Thursday, January 29, 2009

$7500 First Time Home Buyers Credit

$7500 Tax Credit information

In order to help stimulate the economy, congress is considering making the tax credit a true credit where the buyers do not have to pay it back if they sell within 15 years. That seems to be a true awakening as when people buy homes, they will buy appliances, carpeting, furniture and other goods. This seems to be a much safer way to approach shoring up a sagging economy than the other drops in the buckets where people are using the stimulus checks to pay utilities, or pay down credit cards. We need to consider the big picture!

If you know of any buyers who have been waiting for the "bottom" of the market, then let them know about the credit. If everyone was more positive about the market, including the media, then we just may see some positive news stories on the air!

I hope everyone got out from under this blanket of snow and are staying warm and safe!

Take care, Susan

Friday, January 23, 2009

Newest Real Estate Statistics From The Columbus Board of Realtors

CLICK HERE FOR STATISTICS FROM THE COLUMBUS BOARD OF REALTORS

Well, the final 2008 number are here and we can be happy we are in 2009! Here's to a much more positive outlook for 2009 for all of our home buyers and sellers!

Take care, Susan

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Thursday, January 15, 2009

10 Happiest Places to Live Forbes Magazine


Why aren't we on this list? Maybe we all need to do something to make us happier! I find happy people all the time in our line of work.

Click here for happy reading!

Happy day to you! Susan

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Slow Real Estate News Day...so...

Here is an interesting take on top 10 cities! At least we didn't land here...how do they figure this stuff out? I did weigh in at the Doctor's office the other day and had lost 7 pounds! So maybe that 7 pounds kept us off the list this year?

Top ten fattest cities...I have to say I am shocked at the number 1 placement!
Click here for the article.

I am a little bit bored...can you tell? I can't show homes, can't really go outside because it is freezing and trying to coax people to go look in this weather, is not a good idea! We did have a group out yesterday in the ice and snow looking and felt so bad that they were freezing all the way back to the airport! Relocation is big in January.

Have a great evening and stay toasty! Susan

Friday, January 9, 2009

State of Ohio High School Rankings

Click here for the rankings of Ohio High Schools including Hilliard Davidson, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Jerome Dublin, and various others in the state of Ohio.
It is interesting to compare, of course, however I do feel that parents are the key for success in any child's progress.

Overall, we had a good ranking for all of the local schools. We are very fortunate to live in this wonderful area of the world where schools are very important to us.

Take care, Susan

Monday, January 5, 2009

How to Choose a Real Estate Agent in Today's Market

If you need to sell your home in a market that is tough, how do you decide which agent to use? If you think placing it on a couple of web sites will do it, that is asking the elusive buyer of your home to find a needle in a haystack! With all of the search engines and agents buying more adwords, search placement, twitter, blogs and the list goes on and on. If you look at it from this perspective, you will begin to see a picture of the competitive nature of the business. You need to find an agent who is web savy, but also adheres to the simple business of marketing via print media. If your agent doesn't believe in print, then I would move on to the next until you find someone who understands 360 degree marketing.

Interview several agents until you find one who is on the same page with you on goals, attitudes and communication. Find out if they can text you if that is your best communication tool. Tell them when you expect a phone call and when you want to be emailed.

Ask friends for a referral and how the process worked for them.

Have them show you their 6 month plan. Everyone signs up for color pages with a contract to get the best placement in the four color back pages of the suburban papers and magazines. If they don't have a plan in place, then you need to move on and please get it in writing! The one with the most pages, will more than likely have better placement & have more flexibility with their vendors.

Rather than have them over to your home, go to a few open houses on a Sunday afternoon and see how they work. Are they friendly or introverted? Do they follow up? Do they seem approachable?

Get the agent's statistics. How many homes do they sell per year? What are their average days on market? Be careful on this one. Once, I had an agent say theirs was 22 days on the market and while it was true, they only had one listing for they year!

Get the details before you sign! Do they work with a variety of prices? Are they available in the evenings and weekends? If they have a team, who will be the primary contact? Do they do it "all" or do they have someone to do the fact sheets, ad layouts, take photos, maintain office hours for questions about showings or technical questions. Are the team members licenses or unlicensed? You don't want an agent who is out delivering fact sheets to a home themselves instead of being available to answer questions about your home when the call comes in? Do they maintain regular hours of operation?

Ask what they will do to expedite the sale if someone is on the fence
. Then, sit back and listen to their experience and what they have done in the past.

I hope this is helpful to those thinking of those thinking of selling and buying this year. We think it is going to be a strong market with the interest rates dipping below 5%!

Take care, Susan