Erie Real Estate

Adult children living in their parents home increases

The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that the number of adults ages 25 to 34 who have taken up residence in their childhood bedrooms has grown substantially. 

The percentage of young men living with their parents has increased from 14 percent in 2005 to 19 percent in 2011. The percentage of women increased from 8 to 10 percent.

The percentage of men and women ages 18 to 24 who still live in the family home is up as well. 

Other findings:

- More people live alone today than 50 years ago. The percentage of single-person households rose from 13 percent in 1960 to 28 percent in 2011.

- Of the 67.8 million opposite-sex couples who lived together in the United States in 2011, 11 percent were unmarried. There were 7.6 million unmarried couples living together in 2011.

- Married couples with children account for 20 percent of U.S. households. In 1970, they accounted for 40 percent.

Do your adult children live with you?  Do you know how Erie compares with these stats?

Trail of Treats and Trick or Treat Times

Come and visit Pro Realty, Inc. at our table at the 15th Annual Trail of Treats at the Millcreek Mall on Wednesday 10/26 and Thursday 10/27 from 5:00 - 8:30 PM.  Join us for Halloween fun and lots of treats!

Local Trick or Treats times:

Thursday, Oct. 27	Monday, Oct. 31		No Set Day/Time
Cambridge Springs Borough: 6-7:30 p.m. Meadville: 6-7:30 p.m. Titusville: 6-7:30 p.m. Conneaut Township:6-8 p.m.	Albion: 6-8 p.m. City of Corry: 6-8 p.m. Edinboro: 6-8 p.m. Elgin: 6-8 p.m. Elk Creek: 6-8 p.m. City of Erie: 6-8 p.m. Fairview Township: 6-8 p.m. Franklin Township: 6-8 p.m. Girard Borough: 6-8 p.m. Girard Township: 6-8 p.m. Greene Township: 6-8 p.m. Harborcreek Township: 6-8 p.m. Lake City: 6-8 p.m. Lawrence Park: 6-8 p.m.	LeBoeuf Township: 6-8 p.m. McKean Borough: 6-8 p.m. McKean Township: 6-8 p.m. Millcreek Township: 6-8 p.m. Mill Village: 6-8 p.m. North East Borough: 6-8 p.m. North East Township: 6-8 p.m. Platea: 6-8 p.m. Springfield Township: 6-8 p.m. Summit Township: 6-8 p.m. Venango Township: 6-8 p.m. Washington Township: 6-8 p.m. Waterford Borough: 6-8 p.m. Waterford Township: 6-8 p.m. Wattsburg Borough: 6-8 p.m.	Amity Township Greenfield Township Wayne

Looking for some Halloween attractions?

How much candy do you usually give out on Halloween?

Who pays when a tree falls over the property line?

A question that seems to come up rather frequently.  Especially after the winds this past week.

When a neighbor’s tree falls over your property line, they're responsible for removal and clean-up, right?  No.  Should this happen to you call your insurance company.  Home owners policies cover tree damage caused by perils like wind and winter storms. Most policies cover hauling away tree debris if the mess is associated with house damage; some will cover cleanup even if no structures were harmed.

Your neighbor is responsible when a tree falls over your shared property line only if you can prove he was aware that his tree was a hazard and refused to remedy the problem. Regardless, your insurance company restores your property first, and later decides whether or not to pursue reimbursement from the neighbor or his insurer if the neighbor was negligent in maintaining the tree.

Before a tree falls, write a letter to your neighbor before his dead or diseased tree falls through your roof or over your property line.

The letter should include:

• Description of the problem
• Photographs
• Request for action  

It’s always a good idea to take care of your trees, and keep receipts for trimmings and other care.

But if your tree falls over a neighbor’s property line, do nothing until their insurance company contacts you. You may not be liable unless you knew or should have known the tree was in a dangerous condition.  If you pruned a tree or shored up trunks to prevent problems, gather your receipts to prove your diligence.

What has your experience been with a fallen tree on your property?

Fielding a Lowball Purchase Offer on Your Home

Consider before you ignore or outright refuse a very low purchase offer for your home. A counteroffer and negotiation could turn that low purchase offer into a sale.

When you receive a low offer on your house, the best response is to counter with a price you're willing to accept. 

 

You just received a purchase offer from someone who wants to buy your home. You’re excited and relieved, until you realize the purchase offer is much lower than your asking price. How should you respond? Set aside your emotions, focus on the facts, and prepare a counteroffer that keeps the buyers involved in the transaction.

 

 

Check your emotions

A purchase offer, even a very low one, means someone wants to purchase your home. Unless the offer is laughably low, it deserves a cordial response, whether that’s a counteroffer or an outright rejection. Remain calm and discuss with your real estate agent the many ways you can respond to a lowball purchase offer.

Counter the purchase offer

Unless you’ve received multiple purchase offers, the best response is to counter the low offer with a price and terms you’re willing to accept. Some buyers make a low offer because they think that’s customary, they’re afraid they’ll overpay, or they want to test your limits.

A counteroffer signals that you’re willing to negotiate. One strategy for your counteroffer is to lower your price, but remove any concessions such as seller assistance with closing costs, or features such as kitchen appliances that you’d like to take with you.

Consider the terms

Price is paramount for most buyers and sellers, but it’s not the only point. A low offer might make sense if the contingencies are reasonable, the closing date meets your needs, and the buyer is preapproved for a mortgage. Consider what terms you might change in a counteroffer to make it work.

Review your comps

Ask your REALTOR® whether any homes that are comparable to yours (known as “comps”) have been sold or put on the market since your home was listed for sale. If those new comps are at lower prices, you might have to lower your price to match them if you want to sell.

Consider the buyer’s comps

Buyers sometimes attach comps to a low offer to try to convince the seller to accept a lower purchase offer. Take a look at those comps. Are the homes similar to yours? If so, your asking price might be unrealistic. If not, you might want to include in your counteroffer information about those homes and your own comps that justify your asking price.

If the buyers don’t include comps to justify their low purchase offer, have your real estate agent ask the buyers’ agent for those comps.

Get the agents together

If the purchase offer is too low to counter, but you don’t have a better option, ask your real estate agent to call the buyer’s agent and try to narrow the price gap so that a counteroffer would make sense. Also, ask your real estate agent whether the buyer (or buyer’s agent) has a reputation for lowball purchase offers. If that’s the case, you might feel freer to reject the offer.

Don’t signal desperation

Buyers are sensitive to signs that a seller may be receptive to a low purchase offer. If your home is vacant or your home’s listing describes you as a “motivated” seller, you’re signaling you’re open to a low offer.

If you can remedy the situation, maybe by renting furniture or asking your agent not to mention in your home listing that you’re motivated, the next purchase offer you get might be more to your liking.

Extinguish Your Chance of a House Fire

To contribute to the awareness of fire safety and prevention, I offer readers a reminder of the deadly power of fires and key tips for prevention.

Cooking

According to the NFPA, cooking fires cause 40% of house fires and 36% of fire-related injuries.

Follow these tips to stay safe:

• Position your grill away from siding, deck railings, and low-hanging branches.
• Remove grease buildup in the tray below the grill regularly, as it could lead to a fire.
• If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• Keep anything that can catch fire (oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains) away from your stovetop.

Smoking

Cigarettes are the No. 1 cause of house fire-related deaths. The NFPA estimates that nearly one in four people killed in a house fire die because of smoking-related accidents inside and outside the home.

Follow these tips to stay safe:

• When smoking outside, make sure the cigarette is fully out before tossing it.
• Indoors, use large, deep ashtrays on a sturdy table.
• Consider smoking fire-safe cigarettes.

Electrical

Electrical fires are most common during the winter months when people spend more time indoors. 

Follow these tips to stay safe:

• Do not use damaged or loose electrical cords.
• Avoid running extension cords across doorways or under carpets.
• In homes with small children, make sure your home has tamper-resistant outlets.
• Plug only one high-wattage appliance into an outlet at a time.
• Do not use bulbs that exceed a lamp’s recommended wattage.

Heating

Residential heating fires occur most often in the winter months as expected with the peak being in January and February.

Follow these tips to stay safe:

• Keep anything flammable more than three feet away from heating appliances.
• Dissuade your children from playing around open fires and space heaters.
• Do not use your oven to heat your home.
• Turn off portable heaters when leaving the device unattended, including when going to bed.

Children

Children are responsible more than 50% of the intentionally set fires in the United States. Small children (preschoolers and kindergartners) are most likely to start fires by playing with matches or lighters, and they are also most likely to die in them.

Follow these tips to stay safe:

• Keep matches and lighters out of children’s reach and sight.
• Only use lighters designed with child-resistant features, and remember child-resistant does not mean child-proof.

Fire season lasts all year. By observing and practicing even a few of these safety tips at home, you can prevent fatal fire disasters from happening in your home.

These are just a few thoughts.  What tips do you have?

Does a ceiling fan actually cool a room?

A ceiling fan can lower the feel of a room’s temperature by 8 degrees, which means you can raise the thermostat and save on air conditioning bills.  A ceiling fan doesn’t actually cool a room, but it does make you feel cooler because of the slight wind chill on your skin. That means you can raise the thermostat and feel just as comfortable.

Installing a ceiling fan is fairly simple, especially if there is an existing light fixture. Once you’ve figured out where to put the fan, make sure you’ve got the right electrical requirements. 

For greatest efficiency, place your fan:

• In the middle of your room.
• 8 to 9 feet above the floor (and, for safety, no less than 7 feet above the floor).
• So that the ends of the blades are no closer than 18 inches from walls. 

What size fan should you get? 

Here are general size guidelines from the American Lighting Association:

 

 

 

 

  Room Size                                            Fan Size

Up to 75 square feet                               36” or smaller

 

 

Up to 144 square feet                             36” to 42”

 

 

Up to 224 square feet                             50” to 54”

Most fans are reversible, allowing the blades to push air directly down beneath the fan, or upwards to create a circulation pattern that flows down along walls. Conventional wisdom says the fan should push air directly down in summer for maximum wind chill effect, and that the pattern should be reversed in winter.

However,  research from Consumer Reports suggests that reversing fan rotation according to the seasons is unnecessary.

Fewer home sales thus far in 2011 -vs- 2010.

621 Wyngate - $134,900  -  Located in NW Millcreek on a quiet cul-de-sac.  Huge eat-in kitchen with appliances, skylites and garden window overlooking yard and pool.  Just moments from the Colony Plaza and Presque Isle.  Enjoy a walk or bike ride through Scott Park or the water at the foot of Sommerheim.

 

Low interest rates  -- lowest in history -- have failed so far to jump-start a U.S. housing market that continues to drag.

In fact, between March and August, typically the busiest time for home sales, fewer Americans bought new homes than in any six-month period in 50 years.

Through the first eight months of 2011, 1,204 residential properties traded hands in Erie County. That's a decline of 19.4 percent from 2010, when 1,495 homes were sold through August.

A key difference between 2010 and 2011 was the absence of the homebuyer's tax credit that provided as much as $8,000 toward a new home.

Statistics from the Greater Erie Board of Realtors point to one clear improvement in the local market -- at least from a seller's perspective.  Home prices are rising.

How was your buying or selling experience?  Any difficulties with financing?

Midtown town houses finally starting?

Construction could begin later this week on the first phase of the Union Square town-house project, another key piece in the planned $55 million redevelopment of Erie's midtown.

Residential Development Construction is the general contractor for the project, by Pittsburgh's Fourth River Development LLC  The $1.4 million project phase includes seven new town houses and a 1,300-square-foot Crazy Mocho Coffee  shop, to be built near West 12th and Peach streets.

The entire first phase  of the Union Square project also includes the renovation of Griswold Park and the Mercantile Building at East 14th and State streets -- a $5 million mixed-use development of condominiums, retail and office space that has struggled to find tenants in the down economy.

Many of the condos remain unsold, and retail and office space remains empty.

Would you buy a town house at 13th and Peach?  Do you think the plan will be successful?

 

3541 Zimmerman - Erie PA 16510

 Coming soon.  3541 Zimmerman Rd in SE Erie features 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths.  Well Kept.  Large kitchen and dining area.  Large finished lower level with walkout.

H.A.N.D.S. Development in Millcreek - denied

A proposed development for low income families in Millcreek was turned down, partly because of who was planning on moving in.

Millcreek Township Supervisor Brian McGrath said he worries that township supervisors "might have violated federal fair housing laws" by rejecting a proposed $7.9 million multifamily housing development for low- and moderate-income residents.  I think Brian is correct.  What do you think?

Supervisor Rick Figaski took it a step further saying every future development should come with a social plan, letting neighbors weigh in on who shouldn’t live next door.  Yes, he really said that.  Heard it with my own ears.

"I think the new comer has the responsibility to fit into the established norms of the community they’re coming onto," Figaski went on to say.

The development does meet every township guideline, except a request for eight feet of sidewalk.  This can be changed.  Will H.A.N.D.S. change the design and try again?  I think so.