Lititz, Pennsylvania, is one of the coolest small towns in America, but when buying a home in Lititz, what do you need to know?
Lititz was founded in 1756 and many of the current buildings date back to this era. This presents some interesting characteristics that you may need to know when purchasing a home in Lititz. We live and work in Lititz so we compiled a list of the 3 things you need to know.
1. Consider The Age of Your Home
The First thing you should take into consideration is the age of the homes. A lot of the homes in downtown Lititz are older, built in the 1800 and 1900s. Houses were built out of brick and stone, and they were built to last.
These older homes are much different from the colonial frame houses of the 21st century, and such need to be insured differently. While the market price may be similar between the two, the older Lititz homes will cost significantly more to rebuild in the event of a fire. This needs to be reflected in the dwelling coverage of Coverage A of your homeowners policy.
Another element to consider regarding the older buildings in town is the historic district and borough requirements. Lititz has a distinct aesthetic when walking its streets, and they want to keep it that way. Both Lititz and Lancaster have Historic district committees that are committed to maintaining the history of these towns.
If you own an older home in Lititz and it would burn down, you would be required to rebuild it to a similar design and style as it was before the fire. That may include building materials, ornateness, color, etc. You will want to find out if your home is in a historic district and then let your insurance company know.
2. Great Fire Protection Class
Being one of the coolest small towns in America, it’s no surprise that Lititz’s firehouse is downtown
in the city of Lititz.
This is a really good thing if you’re buying a home in Lititz because each insurance company bases its rates on the distance of the home to the nearest fire station. With the fire company downtown, most of Lititz Borough qualifies for a fire protection class 4. This means that you may pay less for a home in Lititz because the insurance company believes that the risk of a total loss is significantly less since the fire company can get to the homes quickly.
If you want additional discounts, install a central fire alarm in your home. Many insurance companies will give additional discounts for both local and central alarm systems.
3. Proximity to Lancaster Airport
The third, and one of the most unique things about living in Lititz is its proximity to Lancaster Airport.
Lancaster Airport is the third most busy airport in all of Pennsylvania, only behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in terms of operations. If you have ever driven up 501, you most likely had planes take off or land right over your car. If you live in Lititz, you probably have some planes doing circles over your home from time to time.
You may be thinking “what if a plane has an issue and lands in my home”? In the insurance industry, there are 16 perils that are covered, one of which is aircraft, and another is falling objects. These perils protect and will pay for damage caused to your home by either airplanes or things from airplanes falling and damaging your home.
Those are the three things that are unique about homeowner’s policies in Lititz is Pennsylvania. You may want to take a look at your policy to make sure that you have taken these three things into consideration. Lititz is an awesome small town, and we are proud to call it home.
If you like us to take a look at your insurance policy, to see if your homeowner’s policy is correct for Lititz, give us a call or stop in! Our office is on E Lemon St in Lititz and we would be happy to meet with you!