The “F.L. Suter Home” is an expansive 4,604 square foot Tudor Revival home nestled along Wheatland Avenue in the first phase of School Lane Hills (homes built in the first quarter of the 20th century).  The 5 huge bedrooms and 4 updated baths make the upper floors fully functional for any family, but it’s the first floor that truly delights.

Here’s a list of some of the features of 1112 Wheatland Avenue:

• Prestigious School Lane Hills neighborhood
• Wide street with light through traffic
• 2 blocks from President Buchanan’s Wheatland estate
• Close to vibrant Lancaster City downtown and F&M college campus

• Architecturally and period-sensitive kitchen remodel
• All new premium appliances
• Restored and expanded butler’s pantry
• Baths remodeled or restored
• Central staircase to all floors
• Large foyer and full-length central hall
• Huge living room and covered side veranda
• Dramatic 1927 great room extension
• Master suite with full dressing/laundry room/balcony
• Full third floor guest living capability
• Formal dining room with French doors
• Abundant closet space throughout
• Full basement with plenty of extra storage
• Flagstone walkways and patio
• Terraced rear yard with new privacy fencing

• Updated electric and mechanicals
• New high efficiency gas Boiler and Hot Water Heater
• Excellent exterior condition, no deferred maintenance
• Many upgrades and maintenance work completed – move right in!

This is a Coldwell Banker Previews Home in Lancaster County, PA so you can expect something wonderful… see the big photo tour and more property details at www.1112Wheatland.com.

Today we’re with Josephine Stoltzfus of Sprama Design to talk about getting into décor in your home or apartment. Josephine is an experienced Lancaster PA home designer and talks about layering techniques and using color & patterns to pull things together.

While some aspects of design and decoration are best left to a professional in the field, Josephine was enthusiastic about the possibilities that can be explored even on a tight budget using relatively inexpensive pieces. Creative groupings, offsetting pattern sizes and color schemes that can be replaced as your taste changes are some of the ways she lays out in this video episode.

If you are interested in professional home design services (from décor choices to actual CAD layouts and working with your contractor) reach out to Josephine or her partner Harmony Boore at http://www.Sprama.com or 717-238-1001 anytime.

For tips on desgning for small spaces, check out this episode filmed in Lancaster City:http://www.youtube.com/user/yourlancasterhome#p/f/65/wFbE4TYK7jw
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(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

This flexible commercial building in Lancaster PA includes two office spaces plus a separate, free- standing flex building.  Listed for $600,000 with the following features:

• Only 2 blocks from Lancaster General Hospital
• 8 one-bedroom apartments; 1 two-bedroom apartment, 2 office spaces, and 1 flex space
• Apartments and office space are basic but well maintained
• Newer air conditioning units;  newer boiler, recent exterior paint and roof/chimney work.
• Separate flex building to rear of property could be used for commercial or offices, or convert to laundromat
• Two first floor office spaces
• Mix of heat pumps and oil fired steam heat
• Plenty of onsite parking!
• Potential net income easily over $60k a year.

For more information, call Lancaster Commercial Realtor Christine Sable, CCIM, at 717-399-9361

In this episode I get “down and dirty” (or dusty at least) to talk about how I sand down hardwood floors.

I prefer renting an orbital floor sander from the local rental shop – the one in this video costs $46 per day ($136 per week… go figure). The sandpaper pads can be rented by the pack, and this rental store in Lancaster PA allows you to return the unused pads for credit after the job is done.

First, you need to pull off the trim and pull all the nails that will catch up your sander. Then you can use wood filler to fill in nail holes or cracks between boards (up to a point, of course).

Second, use the rented sander to hit the large areas. The get along the edges I use a belt sander and orbital sander with heavy grits. After you’ve removed the old finish and high spots, it’s time to use the successively finer grits on the sanders. I finish the whole thing using my orbital and 150 grit. If you’re working on softwood you may need to do some additional sanding and filling to get the floor the way you want. Have fun!

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Today I got a chance to see the inside of Fresco Green Scene, a hot new shop in Lancaster City at 104 West Chestnut Street 1st Floor, right near the corner of Chestnut & Prince in the heart of Gallery Row. This store is the product of the imagination of Rick Frescatore and his team at Fresco, a growing brand that focuses on sustainable living.

A few months ago I interviewed Rick at his first store, located on Commerce Drive in Manheim Township. Here’s the interview:

http://www.youtube.com/user/yourlancasterhome#p/f/39/9xgANb9W2Lw

While the Manheim Township store is primarily geared towards remodelers, building trades and homeowners looking for green product alternatives, the Fresco Green Scene charts new territory for Fresco by focusing on “the things you fill the shelves with” in your newly green built home, as Rick comments. The product line is a wide variety of cleansers, bath oils and soaps (some of which are available at a very cool refill bar, where you can buy the glass dispenser, fill it up and then return when you need refills). In addition Fresco Green Scene has a nice selection of crafted fashion accessories, art pieces and decor, all developed along sustainable lines.

To see the whole story check out http://www.facebook.com/frescogreenscene

They opened on “First Friday” in August and the traffic “was incredible” according to Rick. They will hold a grand opening celebration on First Friday in September, using Art Park across Prince Street to have music and more. Be sure to come out ant support this great addition to the vibrant downtown Lancaster scene!

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Thanks for watching! Please take a moment to subscribe here athttp://tv.yourlancasterhome.com and pop over to our facebook page to “like” it at http://www.facebook.com/lancasterhomes

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North Shippen Place condominiums are located at the corner of East Walnut and North Shippen in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania.  The address of the main building is 231 North Shippen Street, Lancaster PA 17602.  There are 4+ floors (they have a little “half floor” the way the building is constructed).  The building apparently was converted from a tobacco warehouse in a good example of adaptive re-use in Lancaster City.

The prices for condos in North Shippen Place range from the low $90,000’s to about $130,000.  It is possible to rerent them – units will show up on Craigslist from time to time.  The condo fee is fairly low – approximately $210 per month that covers most everything.  Owners don’t get any extra storage, but parking is wide open and nobody ever complains about not getting spaces.  Of course, city property taxes aren’t cheap but overall these condo homes are very affordable homes in Lancaster County.

The real cool stuff, though, is the proximity of North Shippen Place to the heart of Lancaster City.  It’s only a few blocks to Lancaster General Hospital’s main campus, and does qualify for the the Lancaster General “Home In The City” homebuyer incentive the hospital offers.  A couple of blocks further is North Queen Street with it’s shops and restaurants.  Another block and you’re right in the middle of downtown Lancaster City.

Search Lancaster City Condos For Sale

If you’re looking at buying a home you’ll likely come across the phrase “privacy violation” somewhere. In a nutshell, a privacy violation occurs in real estate where you have to pass through one room to get into another, specifically with bedroom spaces.

This is a common issue in homes for sale in Lancaster City, PA and also in older farmhouses around Lancaster County. I was just in one such home this morning showing it to some buyers from New Jersey. Privacy violations can be a significant issue when listing agents don’t disclose them properly and buyers are led to believe that there are 3 bedrooms (for example) when in reality you have to walk through 1 of the them to get into another. The real estate convention is that, for a room to be counted as a bedroom, it must have 2 things:

1) Independent access to a common area (hallway, living room etc).
2) A closet space of some sort.

Rooms with privacy violations are commonly included in the MLS and advertising as “bedrooms” – there’s just so many of them and the county tax records generally note them so why not, right? As a buyer you’ll need to know that before setting up the showing, though.

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While at the local permit office the other day, my estimator called with some awesome news.  In our area several “contractors” had recently been fined for breaking the building codes (some of the fines were up to $10,000.).  Some of them never applied for a permit at all.   Now I have to admit that I am not a big fan of government interference in business, but what these “contractors” were doing was not only wrong, it was life threatening.

Section 1510 of the International Building Code covers re-roofing applications. It states that “ Roof system removal and replacement, instead of re-cover applications, are required if an existing roof system is wet or has been re-covered.  “ There are several reasons for this, but the main one is the additional weight that it adds to the structure.  Most structures are not designed for this additional load.  This can lead to building collapse under some circumstances.

We try to get a “core cut” of an existing roof when doing an evaluation. This is very important to determine what are the components of the existing roof.  The weight of the roof can vary greatly depending on the components and whether or not they are wet.  Wet roofing should ALWAYS be removed.

During the economic recession it has often been difficult to convince building owners that spending several thousands of dollars more, is the right thing to do.  Certain things remain true….You get what you pay for, and if you cut corners, sometimes, You get what you deserve.

Read this post on Joe’s Lancaster PA roofing blog.  Roofing questions?  You can reach Joe at www.heidler.com.

Today I’m discussing real estate in Lancaster City, PA – in particular the three things that IMO make the difference when it comes to value and buyer interest….

1 – Offstreet parking (or garages).  This is HUGE issue for most city buyers, and not so common among the real estate inventory.  If you have one, it really helps (assuming the garage actually fits some sort of modern car).  As a home buyer, you would be well served to look for one but it does severely limit your search.

2 – Second baths – this is a biggie.  Almost everybody I start working with wants that elusive “half bath” in order to keep guests out of their inner sanctum.  However, many buyer ultimately settle for a home in Lancaster City with only one bath, which is perfectly fine with me.  Just remember that that 2nd bath is a great asset and should be trumpeted in the listing.

3 – Newer kitchens – yep, that investment in new cabinets, hardware, flooring or countertops WILL pay off in Lancaster City.  A fresher kitchen really makes a home stand out in the photos and in person.  If you have one, be sure to get big glossy photos of it up on the internet.

There are other important features of homes in Lancaster City, but 7+ years selling on all the blocks in town has me thinking these 3 are the biggies.

Any questions – love to hear them at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.

Thanks for watching! Please take a moment to subscribe here athttp://tv.yourlancasterhome.com and pop over to our facebook page to “like” it at http://www.facebook.com/lancasterhomes

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

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The short sale train keeps rolling along – lots of short sales in Lancaster PA and the Lancaster County real estate market, just like yours I imagine. Here are a few tips on buying a short sale:

1 – The price should be very negotiable, since the seller isn’t trying to pay off the entire mortgage balance. Banks are accepting any reasonable offer in general these days.

2 – Realize that the seller’s mortgage lender will need to agree to the terms (in addition to the both of you). This may take a few days extra and they may balk at extra-low prices.

3 – Watch for “pre-approved” short sales. In this situation the seller has already submitted their short sale package and the lender has approved accepting a short sale. In Lancaster PA we are seeing more and more of these… any listing agent worth their salt will trumpet this fact on their MLS listing, etc. Pre-approved short sales will take days to weeks, rather than weeks to months.

4 – Expect to wait for everything – although banks are getting quicker about it, processing short sales is still a tedious process that can drive everybody crazy. Be ready to be patient.

5 – Don’t expect lots of repairs – sellers in short sale are by definition not financially able to effect repairs, and banks simply won’t do them. It will almost be an “as is” sale.

These are a few pointers on buying a short sale in Lancaster or wherever you are. Any questions – love to hear them at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.

Thanks for watching! Please take a moment to subscribe here at http://tv.yourlancasterhome.com and pop over to our facebook page to “like” it at http://www.facebook.com/lancasterhomes

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

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan