I show a lot of homes to a lot of people every year, and see all kinds of things. Today I’m talking about 5 simple rules for touring homes for sale based on my experiences:

1) Treat the home like your own – don’t do things you wouldn’t do at your house, for example pushing or pulling things to see if they bend or are weak, tracking muddy shoes through the house, etc.

2) Hands off – this is a great general rule. If you do nothing else, make a point not to touch anything except door handles and most things will work out.

3) Keep kids under control – this is a major problem when more than 2 kids are involved. Make arrangements to stagger the showing so one parent and then the other go inside with your agent while the other watches the kids in the car.

4) Avoid using bathrooms in the house if at all possible – plan ahead. Yes, I know, I know…but nope.

5) Leave the house the way it was when you walked in – close and lock windows and doors and put anything you needed to touch back in place. Report any issues to your buyer’s agent! Trust me, the sellers will find out.

Thanks, and if you have any questions please feel free to reach me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com!

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Choose Jeff Geoghan for you next home sale or purchase in Lancaster! Thanks.

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

LHOP’s core program is the Financial Literacy course taught by experienced staff members. This course exposes the prospective homebuyer to all aspects of the home buying process and ownership. In concert with this is a income-qualified financial incentive of $5,000 issued to the course graduate as a non-interest bearing 2nd mortgage that doesn’t need to be repaid until the house is sold. This program has been very successful — the 2011 LHOP class schedule is posted here: http://www.lhop.org/buying-a-home/class-schedule.asp . In addition LHOP recently contracted with the county to offer a Fair Housing program that will interact with renters,owners, industry professionals and beyond (this will be the subject of another video in the near future — stay tuned!).

Of immediate note is that LHOP is sponsoring a Home Ownership Fair on Saturday, April 9th at Liberty Place in Lancaster City from 10-3. Read the full flyer here: http://yourlancasterhome.com/2011LHOPHousingFairFlyer.pdf . The Fair will feature a number of local housing process vendors (lenders, realtors, insurance, builders, housing counselors) and a comprehensive set of 30 minute seminars covering important Lancaster County PA homes information (see the itinerary below). There’s no cost for this event and any prospective buyers whether first-time or otherwise are encouraged to attend. Of course, Coldwell Banker will be there…

If you would like more information on the Homebuyer Assistance program or other programs offered by the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership, or more info on the Home Ownership Fair in April, feel free to call them at 717-291-9945 or on the web at http://www.LHOP.org . As always, you can find me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.

2011 LHOP Home Ownership Fair SEMINAR SCHEDULE:
10:30am — 10:45am
What’s Happening in the Lancaster County Real Estate Market?

11:00am — 11:30am
The Benefits of Home Ownership

11:45am — 12:15pm
Financing Options for Homebuyers Learn how to Purchase/Renovate at the same time!

12:30pm — 1:00pm
Life as a Homeowner…

1:15pm — 1:45pm
10 Secrets Homebuyers SHOULD Know!

2:00pm — 3:00pm
Aging in Place (practical home modifications, care programs, reverse mortgages)

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(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

One of the things that may bite you as a homebuyer is missing a deadline set in the contract, and one of the most troublesome deadlines is the inspection contingency deadline. Most buyers don’t realize the urgency of getting everything done in time to meet that deadline, and the loss of rights that results when it’s missed.

In Pennsylvania, real estate contracts stipulate a time period for the buyer to do their “due diligence” and inform the seller of any issues that need to be addressed arising from those inspections. Just about every type of inspection is provided for in this contract clause, and the default deadline is 10 days (although the buyer can change that to any time frame – typically changed to 15 or maybe 20 days). Many times the settlement period is too short to allow many more days than 10 to be inserted here. Keep in mind that the addendum may ask for a combination of:

1) Actual repairs made to the property
2) Seller credit to the buyer at settlement ($)
3) Reduction in the purchase price

If monetary concessions are asked for, then the estimates by contractors become very important as the basis for the money in question.

Now, the buyer has to get EVERYTHING done within that 10 days – choose inspectors, schedule the visits, get the write-ups, synthesize the findings into an addendum to the contract, get that addendum into the hands of the seller. Believe me, this can make for some hectic days (especially if the contingency period covers a couple of weekends, when contractors like to take off).

My advice is to know the inspectors/contractors upfront, start thinking about what things you want looked at very early on, and plan for time to meet at the house and with your buyer agent a couple of times during the first 10 days.

Now, once the buyer has marshalled their addendum they submit it to the seller, hopefully within the 10 (or 15, etc) days. According to the contract for real estate in PA, the seller has until 5 days from the end of the time period to respond. So if for example (in a 10 day contingency) the buyer submits his estimate on day 8, the seller still has until the 15th day to respond. But, once the seller responds to the addendum the buyer has 2 DAYS only to accept or counter the terms. Basically, things wrap up real quick and the buyer needs to know what they will and won’t accept at the end of the day…

So, inspection contingency periods are very, very important and the home buyer and agent need to be on top of it as much as possible, and plan ahead. And whatever you do, don’t blow your inspection contingency period!

If you have any questions about inspections or Lancaster PA real estate I’d be happy to answer them at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.

Visit our homepage for Lancaster PA Real Estate
(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

Over in Manheim Borough is Baron Insurance Group and Christopher Vogt. Chris is a homeowners insurance expert and I wanted him to share some common pitfalls that home buyers in Lancaster County and beyond face when it comes to getting an effective insurance policy. Chris identified 3 tips for home buyers (and especially first time buyers) to get the best insurance for their money.

1) Look and the insurers’s track record. Some prospective homeowners will research the broker (as Baron Insurance is) but few research the actually insurer such as State Farm, Erie, etc. Chris recommended www.JDpower.com as a great resource to see how well the insurer does with claims and customer service.

2) Make sure the policy your broker is writing for you will cover the needs of your property. Not all $400 policies are alike! Ask about deductibles, dollar coverage, other hidden costs to you should an “event” happen. Pick the best mix for your property type & location (condo vs. farm, for example).

3) Don’t wait until the week before settlement to start the insurance process. Especially today, there can be conditions attached to the approval that may need time to take care of, such as verifying something on the property via a contractor. Try to start the ball rolling soon after your offer is accepted.

If you have any questions for Chris you can find him at http://www.baroninsurancegroup.com. Baron covers all of Lancaster County by the way… You can always find me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com. (c) Jeff Geoghan 2011

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In Pennsylvania there are specific types of property inspections detailed on the standard Agreement of Sale – but you may not be implementing any or all of them when looking to buy a home for sale in Lancaster PA.  Here’s a brief synopsis of the property inspections you may want to use.

General Home Inspection (“Whole Home” Inspection) – This is a big catch-all inspection clause in the contract, allowing you to check most everything within the home.  Most often, home buyers utilize a “Home Inspector” to perform the inspection with them.  See my episode a couple of weeks back with Herb Ingram from Amerispec where we talk about what Home Inspectors do & why.  These folks are going to be certified through a national organization for best results.  Beyond this, a home buyer can bring in any sort of contractor to inspect components of the house, including moisture and mold issues.

Home Infestation inspections – this clause on the contract allows a buyer to bring in a certified pest inspector to verify the home is free of critters, most commonly termites or other wood-boring insects.  Ants, bees and powder post beetles are fairly common home issues in Lancaster County.  While the Home Inspector generally has certification to do this inspection, I usually recommend a local pest company since they are also able to provide an immediate estimate to mitigate the bugs and offer a warranty against future infestations.

Radon – this odorless, colorless gas is found in the lower extremities of homes (usually basements or crawl spaces) in quantities that concern the state of Pennsylvania as a potential health hazard.  The magic number, in fact, is 4 PCl (picocuries per liter).  This test is a canister(s) placed by the Home Inspector to register any presence of the gas over a couple of days.  The canister is sent of to a lab and if the number comes back over 4 PCl, mitigation is recommended.  Whether you choose to elect this check is up to you, of course, and your personal concerns about Radon.  For more on Radon see the PA website.

Water Service and Sewage Service – These inspections seek to verify the quality of potable water at the tap.  Generally water tests are performed at the well, and results once again are sent to the lab.  Home Inspectors are usually able to offer this service.  If the home has an on-lot sewage system, a test can be performed to verify that it is fully functional and the approximate life left of the system.  These tests are performed by sewage experts.

Property Insurance – this inspection is meant to give a buyer the option to verify that a property can be insured – not whether it would be expensive however.  This becomes particularly important if the property is in a potential flood area or has characteristics that might cause insurance problems (knob and tube wiring or a cliffside location for example).

Property Boundary and Deed Issues – Pennsylvania is not a “survey state” so you don’t get a survey of the lot with your home purchase.  To have one done will cost at least $1,500 and just about nobody does them, unless there are serious likely boundary disputes with the home sale.  Of course, you can elect this inspection and pay to have one done if that is viewed as critical to the sale.  Also, you can elect to have the deed restrictions checked to ensure you have the use of the property you were hoping for (some property associations or neighborhoods have restrictions).  Lastly, you can verify that the property is indeed residential zoning (or commercial, etc) to ensure you will have municipal permission to conduct your preferred activities there once you buy.

These are the major property inspections on the Standard Agreement of Sale of Real Estate in Pennsylvania – I’m sure you can see how each of these might be important to a home buyer in different situations.  If you have any sales contract or inspection questions feel free to email me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.
(c)Jeff Geoghan 2011

This week I again was dealing with a great-priced HUD home sale in Lancaster City ($57,000 for a 2,300 square foot home on West Walnut) that was generating a lot of buzz.  This prompted me to cut an episode talking about HUD homes in Lancaster County and how you might benefit some day from buying one.

The federal Dept. of Housing and Urban Development acquires properties through the foreclosure process of certain homeowners nationwide.  Once they have these properties, they need a vehicle to liquidate them back to the public.  This is accomplished by breaking the country down into regions and giving contracts to “asset management” companies to administer the sales in assigned regions.  For Pennsylvania and some neighboring states, there are 3 asset management companies.

Now that the asset management companies have properties to market, they hire listing brokers in different geographic areas such as cities and counties.  You can search HUD homes at http://www.HUDhomestore.com, by the way.  Once you find one you want to buy, you’ll need a registered SELLING broker to place an online bid for you.  HUD rules stipulate a 30 day “owner occupant priority” period where only buyers planning to actually live at the property may bid.  Investors (and there are many) are shut out of the process until day 31 for most sales.  HUD does accept FHA mortgage financing on qualifying homes, unlike most other foreclosure listings.

Once your online bid is accepted, the sale proceeds fairly normally to closing.  There is some extra paperwork involved, but the contract is much shorter than the standard contract and since the homes are sold “as-is” there’s no complications with inspections, etc.

Buying a HUD home has never been easier and if the property works for you, the savings may be substantial over a similar privately-offered property.  Email me if you’d like more info or have comments at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.  Visit my Lancaster County foreclosure website at http://www.yourlancasterhome.com/lancastercountyinvestors.htm. Search Lancaster PA Homes for sale.

Today I’m discussing my favorite real estate home search apps for the iPhone (or smartphone of your choice that supports them).  All of the following apps utiltize the geolocation feature heavily, and this is also where they are the most useful.

Apps are as follows:

1) Realtor.com – this app is very robust for searching listings of homes for sale or rent in Lancaster County.  I like the flexibility of the app and the fact that it is directly tied to the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) through connections with the National Association of Realtors.

2) Zillow – I’ve used the Zillow app for a few years and really like the way it brings the past sales data of the subject home and any nearby homes to you on the iPhone (as Zillow does on their full site, of course).  Zillow relies on the deed recordings in Lancaster County to capture it’s sales data, so there are serious time lag issues if you are searching for a sale within, say, the last six months.  Disregard their “Zestimates”, please – they are also based on the deed recorded information of nearby homes, and are a flawed concept (in fairness, it’s a nice try but properties simply can’t be properly valued without more details unaccessible to Zillow).  Also, Zillow’s data on current listings can be off as well, with expired and sold listings showing up as active.

3) Trulia – clean, pretty app that is basically the same as Realtor.com.  I prefer Realtor.com…

4) Walkscore – This app estimates a score from 0 to 100 based on the location’s proximity to walkable amenities like stores, theaters etc.  I like to use this app in and around Lancaster City, PA homes for sale to see which ones are truly more “walkable”.

5) Mortgage Calculator – A handy, one screen input app that will crank out mortgage payments based on your rate and down payment for any purchase price.  Nice.
Thanks for watching, and if you have any comments or questions feel free to reach out to me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.

Here is the Hempfield School District market review for last week, ending April 11. The Hempfield School District PA homes for sale current inventory activity of according to MLS:

• Sold: 1 properties sold last week for an average price of $345,000 with an average days on market of 124.
• New: 11 houses were listed last week.
• Pending: 14 house went under agreement last week.
• Expired and Extended: 0 listings expired last week and 8 listings extended their contracts with their listing agent.
• Active: 268 homes are active with an average days on market of 148.

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For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff’s work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, WGAL Channel 8, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff’s blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs. Jeff is also a photographer – view some of his lancaster pa photography portfolio. Comments are welcome!

Here is the Hempfield School district PA market review for last week, ending January 24. The current inventory activity of Hempfield PA homes for sale according to MLS:

• Sold: 3 properties sold for an average price of $486,000, these homes were on the market an average of 81 days.
• New: 17 houses were listed last week.
• Pending: 7 houses went under agreement last week.
• Expired and Extended: 3 listings expired last week and 12 listings extended their contracts with their listing agent.
• Active: 298 homes are active with an average days on market of 140.

For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff’s work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, WGAL Channel 8, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff’s blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs. Jeff is also a photographer – view some of his lancaster pa photography portfolio. Comments are welcome!