Lancaster PA Real Estate Blog

If you are a homeowner concerned about foreclosure in Pennsylvania, here's some news that might of interest to you.  PHFA, the state housing finance agency, has long offered a HEMAP program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure as a result of hardship.  This month, however, Gov. Rendell announced a pair of new programs designed to aid struggling homeowners as a result of poor loan products or a drop in their homes value when 100% financed.

The first new PHFA loan product is the "Refinance to an Affordable Loan Program" or REAL, where a homeowner can
refinance their existing adjustable or 100% loan to a 30 year fixed loan with flexible terms.  This program has a few important conditions - one being that you can't be 60 days or more past due on your loan - so make the call now!  Click here for more details on the PHFA homepage.  A network of 72 lending firms will handle the REAL loans in the state.

The second program is called the Homeowner Equity Recovery Opportunity, where PHFA will actually buy the mortgage from the original lender and set up a repayment plan with the embattled homeowner.  These loans are designed for owners who have credit and other financial issues that make refinancing a hurdle.  You can read the press release for the HERO program here.

I came across a recent article by Sharon Smith which was very helpful.  You can read that here as well.  Check back at the PHFA homepage as more details of these programs are rolled out.  

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff's work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, WGAL Channel 8, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff's blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs. Jeff is also a photographer - view some of his portfolio. Comments are welcome!

(Activerain Members Only May Subscribe. For a Subscription to my monthly email newsletter click here)

If you appreciated this post please rate it...comments welcome! 

Apparently, the warring factions in the ongoing Lancaster Convention Center controversy have come to a agreement and County Commissioners ave withdrawn their opposition to the financing structure that had been proposed by the developer.   The $170 million project, which is well underway anyway, is now clear to proceed as I understand it.  

Good luck.   

I'm not going to beat this subject to death for weeks, but I've been showing a TON of houses this week and see some pretty bad listing photos.  This one listing actually made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it.  Again, my ringing question is "...why would a seller allow this?". 

Hey!  Stop giving me "the finger"...

Help...I can't see where I'm going...this makes me dizzy.

If you're looking to sell your home, don't chance getting service like this - give me a call at 717-799-0851 visit my website to sell your Lancaster PA home. 

As the meetings continue in both Manheim Township and East Hempfield Township to evaluate the feasibility of building a new mega-shopping center along Harrisburg Pike across from Long's Park, opponents gained significant energy from the revelation that the farm slated for demolition held a historic place in Lancaster County history.  Also, the traffic plans for the development were called into question by engineers retained to review the work done by the developer.

Turns out, the farm known as the Deisley property was also known as the Swarr Farm, and in the winter of 1763 it was a site of some of the drama known as the "Paxton Massacre" when a band of white settlers tracked down and killed a number of american indians in the Lancaster area.  Several native survivors sought shelter at the home of Peter Swarr.  Afterwards they were transferred to downtown Lancaster, where they were subsequently found by the Paxton gang...at a recent Manheim Township meeting, the developer's historic representative confessed he didn't know about this event nor other potential historic issues surrounding the farm or it's buildings. 

In the most recent township hearing, the analyst from GAI Consultants poked holes in the proposed traffic plan, pointing to irregularities in it's conception and other conflicts.  

Local residents have created a group, Lancaster For Smart Growth, to organize the movement to deny the developer this precious land resource.  Also, several neighborhood websites like this one have sprouted up to bring attention to the impact the mega-center would have on their local roads nearby.  In addition, there is a movement to bring the Swarr Farm under the control of Long's Park - an idea I think is a great solution.

Given all the citizen unrest and growing body of evidence that this shopping center would be bad for the community, I'm sure hoping that township supervisors do the right thing.  I only wish I was able to vote on it myself...

I was discussing the role of listing photos with some office staff today. The point I was making is that photos have a key role in selling the home in this internet shopping age. Agents seem to labor under the impression that MLS photos are to show what a space looks like, like when you take photos for the insurance company. I argue that they are not for that at all, but instead that each image should be crafted to make the viewer want to "jump into the picture".

I've posted about horrible MLS photos before on my blog, so to illustrate my point I selected a random listing to examine the impact of MLS photos on the viewer. I'm going to look this afternoon at a listing in my own hometown that has been on the market for over 100 days. The price has just been reduced, and no doubt the homeowners are getting worried. Here's the main photo of this cute cape cod:

There's a house back there somewhere...

The interior photos are also blurry and inadequate:

I really like the minivan car seat in the nursery photo! The wood floors are completely ignored and the windows are overexposed. I get eyestrain from the living room photo...

One more - the "workshop":

This would be a "photograph of nothing" as I wrote a few posts ago. The garbage bags and furniture don't convey the sense of a cozy workshop that guys would be looking for.

Are these sellers getting their money's worth? Does this listing agent really want to sell their home? You be the judge, not me. Quality photographs are a must, not a luxury.

Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz announced Oct. 8th that the "Little Prince Silk Mill" site on north 3rd Street has been sold to a Harrisburg-based developer who will attempt to build a "destination business" at the dilapidated site.  The very large building, near to route 30 and clearly visible from major byways, was purchased by Columbia Borough for $825,000 in 2005 with the hopes of reselling it to a hotel chain.  It's a real mess, with crumbling walls and falling bricks - the property is surrounded by a chain link fence to protect passerby.

Columbia borough officials were pleased with the sale, which allows them to right to approve what is eventually placed at the site.  Councilpeople commented that the project would bring many new jobs to the town, which sits astride the Susquehanna River and the Route 30 entry into west Lancaster County. 

As someone who drives by the silk mill property reguarly, I can say that that place is definitely hopeless as it stands today.  This would be a case of intelligent redevelopment that could only be a plus for Columbia.  From a real estate perspective, home values would certainly be helped if the new project turns out to be attractive and bustling.

More as things "develop"...

This is the main photo on a new listing - where the owner is a licensed realtor!

The description says this...

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ 

"4 Bedrm, 2 Bth Cape Cod w/lrg rms lots of storage-2 decks and landscaped yard-A must see!"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ 

I'd have to agree...we need to see!

Hahahahaha.  You just can't make this stuff up...just another day in real estate.

If this seller desires, I'd be happy to take their listing and market the home with my 21st century marketing program that will deliver results!

Everyone's favorite developer, High Associates, has again won approval from a local municipality to convert a large lot into a mega-center for big box stores.  Hooray for progress!

According to an article in today's Lancaster Newspapers, High and their development partner from North Carolina got the approval of their conditional use application from East Lampeter Township supervisors to develop a 35 acre tract along east Route 30 (our major tourist trap and strip mall in "amish country" east of Lancaster City).  The tract will house a 300,000 square foot shopping center, just what the residents need along that stretch of hyper-congested roadway.  After all, who doesn't need another Home Depot or Walmart?

One lone supervisor, Michael Landis, voted against the development, although apparently his objection was to the traffic, not the taking of the land.  One abstained (why? wondering...) and the other 3 voted yes. I'm curious how many citizens attended the public hearings beforehand, and what the feedback was that the supervisors received before casting their vote.  One supervisor was quoted in the newspaper article  with "when I consider some of the other things that could possibly go on that property, I think this is one of the possible fits".  OK, but it's not just "possible" anymore - it's happening.

High is also behind the effort to convince Manheim Township to approve the "Crossings at Conestoga Creek" mega-center along Harrisburg Pike across from Longs Park.  I have close relatives who live nearby who are part of the citizen battle to stop this shopping center.  If you're interested in attending the public hearings where High officials are testifying before the Manheim Township supervisors, check the township website for the next date & time.  Some residents have taken up the cause to incorporate the planned site of the "Crossings" development, an historic farm, into Long's Park.  Visit their site here.  High Associates is also a major player in the Penn Square convention center project, the subject of countless meetings, articles, editorials and wonderment over the last few years.  High is not the only mega-developer in play in the county but they are arguably the highest-profile, with their corporate offices located here. 

In my humble opinion, Lancaster County doesn't need any more suburban mega-centers.  Period.  How about helping to intelligently redo some Lancaster City blighted neighborhoods and redevelop unused buildings as urban shopping centers?   As a transplant to the county I place a high value on the land here - it's all the area has!  No beaches, mountains, Disneyland, etc.  People come here and love Lancaster because of the land.  Farms.  Meadows.  Parks.

I received a call from Lisa Sandhaus of the Hempfield Suburban News, our local correspondent who attends our borough council meetings in East Petersburg on behalf of the Lancaster Newspapers.  She is writing a piece for the Suburban News on the state of the Hempfield real estate market.  I thought I'd share my research for Lisa with my readers, for your edification...

For my review I chose to look at homesale statistics for the last 5 years.  These numbers help bring to life the changing market for homes in the Hempfield School District area, which includes my hometown of East Petersburg. 

On October 15th 2003, at the height of the "sellers market" locally,  there were 639 residential properties on the MLS.  As of yesterday (10/15/2007) there was 951.  That's a 50% increase!  New listings of homes for the Jan-Oct period went from 519 to 766 between 2003 and 2007, another big increase of 48%.   More inventory of homes, but why?  I would suggest that the large increases in homes on the market in 2006 (952) and 2007 (951) indicate that homeowners are trying to cash out while they still can.  The general sentiment is that the "bottom will fall out" sometime soon - ask anybody on the street.

The homeowners have a statistic in their favor.  In 2003, the average Hempfield list price was $184,790.  Today, it's $267,789.  That's a 44% bump.  Are the sellers actually getting 44% more?  Well, the average sales price in 2007 is $233,478 versus $173,462 in 2003.  So Hempfield sellers have enjoyed a 35% runup on average. That's not chump change!  The entire MLS area, by the way experienced a 25% increase in sold price in the last 5 years.

What about the homes that didn't sell?  In 2003 only .4% of listings expired or were voluntarilty withdrawn - basically none.  Flash-forward to 2007 and 16.3% have expired or been withdrawn.  Did these just go away?  Nope, 66% were relisted or brought back on the market. 

Bottom line - in 2003 your Hempfield School District house would have sold, and you'd probably have had to settle for 6-7% less then you listed it for.  Today, it just might not sell without some effort & when it does sell you'll settle for 13-14% less than you listed it for.  So, avoid the temptation to overprice and price to the lowest comps in your neighborhood (that is, if you really want to sell).  The good news -  when it does sell you'll probably do OK on the sale price if you bought it more than a couple of years ago.

I just hope you haven't run up too much home equity or credit debt, in which case you'll kiss it all goodbye...

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff's work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, WGAL Channel 8, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff's blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs. Jeff is also a photographer - view some of his portfolio. Comments are welcome!

(Activerain Members Only May Subscribe. For a Subscription to my monthly email newsletter click here)

If you appreciated this post I'd appreciate that you rate it...comments welcome! 

If you live on North Reservoir Street in Lancaster City, take a moment to view this video on selling your home...

As you recently saw, I sold the home at 226 N. Reservoir for a record price this fall. Let me help you sell your home in the same manner!

For a complimentary evaluation of your homesale opportunity give me a call at 799-0851 or email reservoirstreetinfo@yourlancasterhome.com. Thanks for your business.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff's work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, WGAL Channel 8, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff's blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs. Jeff is also a photographer - view some of his portfolio. Comments are welcome!

(Activerain Members Only May Subscribe. For a Subscription to my monthly email newsletter click here)