Lancaster PA Real Estate - Commercial or Farm House on 23 Acres, Manheim PA

 

673 AUCTION ROAD MANHEIM, PA 17545 MLS #142855 House & barns and 23 acres for sale. Use for storage business (exterior and 25k sq ft under roof); rent house, timber, subdivide. Utilities & appliances all new; Bio fuel set up; each commercial space has separate heat, exhaust, security, & metering. Open to Creative Financing.

For more information on Lancaster PA Real Estate, or questions about buying or selling Commercial or Residential Real Estate in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com. Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at    www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Lancaster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.

This is directly from the NAR Realtor Action Center. 
Click on the link to send a quick message to your Congressperson and Senator. 
For once, I think NAR is on to something.  http://takeaction.realtoractioncenter.com/campaign/2009stimulus?qp_source=actionmargin

NAR's Housing Stimulus Plan

 

Our nation is facing an unprecedented lack of liquidity throughout every sector of the economy. This has placed insurmountable barriers in the path of too many homeowners wishing to avoid foreclosure and save their home and home buyers wishing to take advantage of the low mortgage rate environment and realize the American dream of owning a home. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® believes it is imperative that Congress take action and restore consumer confidence in homeownership. We are calling on Congress to enact measures that address foreclosures, stabilize housing and real estate, energize credit markets, restore bank lending capacity and revitalize the economy.

Make the $7500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all buyers, eliminate the repayment requirements and extend the credit to December 31, 2009. In July 2008 Congress passed legislation creating a refundable tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The $7500 credit is in effect for purchases between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009. Consumers have shown little interest in the credit, in large part because it is not available to all purchasers and because, unlike other credits, this tax credit must be repaid.

Restore the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maximum loan limits to $729,750 and make them permanent. The economic stimulus loan limits for Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and FHA expired on December 31, 2008. As a result, the maximum limit for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA dropped from $729,750 to $625,500. Returning these limits to their 2008 levels and making them permanent will strengthen the availability of mortgage credit and expand mortgage affordability in a time when home sales and refinance activity are necessary to stabilize the housing market and move the broader economy towards recovery. This will also assure that a wide range of borrowers have access to fair and affordable mortgages.

Get Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) back on track and target more funds to mortgage relief. Create a federal mortgage interest buy-down program to bring down interest rate spreads to historical averages and reduce mortgage interest rates. It is crucial that the government continue its actions to bring down interest rate spreads between mortgage and Treasury rates to historical norms which will significantly reduce mortgage interest rates. Recent actions by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury are making mortgage interest rates more affordable. Mortgage rates are near 50-year lows but the spread between mortgage rates and Treasury rates are abnormally high. If rates drop in line with historic trends, home sales could rise nationally by 10 to 15 percent and stabilize prices in many parts of the country. While this is a good boost, mortgages need to be more attainable. There continues to be continuing problems impeding the delivery of mortgage credit to home buyers and those trying to avoid foreclosure. The federal government must step in and address these problems. Corrective actions that NAR is advocating include:

• The Treasury Department should provide additional TARP funds to make added loans for housing, establish foreclosure prevention programs, modify more mortgage loans to prevent foreclosures to the maximum extent possible, establish an efficient and effective short sales process, or a combination of these activities.  
• All mortgage lenders, their servicers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and investors in mortgage assets should adopt and implement aggressive policies that result in more mortgage loan modifications to prevent as many foreclosures as possible. Where sustaining homeownership is not possible, these entities should facilitate short sales that will benefit all parties. 
• Mortgage lenders and private mortgage insurers should (1) reexamine underwriting standards to determine whether they have over-corrected in response to abuses in the mortgage market, and (2) remove unnecessarily strict underwriting standards (such as requiring excessively high credit scores that result in qualified borrowers being arbitrarily denied a loan). 
• Consumer reporting agencies (credit bureaus) should improve compliance with the Fair Credit Act, including prompt responses to consumers who seek to correct files and errors. 
• The FHA should make investors eligible to participate in its Section 203(k) Rehabilitation Loan Program to help dispose of large numbers of vacant foreclosed properties for rehabilitation and conversion to homeownership. Additionally, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should increase their selling guide ceilings on investor loans to facilitate investor participation in the housing recovery. 
• Congress should oppose the imposition of fees or increased fees by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that translate into major new costs on homebuyers and homeowners seeking fair and affordable mortgage loans. 
• FHASecure, which helped more than 450,000 families modify their mortgages and stay in their homes before it was sunset, should be reinstated. In addition, reforms to the Hope for Homeowners program should be made to increase its efficiency and effectiveness.

I've always been told, since attending those first real estate licensing classes 3 nights a week years ago, that it is important to make sure that all of the decision makers are gathered together during a listing appointment. 

So what happens when a homeowner does not reveal to the listing agent that somewhere between her purchase of the home, and her decision to sell the home, she's danced to the tune of the Wedding march?  In other words, the homeowner is now married, but was not when she purchased the home.

I guess after the belated congratulatory remarks, we're now left with some glitches in the transaction.

It is the listing agent's responsibility when doing an initial interview (after all, you MUST interview your potential sellers and buyers) to ASK ... among other questions ...  

             "is there another individual who might hold an interest in the property?"  .

Go ahead and ask if the log sitting on the living room sofa is a spouse, and please don't assume he is just the deadbeat boyfriend.

             "Mrs. Homeowner, thank you for asking me to list your home for sale... is there a Mr. Homeowner involved as well?"  

A transaction I am currently involved in (I am representing the buyer) hit a glitch when it was announced by the seller that she no longer wants to sell because she is getting divorced.      What??       Nobody knew she was married, let alone the listing agent, who apparently never noticed the shiny band on the third finger.  She thought the guy sitting at the kitchen table with them was "just the deadbeat boyfriend".

In this case the seller wants to keep the home -- but ditch the significant other that we never knew existed in the first place.  Yes, the happy couple is now getting a divorce, decided some time between her accepting our offer and our nearing settlement date. 

But what to do when we are already under an agreement of sale with a ready, willing and able buyer?  It leaves the buyer standing at the altar.

Luckily for me, my buyers are playing the field and not emotionally attached to the property.  But, this Lovers Lane quarrel could have turned out much worse if the buyers were prepared to walk down the aisle and into their new home.  We could have a "shot-gun" wedding and hold the seller to her binding agreement or sue for specific performance. 

Some clever negotiating is in the works, and I'm sure I'll have an update soon on this War of the Roses transaction.

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For more information on Lancaster PA Real Estate, or questions
about buying or selling Real Estate in Lancaster County PA,
please contact
Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137
or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com.

Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at    www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Lancaster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.
All content Copyright ⓒ 2009 Jeannie Kontis    Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County

Oh no, it's happened again!

Every year these pesky elves swoop down from the North Pole and take over The Wells Team!

Here I am just minding my own business ~ when suddenly, I get the urge to do "the elf dance"!

 

You will have to click on my picture, to see what happened next:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas everyone!

And watch out for those pesky elves ~ you just never know when they'll take over and make you boogie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For more information on Homes for Sale in Lancaster, or questions and/or concerns about buying or selling a home in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com.

Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.

All content Copyright ⓒ 2008 Jeannie Kontis    Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For more information on Homes for Sale in Lancaster, or questions and/or concerns about buying or selling a home in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com.

Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.

All content Copyright ⓒ 2008 Jeannie Kontis    Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County

 

Looking for a spacious home in downtown Lancaster City?  Look no further than 608 N. Plum Street.  This spacious home offers 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a sunroom family room and loads of sunny windows.  New features include new furnace and water heaters, as well as new replacement windows.  Well insulated, this home also features a third floor master bedroom suite with bath.  Spacious, at over 2,100 SF, this home is within walking distance to all that Lancaster City has to offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listed by The Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster, Lancaster Real Estate

So where is Joe the Plumber when I need him?

I met with one of my favorite past clients today, who wanted to take a look at a home that seemed too good to be true. He was one of the smart ones who sold his home over a year ago, when he anticipated a more than likely job cut and thought it might be hard to keep his mortgage payments if things got tough at work. Let's call him "Joe the buyer".

Now that he has a new job, he's ready to be a homeowner again. So, "Joe" and I went to look at a cute little home in Downtown Lancaster City that has recently been *renovated* and is being flipped by the investor/owner, who we can call "Joe the Seller".

I know from past experience that these are the homes that need to be looked over with a fine-toothed comb, this one especially since the current owner has only had the property for a month. How much work was Joe the Seller really able to do in just a month's time? A home inspection would definitely be in order for a property such as this, although I highly recommend one for every transaction.

The first red flag was the trickling water that we heard coming from the floor drain in the basement. It was more than a trickle, actually, more like rushing water. A sound I've never heard coming from a floor drain. Oh-uh, what if that drain is somehow connected to the waste line? Nah, couldn't be... Or could it? "Joe the Buyer" and I begin to do some investigating of our own.

Red flag number 2 was raised when we noticed the drain line coming out of the washing machine ran straight down into the concrete floor in the basement. Could that be hooked up to the floor drain? And if so, why is there water running when the washer is not on? Clearly, that drain wasn't being vented either and was improperly installed to begin with.

Joe and I then take a look at the main waste drain, and notice a rubber flexible hose attached (sort of) to it, coming through a hole in the basement ceiling. "Hey Joe, ya know, I have a feeling that it's the *pipe* that is connected to the kitchen sink, right above us".

Red flag number 3. A trip back up to the kitchen and a peek under the kitchen sink confirms our suspiciouns. Not only is this temporary flexible hose used as the kitchen waste pipe, there is no trap in place! The hose runs straight from the sink right down through the floor. Apparently a permit was not pulled for any type of plumbing work from "Joe the City Code Inspector".

A trip to the second floor bathroom revealed the toilet running. Bingo ~ that explains the rushing water sound coming from the floor drain in the basement. Although why the toilet would be hooked up to the floor drain is beyond me. Once we took the tank lid off and jiggled the mechanics in it, the water stopped running and the rushing sound stopped from the basement drain.

Huge red flag number 4 ~ which most likely killed any sort of deal going forward between Joe the Buyer and Joe the Seller.

Joe the Plumber, where were you? Why weren't you around to give these "flippers" some sound advice about how to properly renovate a house before attempting to sell it? Clearly, they did not seek your advice. Which, leads me to sound this alarm to prospective buyers ~ yes, it is a great time to buy a home while the prices are reasonably lower than they have been in this area in a long time. But, please don't overlook the importance of a home inspection. Also, don't overlook the importance of working with a qualified Realtor who could spot many of these red flags before you get too deeply involved in a transaction.

Sellers, when doing renovations to *flip* a house, please don't attempt jobs that are beyond your scope of expertise! There are a number of Joe the Plumbers, Joe the Electricians, and Joe the Roofers, to help you out. If you want "Joe the Buyer" to choose your home from the many that are on the market, you need to make sure it's in the best condition possible.

Buyers, when choosing a Home Inspector, don't choose just any ol' "Joe the Inspector". Here are a number of Lancaster area Inspectors who are members of the National Association of Home Inspectors.

Contact me when looking to buy or sell your Lancaster County Home, . And if it makes you feel good, you can just call me "Joe".

 

 

 

 

 

photo credits: adobemac @ flickr; warenski @ flickr

 

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For more information on Homes for Sale in Lancaster, or questions and/or concerns about buying or selling a home in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com.

Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.

All content Copyright ⓒ 2008 Jeannie Kontis    Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County

 

The Origin of the Cape Cod style home -- Part 3 of "The Origin of Home Styles Series". 

I’ve written previously about:
The Origin of the Tudor home, and

The Origin of the Stick Style Victorian

...and I thought I would continue this series with:

The Origin of the Cape Cod style home.

The Cape Cod style is as popular today as it was when it was first introduced to America in the 17th century by English Colonists.

These early settlers of Colonial New England were the first to build these steep gabled homes, mimicking their homes back in England.  Homes during those early years included the half-timbering construction, such as the Tudor style home, that was popular in their homeland of England.

Through the years, these homes were re-styled to weather the stormy Nor’Eastern climate.  This is how those famous shutters, cozy dormers and the steep pitched roofs became a discerning quality of the Cape Cod style home.  According to This Old House, 17th-century settlers "drew on a shipwright's skills to build a tight house that was almost a ship upon land, able to withstand the fiercest Nor'easter."

From these original designs, the term “Cape Cod” home was invented.  During the Colonial Revival period in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, these economical, tidy homes sprouted throughout the nation in suburban settings.  It was during this Post WW2 housing boom, that  neighborhoods such as in Levittown, NY - built by Levitt & Sons - became the epitome of life in the suburbs.


Discerning Features of the Cape Cod style home: 

• Steep Roof with Overhang

• Side Gables

• Usually 1 1/2 stories (early homes were only 1 story)

• Small in Scale (usually 1,000 SF +/-) and Low to the Ground to conserve heat

• Wide clapboard or shingle siding

• Symmetrical in style with a centered door

• 2nd Floor Dormers - providing light and ventilation (usually later styles only

• Shutters

• Plain Exterior

• First Floor Master Bedroom
  
• Hardwood Floors
  

As Realtors, I'm sure we've all had our share of sales of the Cape Cod homes that dot the countryside, from the East Coast to the West Coast.  They are the perfect starter home, and an ideal empty nester home.  It's no wonder their popularity has *weathered* every storm.

The Cape Cod style home is still popular with today’s home buyers, although new construction has taken some liberties with the original designs of those early Colonial Settlers.  Still popular though, are the First Floor Master Bedrooms and 2nd Floor Dormer Windows, although today’s newer Cape Cod homes are much larger in scale and offer more exterior ornamentation than the original designs ever would have featured.

 

 

For lovers of Cape Cod homes, you need to look no further than 19 Gable Park Road in Millersville, PA.  This particular Cape Cod style home is built of stone, unlike the early wooden styles, and features not only the 2nd story Dormer Windows and steep pitch roofs that Capes are known for, but the hardwood flooring and plaster walls throughout each room, as well. 

This lovely Lancaster County home for sale offers the choice of either a first floor Master Bedroom or use of the spacious second story Master Bedroom.  Unlike the smaller Cape Cod homes of the past, it features 5 bedrooms and over 3,500 square feet.  Yet, it is cozy and the epitome of what "hearth and home" stands for.

It is located just minutes from Downtown Lancaster City and is just outside of Millersville Boro.  It is convenient to both, Millersville University and Franklin & Marshall College for faculty and staff.  

 

 

 

Details:  19 Gable Park Road - Stone Cape Cod Home

• $369,000
• 5 Bedrooms
• 2 Full Baths
• 2 Half Baths
• 2 Stone Fireplaces
• First Floor Master
• 2nd Floor Master
• 3,542 Square Feet
• Penn Manor School District

 

Learn more about 19 Gable Park Road, or search the MLS for additional Cape Cod Homes for Sale and all Lancaster Real Estate.

Jeannie Kontis, Realtor
The Bob Wells Realty Group
Long & Foster Real Estate
717-330-5137 direct
email:  Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com

or visit:  www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

 

 

 

 

 

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For more information on Homes for Sale in Lancaster, or questions and/or concerns about buying or selling a home in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com.

Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.

All content Copyright ⓒ 2008 Jeannie Kontis    Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County

 

Part 2 of The Origin of Home Styles Series. 
Visit the Origin of the Tudor Style Home and The Origin of the Cape Cod style homes for more on this series

--  The Origin of the Stick Style Victorian --

I had fun researching and writing about the Origin of the Tudor Style Home  and decided to do some research on another type of  beautiful home that I have listed for sale.

The home I am referring to is a historic home located in Wrightsville Boro, York County PA.  The style had me stumped a bit.  Was it victorian?  Was it colonial?  It didn't look quite like a Federal... or did it?  All I knew for sure was that it was built right before the historic "burning of the bridge" that took place in Wrightsville PA, which played a major role in the turn of events during the Civil War. When the Confederate army reached Wrightsville (which was a point of crossing into Lancaster County and towards Philadelphia) the Union militia burned the mile-long bridge, thrwarting the advances of the Confederates. Wrightsville is located just about 40 miles East of Gettysburg, where the largest Civil War battle took place, so you can imagine how important this Wrightsville battle was at the time.

As I was researching I came across a photo of a home with a certain description .... and BINGO!!  THAT WAS IT!

I present to you -- the "Stick Style Victorian".  This is also many times referred to as the "plain" victorian, because it lacks some of the features that ornate Victorian homes are typically known for.  Yet, it has distinct features of its own that really stand out, and there is nothing really "plain" about it! 

A "stick style Victorian" was mainly popular during the period between 1860-1890, when homebuilders realized that they can build a great home out of 2x4's and flat banding strips of wood.  Some early homes may appear quite rare these days because many of these homes have been covered up with siding as they have aged, and have hidden the discriminating signs of what indicates that they are a "stick style Victorian". 

These features include:

    •    Half-timbering - similar to the Tudor style
    •    Geometric lines and patterns
    •    Gables and Dormers

Unlike Tudors, the half-timbering found in Stick Style Victorian homes is "visual" only - meaning that they have the appearance of half-timbers but are just wooden pieces - sticks -  placed in geometric half-timber patterns on the wooden clapboard siding.  They aren't real timbers at all, but rather stick banding creating visual patterns! 

Patterns and Geometric lines are also visual - they are wooden and many times painted differently than the rest of the house, highlighting their appearance and creating visual patterns. 

Gables and Dormers are present, and they are enhanced by the visual patterns of the half-timbers and/or geometric patterns that are all stick-built.

The term "stick style victorian" was first named by Vincent Scully, who discovered that these homes were all influenced by American and English Gothic, Revival, Swiss chalets and German and French manors. 

Other tell-tale signs of a Stick Style Victorian:
    •    they are rectangular buildings
    •    they are made of wood siding, or clapboard
    •    the roofs are steep and gabled
    •    they have decorative trusses, braces, brakets
    •    half-timbering banding is visual or decorative, but not structural (unlike a true Tudor which is mainly structural)

 

After the Civil War, when the country started flourishing once again financially with the second industrial revolution and the restructuring of the country, the stick-style Victorian became a past fashion, perhaps even purposely forgotten because they were "plain".  Homes started to become more ornate, and the simple, "plain", stick-style Victorian was lost...

Until now...

 

Here, in historic Wrightsville Boro, is an authentic Stick Style Victorian available for sale.  This home is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, and is a true gem.  The home is located in the historic district, where all of the homes in the 3 block area are remnants of the Civil War battleground that changed the course of history.  Cannon balls, perhaps those forged in the Michaux Forest iron furnaces, fell around this home.  But it still stands, a testament to the quality construction of it's time and a testament to our rich American history.

 

 

 

 

For more information on this special historic home for sale, visit http:112NThirdStreet.JeannieKontis.com. 

 

If you are in the market for a historic home for sale in Pennsylvania, you will not be disappointed with this lovely property - from the original softwood floors to the formal gardens and historic carriage home (even the outhouse still stands!).   The quick commute to Lancaster County, Harrisburg, York City and Baltimore is a bonus.

 

 

Details: 

Built: 1860
Importance: On the National Registry of Historic Places, Wrightsville Boro, York County PA.
Style: Stick-Style Victorian (early)
Bedrooms: 4
Baths:  1.5

Features:  Gourmet Kitchen, Softwood and Hardwood Floors, Formal Living Room, Formal Dining Room, Family Room, zoned C/A and heat, historic Carriage House, outhouse (shed) and this lovely historic "round" porch in the rear formal gardens.

Asking:  $375,000

 

 

 

 

Contact:

Jeannie Kontis, Realtor
The Bob Wells Realty Group
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

717-330-5137
WWW.JeannieKontis.com
More photos and information at:  http://112N3rdStreet.JeannieKontis.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For more information on Homes for Sale in Lancaster, or questions and/or concerns about buying or selling a home in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com.

Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.

All content Copyright ⓒ 2008 Jeannie Kontis    Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County

 

I have to admit that ever since our former Coldwell Banker office announced that they made the switch to Prudential (the other Big Blue), we've been inundated with recruiting emails, recruiting phone calls, and secret love notes placed on our pillows.

Okay, not the love notes, but you get the drift.

So, is the grass always greener on the other side of the fence? I have an opportunity to find out firsthand with this well-thought out corporate switch, without even needing to return my office keys.

I understand that the breath of a successful brokerage firms is recruiting and retaining quality agents, but it would need to be a seriously good offer to ever make me want to make such a switch again! At this point, I didn't even need to leave my office chair, my messy desk (I know where *everything* is), my cushy team's corner office, or change my phone numbers! Heck, I didn't even need to change my signs or my business cards, as the company thought ahead to do that for me.

Although my biggest responsiblity is learning new programs for clients, informing my clients, and switching over my websites, I can't imagine wanting to do this again for a long time..... unless I was getting paid in Euros at this point.

So, anyone want to pay my split in Euros? If so...I might consider listening to what you have to say!

ImageChef.com Flower Text ------------ For more information on Homes for Sale in Lancaster, or questions and/or concerns about buying or selling a home in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com. Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County. All content Copyright ⓒ 2008 Jeannie Kontis Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County

A few weeks ago, I receive an email through my website contact form asking about an exclusive listing that I have.  I replied to her email, and then she calls me directly.  And, I'm thinking to myself "bingo" a new potentially serious buyer!!

In both, the email and immediately on the phone, she reveals that she has been working with someone for the past few months, but does NOT have a buyer agency agreement in effect any longer.  Although she likes this other agent very much and she appreciates all that has been done for her, she feels that she is missing out on listings and getting information too late, as all the good ones are selling before she learns of them.

Throughout our conversations, she flat out tells me several times that they are definitely NOT in an agency relationship any longer.

She was wrong! 

Before either of us realized just how wrong she was, we hit it off while talking on the phone and emailing several times over the next week or so.  All of the sudden a great property comes on the MLS.  What I learned afterwards was that she saw it on Realtor.com and waited (or *tested* me) to see just how quickly I would get the information to her.  Apparently I passed the test, and she was pleasantly surprised when she received the email from me just minutes after she had viewed the property listing online.  It was fate!  The *other* agent took 2 days to get the email to her -- which would have been a great disservice in this particular case. 

After I emailed her the information, she and her husband immediately fell in love with the property from afar, as they lived in a distant state.  Learning that there was great interest in the home:

• I convince the listing agent to not accept any offers until these people can catch a plane and view the property in person, even though they were prepared to make a "sight unseen" offer. 
• I had obtained answers for them that they had about zoning, and
• I had obtained a copy of the association documents,
• I had arranged to preview the property for them the next afternoon.
• all this was done within the same day (an entire day before the *other* agent even emailed the listing to them!)  

The evening before my preview appointment, while I am out having dinner with my husband, I start getting frantic text messages, IMs, emails and phone calls from the buyer -- unfortunately I didn't have very good phone service on my TREO in the restaurant!  Apparently, the *other* agent learned that they are coming to town to view this property without her and informs them that indeed they DO have a buyer agency agreement with this other agent!

The buyers were astounded!  They searched their files and could not find a shred of evidence of a buyer agency agreement!  They felt terrible about putting me in the middle of this.  I told them that if they did indeed have a buyer agency agreement, I would step back and let their other agent preview the home for them and continue with a potential offer, because it was the right thing to do.  I was not going to muddle things up, nor stand in the way of their purchasing the perfect home.  And, I was not going to make a stink with the other agent, although clearly she was in the wrong with not providing them a copy of a buyer agency agreement that they do not recall signing. 

Lo and behold, just as I was preparing to leave for the preview the next afternoon, I get the heartwrenching call from the buyer telling me that the other agent had produced the buyer agency agreement from the depths of her filing cabinet and faxed the copy to them.  Ms. Buyer forgot she had signed one, and once she saw the copy it all came flooding back to her.  Yes, indeed, she signed an extension that she had forgotten about.  In the meantime, I had just emailed them my own buyer agency agreement to sign before my preview appointment, and was waiting for them to fax it back so I can get on with my preview appointment.

This property ended up receiving multiple offers -- and unfortunately I didn't get to play a part in the game.  The buyer was crushed, because she wanted to work with me.  I was crushed, because of course I wanted to work with them.  I know the other agent was crushed, feeling like they went behind her back.  But, I feel did the right thing under the circumstanced, and I backed away so that they can concentrate on putting together an offer.  I did not want to fight it, or ask for the broker to re-assign the client because I was contacted by this buyer directly (and would have been the procuring cause), or because the client was never given a copy of the agreement they signed - I don't want or need that type of reputation, either from other agents whether they work with my broker or not, nor from consumers.   So, I backed away and wished them luck, and couldn't wait until I got home so that I can pour myself a drink (of the alcoholic variety!)

The good news is that the buyer DID end up getting the winning bid on the house -- which happened to sell for a few tens of thousands of dollars above list price.  She is thrilled.  I genuinely liked her, and we've decided that although I did not act as their agent, we have become and will remain friends.  She promised to give me referrals whenever possible to make it up to me, and that's good enough for me (or at least I'll pretend that it's good enough!)   

Still, I admit that it definitely stings knowing that this could have been my sale (and a really nice one, to boot).  But, I can sleep well at night knowing I did the right thing and let the transaction go on without me.  They say that what you give, comes back to you tenfold.  Let's see if I get 10 buyers out of this deal that turned out to be a non-deal for me!

My point is (after this long post) that you must BE SURE to provide your clients with copies of EVERYTHING that they sign!  This could have potentially turned out to be a messy, messy affair, if they had signed the buyer agency agreement that I had emailed to them, just moments before their other agent came through with finding the copy they had signed.  They would have been under TWO agency agreements.  Why were they never given a copy of it when it was signed? 

I didn't ask what sort of explanation the other agent gave them for not providing a copy.  I did email them to congratulate them, because I am genuinely happy for them. 

But, I am dying to know how this agent ended up fessing up to her messing up!

 

 

 

 

 

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For more information on Homes for Sale in Lancaster, or questions and/or concerns about buying or selling a home in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com.

Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.

All content Copyright ⓒ 2008 Jeannie Kontis    Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County

 

So today is the day.  I cleaned up my desk and passed all my files over to my partner, Bob Wells (of The Bob Wells Team).  No, I'm not retiring!  I'm going on vacation!

Yes, this work-a-holic, house-sellling momma is packing up everything but the kitchen sink and is going to Greece for vacation.  The dogs will be at friends homes, chasing cats and finding new laps to snuggle on.  The younger son is packed up right along side the husband and I - while the older son keeps plugging away at school throughout the summer.  What a bum deal for him.  But, he graduates with his Bachelor's Degree next year, a result of an accelerated program where he goes to school year round - and I promised him a trip as a graduation present.  That means that when I get back I have to plug away again really, really hard to make that happen! 

Being a child of Greek immigrants, I visited the country quite often as a youngster.  After marriage and kids, it took me 22 years to go back.  Whoa!  I didn't realize what I was missing!  When I went back to the "homeland" for my 40th birthday present from my hubby (what a GREAT guy!) I absolutely fell in love with the country.  My dream is to live there part-time -- perhaps selling real estate.  Or perhaps wholesaling marble and granite to local builders of upscale homes.  Or perhaps selling lemonade.  Whatever it takes to keep me there!

 

 

 

My mother and father, during their yearly summer long trips back to Greece, are in the process of restoring my mother's childhood home in Megalo Horio, Karpenissi in the Euritania area - a stone house built for my grandparents when they got married as part of my grandmother's dowry. 

This is a three-room house which has been through quite a bit of history.  During WWII it was taken over by the Germans as their command post, while my grandmother and her three children were moved to the basement.  My grandfather and the other men of the village were long gone, fighting in a militia, while the women and children stayed behind.  After the Germans were done with it, it was burned to the ground, only to be rebuilt again when the war was over.  My parents, as part of their several-year renovations, have added another room (kitchen) and indoor plumbing! Yes, up until just a few short years ago there was still the outhouse and a dirt floor kitchen with an authentic brick oven in the wall - you had to make a fire to get the brick hot enough to bake in it.  There is now a stove from what I understand.  No wonder it took me 22 years to go back! 

My husband also has Greek roots, and we've enjoyed visiting his family and his parent's homes from when they were children.  The view from his maternal village, Porti, in the Thessaly region of Greece is absolutely breathtaking.  I couldn't even put it in words if I tried.  A year-long debate in my home is about who's family's home has a better view -- mine or his.  They are both equally mesmerizing.  The view of the Meteora from his childhood home is absolutely amazing.  Truly a miraculous sight to behold, which is why centuries old monastaries and their monks have been located there.

This will be my son's first visit to Greece.  As a 17 year old young man, I'm not quite sure what he will think of it.  I hope he finds the same sense of "homeland" somewhere in his being.  Of course, the United States of America is home for him, but I really want him to learn where his family came from - how they ended up in the US - and the sacrifices they made for the chance to give their offspring a better life.  He saw the new movie "300" for the 300 Spartans that fought with the Persians during the Greco-Persian war in the BC era - and was enthralled.  When I moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania from New York as a young, married woman with an infant, what kept me going was the thought that "this is only 3 hours away - my parents left an entire country to find a better life.  I can do 3 hours".  I want him to see the stone home his grandmother grew up in, visit the basement where they lived while their home was occupied. Walk the mountain trails where she herded her sheep every day as a 12 year old girl doing adult work.  And most importantly get a sense of who his grandparents are - and were then. 

I'm leaving today.  I know I'll return a changed woman, for the better.  I know it will give me a new zeal and outlook on life when I can take a close personal look at my family's past and history, and realize once again who they have become and where they came from -- and why.  I help people, everyday, makes moves either within, in or out of Lancaster.  Now I get to experience again what my family experienced when they made a move across the seas into a new land.  Thank you, America, for taking them in.  I ask that you keep me and my family in your thoughts for a safe trip and a safe return.  It is a bit daunting to be travelling with all that is going on in the world, especially while leaving one son behind.  I only hope God keeps us in his good graces and free from harm.

For your Lancaster Real Estate needs in my absence, please contact my partner Bob Wells at 717-203-6049.  He will take excellent care of your needs, whether buying or selling, until my return. 

Yassou!

For Lancaster Real Estate Information, visit Homes in Lancaster PA -- Lancaster County Real Estate

 

For more information on Homes for Sale in Lancaster, or questions and/or concerns about buying or selling a home in Lancaster County PA, please contact Jeannie Kontis at (717) 330-5137 or email at Jeannie@JeannieSellsLancaster.com.

Search for Lancaster Homes for Sale at www.JeannieSellsLancaster.com

Jeannie Kontis, RealtorⓇ, is a member of the award-winning Bob Wells Realty Group of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, and serves buyers and sellers of real estate throughout Lancaster County.

All content Copyright ⓒ 2007 Jeannie Kontis    Homes in Lancaster PA - Real Estate in Lancaster County