David Henke Realtor (r) Homes Just West of Philadelphia PA

Welcome to the Eddystone PA SEPTA Station on the SEPTA R2 Regional Rail Line.

The station itself is located in the southern portion of Eddystone Borough between Eddystone Av and Saville Av just to the north of the Industrial Highway/ Route 291. This location affords quick access to the local industrial plants for people commuting into the area and is convenient for local residents commuting toward Philadelphia or Wilmington.

The Eddystone Station does not have any dedicated station parking but there is plenty of space for dropping off and picking up passengers on both sides of the tracks. The station has shelters on both the north and southbound sides for waiting commuters and is slightly raised in this area. It is also located in a primarily residential area but is the closest station for several large commercial/industrial businesses. The video will provide a better overview of the area:

The SEPTA R2 Regional Rail Line parallels the main rails of the Northeast Corridor which run from Boston through New York, Philadelphia,and Wilmington toward Washington DC while the R2 runs from downtown Philadelphia south through Wilmington to Newark DE. The SEPTA trains generally use the outer tracks while the Amtrak trains use the inner lines. This is a very active SEPTA stop but Amtrak does not have a stop in the immediate area.

For more current information on Eddystone and the local real estate market, be sure to check out the complete post on Eddystone Homes and History.

As always, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.

I just wanted to pass on a quick reminder from Rep Mike Ramone on Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage.

It's that time of year for the annual Medicare Prescription Drug Enrollment review. Each year, Medicare makes changes to their plans. ELDERinfo and Delaware Medicare Partners will be providing information on the plans at community events throughout the State of Delaware. ELDERinfo, the Delaware State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), provides unbiased information and counseling to people covered by Medicare.

For New Castle County, the scheduled events include:

Thursday, November 19, 9:00-12:00
Tuesday, December 8, 9:00-12:00
MOT Senior Center
300 South Scott Street Middletown
Call for Appointments at 302-378-4758

Monday, November 30, 9:00-1:00
Christiana Care Hospital
John H Ammon Medical Education Building
4755 Ogletown-Stanton Rd, Christiana

Wednesday, December 2, 9:00-12:00
Newark Senior Center
200 White Chapel Rd, Newark

Thursday, December 10, 9:00-1:00
William Hicks Anderson Community Center
501 Madison St, Wilmington

Wednesday, December 16, 9:00-1:00
Howard Weston Senior Center
1 Bassett Avenue, New Castle

Please contact ELDERinfo at 1-800-336-9500 or 302-674-7364 to schedule an appointment or for additional information.

The Delaware County PA Sheriff's office has produced a brochure on "How to Save Your Home from Foreclosure" which provides excellent background information on the foreclosure process.

This foreclosure information was put together by Sheriff Joseph F McGinn and the Delaware County Sheriff's Office and is a nice concise explanation of the process, the options, and the contacts for anyone who may find themselves having a problem with affording their home payments. It is by no means all-inclusive but affords a quick overview of what is available in the area for Delaware County PA residents. It is not yet on their website so I have reproduced the information here - see attached.

The key point to remember for anyone facing the possibility of foreclosure is to not ignore it but reach out, learn, and obtain as much information as possible as soon as you realize there may be a problem. There are many resources and options available and they are being expanded and changed on a daily basis. The key is to learn what is available and take advantage of them before a small problem gets worse.

I would like to thank the Sheriff's Office for permission to reprint the information. For questions, please contact Sheriff Joe McGinn or the Delaware County Sheriff's Office located at 201 West Front St, Media PA 19063 - Phone: 610-891-4296 or on the web at www.co.delaware.pa.us/sheriff .

As always, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me anytime.

The real estate market for Eddystone Borough PA Homes continues to hold its own.

Located between the City of Chester and Ridley Township/ Tinicum Township just below Philadelphia along the Delaware River, Eddystone Borough continues its historic role as a center of commerce. Settled in the 1600s by the Swedes and then taken over by the Dutch in 1658, this was one of the earliest settled areas along the Delaware River. Originally an agricultural area as seen in Tinicum Township and Chester, it quickly grew into a center of manufacturing as industry grew throughout this area along the Delaware. Eddystone was incorporated from Ridley Township in 1888.

The growth of Eddystone Borough peaked in the twentieth Century with the growth of arms manufacturing and locomotive production. Remington Arms became a major arms manufacturer in the area during World War I. Their plant was built on Baldwin Locomotive Works land and originally manufactured rifles for the British and Russian Troops. These contracts were later replaced by US Government contracts, and the Remington plant ultimately produced almost 2 million rifles with a peak production of 6000 rifles/day before being closed on January 11, 1919. Interestingly, over two thirds of the rifles used in France were produced in the Eddystone plant.

During the same period, beginning in 1906, the Baldwin Locomotive Works built up its production in Eddystone as it moved its operations to this larger plant from facilities in Philadelphia. By 1928, all its locomotive production had been moved to the new facilities in Eddystone and its new Executive Office Building had been completed at a cost of $1,220,000. It quickly became the largest locomotive builder in the United States. Sadly, the company was unable to make the transition from steam to diesel and ultimately closed in 1956.

Today, the former Baldwin Locomotive land houses an office park (including the original Executive Office Building), a PECO generating Station, and various commercial properties. In addition, the Penn Terminals now occupy the property adjacent to the Delaware with their marine terminal and stevedoring services. The balance of the borough is primarily residentail and light commercial.

The Eddystone Borough real estate market has held up very well so far through this downturn. The average home price in Eddystone Borough approximately doubled from around $60,000 in 2000-2002 to peak with an average price of $120,000 in 2007. Since then, pricing pulled back to an average price of $103,000 in 2008 and $109,000 in 2009 year to date. (The 2009 price includes a $205,000 single family home sale).

Activity has also remained fairly constant with Borough sales ranging from a low of 23 homes in 2008 to a high of 34 homes in 2006. There have also been 26 completed home sales so far in 2009 with 3 sales pending. Today, there are an additional 16 homes on the market with an average list price of $110,000. Overall, this was one of the later areas to be impacted by rising prices seen throughout the region allowing it to avoid much of the overpricing experienced in some of the surrounding areas.

Now, the area is redeveloping with a stronger, more stable, and diversified business base including the PECO generating plant, the adjacent Boeing plant in Ridley Township, Harrah's Casino in Chester, and various other manufacturing and business opportunities. With its diversified jobs base, close proximity to Philadelphia, easy access to commuter options by SEPTA and the I-95/I-495 freeways, and affordable housing, the residential market should remain relatively stable.

As always, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me anytime.

(All statistics per the TrendMLS System and believed accurate but not guaranteed)

November is here, the leaves are falling, we are quickly heading toward the Holidays, and Folcroft Borough has recently released their Fall Schedule of Events.

The Folcroft Recreation Board has several FREE resident Holiday events already organized this fall.

Saturday November 21 from 12:00-2:00:
Ornament Workshop for all resident Borough children 10 and under. They will be able to decorate their ornament for the holiday tree.

Saturday November 28 at 7:00
Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony at the clock tower next to the Library on Delmar Drive. The children can decorate the tree, Santa will be visiting, and you can enjoy singing holiday carols and some hot chocolate and snacks at the firehouse.

Sunday December 20 starting around 7:00
Annual Best Decorated House Awards will be held with judging on Sunday and winners will be announced on Monday. Light up Folcroft with holiday cheer.

In addition, the highway department will be picking up leaves curbside beginning in late October through much of December. They request that all the leaves be raked curbside and not bagged. Please click here for the exact date and times for each street in the borough.

As always, please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questios or need any additional information.