Fran 'The Title Man' Gaspari Title Insurance-PA & NJ

Does government operate to benefit people and serve the needs of taxpayers, or do they get strangled by power and bureaucracy and fail the people miserably...

That may be perhaps what the upcoming election is all about...!

On July 1, 2008, my sister and her husband purchased a property from a bank who had foreclosed on the prior owner...the taxes on this property, which sold effectively for $204,000.00, were in excess of $11,000 dollars, and settlement was scheduled for early September...well after the August 15th deadline for appealing taxes for the next fiscal tax year!

Under the Berks County provisions for tax appeal, exists a right, that the 'equitable owner' may begin this appeal process as long as the appeal is filed by August 15th...

We filed such an appeal in a timely manner along with record evidence to support the appeal...

It has come to our attention that our appeal was denied since we didn't respond by appearing at a scheduled hearing...we were never notified of said hearing...the record owner's law office was notified, and of course that notice was never forwarded to my sister and brother in law...but...

It was the EQUITABLE OWNER, not the record owner, who filed the appeal request...shouldn't they be notified or contacted to establish a hearing date...FOUL BALL...

This is a great example...not an isolated incident, I might add, of how inefficient 'government' is at assisting the taxpayers they're sworn to serve!!!

I have a call into the Solicitors office for The Board Of Assessment Appeals to complain about the Board's failure to notify us of the hearing...keep in mind, we're only talking about a hearing here, not the results of our actual appeal to reduce taxes!!!

UNREASONABLE...Definitely! Is this how public servants are expected to carry out their duties and responsibilities...NOT ACCEPTABLE...

In the meantime...money is wasted, time is wasted, energies are wasted, taxpayer's dollars are wasted, and people are aggravated and put under undue stress...all because of the lack of common sense and courtesy on behalf of a government bureaucracy...sworn to serve the people...!!!

Not only is there noncompliance of the law by the government itself, but more importantly, non compliance with the SPIRIT OF THE LAW...!!!

How does your current cleaning service measure up???

That's what Ken Wise, owner of 'The Wise Choice Cleaning Service' asks!!!

Their slogan, "Cleaning up the world, one location at a time" is serious business...!

I've seen their work, and their prices are fantastic...and they do all kinds of cleaning...residential, commercial, and everything in between...

They've done our office in Limerick and their work is impeccable...I wouldn't hesitate recommending them to anyone who has had it with cleaning their own mess or those who would just like a professional job done occasionally...!!!

Give Ken a call or check out their website:

The Wise Choice Cleaning Service

Kenneth A. Wise, owner

304 Patrick Way, Royersford, PA 19468

(610) 792-HIRE (610) 792-4473 (610) 390-9612 Cell

www.wisechoicecleaning.com

Here's a thought for you Realtors in the area...give Ken a call between transactions...he'll do more than 'broomsweep' your listing...!!!

This is the time of year that makes Pennsylvanians glad they live here! Beautiful clear fresh air with just a touch of a cool autumn breeze...

And this is also the time of year you notice those hot air balloons...no, this is not a ReMax ad post...It's just that those of us in the Amity Township area of Berks County are afforded the additional pleasure of 'Hot Air Balloon' watching...a great fall pastime for NCAA football halftimes...that's right...what better way to get some fresh air than to get outdoors and breathe in some of that rejuvenating autumn fresh air and watch the flight of those colorfully decorated hot air balloons...

You see, we're smack in the flight path of those balloons which are launched west of here and travel between the beautiful rolling hills that surround us and that border our neighbor, the vast French Creek State Park...and wind up landing close by...sometimes in our very back yards...what a sight!

On the other hand, you could be watching one of those cable TV channels...you know...the ones who feature those political talking heads who predict the catastrophic future of our country so that you can stay tuned or tune in often for updates...Hot Air Buffoons...!

So have a wonderful autumn...get outside and enjoy the cool fresh air of fall...and get away from those talking head hot air buffoons...they will soon be selling their crystal balls at yard sales to be used by bargain hunters for paper weights!

You've seen, many times I'm sure, celebrations where Kings, Queens, Brides, and other special honorees are paraded through the public arena preceded by cute little very young ladies strewing rose petals along the path ahead of them as typically appropriate beautiful music accompanies and commemorates the event...

And so, along life's journeys, we are fortunate enough to witness some epiphanial events in our own lives...perhaps not so formal, perhaps not so grandiose, perhaps not so regalitarian...yet nevertheless memorable and significant in the real scheme of things...

Sunday and Monday were days when Gil, my son in law office manager and I attended Old Republic Title Insurance Company's annual Pennsylvania agency seminar...it was held in Gettysburg, Pa...the infamous Civil War battleground site where much blood was shed as the armies of Union General George Meade and Confederate General Robert E. Lee clashed for several days...

The blood of all those innocents still cries out from the ground making it a truly hallowed place...

At the seminar we were fortunate enough to share the dinner table on Sunday evening with a beautiful mother and daughter pair...Linda Moose, owner operator of Adams Abstract Associates Inc. and her co owner operator daughter Susan White...these people are what title insurance is all about...or at least what it should be all about...career title technicians, dedicated, knowledgeable, gracious, refined, genuine, caring, industrious, hard working and they also operate with their husbands Chapel Ridge Meat & Mercantile, Inc., a company which raises and produces safe wholesome beef raised naturally...

They're located at 5 Chapel Ridge Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325...(717) 334-5684, and their Title Offices are at 69 E. Middle Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325...(717) 334-9216...

Life has no accidents!

Scripture tells us that God knew us before He knitted us in our mother's womb, and further He is familiar with ALL our ways and journeys and rests, which He scrutinizes...life has no accidents...God continues to strew rose petals ahead of every place we walk...are we seeing and smelling and appreciating them...and the honor they signify...???

We were created by beauty, to see beauty, and to be beauty to a world in search of beauty which has lost its way...which focuses on the bad news, the tragedy, and the ugly things of the day! Instead of roses, the world sees thorns...

Our lives are overflowing with roses and petals like Linda and Susan...I have come to expect them along the journey...!!!

What a mouthful, eh!!!

Every year Old Republic Title Insurance Company (ORTIC), a title insurance underwriter, hosts two days of seminars and relaxation for its agents in Pennsylvania...This year the seminar is being held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and begins Sunday afternoon...

I look forward to this opportunity each year to pick up 6 of the 24 credits necessary, every two years, to renew my title insurance license with the Pennsylvania State Insurance Department...

Underwriters, as a group, will be the last entity of the real estate transaction to encourage blogging both as an educational tool for consumers and other professionals in the real estate and title industries, and, as a means to network with other real estate professionals and industry groups...after all, if it's free it can't be worth much, can it?

That seems to be the mantra of the title insurance industry...Anything free and intended to bring transparency to an industry desperate to have its cloak of secrecy removed so that everyone can see the true value of the services that are rendered by the many sincere, capable, and astute technicians who have worked intensely and feverishly to bring The American Dream to millions of homeowners and commercial businesses!

It is not my horn I am tooting when I cast such aspersions, but the horn of the thousands of experts in conveyancing and title research that have devoted lifetimes to this title insurance industry to insure smooth, accurate, dependable, and marketable real estate transactions...only to be ignored or pooh poohed by their brethren in other real estate professions...and relegated to paychecks and remuneration far below the amounts their abilities and knowledge command...and in most cases without a single complaint on the part of these career title people...

This post on this blog is to honor them...

Their unsung devotion to keep this industry professional has been more than tested by title industry insiders...bent on 'bottom line' management...and 'income only' diplomacy...!!!

Hats off to you fellows and gals...you know who you are...

You will always have my respect and admiration...and you have made my 38 years in this industry a pleasure to work and interact and brainstorm with the likes of you!!!