Lehigh Valley Real Estate Blog, Home Buying & Selling Information

Lehigh Valley Home Pricing

The values of home prices are under question in the Lehigh Valley as home buyers make offers that would have been fully rejected a year or two ago. A buyer considering making an offer $40,000 below the asking price is not uncommon although more than likely it is still rejected.

As homes sit on the market longer the home seller needs to be a little more cautious before rejecting an offer. "What...they want the washer and dryer and a lower price??" The items the home seller had originally intended to keep may not be as important if the result is to get an executed contract on the house.

A home seller should really think about an offer before rejecting it. Who knows when the next offer will come in.

Lehigh Valley Investment Properties

In an effort to clean up rental units, the larger Lehigh Valley cities are implementing tougher guidelines about investment properties. If a property is being sold-as-is then the Certificate of Occupancy (CO) may be a major factor in the purchase. No longer is it just a check for smoke detectors and GFI outlets.

Recently, I was at a CO inspection for a single family rental unit in Easton. By the end of the inspection, the seller was going to be required to paint the outside trim of the house, fix the rain gutters, repair the broken sashes on a couple of windows, plus a host of other minor items. Many items in which a buyer might have said no big deal are now going to have to be repaired by either the seller (before closing) or the buyer (typically within a year of the purchase).

Easton and Bethlehem require a Certificate of Occupancy when a property is sold. Allentown doesn't require the CO but talks are in the works to add it.

The concept of Property Manger is becoming popular. If the owner of the rental property lives further than a certain distance from the property then there must be a local Property Manager.

Random inspections are also in the works throughout some municipalities.

The tougher rules are going to make buying or selling an investment property more difficult but the end result should help clean up the properties. Sorry to say but I've been in a few investment properties that should have been demolished.

Lehigh Valley Underground Oil Tanks

Many Lehigh Valley homes have oil heat. My first house had oil heat and hot water and I personally didn't have any problems with it.

The oil tank is typically located in the basement or outside the house (above the surface). Every so often, a house is encountered with an underground tank. The typical response is:

Oh no, there's an underground oil tank on the property! We can't buy this house!

It may not be as bad as you think. An underground oil tank may definitely create a problem but the severity is dependent on whether or not it is leaking or has leaked.

A certified technician should be brought in to perform a thorough investigation. This will involve testing of the soil around the tank.

If no leak is found, typically the tank is emptied and filled with sand. End of story.

If a leak is found, you have problems. The EPA becomes involved because the contaminated soil needs to be removed from the property. The tank is dug up and all of the soil, within a large circumference of the tank, is sent to a special landfill where the oil is burned off.

If the Home Seller is aware of an underground oil tank then it should be disclosed on the PA Property Disclosure form.

Since it is a negative to a Home Buyer, a Lehigh Valley Home Seller may want to have the underground oil tank tested and take the appropriate actions (if needed) before placing the house up for sale.