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.

Hello and welcome! Today we’re talking about “seller help” – you hear about it but what is it? “Seller Help”, “Seller Assist”, “Closing Cost Assistance” all refer to the same financial concept – moving some of the seller’s proceeds over into the buyer’s side of the settlement sheet. So, if a seller is expecting to receive $20,000 in proceeds at a certain price point, they can offer $5,000 to the buyer as an incentive as part of the agreement. Naturally they would then net only $15,000. Normally, the buyer initiates the proposal to add seller help.

(note that the name doesn’t much sense – most people think it should be “buyer help” or “buyer assist”. Sorry, I didn’t make it up!)

In this buyers market a great number of offers are made including seller help. Generally, if there is equity to be used, a seller is wise in considering these offers. With the general scarcity of qualified buyers even an offer with large (6% plus) amounts of seller assist included are worth considering. By the way, the typical range of seller help is 3%-6% per mortgage guidelines, but it can be more.

Now you know all about “seller help”!

Today we park in front of the whiteboard for another session with Jeremy Walter of Bare Financial. The topic is the actual monthly costs you can expect to deal with as a homeowner… paying the mortgage is just the beginning of the fun!
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Choose Jeff Geoghan for you next home sale or purchase in Lancaster! Thanks.

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

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

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

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

Say the buyer wants to remodel the kitchen or add a pool. Or the house is in need of fresh carpet or have the hardwood floors refinished. Items such as these are considered to be personal choices on the part of the buyer and not inherent defects in property. Of course, beater kitchens, raggy carpet or cat-clawed wood floors aren’t going to help the home sell, on the other hand.

Defects in a home would be items that, compared to similar properties (which is what appraisers do) would be considered to negatively affect the value. Examples would be mold, holes in the roof, structural failures or poor location (this is not an exhaustive list for Lancaster PA real estate, either).

If you’re a buyer approaching a property to consider an offer, it’s important to consult with your buyer agent about which concerns rise to the level of defect and which are potentially just elective desires on your part.

ny 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

Whether it’s your first foray into Real Estate or you’ve owned your home for many years, you’ll need to know some basics in order to make a successful offer on a home.

There are four key components of any offer, and as a homebuyer of real estate in Lancaster County PA or beyond you’ll need each of them to place an offer (it’s not called a “bid”, by the way).

1 – Mortgage Prequalificaton. If you are not paying cash you’ll likely need a mortgage. It’s critical to your budgeting that you have a clear picture of your mortgage situation. I did an episode with a top local lender you can watch here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6scZTljsHg ) to learn more. You’ll need a letter from the bank showing your credit worthiness to include with your offer.

2 – PA State Agreement of Sale with Addendums. This is the meat of the offer packet and the agreement details the terms – price, timing, conditions of sale, etc. Special contingencies or conditions will be covered in addendums to the agreement, which are submitted with the agreement to the seller at the same time.

3 – Signed PA Seller Disclosure. This 5 page form must be completed by the seller and available to you to review (in the event of a bank sale or estate sale the disclosure may be signed but blank). Use this form to see what property issues there are that might affect your offer terms. You’ll need to sign the form and include with your offer.

4 – Deposit check. Also known as Good Faith, Escrow, Earnest Money, this check will be made out to the listing brokerage in most cases and sit in their state-regulated “escrow account” until you close, at which time it is returned to you as a credit. If you don’t close, well….talk to your buyer agent about that.

There are some other items that may be needed in presenting an offer to buy homes for sale in Lancaster PA or in your location for that matter, but these four are the key components.

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

A few months ago I made a bit of stir online with my video show episode “3 Reasons Not To Buy A Home.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4TETi13twY&) Folks expressed surprise to hear that coming from a real estate professional, of all people.
Of course, there really are valid reasons not to leap into home ownership — my video merely recapped a few more glaring roadblocks for the would-be house buyer.
The same logic can be applied to those who already have a deed recorded at the county courthouse. If you’re a homeowner who’s not in the midst of a foreclosure, there are several pretty good arguments against trying to sell right now:

1 – You won’t be able to pay everybody and walk away clear. This is more common than one might think. With all the cash-out refinances in 2006-09, combined with plateauing home prices, many owners just don’t have enough equity. Rather than live in denial and subject your listing agent to flights of price fancy, plan to stay for at least two more years to pay down debt and allow the market to (hopefully) rebound.
2 – The situation of the home is not incredibly marketable. It’s a rough time to own a house along any road even remotely considered “busy.” It’s even more problematic to have a home priced above $200,000 in the same scenario. Lack of bathrooms, garages and basements are hurting sellers more than ever as buyers enjoy large numbers of options. Given the option to sell or wait, perhaps discretion may be the better part here.

3 – Your house is eminently rentable. Right now the rental market for well-priced single-family homes is buzzing. If your house is close to things and/or in such a condition that you wouldn’t mind having tenants for a couple of years, you should seriously weigh the ups and downs of landlording rather than selling your asset right now for a reduced price.

At the end of the day it’s your call, and many owners don’t have any choice in these economic times. Be sure to make every decision carefully, especially the choice of listing agent to market the property. Diligence on your part will greatly assist in a softer landing!