TIRED OF RENTING??
MAKE HOME OWNERSHIP YOUR DREAM COME TRUE!
FREE FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER SEMINAR THURS. FEBRUARY 26th
6:30 -7:30 PM at 1000 N. Prince Street, Lancaster, PA
Are you tired of making payments to your landlord month after month and having nothing to show for it? Now a FREE seminar reveals secrets of how to stop paying rent and own a home instead! Deciding to buy your own home is probably one of the biggest decisions you've ever made. It's an exciting time - but it's serious business, too - and you need serious advice.
How do I get started?
What mortgage programs are available?
Is now the best time to buy?
What are the tax benefits of buying versus renting?
How do I know if a house is priced right?
First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credits
Join us for an hour of powerful dialog in which these and many other questions will be answered!
To reserve your place for this exciting opportunity, call Brian Schulman, Jeff Geoghan Realty Group, Coldwell Banker Select Professionals at 951-5552.
Light refreshments will be served.
A most interesting place to visit in Lancaster County, PA is the National Clock and Watch Museum in Columbia. Run by the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, the museum first opened in 1977 with about 1,000 items, but has expanded to over 12,000 items, from the most intricate pocket watches to magnificent granfather clocks and antique animated clocks.
A separate area features railroad watches from the long history of American railroads. Other specialized displays feature French clocks, German musical clocks, tower clocks, and American clocks from 1780 to 1880. The museum is recognized as the largest collection of clocks in North America.
The Watch and Clock Museum is located at 514 Poplar Street, Columbia, PA. You can get more information from their website. The clock tower can be seen for blocks around the museum neighborhood.
Copyright2009BrianSchulman©
In today's uncertain economy, credit for traditional mortgages may be more difficult to obtain for buyers, and sellers may have more difficulty finding qualified buyers. In the early 1980s there were similar conditions, caused not by a lack of credit but by extremely high interest rates. The lack of mortgages from traditional institutions forced sellers to come up with creative solutions to enable buyers to purchase their properties.
In Lancaster County, PA, Rent to Own, Lease/Purchase and Lease with Option to Purchase were some of the creative solutions developed to work around temporary obstacles.
In certain cases with problem properties, or buyers with temporary problems such as high temporary debt or not enough seasoning on the job, there can be several advantages to a Lease/Purchase or Lease/Option. They are far more powerful than a "glorified lease", as rent-to-own may be. In Pennsylvania, in case of a default, the original seller may be able to reclaim the property in about 45 days, as opposed to up to a year or more in the foreclosure of an Installment Sale. At the same time, the sellers get management and costs of the property off their backs, since properly written up, the lessor/buyer is responsible for all that. Meanwhile, the buyer gets a guaranteed price for a fixed period of time.
Of course, buyers must realize that in return for the opportunity to be the equitable owner of such a property, they are in the temporary position of being just a lessor rather than the owner of record. They will not be the owner of record until they obtain a permanent mortgage, pay off the seller, and the deed passes to them.
Either side can be written up to take the tax benefits, which may be quite advantageous for one side or the other. I have negotiated many of these. They are extremely flexible and can address a wide variety of individual situations. Most have ended successfully. In the cases of the ones that didn't, the property went back to the seller, who was, if desired, able to do it again with someone else, sometimes with properties that had actually been improved by the lessor.
Agents may negotiate to receive a fee upon the settlement for possession, not waiting for the later settlement for deed. As much work is required of an agent for this type of specialty as for any other real estate transaction, and as much liability as well. This kind of sale is for sellers who are motivated, not those who are looking for reduced fees. One caveat for agents is not to go too far in writing "creative" clauses, lest they be accused of practicing law without a license. An attorney specializing in real estate law should be consulted if needed. Realtors may pose questions to the Realtor Legal Hotline.
©2009BrianSchulman
Lancaster, PA has a long and colorful history extending back to colonial days. Here are some of the museums that bring Lancaster's cultural and architectural history to life:
The Landis Valley Museum, 2451 Kissel Hill Road, is the largest Pennsylvania German folk museum. There are exhibits of Pennsylvania German (also known as Pennsylvania Dutch) artifacts, and live demonstrations and interpretations of rural life in Pennsylvania from 1740 to 1940. There are activities for the children, buildings, artifacts and crafts, and the Weathervane Museum Store. The Landis Valley Museum is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
James Buchanan's Wheatland is the beautiful Federal estate of our fifteenth president. Located at 1120 Marietta Avenue, the brick mansion, built in 1828, is situated on 4.25 acres of period-landscaped grounds and gardens.
There are tours of the grounds and the buildings, a museum gift store, and special events scheduled in different seasons. For instance, during Christmas season, the mansion is beautifully decorated with authentic period Christmas decorations. Staff is in Victorian costume, and a live choral group sings Christmas carols. When I was there, the atmosphere was so peaceful and beautiful that I didn't want to leave!
Lancaster County Historical Society, 230 North President Avenue, is right next to Wheatland. Exhibits on Lancaster County history make use of fine arts, crafts, documents and artifacts. Special events include an annual Civil War enactment on the grounds!
The Heritage Center Museum, Penn Square, is a decorative arts museum located in the wonderfully preserved 1798 former courthouse in the center of downtown Lancaster. There are permanent collections, exhibits that change annually, and educational programs. Also on the square is the Central Market, the historic farm market that has been in continuous operation since tha 1730's.
Copyright2009BrianSchulman©
I've been interested in cars since I was four, so the Pennsylvania Auto & Boat Show is an annual event not to be missed! Held at the PA Farm Show Complex, 2301 Cameron Street in Harrisburg, all the major manufacturers, both domestic and foreign were represented this year.
However, due to the recession, hand-outs and promotional items were at a minimum. You could see that companies were saving money during these slower times. This was the first year I could remember where no one even gave away promotional plastic bags to hold the brochures that show goers might have collected. And there were way fewer brochures than in prior years.
That doesn't mean that there weren't some exciting concept cars on display. There was also a beautiful white Mercedes SL-550 convertible ($105,000), and a red Cadillac XLR convertible ($88,000) that people (including me) were lining up to sit in and be photographed!
Saturday was a cold but clear day, and quite a crowd was in attendance. Pretty models demonstrated the latest features of the automobiles.
It's interesting at a large event like this to hear all the foreign languages being spoken in our increasingly global population.
Above: Something to dream about - maybe if I make a really big sale...
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I focus on YOUR goals. I specialize in Residential Sellers, Buyers, SINGLES, SENIORS, Historic Homes, & Investors. My vision is to build lifelong relationships, one person at a time.
Thirty years of experience in Lancaster County PA real estate have confirmed Brian Schulman's long-held conviction that while the regulations for business in general and real estate in particular are constantly changing, certain basics never change: fairness, honesty, full disclosure, and the need for each person to be heard and respected.
Brian's education includes a New York State Regents Scholarship and a Bachelor of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. He has pursued further education on a continual basis, acquiring several professional designations along the way, including ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative), GRI (Graduate of the Realtor(R) Institute), ePRO (Certified Internet Marketing Professional), and SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist).
Seniors Real Estate Specialists are Realtors qualified to address the needs of home buyers age 50-plus. The SRES Council awards the SRES Designation to members who have successfully completed its education program. SRES holders have demonstrated the necessary knowledge and expertise to counsel clients age 50-plus through major financial and lifestyle transitions involved in relocating, refinancing, or selling the family home.
Brian's professional career started as a Marketing Engineer with Texaco, Inc. He was promoted to Credit Manager of Western Pennsylvania, and for several years ran a $25 Million per month Division consisting of customers such as major steel producers, national trucking companies, and large road contractors. Brian was chosen as a local spokesman in Texaco's Speakers Bureau, where he spoke about energy policy and answered questions at many clubs and schools.
Eventually, Brian's love of historic homes and South Central Pennsylvania's ambiance and history led him to take up residence in Lancaster County and start a new career restoring architecturally significant houses. From that beginning, his real estate career developed. Brian is well known for his knowledge of historic homes and American architectural styles, and for his advocacy of protecting and preserving them.
Brian has owned, managed and restored some twenty historic buildings in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, including homes in Lancaster, Marietta, Columbia, Elizabethtown and Mount Joy. He saved two of them from condemnation and demolition: an eighteenth-century log and stone home in Marietta, PA, and the Linden House mansion, built in Marietta by lumber magnate Henry Castle in 1805 (see "Historic Marietta").
One of Brian's guiding principles is that we are given two ears and only one mouth for a good reason: so we can listen twice as much as we speak! Brian doesn't dispense one-size-fits-all "canned" solutions - he wants to hear what your individual situation and needs are. Then he'll share information and options that fit your unique goals.
Brian has been a member of the Professional Standards Group, Dispute Resolution System of the Lancaster County Association of Realtors (LCAR), and an Alternate State Director, Pennsylvania Association of Realtors(R).
Among Brian's wide-ranging personal passions are historic architecture and restoration, classic cars, antique toys, vintage musical instruments, cats, and humane society issues. He is president of Red Rose Singles, Inc, a support group for single, separated, divorced and widowed persons. He has been known, on occasion, to get out his guitar and regale his listeners with a respectable rendition of a rock and roll song or a finger-picking blues tune!
Brian's team consists of a small group of experienced professionals dedicated to making your real estate experience a positive, successful and rewarding one. The reputation Brian strives for is to be the best Realtor, working with the best clients, and always caring for his clients' needs. Brian Schulman is committed to building strong, lasting and lifelong relationships, one person at a time.
There are several areas in which I have become a specialist:
Seniors (over 55) - Holding the SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) designation, I understand the unique needs of senior sellers and buyers.
Historic Homes - I love historic homes! I am familiar with many architectural periods and styles and have personally restored several historic homes myself. As someone who appreciates history and fine architecture, I can be a great resource to help you purchase or sensitively market your historic property.
First-time Buyers - You need a reliable resource to help you interpret the information overload, guide you through the Lancaster County home-buying process, reduce your risk, represent your interests, and help you achieve your dream of homeownership.
First-time Sellers - I'll help you navigate the complexities of marketing your home, trading up, trading down, or relocating. My ePRO designation tells you that I'm certified in Internet Marketing.
Expired Listings - My many marketing programs can help sell properties that did not sell previously .
Investment Real Estate - Have you ever thought about an extra income stream to supplement your retirement, or to help put your kids through college? I can help you develop a plan that meets your individual needs and helps you build a real estate income. Income from real estate can have significant advantages over earned income.
"Brian, I just want to thank you for all that you have done for my husband and myself. It has been a real pleasure dealing with you. You have responded to all our questions and concerns with promptness, and have given us great advice. We so appreciate all you have done in helping us to buy and sell our rental property. The whole process went very smoothly, and that was because of your great organizational skills and for so being so detailed about making sure everything was done correctly. If in the future you need any recommendations, we would be more than happy to supply them for you. Please lets continue to remain in contact, because we now consider you a friend." Debbie Freed
"Brian Schulman restored our faith in real estate agents. He's worth his weight in gold!" Jay & Cecilia Risser, Mount Joy
"You were such a help and a blessing! What a great experience I had with you! Your website is the best, Brian. I refer to it all the time!" Lori Randolph, Lancaster
"I was eight months pregnant and wanted to be in a home of my own when I had my baby. Brian Schulman helped us find and purchase our first home so quickly and smoothly that when our son was born, we named him 'Brian'!" Yajaira Almonte & Pedro Maria, Lancaster
"beyond the call of duty..."
"...in my twenty years of real estate investing...no other real estate professional has serviced as has Brian Schulman. Mr. Schulman goes beyond the call of duty of service and professionalism. I have grown to trust him with his professional opinions and suggestions. My loyalty is now with him because of his professionalism and manner he conducts himself." Michael Osso, MMR Investments, LLP
"highly recommend you..."
"I want to thank you so much for all you've done! We enjoyed working with you. If we buy another house we will buy it through you. If you need a recommendation, we will definitely highly recommend you to anybody! Debbie & Ron Freed, who bought an investment property
"We trusted Brian from the outset. Brian exceeded our expectations." Maria Mitchell & Guillaume DeSyon, Lancaster
"Our experience with Brian was educational, professional, knowledgeable, enjoyable & interesting. We enjoyed working with him greatly. Our goals were achieved in the most positive manner. Dan & Debbi Herr, Elizabethtown
"You're a cut above other real estate agents!" Ginger Fako, who sold her home through Brian in Lancaster
"We appreciate the time and manner you spent with us, gracious and professional." Maria Pop, NY
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