Main Line Homes Blog

I love to sit Open Houses especially this time of year when people are getting out and about to see homes that are on the market. I chose to sit this home at 160 Sheldrake Drive in Paoli, PA 19301 this Sunday from 2-4 PM. It was the model home for the development when it was first built 49 years ago, and this is the first time it has been on the market since then. Situated on a nice lot of 0.64 acres it has a nice presence in the neighborhood.

It is a solid stone colonial, and I wrote about what is a colonial a few weeks ago, and this one is in excellent condition according to the listing agent, with deep window sills, hardwood floors, wood burning fireplace, built in book shelves and much more. I am looking forward to seeing the home. Taxes at $6483 last year are reasonable for this area for the size of the lot and the home. Whilst it is close to downtown Paoli, with its shops and train station, this neighborhood is not a high traffic area and the homes are set amid mature trees giving pleasant shade during hot summer days.

So stop on by and visit for a while at this home filled with character priced at $599,000, it will be open Sunday February 12th from 2-4 PM, this may just be your Valentine!

For those who live here, the condo association fee at first seems high but it covers lots of things.

Gas for the dryer, gas for cooking, gas for hot water, water, pool fee, tennis courts, exterior maintenance, trash collection, a club house and snow clearing, a host of social activities arranged for homeowners and those who rent here.

What it does not cover is the cost for the sewer, this is billed separately and this year it is $250, bills go out during February and are due March 1st, if you are later than March 10th there is a late fee. Like most places sewer bills are always in arrears, so you are actually paying for your 2011 fee.

Your other utilities cable either Verizon or Comcast are available is extra, gas for your heating and electricity are not included in your condo fee and are paid separately.

As I mentioned Old Forge has an active community, and some events taking place in the coming months are a Spring Brunch March 4th 11 - 1 PM to which you bring a dish to share.

March 16th St Patrick's Day Happy Hour at 5 PM in the Clubhouse

And the annual Old Forge Crossing Flea market and Crafts Fair Saturday April 28th from 8 - 1 PM. Contact the management office if you are interested in a table.

A good number to know if you live in Old Forge Crossing is the emergency hot line 610-687-5678 especially if you have a sewer or sink back up in the evening or over a weekend, call this number to avoid damage and stop any problems for your neighbors.

Old Forge Crossing is in a great location, it is a great place to live, either as a homeowner or as a tenant. Old Forge Crossing is an approved condo development for FHA loans making purchasing easier here than other condo developments not approved. If you need details on any available properties give me a call and we can help you.

One of the things about living and working in a village is that it is always evolving, and Berwyn, Pennsylvania is no different. Straddling two townships, Easttown and Tredyffrin it is a beautiful place. From when you step off the train having travelled along the famed "Main Line" you can't fail but notice the friendliness of the surroundings.

But don't take my word for it, watch the video and then take some time to come visit.

"We do not want to gain at someone else's loss; we want to gain while helping the other person to also gain."

— Jose Silva: 

Many people today want the first part of the quote above, they want to crush the opposition, take no prisoners and be acknowledged as the winner. But in our business and in representing our clients the latter part is far more beneficial. It reminds me of the Zig Ziglar quote about achieving success through helping others achieve what they want.

Negotiations whether in a buyers market or a sellers market are all about helping both sides reach a consensus that the deal works for both, it may not give each side everything they want but it does help each side come to the table and accept the deal they got. You never know when you might need to go back to the other party and burning your bridges does not help you in the future, so keep those avenues of communication open and look to help the other side a little.

I find in the Main Line, PA Real Estate market that helping both parties achieve most of their goals leads to success. If you want help achieving your goals then give me a call now and lets get started moving you towards achieving your goals straight away.

One of the big problems facing homeowners is the lateral sewer lines from their property to the road where the sewer authority takes over responsibility for them. Many of these pipes, especailly in older properties, by that I mean over 75-100 year old are simply, are just breaking down. Because of the break down of these pipes it is creating some environmental issues for townships and municipal authorities because of increased use of sewer capacity for cleaning CLEAN water. This increases costs and prevents future development as plants are already rnning at capacity.

This video shows some of the issues and how to solve them if your pipes do need repairing. I know in our area the water authority offers an insurance policy for repairs to water and sewer lines. Even relatively new pipes can get damaged and cause problems.

The market has been picking up recently and you are not seeing my signs because...

As the sign above shows we have sold all our current listings. Really, we have no listings at the moment, but we have two coming soon, a Town home in Exton and one in Villanova an executive quality home, which has all the bells and whistles. Both will be on our website soon.

We don't expect to have these long, so if you are thinking of listing your home soon, give us a call and find out what makes us different. We are not like everyone else and our success shows that, we sell homes all along the Main Line outside of Philadelphia.

If you are looking to buy a home, we represent buyers as well, for both buyers and sellers we act as a personal expert, a Real Estate Consultant allowing you to made educated and informed decisions about the buying and selling process from mortgage provider, home inspector, to price. So why do the same as everybody else be different and hire your own Personal Real Estate Consultant, give us a call today, the number is on the SOLD sign above.

We love a fire over the winter months, when it starts to get chilly, there is nothing better than warming the house with a nice cozy fire. We installed a wood stove a couple of years ago and it has helped us to reduce our heating bill quite substantially. But whether you have a wood stove or are lighting a fire in the fireplace you need to take some safety steps to make sure you are not putting yourself at risk.

I was just reading about a fire in the chimney that destroyed a local home this past weekend and our local fire chief has actually posted some safety tips that are worth looking over.

It seems redundant to say have your chimney inspected regularly, but so much advice today is ignored, but this can cost you your life. So please read it over and take the time to get your chimney inspected if you are lighting fires over this winter and note some of thew other safety tips as well like checking your damper and the firebox in your fireplace.

One of the best stores in the Devon area, especially in Gateway Shops close to Chesterbrook is Trader Joe's, people love our Trader Joe's, it is always busy as is Gateway shopping area which is full of other shops and lots of restaurants. 

Staples, TJMaxx are two of the bigger stores, but you can find all sorts of things, we have a cigar shop, beds, vacuum shop, pet store, Five Below and if you need a coffee, close by is a Starbucks in the Barnes & Noble or you can stop by Panera Bread which sits in the corner of Gateway Shops, a great place for a quick lunch or early dinner.

There are lots of other restaurants in Gateway Shops from the Gateway Diner, Kabab Cafe, Salad Works, Five Guys, Mannys

including Outback Steakhouse and others as well.

Just outside of Gateway Shops in Devon is Cafe Winberie's where you can get a wonderful Brunch on a Sunday. After all this you might feel in some need of a little pampering or even some Massage Envy, yes we have that too..

Gateway Shops in Devon is one of the reasons people love to live in this area and one of the reasons why home prices have remained steady throughout the recession in the Devon area.

Last year 2011 the market started off strong and we saw many homes selling in the beginning of January. 2012 seems to be reproducing that phenomenom and the Main Line Homes Invetory for buyers has dropped significantly over the last few weeks.

For example Chester County has seen month on month improvements and is now at 9.4 months, whilst this is  not excellent it is much better than the 11.9 months from a couple of months ago. a 6 month level is the sign of a blanced market with buyers absorbing homes at almost the same rate that they comne on the market. Now some of this is because sellers homes have expired in the MLS and they are holding off relisting them for sale, new sellers are waiting for the Spring Market, but also buyers are making offers that are being accepted.

What it can mean for you, if you are selling is that now is a good time to list a home. There is less competition, buyers are looking to buy, with many believing we have hit the bottom of the market and interest rates are still at historically low levels. We have sold all our current listings and our marketing of homes makes them stand out from the other homes for sale attracting buyers and helping you move on to your next home be it locally or out of state.

We have two homes coming on the market soon, a wonderful executive quality home in Villanova and a tonwhome out in Exton. Keep an eye on our website www.VandekarTeam.com for photos and details of both homes.

If you are looking to buy a home along the Main Line we can help, we have saved buyers thousands of dollars through negotiations and our knowledge of the area, contact us now to see how we can help you find yur new home.

In the Real Estate business getting your clients name right is quite important, especially when completing documents. It is one of the reasons I always write clients names out and check that I have spelled it correctly with them and got any middle names as well.

I have never been a great one for remembering names, but writing them out is a great help. Recently I was contacted by a potential client who was moving from abroad and had chatted with the wife, we shall call her Barbara on the phone and put her in touch with my mortgage provider so he could start getting her pre-approved and let her know what they were going to need to bring with them when they arrived here.

One day unannounced, several months later a few days after arriving in America they were driving past my office and decided to stop off and see if I was in, as it happened I was. The lady sitting at our front desk brought them to my desk and introduced them but got the wife's name wrong calling her Julie. We sat in our conference room and I was jotting down details and automatically put her name down as Julie along with the correct name for her husband which had been correct on the introductions. It was only later after I had called her the wrong name several times, trying to cement it in to my brain for later use that she let me in on the secret and I changed it on my file. But of course now what do I remember when I see them, the wrong name all the time. 

People get my name wrong all the time, like Susan Mangigian whose post today Thankful Thursday inspired and reminded me about the problems I had with my client. It is often misspelled, inserting letters into it, replacing letters or trying to split it into parts which in Holland/Netherlands is done but my family always spelled it as one name not three. There is also a similar name in India and I am often mistaken for a different race.

My accent is also an item of interest to many, having grown up in England I don't notice it, mostly I don't hear American accents that much any more other than those from the South, but I am always being asked where I come from, my stock answer is South Philly, but it is hardly believable. I am not sure if being assigned to being Australian, South African, New Zealand and not England is because my English has become lazy or just others also find it hard to differentiate accents. Well it does not matter really as long as we can communicate clearly, once we know and can remember each others names.