The Lancaster Life

Here's an incredible value -- a full-sized, totally renovated home in the low 70s. 617 St. Joseph St., in historic Cabbage Hill.

On $/square foot, Lancaster city homes are often half the price of suburban homes. And this home is even lower than the city average.

There aren't many fully renovated homes available in this price range. It has an attractive facade, large rooms, a great floor plan, and a fenced yard that gets lots of sun. From the third floor windows you have an interesting view of rooftops, church steeples and large trees.

The Cabbage Hill neighborhood is perhaps under-appreciated in Lancaster. This home is closer to market and downtown restaurants than most of Chestnut Hill. Talk to neighbors on St. Joseph St. to form your own opinion about the neighborhood.

238 Mulberry St. is available for sale. The location is hard to beat -- west side of town, on a beautiful block, and very close to market and downtown restaurants/shopping.

It is a two-unit apartment building. A one bedroom apartment on the ground floor and a three bedroom apartment on the second and third floors. There is potential for the new owner to significantly increase rental income and building value through some basic renovations.

There is a large yard and a second floor rear porch. This building is a great candidate for an owner-occupant.

There's an interesting property for sale in the Cocalico school district. It's a ranch house on almost two acres. The house has a large finished basement that includes a built-out sun room that exits on to an in-ground pool. Through the picture window in the living room you see cornfields to the horizon. The lot itself it beautiful -- truly a private park with mature trees.

Besides being a beautiful place to live, the location provides a rare combination of bucolic views and modern convenience. The intersection of 222 and the Turnpike is about a mile away. Because intersection of major transportation routes, a national developer is building a shopping center nearby. Construction has started and should be finished by the end of next year. Planned stores include a Lowes and a Giant.

You can find the listing on the MLS under #140553. For more information, call 735-6264.

Dean Rock is a real estate investor and a full-service realtor at Coldwell Banker in Lancaster. Dean's areas of real estate expertise include marketing hard-to-sell homes, historic homes in Lancaster County, Lancaster County farmettes, Lancaster city real estate issues, housing rehabilitation, and real estate investment. Learn more about Lancaster PA real estate.

Getz's Woods enjoys local fame in Lancaster County for the quality of the homes and the wooded lots. Homes in Getz's Woods were first built in the late 80s. Homes are large, typically four or five bedrooms and at least one fireplace. Most homes have decks and screened in porches that enjoy privacy because of the mature woods surrounding the homes.

If you look at an address in Getz's woods on Google maps, you'll see the thickness of the woods. The homes were built without tearing down all the trees. While this added to the short term building costs, it has more than paid off in the long run with the quality of the lots.

There are currently 4 homes for sale in Getz's woods, ranging from $500,000 to $579,000. Three homes sold within the last 6 months, the highest selling for $640,000.

1109 Archers Glen will be open on Sunday, September 14 from 1:00-4:00.

Stop by on Sunday to get a flavor of what makes Getz's Woods special.

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Dean Rock is a real estate investor and a full-service realtor at Coldwell Banker in Lancaster. Dean's areas of real estate expertise include marketing hard-to-sell homes, historic homes in Lancaster County, Lancaster County farmettes, Lancaster city real estate issues, housing rehabilitation, and real estate investment. Learn more about Lancaster PA real estate.

Hamilton Park is a pleasant neighborhood located west of Lancaster city. There are approximately 1,000 homes in Hamilton Park. Currently there are 12 homes for sale in Hamilton Park listed on the Lancaster County MLS.

The Hamilton Park real estate market has followed the overall trends of Lancaster County real estate. Prices are fairly stable, but homes are taking longer to sell than in previous years. The average sale price for Lancaster County homes was down less than 1% in the last quarter.

The homes currently listed in Hamilton Park range in price from $139,900 to $299,000. They range in size from 1300 to 2100 square feet.

There are also 3 or 4 for sale by owner homes in Hamilton Park. According to the MLS, there have been 22 homes sold in Hamilton Park in the last 6 month. The average sale price was approximately $155,000.

Please note: the homes pictured above are listed on the Lancaster MLS.

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Dean Rock is a full-service real estate professional at Coldwell Banker in Lancaster. Dean's areas of professional interest include historic homes, farm preservation, low-income home ownership, housing rehabilitation, urban development and real estate investment. Click here to learn more about Lancaster PA real estate.

Farmland in Lancaster County can be preserved when a farmer sells a conservation easement (aka "development rights") to a preservation program. An easement is a permanent attachment to a deed that affects the owner's rights. Farmers, in effect, sell right to develop their farms. This practice started in the 1980s to slow the rate at which farmland is lost to development.  

In Lancaster, there are two programs that preserve farmland. The State Bureau of Farmland Preservation working through the State-funded Ag Preserve Board and the Lancaster Farmland Trust. Lancaster Farmland Trust is funded by both private and public sources. It was founded in order to reach out to Amish and Mennonite farmers who were unwilling to work with the government.

An Agricultural Security Area (ASA) is a related but slightly different concept. You may have read about ASAs in the news recently because East Lampeter Township is in a dispute with some farmers about the creation of an agricultural security zone. An ASA restricts a township's ability to pass ordinances that farmers may be a nuisance to farmers. There is some speculation that East Lampeter Township's opposition to the ASA relates to plans for a Route 23 bypass. If you have more information about this dispute, please send me an email or give me a call.

In any case, here's a map that shows the importance of farm preservation in Lancaster County. To learn more, follow some of the links I've included above or contact the Ag Preserve Board or Lancaster Farmland Trust.

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My name is Dean Rock. I earn my living as a realtor in Lancaster PA, but this is not a sales-oriented website. This project stems from my long-standing interest in writing, photography and historic Lancaster homes. I value the Lancaster Life because it connects me to people all over Lancaster County who share my interests and concerns. Please contribute your thoughts and photos.

As you walk around Lancaster city, you may notice historic homes with a greenish stone facade.

This stone is known as serpentine. Around the start of the 20th century, serpentine stone was mined in southern Lancaster County.

A vein of the stone can be seen on this geological map of Lancaster County from 1872.

Serpentine stone got its name because it is said to resemble the skin of a snake. Veins of serpentine are relatively rare. They exist in Japan and Australia. Lancaster County was once one of the largest sources of serpentine stone.

Today, you can see serpentine on historic homes in Lancaster city. Check out the entire block of N. Duke Street between New Street and Clay Street. There are also a few fine examples in the west end of Lancaster city, on Chestnut Street and Orange Street in particular.

If anyone has more knowledge of serpentine stone or the features of these historic Lancaster homes, please drop me a note or post some pictures.

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My name is Dean Rock. I earn my living as a realtor in Lancaster PA, but this is not a sales-oriented website. This project stems from my long-standing interest in writing, photography and historic Lancaster homes. I value the Lancaster Life because it connects me to people all over Lancaster County who share my interests and concerns. Please contribute your thoughts and photos.

One of the oldest homes in Lancaster County is for sale. It is a log structure built in the 1700s. Located just south of New Danville on Marticville Road (Rt 324). The home is near the Cherry Hill Orchard store at the intersection with 741.

The home is filled with modern amenities and upgrades. It sits on almost 5 acres of land, surrounded by beautiful farmland. There is a barn on the property as well.

You can see click here to view the listing. It's currently listed at $735,000. If you're in the market for a truly special property, this is one to consider.

If you're an admirer of historic Lancaster County homes, this one's definitely worth a drive-by.

And for those north Lancastrians who aren't tuned into the beauties of Pequea Township, spend an afternoon driving around some weekend. You'll like what you find down south.

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My name is Dean Rock. I earn my living as a realtor in Lancaster PA, but this is not a sales-oriented website. This project stems from my long-standing interest in writing, photography and historic Lancaster homes. I value the Lancaster Life because it connects me to people all over Lancaster County who share my interests and concerns. Please contribute your thoughts and photos.

There's a new home listed for sale in Hamilton Park this morning. Located on Belle Valley Road, it has a larger lot than the average in the area. It's on a cul de sac with very little traffic and nice mature landscaping.

The list price is $164,900. The home has 4 bedrooms and 1800 square feet. Looks like the sellers have done some nice work inside.

Give me a call if you want to take a look. I specialize in helping people buy or sell in Hamilton Park.

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My name is Dean Rock. I earn my living as a realtor in Lancaster PA, but this is not a sales-oriented website. This project stems from my long-standing interest in writing, photography and historic Lancaster homes. I value the Lancaster Life because it connects me to people all over Lancaster County who share my interests and concerns. Please contribute your thoughts and photos.

I've recently started paying attention to how many shabby commercial buildings line the roads of Lancaster County. While we have the most beautiful farmland and historic towns, we do have a number of unattractive commercial strips. In the long run, these commercial properties need to be upgraded or the problem of blight will increase.

I recently drove out Columbia Avenue and took these two pictures.

Both buildings look to be vacant and in need of some TLC. I'm not trying to pick on the owners -- just point out that the current situation is not ideal. I would like to hear some ideas about how to make our commercial strips more valuable in the long run.

Feel free to post similar pictures or ideas you have about how to manage commercial strips.

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My name is Dean Rock. I earn my living as a realtor in Lancaster PA, but this is not a sales-oriented website. This project stems from my long-standing interest in writing, photography and historic Lancaster homes. I value the Lancaster Life because it connects me to people all over Lancaster County who share my interests and concerns. Please contribute your thoughts and photos.