Chester County Area Property For Bakery, Restaurant, Catering or Investment For Sale
August 20, 2008
A great property has come on the market in Oxford PA. 9 South 3rd Street is for sale and it is all set up for a food based business. The ground floor and full basement are all set up and ready to go. It was originally a bakery and most recently a restaurant but is vacant now and ready for whatever you have in mind.
The extensive list of equipment is available for the buyer to purchase separately at a bargain giveaway price. On the first floor, there is a retail area with table seating as well as food preparation and display areas while the basement is all set for production. There is a large walk in box, a large universal rotisserie oven, a bagel maker, a bagel boiler, a sheeter, a roll press, 2 huge mixers, 1 medium mixer and a host of other items. The second and third floors are 2 apartments that are currently rented.
Please contact me for all the details.
Don’t Over Price Your Home and Risk Losing In The End!
August 18, 2008
An agent’s job starts as a salesman, selling you on himself. Once you decide he is the right one, that job becomes an advisor. He advises you what to do to best prepare your home for showing, what not to do, what to expect in offers, inspections, mortgages and yes pricing.
One thing I cannot stress enough is pricing. Sellers know the market is slower but they keep holding out hope that one fool will come along and pay what they are asking. No, there is no shortage of fools and yes a fool and his money soon part ways, but fools borrowing money, and most buyers are borrowing money, have protection.
What protection you may ask…. appraisers. When you home is appraised, the appraiser must be able to defend his appraisal using comparable properties that sold recently and were nearby. These should be the same homes your agent has shown you when he suggested the sales price. Not only will overpricing your home cut down on the showings to potential buyers, it will backfire in the end should you happen to find someone to buy and leave you with the choice of taking the appraised price or releasing the long sought after buyer.
What’s that you say, you want room to come down for those buyers wanting to negotiate? Wrong, selling your home is all about maximizing the potential buyer pool. That is the listing agents job when he starts the marketing phase and it is your job too. Overpricing cuts that pool of buyers. Yes, some buyers will always to negotiate but MOST would rather find a home that is very close to what they are willing to pay. Haven’t you seen the car dealers with no haggle pricing? It is much easier and less stressful to buyers to be non confrontational. Besides that, you are competing with other sellers that have priced their homes correctly. Buyers see those homes and avoid your overpriced home altogether.
Why not price it right from the start, minimize you sale time and end up with the same price or better in the end.
Doing What It Takes
August 17, 2008
You did what? That is a question I hear from agents from time to time when I tell them some of the things I have done for clients. That is simply because I did what needed done and it was outside the realm of what realtors usually do. It is common for agents to do virtual tours. It is common for agents to recommend changes to a home, rearrange and stage a home. Some have the gift, some pay to have a stager. (Sorry, I don’t have the staging gift.) Some agents pay to have an appraisal done. Some agents pay for fancy brochures and fliers. Some host fancy brokers open houses and have open houses for the public. Some agents pay for a home warranty. Some agents pay to have homes put on various web sites suited to that type of home. All of these things cost money and they are all done in the name of selling the home. I have just expanded the list of what I may do when needed because I can and I enjoy it. Why not, it may cost about he same as the above items and it is all in the name of selling the home.
In the case of listings, it is usually something that will make the home more sellable and beyond the means or capabilities of my clients. Once I removed a wrought iron railing that was broken, took it home and re-welded it, painted it and reinstalled it. It was the only blemish on a great home and right by the front door as you walk in. My client was a single lady with no means to attempt a repair and to have an outside contractor would have cost a pretty penny if she could even find someone to do it. Another time, when clients were in Florida, a contractor who just got done painting left dirt all over the house. I went and vacuumed the whole house for the showing that was coming. Another time, I trimmed all the trees blocking the front and beside a vacant house and mowed around the edges of a field with my farm tractor so prospective buyers could more easily view the property. Twice I took my excavator out to client’s properties to expose the septic systems for inspections. Recently I cut and cleaned up a tree that had fallen in the yard of a client that lives out of state.
Not everyone needs this outside the box type help, but it is there when someone does and I am happy to do what it takes to get the job done.
Is Not Looking For Properties With Oil Heat Something To Consider When Looking For Real Estate?
July 20, 2008
It seems that with the price of oil is higher than we have ever seen it, some people are wondering if they should exclude homes that heat with oil from there search and many homeowners are switching to another source, most commonly propane or natural gas. I don’t believe any homes should be excluded from a search. It is easy to change systems, not much different than replacing the furnace in most cases. It is hard enough to find a home you like. Just to exclude it because it needs a minor change is silly. It may even be an aid to buyers that find a home with oil heat as they may be able to leverage that to get a better price.
The question then becomes, “What do I switch to?”. The cheapest answer is not always the best. Sure it may seem propane or natural gas is cheaper now, but it is finite just like oil. When will its price rise sky high? Electric is another option via the cheapest install of all, electric baseboard. The problem with electric baseboard is that it uses energy that you buy to generate heat, just like gas and oil. When electric is deregulated, its price will rise considerably.
Then there is the heat pump which just uses electric to transfer heat already there either to or from you home depending on whether you are heating or cooling. Its shortfall comes when the temperatures dip to the mid 30’s and below. Often a backup coil comes on to supplement the heating. Right now, I believe the best answer is a ground source heat pump, otherwise known as geothermal. These systems use electric to transfer heat to or from the ground which maintains a constant temperature in the mid 50’s. Since no energy is actually used to create heat, the energy costs are much cheaper. Unfortunately these systems are not cheap until you look long term. The payback can be rather fast if you consider the savings you will have heating and cooling, maybe 5-7 years or less. After that it is all savings. They can even preheat the hot water in the summer while they are cooling the home.
Perhaps the greatest benefit is the fact that you will be acting in a very “Green” and responsible way with the limited resources we all must share.
Real Estate Bought and Sold In Chester County Recently
March 15, 2008
Here is an update of the real estate transactions that have recently taken place recently in Chester County.
Coatesville
415 Cedar St Brian and Cathy Lark to Alberto Villegas Castro, $155,820.
East Fallowfield
102 N Keystone Way Charles Scott and Mandy L Lange to Steven and Helen Johnson, $259,000.
Easttown
471 Chandlee Dr Michael P and Elizabeth R Manning to Carlo T III and Suzanne R Demarco, $540,000.
411 Heatherwood Ln Martin C and Kathleen T Kirsch to Edward B and Robin A Abramson, $600,000.
London Britain
1398 Corner Ketch Rd Christiana Oreo LLC to Anthony J and Randi Cirillo, $207,000.
Malvern
150 Carters Grv Richard L and Jessica B Hendrickson to Benjamin J Jr and Gail M Gordon, $642,500.
New Garden
145 Shinnecock Hl Michael J and Kathleen F Boyle to Salvatore V and Barbara C Bordanaro, $405,000.
Oxford
208 Maryland Ave David C and Gail C Strohmaier to Timothy and Katie Minnis, $239,900.
Pennsbury
8 Misty Meadow Dr Peter and Janice Jackson to Daniel A and Marion Rubin, $1,035,000.
Phoenixville
201 Airy St Russell C and Melissa A Heasley to Jay P and Carol F Weaver, $133,800.
1041 Balley Dr Jules P Markey and Piljo Yae to Matthew Toto and Megan Sheridan, $250,000.
135 Carson St Barbara Burg to Elisa B Schneider, $225,000.
400 W High St Estate of Martha M Dennis to Heidi S Collazo, $205,000.
416 Main St unit G Leanore I Rogers to Shelagh C Miller, $145,000.
103 S Westridge Pl Ventnor T and Leslie E Wright to Brady I Flaharty, $208,000.
Sadsbury
210 Fox Trl Domenic Anthony and Kristen Forlano to Noah Austin and Kaylia Heckman, $208,900.
3 Lincoln Ave Estate Of Barbara A Soroka to Timothy and Darlene Firlein, $220,000.
Tredyffrin
17 Daylesford Blvd David L and Heather M Miller to Xiaowu Gai and Rong Guo, $505,000.
95 Le Forge Ct Michele M Fafette to Cornelius J Alexander V, $224,900.
12 Summit Ave Phyllis Church to James Tolle, $198,000.
Upper Uwchlan
201 Ivystone Dr Ohio National Life Insurance Co to Gary and Sonya Gerenza, $855,000.
West Bradford
1657 Linda Dr Kenneth A and Mary C Ainger to Michael A and Carolyn M Clark, $539,900.
1315 Park View Ln David W Tang III and Ashley N Graves to Mark J Smith and Brenda L Manuel, $305,000.
West Chester
220 W Lafayette St Laura L Jaramillo to Jason Trembicki and Doris Hargraves, $175,000.
105 S Worthington St Herbert P Bowersock Jr to Gilberto Rolon and Juana Mercedes, $90,000.
West Grove
151 Railroad Ave Gregory J and Heather L McCummings to Valerie L Deckman and Erik Winter, $186,000.
West Pikeland
904 Samantha Cir Harvey Cook to Katie M Flaharty, $290,000.
West Vincent
922 Pinehurst Dr West Vincent Associates Ltd to Richard W and Robbin M Surmaitis, $540,161.
Willistown
15 Shepherd Rd James Renehan to Douglas J and Lisa A Dreyer, $1,190,000.
Quarryville and Oxford Real Estate Markets Examined
March 15, 2008
It is really exciting to see all of the warning signs that the declining of the real estate market is just about over and on the rebound.
Here are two charts from an online research firm that show the Quarryville, PA and Oxford, PA markets to be leveling off.
This is great news all around!People looking to purchase can be assured that the decline is sales prices is over and home sellers can rest knowing that their property values won’t be declining.
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Oxford Homes For Sale- 165 Wedgewood Rd, Oxford, PA 19363, $255,000 3 beds, 2 baths
- 138 Bethel Rd, Oxford, PA 19363, $259,900 3 beds, 3 baths
- 101 Dalton Rd, Oxford, PA 19363, $499,900 2 beds, 2 baths
- Slate Hill Dr, Oxford, PA 19363, $292,805 4 beds, 3 baths
- 432 Lincoln St, Oxford, PA 19363, $199,900 3 beds, 3 baths
- 120 Olde Field Dr, Oxford, PA 19363, $310,000 4 beds, 3 baths
- 415 N Brookside Dr, Oxford, PA 19363, $279,000 4 beds, 2.5 baths
- 22 Jason Dr, Oxford, PA 19363, $279,000 4 beds, 3 baths
- 128 N 4th St, Oxford, PA 19363, $149,900 3 beds, 2 baths
- Tweed Rd, Oxford, PA 19363, $141,459