners Heard Fall At 1:38 AM Sunday Morning

Wallingford Real Estate - Damaged Playground Equipmetn At Trinity Lutheran Church

Fallen Tree Crushes Playground Castle At Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

: Water Rushing Over Crum Creek Falls Along Yale Avenue In Swarthmore

Storm Water Swells The Dam Along Swarthmore Ave In Swarthmore!

Wallingford Real Estate Review- July 2011

August 1, 2011 by admin

: Blue Route From Bullens Lane At Dusk

WALLINGFORD REAL ESTATE

July marked the first time this year that sales increased over the same month of the previous year, with 12 Wallingford homes sold in July 2011 as opposed to 11 sales in July 2010. Another encouraging trend was the average Days on Market was down substantially from previous months to 40 days. For the first six months of the year Days On Market averaged 182 days, so the drop to a 40 day average is significant. Coupled with the increase in the ratio of list price to selling price this indicates that seller pricing is coming into alignment with the market – proper pricing is reflected in shorter a marketing time and sale prices which closely reflect the asking price.

The percentage of sales price to original list was up to a strong 95.21%, and the corresponding measure of sales price to last list price posted at 96.55%. On the other hand the average sales price was down to $291,325, a drop of 23.0%.

There were 12 Wallingford homes sold during the month of July 2011.

WALLINGFORD HOMES SOLD – JULY 2011

Address	Bed	Bath	Price	Settled
114 Governors Drive	3	1.5	$227,000	07/01/11
1113 Putnam Blvd	3	2.5	$205,000	07/13/11
919 Winding Lane	3	2.5	$435,000	07/14/11
26 Cedar Road	4	1.0	$219,900	07/15/11
6 Kershaw Road	4	2.5	$545,000	07/15/11
115 Ridley Drive	3	1.5	$192,500	07/15/11
215 East Rose Valley Road	3	2.0	$392,000	07/21/11
705 Raleigh Court	2	1.0	$71,500	07/21/11
1044 Putnam Blvd	2	2.5	$204,900	07/29/11
409 Sheffield Drive	3	1.5	$265,000	07/29/11
209 Fox Lane	5	2.5	$510,000	07/29/11
607 Georgetown Road	3	1.5	$229,000	07/29/11

These 12 Wallingford homes were on the market an average of 40 days, with the average sold price representing 95.21% of the original asking price, and 96.55% of the last asking price.

919 Winding Lane was only on the market for 5days, while 115 Ridley Drive was on the market 125 days.

Conventional financing was utilized in 7 transactions, and 5 utilized FHA financing.

There were no distressed homes sales – Short Sales or Foreclosures reported.

A Seller Assist was utilized in 6 of 12 Wallingford homes sold, ranging from $525 to $11,000

114 Governors Drive – $7,850

26 Cedar Road – $1,500

6 Kershaw Road – $9,000

115 Ridley Drive – $5,500

1044 Putnam Blvd – $11,000

409 Sheffield Drive – $525

Wallingford July 2011 Activity vs July 2010

	*SALES*	*AVERAGE*	*DOM*	*STL TO ORIG*	*STL TO LAST*
2010	11	$378,200	53	94.36%	95.97%
2011	12	$291,325	40	95.21%	96.55%
	9.0%	– 23.0%	-24.5%	0.85%	0.58%

SWARTHMORE REAL ESTATE

There were 7 Swarthmore homes sold during the month of July 2011.

SWARTHMORE HOMES SOLD – JULY 2011

Address	Bed	Bath	Price	Settled
105 Cornell Avenue	5	2.5	$476,000	07/06/11
10 Ogden Avenue	4	2.5	$975,000	07/06/11
517 Walnut Lane	6	4.2	$854,000	07/13/11
228 Benjamin West	3	2.0	$310,000	07/13/11
10 Woodbrook Lane	4	4.5	$900,000	07/15/11
801 Yale Avenue #1123	2	2.0	$154,000	07/22/11
303 Elm Avenue	5	4.51	$1,010,000	07/28/11

These 7 Swarthmore homes sold for an average price of $688,429, and were on the market an average of 15 days, fetching 96.77% of original asking price, and 97.22% of last asking price.

1342 Putnam Blvd – OPEN HOUSE Sunday July 17 From 1 To 3

July 14, 2011 by admin

1342 Putnam Blvd – Weston Village 2 bedroom 2.5 bath town home listed at $196,999 – OPEN HOUSE– Sunday July 17 from 1 to 3. Brand new Heat Pump and Air Conditioning installed June 2011, new roof in 2007. A perfect maintenance free first time home or for someone looking to downsize. This well maintained Weston Village town home features a very convenient location within the prestigious Wallingford-Swarthmore School District.

Wallingford Real Estate - 1342 Putnam Village Basement

Finished Basement

First floor has ceramic tile entry foyer, powder room, EIK kitchen with a new dishwasher, large dining room and living room combination. Second floor has 2 spacious bedrooms. Master bedroom has large double closets and an attached full bath with a shower. Laundry facilities are conveniently located on this level as well. The basement is full and finished, with a sliding door leading out to patio which overlooks open space. A workshop and an additional storage room complete the lower level. Newly carpeted and painted, this home is ready for you to move in. Community amenities include tennis courts and a pool.

Weston Village is a complex of townhomes located off of Brookhaven Road in Wallingford, Nether Providence Township.

Weston Village Community Pool

Wallingford Real Estate - 1342 Pation Area

Patio Area

Have You Checked Your Air Filter Lately?

June 14, 2011 by admin

The average person breathes in about 32,000 pints of air everyday. That air contains over 1 billion particles of dust, most of which are particles less than 3 microns or smaller in size. For comparison purposes the average size of a human hair is 75 microns in size. It is a good idea to regularly maintain the air filter that removes many of these particles from your household air.

In your home the air filter in your forced air heating system is the primary method of removing these millions of particles of dust and other particles from your household air. Most people only think of air filter maintenance during the heating season, but it is a simple but very important task as we enter the summer and long term air conditioning usage.

There are many varieties of air filters to choose from, which are rated on what is know as a MERV rating – the ability of a air filter to filter out particles from the air. The higher the MERV rating the greater the ability to filter out smaller particles from the air stream. Low end disposable filters – the ones that sell for 99 cents or so have a MERV rating of 1. These cheaper filters do not do a very good job of air filtration. Pleated filters, which have an estimated life of 3 months, have a rating of 6 to 8 perform at a much higher level of efficiency.

I replaced my filter the other days after 3 months of use and it was looking pretty gray – literally. When air filters are clogged, air flow is restricted and the unit starves for air and hence performs inefficiently. This will end up costing you more $$$ as the system is not operating at peak efficiency.I replaced it with a nice new white pleated filter which cost $7.99 and had a MERV rating of 7. I put the date on the side of the filter so I will remember when to change it in the future.

Installation of a filter is one of the simplest home maintenance tasks. The filter slides right out of it’s slot adjacent to the heater in the return air duct. The most difficult part of filter replacement is to make sure that the arrow on the filter points in the same direction as the air flow into the HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) unit, and that you purchase the correct size filter for you unit.

So do you lungs a favor and keep your HVAC unit running efficiently as the summer cooling season gets underway.

Wallingford Swarthmore Board Proposes 1.4% Tax Hike

May 10, 2011 by admin

During its most recent meeting, the school board backed a proposed 2011-2012 final budget, which contains a 1.4 percent tax increase, by a vote of 8-0. This vote reaffirms the plans to operate within the state mandated cap on spending. A final vote on the $65.8 million spending plan will take place in June.

The tax hike adheres to the Act 1 spending cap for the district which is a ceiling set by the state, using a formula tied to the rate of inflation. It also represents the lowest increase in recent memory and is part of steadily declining pattern of tax boosts in the district.

Superintendent Richard Noonan listed Wallingford-Swarthmore tax hikes dating back the previous five fiscal years.

2006 – 2007 8.0%

2007 – 2008 6.0%

2008 – 2009 5.8%

2009 – 2010 2.8%

2010 – 2011 2.9%

The district could have taken more than $1.9 million in exceptions to Act 1, but opted not to do so. Areas that qualify for these waivers include retirement contributions and special education expenses.

Board member Michael Rinaldi also said it was a “real accomplishment” for Wallingford-Swarthmore to stay below the index considering many other districts are struggling to do so.

In March, Noonan discussed how a reduction in state funding would impact the district. He cited those cuts again, pointing out the cuts would include a roughly $240,000 drop in the Basic Education Subsidy; about $200,000 less in Accountability Block Grant funds; and a reduction of nearly $200,000 in Social Security reimbursements for workers hired after July 1, 1994.

In addition, the spending plan would eliminate partial reimbursements for students who live in the district but attend charter schools. That would equate to a decrease of about $46,000.

One way the district plans to cope with the cuts will be to end an extended-day kindergarten program, which sought to target special-needs students at an early age, since it was paid for with Accountability Block Grant funds.

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WALLINGFORD REAL ESTATE

WALLINGFORD HOMES SOLD – JULY 2011

Wallingford July 2011 Activity vs July 2010

SWARTHMORE REAL ESTATE

SWARTHMORE HOMES SOLD – JULY 2011

S. Clark Kendus