If you cast you eye across the area in PA from the Main Line out to Carlisle, you see a largely similar landscape of small cities (Lancaster, York, Lebanon, Reading and Harrisburg as examples) connected by a network of boroughs (Strasburg, Lititz, Millersville, Hummelstown, Camp Hill, Carlisle etc). In between are townships of suburban or rural character. With the economic malaise development of raw land in these last areas has become problematic from a profit/marketing standpoint, edging out all but the largest concerns.

For the next phase of growth that will bring small and mid-cap players into the mix, look to the first two categories – urban and borough level opportunities. The chatter about “second story development” in the cities and borough rezoning for economic opportunity areas has been ongoing in recent years, but I think we have not yet seen the municipal/business/developer cooperation truly needed to jumpstart this movement in real estate.

As a Mayor, I am opening lines of communication with our Lancaster County agencies to explore ways of creating a bundle of benefits we can offer prospective businesses in our downtown district. As a real estate professional, I’m looking explicitly at how we can cater to the free market to make our “product” – a vibrant borough with incentives to develop there – the most attractive in the area.

Regionally, this interplay of governmental/non-profit collaboration and the real estate sales/lease community is critical… we can’t work separately or worse, at cross-purposes. Catering to large developers isn’t the answer either – it’s the small business looking to grow who will be most open to expanding in urban areas and small class A spaces.

It’s my opinion that the counties of Central PA need to focus energy on their boroughs and cities very soon if they really want to see a turnaround in property values (and tax revenues). And it can’t happen soon enough.

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 going to talk about the Arts & Crafts movement (also known as Craftsman Style homes) in Lancaster County and Central PA. Homes for sale that were built in the 1920’s and 1930’s can either be all Craftsman or use bits and pieces of the architectural style that was extremely popular at the time.

I shot this episode at my listing at 67 Valley Road in Neffsville, next door to Manheim Township Middle and High Schools. You can see the bright, big photos of this home at http://www.67valley.com

Craftsman homes in Lancaster PA or throughout Central PA were largely constructed out of masonry – that was the common base material at the time and while there are examples of stick-built Arts & Crafts homes in Lancaster County I would say they are few and far between. A major component of the style is the large covered front porch, allowing people to spend time outside in the environment. You can spot a craftsman home by the porch and also by the integrated square columns… no round columns. The column in this home I’m at are perfect craftsman columns.

Also, simplicity and staying true to the original materials (wood, block etc) was key to the craftsman home style. You’ll notice that this porch is very clean, with no extra details in the flooring or millwork. Arts & Crafts homes arose as a response to the overbearing european styling that was heavy on “fluff” in the design – therefore it follows that craftsman period home designers would keep it simple.

You can read more about the period online – it’s a favorite home style of mine and, interestingly, since these homes are a)older and b)smaller than most homes for sale in Lancaster, the price to buy a decent craftsman home can be very affordable! This home in Neffsvile is only $149,000. Keep an eye out for those big porches and square columns…

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

(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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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 you next home sale or purchase in Lancaster! Thanks.

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

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

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

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

Today we delve into condos in Lancaster County PA – the amenities usually included with the condominium association membership and the typical fees you’ll need to pay in addition to your monthly principal & interest, taxes and homeowners insurance.

There’s a lot of variety when it comes to Lancaster PA condos for sale. There’s new construction homes out in the rural areas, established Lancaster suburban communities near the city, and also neat adaptive reuse condos in downtown Lancaster City PA. Examples would be Clock Towers and North Shippen Place.

If you are interested in learning more about your condo options in and around Lancaster, feel free to reach out to me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.

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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

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

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

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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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.

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

Today I visited with Frank Barrett, manager at Indoor City Granite & Marble in Lancaster, PA to take a tour of his fabrication shop. It’s a huge building where slabs of granite, most weighing in the thousands of pounds, are moved around and cut/polished to customer specs.

I was struck by the need to use cranes for almost everything – there’s no picking up these chunks of stone and carrying them around. Frank pointed out the need for safety throughout the process, not just for the craftsmen working but also for the stone pieces themselves, which are often imported one-of-a-kind cuts of granite that can ill afford to be broken. There’s little margin for error.

The machines that cut and shape the granite are pretty impressive, most being computer-controlled. Frank explained how the slabs are cut from templates made onsite and how another machine uses stored dimensions of sinks to cut the openings out automatically. As the process winds up, it’s more people-intensive with edging and polishing to a fine lustre.

All in all, granite fabrication is an involved process but highly automated with a gorgeous finished product. Thanks to Frank for giving me the tour – if you have any questions about granite products for your home or business feel free to contact him at 717-393-3931.

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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

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

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan