News

A week after Reading City Council voted not to reauthorize the Reading Downtown Improvement District, Council Vice President Lucine Sihelnik reintroduced an ordinance to reauthorize DID, sparking an intense debate. Four other members of Council: Marmarou, Ventura, Reed, and Cepeda-Freytiz, voted in favor of removing the ordinance from the agenda, but the
more»

To call 2020 a tumultuous year would be an understatement. Earlier this year, our entire industry was faced with an unprecedented crisis, and our association came together to get real estate moving again. Statewide, members sent more than 12,000 letters and made more than 24,000 phone calls to the Governor in support of HB 2412, a bill that was introduced
more»

Throughout Berks County, local officials are trying to figure out how to respond to requests to open up group homes for people with disabilities in residential neighborhoods. On December 9th, 2020, the City of Reading Zoning Hearing Board voted 4-0 to deny a variance request to allow two individuals with disabilities to live together in a R-1 Residential
more»

As someone who has had one too many terrifying experiences as a REALTOR®, it is important to never let your guard down. As REALTORS® we are in vulnerable situations every day. From a busy suburban neighborhood in broad daylight to a high-rise open house on a weekend. The only way we can ensure that we are safe, is to take our safety into our own
more»

Greetings Members, I came to the Reading-Berks Association of REALTORS® from the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS® at the end of February this year. At that time, I was looking forward to meeting the members as quickly as I could and thinking of new implementable ideas for this association. Little did I know that this “novel
more»

On Friday, December 4th at the Fairgrounds Farmers Market, local REALTORS in Berks volunteered once again to stand tall and join in ringing the bell for the Salvation Army's traditional holiday fundraiser. REALTOR Ring Day debuted in 2010 with a few hundred Minnesota and North Dakota REALTORS ringing bells on a single day. Each year since then, the event
more»

The inspiration for some articles is an event, a lawsuit, a new form, a problem or a problem resolved. In this article, I am mostly repeating previous advice for those who are repeating bad habits or for whom the advice did not stick! First on the list, do not meet with an investigator from the Commonwealth without first consulting your attorney. The
more»

Seems like we are still in the “CRAZY MARKET” For agents who were licensed in the past year, this may seem normal: you must show a new listing in the first day or two, write up an AOS with an offer over the listed price, and if your buyers don’t have 20% down or are getting an FHA mortgage and they want inspections…seems like there
more»