Main Line Homes Blog

Moving home always seems to be a stressful decision whatever time in our lives we make the decision for several reasons. But as we age, or if we have remained in a home for a long time much of the worry seems to be what to do with all the stuff.

It is not easy but the there are some simple methods to reduce if not remove the stress this "stuff" brings with it so you can be ready when it is time to move.

First you need to break the whole move down into manageable parts so it is not overwhelming. To begin with sort out what you have. If you have collections or antiques are you going to take these with you, give them to children, donate them to a museum or simply try to sell them? Do you have  a catalog of these pieces and receipts for these items as well. If so this all needs to be organized, if it is not already, so that a plan can be implemented with what to do with each piece and so the pieces can be adequately insured. These are all small decisions. If selling you also need to know where you will sell what you have, some pieces can be sold at local auctions but better pieces may demand higher prices and therefore a better return for you by being sent to a major auction house in New York or elsewhere. If you need advice in this area please contact me as with my background in antiques both as a dealer and in auctions I can offer advice.

Secondly, the things you have held onto for years that are not worth anything and have no emotional value either, need to be disposed of. This can be done in several ways, from the simple dumpster, to calling someone who may see some value in it to take it away.

You need to decide what furniture you need in your new home, maybe you have large pieces and your new home will not hold such large pieces, maybe you just have too many pieces of furniture, again you need to decide what you will do with these. There are many charities that will give you tax receipts for unwanted furniture that will help others who are just starting out.

Are you going to use a mover or are freinds and family helping you? If using a mover get some reccomendations and ask for estimates. Many companies will estimate over the phone without coming to see what needs to done, avoid these, you need a representative to come and see what needs moving so you get an accurate price without surprises on moving day. Make sure all boxes are labeled, good moving companies will do this, but add your own labels if needed. Unmarked boxes often get left unpacked.

Obtain adequate insurance coverage for your pieces, if you have antiques check with your home owner policy or agent to make sure you are covered for a move so you dont end up with a problem later.

If you have questions, or need advice feel free to contact me at Nick@VandekarTeam.com. I have several contacts in move management services as well who can help with the whole process.

I attended the quarterly meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors in Harrisburg this week. One of the sessions was given by Lawrence Yun the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors and it was very interesting. Admittedly the situation right now is VERY fluid as each week seems to bring some news of another challenge to the economy and with the election ahead none of us truly know what lies ahead.

But Alan greenspan has said he believes that the bottom of the market will happen in early 2009, eight hundred economists have said they believe that the housing market will stabilise in mid-2009. Now recent events may push those forecasts back a little but how does that affect you in your market?

What came through very strongly is that all real estate is not just local, BUT very local. Just as the market can be different in Scranton to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, it is different between Devon and Media or Exton and Downingtown. It can even be different between developments in a township. So the market is very local and depends on a whole host of factors.

What are some of these factors? Well determing the market is a matter of looking at regional statistics and then narrowing them down. As you may know, an appraiser wants to use stats from the same development where possible and only if these are not available will they look outside to support a price. So we may look at township, then local area and then development to see what prices are doing to truly know what the market is for your home.

Another point to come out is that whilst Pennsylvania has weathered the real estate storm fairly well with stable prices, stable employment and even employment growth, it has not remained unaffected. We have seen this over the last few months with prices dropping, sales taking longer and buyers being affected in their ability to obtain mortgages. Now it still has not affected us as drastically as Nevada, Florida or California where prices had shot up dramtically in previous years so the rebound may not be as dramatic either. It is all about postioning your self and your property correctly to take advantage of the current situation.

So it is  ot easy to answer the question without knowing some details about your location. For more information about your home  and market feel free to contact us.

We have just listed a very attractive townhome in the Indian Creek development close to Royersford, PA which is very well priced at $237,500. It is a Windsong model, and has a great open floor plan allowing you to stay connected with family or guests as this is a great home to entertain in with a large kitchen, with plenty of counter space for preparing maels and also lots of storage in the kitchen including a large pantry. Gas cooking is also a feature allowing greater control for those wonderful meals. a half wall between the kitchen and family room means you can be involved while preparing dinner and keep an eye on the kids watching television or enjoy the wood burning fireplace. An eat in breakfast area with a slider to a concrete patio allows for outdoor access as well.

The second floor is also well laid out with a large master suite with plenty of windows and a large en suite bathroom having a tub and shower, closet space is great with a walk in and a double slding door closet as well. Even better the large laundry room on this floor means you never again have to carry laundry up and downstairs. Large second and third bedrooms make up the floor along with a nice hall bath.

Open Sunday September 28th from 2-4 PM grab this chance to see and purchase an affordable home in this great development. More photos and details.

We recently listed a very attractive home in Birmingham Hunt, a great development of town houses and single family homes just south of West Chester in Birmingham Township. A great location if you work in Wilmington as this is in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School district and the local elementary school Chadds Ford Elementary was just awarded the prestigious honor of a Blue Ribbon in the No Child left behind program.

This single family home sits well into the development and is a four bedroom 3 1/2 bath colonial, with a fabulous finished walk out basement. It has been very well maintained, with many items being replaced since the current owners purchased the home. It has great flow through the main floor with access to all rooms allowing for easy entertaining and the ability to remain connected with your guests or family; a wood deck accesible from the kitchen with stairs down to the yard. Main floor office set off to one side of the home. The master suite is well laid out with large walk in closets and a large ensuite bathroom with tub and shower.

There have been no single family homes for sale for the last year in Birmingham Hunt which is located close to the site of the Battle of Brandywine allowing for walks with pets or simply for exercise. Priced at $585,000 this home offers a lot of space and good value. For more details and photos click here.

We spent a wonderful Saturday driving out to Leola in Lancaster County to attend an auction held at the Leola Produce Auction to benefit the Clinic for Special Children a hospital set up to help the Amish with the specific illnesses found in their communities.

We have gone several times before and enjoy the day, first for the drive out to the country from Philadelphia suburbs through the countryside of Chester and Lancaster counties. Great views of farms and rolling farmland as far as the eye can see. However, we also notice that suburban sprawl is starting to infringe upon the idylic views with the building of more and more developments. The auction has quilts, special items donated for the aution, plants, flowers, household goods, sheds etc. Plus there is plenty of great food, from barbecued pork sandwiches, barbecued chicken which is delicious and so moist, french fries, chips, donuts, hoagies, pizzas and homemade ice cream.

Plus there is the opportunity to people watch both English, Mennonite, and Amish. It was a wonderful day, with some great prices for beautiful quilts and providing important funding for the Clinic. I love seeing all the horse and buggies lined up reminding me of a different lifestyle, but with the rising cost of gas, just maybe this would be an alternative. how about a buggy like this for showing clients homes?

Whatever you buy new loses value as soon as you buy it and leave the store. Very few things actually increase in value, some rare production cars, some collectible items such as baseball cards etc. Antiques and some art, however, do not lose their value when you buy them. Whilst they do not necessarily have an immediate increased value, although some do if you have bought well, they do maintain their value.

Therefore they are an excellent way to furnish your home, if you can incorporate them into your style of design and living. Thhere are many items that can easily be incorporated, furniture, paintings, ceramics, sculpture etc. Many of us when we think of antiques or art think of what we know best, but their are many different styles and periods that you can incorporate in decorating your home.

Some of the pieces I personally like are Asian because they have very clean lines, they have classic designs that work well with many homes. For example Chnese furniture can be incorporated into almost any room as a side table or coffee table. Chinese pottery forms add wonderful touches in a room setting without being over powering. Chinese art ranges from wonderful paintings of flowers to landscapes and even contemporary Chinese art is drawing high prices.

Another angle to use is to use a clorway, as many people love blue and white, you can use these colors to decorate and highlight with antique pieces as lamps, if correctly mounted this does not affect their value, and then you can mix and match different peices, some Asian porcelain with European pottery. Nearly every ceramic factory started with making pieces decorated in blue and white, using cobalt to provide the blue coloring when fired.

Not only are these antiques a good investment, they add an interesting touch to your home, from the story of purchasing, to the story behind the pieces themselves. who handled them, how were they used, what is their history, these all add to the fascination of  using antiques to decorate your home.

There are many ways to begin using antiques, at first just buy some accent pieces and see how you like the look as you develop your own style and taste. You will find dealers who are ready and willing to advise and share their knowledge and as your knowledge increases you can buy at auction with or without advice from a dealer you trust. Generally any good dealer will guarantee to buy back from you any piece that he sells to you for what you have paid for it. Another major benefit of buying antiques is that it helps the environment and allows continual production of new pieces to be reduced allowing forests to recover from the continual cutting that new furniture construction demands. So consider going green and making your next purchase something old or antique. A great place to stop by is this year's Main Line Antique Show to be held at Valley Forge Military Academy and College from November 22-23rd 2008 to see what you can add to your home.

So my last post arising out of the roundtable at our local Realtor Association coffee morning with some builders arises out of a question regarding "green" construction. Everyone nowadays seems to be jumping on the bandwagon to label their products green or energy efficient.

Since the national building code was altered in 2003 most homes could probably qualify as being green because of the added sealing that goes in to them to make them tighter. This has brought some of its own problems as house breathe less greater allergies have been reported and problems with higher radon readings where it might have leaked out of the house before. But with the code most homes are being constructed with passive systems.

Whilst buyers like the idea of green and energy efficient homes, most do not honestly want to pay the added cost that building a true green home requires. Whilst builders are offering buyers the opportunities to purchase and install geo-thermal heating systems few are willing to pay the added costs required, even when this is offered as an incentive, many prefer to take alternative incentives. Whilst buyers are unwilling to commit to the added cost many ignore the tax benefits that come with building to these higher standards.

So we are not seeing the increase in building of green homes expected in Chester and Delaware counties. Also many builders, especially smaller local builders cannot afford the added cost required to match LEED (leadership in energy efficiency and design) levels as these relate in a larger way to bigger building projects such as condominums, apartment or office buildings. The standards really do not apply to single family homes or even townhomes. However the local builders have adopted standards drawn up by the National Association of Home Builders that are more sensible for smaller projects. If you go to their site you can see how your project compares as they use a point system to score each project. Most homes probably achieve Bronze standard, although many builders have not bothered to have their jobs scored or applied for the green label. Silver and Gold levels cost more to build and are harder to reach and are affected by larger planning issues rather than just the house.

What does this mean for the future? Will buyers insist or higher standards of green building, or will cost preclude them from pursuing green homes. when hybrids first beccame available there was not much interest, as prices have dropped and more knowledge become available sales have increased, but still price is a major factor to most buyers who do not feel immediately impacted by not building or buying a green home. Only as we become more aware of our environment and the impact we are having on it will we insist on higher standards and strive for lower costs.

It was very interesting to hear last week at our builder and realtor roundtable that one of the biggest issues facing builders currently with new developments is waste water and storm water management. Both issues are similar and details are below.

Many townships are insisting on language in the deeds that allows them to demand that there are easements relating to septic systems, septic systems be inspected every two to three years, that township inspectors be present when the septic system is inspected, escrow funds, and even repair where necessary when systems are defective with the home owner responsible for the repair costs. Whilst there are good reasons for this, many older defective septic systems are beginning to leak and cause problems and the townships have no authority to act, some of the levels of language used give the homeowner no room for bidding the job out to find the best price. Each township is setting its own demands and there are no guidelines in place in Chester County or elsewhere for builders to use on a consistent basis. These issues are being dealt with now by builders who are being forced to include this language by each township but it is also going to be raised when these homeowners come to resell these homes and realtors and prospective buyers need to be aware that these items are in the deeds as it can make a homeowner liable for unexpected bills.

Storm water management has become a big issue for townships as they have become more aware that water needs to drain slowly to refill aquifiers under the ground rather than just be drained away and lost. However, as one builder explained last week he now budgets more for storm water management that for waste water management. Once again townships are insisting on regulations that are not consistent from township to township and what needs to be addressed is are they asking builders of new construction to build to a standard that is too excessive? Also care and ongoing inspection of these storm water management systems is going to be a cost for future owners if these systems are damaged or broken and need repair. Again different townships are demanding easements to allow access, inspections and repairs as related by these builders.

Let me know your opinion on this as it will be an on-going issue in the future as these easements and inspection rights will be deeded with the property.

I attended a great meeting this week at our local realtor association, Suburban West Realtors Association. It is titled Starbucks Mornings and there are always different angles from blogging, to marketing etc. This month it was a roundtable discussion with some local builders, Wayne Megill, Joe Mingioni and Mike Murphy.

We talked about a lot of topics which I will post over the next few days but we started out with a question about how these builders see the current market. I apologise now for not making notes about who said what, but the thoughts and comments really flowed and it was very interesting. Foreclosure rates in the Philadelphia Suburbs have remained even, there has not been an increase in foreclosed homes in the region over past years. However, the market is being affected by the lack of financing available to customers. Our region has not been affected like Michigan and other states by lack of jobs, this area has a strong job base over a variety of industries which is bringing increased numbers of customers to the area.

Whilst large national builders pull in their horns during these times smaller, local builders have made out alright generally, that is not to say they are not offering large incentives to buyers to do a deal. These builders say the are seeing new developments tough to get started as buyers are unwilling to be the first to buy in a new development that may take a lot longer to sell than previously. Developments at all prices have seen a drop in sales and visitors, especially over the summer, but some of the hardest hit are starter homes where buyers are finding it hard to get credit because they don't have down payments, lower credit scores and other credit issues.

55+ communities which a lot of builders have tried to build in the area recently are some of the hardest hit, with manybuilders trying to unload to others whole developments. These buyers are not buying as quickly as before, some taking 3-4 months to make a buying decision rather than the 2-3 weeks it used to take. There seems to be no incentive in the buyer to make the move. Many of the amenities these developments are offering are available in their current communities, swimming at the Y, golf can be played locally and lawns can be mown by a lawn service. Also many of these buyers have seen their finances reduced due to recent stock market downturns so there seems to be a big fear of commitment as buyers can keep their lifestyle without making the move.

So this implies if you are in the market, or thinking of buying that builders will be willing to do a deal that they may not have last year. Builders also are unemotionally attached to these homes, unlike a homeowner, it is a simple business decision for them; are they making a profit or not.

We are once again sponsoring the Main Line Antique Show to benefit Surrey Services for Seniors, this year 2008 it is being held November 22nd and 23rd at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Wayne. Admission is $8.00. The theme this year is Invest in the Past, Save the Future.

As many of you know previous to real estate I bought and sold antiques for my living, being the third generation of my family along with my brother Paul whi is still involved in the antiques business. I have appeared on Chubb's Antiques Roadshow as an appraiser in different seasons and have also written and lectured on different subjects. Whilst my main experience is in ceramics and I have sold pieces to major museums, corporate and private clients I have an understanding of other fields as well. I have been asked by the show to lead some booth tours on both days of the show, these will be at 11.00 and 2.00 o'clock each day over the weekend, so hope to see you there and show you some of the wonderful pieces each of these dealers bring with them.

Many people are being influenced by the "Green" influence, not just in real estate and cars but in everyday living. This year's theme Invest in the Past, Save the Future is to raise awareness of how purchasing and using antiques can decrease your carbon footprint, and be a good investment as well. As we all know when you purchase something new it loses value at once, but with antiques over time your investment actually increases and makes an impact on our world by saving precious resources.

A great way to enjoy the show is to attend the preview party for the show held on November 21st from 6-9 PM and cost $50, Young Collectors age 35 and under will pay $35, both these tickets give you access over the weekend as well but primarily give you first choice of what is available for sale.

A new direction for the show this year is the inclusion of 20th Century fine arts alongside the normal offerings of furniture, pottery and porcelain, jewelry and silver from earlier times. For more information, including directions and a complete list of dealers, please call 610-647-8632 or visit www.mlas.org