2012-02-09 17:35:27
The mortgage settlement that government officials announced Thursday is intended to help victims of foreclosure abuses that followed the housing bust.
Many companies that process foreclosures failed to verify documents. Some employees signed papers they hadn't re......
2012-02-09 17:22:33
On Thursday, 49 states reached a $25 billion deal with the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses that occurred after the housing bubble burst.
Here's a timeline of the notable events leading up to the agreement:
October 201......
2012-02-09 17:21:53
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage stayed at a record low this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That gives some added incentive for those looking to buy a home or refinance their mortgage.
Here's a look at rates for fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgage......
2012-02-09 17:21:14
A landmark $25 billion settlement with the nation's top mortgage lenders was hailed by government officials Thursday as long-overdue relief for victims of foreclosure abuses. But consumer advocates countered that far too few people will benefit.
The deal will red......
2012-02-09 16:23:37
A landmark settlement with the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses will deliver about $266 million in aid to the state for struggling homeowners or people who lost their homes, state Attorney General Linda Kelly said Thursday.
Pennsylvania a......
2012-02-09 12:48:19
U.S. states have reached a $25 billion deal with the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses that occurred after the housing bubble burst.
Federal and state officials announced the deal Thursday. It is the biggest settlement involving a single i......
2012-02-09 12:30:19
The following recall has been announced:
SINGLE-CUP BREWERS
DETAILS: Tassimo Single-Cup Brewers manufactured by BSH Home Appliances Corp., of Irvine, Calif.; sold at department, mass merchandise and home improvement stores ......
2012-02-06 16:58:50
With an influx of cash from the NFL and area businesses, Indianapolis became the first Super Bowl host city to complete its community development project before the game even began.
A low-income neighborhood near downtown has seen vacant homes renovated, business......
2012-02-04 14:40:00
PAULA WOLF
Among Garman Builders' newest developments is one neighborhood that's not new at all. Last year, the Ephrata contractor began constructing homes in Hartman Station, a well-established community off Route 23, straddling East Lampeter and Upper Leacock townships. Developed ......
2012-02-04 06:08:25
President Barack Obama is rallying support for his plan to expand government assistance to homeowners, pressuring Congress to help lower lending rates for millions of strapped homeowners.
Obama, in his radio and Internet address Saturday, urged the public to &quo......
2012-02-03 17:55:19
New York's attorney general on Friday accused some of the nation's largest banks of deceit and fraud in using an electronic mortgage registry that he said puts homeowners at a disadvantage in foreclosures while saving banks over $2 billion.
Democrat Eric Schneide......
2012-02-03 17:48:10
Like most Brazilians, Evandro dos Santos' devotion to soccer borders on the religious. Even when he wasn't watching a game, he loved hearing the roar of the crowd in nearby Maracana stadium -- this nation's temple to the sport.
But Santos says he'll never set foo......
2012-02-02 19:01:29
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate......
2012-02-02 10:36:21
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year, Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Here's a look at rates for fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages over the past 52 weeks:
...
2012-02-01 21:31:14
Conceding his earlier housing programs have fallen short, President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a vast expansion of government assistance to homeowners, aiming to make lower lending rates a possibility for millions of borrowers who have not been able to get out from under bur......
2012-02-01 18:52:38
A political tip sheet for the rest of us outside the Washington Beltway, for Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012:
WHAT HAPPENED:
BRING ME YOUR POOR: A day after regaining campaign momentum with a Florida rout, Mitt Romney gave his critics more ammunition ......
2012-02-01 16:32:15
Interest rates aren't budging anytime soon. That means it's time to rethink your financial strategy.
The Federal Reserve said last week that it would keep its benchmark rate at record lows for at least another three years.
For savers, the pros......
2012-02-01 15:20:59
Despite the best of intentions, retirees tend to make the same money mistakes over and over and over again.
Repeating the same scenario isn't all unpleasant, as Bill Murray discovered while endlessly reliving Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pa. You can learn to pl......
2012-02-01 15:20:52
Despite the best of intentions, retirees tend to make the same money mistakes over and over and over again.
Repeating the same scenario isn't all unpleasant, as Bill Murray discovered while endlessly reliving Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pa. You can learn to pl......
2012-01-31 19:04:13
The son of an Ohio auto dealer says his parents have purchased the suburban Columbus home of former Ohio state coach Jim Tressel.
The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/ySgu1U) Jeff Layman says his father, Bobby Layman, and mother bought the Upper Arlington......
2012-01-31 10:57:50
Consumer confidence fell in January after two straight months of big gains because Americans were less optimistic about their incomes, a private research group reported.
The Conference Board says Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index is at 61.1, down from a ......
2012-01-31 09:09:57
U.S. home prices fell for a third straight month in nearly all cities tracked by a major index. The declines show that most homeowners are not reaping the benefits from some signs of an improving housing market.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price i......
2012-01-28 18:10:00
PAULA WOLF
Sometimes, it just makes sense to stay where you are. An East Hempfield Township couple who had been thinking of moving decided instead on a major remodeling project, hiring Kreider & Diller Builders to do the work. Completed last spring, the improvements won honors i......
2012-01-27 16:46:20
The Obama administration said Friday that will expand its signature foreclosure-prevention program to try to help those with heavy debt loads avoid losing their homes.
The Home Affordable Modification Program will also be extended through 2013.
...
2012-01-27 15:22:59
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1
WASHINGTON -- Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing index for January, 10 a.m.; Commerce Department releases construction spending for December, 10 a.m.; House Budget Committee hearing on the budget and the economy, with Dou......
2012-01-27 03:28:21
Mitt Romney accuses Newt Gingrich of calling Spanish a "ghetto language." Close, but not quite.
Gingrich denies doing so and said he merely promoted the use of English, "period." That's even more of a stretch.
The last Repu......
2012-01-26 23:05:30
EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at statements by political candidates and how well they adhere to the facts.......
2012-01-26 20:50:14
Rivals Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are trading barbs over their income from mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
In Thursday's debate in Florida, Gingrich criticized Romney's investment in mutual funds that included the lenders, as well as Wall Street gia......
2012-01-26 17:20:52
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.98 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday. It was the first increase in four weeks and up from last week's record low of 3.88 percent.
Here's a look at rates for fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages over the past......
2012-01-26 16:30:41
At Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, the conversation often centers on real estate. Once taboo details -- home values and what people paid for their properties -- are casually discussed, and there appears to be little shame in walking away from a mortgage or fighting the bank on a forecl......
2012-01-26 00:21:58
Foreclosures made up a smaller slice of all U.S. homes sold in last year's third quarter, as banks delayed placing properties for sale and home sales slowed.
Despite the decline, foreclosures still represented 20 percent of all homes sold in the July-September pe......
2012-01-25 12:35:20
A prominent businessman pleaded guilty Wednesday to fraud in a $135 million real estate scheme that fleeced hundreds of investors, including the Roman Catholic prep school he once attended.
Gaston Cantens, 73, faces up to five years behind bars after pleading gui......
2012-01-25 12:20:18
A prominent businessman has pleaded guilty in Miami to fraud in a $135 million real estate scheme that fleeced hundreds of investors including at the Roman Catholic prep school he once attended.
Seventy-three-year-old Gaston Cantens faces up to five years in pris......
2012-01-25 09:21:39
President Barack Obama is proposing a program to allow homeowners with privately held mortgages to refinance at lower interest rates.
The program would cover both loans issued by government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and private mortgag......
2012-01-25 09:20:48
Highlights of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:
TAXES
Said the wealthy should pay their fair share in taxes, arguing that anyone who makes more than $1 million should pay a minimum tax rate of at least 30 percent. He also pr......
2012-01-24 22:26:50
Highlights of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:
TAXES
Said the wealthy should pay their fair share in taxes, arguing that anyone who makes more than $1 million should pay a minimum tax rate of at least 30 percent. He also pr......
2012-01-24 21:15:52
Text of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, as provided by the White House:
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests and fellow Americans:
Last month, I went to Andrews Air......
2012-01-24 14:21:20
Even with the scars left by the housing mess, homeownership is still a goal for many Americans.
If you vowed to make your homeownership dream come true in 2012, it's time to get started. Indeed the timing may be ideal. Housing market observers say that prices app......
2012-01-23 18:27:00
TIM MEKEEL
Gish's Furniture & Amish Heirlooms is moving its headquarters from York to Landisville in an $800,000 project, the company's founder said Monday.
The company picked the Cooper Avenue property because it's centrally located to serve its stores in Lancaster, York and Camp Hill.
......
2012-01-23 17:46:01
Two government watchdogs that oversee consumer finance have inked a deal to avoid burdening businesses with overlapping regulations.
The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission said Monday that they will meet regularly, keep each......
2012-01-22 18:57:11
Authorities have released the identity of one of the victims of a fire that tore through a private home being rented by college students in upstate New York, killing three people.
Poughkeepsie (puh-KIHP'-see) Town Police Chief Thomas Mauro said Sunday that 21-yea......
2012-01-22 17:47:58
Across the street from Albany Medical Center Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House is growing again, adding a third residence to accommodate more parents who need to stay near premature babies and children being treated for cancer and other diseases.
Sitting in a w......
2012-01-22 17:40:58
Across the street from Albany Medical Center Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House is growing again, adding a third residence to accommodate more parents who need to stay near premature babies and children being treated for cancer and other diseases.
Sitting in a w......
2012-01-22 17:35:52
The federal government now says a 101-year-old Detroit woman it promised could move back into her foreclosed home four months ago can't return because the building's unsanitary and unsafe.
Texana Hollis was evicted Sept. 12 and her belongings placed outside after......
2012-01-21 22:14:39
A fire tore through a private home being rented by Marist College students near campus early Saturday morning, killing three people, authorities said.
The victims were identified as two female Marist students in their early 20s and one male, who was not a student......
2012-01-21 14:46:00
PAULA WOLF
As he was surveying the tornado-damaged house of Roy and Jan Smith, builder J.P. Perron noticed Mrs. Smith taking a circuitous route to get to the laundry room in the basement. So Perron — hired by the Smiths to handle the repairs and remodeling — suggested moving ......
2012-01-21 12:39:11
In a hidden pocket of one of the city's most historic neighborhoods, a tiny street is at the center of an ugly battle.
This bricks-and-ivy oasis is nestled within a commercial area of the bustling storefronts and car-clogged roads of the Washington Square West ne......
2012-01-20 19:38:52
An unlikely home improvement show hosted by 1990s rapper Vanilla Ice is set to premiere its second season with the remodeling of another South Florida home.
During the 13-episode run of "The Vanilla Ice Project" on the DIY Network, the artist -- whose r......
2012-01-20 17:31:24
IBM and Microsoft drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher Friday after the tech giants reported stronger earnings than analysts expected.
Microsoft said sales of Xbox games and Office software helped push revenue up in the last quarter of 2011. IBM credited......
2012-01-20 15:18:43
SALES UP: Home sales rose in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million, according to National Association of Realtors. That's the fastest pace in nearly a year.
BRIGHTER OUTLOOK: A third straight monthly sales gain coincided with other signs o......
2012-01-20 14:49:34
MONDAY, Jan. 23
CSX Corp. reports quarterly financial results.
Halliburton Co. reports quarterly financial results.
BRUSSELS -- European finance ministers meet in Brussels regarding the debt crisis.
BERL......
2012-01-19 18:14:51
The accolades continue for a homeless New York teen who's a semifinalist in a prestigious national science contest.
Brentwood High School senior Samantha Garvey appeared Thursday as a guest on the "Ellen" talk show, where she received a $50,000 scholars......
2012-01-19 17:38:32
Oakland Raiders long snapper Jon Condo has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster.
The Raiders announced the addition on Thursday. Condo will join Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski and punter Shane Lechler in Hawaii for the game on Jan. 29.
T......
2012-01-19 14:44:27
MONDAY, Jan. 23
BRUSSELS -- European Union finance ministers meet in Brussels.
BERLIN -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers speech on 10 years of euro currency.
BERLIN -- International Monetary Fund managing director ......
2012-01-19 13:11:20
POOR YEAR: December capped a third straight year of depressed home building and the worst on record for single-family construction. Builders started just 606,900 homes, about half the number that economists equate with healthy markets.
WEAKER MONTH: Builders brok......
2012-01-19 10:48:51
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to a record low of 3.88 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That's just below the previous record of 3.89 percent reached one week ago. Here's a look at rates for fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages over the past 52 weeks.
......
2012-01-18 23:08:07
Asian stock markets rose Thursday as investors grew more comfortable with risk assets after surprisingly strong U.S. housing figures helped power Wall Street to its highest close since July.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.3 percent to 8,659.86. South Korea's K......
2012-01-18 17:37:18
A surprisingly strong report on the housing market and the prospect of more cash for the International Monetary Fund to fight off a financial crisis powered stocks Wednesday to their highest close since last summer.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed abov......
2012-01-18 16:28:15
Cuban officials say a decaying residential building has collapsed in a densely packed neighborhood of Havana, killing three people and injuring six.
A message read on the midday state newscast Wednesday says the Central Havana building that was home to several fa......
2012-01-18 13:36:46
REDISTRICTING REFORM NEEDED NOW
Anyone who'd been away for a while and just come back to Cumberland County might be forgiven for thinking Rick Rovegno was still a county commissioner.
Out of office barely two weeks, Rovegno - who chose not to ......
2012-01-15 15:29:07
Television host Regis Philbin and his wife, Joy, have sold one of their Connecticut homes for $3 million.
The Greenwich Time reports (http://bit.ly/ye4QCb ) that town records show the Colonial home in Greenwich was placed on the market for $3.8 million in July an......
2012-01-14 15:11:00
PAULA WOLF
Apparently, someone forgot to tell Keystone Custom Homes that residential construction is in the doldrums. After opening three new neighborhoods in 2009 and five in 2010, Keystone debuted 17 developments last year. One of those was Brandywine Preserve, a 29-lot community ......
2012-01-14 14:54:59
An AP Member Exchange. Please credit the member.......
2012-01-13 04:06:16
Lance Glazier, known across Livingston County's Hartland Township as the "dancing sign guy," is dancing no more.
Glazier, who gained recognition for dancing outside Solid Gold Jewelry -- decked out with a sign proclaiming "Ca$h for Gold & Silve......
2012-01-12 10:42:45
Fixed mortgage rates fell once again to a record low, offering a great opportunity for those who can afford to buy or refinance homes. But few are able to take advantage of the historic rates.
Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortga......
2012-01-12 07:45:03
About 1.9 million homes entered the foreclosure process in 2011, the lowest level since 2007 when the recession began, according to a report Thursday by the foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc.
The firm cautioned that the decline does not necessarily indicate......
2012-01-10 09:25:16
A volunteer firefighter who also works as an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher is jailed on charges he set fire to a house he was renting in an aborted suicide attempt.
Online court records don't list an attorney for 26-year-old Jeremy Zink who faces a preliminary ......
2012-01-08 00:18:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
After rising for four years in a row, the number of foreclosures in Lancaster County fell last year — dramatically. According to courthouse records, 765 foreclosures were filed here in 2011 — a 43 percent drop from the 1,334 foreclosures recorded in 2010. It's......
2011-12-31 14:01:00
PAULA WOLF
Operations manager at Sikorsky Global Helicopters in Coatesville, Sanjay Daryani wanted to find a rental community close to work. Two weeks ago, he moved into a one-bedroom unit in Lafayette Square, an upscale apartment complex in Sadsburyville that's "maybe three or four minu......
2011-12-22 22:57:00
TIM MEKEEL
A quarter-mile stretch of Columbia Avenue is getting a double dose of new investment.
Members 1st Federal Credit Union will build a $2.5 million branch on the site of the M.H. Kaye Pavilion at 2050 Columbia Ave.
And the pavilion's M.H. Kaye The Family Dentist and Aristocrat H......
2011-12-17 15:18:00
PAULA WOLF
First proposed as a light industrial/heavy commercial project, Liberty North has since been transformed into a mixed-use endeavor, with 35 upscale rentals either finished or in the design stage. Comprised of two buildings at the former Armstrong World Industries site in Lancas......
2011-12-14 15:50:00
KIMBERLY MARSELAS
Ephrata Township will hold the line on taxes in 2012 by dipping into its reserve fund to balance a $3.01 million budget. Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve the spending plan, which relies on $53,500 from the township's estimated $850,000 reserve fund to cover increasing costs and lost reve......
2011-12-10 15:18:00
PAULA WOLF
For years, Rob Bowman has developed and built new-home communities in Lancaster and surrounding counties. But Bishop Woods, Charter Homes & Neighborhood's recently opened subdivision in West Donegal Township, has him pretty excited. "It's a very unique piece of property," said Bowma......
2011-12-03 15:26:00
PAULA WOLF
With only 15 building lots left in its Cheltenham subdivision in East Earl Township, Keystone Custom Homes has introduced six additional floor plans, including a couple starting at under $200,000. The single-family-home designs, part of Keystone's American Avenue Collection, repres......
2011-11-30 09:07:00
TIM MEKEEL
Shaub's LLC is opening a suburban store while it negotiates the fate of its downtown location, a part of center-city since 1880.
The men's and women's shoes, clothing and accessories retailer will open at the Shoppes at Landis Valley in Manheim Township as soon as Saturday.
Meanwh......
2011-11-26 15:22:00
PAULA WOLF
Four decades or so after being built, Wellington Chase rental complex is undergoing its first major facelift. The Mount Joy Borough community, off Donegal Springs Road and South Angle Street, has 160 garden apartments and 24 townhouses for rent. Renovation work, which beg......
2011-11-21 20:24:00
TIM MEKEEL
Fulton Financial has picked High Real Estate Group to manage the proposed expansion of its Penn Square headquarters.
The bank holding company also disclosed that the project will be completed in 2014 — a year later than initially forecast.
The additional space, to be constru......
2011-11-19 15:35:00
PAULA WOLF
When Patti Nadu shows potential buyers around a Millwood Builders home, she'll testify firsthand about its quality of construction, down to the last detail. That's because her husband, Jeff, is the general contractor. The couple, who live in Martic Township, founded Millw......
2011-11-18 15:23:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
Rapho Township supervisors on Thursday approved a budget that would impose its first real estate tax and pay for police service. The $3.169 million proposed 2012 budget is balanced with an anticipated $5,084 surplus, and nearly doubles the township's 2011 $1.997 million budget. A 1.75 ......
2011-11-15 19:16:00
BETH ANNE HEESEN
Marietta Borough has managed not to raise taxes in 2012, choosing instead to operate on a slightly smaller budget of $1,088,009 — down $4,628 from 2011.
Under a spending plan adopted by council Nov. 6, the real estate tax rate remains at 5.5 mills, which means the owner of a propert......
2011-11-12 15:17:00
PAULA WOLF
Avoiding the slowdown in residential construction, Costello Builders is keeping busy in its new Stonehenge Reserve subdivision. Eleven of the 52 lots in Phase I have either been sold or reserved — most over the past year — and several houses are now completed....
2011-11-11 16:04:00
PATRICK BURNS
Earl Township Board of Supervisors on Monday unveiled a $1.9 million preliminary 2012 budget that holds the line on real estate taxes. The spending plan would maintain a tax rate at 1.25 mills, meaning a resident who owns a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $125 in annual real estate......
2011-11-11 13:42:00
PATRICK BURNS
Tax bills will remain the same for Brecknock Township residents. Supervisors Tuesday discussed the proposed 2012 preliminary budget, that will keep real estate taxes at .0269 mills. The $949,191 budget is nearly $30,000 less or 3 percent lower than the 2011 budget. To keep expenses dow......
2011-11-06 00:18:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
John D. Hershey's mother was born in the "Mayer House," the ornate, gabled mansion along Fruitville Pike just south of the Red Rose Commons shopping center. Hershey, a landscape architect and Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County board member, calls the 1871 structur......
2011-11-06 00:06:00
SUZANNE CASSIDY
Fifteen years ago, a potential buyer might have walked into a house that had pink shag carpeting and knotty pine paneling in a spacious family room and thought, "This place has potential." Nowadays, that house-seeker likely would take one look at the shag carpeting and the pin......
2011-11-05 15:37:00
PAULA WOLF
Selling a historic property that needs work can be both challenging and rewarding for real estate agents. The same goes for buying one. In September 2010, four Kingsway Realty agents purchased the 18th-century Konigmacher House at 830 Martin Ave., Ephrata, with the intent......
2011-10-29 15:34:00
PAULA WOLF
Lancaster Home Builders is making its first foray into the Elizabethtown area, with two houses ready for sale in Featherton Crossing. The Mount Joy Township neighborhood, off Schwanger Road, is a project of Fiorino Co., Sinking Spring, which is also building there. Listing agent Dean Wi......
2011-10-23 00:02:00
PAULA WOLF
With the impact of the homebuyer tax credits further receding, housing sales in Lancaster County have resumed a stable if unspectacular pace. The number of homes sold in September 2011 was 335, down slightly from 348 a year ago. Overall in the third quarter, sales climbed......
2011-10-22 21:50:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Seventeen years ago, a study commissioned by the developer of the Red Rose Commons shopping center on Fruitville Pike contended that Lancaster County was "understored," lacking in malls and other retail space compared to similar communities. The report was ridiculed by county ......
2011-10-22 15:28:00
PAULA WOLF
Twenty-three years after being completed, Charleston Townhomes is undergoing a major upgrade. Forty of the 68 units in the Manor Township rental community — near Charlestown Road and Route 741 — have been renovated. The project began in February 2007, and work is d......
2011-10-15 15:33:00
PAULA WOLF
For the first time, 15 continuing care retirement communities in Lancaster and Chester counties are joining forces to host an open house. The "Explore Retirement Living" event — being held 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 — is not just for seniors in the market for ......
2011-10-14 00:01:00
AD CRABLE
A place where city and suburban kids can get on their bikes or ride a bus and experience nature in a fun sort of way.
A place where they can watch wildlife from a treehouse, or fish, or hike, maybe have their first overnight camping experience, or check the flow of the Little Conestoga Cr......
2011-10-08 15:23:00
PAULA WOLF
Rice Acres — one of the newest developments in Lancaster County's Southern End — offers farmland views. The Colerain Township subdivision, off Noble Road near Route 472, consists of seven one-acre lots. One homesite is sold and a second has a spec house that's almo......
2011-10-01 15:05:00
PAULA WOLF
Kenneth Homes purchased 12 lots in the well-established Elm Tree community with a simple purpose in mind: "Our goal is to try to [build] a very nice single home at or near $200,000," said Ken Carper Jr., president of Kenneth Homes. His entry-level plan, the Mueller, more ......
2011-09-24 15:19:00
PAULA WOLF
Dave Costello is in the business of building new homes, but he's well aware of the appeal of tradition. So while the Spring Haven development he's constructing off Buch Avenue boasts the latest in modern amenities, it's also considered an extension of Manheim Township's Blosso......
2011-09-17 15:34:00
PAULA WOLF
Patience is said to be a virtue — even more so when your specialty is converting old buildings to new uses. Lancaster developer John Meeder's latest initiative, Historic East Side Suites, took a dozen years to come to fruition, but now he's just weeks away from seeing th......
2011-09-11 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
After 48 years in their Strasburg house, Glenn and Phyllis Runk faced a daunting task. The retired couple needed to sell their home and dispose of most of its contents so they could move to Masonic Village. "We just looked at each other and said, 'Where do we go with all ......
2011-09-10 15:45:00
PAULA WOLF
Ryan McMinn thought the first home he bought would be a town house. Until he realized he could purchase a new, single-family residence for not much more than he'd pay for a town house. Before beginning his search, "I honestly didn't think" that would be possible, said McM......
2011-08-31 17:46:00
TIM MEKEEL
There's a new star in the constellation of Lancaster County energy-efficiency leaders.
The High companies' corporate office has earned Energy Star status from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it was announced this week.
The 1853 William Penn Way building, opened in 1988 a......
2011-08-31 17:46:00
TIM MEKEEL
There's a new star in the constellation of Lancaster County energy-efficiency leaders.
The High companies' corporate office has earned Energy Star status from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it was announced this week.
The 1853 William Penn Way building, opened in 1988 a......
2011-08-21 00:16:00
PAULA WOLF
Late last week, a home Steve Huber listed for sale in Manheim Township's Stonehenge neighborhood went to settlement. That's noteworthy because — according to Huber's research — it's only the second resale house to sell for at least a million dollars in Lancaster Co......
2011-08-20 15:32:00
PAULA WOLF
With the public not in the mood to splurge, Keystone Custom Homes wants to offer more "spacious, value-added, practical floor plans," President Larry Wisdom said. Its newest series of single-family house designs, the American Avenue Collection, debuted this summer in Castleton......
2011-08-19 14:49:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
A Rapho resident urged township officials Thursday to seek further public input concerning a proposed real estate tax. A 1.7 mill real estate tax would pay for contracted police services from Manheim Borough and help fund fire departments. The township is currently served solely by Pe......
2011-08-13 15:26:00
PAULA WOLF
Jerry Pilgrim has a nickname for the model home at Stone Mill Estates. "We've started calling it 'the wow house,' " because the loft overlooking the two-story family room is so dramatic, he said. Whether or not the model is clinching the deal for prospective buyers, more ......
2011-08-06 15:29:00
PAULA WOLF
For real estate agents like Alex Reedy, a house sold means a job well done. But it's extra special when the property has been transformed from an uninhabitable eyesore into an attractive, marketable home. That's the case with Reedy's listing at 434 N. Mary St. The formerl......
2011-08-05 12:57:00
ROCHELLE A. SHENK
Rapho Township supervisors on Thursday discussed having the Manheim Borough Police Department provide coverage to the township.
The state police currently provide coverage in Rapho.
Township resident Tom Blank, of Meadow View Road, asked supervisors about the status of a potential......
2011-07-30 15:26:00
PAULA WOLF
Located on a hill in the midst of farmland, Windsor Meadows boasts great views and great access. Charter Homes & Neighborhoods' newest York County subdivision of single-family homes is in Windsor Township, just 10 minutes from York Galleria mall and both Route 30 and Inter......
2011-07-23 18:16:00
PAULA WOLF
To reach a larger share of the home-buying market, Rohrer's Construction has introduced two new floor plans in Woods Edge of Elizabethtown. Both are smaller than other designs in the West Donegal Township neighborhood and lower the price for getting into the subdivision, which......
2011-07-20 22:13:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
A few people in the audience were sending and receiving text messages before Wednesday's Manheim Township Planning Commission meeting began.
Such messages weren't in vogue back when the plans for The Crossings at Conestoga Creek were developed in 2005, someone said to High Associates offi......
2011-07-19 06:24:00
MAE ANDERSON,AP Retail Writer
There will be no storybook ending for Borders. The 40-year-old book seller could start shuttering its 399 remaining stores as early as Friday.
The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based chain, which helped pioneer the big-box bookseller concept, is seeking court approval to sell off its assets after it f......
2011-07-16 15:35:00
PAULA WOLF
Phase II of the city's Northgate project features condominiums converted from 19th-century brick row homes that once served as Army barracks. The three-story residences on East Lemon Street, measuring at least 2,000 square feet, feature a multitude of interior and exterior ame......
2011-07-02 15:27:00
PAULA WOLF
Todd Heck has finally moved out of his basement. Moved his business, that is. After establishing Heck Construction in 2006, he operated the residential and commercial contracting company from his Denver home until the expanding firm required more space. Heck didn't h......
2011-06-28 13:26:00
ELAINE J. JONES
Representatives from Blackford Development and LMS appeared before Penn Manor officials June 20 to request that the district give up an additional half acre to develop the site known as the commercial triangle. After a brief executive session with their attorneys, the board members announced......
2011-06-26 00:19:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Slowed by a stagnant economy for a few years, plans for a major development on the farm across from Long's Park are back on the drawing board. But this time they're drawn differently. Earlier this month, High Real Estate Group LLC submitted a request to the Manheim Townsh......
2011-06-25 15:29:00
PAULA WOLF
Situated on a small tract that once belonged to a farmette, the Villas at Georgetown subdivision is now under construction. The Bart Township neighborhood, along Route 896, will feature 28 duplexes and six single-family homes. The residences have public sewer service and a com......
2011-06-19 00:20:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
The number of home foreclosures in Lancaster County has plummeted to the lowest average monthly level in a decade.
But that's not necessarily an indicator that the economy is on the mend and that homeowners are finding that they can suddenly pay their mortgag......
2011-06-18 15:30:00
PAULA WOLF
What Rob Bowman likes best about his Wellesley floor plan in Veranda is that it combines "all the advantages of a new house with timelessness of style." The design is being introduced to the public at this year's Parade of Homes, a nine-day event that ends today. Listed a......
2011-06-11 17:26:00
PAULA WOLF
The first thing to catch the eye in Custom Home Group's Tanglewood Manor entry in the Parade of Homes is the fiber-cement siding. Coastal Blue siding, to be exact. "It resembles a shore house," said Ken Uhrich, an estimator with Custom Home Group, Quarryville. The 5,......
2011-05-21 15:46:00
PAULA WOLF
The large, vacant building that formerly housed Keener Manufacturing Co. is now home to a local ad agency. The 1920s-era brick edifice, at 533 Janet Ave. in Lancaster city, was purchased in September by Weber Advertising & Marketing Inc., which has been renovating it over ......
2011-05-17 21:29:00
CHAD UMBLE
A new Giant To Go opens 8 a.m. Thursday at 2339 Oregon Pike in the Shoppes at Landis Valley, the shopping center at Oregon Pike and Landis Valley Road.
The 4,000-square-foot store owned by Giant Food Stores expands the typical convenience store by offering more grocery items as well as a ......
2011-05-14 15:52:00
PAULA WOLF
Using the upcoming Parade of Homes as a showcase, Metzler Home Builders is debuting a new townhouse design in the Willow Bend Farm subdivision. The residence has a first-floor master suite. "We're following the requests and the demands of our buyers," said Kris Lundquist,......
2011-05-10 19:22:00
AD CRABLE
The value of farmland in Lancaster County is not increasing at the astronomical rates found in the Midwest.
In fact, in four of five geographic regions in Lancaster County, farms are selling for less per acre than they did three years ago, when the economy tanked, according to new figures......
2011-05-07 15:30:00
PAULA WOLF
To attract buyers in a difficult market, more builders are offering homes in the sub-$200,000 range. But it's still uncommon to find new houses priced at less than $150,000. An exception is Plantation at Southern Village, where two-story condos start at $149,900. The Lanc......
2011-04-30 15:42:00
PAULA WOLF
The seventh and newest phase of Crossgates, Sawgrass features 99 townhomes starting at $189,900. The Manor Township neighborhood, bordered by the front nine holes of Crossgates Golf Club, will also include 22 duplexes with first-floor master suites, beginning at $280,000....
2011-04-27 12:58:00
LYNN COMMERO
Tow-truck operator Gary Hoover told the East Lampeter Township supervisors April 19 that he is still not happy with a new township policy. The policy, which went into effect Nov. 1, 2010, establishes a rotating list of towing businesses to be called by township police when needed. Each ......
2011-04-24 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Economics professor Sean Flaherty can't find anything about home-sale trends here that really stands out. "It's just kind of a 'blah' market," said Flaherty, who teaches at Franklin & Marshall College. Not too many real estate agents would disagree with that interpretation. The......
2011-04-23 15:46:00
PAULA WOLF
"I always wanted to own an inn," Georgie Blymier-Heisey said. When the Lancaster County resident began looking for a bed-and-breakfast site, her quest didn't start in the Garden Spot, where there are already quite a few B&Bs. The jewel she eventually found was right in her backyard,......
2011-04-16 16:08:00
PAULA WOLF
After living in Mount Gretna, Kim and Ric Petrosky wanted to move to Hempfield School District, where he teaches fifth grade at Centerville Elementary School and she's an eighth-grade English teacher at Landisville Middle School. The couple, parents of a 1 1/2-year-old daughte......
2011-04-09 14:15:00
PAULA WOLF
Three years after purchasing the former Hungerford Insulation warehouse in Elizabethtown for its youth center — to include a new skateboard park — Cornerstone Community Ministries is close to completing major improvements to the building. Executive Director John My......
2011-04-02 15:50:00
PAULA WOLF
For much of the past 10 years, the county housing market was running on all cylinders. But now sales activity could use a little post-recession boost, and the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership is stepping in. After a decade-long hiatus, LHOP — in conjunction......
2011-03-26 16:26:00
PAULA WOLF
This weekend, Tim Hershey moved into his new home in Arbor Rose Estates. An account manager with Concept Connections in Manheim Township, Hershey said he was able to modify the floor plan by widening the house a few feet, adding a finished basement and installing French doors.......
2011-03-19 20:16:00
PAULA WOLF
Accommodating buyer demand for more living space, Cedar Hollow has added a second townhouse floor plan. The 1,456-square-foot design — highlighted by a 22-by-13-foot living room and a basement that's easier to finish — starts at $179,900. When completed, Cedar......
2011-03-12 16:02:00
PAULA WOLF
To Rick Frescatore, the Spring Home Show is a way to educate the public about sustainability, which he defines as "not depleting resources for future generations." "We're a mission-driven organization," said Frescatore, president and co-owner of Fresco Green Building Supplies.......
2011-03-05 15:45:00
PAULA WOLF
A York developer plans to buy the former Gerberich-Payne Shoe Co. factory in Mount Joy and turn it into retail space, offices and 30 upscale apartments. Real Services Inc. is behind the mixed-use project, called Sole Flats. The company's president, John Woodward, said he hopes......
2011-02-26 16:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Keystone Custom Homes' Worthington at Town Square is moving into high gear as it enters its third phase. The Manheim Township subdivision, off Oregon Road next to the Lancaster Jewish Community Center, is one of the builder's signature projects, Keystone President Larry Wisdom......
2011-02-19 16:26:00
ERIC G. STARK
In Paul Stoltzfus' world, the men are good carpenters and craftsmen. They build barns and homes. "I'm not one of them," the 52-year-old Amish man said, smiling as he eased back into a chair at his office. "You can't lump us all together." Stoltzfus, owner of Leola Coach S......
2011-02-12 21:58:00
PAULA WOLF
After living in their home 17 years, a Lancaster County couple faced the unthinkable: The prospect of losing that house because they fell behind on their mortgage payments. The financial nightmare started when the wife lost her job in the medical field. But instead of awa......
2011-02-12 16:53:00
PAULA WOLF
SACA Development Corp. is nearing completion of 13 townhomes on North and Locust streets in Lancaster, representing the third phase of its Homeownership Choice Program. The 2 1/2-story mostly brick residences, which sell for $99,600, reflect the corporation's commitment to imp......
2011-02-06 00:01:00
PAULA WOLF
Spring might not be right around the corner, but the Suburban Pennsylvania Spring Home Show is. The three-day event featuring local and national exhibitors of housing products and services will be held at the Lancaster County Convention Center, 25 S. Queen St. The conve......
2011-01-30 00:04:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
The weak housing market in Lancaster County has taken its toll on homebuilders, homeowners and real estate professionals. It also has walloped the bottom line for virtually every county school district and municipality. Revenue from real estate transfer taxes plunged by 38 percent be......
2011-01-30 00:02:00
TIM MEKEEL, Business Editor
Local Realtors like to say Lancaster County is a great place to buy a home. Last week, they got some research to back that up. Lancaster County is the seventh-best place in the country to buy a house this year, according to Zillow.com, ......
2011-01-23 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Offering her take on the Lancaster County real estate market, JoAnne Freidly was guardedly optimistic. "It does seem to be picking up a little bit," said Freidly, who co-manages Prudential Homesale Services Group's Centerville Road office. And given the difficult economic......
2011-01-23 00:03:00
PAULA WOLF
With its Winters Ridge development, New Providence's Gerard Builders continues to expand its reach into York County. The neighborhood straddling East Prospect Borough and Lower Windsor Township features 35 single-family lots. Including a discount in effect till April 1, some h......
2011-01-20 21:51:00
STAFF REPORT
The Lancaster County Association of Realtors honored three members and installed 2011 officers and directors at its 76th annual banquet Thursday at the Lancaster Host Resort.
Honored were:
• Glenn Yoder of Hometowne Realty Professionals as Realtor of the Year......
2011-01-20 10:42:00
TIM MEKEEL
An Elizabethtown property that was among the Historic Landmarks for Living redevelopments has been sold for $5.0 million.
Peach Alley Court apartments has been sold to two Huntingdon Valley brothers, according to courthouse records filed Jan. 5.
Allen N. and Gary R. Segal, of AGM ......
2011-01-16 00:05:00
PAULA WOLF
Edington Place, Lancaster Township's newest development, is targeting first-time homebuyers and others, with floor plans starting at less than $190,000. The neighborhood at Millersville Road and Honeysuckle Lane will feature 34 duplexes. The model home there has just been comp......
2011-01-09 00:08:00
PAULA WOLF
More than four years after building its first spec home in The Farm on Quarry Road, Simeral Construction has completed a second one. The 3,528-square-foot residence — reflecting Bucks County farmhouse influences — features an abundance of custom features and is lis......
2011-01-08 18:51:00
PAULA WOLF
To one local man whose family experienced foreclosure on their home, the process was as demeaning as it was traumatic. Lending institutions, he said, "look at you as a number." Plenty of others are finding themselves in the same boat. Despite a measurable slowdown the pas......
2011-01-02 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Steve Lehmann and his wife, Cindy, checked out a number of 55-and-older communities before choosing Alden Place in Lebanon County. The 283-acre Cornwall Borough subdivision — on land that once belonged to Peter Grubb, builder of historic Cornwall Furnace — is in a ......
2010-12-26 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Nine years ago, on a lark, Charter Homes & Neighborhoods included a "man cave" in one of its Millcreek model houses. "It was our attempt at humor," said Charter President Rob Bowman, who saw the male sanctuary "as a place to smoke cigars." But because it turned out ......
2010-12-19 00:02:00
PAULA WOLF
Prudential Homesale Services Group announced last week that it has acquired five Long & Foster Real Estate offices in southcentral Pennsylvania, including the one in Lancaster County. The Lancaster-based company, which reported more than $1.4 billion in sales last year, al......
2010-12-12 00:16:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Indian Springs Drive LLC figured the value of its property had fallen. And so should its tax bill. The firm owns the Jay Group headquarters in West Hempfield Township; Jay Group CEO and president Dana Chryst is also president of Indian Springs Drive. The offices, storage and d......
2010-12-12 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Rob Bowman has two words for anyone thinking of purchasing a new home: "Buy now." With material costs going up and regulations adding expense, the price of new houses may rise next year, the president of Charter Homes & Neighborhoods said. But deciding whether to......
2010-12-05 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
When Marilyn Berger and Lou Naumann took over the stagnant Northgate condominium project, they wanted to hit the ground running. So there they were Memorial Day weekend — before their purchase of the property at North Queen and East Lemon streets was finalized — pl......
2010-11-02 17:17:00
CHAD UMBLE
Mill Creek Square shopping center is adding the county's first Red Robin restaurant.
The 228-seat gourmet-burger eatery is due to open in the spring, Mill Creek developer High Real Estate Group said Tuesday.
Red Robin franchisee Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group has signed a ground l......
2010-10-23 14:26:00
PAULA WOLF
After bottoming out in July, Lancaster County home sales continued their steady rebound in September, posting a 12.3 percent increase over August.
And while the number of settlements through the first nine months of 2010 lags 4.5 percent behind the total at this time last y......
2010-10-14 22:37:00
BERNARD HARRIS
The Lancaster County Convention Center is decorated with dozens of paintings, sculptures, photographs and other art works to showcase the talent of local artists.
Yet on the second level of the downtown meeting center is a two-story wall that remains blank 14 months after the building ope......
2010-10-11 21:14:00
JOAN KERN
There's a little house on North Plum Street that's waiting for a family to make it a home.
And that family is going to be very happy.
The three-story circa 1900 row house offers the best of both worlds: historic charm and modern conveniences.
The beautifully renovated, ene......
2010-10-07 20:54:00
JANET KELLEY
A Lancaster Township woman has been ordered by a Lancaster County judge to pay more than half a million dollars to an insurance company. Melanie Beasom, 32, of Spring Ridge Lane, sold real estate title insurance under the name of Rhino Settlement Services Inc., an underwriter ......
2010-09-19 00:06:00
TIM MEKEEL, Business Editor
So you felt left out when you weren't invited to the big party last night. But at least you don't have a hangover this morning. That's sort of what the Lancaster County's real estate market has gone through. It missed the wildest and craziest parts of the infamous re......
2010-09-15 22:46:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
If "we don't get a price that we feel is appropriate, we just won't sell it," is how John Bingham put it.
"We're not going to take a low bid" on the land just to sell it, the East Hempfield Township supervisors' chairman added.
The board took major steps toward marketing and selli......
2010-09-15 21:20:00
CHAD UMBLE
Just weeks away from the opening of Kohl's at Mill Creek Square, its developer has announced that Staples and three other new tenants will be part of the $40 million shopping center along Route 30.
Staples will be the first anchor store in the second phase of the project, set to open next......
2010-09-05 17:56:00
CINDY STAUFFER and JANE HOLOHAN
They all have risen to the top of businesses: restaurants, real estate, software, car sales.
You likely have seen her signs or watched his commercials. You may have eaten at his places. You might have used his software and not even known it.
You also might have wondered: How did t......
2010-08-29 00:20:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Ed Diller calls himself the "Lot King." And for a while, it was good to be the king. Diller, a Realtor with Long & Foster Real Estate, likes to match builders or developers with an available piece of ground. In fast-growing Lancaster County, it kept him pretty busy. B......
2010-08-26 18:15:00
ROXANNE McROBERTS
When you're having a summer picnic or a holiday party, you sweep the patio and wipe down the porch furniture or light candles and primp the house by putting the pile of mail and magazines in a cabinet and other "stuff" out of sight.Considered one of the biggest sales ventures......
2010-08-21 17:33:00
PAULA WOLF
Like a lot of people, when Debbie Martin heard the word bilevel, she thought of boxy, 1970s-era homes that seemed well past their prime. So when she went to check out new bilevels in West Lampeter Township's Summer Breeze development, Martin was a bit, well, skeptical. She also didn......
2010-08-21 17:29:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
The number of foreclosures in Lancaster County is up 5 percent for the first seven months of the year — but the pace may be slowing. According to figures from the Lancaster County Prothonotary's office, 816 foreclosures were filed here from January to July, up from 779 during the f......
2010-08-16 22:06:00
TIM MEKEEL
Correction Aug. 17, 2010 — Due to an editing error, the article below about the sale of the Best Buy property incorrectly stated its location. It is in Lancaster city.•••The G......
2010-07-29 21:20:00
TIM MEKEEL
High Steel Structures and High Concrete Group have settled alleged violations of toxic chemical reporting requirements, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday.The alleged paperwork violations, which High brought to the attention of EPA inspectors, were at High Steel plants ......
2010-07-03 21:12:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Ciara Young calls it the story of the ever-shrinking house. Young is a real estate attorney who bought her 3,000-square-foot home in a Penn Township development called Sweetbriar Creek nearly three years ago. She thought she knew what her neighborhood was going to look like once it was built......
2010-06-27 17:32:00
STAFF
Summaries of local news stories from the pages of the Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster New Era appear in this space each Monday. They are researched and compiled by staff member Tim Buckwalter. Full versions are available on microfilm at Lancaster Public Library, 125 N. Duke St....
2010-06-14 22:37:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Lancaster County transportation officials are downsizing their ambitions four months after they were passed over for a huge federal grant to improve Harrisburg Pike.Their original application seeking $91.5 million is being pared to $30.8 million.The scope of the work also is being r......
2010-05-27 23:34:00
LARRY ALEXANDER
An East Drumore Township barn was destroyed by a two-alarm fire Thursday afternoon.A witness said the barn, on a farm at 672 Wesley Road, had flames coming through the roof when the alarm was called in at 3:15 p.m.By the time firefighters arrived, the entire barn was involved....
2010-04-25 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Buoyed by the advent of warmer weather, Lancaster County buyers signed 542 contracts last month to purchase homes — a 24.2 percent increase over the 422 pending sales recorded in March 2009. It's the 10th straight month pending home sales topped the previous year's numbers, off......
2010-04-18 00:21:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
If America's foreclosure crisis has an epicenter in Lancaster County, Dave Porter's neighborhood might be it. Porter lives on Ruby Street in the City of Lancaster, where a decade ago he built a basketball court behind his house, "Tornado Alley," which became a hangout for l......
2010-04-08 21:14:00
CINDY STAUFFER
A partner in a real estate settlement business has been charged with wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions for an alleged scheme that cost the firm about $258,000 and forced it out of business in 2008. Shawn Chambers-Galis, 47, of Mount Joy, is being charged with a "scheme to defraud......
2010-03-28 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Last year, Laurel Heinley decided it was time to start looking for a house. "I didn't feel like renting anymore," said the 20 year old, who graduated in November from the Lancaster campus of YTI Career Institute, where she's now employed. With her father assisting in h......
2010-03-24 07:33:00
TIM MEKEEL
It's a rare sight these days in Lancaster County, or anywhere else across the country — construction workers busy on a shopping center.And the contractors hustling to build Mill Creek Square signify another unusual event — a spike in construction work here.Total cons......
2010-03-16 00:01:00
JACK BRUBAKER
Don Ranck said he hasn't changed his mind about Lancaster County's farm preservation program since it began three decades ago.
"I don't see any redeeming value in it," the Paradise Township farmer and chairman of township supervisors said bluntly.
"Let the marketplace work. Keep g......
2010-02-12 21:48:00
TOM KNAPP
The Pennsylvania Music Expo is on the move again.Keystone Record Collectors, a 30-year-old nonprofit group for music and vinyl enthusiasts, has lost its lease at the Ramada Inn, 521 Greenfield Road.The exposition had been held only once at the Ramada location, in January, according ......
2010-02-07 00:04:00
PAULA WOLF
Though she's the first female president of the Building Industry Association of Lancaster County, Connie King doesn't think of herself as a pioneer. "I've always kind of looked at gender as being a nonissue," she said. "I grew up with a 'girls can do anyth......
2010-01-24 00:18:00
PAULA WOLF
In 2009, home sales in Lancaster County dropped slightly from the year before, recording a 1.8 percent decrease. But that doesn't come close to telling the whole story. To paraphrase Charles Dickens, 2009 was a tale of two markets when it came to residential real estate, with double......
2010-01-14 07:29:00
TIM MEKEEL
The region's biggest real estate firm is forming a joint venture with the nation's biggest mortgage lender.Prudential Homesale Services Group and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage are creating HomeSale Lending LLC, effective Feb. 1.The new firm will combine Prudential's existing......
2010-01-09 09:29:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Ben Bamford didn't know he was making history. He just wants to get people involved.Bamford, 45, took office this week as the second Democrat on the Lancaster Township supervisors board. In doing so, he shifted the board to Democratic control for the first time in Lancaster Township......
2009-12-28 00:00:00
STAFF
Summaries of local news stories from the pages of the Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster New Era appear in this space each Monday. They are researched and compiled by staff member Tim Buckwalter. Full versions are available on microfilm at the Lancaster County Library, 125 N. Duke St....
2009-12-22 07:14:00
TIM MEKEEL
Ross Dress for Less will arrive in Lancaster County by opening a store at Mill Creek Square, it was announced Monday.The California-based apparel chain will be the fourth anchor at the Lincoln Highway East property, due to open in fall 2010.Ross will join Kohl's, Bed Bath & ......
2009-12-13 00:19:00
GIL SMART, Associate Editor
Out on Route 30 in East Lampeter Township, Rodney Gleiberman is partying like it's 1999. And he's not happy about it. Gleiberman, general manager of the Continental Inn, says the sluggish economy continues to punish the local hospitality industry. "I've endured probably ou......
2009-12-13 00:10:00
CHIP SMEDLEY
Another chapter in the saga of the former Holiday Inn at 521 Greenfield Road has come to an end. And so might its life as a hotel. Friday, High Real Estate Group announced its affiliate, High Properties, purchased the building and an adjacent parcel of land in a foreclosure sale conduct......
2009-11-22 00:06:00
PAULA WOLF
Thirty-one years ago, when Earl Hess became president of Hess Home Builders, residential construction was on the verge of a major downturn. Now as his son Randy Hess prepares to assume the reins of the family business, the industry is again struggling. But it's the ability to adapt ......
2009-11-16 00:00:00
PATTI S. SPENCER
The first Home Buyer Tax Credit program was established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. It provided for a fully refundable tax credit of 10 percent of the purchase price (up to a maximum of $7,500) for "first-time home buyers" (defined as those who had not owned a home in the th......
2009-11-15 00:15:00
PAULA WOLF
After renting for years, Trish Salvadia is on the verge of owning a house, thanks in part to the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit. The credit was set to expire at the end of this month, but because President Barack Obama signed an extension Nov. 6, more buyers like Salvadia will be able to take a......
2009-11-12 07:17:00
TIM MEKEEL
The owners of Red Rose Commons have refinanced their shopping center, ending the foreclosure threat posed by their previous lender.The Goldenberg Group and the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust have obtained a new mortgage for $24.9 million from M&T Bank.With that fresh ......
2009-11-11 07:17:00
TIM MEKEEL
A New Jersey investor has bought the land for the newly opened Lowe's for $10.2 million, according to courthouse records.Paul Schmidt Sr. bought the 16.1-acre parcel from the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust.The transaction was filed in the courthouse Nov. 2.Schm......
2009-11-02 08:30:00
DAVID O'CONNOR
Three months after rejecting an offer for the former Sylvan View dairy property along Harrisburg Pike, East Hempfield Township supervisors approved a higher bid for the prime commercial site.The supervisors voted Oct. 21 to sell the 2-plus-acre property for $359,000 to Dr. Ernest Witbeck, ......
2009-10-30 00:01:00
BERNARD HARRIS
Charlie Smithgall has said his re-election as mayor after four years out of City Hall would be a return to open, accessible government.Rick Gray, the current mayor, running for reelection, has responded that Smithgall's administration was not as open as he claims. ...
2009-10-12 00:00:00
PATTI S. SPENCER
Did you "stop renting a room" and "buy the hotel?" Many folks have purchased timeshares — which are a form of ownership or a right to the use of property — often of resort properties. Multiple parties own a single unit, and each person is allotted a period of time ......
2009-10-02 06:08:00
TIM MEKEEL
Early this year came word of a puzzling proposal.The intersection of Oregon Pike and Landis Valley Road was being eyed for a new shopping center.But each corner of that Manheim Township crossroads is occupied. There's a hotel, homes and a cemetery.So how could a new shopp......
2009-09-19 00:09:00
TIM MEKEEL
Matthew Allison began looking for a house in January, casually scanning the real estate listings. The 27-year-old city musician knew that "real estate was a good investment," so he figured he should switch sooner or later from renter to homeowner. But when the federal governme......
2009-09-16 06:26:00
TIM MEKEEL
It could be a different story with the recession putting the squeeze on businesses.But through 2008, several Lancaster County companies were seeing revenues rise at a healthy clip.So says the latest Inc. 5000 list.The magazine's recently released list of America's fas......
2009-08-31 00:00:00
PATT S. SPENCER
Any type of home can qualify as a "second residence" — a house, condominium, cooperative unit, boat with galley and head, mobile home or house trailer. It must have sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities to be eligible for the mortgage interest deduction.The income tax treatment of......
