NAR: A GOOD DAY FOR HOUSING… September 18, 2007

Along with “the FED” cutting the discount rate by half a percentage point, the House of Representatives passed the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007, HR 1852, offering homeowners a safer alternative to risky mortgage products, helping homeowners who may be facing foreclosure, increasing loan limits and eliminating the statutory 3% minimum cash down payment. Mortgage modifications will allow borrowers to change mortgage terms so they can afford to stay in their home. “Partial Claim” programs will cure a loan default with the FHA lending the borrower money with a no-interest loan due when the property is sold or paid off. The National Association of Realtors (NAR), America’s largest trade association, represents 1.3MM+ members involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate and is known as “The Voice for Real Estate.”

DELRAY BEACH HISTORIC HOMES CAN BE VIEWED ON WALKING TOURS

Known world-wide for its charming historic districts and 100+ years of history, a map of walking tour sites is now available form the City of Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Department at City Hall, 100 NW 1^st Avenue, or call 561-243-7284… The Sundy House, listed on the local and national Register of Historic Places, at 106 S. Swinton Avenue, is a popular restaurant and inn with a botanical gardens to roam through and enjoy, former home of John Shaw Sundy, the first Mayor of Delray, when the town was incorporated in 1911… The most expansive historic site in downtown Delray Beach is the Old School Square which includes the Crest Theater, and Cornell Museum of Art and History. Points of interest there include the recently added arcade and band shell… Also included are the fully restored S.D. Spady Cultural Museum at 170 NW 5^th Avenue, former home of locally prominent African American educator, businessman and civic leader Solomon D. Spady – open to the public… Listed on the Local Register of Historic Places, as is the Spady Museum, is the Susan Williams House at 154 NW 5^th Avenue. Susan Williams was a local midwife, often the only one available to provide medical treatment to residents of the “Sands” neighborhood, now known as the West Settler’s Historic District, moved in 2000 to it’s current location with renovation coming for use as a community education corner as part of the Spady Cultural Arts Complex. The building is not currently open to the public… The Cason Cottage Complex at 5 NE 5^th Avenue, is both the first restoration done in the Old School Square District and the first museum in Delray Beach, once home of the Cason family, Delray pioneers, and it reflects the South Florida Lifestyle from 1915 – 1935… Homes in Bankers Row, circa 1930, NE 1^st Avenue between 2^nd and 3^rd Streets, is in the Old School Square Historic District, belonged to many prominent Delray business leaders… The Masonic Building, circa 1924, 40-44 East Atlantic Avenue housed the local post office from the late 1920’s through the 1950’s and is now a home for local Masons… A must-see is the Colony Hotel, circa 1926, 525 E. Atlantic Avenue, designed by Martin L. Hampton, an Addison Mizner associate. It opened in 1926, needed extensive renovation after the 1928 hurricane, and is the last remaining hotel out of eight that existed during the 1920’s boom years… Don’t miss the Atlantic Avenue Bridge, circa 1951, in the Marina District, a gear-driven, Chicago-style, double leaf bascule bridge, built in 1911, which replaced a swing bridge… Sandoway House, circa 1936, currently the home of the Sandoway Nature Center, was originally the home of J.B. Evans, a local produce dealer in Delray Beach. Walk through history on this informative and interesting tour.