Lancaster County PA Realty Check: Pennsylvania

After 48 Years, Funk's Farm Market, Millersville, PA Closes

Saturday, July 31, 2010, Millersville, PA:

After 48 seasons of fresh home-baked pies, local produce and colorful flowers. Funk's Farm Market opened Saturday for the last time.  Many local patrons were on hand to see once more and reminisce about this local landmark familiar for almost half a century.

          Employees handed out the last remaining flowers and plants free to customers.

An auction of the remaining greenhouse equipment and vehicles will be held September 8.  The 66-acre property is slated for Funk's Farm Village, a mixed-use retirement community.  Owner Fred Funk and developer John Hogan indicate that the farm market should be back in some smaller form once the retirement community is built.

Red Rose Singles of Lancaster PA at Clipper Stadium

Fifteen members of the Red Rose Singles met this week for an evening of baseball at Lancaster's Clipper Stadium. 

                                  Before the start of the game, the National Anthem is sung...

For $15 you can buy a ticket which not only gets you into the game, but entitles you to all the burgers, drinks, hot dogs and nachos you can eat at the Turkey Hill concession.  A great value!

Outfielder Michael Woods at bat...  The Lancaster Barnstormers beat the Newark Bears 12-11 in a tight  game which was a nail-biter right through the ninth inning!

Lancaster Barnstormers Beat Newark Bears at Clipper Stadium

                     A beautiful July evening in Lancaster, PA!  The Lancaster Barnstormers are playing the Newark Bears.

 Starting pitcher Ben Fritz, #36.

We go into the ninth inning with Lancaster ahead 11-7.  Suddenly the Bears hit a home run with the bases loaded.  It's a tie game, 11-11.  Will Lancaster give up this hard-fought game?  Finally, in the bottom of the ninth, the Barnstormers pull it out at the last minute, 12-11!

Affordable Air-Conditioned Lancaster PA Townhouse

The price of this Lancaster town home has been once again reduced.  At this price it's a great value for an investor or an owner-occupant - and it's not going to last long at the bottom-line price of $65,000!

Take a look at the surprisingly nice interior at such a low price!

Here's a link to a video tour:

http://www.realestateshows.com/show.php?id=507345&traffic=0

Central air conditioning

Refinished Hardwood floors

Large rooms

Open floor plan

Three bedrooms

1.5 baths

Eat-in kitchen plus dining room

Expandable attic could make fourth bedroom

1766 Trinity Lutheran Church, Lancaster, PA

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, located at 31 S. Duke Street, Lancaster, PA, is a beautiful example of 18th century brick Georgian architecture.

The congregation first formed in a small stone church in 1730.  The present church, started in 1761, was completed in 1766.

Trinity Church has one of the most complete archives in the United States.  The archives include church records of marriages, baptisms, and burials.

Records earlier than 1825 are recorded in old German script.  Many have since been translated into English.

 Many fine stained glass windows grace the church.  One was created by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself in 1913!  It was restored in 1990.  The photos of the spire were taken from an upper story of the Duke Street municipal parking garage.

Price Reduced on Lancaster PA Townhouse:

Now only $67,000! Central air conditioning, refinished hardwood floors, three bedrooms plus an expandable attic, and 1.5 baths.

                                                                      Large eat-in kitchen

For your own showing of this home, email brian@cbselectpros.com or call (717) 951-5552.

There's Still Time to Get a Home Buyers Tax Credit in Lancaster PA

If you missed the deadline last year to get a First Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit, don't despair!  The tax credit has been extended - and widened.  Not only can first time home buyers get up to $8,000. back - there is also a tax credit for homeowners who have lived in their homes for five consecutive years, or five out the last eight years.

However, there's not much time left to take advantage of these tax credits.  Agreements must be written up no later than April 30, 2010.  Settlements must take place no later than June 30, 2010. There are maximum income limits on the tax credits, but the limits are fairly high.  Discuss your particular situation with your tax preparer.

A recent TV news report from WGAL in Lancaster, PA gives some good imformation about the tax credits for both first time home buyers and trade-up (or trade-down) home owners.

Uncle Sam is still willing to put money in your pocket for buying a house!  If you would like more information about how to go about getting the tax credit for purchasing a home, please feel free to contact me.

Brownstown, PA Bilevel Coming Soon...

Just in time to take advantage of the $8,000 First Time Homebuyers' Tax Credit!  Gleaming new appliances, main bath with elegant marble floor and granite countertop, and a finished family room for entertaining...

For more information, email brian@cbselectpros.com or text or call (717) 951-5552.

Back in the 1980s, I was restoring two homes in Marietta, PA.  One was an 18th century log & stone home, and the other was a Federal mansion that had been cut into apartments, sustained a fire, lost its roof and been condemned.  As the Christmas season approached, I thought it would be good publicity to put them both on the annual Marietta Candlelight Tour of historic homes, even though they were far from finished.

As rough as they still were inside at the time of the tour, I decorated them with greenery and a tree.  I had a display inside the stone & log house showing some of the things I had dug up under the floor, which had needed to be replaced.  There were hand-blown bottles, shards of crockery, and even a rusty Derringer pistol!

We received many positive comments from the visitors who had bought tickets to the Candlelight Tour!

Are Lancaster County PA Home Mortgages harder to get these days?  If so, it's not because the Lancaster County housing market is slower than other areas of the country - in fact, Lancaster County is up 30% over last year for real estate sales! 

See the press release below published by the Lancaster County Association of Realtors:

Local Home Sales Continue to Rebound      August 2009 pending home sales up 30 percent

Lancaster, PA (September 22, 2009)-Lancaster County's real estate market continues to show signs of recovery, according to a recent report released by the Lancaster County Association of Realtors®  (LCAR). In August 2009, pending home sales were up 30 percent over August 2008 with most price ranges seeing double- digit growth in pending sales.

The $100,000 to $200,000 price range has proven to be 2009's strongest performing market with pending home sales up 45 percent in August 2009 versus August 2008. Growth in other price ranges is an indication that the first-time homebuyer tax credit has had a "trickle up" effect that has reenergized the real estate market as a whole, LCAR members say. In August 2009, pending home sales were up in the $0 to $100,000 price range (26.5 percent), $200,000 to $300,000 price range (13.7 percent) and $400,000+ price range (36.4 percent) over August 2008.

"We've seen a tremendous number of first-time buyers realize the dream of owning their first home. We're also seeing buyers and sellers in general regain confidence and move ahead with their homeownership goals," commented Scott Ulrich, president of LCAR.

A September 2009 article in BusinessWeek magazine recognizing Lancaster as the 19th strongest housingmarket in the U.S. further affirms that the local real estate market is fundamentally sound. With mortgage rates continuing to hold steady at historically-low rates, ample inventory available at all price ranges and a seeming boost in consumer confidence, LCAR looks for sustained market improvement.

As I discussed in Lancaster PA mortgage rate analysis, government overspending and overborrowing is robbing the credit markets of private money that could have been lent to private investors who would have restarted the recovery.