Squirrel!! 

We all remember the line from the movie “UP!”.  Ben, the dog, would see a squirrel and become alert.  I had the same experience yesterday while looking at a possible renovation / rehab project in the Village of Lancaster, NY.

I was sitting in front of the home taking a look from my vehicle when a small squirrel appeared in the window.  At first, I thought that it was on the outer sill.  As it turns out, it was inside the house having its way with the interior.  I decided to talk a walk around the property while waiting for the person who would be showing me the property and as I reached the back, I noticed a larger squirrel in the rear window.  I was able to take a picture of this squirrel (see the photo below) and couldn’t help but laugh when he noticed me, become startled and then tore half of the window curtain down while trying to climb away.

Squirrel in window

We did end up going into the house to have a look and we decided it would be best if we carried a snow brush with us.  We all know how much squirrels hate snow brushes.  Luckily, there was no incident inside.  Turns out, squirrels are pretty non-confrontational and I was able to view the property without trouble (I had my brush in hand, mind you).  I don’t recall much about the property since I was pre-occupied with my squirrel avoidance and preparedness to strike plans.

I get to chalk up another first in my search for properties to renovate.  Vermin ?

Are you looking for office space in the Buffalo area?

We will have an office available on 10/01/2011 that is a perfect space for 1-3 people.  This office is in a professional office building with tenants that include and Allstate Insurance office, credit card processor, attorney, web developer, and accountant.

Lancaster office for rent

This office is clean and bright and is located on the second floor.

All utilities are included in the monthly rent payment of $395.

• Free Internet service (wired and wireless)
• All utilities included
• NO common area fees

The location is at: 3725 Walden Avenue, Lancaster NY.

This is a growing commercial corridor in Lancaster, NY.  The office is a perfect space for a manufacturers rep or a professional service provider.  Please contact us today to see the space.

Complete details can be found on our Buffalo Office Space site.

Call 716-791-7368 to speak to us right away.

You won’t often hear me talking about a “bargain” at $287,000, but the square footage and location of this home justify that label.

This house is located in a  cul-de-sac in the Windsor Ridge subdivision, was built in 1995, and has more than 3,000 square feet.  To build a comparable home in Windsor Ridge would likely cost you more than $370,000.  There are many negatives to buying a home that is 15 years old, but the positives probably outweight those factors. The primary thing that I would tell anyone purchasing this home is to set aside 10k for repairs in the next 2-3 years.  You never know when the furnace, A/C, or hot water tank will decide to fail.

One MAJOR big ticket item that was already completed is the roof.  After 15 years a roof is nearing the end of its useful life.  This item is already taken care of.

• Concrete driveway
• Attached deck
• Rear awning
• Cul-de-sac location
• Glamour bath

Click on the image to be taken to the listing information. Good luck.

Lancaster House for Sale

A fire can happen to anyone. We all think that it isn’t possible that we will be a victim, but it could happen to you.  There are many types of fires and many causes.  Faulty wiring, a faulty product, a space heater left on, or… kids.

Just the other day there was a fire in a neighborhood close to my own.   This fire was caused by teenagers playing with a lighter in a bedroom.   Think back to when you were a teenager.  You probably played with matches and lighters now and again.  I know that I did.  Heck, I almost burned our house down lighting tissue paper in my bedroom when I was about 8 years old. It makes sense to discuss fire safety with our kids.

Lancaster House Fire

I just had a discussion with my son about the dangers of playing with matches or lighters.  They will probably do so when they are older and I let him know that I understood that.  We discussed it and covered some of the safety issues associated with playing with fire.

Here are a couple of fire safety resource sites:

• USFA for Kids
• http://www.firesafety.gov

Wow!  I listed a property in the MLS via a flat fee listing service (housepad.com).  The flat fee services are a post on their own, for this post, I wanted to discuss the very active market that we are seeing.

The listing went into the ML on 3/24.  This project turned out very well and has a fantastic location.  The property for sale is at 30 Lombardy St, Lancaster, NY.  We have an asking price of $154,900 which compares favorably to other properties in Lancaster that are on the market.  There are couple of other renovations within a mile that are in the $169,000 – $180,000 range.  This is a complete renovation that we started last spring. We were going to try to knock it out quickly but decided to take our time and bring it to market in the spring once it was clear that we would miss an August / September date.

In the first 3 days of the listing we had 7 showings with 2 more scheduled.  The feedback has been terrific and we have received multiple offers (verbal at this point, paperwork in process).  What surprised me is the level of activity given my perception of the mortgage market.   I suppose that there is always a qualified buyer. Whether it be a cash buyer, or a well qualified buyer with a mortgage from one of the local banks.

In any case, we will be selling this terrific renovation at a fair price to someone who is looking to be in the Village of Lancaster.  More than half of the showings are from those who stated that they absolutely want to be in this part of the village.

Lancaster Duplex for Rent

Nice side by side duplex located in Lancaster NY. Built in 1992.
Close to all amenities:
Library
Shops
Restaurants

Private basement with laundry hook ups, covered front porch, nice yard that backs up to a pond.
3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths
Eat in kitchen that included stove, disposal, and dishwasher.
Available Jan 1st.

Non-smoker, NO PETS!

$895 per month

Contact Bob at 716-791-RENT (7368)

Who doesn’t love a before and after shot?  I sure do.  This isn’t a before and after since it is more of a during, but I wanted to post after an out of town relative asked about the progress on the home.  There is quite a difference in the photo.

Here is a rundown of some of the work done to the exterior to date:

• Removal of carport along with the shingle patching after removal
• Replaced a flat roof and tied into the pitched roof in rear of house
• New roof
• New soffits and fascia
• New paint (not complete, but close)
• New windows
• Removal of enclosed porch windows and wrapping of columns

30 Lombardy Before and After (actually, during)

30 Lombardy - before - mid - 3/4

To complete the outside we still need quite a bit including shingles on the dormer sides along with gutters, trim paint, and landscaping.  Not to mention many of the finishing paint touches, trim pieces, driveway sealer, etc.

I’ll continue to add to the new Before and After photos category over time. In fact, I might just add some items from the archive. Who doesn’t love a makeover?

For those of you looking to jump into the investment property game, consider this duplex in Lancaster (Depew, actually). This is on a street that is almost all multi-family homes. It is a couple of blocks in from Transit road and would be a great purchase for someone looking to get out of a rental.

At $94,900 this property is priced to move. In fact, if you live in one unit and rent out the other, you could cut your monthly living expenses down to just a few hundred per month. Take a look for yourself before it is gone:

161 Argus Dr, Lancaster, NY
Duplex with 3 bedrooms in each unit

Duplex for sale in Lancaster NY

If you are living in, or used to live in, Lancaster, you will appreciate this fantastic map from 1892.

Lancaster NY Map 1892

It is interesting to see the factories that dotted that town of Lancaster way back when.  The railroad, and the waterway allowed for transport of goods.  Take a look at the high resolution version.   You can view the high resolution image by clicking on the thumbnail below.

Lancaster NY Map from 1892

We will be starting a new project in about two weeks.  It is a home located in a great neighborhood within the Village of Lancaster. The location is fantastic, the house…. not so much.   When buying a home to fix, that is what you want… The worst house on the best street.

This home is located in the Village of Lancaster (off Broadway) and is on a street that includes a mix of home styles.  There are even a number of older 2 family homes.  Our property was built in 1889 and that will have some challenges.  There will be some interesting issues to address with a home that was built in 1889. The oldest property that I have worked on was about 1920.

This was a 2 family home until the prior owner got tired of tenants above him and closed off the upper unit. He pulled the kitchen and had it reassessed as a single family home.  We are going to do a full conversion to a single family.  This will provide some challenges, but I think we will be able to pull off a modern floor plan with some big changes.  We are going to combine the current kitchen with a lower bedroom to provide a modern “open” design.  After the redesign, we will end up with a 4BR (3up, 1 down), 2 Bathroom home with a modern eat in kitchen.  There are 8 1/2′ ceilings on the first floor and this will compliment the open design.

Home renovation plan

There are a NUMBER of large issues with this renovation, not the least of which is the foundation work that is needed.  This will be a big project, but I feel that we will be working with a great contractor who can get things done quickly and properly.  They worked on our office renovation and we couldn’t have been more pleased with the work that was done there.  They have a motto “We Show up, Finish Up, Clean Up and Don’t Screw Up”

There are a couple of major repairs needed before we can even get started making this property look nice.  There is foundation work required and roof work required. There is water leaking now and that needs to be addressed right away.  The foundation is a rubble style foundation and needs to be shored up prior to any major work.

Check back for more as we get into this project.  We’ll include some pictures and video as we go along.