In other cases, rising home values increase property tax assessments to a level which longtime homeowners cannot afford.

Neighbors on the hillside circle where the family lives described Fisco Drive as a very private place of longtime homeowners.

The authority used its eminent domain powers a few years ago to displace some longtime homeowners in the inlet.

Many longtime homeowners had their assessed valuations and taxes doubled, and in some cases, residents say, even tripled.

Home equity loans were originally intended to allow longtime homeowners to cash in on the appreciated value of their property.

For longtime homeowners, the new attractiveness of their neighborhood is both annoying and gratifying.

Redevelopment, after all, can present longtime homeowners with the painful problem of finding a new home if they sell.

Some residents say real estate agents are trying to bring blacks into the neighborhoods, where homes start at $150,000, to prompt more sales by longtime homeowners.

On the other side, some longtime homeowners cheered the enforcement as sorely overdue protection of their way of life.

The Pennsylvania Legislature recently passed a law intended to help longtime homeowners stay in such communities by limiting their property taxes.