Lancaster PA Real Estate Blog

Thought you might be interested in a TV spot running tonight at 5pm on WGAL Channel 8 featuring myself, a happy client and Mike Sprunger of Lancaster City Living.  The piece is on the increasing interest in urban living as revealed in a recent Coldwell Banker survey of 1000 agents nationwide.  We talked with Meredith Jorgensen about the various features and benefits of Lancaster City PA homes for sale and real estate concerns.  MY client, a single woman who bought a 3-unit in the city to live in and rent, had some great comments for Meredith about the "walkability" she's discovering in her neighborhood next to Lancaster General Hospital.   UPDATED 6/30 - Here's the Video! 

Also, look for me on the cover of today's Intelligencer Journal in an article on Lancaster PA home price trends as reported by the federal goverment for the first quarter 2008.  It's a decent article with good news for a change!  I'll be covering that story in more detail in an upcoming blog article - stay tuned!

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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!

I thought I'd share abit about two events we participated in yesterday & today.  The first was the annual Race For Life event held at Lebanon Crankers BMX - where we've been racing for about a year now.  The riders raised over $3,000 toward cancer research!  Yesterday was my first race as well - don't ask how I did...but I finished!  The old man's still got something left.

Tonight, we all headed over to Lancaster's Clipper Stadium (only half a block from our office at Coldwell Banker Lancaster PA) for the annual East Petersburg Day "night at the barnstormers". 

Kids got to throw out the first pitch and our very own Heather Harley sang the Star Spangled Banner. 

East Petersburg had a section reserved and it was nice to see neighbors and friends.  Of course, a night at the Lancaster Barnstormers wouldn't be complete without a snapshot with Cylo!

Just another post about some of the great family events happening right here in & around Lancaster County, PA.

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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!

Did you know that we have our very own railroad line right here in Lancaster County, PA?

Strasburg, PA is home to one of the most comprehensive railroad experiences in the nation.  There is the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum, with many historic locomotives and railroad cars on display at their facility along Route 741 just east of Strasburg.  Right next door is the Strasburg Rail Road, an actual operating "short line" railroad.

Strasburg Railroad operates one of the oldest "short line" railroads in the region, dating back to 1832.  The current four and a half mile run is part of the original Strasburg Rail Road that served the Pennsylvania Railroad as a freight interchange.  The line was saved from destruction in 1958 and placed in service as a memorial to the bygone era of rail travel.

Today, the line offers tickets for trips, dining and other special events seasonally.  You can read more here about prices and availability.

Well, my family was out for a "saturday drive" in east county this past weekend, and happened by the railroad tracks along Cherry Hill Road.  When I heard the whistle, I was out the door in a flash with camera in hand (it's never far away when I'm out in the county travelling). 

The first shot was a bonus - an amish buggy zipping by with the train in the background...

Here's a shot of the train stopping at the "station" in the distance:

Then the train blew it's whistle again and rumbled down the tracks - it was like being transported into the old west!

When the train had passed me by, I turned to watch it chug it's way across the fields towards Strasburg and the Railroad museum.  No doubt the smiling passengers were having a ball reliving something all too rare in the United States today - a ride on a real railroad car.

They ought to give this game a name.

If you're an agent, you know.  The game you play when you meet the guy who's selling FSBO.  Maybe he calls you, maybe you jot down his number as you drive by one day.

Maybe you even get a chance to walk through his house.  You're doing a mental inventory the whole way, thinking about the marketability of various features, staging and even how to compose your glamour photos of the home.  The whole time, the seller is watching you thinking about one thing:

Commission, commission, commission, commission.

So then you get the prepare something more formal to present to the FSBO seller.  You know, you're got your program and pricing nailed down and have many productive tips and ideas to get the house sold.  However, the seller persistently derails you with discussion about commission.  "Will you do it for 2%?  I have a "high end" agent who will do it for 2%"  Um Hmmm.  You try to go over the differences between agents again, and highlight your skills which make you desirable irregardless of commission.  You do try.

But it's not getting through.

Then, you follow up and get no response.  You're not 100% upset about that, but the professional and competitor in you makes you try again.  No luck.  The next morning, the house is listed by that "high end" realtor.  4 photos taken by a polaroid, stripped down bare listing, overpriced by $20,000.

The game may be over for you, but the other agent's game with the seller is just getting warmed up!  Now they'll have to negotiate the price down to your suggested price (as they figured from the beginning)and try to keep their sign in the guy's front yard for the rest of the season - free advertising, you know.

It's a game, but it's not a game.  This is dealing with a mult-hundred thousand dollar asset, for goodness sake!  It's beyond me, sometimes, what sellers are thinking.  Folks, there is a difference between agents and sometimes the commission is worth every penny!  I would absolutely love to explain the difference to you in person if you're reading this and contemplating selling FSBO (or going with that 2% agent).

You may be thinking "what's got into Jeff this morning?".  If you guessed that I've been wrapped up in FSBOland, you'd be right.  Why do I do this to myself?  Oh, there's another one.  Maybe he'll listen to reason...