Cincinnati Real Estate - Bob Wuest, RE/Max

December 2009 Cincinnati Home Sales are Up!

2010-01-25T15:59:00.003-05:00

Bucking the national trend:

Cincinnati area home sales up 2.5% from a year ago. It was the 7th straight month of year-over-year increases in home sales.

2009 home sales exceeded 2008 sales by 21 homes!

Nationally, home sales were down by 17% in December.

Here's the actual numbers, Courtesy of the Cincinnati area Board of Realtors:

If you're looking to buy a home in Cincinnati, you can search the Cincinnati MLS here!

8K Tax Credit and OHFA grants - Considerations

2009-09-14T15:05:00.005-04:00

Here's some good information you don't want to overlook if you're planning to obtain the $8K tax credit, or get OHFA (Ohio Housing Finance Association) funding for your new home.

If you plan to move in the next three years OR turn your property into an investment property and buy higher, the tax refund up to $8,000 will be DUE IN FULL in the year the property ceases to be your primary residence (36 months from date of purchase). This info is from an IRS.gov Q & A.

OHFA loans are for a principal residence. If you plan to buy a new home and hold the old home as investment property, you should refinance BEFORE you decide to sell... to wipe out the OHFA grant. If you move, then refinance, it will be considered an investment property. Refinancing the property at that point may be difficult - as high LTV loans are not generally available for investment properties.

Echo Boomers to the Rescue -- part Deux

2009-09-09T22:17:00.005-04:00

I wrote a post here in June '09 about the effect the Echo Boomers generation will have on housing demand and pricing over the next 5+ years. It's HERE.

It's nice to see that Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies agrees with me. In their report entitled "The State of the Nation's Housing 2009" they detail - with lots of words, charts and graphs - the shabby state of today's housing market, and the effect Echo Boomers will have on the market in the coming years.

You've already heard enough gloom and doom about today. Here's a few of the high points of the report's look-ahead about the Echo Boomers and other demographic factors affecting the housing market. (I'm paraphrasing from the report - if you want, you can download it - I'll show you where later in this post)

The difference in household formations from 2010 to 2020 is conservatively 1.25 million households annually (and may be as high as 2.3 million!) over the next the next decade - thanks to the aging of the Echo Boomers.
The number of households in the 25-44 age group (home buyers in their prime) will increase by 2.0 to 3.4 million from 2010 to 2020.
Hispanic household growth will increase by 1 million; and Asian household growth by another 1 million between 2010-2020.

The report also suggests that because the Echo Boomers are coming of age at the same time Baby Boomers are retiring, the greatest increases in demand will be for starter homes and senior housing.

It's a fascinating read (if you're - like me - really interested in the housing market). You can find the Harvard State of the Housing Market 2009 report HERE

And - call me or visit my website if you want some help buying a home in Cincinnati or surrounding areas.

Bob Wuest
(513)328-1520

Can a Good Loan Officer Make A Difference?

2009-08-11T09:04:00.014-04:00

What would you rather have - a smooth home purchase that closes on-time with minimal stress? Or one where you wonder - throughout the process - whether your home purchase will go through?

Here are a couple stories about recent home sales, that illustrate the difference.

A Trusted Loan Officer
An investor client of mine had been turned down by two lenders (of the client's choosing) because of the presence of mold in the bank-owned property he was buying. Because of the delays in having his lenders review the deal, we were under the gun to meet the closing date. Our contract called for a $100 per day penalty for closing late!

I introduced him to Wally, a loan officer whom I know and trust. We informed Wally of the two other lenders' disapproval of the loan because of the mold condition. Probably not a problem, according to Wally. Within 24 hours of the introduction, Wally said my client qualified financially for the loan. He then immediately scheduled the appraisal. A couple days later the appraisal came back well over the purchase price. We closed two weeks later - a week before the contract closing date.

The closing costs for the purchase were very reasonable. On the order of $500-$1,000 lower than the other deal I'll mention below.

Throughout the process, my trusted loan officer responded to both me and my client whenever we had a question. He returned phone calls promptly; and always told the truth about the status of the loan. My client thanked me for referring him to Wally; and said that if he needs a loan in the future, Wally will be his first choice.

Random loan officer
A client was excited about buying his first home. He was a veteran, and when we met, he had already pre-qualified for a VA loan with an out-of-state lender. We found a home he loved, and negotiated a great deal - with the seller covering all of his closing costs.

His loan officer, Jeff, seemed very pleasant and helpful. Since a VA loan typically takes a while longer to close, I had set a closing date six weeks out. Jeff said that should be no problem.

The appraisal came back fine. Smooth so far. A couple weeks go by, and Jeff tells me that everything's moving along well. A week before closing I call Jeff to schedule our upcoming closing. "The closing date's on the 5th of the month? I thought it was the 15th!", he says. First sign of trouble.

I explain that the closing date has always been the 5th of the month (and bring his attention to my first email that clearly indicates such). He says he'll expedite it with the loan processor and the underwriter; shouldn't have any problem closing on time.

A few days later Jeff tells me they haven't been able to get the VA certification for my client (something that should have been known weeks earlier). So, he's shifting him to a FHA loan. The appraiser must re-write the VA appraisal for FHA; and the loan application must be re-submitted to FHA. "May push us back a few days... no more than that", says Jeff. I'm doubtful at this point.

From that point on, Jeff is unavailable. He doesn't respond to several voicemails. The title company has another contact - Donna - who seems real helpful. She says she's pushing the deal through underwriting, and suggests we extend the closing date one week.

The seller is getting married three days after our initial closing date. Since she'll be on her honeymoon during the new closing date, we must arrange for her to sign the deed and other documents before she leaves. And of course, we must have all the forms notarized at a bank, and delivered to the title company. Like she doesn't have enough stress or scheduling difficulty three days prior to her wedding.

Meanwhile, the buyer has already given notice to his landlord, and scheduled a mover. When we have to push the deal back a week, he has to pay another month's rent, and reschedule the mover. Now he has to live out of the boxes he's packed.

Two days before the new closing date, Jeff's voicemail indicates he's on vacation for a week. I call Colleen (Jeff's assistant), and all she'll say is that the loan is in underwriting. She gets snippy with me when I push her for more information. She gives me a statement that will she thinks will get me off her back - "maybe it'll be done today". Riiiiiiight.

The second closing date comes and goes. Thank God the seller is out of town... but my buyer is literally overcome with stress. Five days later, we finally get the OK to close - not from the lender, but from the title company. Nearly three weeks after the initial closing date, we finally close the deal.

My client, the buyer, asks me if there's any way to report the lender for the terrible mishandling of his loan.

The Difference
As you can see, there's a world of difference between a trusted, efficient loan officer, and - well, you fill in the rest.

I invest time and effort into interviewing and qualifying loan officers... because when I refer a client to a lender, I want to know that they'll work as hard as I do to minimize the stress of buying a home.

My Problem
Many of my buyer clients have already pre-qualified for a loan at the time I meet them. I don't know their loan officer, nor the nature of their relationship. As I'm trying to cultivate a new relationship with a buyer, it feels pushy to me to suggest that they speak with another loan officer.

And - who knows? - maybe their loan officer is excellent! (My first contact with Wally was when a buyer client introduced me to him!)

What can you do?
By all means, I recommend pre-qualifying for a loan before you begin looking for a new home. When you interview a Realtor, ask if they have trusted loan officer(s) who:

They have worked with in the past, and have always demonstrated their ability to communicate throughout the process, and get deals closed on time.
Have low closing costs.
Are knowledgeable about all types of loans and home buyer assistance programs, and help you find the best program(s) for your unique circumstances.
Can work with you, if necessary, to clear up any credit dings that might otherwise increase your house payment

If the Realtor doesn't have preferred lenders (or doesn't understand your questions), you have the wrong Realtor.

Unless you have prior personal experience with a loan officer, I highly recommend you consider your Realtor's trusted lender!

Extended closing periods, and FHA mortgages

2009-08-07T11:30:00.002-04:00

A couple of recent developments in the mortgage industry will likely result in:

More difficulty obtaining a FHA mortgage
Extended closing dates

Here's a little background:

FHA Mortgages becoming more scarce

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker is the largest privately held issuer of FHA mortgages; and the 12th largest FHA underwriter overall. They were suspended from issuing FHA mortgages earlier this week: see article HERE. The likely result: more difficulty obtaining a FHA mortgage.

Extended closing dates

Add to that dilemma the new federal guidelines for Truth-In-Lending disclosure by your lender, that's likely to further extend closing dates. Here's a good article that outlines those guidelines, and their effect: View article

The $8000 Tax Credit and You

With the expiration date of the $8,000 tax credit looming, the message to Cincinnati first-time homebuyers is clear: if you intend to qualify for this credit, you need to get going NOW... rather than waiting till September or October.

Between the inevitable surge in demand, the loss of a major FHA lender, and the incremental time delays to conform to Truth In Lending guidelines, it's inevitable that some peoples' dreams of homeownership will be shattered, as word comes back that their closing can't occur before the expiration date for the tax credit - November 30.

Please, don't become a member of that class. Get going now. If you don't know how, you can download the First Time Home Buyer's Bible from my website. This 30-page guide provides in-depth yet easy-to-understand guidance as to how to go about buying your first home.

100% financing, 0 Down, no PMI

2009-07-28T03:50:00.002-04:00

If you think a USDA loan might be something purely agricultural, something farmers use to buy cattle, let me give you a brief overview of the program.

There are 2 main benefits of the USDA Home Loan. First, it is a true no money down home loan. Despite the elimination of virtually all other $0 down mortgages, the UDSA Home Loan still remains as a viable way to purchase a home with literally no money out of pocket, if you qualify.

Second, unlike conventional loans with a loan to value ratio over 80%, with this program, there is no mortgage insurance, easily saving a homeowner a couple hundred dollars a month.

If it is such a great program, why doesn’t everyone use it for their home financing? Good question. The answer is because not everyone qualifies, and that’s where this USDA Home Loan site comes in.

There are 2 eligibility requirements over and above a conventional mortgage that one needs to consider. First, there are income requirements. In order to qualify, your household’s total monthly income must be below a certain amount depending on the number of people in your household, county or metro area, etc. Second, there are location restrictions on the house you buy. Only areas designated eligible by the USDA qualify for this type of home loan.

Using the USDA Home Loan Eligibility section of the site, you can determine if you meet both the income and location requirements for the USDA home loan. Assuming you do, the process is very similar to obtaining a conventional finance loan.

Unfortunately, USDA Home Loans can't be used to buy a home in Cincinnati - as Hamilton, Warren, Butler and Clermont Counties are on the "Ineligible counties" list of the USDA. However, if you're looking in other counties, be sure to check out that site to see if they're available.

Asbestos info

2009-07-27T20:05:00.004-04:00

This post is courtesy of Joe Lederman of http://www.asbestos.com/. He asked that I post it to increase awareness of asbestos in older homes. Thanks, Joe!

Commonly used to insulate boilers and pipes, many homes built prior to 1980 could harvest asbestos or other environmental defected insulation techniques. Due to its flame resistant and highly durable qualities, asbestos was the ideal form of insulation for many industries.

One of the main things that can go unnoticed is taking simple precautions to avoid asbestos exposure. Exposure can be easily avoided by taking simple precautions. Many green and health forms of insulation exist which replace the need for asbestos entirely.

Asbestos Tips

Located in the mid-Western part of the United States, Ohio is regarded as the "Buckeye State" for the high amount of Buckeye trees in the state. Home too many professional and college sports teams and vast rural areas; Ohio is simply a great place for potential Cincinnati home buyers to consider calling home. The journey to purchasing a home is an enjoyable time in one’s life. But it is one that will bring many additional responsibilities. Having the assistance of an honest real estate agent can make all of the difference during this process.

If you locate any suspected asbestos in the home, most experts suggest leaving it un-disturbed until a home inspector can examine your property, take evaluations and determine the safest course of action. Sometimes the best action is no action at all. Disturbing asbestos in good condition may cause its fibers to be released into the air.

Long term exposure to damaged airborne asbestos fibers can lead to the development of a severe lung ailment known as mesothelioma.

The mesothelioma survival rate varies from patient to patient for many reasons. These include age of the mesothelioma diagnosis, latency period and cigarette smoking.

Removal of asbestos in public facilities, workplaces and homes should be performed by licensed abatement contractors as long as the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) are not violated. They must wear protective equipment such as masks and gloves to avoid any exposure. The materials should be removed in as large pieces as possible and places in disposable bags.

Healthy Alternatives

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is a citizen based agency created to protect the environment and public health by instituting compliance with environmental laws. Citizens of Ohio are motivated and pushing for continued advocating of new green sustainable technologies. Everyone strives for clean air to breathe and clean water to drink.

For example, the use of cotton fiber foam has demonstrated to reduce energy costs by 25 % per year. As education and technology of green sustainable practices increase, the numbers will continue to rise.There is no need for any products used in construction to be made from asbestos; yet over 3,000 work and home-based materials still contain this toxin.

Ohio is taking the steps to move to a paradigm of environmental awareness and you should too. As education and technology of green sustainable practices increase, the numbers will continue to rise. Living in a world where environmental sustainability is a vital concern to the future of mankind, it is important to take note of the consequences of improper building materials and environmental degradation.

Cincinnati Real Estate Market - updated

2009-06-26T10:38:00.006-04:00

Within the last 12 months, 48 homes sold per day in the Greater Cincinnati market. Housing Supply, Absorption Rate (AR), is 8.5 months down 1.5 months from April and virtually the same as last year. A “balanced market” is 5-6 months of listing inventory. Supply and demand.

The active residential inventory continues to decline below 2006 levels…this is very good. Inventory is being reduced not only by sales but also by properties being leased. It matters not the method, just the result.

Comparing to May sales in prior years

Unit sales are at 1994-95 levels. Dollar volume of sales are at 1998-99 levels. Average sales price is at 2001 levels. (As I noted in a previous post, this doesn't mean that home prices are down to 2001 levels - it shows the market momentum that first-time Cincinnati home buyers are creating, at the lower end of the price spectrum. Also, we know that Cincinnati real estate investors are back in the market - buying up REOs and short sales now that they can have up to 10 loans at a time - up from 3 earlier).

May 2009 unit sales were down about 13% from May 2008. Total dollar volume was down about 10% from May 2008. The average sales price was down 8%.

Keeping your Multi-Family Rented

2009-06-19T17:14:00.005-04:00

Things are changing.

City-wide newspapers are no longer viable advertising vehicles for your rental property. Local newspapers can still yield some rental prospects. But....

The Web is where it's at.

There are free resources available for landlords, that'll produce way more tenant prospects than a city-wide newspaper.

Here's the resources I use.

Free advertising at http://www.rentomatic.com/
Free advertising at http://www.craigslist.com/
Free advertising at http://www.backpage.com/
Free advertising at http://www.sawitonline.com/
Free advertising at http://www.postlets.com/

http://www.rentometer.com/ is a great place to determine rents for any local area.

Rentomatic, sawitonline and postlets do more than just promote your listing on one website. They syndicate your rental (or for sale) listing to sites all over the web... and create nicely formatted HTML listings that you can copy / paste into craigslist and backpage.

If you're an out-of-town landlord, you want a local number that people can call. Go to http://www.evoice.com/ , and for something like $5 per month you can get a local voicemail anywhere in the US. You can record a greeting with info on your rental, and evoice will take a message. It'll notify you that you had a call via text message and/or email. It'll also record the caller ID, so you can get back to them even if they don't speak too clearly.

And if you want to buy multifamily property in Cincinnati, let me hear from you!

SEO Rip-off Exposed

2009-06-10T16:08:00.000-04:00

SEO Rip-off Exposed

So-called SEO firms are ripping off Realtors, and many other legitimate businesses, with empty promises of instant Search Engine recognition. I decided to check one of them out. You'll be amazed by what I found!

If you want to learn how to get more attention for your websites, check out my SEO For Realtors blog!

Don't be ripped off on a home. For a great Cincinnati Realtor, call me!

Can you Make Money with Fix-n-Flips in this Real Estate Market?

2009-06-06T17:40:00.001-04:00

Can you Make Money with Fix-n-Flips in this Real Estate Market?

Click the link above for a little article I wrote recently.

Smart investors are still making money in this market. This article gives you "the" formula for profitability.

And if you come back here and need some help finding good candidate properties for fix-n-flips around here, I publish a free list of Cincinnati foreclosure homes once or twice a week. It's not ALL the foreclosure homes.... I pre-screen them before I send them out, to assure that most of them are selling at a big discount to what other homes in the neighborhood are selling for. Click the link above to see a few case studies, and subscribe to my list.

And if you're looking for a homestead, I'm seeing more and more near-retail-condition homes among the foreclosures. Try subscribing to the list above.

Turnaround in the Housing Market is Inevitable

2009-06-04T23:44:00.005-04:00

I'm really surprised that not many people seem to be paying any attention to this.

The Echo Boomers - (AKA Generation Y) - the generation born between 1982 and 1995 (13 years) is 80 million strong.

The Baby Boom generation was born between 1946 and 1963 (17 years), and was 77 million strong.

The Baby Boomers were responsible for the largest real estate build-out in US history. So what effect on real estate markets do you think the Echo Boomers will have?

The youngest of the Echo Boomers is 27 years old now. They're already buying houses. In fact, they're the ones buying a lot of the foreclosure houses. With $8K tax credits, thank you, President Obama.

Over the next several years, the Echo Boomers will be swarming the housing market like bees around a hive. You think we saw housing demand in the late 90s and early 2000s? It'll be nothing compared to this.

Savvy Cincinnati real estate investors have known this for some time. Buy-and-hold investors will see a windfall within the next five years.

Just remember: you read it here first.

Oh, yeah. You don't believe me? Check out a few of these sources. And check the dates of these articles. They aren't new.

Foreclosure effects

2009-06-04T22:48:00.004-04:00

What effect do foreclosure homes have on Cincinnati real estate prices?

There are more and more foreclosure homes coming onto the market. According to RealtyTrac, there were 32% more foreclosures nationwide in April 2009 than a year earlier.

Let's face it. When the banks put these homes back on the market, they want to unload them fast. Often they're priced way under retail value for homes in the area. (Of course, they're not often in retail condition).

So, the large number of foreclosed homes on the market has a depressive effect on prices in two different ways:

There's more inventory available than there would be otherwise. More inventory equates to oversupply, which (as all of us who attended Economics 101 remember) depresses prices.
The foreclosed homes are competing with retail homes in the same neighborhood. It's tough to sell a $150,000 home in the same neighborhood where there's a couple foreclosures available in the $80K - $100K range.
Because so many foreclosed homes (REOs) are being sold, the average sold price in Cincinnati has dropped dramatically in the last year or so - from about $190K average last June to something on the low side of $140K today. (OK the Obama tax incentives for first time buyers is also serving to drop average sold home prices, too).

So, the Cincinnati foreclosures are definitely serving to depress home prices.

How long will the effect last? I expect the high numbers of layoffs and unemployment will further extend the foreclosure numbers into next year. I would guess that we'll see foreclosures leveling off in 2010, and declining in 2011.

If you're looking to buy foreclosed homes in Cincinnati, you might want to get on my mailing list. I screen new REOs as they come on the market, and pick out the ones that look like they're priced low relative to the retail value of the neighborhood. I aggregate these, and send them out via email twice a week. You can click this link for this free foreclosure list on my website.

$8K Tax Credit As Down Payment!

2009-05-18T19:02:00.002-04:00

I just wrote a hubpages article about something I'm pretty excited about. It's pretty cool to give an $8K tax credit for buying a new home. It's freakin awesome to be able to use it as a down payment for your home!!! Thank you again, President Obama!

Check this out: $8K Tax Credit As Down Payment!

And, if you need a great Realtor to help you buy a Cincinnati home, let me hear from you!

Home buyer eBook

2009-04-21T18:50:00.003-04:00

I'm happy to say I've completed something I've been meaning to do for years.

When I meet with first-time homebuyers, their questions and concerns are all very similar. Over the years I've developed almost a canned speech about the homebuying process, to empower them with the information they need to feel confident about moving forward with a home purchase. Specifically, how we can get them a great deal with a minimal amount of bucks out of pocket.

I've always wanted to get it down in writing, so that my clients have a record of what we spoke about - rather than my chicken scratching on the back of a napkin.

Well, I finally did it. I wrote what I think is an awesome book. And now I'm offering it at no cost to anyone who visits my website and registers for the eBook.

It goes over, in great detail, the home buying process. And, it includes suggestions and tips for issues like these:

How to get the seller to help with your closing costs
How to negotiate on the price of a home
How to assure that you're not getting a lemon
How to make sure you're getting all the financial assistance that's available to you
How you can tweak your W-4 at work to reduce your withholding taxes, to get more money week-to-week for your house payment

And lots more!

Click this link for your FREE copy of the Home Buyers eBook. Feel free to drop by and pick up a copy for yourself!

And if you need someone to help you buy a home in Cincinnati, give me a jingle!

Did I mention you can search the Cincinnati MLS there too?

What's happened to the Cincinnati market?

2009-04-21T18:40:00.003-04:00

Well, I just updated the Cincinnati MLS stats (there's a link for them above).
WEIRD.
Average sale price for homes sold has gone from an average of $190,000 in June of last year to just over $132,000 now.
Does that mean that home prices have dropped off that much?
I don't think so. I think what it shows is two-fold:

A lot of what's selling is at the lower end of the market.
The Obama $8K tax credit is working.

First time homebuyers tend to buy lower-priced homes. In my experience, only about 1 in 10 first time homebuyers around here starts with a home in the $200K range. Most are well below $200K.
Last summer, there were no first-time buyer incentives. So the market was selling as per normal. Now, people are taking advantage of what I call "The Trifecta" - the combination of $8000 tax credit, interest rates in the 4.5-5.5% range, and extremely low home prices. And this is where all the volume is in the market right now.

So if you're looking to buy a home in Cincinnati, this is the best time ever to do it! The Cincinnati MLS statistics don't lie!

Cincinnati MLS sales stats - 2007 & 2008

2009-03-10T11:50:00.002-04:00

The Cincinnati MLS recently published year-over-year sales stats. Not particularly encouraging.

You can access them here

I'm here to help you buy your next Cincinnati home or Cincinnati investment property!

Top 10 Tax Deductions & Credits for Homeowners

2009-01-28T20:12:00.003-05:00

I came across a blog today that was too good not to publish here. A lot of people miss a few of the tax deductions available to them as homeowners.

Check this out:

Top 10 Deductions & Credits

Cincinnati MLS Search

Can You Save on Property Taxes?

2008-12-28T12:48:00.011-05:00

If you got a new property valuation notice in December, you might be getting hit with a tax increase. Add to that a few new levies starting up in 2009, and your property tax bill might be going up a couple hundred bucks!

It's important to remember that these are proposed increases. If you don't agree with them, you can contest the increase. (I saved $600/year in property taxes doing this with one of my properties). It's pretty easy to do... but you have to follow the county's defined process.

Instructions for appealing your property value can usually be found on your county auditor's website. Remember that most counties won't accept complaints till after January 1. Here are links you can use for the three counties in Southwest Ohio:

Hamilton County:

Guidelines for filing a complaint

Rules for filing a complaint

Complaint form

How to complete the form

How to best present your case

Warren County:

Complaint process overview

Complaint form

Butler county:

Complaint process overview

Complaint Instructions

Complaint form - not available on their site till Jan 1 - HERE is the page where you can find it after 1/1

The burden of proof for contesting the increase is on you. It requires that you present data that supports your case.

If you want to contest your property valuation increase and you need some help and/or advice on doing so, give me a call - I'm happy to help.

And, as always, if I can help anyone you know with buying or selling a home, or taking advantage of the outstanding values in the market right now to get started with a wealth accumulation plan, please let me know!

Find a new home in Cincinnati

Bob Wuest (513) 328-1520

Landlording thoughts

2008-12-03T13:23:00.008-05:00

I had a discussion with a landlord a while back whose property was underperforming - low occupancy rates, excessive late pays & evictions. As we talked, it became apparent why. I made a few suggestions, which he thanked me for profusely. What seemed like common sense property management to me, was a "revelation" of sorts to him, a long-time landlord. After musing on this, I thought I'd post a few of the ideas I shared with him, on the chance it might help someone else.

Are you actively involved in filling vacancies? If you've delegated this task to someone - whether a professional property management firm, or a staffer - are they doing all they can? If they're not suitably motivated, chances are it's low on their priority list. In this man's case, he'd spent the money for advertising, but who was picking up the calls? Part-time staffers whose primary role on the property was cleaning and maintenance. A couple months after he started taking the calls, his occupancy rates went from around 80% to greater than 90%. Imagine that!
Demand on-time rent payments. Call tenants when they're a few days late, or post a Notice to Vacate on their door if they don't call back within a few days of due date. A tenant with a NTV who wants to stay there will find the money + late charges. If they get a month or two backed up on their rent, they can't put enough money together to make it up - and they'll squat on your property throughout the next 45 days until you can effect an eviction.
Incentives - If you offer an incentive like one month's free rent, be creative - it doesn't have to be the first month. You can reduce the monthly rent by 1/3 for the first three months, or offer the free month at the end of the lease term. Always collect deposits prior to move-in. If you don't, you probably won't get it.
How do you screen prospective tenants? Tenant screening standards are important for both the good of the property, and for assurance that you're in compliance with Fair Housing laws. You can get some help at http://www.tenantverification.com/.... but there's no substitute for picking up the phone and making a few calls. At the very least, you'll want to assure yourself of the following:

No recent criminal convictions - particularly drug use and/or violent crime. Nothing will clear out your multi-family property faster than a tenant who's using, or perpetrating violence.
No recent evictions. Someone who's been evicted recently, or worse, NOW, often won't put their real landlord's name on the application. Check the ownership of the property (from auditor's site) with the landlord name on the application, and assure you talk with the owner or his authorized agent.
Ability to pay - whether that's from a job (paycheck stubs + employer verification), or public assistance (verification with Section 8 agency and/or disability check stubs).

To your wealth!

Find Multi-Families in Greater Cincinnati

Bob

Wow, we're still alive!

2008-11-01T08:38:00.008-04:00

With the tone of the articles in the mainstream media lately, I'd have thought we'd have all been vaporized by now! Does it seem to you like it does to me - that their reporting on the states of the housing, credit, and stock markets - are designed to foster and promote FEAR and PANIC?

What's the real truth about markets?
The truth is that markets are inherently cyclical in nature. They go up, they go down.

So what's the problem?
The problem is more with our thinking than with the markets themselves. Most of us tend to judge the markets (of course, the press helps us with this!) We judge up markets as GOOD, and down markets as BAD. Judging the markets leads to emotional involvement -- which leads to dumb decisions or its counterpart - paralysis. Check out this chart, which illustrates ANY market, and typical judgments / emotions:

What's the solution?
When we let go of our judgments (and resultant emotions), we put ourselves in a better position to profit from the market's current state. Instead of being driven by euphoria or panic, we're better able to think about how to adjust our strategies to benefit from the CURRENT market, wherever it is on the chart!

Every market has cycles. Successful investors will not judge where we are now, but rather ask themselves questions like:

Where are we on the market cycle today?
How can I profit from the current market?
What strategies should I adopt now?
Do I need new knowledge or training?

Seeing markets for what they are - instead of assigning judgments - is key to being successful in real estate investing in ANY market.

Find your next home

Housing & Economic Recovery Act 2008 - A DISASTER!

2008-08-22T13:03:00.007-04:00

Here's some commentary on the HERA 2008. If you've bought your first home recently, or plan to, you should know that your good ole Uncle Sam just gave you a $7,500 interest free loan!

All others, read on.....

Have you seen this act?

Please tell me how giving first-time buyers a $7,500 tax credit three to twelve months AFTER they buy a home is going to stimulate the housing market?

Let's listen in on a typical conversation among prospective first-time homebuyers:

Fred: Gee honey, did you see that if we buy a house, the government will give us $7,500 to go on a European vacation?
Wilma: Nope, we're buying some furniture and a large-screen TV for the living room so we can quit sitting on boxes.
Fred: OK, let's buy a house!
Wilma: Well, I just talked to our Realtor, and he said they just did away with Down Payment Assistance programs, and the FHA just raised the down payment requirements from 3% to 3.5%. So I guess we'll just have to save our money for a couple more years.
Fred: Well, we GOTTA buy a home in the next year so we can cash in!
Wilma: Maybe my weird Aunt Brunhilda will lend us some money for a down payment. But do you realize that we need to pay that $7,500 back to the government at $500 per year? And if we sell our new home, they'll take the unpaid balance out of our proceeds?
Fred: Won't that take away from our down payment on our second home in 3-5 years?
Wilma: It would, if we were to upgrade then. But we'll just stay in the home for 15 years till we pay it back.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did I miss something?

I can't see for the life of me how this can stimulate the housing market! This act is a freakin' disaster!

First-time homebuyers and investors have been the forces that've kept this housing market alive over the last 12-18 months. And Fannie Mae won't insure more than four mortgages. If investors could get some help, we could buy more of these REOs and reduce the inventory.

Meanwhile the National Association of Realtors is high-fiving each other, the press, and anyone else who will listen. This is the biggest instance of "The Emperor With No Clothes" that I've seen in years!

Message to NAR and Congress - Puh-lease quit trying to "fix" the market!

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Title seasoning issues

2008-07-02T07:48:00.004-04:00

What's title seasoning?

Does this sound familiar? A crooked investor steals a home for $40K from a sweet old grandma. He paints it, then finds a naive buyer to buy the home for $120K ($20K over retail value). He sends the buyer to his loan officer, who has an appraiser in his back pocket who validates the $120K price. They sell the buyer a mortgage he can't afford. Everybody makes money - investor, loan officer, appraiser. A year later the house goes into foreclosure.

Lots of crooked people are clocking time in the pokey for transactions like that.

Lenders have created title seasoning requirements in a "baby with the bath water" response that affects rehabbers. Quick fix-n-flip homes will almost always fall under these title seasoning rules. Check out these two scenarios:

1. Sale to a retail buyer:

FHA requires that the seller must have been the owner of record for 90+ days. There are a few exceptions; but generally none that involve a fix-n-flip home.
If you're selling the home within 12 months of purchase, for >5% of your purchase price, FHA may ask for documentation to substantiate the increase (receipts, lists of improvements, before/after pictures).
And, if you're selling within the first 12 months for 100%+ of your purchase price, FHA may require a second appraisal.
Conventional lenders will generally follow similar title seasoning rules. It may depend on the buyer's credit score and/or debt service ratio.
If you have a buyer within 180 days of your purchase, you'll want to check with his lender to know that you have a legitimate sale before you accept a contract. Otherwise you might end up with the house off the market for 30 days before you find out that the loan is subject to title seasoning requirements.

2. Cash-out re-fi

Say you take a hard money loan to buy the property, do a quick rehab, and put it on the market. It doesn't sell, and the interest is killing you. You want to take a conventional re-fi to payoff the hard money lender.... but you've been on title less than 6 months.
You may have to do some digging to find a lender who can handle this transaction because of the title seasoning rules.

Title seasoning is an important consideration for rehabbers. Don't lose track of these important rules. Talk to a good loan officer for more details.

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Squeezing more profits from rentals

2008-05-23T12:17:00.004-04:00

Is raising rents the best way to increase your Net Operating Income? We don't think so. You can often find diamonds in the rough in your expense column!

We like buying multifamilies with owner-paid heat (at attractive cap rates, of course!) A changeover to tenant-paid electric baseboard heat allows each tenant to set the thermostat at a comfortable level. And, at only $1,000-$1,500 per unit installation cost, the payback is often two years or less. And now's the best time of the year to do it - tenants won't feel the pinch of higher electric bills for months! (Note: check your leases first - don't violate any lease terms - particularly Section 8 leases.)

On larger multifamily properties, changing out old toilets with 1.4 gallon high-efficiency models can save big bucks on the water bill! Flow restricters on shower heads add to those savings, for only a few bucks per. And while we're on the subject of water, how about replacing owner-paid-gas tank heaters with on-demand (tenant-paid) electrical tankless heaters? Not only shifts the cost of operation to the tenant, but virtually eliminates water tank replacement costs. Installation of point-of-use tankless water heaters at each fixture are only a couple hundred bucks, and they yield instant hot water! Makes your tenant happy, and saves water in the process!

When you buy a property cheap, check your tax valuation. If it's higher than you paid, you can appeal it during the first three months of the year at the auditor's office. Save hundreds or thousands on property taxes!

To your wealth!

Investment properties for sale

Squeezing profit out of rental properties

2008-05-22T22:00:00.003-04:00

Sometimes the best way to increase your Net Operating Income has little to do with rents. Let's take a look at the Expense column of the operating statement to see where the big expenses are; and then work on them.

First, utilities. If your property has owner-paid heat, your heat bill around here is probably $60-120 per month per unit, year round. And if you're not on even billing, your winter bills are REALLY eating into your cash flow! ANSWER: Install tenant-paid electric baseboard heat. It'll probably cost you about $1,000 to $1,500 for a 1-BR unit. Work the math - that's a one-two year payback! For the rest of the time you own the building, you're making an additional $100/month/unit or so!

Your next investment here

What's the useful life of.......

2008-04-30T15:31:00.005-04:00

A furnace? A roof? A dishwasher?

Here's a little guide to the useful life of standard house items. Click the image to the left to expand.

Feel free to print it out & use it as a field guide.....

To your wealth!

Bob

Find your next investment property here

Estimating Rehab costs

2008-04-30T15:12:00.011-04:00

A lot of fellow Nouveau Riche investors are buying homes for rehab. How to estimate how much that new roof will cost? Here's a helpful guide to RETAIL construction costs. If you're an investor, you don't want to pay retail... but if you use these figures you'll be on the safe side.

Clicking on each of the 6 pages here will explode it to readable size. Feel free to print them out for future reference.

Enjoy!

Investment properties available <--- here

How much rent can I charge?

2008-04-11T08:12:00.005-04:00

Check out http://www.rentometer.com/ to see what others near your property are ASKING for rent.

Remember, only SOLD comps are useful in determining a home's value - not LISTED homes. Same is true for rentals.

Wondering about Section 8 rents? Here are the 2008 figures from Cincinnati MHA

Rental properties for sale here

Why pay a listing commission?

2007-08-28T13:17:00.003-04:00

A lot of for-sale-by-owners think about listing their home on the MLS with a flat-fee broker.

I don't blame them. Everybody wants to save money, especially when the market's flat.

I can quote statistics all day long about the number of people who pay their $500-600 to a flat-fee broker, and then turn around and list with a full service broker when it doesn't sell. But sometimes a story works better than statistics.

I listed a FSBO in July. They'd tried to sell it themselves for a while, and eventually listed it on the MLS via a flat-fee broker. They paid him $650 for a 6-month listing. There were a few showings, but no feedback from any of the showings. When I met them, they had 2 or 3 prospects they thought were interested, but weren't getting return phone calls.

They listed with me. I sold the home in 18 days, at only $2,000 under their list price. They're happy, and they realize now the difference between flat-fee and full-service.

What's the difference? We both list it on the MLS, right? So why did it sell so quick with me, and sit on the market indefinitely with a flat-fee listing?

Stay tuned. They said they were gonna write a letter for my blog....

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Just who's representing you, anyway?

2007-08-28T12:59:00.001-04:00

When I'm negotiating on a home - buying or selling - I always look up on the MLS how much experience the other party's agent has. The more I know about them, the better I am able to adapt my negotiating style to their experience.

So I look up the number of transactions & the size of deals they've done previously.

Much of the time, I'm finding agents with less than 5 sales this year.

So I ran some stats from the MLS, and was blown away by the results. Check it out:

20% of licensed agents (over 1,200) in the area had ZERO sales last year.
60% of licensed agents (over 3,600) had five or fewer sales last year.

I'm wondering how much money was lost by buyers and sellers who were represented by agents who only have a few sales per year. When they go up against someone who's a full-time agent and presumably has some negotiating skills, just how much money are they costing their clients?

It's a great question, and it's impossible to answer. But if I were looking for someone to entrust my largest financial asset to, I'd be looking for someone who makes a good living at it... not someone who hacks at it on weekends.

Oh... almost forgot to mention. I had 21 transactions last year. On track to do about the same this year.

Top-knotch Cincinnati Realtor

The Credit Crunch! Food for thought...

2007-08-16T17:31:00.001-04:00

By now, everyone's heard about the credit crunch that's resulting from all the foreclosures happening nationwide. Here in Ohio we're at the top of the list - over 3% of mortgages in Ohio are in foreclosure.

Most homebuyers today can't remember, but 20% down used to be a requirement. It loosened up in the 70s, when you might squeeze into a home with 10% down. In the last few years, it's amazing how many people are buying with zero down.

So, in light of all the problems in the mortgage market today, I'm peering into my crystal ball and finding some questions there. No answers yet, but at least food for thought. Feel free to leave your thoughts here on these issues.

Will the fallout of this crunch result in lenders requiring 10 to 20% down payments again? If so, there'll be FAR fewer people in the market to buy homes. We don't have to stretch too far to figure out what that'll do to home prices.

If people can't buy homes - either because they can't save the down payment or because of tighter credit standards, what'll that do to the rental market? Will the demand for rentals increase (and thus rents)? Will developers build more high-end apartment complexes? Might it be a good time to buy rental units? Will cash flows increase, along with values?

Every "problem" presents an opportunity for those of us who can see through the veil of darkness. I'm looking hard for the opportunities that'll arise as a result of the current mortgage market problems. Ideas? Leave 'em here!

Click here for an award-winning Cincinnati Realtor

Save Money on Home Improvements

2007-08-15T11:58:00.001-04:00

Want to take a loan to make some improvements to your home? If you live in Hamilton County, you might just qualify for a low-interest loan.

The Home Improvement Program provides subsidies to Hamilton County homeowners who are upgrading the housing stock. Interest rates 3% below those offered by most banks.

Works for personal residences as well as rental properties.

Give 'em a click - http://www.hamilton-co.org/hc/hc_hip.asp

Tell 'em Bob sent you.

Find your next home here

Foreclosure quiz

2007-08-01T19:06:00.001-04:00

Interested in buying foreclosed homes?

Here's a little quiz from Realtor Magazine to test your knowledge of foreclosures:

Take the quiz

Lower property taxes

2007-07-31T14:44:00.001-04:00

You might qualify for a $400 credit on your Ohio taxes.

The new and expanded Homestead Exemption law allows you to shelter up to $25,000 of the value of your primary residence from taxation, if you are 65 years of age or will attain 65 in the current tax year; or you are certified totally and permanently disabled.

You must apply for the exemption with your County Auditor by October 1, 2007.

You can follow this link for more information: http://tax.ohio.gov/divisions/communications/homestead_exemption_information.stm
or call the Ohio Department of Taxation at (800) 282-1780

So maybe this isn't you. But I'll bet you know someone it applies to.

Do them a favor. Call them up and tell them. They'll thank you when they save $400 in taxes!

Find your home's value

I get 3 estimates

2007-06-28T15:08:00.000-04:00

The German in me is pretty cheap.

Unless I have a personal friend in the business, I generally get three estimates when I have an expensive project to do. I started doing that when I was rehabbing homes for a living. Saved me a lot of money over the years!

Last year I bought a home that had an old Williamson furnace (circa 1950) and air conditioner.

When it kicked on, all the lights in the neighborhood went dim.

I figured it'd cost me a small fortune to heat the home over the winter. So I called a couple of the better-known HVAC firms, had them out to estimate the work. One came in at $5,400, another $4,200. Ouch.

I was thinking of giving it to the second firm, but hadn't moved forward yet. Across the street from my house, two multifamily buildings are being rehabbed. I noticed one day a couple guys unloading furnaces and carrying them into the buildings. Knowing that contractors who work for rehabbers are often pretty inexpensive, I stopped the guy and asked him if he'd like to quote replacing my furnace and AC unit. We talked a bit, turns out he works for one of the big HVAC firms, and does a few installs on the side. He stopped by, and faxed me a quote the next day. $2,600. Same brand and models as the $4,200 guy! Plus, he said he'd rebuild my plenum and install an electronic thermostat - things the "big boys" hadn't quoted.

Sounds too good to be true, right? I called the rehabber who owns the buildings across the street. The furnace guy has been doing work on the side for him for five years. Never a complaint.

I gave him the job. He showed up with a crew of two other men on Saturday morning. They were done by 5PM. It's been working flawlessly since.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - he also installed a humidifier for that price!

I get three estimates.

Cincinnati MLS Statistics

2007-06-28T13:28:00.001-04:00

I just finished the grueling task of creating charts from a number of key month-to-month statistics from the Cincinnati MLS.

I intend to update them monthly.

They're useful charts that show the current state of the market. They should speak for themselves, but I'm always happy provide an interpretation of their meaning.

Check out the link at the top of this blog for the current state of the market!

First-class Cincinnati Realtor

Staging visualized

2007-06-27T19:35:00.001-04:00

Stage a home? What's that mean?

When you live in a home, you arrange it to best suit your way of living. When you want to sell your home, the idea is to make it as attractive as possible to every visitor. It's about showcasing the home to sell. The more attractive it is, the greater the likelihood it'll sell fast, and at top dollar.

Check out the videos on this page from the National Association of Realtors - great examples! Ask yourself about whether you'd be more attracted to the BEFORE or AFTER rooms.

Get help selling your home here!

Full price for your home

2007-06-01T10:22:00.001-04:00

The art of selling a home.

It's all about getting people into your home to see it. The more people we can get into the home, the faster that person will show up who can't live without buying it.

There are fewer serious buyers out shopping these days. And there are a lot more homes on the market. So the "art" is to bring more of those scarce buyers into your home. You could do what most Realtors suggest - reduce the price. But everybody else is doing that too! Drop 5 grand off the price of your home - buyers will respond with ho hummm

Time for something a bit more creative...

Buyer financing incentives is one way I've been using successfully in the last year to get your home noticed and viewed. Here's a couple ideas.

Offer to reduce the buyer's monthly payment for 2-3 years. We can do this by buying down the interest rate, which typically costs 3-6% of your home's selling price.
Offer "no payments for 3-6 months". Basically, you prepay the buyer's payments at closing.

You're gonna accept less for your home than what it's listed for anyway, right? Well, then, create something for the buyer that has more value and appeal than a lower price.

The "key" is that we only offer incentives like these with a FULL PRICE OFFER. All bets are off if they come in one thin dime under your ask price.

Check out www.bobwuest.com for an illustration on how one of these works. Click on the "Save Money" tab on the left.

Fast help for selling your home!

Fix my house!!!

2007-06-01T09:09:00.001-04:00

I just got a call from one of the folks who's gonna sell their house through me next month. She was looking for an electrician and a mason for a few fix-up items they need done before they list their home. I'd gotten a call from my painter last evening, saying he'll finish up the general fix-up and painting work he was doing for her.

I readily gave her the numbers of a couple of people I've come to trust to do good work for my clients, at a reasonable price. Naturally, the work they do reflects on me... and so I'm pretty picky about who I choose to refer.

And then it hit me. This is a value-added service that I offer to my clients, family, and friends. If I didn't do it, they might end up paying a higher price to someone out of the phone book - or as one lady did, from a coupon offering a 10% discount in Reach magazine (a local rag chock-full of ads for everything from pizza to gutter cleaning).

The people who advertise there might be good at what they do! But there's no substitute for personal experience. When I refer a contractor to a client, I know they'll do a good job at a reasonable price.

Get professional help selling your Cincinnati home

That makes me feel good.

Flushing the cell phone

2007-05-31T22:39:00.001-04:00

Last month I planned a day with some out-of-town buyers to show them a few homes around the area. On the morning I was to meet them at their hotel, it seemed that all my activity was coming to a head. I had two contracts in negotiations, and a closing scheduled for the following day.

With all this going on, I was worrying that I'd have to spend at least a couple hours on my phone, in the middle of showing them around town.

The universe wasn't having any part of that. In the middle of my morning routine, my cell phone dropped in the toilet. Oh shit! (<---- bad pun)

I fished the phone out of the deep depths of the toilet with a coat hanger (the bowl was clean, by the way.....). It was dead. I just looked at it and laughed. Seemed the universe was solving my problem. I just had to take it on faith that everything would work out OK.

My out-of-town buyers and I had a great laugh over breakfast about what'd happened. We had a productive day, and when I dropped them off in the evening, I felt I'd made a couple new friends.

I scrambled home, and fortunately I found a backup phone. I slipped the chip out of the pee-phone into the backup. When I checked my voicemail, I got a message that my mailbox was full. Oh no! I'd never heard that before! Why now??? When I had so many irons in the fire?

I went through the fifteen or so voicemails, and heard that both contracts in negotiations had been signed; the title company had already faxed the closing documents for tomorrow's closing; and an agent had submitted an offer on one of my listings. Everything went as smooth as possible, without a single call or any stressing on my part.

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hmmmm..... I wonder if I should work the loo into my business strategy.....???

April numbers - UGH!

2007-05-26T18:02:00.002-04:00

April existing home sales just came in from the National Assn of Realtors. I'll give you my two cents worth, then show you the statistics.

WARNING: It's ugly!
It shows a market that was down for most of last year, showed some life toward late '06 and early '07, then basically went south in the last couple months.

Here's the high points:

Homes are selling at the lowest level since 2003.
Home prices have declined for the last nine months.
More homes are on the market than ever before.

Check out the raw data from the NAR: April Market Report

And then there's the articles from USA Today, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal.

Not good news, right? Unless, of course, you're a buyer. In which case you're gonna have a lot more homes to choose from, and you're gonna pay less for that ideal home than you would have a year ago.

What's a poor seller to do?

Well, first of all, read down the next couple of posts. There are some ideas there. I hope they're helpful.

Second, if you're trying to sell your home by owner, don't get rid of that snow shovel just yet. Unless you're prepared to give your home away, you'll need it this winter. The tools necessary to get your home sold in this market just aren't available to you.

And if you're thinking about listing with some relative or friend who squeezes in a few home sales each year in the evenings and weekends, that snow shovel will come in handy.

Getting a home sold in this market takes the marketing, promotion, and creativity of a full-time, successful Realtor who's selling homes even during the rough times. (that would be me). I could give you about a hundred reasons why. But you'd probably nod off reading it here. If you're interested enough, flip over to my website for my phone number and call me.

Selling your home? Get fast help here.

Selling in a buyer's market

2007-05-24T13:02:00.001-04:00

Every day people ask me about the state of the market. Well, kids, all the stats say there are a LOT of homes for sale out there. That typically extends the time to sale, and depresses prices.

Buyers are more picky today than when there were fewer homes to choose from. So if you're selling, it's important to pay attention to the details in order not to have your home passed by, over and over.

Here's a few ideas on how to get your home sold.

Kick up the "WOW" factor outside. It starts with the view from the curb. What can you do to make people say "WOW!" when they drive past your home? (Hint: then they'll want to see the inside!) It goes beyond trimming the grass and shrubs, I'm talking dressing up the home - just like you'd dress up when you go to your 20th high school reunion! You don't do either every day, right? Here's what I'm talking about: CNN Money Article
Entrance dynamics. I see it all the time - when I open the door to the home and the first view is gorgeous, the lady whispers to her husband: "Honey, I think this is the one!" And the rest of the time in the home she's finding every reason to justify her initial feeling. Here again, the "WOW" factor is extremely important. What can you do to create that impression the moment they walk in the door? If you don't know, then see the staging idea on the bottom of this post.
Kitchens and baths. I'm generalizing here, but this is my experience: women make decisions on which home to buy. At the top of womens' lists are: a) modern kitchens with lots of counter space and newer appliances; and b) sparkling-clean bathrooms. Here's a minimum of what you want to do: Clear everything off the countertops. Paint older cabinets. Install contemporary fixtures - faucets and lights. Clean tile, floors, bathtubs. Re-caulk if necessary - caulk should be bright white.
Eliminate clutter. If your stuff is all over the place, buyers can't see how their stuff will fit. You're moving anyway, right? So go through the house, and remove anything you won't need till you're moved. Furniture, files, knicknacks, family pictures, anything that's not functional. And don't move it to a pile in the basement! Get a POD or a storage locker, and move it offsite.

Maybe you've heard of staging a home? The home staging trend started in California in the early 90s. It's really caught on here over the last couple years. For a couple hundred bucks, a professional designer will visit your home and make suggestions on how to re-arrange your furniture and accessories for maximum eye appeal. Sometimes they make use of your own stuff, and sometimes they recommend buying or renting some things that will really dress up your home.

Do a Google search on home staging, and you'll find all kinds of statistics about how much more a staged home will sell for, and how much more quickly. Unless you have a flair for interior design yourself, I have one suggestion: spend the bucks and DO IT! Your competition - other homesellers in your area - probably did! Please believe me: it'll pay for itself.

If you need a good home staging professional, call me - (513) 328-1520, and I'll recommend a couple for you.

Get help selling your home here!

Mortgage interest rates as of today

2007-05-18T17:39:00.001-04:00

Freddie Mac reported Thursday 5/17 that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.15% nationwide this week, down slightly from 6.16% last week.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, were unchanged at 5.87% this week, the same as last week.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.89% this week, up slightly from 5.87% last week.

A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.58% while 15-year mortgages were at 6.17%. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.22% and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages were at 5.62%.

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On giving

2007-05-18T16:42:00.002-04:00

Giving starts the receiving process. (Richard Robbins)
If you have a gift and don't give it away, you don't get to keep it. (Marianne Williamson)
Givers gain. (Business Network International)

I could go on about giving. And probably will later.

I spend a lot of my time working with For Sale By Owners. I don't try to hard sell them on listing with me. Now understand, I won't complain if they want to! But I know when I have a house to sell, the idea of paying a 6% commission hurts. I've tried to sell homes on my own too! *before I became a Realtor*

I've developed a lot of ideas and resources to help people sell on their own. I visit with a good number of FSBOs, and always share ideas with them. I've developed a drip email campaign with ideas.

I even recently started a relationship with "Talking House" to give people selling on their own an alternative to loading the brochure box every day. This is a transmitter than goes in the home, and does a low-frequency, 24x7 radio broadcast of a description of the home. I spent over $500 per transmitter, as an investment. What's interesting is that everyone I've shown it to thinks it's a good idea, but they're not willing to spend 50 bucks to get it! (and I offer to rebate that money if they eventually list with me).

Buy or sell a home in Cincinnati
I figure, if give away the knowledge I have of selling homes, it'll come back somehow.

Still a buyer's market in Cincinnati

2007-05-18T08:16:00.001-04:00

The Cincinnati Enquirer did a front-page “slash and burn” job a few weeks ago about the state of the Cincinnati real estate market. It felt really wrong to me, since the production boards at my office are loaded with recent activity, and my business is booming. So I decided to take a look at the statistics published by the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, and share some of those here. (Note: these are extracted from the March ’07 single family & condo stats).

Homes for sale: 15,455. Up 8.4% from March of last year.

Closed homes in March: 1,738. Down 13.5% from March of last year.

Pending sales in March (contract accepted, waiting to close): 3,533. Down 13% from March of last year.

Average price: $177,543 -.29%

Average days on market: 88 (up 13.6% from last March).

Months of inventory: 8.9 (This figure is derived by dividing the homes currently for sale by the number of closings)

Here’s my take on these. Inventory is up. Sales are down. Average price seems to be stabilizing. It’s taking longer to sell homes than a year ago.

Yep, those are all characteristics of a buyer’s market.

What’s that mean to you?

If you’re a seller, be prepared to wait a bit longer to get your home sold – about 3 months on average. If you’re thinking about selling and you’re in no hurry, better to wait for the market to shift. If you choose to sell now, hire a Realtor who will go the extra distance to get your home sold. Ask about his/her specific marketing plan for your home, and ignore anybody who gives you a canned answer. The seller's market strategy of simply listing it on the MLS and putting a sign in the yard is a formula for a low price and a long drawn-out sale process.

If you’re buying a home, you have a lot to choose from. Once you’ve found the one you like, it’s likely that if your Realtor’s a decent negotiator, he’ll get you a better deal than you’d have gotten a year ago. You should be able to negotiate a better purchase price, or some seller concessions – assistance with closing costs, or interest rate buydown for example.

Sell your home fast!

Universal laws

2007-05-15T08:43:00.001-04:00

I believe there are certain universal laws of nature, that are in play in and around me all the time.

In the movie "The Secret" (www.whatisthesecret.tv) the Law of Attraction is taught and discussed by men and women who have studied the works of masters throughout the history of civilization. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's an awesome, transformative piece of work that can shift our reality dramatically - in a very positive way! It has for me, and for many of my friends.

When we study the laws of the universe - of which the Law of Attraction is only one - and understand how they work, we may then begin to apply them in our lives. Life begins to show up more beautifully, and it supports our choices and goals.

I believe that everything - got that? EVERYTHING that occurs in my life is the result of the my thoughts. And, everything that happens just IS. Any event has no meaning, in and of itself. Meaning, or definition, results from the "spin" I choose to put on it. I can choose to perceive an event as negative or positive, or I can just watch the event from a point of detached curiosity, and let the meaning evolve for me over time.

Here's a recent example of how this has worked in my life. When my car was totaled in an auto accident 8 months ago, I couldn't understand how I could have attracted that. What thoughts led to that? How did I attract that?

I could have worried about how terrible it was that my car was wrecked. That I was without a car. How will I get to my appointments tomorrow? What am I gonna do now????

But instead, I was thankful that my insurance would pay for a rental car..... that I wasn't seriously hurt..... that the cop said that it was the other guy's fault (when it seemed to me that it was mine).... that I had a good friend/chiropractor, and a masseur who healed my aches and pains.... and was reimbursed 100% of my medical expenses by the insurance company... that they gave me more money for the wrecked car than I thought they would... And here's the icing on the cake - 4 months later, the insurance company paid me (out of the blue, and with no expectation on my part) $1300 above and beyond my medical expenses for pain and suffering!!!!! Wow, was THAT ever cool!

Instead of having an attitude of a victim, I maintained an attitude of detached curiosity - how did I attract that to me? What thoughts led to this? What is the meaning of this accident? And opened to the universe for answers.

Well, the universe's answer was -- I got a great deal on a car I'd been salivating over for the last five years. I ended up with the car of my dreams, which I thought was outside my reach. And now it's clear that my desire for that car led to the universe delivering it to me - in a most unusual manner! So now I know what thoughts led to me attracting an auto accident. And I'm thankful for the results.

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