Chambersburg/Waynesboro/Gettysburg Questions (Harrisburg, Carlisle: sales, house, buy)

[DaveinMtAiry]

Good morning Pennsylvania. I have been researching possible retirement destinations for the past month or so and I am very interested in this area. We currently live in Central Maryland and the taxes and home proces here are simply too high. So the plan is to sell our home, downsize, and use the money to help finance our retirement in about 10 years. But I"m having trouble finding the following information:

Taxes: Some sites list property taxes of the home, many do not. However I am aware that there are a number of hidden taxes such as local, city, school etc. in many areas Can someone give me an idea if this is the case in any of these towns as it seems to be in Hanover?

Utilities: We would prefer to live outside of town a bit, we like open spaces. So are wells/septic the norm or does "city water" run outside of town? We have been on a well and really prefer this as I love not having a water bill. Obviously at retirement cost savings will be a key. Are the local utilities fairly reasonable?

TV: I think I saw where the cable stations in Chambersburg are Washington DC feeds but Waynesboro is not. I'm most interested in the Fox feed and this is important to me as I am a huge Redskins fan and want to be able to get those games, not the Eagles, and probably will not be able to afford expenses such as The NFL Sunday Ticket. Wife also wants to be able to stay in touch with DC news.

I know the last one may sound weird to some but trust me it's inportant to us.

Thanks

[ki0eh]

Taxes and utilities are very strongly dependent on the specific location and municipality. "Municipality" means township, borough, or city - which might not have the same name as the postal address. One township in, say, Adams County might have very different rules than the next township. The county governments in PA are very weak compared to what a county does in MD.

One general statement is that sewage and septic rules are fairly strict in PA. It is not uncommon for homes even in rural seeming locations to be connected to a public sewer but not public water. (The reason is Act 537 of 1966, and various consequences thereof, that make one's head hurt even if you are in the sewage business.)

Zoning in PA is also strongly variable by municipality. What one township calls "residential" might have very different restrictions compared to the next township's "residential".

DO NOT EVER buy rural land for building in PA without full knowledge of the septic system probes and percs and what they mean for building a system on that particular property - it's very much best to have an actual permit in hand from the sewage enforcement officer (another entity that can vary by township). Knowledge of the zoning is also needed if it's a zoned municipality (some aren't even yet, though most are down that way now due to influx of folks from MD )

On the other hand there is basically no regulation at all of private wells (although that even is possible in certain townships). Quality and quantity of water one can get from a private well varies widely especially the further south and east one goes in PA. It is quite possible one can't even get a 2 gpm well on some properties and if you do it might be high in nitrates (from nearby cows or septic systems) or arsenic (from naturally occurring rocks).

Can't help you about the TV except to say that the channels also vary by system which also usually varies by township.

[DaveinMtAiry]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Taxes and utilities are very strongly dependent on the specific location and municipality. "Municipality" means township, borough, or city - which might not have the same name as the postal address. One township in, say, Adams County might have very different rules than the next township. The county governments in PA are very weak compared to what a county does in MD.

One general statement is that sewage and septic rules are fairly strict in PA. It is not uncommon for homes even in rural seeming locations to be connected to a public sewer but not public water. (The reason is Act 537 of 1966, and various consequences thereof, that make one's head hurt even if you are in the sewage business.)

Zoning in PA is also strongly variable by municipality. What one township calls "residential" might have very different restrictions compared to the next township's "residential".

DO NOT EVER buy rural land for building in PA without full knowledge of the septic system probes and percs and what they mean for building a system on that particular property - it's very much best to have an actual permit in hand from the sewage enforcement officer (another entity that can vary by township). Knowledge of the zoning is also needed if it's a zoned municipality (some aren't even yet, though most are down that way now due to influx of folks from MD )

On the other hand there is basically no regulation at all of private wells (although that even is possible in certain townships). Quality and quantity of water one can get from a private well varies widely especially the further south and east one goes in PA. It is quite possible one can't even get a 2 gpm well on some properties and if you do it might be high in nitrates (from nearby cows or septic systems) or arsenic (from naturally occurring rocks).

Can't help you about the TV except to say that the channels also vary by system which also usually varies by township.

Thanks, this is very good info. I'd be surprised that the water quality would be an issue, ours is fine and we have farms everywhere and are not that far from the "real world".

Yeah I kind of understood the taxes vary but locality, that's why I specified these specific towns.

[North Beach Person]

PA taxes are way different than MD.

Property tax is levied by the municipality and the school system. They come at, and are due at, different times. School systems in PA aren't based on Counties (well, a couple are, but not where you're talking about moving) so you really have to ask which school system your potential house is located in. Typically the school taxes are more than the municipality tax.

There are also some weird little local taxes, like a wage tax or the EMT tax, which usually don't amount to a whole lot but they are a pain.

State Income Tax is a flat 3.07% and is not (at this time) levied on retired pay (unlike MD). Sales tax is 6% but is not collected on most clothing, if any, I've been told two different things about that recently.

[DaveinMtAiry]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

PA taxes are way different than MD.

Property tax is levied by the municipality and the school system. They come at, and are due at, different times. School systems in PA aren't based on Counties (well, a couple are, but not where you're talking about moving) so you really have to ask which school system your potential house is located in. Typically the school taxes are more than the municipality tax.

There are also some weird little local taxes, like a wage tax or the EMT tax, which usually don't amount to a whole lot but they are a pain.

State Income Tax is a flat 3.07% and is not (at this time) levied on retired pay (unlike MD). Sales tax is 6% but is not collected on most clothing, if any, I've been told two different things about that recently.

Thanks NB, good to see you here. I looked at the weather in Greencastle and was surprised to see that it's much colder then here in Mount Airy, about 4 degrees on average in January. So that changes things, no way do we want a winter that's even longer.

So now it's off to explore Winchester, VA. There are 3-4 small sized towns within a half an hour so that's appealing.

[pman]

Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry

Thanks NB, good to see you here. I looked at the weather in Greencastle and was surprised to see that it's much colder then here in Mount Airy, about 4 degrees on average in January. So that changes things, no way do we want a winter that's even longer.

So now it's off to explore Winchester, VA. There are 3-4 small sized towns within a half an hour so that's appealing.

I didn't see greencastle but I couldn't help but notice that gettysburg has almost the same average january highs but it's about 4 degrees colder at night. I wonder why that is.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry

Thanks NB, good to see you here. I looked at the weather in Greencastle and was surprised to see that it's much colder then here in Mount Airy, about 4 degrees on average in January. So that changes things, no way do we want a winter that's even longer.

So now it's off to explore Winchester, VA. There are 3-4 small sized towns within a half an hour so that's appealing.

The weather in the Carlisle (which I'm more familiar with)/Harrisburg area is overall very similar to north/central Maryland. You don't have the moderating effects of the Bay/Atlantic so winter is a bit colder. Summers are pretty much just as hot but without as much of the humidity of Maryland (there will be some who claim PA has the worst humidity in the US, by the way).

My brother lived in Carlisle for many years and I still have friends there so I'm up there somewhat frequently. That area is a really decent place to live, especially for a retiree. COL is generally lower than MD and you have fairly good access to medical care in the area.