Do you have an exciting job prospect taking you away from south central Pennsylvania? Maybe you've recently relocated here for a new job.

With the Med Center, The Hershey Company, our state capital, and other large employers nearby, we enjoy a fluid and robust marketplace. In fact, about 25 percent of my real estate transactions deal in some way with a relocation package, the assistance employers offer employees relocating for a job. The sale of a home and purchase of another is often involved. As such, let's discuss relocation packages and how to best navigate their choppy waters.

A relocation (or moving) package can come in many forms: a lump sum, packing/unpacking services, house hunting trip(s), help with closing costs, temporary housing assistance, storage costs, home buyout, or all of the above.

Rebekah Myler from Hummelstown benefited from packers swooping in and handling the hard labor.

"We had three little kids and one on the way when we moved here," said Myler, who relocated to Derry Township for her husband's job with the Med Center. "It was a huge help to have movers box everything, load and unload the truck. The whole experience would have been very challenging otherwise."

Relocation packages vary greatly, even within the same organization. Your job grade, title, number of years with the company, current boss, and other factors will determine what you receive.

Below are my top three rules to remember regarding relocation packages:

Rule number one: Read the fine print. As I mentioned, almost no two packages are the same. Read every page of your package and understand what is offered and what is being asked from you. Consider making a simple spreadsheet of what your employer is offering to pay, how, and when and also how these benefits will be handled for taxes. Will they "gross up" the moving cost, meaning pay the taxes for the cost of the move? Find out by asking questions and reading the fine print.

Rule number two: Compare and contrast. If you are considering other offers, include the relocation package as part of the overall offer. Exactly what is being offered? Compare the components of each package. If one is lacking, advise your would-be employer as to the other package. He/ she may up the ante. In many cases, it's very possible to negotiate your relocation package.

Rule number three: Consider your home and what your employer (and their relocation company) will require of it, and you. One of my clients was offered a home buyout and a sizable bonus if she could sell quickly. Great, right? Maybe; this package also required five different home inspections from the relocation company, even before buyers were involved. This barrage of inspections might have been a breeze for a newer home but her quaint home was built when our great-grandparents were opening Hotel Hershey and riding the passenger train to Mt. Gretna. The relocation company asked for every building permit and final approval from the past century, literally. It was a headache of mass proportion and she earned every bit of that bonus. Consider your specific home and what your package will ask of you.

Moving is stressful. Relocation packages, even as a blessing, can add anxiety. Follow these three rules to shrink the swells of uncertainty in relocation's choppy and uncharted waters. Smooth sailing ahead!

Eileen S. Voyles is a REALTOR with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. She can be reached at 717- 508-4610, or evoyles@homesale.com.

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