About Butler County, PA

Looking to purchase a home in Butler County, Pennsylvania?

What portions of Bulter County are eligible for USDA Financing?

The only areas of Butler County that are not eligible for USDA Mortgage financing are in Butler itself and Cranberry Township on the I-79 corridor. Shortly outside of Butler and Cranberry, the entire county becomes USDA Eligible.

USDA Eligible Areas in Butler County include...

• Evans City
• Saxonburg
• Slippery Rock
• Zelienople
• Bruin
• Callery
• Cherry Valley
• Chicora
• Connoquenessing
• East Butler
• Eau Claire
• Evans City
• Fairview
• Harmony
• Harrisville
• Homeacre
• Karns City
• Lake Arthur Estates
• Lyndora
• Mars
• Nixon
• Northvue
• Petrolia
• Portersville
• Prospect
• Seven Fields
• Shanor Heights
• Unionville
• Valencia
• West Liberty
• West Sunbury

• any obvious rural locations

If you want to find out if a specific property is eligible for a USDA Mortgage in Butler County, simply click on the link for the USDA Mortgage Eligibility Map below, it will take you directly to the USDA home page....

USDA Mortgage Eligibilty Map

What are the USDA Mortgage Income Limits for Butler County?

Household Size: 1-4 Family Members 5 or more Family Members

Maximum Adjusted Income $74,050 $97,750

If at first glance, it appears your household income exceeds the above limits, it is worth checking the USDA Income Calculator on the USDA website (link below). The USDA allows for several deductions which may allow your Household Income to fit within their Maximum Adjusted Income Guidelines.

USDA Income Eligibility Worksheet

Ok, the Property is in a USDA Eligible Area and your Household Income is within the USDA Income Limits, now what?

Like all mortgages, USDA Mortgages do require an applicant to qualify based on recent credit history. USDA credit requirements are some of the most flexible of any mortgage program available. More detailed information about USDA Mortgage Credit Requirements can be found with the link below...

USDA Credit Requirements

For buyers looking to purchase a home in Butler County Pennsylvania, the USDA Rural Development Mortgage is definitely worth a look. Feel free to contact me with any further questions about the program.

Are you a screamer?

This question goes out to everyone looking to buy or sell a house. Every transaction with either a buyer or a seller will come into situations where there are time line to be met with, decisions where you will need to make an important decision on the spot, having to know what is the next step in the process, and on and on.
When buying a house you will need to make decisions that are important to where you want to live, what kind of mortgage are you going to get -- there are several loan programs to choose from, How much you have to put as a down payment, how and where you can receive money as "gift money" to help with the down payment and or closing costs, how to fill out the paperwork properly -- a mistake in the paperwork can cost you thousands of dollars more than you wanted to buy the house for, what inspections to have done to the house that you are going to buy, where to find a title company/real estate attorney, what time frame is needed before you can move in, and on and on.
When selling a house you will need to make decisions that are important to where you want to move to after you sell you property, how you are going to position your house on the market with price, marketing, staging you house to look the best for what area your in, how and when buyers can come look at your home, providing a Seller Disclosure for potential buyers to look at and observe what the history of the house is-- this is one of the most important aspects of selling a house, if anyone lies on it or withholds information that can lead to lawsuits from the buyer, looking at the numbers to make sure you can sell your house without being upside down, knowing what to do if you are upside down on your mortgage, and on and on.

Buying and selling property is hard work. That is why hiring a real estate agent is so important to everyone looking to buy and sell property. We as real estate agents know the laws, rules, regulations, how to fill out the paperwork correctly, best price postition to help buyers and sellers, marketing, the steps nessarry to keep the process going smoothly and on and on.
Hiring a local real estate to handle your biggest asset is the smartest thing anyone looking to buy or sell a house can do.
So instead of being a screamer, moaner or even just the silent type having to deal with all the stress is not worth the aggravation.
It's important that things are done correctly, in the right order and to deal with ALL the negotiations so YOU as the buyer or seller can go through the process stress free. Those who try to do it on their own end up with stress levels way above normal (which can lead to heart attacks, anxiety attacks, and other health problems), end up in court due to not following proper procedure or not filling out and filing the paperwork correctly, not getting the right inspections done to a house, and on and on. All this can and usually ends up making people wanna snap out, argue with their spouses, kids and co workers, sleepless nights and just screaming for it all to be over....
SO ARE YOU A SCREAMER?
Or are you going to do the right thing and let us professionals handle it for you when buying or selling a house and make your life much more pleasant during this time of your life?

ALexis Summers was a young popular cheerleader and gymnast who was a senior at Knock High School.
Here is the article about her.

A teenage cheerleader was killed when she lost control her car and smashed into a tree, as she tried to type a text message.

Alexis Summers, 17, of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, died when her Subaru Legacy went over an embankment and slid into a tree, as she drove towards home on Tuesday night.

The tragic crash came just eight hours after her state agreed to outlaw text messaging at the wheel.

The 'caring and kind' teenager, described by her best friend as an 'all American girl', was on her way home from seeing her football player boyfriend, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reported.

Troopers found a cell phone with a partly typed message on the screen.

State police Lt. Eric Hermick refused to say who the text intended for, but said that police will first speak to that person.

The beautiful teen, known as Alex to her family, died when her car left the road, hit a large tree and spun, before colliding with the tree a second time.

Shocking crash: High school senior Alexis Summers, 17, of Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, lost control of her Subaru Legacy and hit a tree just a mile away from her home

The popular student, a senior at Knoch High School, may also have been driving above the 35 mph speed limit, police said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash shortly after 10pm.

Pam Poston, who lives next to the crash site and dialled 911, was first on the scene after feeling the impact of the crash.

She told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: 'It shook the house.'

'The ambulance and firefighters were here in about two minutes, no more,' she said. 'They're just down the road.'

'I asked her to say something. I said, 'Come on, honey. Move your fingers.' She didn't.'then my neighbor Stan went around the car, looked inside and said, 'She's gone.' I cried,'

Just eight hours before the fatal crash Pennsylvania state Senate had passed a bill that will make texting while driving a crime. The law will probably come into effect in about three months.

There is more to the article but that is the main body of it.

Last night was Friday night football at Knock High School where Alexis should have been cheering on the sideline. Her place in the lineup was left vacant with her pom-poms in her place. . I graduated there in 1991. My girlfriend who graduated with me there has a son that is a senior footballplayer/wrestler there. It was the most emotional game I have ever seen. At half time the cheerleaders form the other team (West Allegheny) came over and each one of those girls gave a flower and a hug to a Knoch High School cheerleader.
After the game everyone on both sides paid their respects by staying in their seat while the Knoch band played "Amazing Grace" and said a prayer for Alexis. All the Knoch seniors were given a balloon at release after the prayers.

The most amazing part of the night was a single star shining over the stadium. All the students and stadium fans were pointing at it during Amazing Grace. It was Alexis with all her beauty shining brightly in Heaven watching the game from above.

I will remember that game/night for the rest of my life

Talking to a friend of mine at my hockey game today I said to him "I Can Predict the Future.... Can You?" This comes from our conversation about life and where we are today in life. He was telling me that he was dealt a tough life and living paycheck to paycheck is the way life is for him. He said "I don't sell mansions like you do." He is 42 and waiting for his big break in life.

After telling him that "I Can Predict the Future.... Can You?" he say "No I can't and neither can you." I beg to differ..... We all can predict the future IF we were serious about it. I told him how to do it

THE ONLY WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE IS TO CREATE IT.

We talked about life and living everyday to the best of our ability. I asked him where he was in life with his wants, desires, goals and dreams. He pretty much told me that he lives day to day and takes what life gives him.

I don't understand how people live like that so I told him that he is EXACTLY where he is at today form his thoughts in the past. To get ahead in life you HAVE to have goals, dreams, desires and motivation and accountability. I can not believe that he told me that is to much work and sounds exhausting.

I told him that at first in might be due to the fact that we make our habits and then our habits make us. So it may be tough at first but that short time of toughness can and will change his life.

It's time to roll up his sleeves , get his s*&^ together and let's take responsibility for our lives.

We stopped talking to play our hockey game. We won, it was a tough game where it was getting alittle out or line physically between the two teams. He left the rink fast.

I hope he really is ready to "Get down to business" in life.

That goes for everyone. THE ONLY WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE IS TO CREATE IT. I did it and I'm still doing it. Are you?

Grandmas House at the Butler County Airport

I sold my house and moved in with my grandmother after my grandfather died to help take care of her. It was for 7 years... then she passed away. We lived beside the Butler County Airport where we had an airplane hanger in our yard and had direct access to the airport runway.

So just before her passing a house 2 doors down with direct access to the airport runway put his house up for sale at $499,900. A year later it was $350,000. My grandmother passed a short time later and the family and I had to deal with our loss then deal with the house. In the meantime that listing 2 doors down was sold for $245,000. After we cleaned out the house and got it ready for sale I suggested a price of $250,000 knowing it would appraise for about $240,000 due to the fact is was a tad bit smaller then the house 2 doors down. There were 4 heirs involved and my Uncle Bill was the executor and went with my suggestion of $250,000 along with my aunt and my mom. My other Uncle was completely upset with that price and told me I was not a professional and we could sell the house for $500,000 ( He REALLY blew up on me). After m Uncle Bill talked to him, all the heirs agreed on $260,000. We got several offers within a 3 weeks and accepted an offer of $258,000 and no inspections. When the appraisal came in, it was $240,000 and the buyer would not come to closing with a penny over the appraisal (which I dont blame him). We closed on the house Dec. 31, 2010
My uncle that wanted the $500,000 for the house has been dragging my name through the mud and will not talk to me anymore due to the fact that a professional in the field of real estate (me) gave the family the suggested price of what it would sell for. DAMN, HOW DARE ME?!?!?!