The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 124

2-1 Sunday, Jan. 12, 1986 The Philadelphia Inquirer fl IM. WL in! I Vrl If I R.E.Sales Pennsylvania R.E.Saies Pennsylvania R.E.Sales Pennsylvania R.E.Sales Pennsylvania R.E.Sales Pennsylvania NOW, STYLE AMD i ECONOMY GO TO TOWN! Stuart Creek Farms offers 2 and 3 bedroom townhomes. on a lovely wooded setting in desirable Upper Dublin. Uncommonly well built estate type amenities such as fireplaces, sunken living room, oversized kitchens with quality cabinetry microwave, and self-cleaning oven.

Jacuzzi and skylights available. Completely maintenance free construction makes Stuart Creek Farms a superb convenient, stylish and exceedingly comfortable. OuaWy Built by Westrum a Porter Over 25 of Satisfying Home Buyers. PRICED IN THE MID 80 MracttMS: EJutier Pke through Ambter and turn right onto Bethlehem Pike to left on Highland Ave to development twnirit OpM ivtrytfay 12-S Datly M-tnt S41-9MM TheTowihomesat Sawmill Valley Pirectlons: Easton Rd. (Rt.

611) north to Horsham Rd. (Rt. 463). Left 1 mile to Norrislown Rd. Vio mile to Sawyers mile to samples on right.

10-year Insured warranty IGRfWOft PRIC HO01i From RpftM I I bedroo'T' townhomes feature I Os.reet parkmgwMh private Driveways, coverea emrances, U(w nraps, LJLBfii I $2000 credit towards I settlement costs on selected homes! ODen7davs.12-5PM. I ffil I tZJ If 8 I li I fTt" HI I I II If II I- 1 i -J-V, I I I I i JV LJ -II! Ill C'CV- 1 I- II A xfr, t. WiA" V- 1 Ltomm a taaar, I HU I Th. Philadelphia Jnqutrsr KENDALL WILKINSON I II II II if 111111 II 1 1 II II II III! 1 1 I The third floor of Rittenhouse Place, where the developer is planning to build a swimming area Project's end is in sight TAW7 "TV oave iNww inuring uur Grand Opening Celebration Anm hold condos for prospective buyers are placed in an interest-bearing escrow account. Weisbein said sale closings would begin this month, all of them for cash.

The system "really weeded out the lookers from the real Pre-Construction Price Savings Am buyers," he said. The building's condo portion will have an entrance and elevators separate from the hotel's, but condo owners can use any hotel service they are willing to pay for, including maid service and catering. Condo buyers will be assessed a monthly Bradford Crossing is located in the heart of the area's newest and best location Chesterbrook. Here you'll find spectacular views amid the rolling hills of Valley Forge, yet you're just minutes from King of Prussia shopping, Rt. 202, turnpike, expressway, train, bus, and within walking distance of shopping at the Chesterbrook Village Center.

Bradford Crossing features 2 and 3 bedroom stone and stucco townhouses with 2Vi baths, basement, and studio, AS heat, cooking and hot water, speciaenergy saving features, fireplace, and many more sensational standard features, Visit Bradford Crossing today and see how you can save thousands of dollars during pre-' construction. fee, expected to run about $300 to $400, to pay for maintenance of com mon areas in the condo section and services including an elaborate security system. The checkered history of Rittenhouse PlaceTowers began when Jack Wolgin began acquisition of the site and Reiff began his preliminary 2 3 Bedroom Townhomef Priced from $118,900 designs two decades ago. Wolgin, one of the city's leading developers with such projects as the Centre Square towers at 1500 Market and the IVB CHESTERBROOK DIRECTIONS: Just off Rt. 202 at Rt.

252 North (Devon Exit Valley Forge Music Fair) or Chesterbrook Interchange. Take Chesterbrook Boulevard to Bradford Road, Bradford Road to samples on left. Phone 296-4411. SAMPLE HOURS: Open everyday, noon to 5 P.M. Building at 1700 Market, originally planned to build an apartment house or condo tower the hotelcondo concept was spawned later.

RITTENHOUSE, from 1-1 330-room luxury hotel in the building's lower 18 stories. The hotel, he Sflid, is expected to have room rates starting at "$125 a night in 1985 dollars" and "compete head-to-head with the Four Seasons" hotel on Logan Square. The hotel portion of the building, including the mechanical systems that take up the 19th floor, is about 75 percent complete, Weisbein said. The statements sound almost like a rerun of comments that former Rittenhouse Towers developer Jack Wolgin made five years ago, when he also appeared to have the project under control. Wolgin promised a hotel that would compare with New York's Waldorf Towers or Boston's RitzCarlton a hotel topped by floor after floor of luxury condominiums with services available nowhere else in the city.

He also took refundable deposits, reportedly for nearly half the planned condominiums. Then the project foundered during the recession of the early 1980s and became entangled in financing problem? that halted construction for several years before the matter ended in court with countersuits by Wolgin and the Bank of America, which had made a $38.7 million construction loan for the project. This time, however, a happier ending seems likely. A number of tangible assets are working for Greenwood Group, which is headed by Raymond Weisbein, his brother Joel Weisbein, the group's president, and WilHam Kalinowski, executive vice president. Area housing and commercial development are enjoying an upturn that most observers expect to continue at least through this year, Plans for a $431 million convention center in Philadelphia's center city are spurring hotel development.

Greenwood also has shown unusual tenacity in past projects. Independence Place, the group's high-rise condominium at Sixth Street and Locust Walk in Society Hill, was completed and sold out despite the housing recession. And a second condo tower, Independence Place II, is well under way at the site and is sporting a solid sales record. Greenwood also has other irons in the fire, including a 38-acre office campus in Bucks County and a high-, rise office project in Atlantic City. And it is continuing planning for Walnut Towers, an $85 million apartment-retail-parking project on Walnut Street between Eighth and Ninth Streets.

The group also operates a travel business and plans to open its own bank in Philadelphia. "We have our financing lined up, our hotel lined up, and everyone is for it Rittenhouse Place)," Raymond Weisbein said. "I don't see any problems other than completing the building in a timely fashion. I wish I had another dozen like this. It's a beautfiul building, and the views are spectacular." Weisbein said the city had approved the building permit and architect Reiff is putting finishing touches on some building revisions expected to win city approval in the near future.

Final construction work, which is expected to take about a year, will be started in the spring, Weisbein said. The changes from Wolgin's plan include building about 85 condominiums on floors 20 to 33, instead of 104 units. The change was made so the top five floors of the building, built with balconies, can be sold as unfinished space, permitting buyers to assemble, design and decorate their own layouts. The largest space taken so far comes to about 4,000 square feet about twice the size of a typical suburban house. On floors 20 to 28, the design calls for seven condos per floor, ranging from two-bedroom units with a minimum of 1,400 square feet of space to units with three bedrooms, a den and more than 2,600 square feet.

Claire A. Midence, Rittenhouse Place sales manager, said the prospective residents were primarily owners of businesses, top-level executives and some doctors and lawyers. Sales are transacted from an office in the Greenwood Building at 1528 Walnut about two blocks from Rittenhouse Place. There are no sample condos, but prospective buyers are shown floor plans and given inspection tours of the uncompleted Rittenhouse Place building. The 10 percent deposits required to AT VALLEY FORGE i Site clearing and underground construction for Rittenhouse Towers began in 1972, but the project was shut down in 1974 because of market and financing problems.

Construction resumed in 1980 after Wolgin secured new financing, but work halted again late in 1982 because of 1 more money problems. In 1983 the Bank of America and Wolgin filed countersuits that ended early last year with a settlement that put Rit tenhouse Towers into the bank's hands. Greenwood Group bought the building in September. Raymond Weisbein said the building's acquisition and completion would cost Greenwood Group about $75 million, but he expects the finished building to be worth about $110 million. "I feel badly for Wolgin," Weisbein said.

"He's done good things for Philadelphia. But I feel good for me." Reiff, who has spent more than ti5c'; -BinrtlllM I half his professional life working on the Rittenhouse project, has mixed emotions. "I'm almost afraid to complete it," he said. "I'm afraid I'm going to die. v-: Terms for Freddie Mac seconds Building A Reputation With Integrity.

Building Tomorrow's Communities With Pride. It's easy to pay a lot to get a little. But The Realty Engineering Group believes in building the best at every price. So, from location to luxurious amenities, from design to details, townhomes and single homes, regardless of price, we give you more value. One look will tell you.

Our delighted homeowners will tell you more. you ought to know about Freddie Mac's seconds: The loans will be restricted solely to owner-occupied, one- to a 1 four-family dwellings. Second homes, vacation properties, commercial properties and investor units won be permitted as collateral. You'll get two types of loan to choose from: one with a five- to seven-year term, the other with a 15-year maximum term. Both loans will YARDLE YOAKS Yardley, Bucks County Homes from $145,900 Philadelphia's Main Line (Gladwyne Area) Homes from $395,000 to $475,000 By Kenneth R.

Harney Special to The Inquirer Second mortgages or deeds of trust are loans secured by a portion of the equity of a home. They are called seconds because they are "junior liens" that is, in the event of a foreclosure, they are paid off after the first mortgage is paid. For example, suppose, you own a home worth $125,000. Let's say, too, that you've paid your first mortgage down to $50,000. In other words, you have $75,000 worth of equity in your home.

You can either let that equity sit untouched, or you can use it as collateral to borrow for the kids' college education, or for a business investment you want to make. Assuming your credit history is sound and the house is appraised at $125,000, you ought to be able to borrow anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 in the form of a second mortgage or home-equity loan. Under Freddie Mac's new program, the total of your existing first mortgage plus any new second mortgage may not exceed 80 percent of the value of your home. In your case, the 80 percent limit means a $50,000 maximum loan (the $50,000 first mortgage plus a $50,000 second equals 80 percent of The specific rate you get will depend upon interest rates in the overall economy. If rates continue to fall during the first quarter of 1986, according to Michael Coffey, Freddie Mac's acting executive vice president for marketing and sales, fixed-rate second mortgages in "the low 10 percent range are certainly possible." Other key terms and features that carry fully amortizing monthly payment schedules for principal and interest.

That means that they will not defer any debt for a final "balloon" payment at the end. It also means higher monthly payments than you'd have with 30-year term. Up-front fees will be relatively Sum Mat low. The typical transaction will require just $200 to $250 in appraisal, title and credit investigation fees. We've developed this community of single family homes with convenience in mind.

The location is ideal; and each 4 bedroom floorplan offers living space on a grand scale. A family room, breakfast room and two-car garage are just some of the special features listed as standard. Hours: Mon -fri. 10-5, Sat. Sun.

11-5. Directions: S. 1-95 to Oxford Valley Exit, or N. 1-95 to MorrisviHe Exit 25. 1 mile to Oxford Valley Rd.

Turn left and proceed Vi mile Impeccably designed, award-winning homes with Pennsylvania fieldstone exteriors surrounded by 94 beautifully landscaped acres. Superior features include separate guest quarters, atriums'solariums. private courtyard and patio if desired and much more. Located in Byn Mawr, at Spring Milt Road and Conshohocken A break for borrowers on 2d mortgages to Big Oak fld. Turn right.

Vi mile to Yardley Oaks on the left. State Road. Hours: 9-5, Sat Sun. 11-5. (215) 527-3711 (215)493-6500 a was because, with only a small resale market available for second mortgages, bankers faced with holding such mortgages in their own portfolios were not totally enthusiastic.

I. -1 I jM I Vi 1 1.1 RMS Newtown, Bucks County When the loans can be resold, the money the bank initially loaned to the consumer becomes available for additional bank lending. The Federal National Mortgage As Yardley, Bucks County Homes from $106, Homes from $101 JKK sociation (Fannie Mae) has been buying some second mortgages since 1981, but the entry of Freddie Mac to this business should more than dou SECONDS, from 1-1 dardization in a field fraught with consumer pitfalls. Second mortgages have been the fucua of acouuaia in bevel ai Males during the last 12 months. Homeowners have been persuaded by lenders to sign up for loans with confusing terms and high effective rates.

When the consumers later found themselves unable to handle the heavy payment burdens, they lost their homes in foreclosure sales. Barbara Keebler, a spokeswoman for Freddie Mac in Washington, said the new mortgage program was being offered because "a tremendous amount of equity has built up out there in housing we estimate $2 trillion and a good proportion of the homeowners are baby-boomers who now have other needs" such as paying for their children's education or investing in a second home. She said that when Congress approved Freddie Mac involvement in second- mortgage lending a year ago, one reason was to make it easier for elderly people to use the equity accumulated in their homes, and she asserted thai the new program responds to that intent. Additionally, she said, involvement in relatively short-term lending would aid Freddie Mac in offering shorter-term bonds to the investment community, something she said investors want. Pointing to Freddie Mac's decision several years ago to offer a 15-year mortgage program, Keebler said: "Investors liked the shorter term and consumers liked the lower payments.

We think this program will succeed for the same reason." She said Freddie Mac expected to purchase about $1 billion worth of second mortgages this year. Asked why bank rates on second mortgages to this point been higher than general interest rates might dictate, Keebler said this probably ble the volume being purchased from banks. This, said Ann Eggleston, vice president of the Federal Home Loan Bank To find a bigger townhome than those at YarJIey Corners, you'd have to pay significantly more. 2 and 3 bedroom homes, with up to sq. ft of spacious living-including loft, masonry fireplace.

baths, and a choice of floorplans-all standard features that make "bigger" truly better. Dolington Farms is frankly hard to beat on value. Stylish, single family. 3 and 4 bednxm homes. Highly desirable Newtown location within the Owncil Rock school-district Features irictude country kitchen, tiled baths, central air conditioning and much moa1.

Hours: Mon -fri. 10 Sat Sun. 11-5. Directions: 1-95 to Newtown exit (Rt 332 west), mries of Boston, "will increase the liquidity of the home equity market," which in this case should mean funds that already were readily available will become even more available." Hours: Mon -Fri. 10-5, Sat ft Sun.

11-5 Directions: Take I-9S to Oxford Valley exit (25). East one mile to Oxford Valley Road. Left onto EXCflLENGC Oxford VaHey Road Vt mile to sample on right to GuM station. Turn right 1 mile to DoKngton Farms on left. CFFOCNtr (215)493-6506 (215) 860-8400 The Boston Globe contributed to this article.

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