Today we’re in the Bloomingdale Neighborhood of Manheim Township, an established suburban community in Lancaster County, PA with established landscaping everywhere you look. I “get down and dirty” with Andrew Landis of Showcase Landscape Services to discuss planting now, in late fall, for spring color.

Andrew brought along a bag of Tulip bulbs and the preferred hand tools for planting them. He talked about how to organize your plantings by color, type and locations within your yard. Since we’re having an unseasonably warm late fall, it’s still possible to get out there and do some digging while the temps are over 50 degrees. Andrew mentioned that you can get many bulbs planted in a half hour, so it’s not a big time commitment.

If you want to see a colorful landscape once spring springs in Lancaster County, take the time to “sow the seeds” of color before Christmas!

Read more at http://www.showcasegroup.biz or reach out to Andrew Landis at info@ showcasegroup.biz.

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

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

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

Today I give a few pointers about the need to control dampness in and around homes in Lancaster City. Was at a home inspection where dampness from a common alleyway had apparently infiltrated into the living room and the finished basement.

Given the fact that there isn’t much green space (none in some locations) to route rain runoff to, and uneven concrete surfaces in the older urban environment, it’s critical to be aware of where the water is going to around your Lancaster City PA home.

Especially important areas to watch are the common walkways between city homes. Some are at the main level and some actually step down to the basement level and back up again to the backyard. These areas don’t get much sunlight and can stay damp or even puddled long after a rain. These areas and poor downspout routing are the major troublemakers,

So, if you have a Lancaster City home be sure to watch your water runoff and try to avoid damp areas or water up against your foundation.

Questions? Email me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.
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(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

Today I sat down with Steve Richardson of our local title company, Guardian Transfer, to talk about why the title process is so important in Lancaster real estate and beyond. Few, if any home buyers take the time to read their title commitment carefully and real headaches (or worse) can result.

The title process involves a lot of research on the property to be transferred, and Steve has seen any number of problems come up after settlement, when a new owner realizes that they do/don’t have easements or right-of-ways, the dimensions of the lot were totally different from what they thought they bought, other entities had a claim to all or part of their lot (and so on…). Steve takes a fe minutes to review the title commitment document and how it impacts the sale.

Schedule A of the commitment details the parties involved in the sale – all the parties. If there are “misunderstandings” about who is actually selling the property, they will come out here.

Schedule B of the title commitement details covenants and restrictions that apply to the property, from sources such as the development, associations, utlities and other entities including neighbors and who knows who else.

Schedule C of the commitment has the infamous “legal description” that nobody tries to read. However, it’s not uncommon for buyers to read it and suddenly realize that the boundaries are nothing like they thought they were buying, or that the description is totally wrong or indecipherable (referencing rocks, trees etc).

The Escrow period is the critical time for home buyers and agents to make sure the property they agreed to buy is indeed what is transferred on closing day…no surprises.

If you have title or closing questions for Steve (PA only, please) you can reach him at srichardson@guardianclosings.com. As always you can email me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com with questions or to start your home search.

Visit our homepage for Lancaster PA Real Estate

(c) 2011 Jeff Geoghan

I’m a numbers junkie (and charts & graphs, too), so it was inevitable that I would be looking at numbers with you on this show.  It’s my goal to take away the mystery from real estate in every way, though, and giving you numbers is a big part of that IMO…makes you a more informed customer when the time comes to buy or sell a home in Lancaster County, PA.  So here we go…

As of today 1/16/11 there are 3,101 homes on the market in Lancaster County.  Last week, 138 new listings were added to the market.  34 Listings expired last week (which means that the listing contract ended without the agent having sold the home) and 80 listings were “extended” (meaning that the owners “doubled down” with their current listing agent as their listing contracts ended).

57 happy owners accepted contracts on their properties, and 35 even happier folks closed last week!  For those who closed, their homes were on the market an average of 81 days before they got their house under agreement.  This is a typical timeframe for the last year or so.  Median sale price for the closed homes was $159,900…pretty low.  Let’s hope that trend doesn’t continue.

In Lancaster City, Pennsylvania we have 328 active listings as of today.  Last week, there were 13 new listings placed on the market.  11 happy owners accepted contract on their properties and 3 lucky winners closed!  For the lucky, the average days on market was 64 (much less than the county average).  The median sale price in the Lancaster City home sales was $98,500.

I’m looking forward to watching with you the trends as they unfold this spring.  We’ll see new things together!  If you have any numbers questions or comments you can email me at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com as always.

While purchasing and owning a home can be a fun, enjoyable process there’s no doubt that it can be a stressful, expensive process.  Even without going into the debate about renting vs. owning (that’s another episode…) it seems that there are three (3) obvious reasons why you probably shouldn’t be making an offer to buy a home right now:

1) Your finances are not in order (you’ve heard of a budget, right?) – even after you’ve managed to put together enough cash to pay for the nonrecurring closing costs at settlement, there will be many opportunities for your bank account to be drained by owning a home.  Repairs, maintenance, tax bills, municipal assessments, insurance of various types are financial realities that should be reckoned with up front.  Hopefully you’ll be able to budget for these items and perhaps draw on your human resources (parents, friends) for help as well.  As renter, however, most of the above-listed items are paid by the landlord.  If things are financially tough, ownership may not be the right thing
for you right now.

2) Location, location, location – if you aren’t sure about the neighborhoods you’re seeing, or aren’t sure about how your life will work with a given home location you may want to wait until you’re more at peace with owning a home.  Since houses can’t be moved from place to place (insert wisecrack here) you should be comfortable with a) the immediate neighborhood, b) the prospective commute to work, and c) the location relative to your lifestyle needs.  I tell the story about a couple whom I wrote an offer for back when things were very competitive, had it accepted over other offers, only to have the couple call me the very next day begging to be released from the contract because they had test-drove the route to their church and felt it was just too far!  Don’t let this happen to you…don’t make an offer on a house until you’ve settled the geographics in your mind.

3) Not planning to stick around – if your life involves moving often (either for work or just for kicks), or for reasons already mentioned you see yourself potentially having to sell the home quickly, you may want to not buy right now.  Nobody can foresee the future, of course, and folks are getting laid off all the time, but sometimes if you are honest with yourself you’ll admit that you would not like to be “tied down” to a home/mortgage/bills for years.  Say at least 5 years, actually.  Or if you need to leave you could always rent the place until you sell but that would entail dealing with the landlord life – your choice.  With the real estate market as tough as it is for home sellers, it’s not wise to depend on having to list  within 3-4 years hoping it’ll sell the first day & pay all your closing costs.  If you aren’t into a serious responsibility that keeps on giving for half a decade at least, you probably should consider not signing a mortgage.

So, while there are lots of good reasons to buy a home right now, it’s ultimately up to you to self-assess whether you’re truly prepared as much as possible to take on the responsibility of home ownership.  If you have any questions or comments, or if you would like to talk more about how to prepare to buy a home for sale in Lancaster PA, you can reach out at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com.

LANCASTER FIRST FRIDAY - September

Southeast Lancaster Health Services, 333 N. Arch Street
Penchansky’s World: Public silent auction of the photography of Dr. Barry Penchansky, world traveler, pilot, and physician, to benefit Project HEAL and the Penchansky Memorial.

Christiane a Paris, 136 N. Prince St.
Presenting photographs by Verena Huetteneder. Sales proceeds to fund education of a female student in a developing country.

Liz Hess Gallery,* 140 N. Prince St.
Introducing Larry Lefever, a professional photographer from Lititz who has spent 26 years photographing America’s rural landscapes. Liz Hess has collaborated with him to create several paintings inspired by his artistic eye, adding her signature red umbrella.

Pencilworks Studio and Gallery, 154 N. Prince St.
Showcasing new black-and-white and HDR photography by resident artist Carl Woerner. Open until 10 pm.

Edwin P. Huddle Photography, 122 E. Chestnut St.
Fine art photography, photo décor and commissioned portraits on display.

Studio Two 20 Two, 222 N. Duke St.
Original artworks by Los Angeles-based fine art photographer Brooke Shaden and original watercolors by local artist Joann Hensel.

Framing Concept, 328 N. Queen St.
Recent original photography by Ann Darkes. Artist reception.

The Wiebners Photography Studio, 320 N. Queen St.
Photography by Joel and Rita Wiebner.

Mulberry Art Studios, 19-21 N. Mulberry St.
Bob Forrey: Untitled. Each painting carries its own voice and creates a special division of space and color. Brett Greiman: Visual Voices. Collection of the artist’s work in acrylic, pastel graphic design, illustration, and photography from the past 14 years. Artist reception 5-8pm.

Fulton Elementary School, 225 W. Orange St.
Collection of work from professional and amateur photographers. Proceeds benefit earthquake victims in Haiti. Live music by Salt & Light and Susquehanna Woodwind Quintet. Free dessert sampling. 5-8pm.

Natural Light Films, 405 N. Duke St.
In collaboration with Ten Thousand Villages, presenting video documentary profiles of artisans from West and East Africa, and Kim Edelen’s photography from Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Zambia. Artisan products available for purchase. 4-9pm; 6pm – travel talk.

The Candy Factory 323 N. Queen Street

Photography by Mike Miville, Matthew Lester, Todd Spitler and Brian Welch and much more, including the Idyllic Heart art of Ami Becker.  Also will be a screening of “The Travelling Diamonds” students short films of Temple University.

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Portions courtesy of Patrick J. Cooney, Photography

1. Building a Compost Bin using Home Depot lumber and a couple of screws
2. Installing a RainBarrel to catch downspout water for garden and pool re-use
3. Organizing a “square foot” garden

Today, let’s talk compost.

Susan & I had a small compost bin I made with some old 2×4s a couple of years ago.  It was a basic design - called a “one-chamber” because that’s all there was.  I’ve really loved not having to put the grass clippings out for 2 years!  Also, everything organic from the kitchen has gone out to the pile daily.  We got a great compost harvest the second spring but this year didn’t go as well.  The pile had gotten too high and was a bear to turn (which is required for the stuff to decompose properly) with the pitchfork.

Solution: Rip the thing out and rebuild.   I built a new compost bin (level two)!  It’s a “two-chamber” design which allows me to turn the piles more effectively by going from one side to the other, and pulling out the finished compost as it happens.  I would have preferred to have done a “three-chamber” so I had a pile for only finished compost, but space did not allow for that.  So far, it has produced a good amount of working compost for our garden.

I did the  Home Depot thing and picked up some fresh 2×4s (the last ones rotted) and 1×4’s for the side slatting.  I also bought some green-coated chicken wire in 24″x 25 ft (one roll – I already had 25 foot – you’ll need two rolls to build this compost bin design).  I used 2″ deck screws to fasten everything together.

I sunk the posts using a post-hole digger and an iron ”digging stick” with a tamping end to pack the posts in place.  Lots and lots of measuring with a tape measure and level…The screws tightened the whole compost bin up nicely.  Took me an afternoon and a half (with 3 kids in tow).

Right away I noticed how the extra 4 feet really helped separate the materials.  Note the difference between the more recent deposits and the almost-ready compost on the left.  My nagging problem had been the lack of consistent aeration – the stuff stunk! Now with the ability to turn more often without the hassle factor I’ll get better aeration, which means lots of good compost to spread on mama Geoghan’s vegetable garden in the fall and spring!

Look for my next piece – on putting together a rainbarrel using a local Lancaster PA barrel source and easily-available plumbing parts.