WNY Handyman

Lancaster, NY revaluation. It stinks!

Well, if you live in Lancaster, NY, you probably received a lovely letter yesterday regarding your property taxes and your property assessment.  There were increases that appear across the board.  The equalization rate is no longer as we have moved to 100% valuation.  The increases are staggering in many cases.

The town of Lancaster continues to spend, and spend, and spend on projects that don’t benefit the town as a whole.

1. There is a pricey new addition to town hall (approximately $985,000).
2. There is a new police and courts facility in the works ($8,000,000 Plus).
3. There is the new use of a former library for an emergency management office (that’s right, Lancaster has one).
4. There is the proposed recreational facility that will certainly add long term costs.
5. etc. etc.

Let’s not forget that use of these properties suddenly pulls them off the tax rolls. And, in the case where a sale is possible, eliminates the funds from a sale (Depew Library is a prime example).

Many will be fighting the new assessment figures.  In a couple of cases, I will be one of them.  If you aren’t familiar with the tools available to you for searching property information here are a couple:

• Lancaster Online Assessment Review System (OARS) http://www.oarsystem.com/ny/lancaster/main.asp
• Erie County Real Property System http://www.erie.gov/ecrpts/webprop.asp
• Erie County Internet Mapping System http://gis1.erie.gov/website/Erie_help/help.htm

I know that there is quite a bit of state and/or federal funding drying up for Towns and Villages. How about cutting costs rather than continuing to spend. If a surplus builds, cut taxes!

Politics suck.

A lot of people ask me about the real estate market, home prices, how to find bargains, etc. I tell them that I am a real estate window shopper and by doing so, I am able to keep a handle on my local market. You can do the same. When I start my day, I generally do a search at my local MLS site for homes in my area that have been added to the real estate listing service in the past 7 days. This can be automated, but I usually head over to a site provided by one of the local real estate companies or the BNAR (Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors). Most people aren’t aware, but nearly every local real estate site is displaying their listings from the same database.

On to Lancaster. I have been saying this for a solid 6 months. If you have a decent home under $150k in Lancaster, it won’t last long. There are still qualified buyers and the $8k tax incentive is a nice bonus (discount).

Recently, prices in Lancaster have appeared a bit inflated to me. I am not saying that these properties are not going to sell, I am just taking notice of pricing trends in our town and village.

Here are a couple of examples of houses for sale in Lancaster that appear to be a bit inflated:

House 1:

Lancaster House for Sale

The number 1 thing that this house has going for it is location (Village of Lancaster). This illustrates that location trumps most other factors in real estate.

This is a ranch house that is built on a slab. A home in WNY built on a slab is a huge negative in my book. The loss of basement space is a big issue in this area where items need to be stored in the off months. The home itself is decent size, but looks like it is a double wide and could be located in a trailer park.  There aren’t too many updates to the interior of this house..

If you had asked me to price this home, I would have pegged it at about $119k. They have it listed at $142,900.

Look for yourself: Lancaster house for sale

House 2:

Lancaster NY House for Sale

The second home is something that I often see when someone has a home that is on the edge of rural and developed areas.  The people who own these homes often feel that having 2 acres on the edge of town should have the same value as having 2 acres in the middle of town. Not so.  Head 1 mile further outside of the heart of the town and you will find 5 acres with a property, in many cases.

This home is a good size, but seems like it is price above the market for homes in that area of that style.  It is a split level home which isn’t for everyone.  The asking price is $259,900

As with the first example, this home does not have many interior updates or upgrades.  A house in this price range is expected to have newer appliances, perhaps new countertops, fresh walls (not wallpaper everywhere). This home screams early 80′s update.  You would have to put $40k – $60k into this to do a decent update to flooring, walls and kitchen.  But, at that price, you will start saying to yourself “we might as well build”.

Take a look at the property for yourself: Lancaster NY home for sale

I guess I should hope that the real estate market in Lancaster continues moving up.  I live and work here and will benefit if that is the case.  However, these 2 examples seem a bit out of line to me.

If you are looking for an affordable office building for your company, look to Lancaster. Depending on your needs, there is space available for lease or purchase. If you are looking to lease an office, check out my Lancaster Office Space for rent.

If you are searching for a commercial office building to purchase for your business, take a look at 5522 Broadway, Lancaster, New York. This Lancaster office building for sale is an ideal space for an attorney or accounting practice. It is suited for shared offices or a sublease of part of the space. That was the use in the past. The building is currently unoccupied and is available for showing. View the listing flyer here: Lancaster Office Building for Sale (pdf).

Contact the Broker if you would like to learn more, or schedule a showing.
John Mikoley
716-852-7500 x:117

The asking price is $225,000

There aren’t too many true “online real estate auction” sites around. There is one that I keep coming across. The site is Williams & Williams Auctions. They offer a true auction format that allows you to place online bids in real time on properties. This isn’t the case for all properties, but it is designated when it is.

A friend picked up a house in Lockport last year on this site. I think he ended up paying $14,000 for a home in a decent neighborhood. It was obviously a gut job, but for the price, that was justified.

Check out the site for yourself. Buyer Beware!

NY Real Estate Auctions

It seems like everyone loves a makeover. We renovated a home in Lancaster NY and never posted the before/after shots. The difference is pretty dramatic. The project seemed to take forever, but we didn’t have the man hours to commit to getting it done quickly. .

Take a look at the before and after photos:
Lancaster NY Renovation.

Garfield before and after photos

We took this chopped up floor plan and opened it up to give it a modern feel. We had to move some windows and add others to make the kitchen functional. Overall, it turned out great. Take a peek.