Lehigh Valley Real Estate Blog, Home Buying & Selling Information

Lehigh Valley New Construction

Overlook at Saucon Creek - Lehigh Valley

Enjoy living in this quiet neighborhood that is within walking distance to one of the premier trout streams, Saucon Creek. This small enclave of newly constructed 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath beautiful townhomes, with Condo ownership, is within minutes of the New York bus stop. It is also within minutes of I-78, Historic Bethlehem and the new “Beth Works”.   

Prices start at $229,900 for an inside unit and $234,900 for an end unit.

Visit www.LehighValleyHomesOnline.com for more information.

Asbestos in Lehigh Valley Houses

Although not real common in Lehigh Valley, there are still homes that have asbestos in one form or the other. Asbestos can be found in many forms:

Asbestos Roof Shingles
Asbestos Exterior Siding (looks like wood)
Asbestos Floor Tiles
Asbestos Plumbing Insulation

The removal of asbestos involves the EPA. The new rules states that the homeowner owns the asbestos for life. Therefore, if a home owner pays to have asbestos removed and stored at a dump site, if at a later date that asbestos needs to be moved the homeowner may incur additional costs.

There are different methods to deal with asbestos.

For instance, if the exterior siding is in good shape it should be maintained (painted) as needed. You can not cover asbestos with siding or anything else. Once you start hammering into them they will crack and fall apart causing a worse problem. A qualified company should be contacted for the removal.

Asbestos insulation on plumbing can be handled in two different ways. It can be wrapped in plastic and sealed or it can be removed. If sealed, it should be checked every few years to ensure the wrapping is in good shape. If a decision is made to remove the asbestos a qualified company should be contacted. They have methods to remove the asbestos and suck all the air out while doing so in order to reduce any problems with airborne asbestos.

When purchasing a home, the presence of asbestos should be disclosed (if the seller knows) on the Pennsylvania property disclosure. A qualified property inspector may also point out occurences of asbestos in the home.

More information about asbestos can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/

Lehigh Valley Home Sale Contingencies

Do you wish to purchase a Home but need to sell your current home in order to get the financing?

If you currently own a home in the Lehigh Valley, PA and you would like to purchase a new home, there are various contingencies that can be used in conjunction with the Agreement of Sale to accomodate your next home purchase while taking into account the fact that you have a home to sell.

Home Sale Contingencies vary from state to state but the following is a general idea of how it works in Pennsylvania.

Home Sale & Settlement with right to Continue Marketing Contingency - the home seller accepts your offer to purchase the home but they are allowed to continue marketing the house and accepting back-up offers. If you can not sell your current home in the allocated time, the sellers of the house you wish to purchase can cancel the contract and accept a back-up offer.

Home Sale & Settlement Contingency - the home sellers accept your offer with the contingency to sell your current home. They take their home off the market while you attempt to sell yours. If you can't sell within the allocated time the seller can cancel the contract and put their house back on the market.

48 or 72 Hour Kick-Out - the home seller will accept your offer but continue to actively market the property. If another buyer submits an offer, you have either 48 or 72 hours to remove the home sale contingency or the seller can accept the other offer and you will lose the home.

Home Settlement Contingency - The Best Purchasing Power! - there is a fully executed contract on the house you are selling and you are just waiting to close. If the inspections and mortgage contingencies have been met on your property the offer is even better.

When writing an offer on a Lehigh Valley house, using only a Home Settlement Continency is in your best interest. It gives you the best negotiating power since you already have a buyer on the house you are selling. With the other contingencies, you may have to sweeten the deal in order to get the home seller to accept them. The home seller is taking a risk that you won't be able to sell your house. Then if the home seller does accept your offer you may need to reduce the price on your house in order to sell it fast enough to make the deal go through.

If you have any specific questions about these contingencies or other concerns about purchasing a home in Lehigh Valley, please feel free to contact me.