Moving to Lancaster - need info! (Philadelphia, Jeannette: for sale, renting, condominiums)

[LizO930]

Hi! My fiance and I are looking to move to Lancaster w/in the next 2 years. We are getting married in May and are looking to buy a starter home out there. He's planning on going back to school. I am looking for a cheap but nice area. Right now we live in NE Philly, so something similar would be good. I have seen a lot of homes in Columbia for cheap, but the problem is that I don't know what the areas are like out there. We are used to city life, and I do not mind it. I'm also not thinking about school districts, we have a fair amount of time before we have to worry about putting children in school and will most likely move before we reach that point.

I would appreciate any input anyone has to offer!!

Thanks!

[jackooboy]

Hi liz,

I am a Temple student-- I live in the ghetto @ Broad and Susquehanna-- and grew up in Lancaster (Millersville). If you are looking to have children, Columbia is cheap because their schools suck and it is more of a working class community. There is some talk of gentrification in the area, though it is a very very different feel from anything you would encounter in Philadelphia. Columbia is a small town and doesn't have really have significant suburbs surrounding it... in some areas it goes from dense row homes to rural with no real transition.

Depending on what you're looking for; I would try to get into a community closer to Lancaster proper. My parents are selling their house for $150,000 in Millersville --only 10 minutes from downtown and a good school district.

[LizO930]

My bro goes to Temple and lives down in the ghetto too! My fiance is looking to go to Millersville U. and is planning on going back full time, so we need to get something very cheap and affordable. We don't plan on staying out there or atleast in our starter home forever. I'm looking at 5 years max. If we like the area, we'll most likely buy something a little nicer. We don't plan to have kids until after he gets a degree. We are looking for under $100,000. I am not sure if this is possible.... I guess what i'm most concerned about is the crime rate out there. Is it a safe place to live. Is it okay to park my car on the street and leave my house for the day, etc. I saw in a post before that there is a problem w/ drugs. Is that true?

What exactly do you mean by a different feel than Philadelphia?? I grew up in the Frankford/Bridesburg area and moved up to the NE about a year and a half ago. I felt safe in both of these places and liked living there. I'm looking for something w/ a similar level of comfortableness in the neighborhood. A place i can sit on the porch w/ the dog and read or walk up to my house in the middle of the night w/out worrying (although I know there is always some level of concern).

I do appreciate you telling me about your parents house! We want to be close to Millersville! But we can't afford that (and I know it's probably cheap for the area!).

Are there any other areas you would recommend that are really cheap but nice?

Thanks for all your info so far!

[Oldiebutgoodie26]

You could check out Lancaster City houses. Many parts are a skip away from Millersville. My sister- a nurse- bought a very cute one last summer for $85,000. It's a little two-story, and the neighborhood is not horrible. Be choosy. I would avoid the southeastern part of the city like the plague- S. Ann Street in particular. But, you can find little gems for much less than you would in the "good" burbs. Check out the local Lancaster newspaper for offers. Good luck!

[LizO930]

Thank you for the advice!! I hadn't really looked at Lancaster City yet, but I had considered it. We're just in the beginning phases now.
We have a friend out there who's a cop and we're visiting them this weekend, so we're definitely going to hit him up for some info!

Thanks again for the info!

[jackooboy]

Hey Liz

Lancaster and Columbia are probably the only markets that have things in the $70,000 price range.

You should check out both places. Columbia is nothing horrible, it just has a lot of working class people living, some of whom may be thought of as being "backward (my uncle actually lives in Columbia)."

Lancaster city, the sections to the east or south east of Franklin and Marshall College are nice. The area between F&M, Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Penn Square, Lancaster General Hospital, and the baseball stadium are nice and there should be something in the area that would be within your price range.

If you can't get in there I would look for an area north of the baseball stadium between queen and prince streets. The Armstrong industrial sight has been bought by F&M and Lancaster General Hospital and will be undergoing a massive redevelopment, the property values in the area have a lot of potential to skyrocket, so getting in withing the next year or two would probably be a good idea.

Good luck.

[jackooboy]

Wow, it just struck me... you should check out the Clock Tower condos @ Hamilton Watch... they're nice, in a good neighborhood and affordable depending on how much room you two are looking for.

They start around $70-80,000 if memory serves me right.

You get access to a gym and other perks. It's a pretty nice little community w/ all upkeep taken care of for you.

Clock Towers are on the northwest side of the Columbia Ave./West End Ave intersection.

Good luck.

[Oldiebutgoodie26]

FYI- the Clocktowers has just raised their condo fee $300 a month. The elevator is being shut down for some eight + weeks to be fixed, and they are repairing the roof. Many of the units are for sale, but not a lot are being sold. The fees keep going up. Yes, it's nice, and they kicked out the F & M students who were renting (they have to live on campus now), but if you want to stay there, really, really look into what those hidden costs are going to be.

[kaivalya]

Hi. I just moved to Columbia from just north of Lancaster, so I'm a bit partial.

Columbia is a moldering old river town of 10,000 or so that has lost much of its industry. The plus side is that it has a lot of architectural integrity, few traffic lights, and folks with plenty of time to talk. Unlike the rest of Lancaster County, the people who settled the area were Scotch-Irish, and later immigrants where Italians, lending a strong Catholic cast to the area.

A few ventursome artsy types are starting buy up the cheap under $100K row homes & houses. The schools aren't good. Jobs & classes & fine dining are all at least 10 & more likely 20 or 30 minutes away, which is a bit of a commute by Lancaster standards. Think Manayunk 15 or 20 years ago.

[Jeannette]

Hi Liz,

We are about to list for sale our two bedroom, two bath condo in the Clocktower Condominiums. It is IN the clock tower and very cute, with windows on three sides of the bedrooms because the "clock tower" juts out. The unit overlooks Columbia Avenue, so you see gardens and trees below. You also see a bit of the elementary school playground over to one side - not the parking lot, which is the other view Clocktowers offers. So, it is quiet. Our unit faces south, so it is very sunny and cheerful. It is on the second level, not on street level. Our son lived there while at F&M, but he has graduated. He was not a smoker. And like the other blogger said, they have a sauna and game room with pool, etc. Also, it is card key access only to the building, so it is a secure, safe place. Parking is in a lighted parking lot. You get two parking spaces with a two bedroom unit.

We also own a large storage unit across the hall, big enough for bikes.

Clocktowers is in a nice section of Lancaster, and about 3 blocks from F&M, and 3 blocks or so from Lancaster Regional Hospital. So it is a very stable area. It adjoins the School Lane Hills section of Lancaster, which is the "good side of town." Lancaster Country Day School is about 10 blocks away, on the other side of F&M's campus. Clocktowers is 3 or 4 blocks away from James Buchannan's homestead, which is very pretty and restored.

Students are getting "kicked out" of Clocktower, not because they are getting kicked out by the condo but because the school wants to have an all residential campus. I have another, younger son attending F&M, so I know. That regulation on the part of the college should make Clocktower a quiet place to live.

I agree with the other blogger. All condos have fees. No escaping that unless you own a single family dwelling. Just figure them in as part of your monthly costs and figure out what you can afford.

We have to do our final cleanup, and apply a fresh coat of paint. We have not yet signed on with a realtor.

Any interest?

Jeannette