It’s an 1878  home, 3 bedrooms 1.5 baths with some outbuildings – a larger garage and barn most notably.  The lot is pretty cool, L-shaped with some ground back away from the road.  1.56 acres on the books.

It’s a bank foreclosure priced ONLY AT $124,900!!!  The negatives are that the house needs lots of work (but is not in disrepair as I understand it) and that the septic system is a cesspool that needs to be pumped.  It’s my understanding that the property may actually qualify for FHA or VA financing!  If you could finance it using FHA’s 203K program you could potentially install a proper septic drainfield or sandmound system and still be way under market price…

If you want to see this property give me a call at 717-799-0851 or email at farmettes@yourlancasterhome.com.

]]> http://www.lancasterparealestateblog.com/2011/08/03/lancaster-pa-farmettes-watch-great-deal-in-conestoga/feed/ 0 http://www.lancasterparealestateblog.com/2011/03/23/ray-dagostino-lhop-homebuyer-event-upcoming-april-9th-2011/ http://www.lancasterparealestateblog.com/2011/03/23/ray-dagostino-lhop-homebuyer-event-upcoming-april-9th-2011/#comments Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:38:07 +0000 Jeff http://www.lancasterparealestateblog.com/?p=1175
Today I was pleased to have the opportunity to sit down with Ray D’Agostino, Executive Director of the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership, otherwise known as LHOP. Ray’s organization has done a world of good over the past 16 years for Lancaster County PA homebuyers who need an extra helping hand. There is an upcoming homebuyer fair on April 9th, 2011 in Lancaster City that anyone interested in home ownership should be sure to attend…more on that in a minute.

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)

Visit our homepage for Lancaster PA Real Estate

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

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.

Press Release – Lancaster County Pennsylvania 2010 Home Market Review

Download the PDF version – Lancaster County 2010 Real Estate Market Review

Local experts look at data and trends from the past year in Real Estate

Lancaster, PA (January 20, 2011) – The Jeff Geoghan Realty Group reported its analysis of the previous year’s residential real estate market for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania this week.

For full year 2010, residential home sales in Lancaster County were down 9% from 2009, totaling 4,102 units.  New inventory on the market in 2010 topped 9,000 listings, up 8% over 2009.  On another note, the median sold price in the county rebounded slightly from losses in both 2008 and 2009 – 1% over 2009 to $172,000.  “The residential home market in Lancaster County saw a clear correction downwards in 2010, the tax credit ‘bubble’ in spring notwithstanding” commented Jeff Geoghan, founder of the realty group.  “Homeowners can expect to see this trend of more listings and fewer sales continue into 2011 as HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) and private banks release more foreclosure inventory into the real estate market”.  Geoghan continued “the ultimate effect of these devalued properties on median prices in 2011 will be a factor to watch”.

Home sellers in Lancaster settled on average for 94.5% of the original list price in 2010, making the county among the markets nationwide to see better than 90% of list prices at the closing table.  Commented Geoghan “Lancaster County is a stable environment for prices overall, and the long-term trend looks to continue

Other Lancaster PA Real Estate highlights in 2010: The School Districts of Lampeter-Strasburg and Manheim Township tied for highest median home price at $210,000, while Quarryville Borough posted top median price, also of $210,000.  The highest-priced residential sale was $992,000 for a 6,500 square foot home in Manheim Township.  The fastest-selling (average days to close) area in Lancaster County was Lititz Borough at 81 days.

For more 2010 Lancaster County Real Estate statistics and analysis watch yourlancasterhomeTV at http://tv.yourlancasterhome.com, and visit http://www.lancasterparealestateblog.com for charts and graphs of Lancaster home prices and sales.  All data from Keystone MLS.

I’ve known Steve for a few years now, and he is one of the best analyzers of industry trends and data I know of. Great job on national TV, Steve!

You can see more of his work at www.keepingcurrentmatters.com and http://kcmblog.com

Today we take a look about the mailings coming into our homes around the area from mortgage sellers that bear a striking resemblance to an official government mailing, and that purport to offer solutions to homeowners. Don’t be deceived…if you have seen any of these or have comments feel free to comment here or email me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.

We have all seen the car commercial where the guy is on the used car lot and says “Show me the CARFAX®” before he purchases a vehicle. A CARFAX® report provides potential buyers a vehicle’s history of ownership, titles and accidents. The report allows buyers to make an informed purchase decision and gives them confidence that they are buying what is advertised. Did you know the same type of report is available when you buy a house too?

The CARFAX® for a home is called a C.L.U.E.® or Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report. A C.L.U.E.® report shows insurance claims made on a property for the past 5 years and insurance companies use this information for underwriting homeowner insurance (See a C.L.U.E. example).

However, home buyers can also get a C.L.U.E.® report by requesting the seller to purchase a C.L.U.E. Home Seller’s Disclosure Report for $19.95. Remember that the buyer or real estate agent cannot order the C.L.U.E.® report and it only can be provided by the seller or owner. The report shows the same claim history on the property that insurance companies use but it removes all of the seller’s personal information that they would want to keep private.

If you wouldn’t buy a car without the CARFAX® report, should you buy a home without a C.L.U.E.® report? Let me know your thoughts.

Everyone out there probably knows somebody who is behind on their mortgage payments, looking for alternatives and likely also just finding out that their home’s value has dipped below what their loan amount is. I know some within my own personal circles. It’s a tough situation for me to advise them as a professional because it’s such a personal challenge to their pride and self-worth, not to mention their plans and dreams for the family. The question we’re asking is “when is this going to stop and where are we heading?”

I’m going to put up a few graphs that show the trends nationally with regards to mortgage delinquincies:

This chart is by quarter – Single-family mortgages set a new record delinquency rate in the second quarter of 2009, according to a quarterly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Those of us in the real estate business see the foreclosure process (just visit the local Sheriff Sale docket to see the current numbers) but the looming delinqency-to-foreclosure issue is far, far larger.

The Wall Street Journal on 8/3/09 reported the following quote: “While subprime mortgages sparked the first round of housing problems two years ago, now “troubles are lurking further up the food chain,” says Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc. White-collar job losses have accelerated while more adjustable-rate loans to prime borrowers are resetting to higher payments. ‘You put all that together, it leads me to believe that the next leg down on home prices is going to come from the top,’ he says.”

The first objection someone may have would be to say “yes, but historically those who are delinqent usually get their act together and come current on the mortgage after a while”. That WAS true, but not anymore! We call that the “Cure Rate”, that is the rate of delinquencies that go back to current. The Wall Street Journal reported on 8/24/09 about a Fitch analysis that found that the Cure Rate from 2000-2006 was 45% (which means about half of people fix their delinquency). However, as of July 2009 the rate had dropped to just 6.6%! That means that over 90% of delinquent customers are going to foreclosure. Take a look again at the above chart…

The next thing someone will say is “well, that’s the ’sand states’ and not my area”. Here’s the chart for all 50 states showing the same breakdown of delinquencies and foreclosures. Guess what – most states have a significant problem, especially compared to historical figures.

Now the next thing someone may say is “aren’t those loans going to get ‘fixed’ by a loan modification?” I know several people right now who are applying for a Lancaster County loan modification but are waiting and waiting. I hope it works out for them…

In reality, loan modifications are hardly making a dent. To me, that’s a burning question. Why arent banks being more aggressive in giving customers the option to extend their loan and/or reset to a lower rate? Why are they being SO difficult? The people I know don’t want to be foreclosed. They CAN make payments. They just need the terms redrawn to allow them to catch & keep up. Loan modifications are not helping us get this crisis under control.

What are the causes of all these delinquencies? Here’s a chart that is enlightening:

We hear a lot about adjustable rate mortgages being the culprit, but the reality is that it’s the loss of jobs and the tanking real estate market that’s the perfect storm. See my previous post on unemployment in the nation, the state and Lancaster County.

Keep in mind, this post is not intended to give us “good news”. You may be experiencing good things in your market and that’s great. My intent is to get us thinking about the challenges that aren’t going away and how we’re going to address them as homeowners, agents and professionals. I’d love to hear your ideas!