Columbus Ohio real estate

Comparing present homebuyer tax credit to extended version

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:55:09 -0600

Re-Blog! Here's the scoop from Jim Lee a TN real estate agent. The chart is from NAR.

Via Jim Lee, Knoxville Tennessee Realtor® (Realty Executives Associates):

Below is a chart prepared by the National Association of REALTORS ® comparing the new changes to the Homebuyer Tax Credit.

The biggest change is that current Homeowners are now eligible if they sell their current homes and then buy AFTER the date of enactment of this extension which is November 6th, 2009.

Because of widespread incidents of fraud, purchasers must now attach documentation proving they actually bought a qualifying home to qualify for the credit.

Additinally the income guidelines have been increased, now a single taxpayer can qualify if they earn up to $125,000 and up to $225,000 for married taxpayers.

The rationale for increasing the income limits and expanding the credit to existing homeowner is that it should encourage more higher priced home purchases. Currently the existing tax credit was driving mostly lower end purchases.

Jim Lee, CRS, ABR, GRI, ACRE, NAR Certified e-PRO Trainer
*****************************************************************
Visit my blog: www.KnoxvilleTennesseeRealEstateBlog.com
Realty Executives Associates, Knoxville, Tennessee
See all Knoxville area Realtor listings at: www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com
(865) 693-3232, My Personal Toll Free # 1-800-662-2488 ext. 163
mailto:Jim@JimLee.com

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The ActiveRain heresy

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:01:43 -0600

The ActiveRain heresy...

Do you know what heresy is?

I believe Joan of Arc and Galileo were officially heretics to the big "ism" in their age. Joan got burned at the stake for it...

ActiveRainism - dogma?

How to write this without going into religion, dogma... I am a fan of ActiveRain. I don't think I practice ActiveRainism but some might... I think ActiveRain is one good way (place?) for the real estate industry to learn about social media, the real estate industry, blogging, technology.

I have been an ActiveRain member since 2006. I have seen lots of members come and go. Some for the next big thing (shiny object), some for their own blog, some back to their own blog... some to play on a cooler real estate blog (geekier, exclusive, classier) some because they are no longer working in the RE industry, some because they got in a snit...

For me that's OK! ActiveRain is not for everyone... just for 164K +/ - in the real estate industry.

ActiveRain is a real estate network.

If you are in a physical class with me and the ActiveRain heresy is uttered you will see steam coming out of my ears... The sentence which when uttered by a real estate guru, educator, RE blogger or a technology know it all... here it is... The ActiveRain heresy is "ActiveRain is for talking to other agents" or maybe "just for talking to other agents"...

ActiveRain heresy - heretics

ActiveRain is NOT a religion... ActiveRain is not a cult. There is no ActiveRain kool aid. Is there?

Endoheretics would be those within?

I am not sure if those who were members but quit in a snit (or just fell away, or are just inactive ActiveRain members) would be endoheretics or exoheretics when they utter the heresy... "ActiveRain is for talking to other agents."

Exoheretics would be those from outside...

I know when I go to a real estate class and the instructor is not a member that they probably don't know what they are talking about. They are exoheretics but I try not to scream "HERETIC" when they utter the phrase "ActiveRain is for talking to other agents"

Fact not everyone likes ActiveRain - that's OK

The sentence which when uttered by a real estate guru, educator, RE blogger or a technology know it all... The ActiveRain heresy "ActiveRain is for talking to other agents"

ActiveRain

You can talk to other agents...

You can also talk to the general public. Google and other search engines can be your megaphone for talking to consumers about real estate, communities. If you need help on how to blog to consumers ask for help.

Your ActiveRain blog? Your choice who you talk to.

ActiveRain syndrome Facebook training

'Galileo God rest his soul." Joan of Arc too...

Photo Credit -

St. Joan of Arc Statue

http://www.flickr.com/photos/riverap1/ / CC BY 2.0

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Stage Rooms for Their Intended Purpose When Selling a House

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:29:13 -0600

I just realized Marianne Sweet is an ActiveRain member. I read her all the time on miOaklandCounty.com

Good first impressions...

Via Marianne Sweet, Home Sweet Home Staging, LLC Rochester Hills, MI (Home Sweet Home Staging):

Reblogged from my page on www.mioaklandcounty.com and http://mioaklandcounty.realestatetomato.com/

When potential buyers view a house for sale, they need to see rooms presented as they were intended. The master bedroom shouldn’t be an exercise room, the bathroom shouldn’t be a pet station, the garage shouldn’t be a storage unit, and unless you have more than 3 bedrooms, resist the urge to make one an office.

This is especially important when it comes to dining areas. People want to see where they will gather for meals and entertain their loved ones.

I recently staged a 900 sq. ft. house for a client who was using her dining room as office space. As you can see (amongst the considerable clutter), a desk definitely does not belong there. Aside from being the wrong use of the space, it was also the first thing visitors saw when they came in the front door … NOT a good first impression.

After completely clearing out the area , I moved the table and chairs that were overwhelming the small kitchen and created a proper dining room.

Visitors can now see that there is room for a full size table and 4 chairs at the very least. Showing a dedicated dining room, the intended purpose for this space, adds value to this petite house and answers an important question for the buyer.

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Home Buyer Tax Credit for the rest of you

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:24:06 -0600

It looks like the first time home buyer tax credit is being extended and there's also Home Buyer Tax Credit for the rest of you, or a lot of non - first time home buyers.

The bill passed the senate.

The bill passed the house.

The bill needs the presidents signature.

I just saw on Twitter that it has been signed by President Obama.

Home Buyer Tax Credit for the rest of you

Up to $6,500 for move up buyers. If you've lived in your home 5 of the past 8 years...

I'm looking for something like this chart:

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit The table in this February 2009 chart was produced by the National Associaton of Realtors

The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is extended until April 30, 2010.

Home Buyer Tax Credit for the rest of you - what would you call it?

The Move Up Home Buyer Tax Credit?

$6,500 Home Buyer Tax Credit?

Home Buyer Tax Credit

Search MLS for Central Ohio Homes

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Columbus Home Sellers - staging #2

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:05:15 -0600

Columbus Home Sellers - staging #2

Home staging is a service some home sellers use to make their home more saleable than the competition. I am not sure how many Central Ohio home owners use home staging to be number one for home buyers but some swear by home staging.

Selling your Central Ohio home?

Staging #2 - we're number 2 we try harder

To borrow some old ad from a car rental company... was it Hertz? or Avis? that was number two so they tried harder? How old is that ad?

Sorry.

I first saw staging being #2 on the Michigan real estate blog of my old pal real estate agent Maureen Francis. The post is written by Marianne Sweet of Home Sweet Home Staging in the Detroit Metro area:

Home Staging Ranks #2 in HomeGain’s Top 12 Home Improvements for Sellers

Columbus Home Sellers - staging #2

Maybe because I had just heard of a new business in Central Ohio - Home Stagers Supply I was more prone to noticing the headline on the miOaklandCounty.com site. Or perhaps I would have noticed it anyway.

Susan of Home Stagers Supply is a brand new member of ActiveRain (a real estate network) I am not sure if Susan will be talking to the general public about the importance of staging, talking to home stagers or talking to Central Ohio Realtors about home staging. Maybe all of it.

I am tuned in.... to whatever Susan has to say.

Home Staging #2

I am not a HomeGain fan (member for a real short time years ago, it was different management, same brand... the HomeGain logo gives me the heebie jeebies... whatever heebie jeebies are) so I hate to even send you there but I was confused by why staging was #2 on the list.

I needed a graph on the HomeGain blog to help me understand the ranking of number 2 is because home staging has the second highest return on home investment. The number of real estate agents recommeding staging is much lower than some of the other recommendations in the HomeGain survey.

HomeGain 2009 Top 12 home improvements survey results

There is a graph on the HomeGain site that helps me understand why home staging is number two. The rating is the all important return on investement. The investment is the second best return on investment to cleaning and decluttering your home.

#2 is using an investment of $300.00 for home staging.

Hmmm is $300 enough? Home staging depending on how much help and materials you need may be low.

Marianne Sweet home stager (we are motoring back up to Metro Detroit area top link in the post if you care to come along for the ride.... miOaklandCounty.com blog) says:

"I have already had an agent ask if $300 for Home Staging is realistic. The answer is yes, a $300 Home Staging can make a major improvement in the way an occupied house shows. Call a Home Stager for more details."

Try harder - #2 the point of home staging is to make your home #1

Many, many , many of the other 11 items on the HomeGain list are about home staging...

cleaning / decluttering

painting

carpet replacing

kitchen updating

Image Credit 2 of Arts

http://www.flickr.com/photos/qthomasbower/ / CC BY 2.0

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October Traffic Numbers By City On Zillow

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:37:49 -0600

Columbus is among the cities of course, you can find it on the 12 page list, but here's a quick snippet of Columbus :

Those are " Year over Year Total Visitors" for October, September, August, and July 2009. Traffic on Columbus properties is way higher year over year increases than LA, San Francisco... I would think bigger cities, California cities would be paying lots more attention to home values.

Recently I posted something about Columbus neighborhood values from Zillow on ColumbusBestBlog.com (my main site) and got a comment from "zillowhater."

All of Real Living HER's listings are on Zillow.

Thanks to Sara Bonert from Zillow for providing the information. It is interesting to look at other cities... scroll down the list, but of course Columbus is the most important.

Via Sara Bonert {Real Estate Internet Marketing} (Zillow):

Here are Zillow's local traffic numbers for the month of October. The numbers are down a little this month from our highs in July and August, but this is to be expected as we near the end of the year.

You can also find more traffic information directly on Zillow. If you go to any property on the site, click on Home Info in the left hand column, and scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll see that we publish a running traffic count for the home, zip, county, and state for the month.

Also, if you've created a free account on Zillow, we now send periodic traffic updates via email for your specific listings.

Zillow City Traffic For October 2009
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"ActiveRain syndrome" Facebook Training...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:06:28 -0600

“ActiveRain syndrome”

They are setting up clinics as we speak...

They're giving out shots.

Pregnant women, young children, at risk individuals and healthcare workers will be immunized first.

Don't come to work if you have it.

Cough or sneeze into your elbow...

Wash your hands constantly

Use hand sanitizer...

Wear a face mask if necessary.

Wait...

Relax that's H1N1 flu NOT ActiveRain syndrome.

My fairy blogmother Frances Flynn Thorsen (who is an ActiveRain member) wrote about "ActiveRain syndrome" on her Real Estate Social Media Policies blog in Dirty Little Secret About Realtor Facebook Training

Lack of Strategy aka “ActiveRain syndrome”. Some bricks-and-mortar strategies apply to online engagement. In recent years, the ActiveRain blog community established a peer-to-peer social networking model replicated among licensees on other social platforms. Take the First Time Home Buyer Seminar bricks-and-mortar marketing device. Whom does a REALTOR invite? A lender? … home inspector? … and people who are renting! Does a Coldwell Banker REALTOR host invite all the RE/MAX agents in town?

RE people talking to one another? The nerve... aren't they supposed to listen to the teachers and social media gurus who know better?

I believe Frances is saying ActiveRain syndrome has spread to other organizations too...she says:

There are increasing numbers of qualified REALTOR groups where agents can gather and engage … Women’s Council of REALTORS has new groups, CRS and other specialty groups are pages where licensees can gather and share ideas.

Or is she saying those groups are OK to share.

When I first read the 'Dirt Little Secret' post on Facebook I thought the post was blaming ActiveRain for the spread of people in the real estate industry talking to people in the real estate industry. Maybe it is.

Might be ActiveRain Syndrome or it might just a natural reaction... Locally I see a lot of the public relations people and IT people talking to one another too... can't blame that on ActiveRain.

This tendency to talk to one another... to "group with" one another, to help one another is a bad thing?

ActiveRain syndrome don't let it affect your Facebook

All those friends you've added on Facebook? Frances says "Say bye, bye" she wrote: "Choose Friends Wisely/UNfriend Fellow REALTORS. Most REALTORS’ Facebook Friends lists are comprised of fellow REALTORS. REALTORS. Real estate Facebook trainers can share good dialogue for declining Friend requests and UNfriending fellow REALTORS."

So if you go to a class and an educator (that is who Frances is addressing I believe) urges you to UnFriend those in the Real Estate industry....

Photo Credit: the photo of syringes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathanf/ / CC BY 2.0

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The story of...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:52:00 -0600

I have had a clock on my first blog for a long, long time... That site has a 'Time and Temperature' category. It's a category that was inspired by a church in the Worthington area.

Of course we just "fell back" in Ohio on Sunday morning. The whole day light savings time confuses me. Are we on daylight savings time in Ohio now or are we off daylight savings time? Is this "standard" time? Is this EST and during the summer EDT? Or vice versa?

It probably does not matter whether it is EDT, or EST really. I look at a clock and know what time it is NOW. I don't like that it is getting dark at 6:00 PM but I can live with it. What choice do I have?

You hear about kids who are raised with digital clocks who can not tell time. I am not sure I really believe those stories. Legends? ...maybe the reason I don't believe them is because I see a clock and I can read it. I vaguely remember learning "when the big hand is on the...."

There is a count down clock on my website and on Real Living and Real Living HER. It has to do with the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. It may be time to scrap that clock real soon but of course that's a different story and it is all over the news. Will the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit be extended? Looks like it... but maybe not. I'd say "only time will tell" but that's probably one cliche too many for a post about time and clocks.

The working clock here is from ClockLink.com as is the clock that's been ticking on Discover Columbus ( a different blog) since 2006? Discover Columbus - Time and Temperature

ClockLink.com

I had to laugh when I went to the home page of ClockLink.com because there is a graph there! And although this post is about "time" ... this post really has more to do with graphs than clocks. The graph on ClockLink.com shows how daily clock views has grown over time.

This is part of a series.

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Staging your Central Ohio home to sell - storage

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:23:55 -0600

Staging your Central Ohio home to sell - storage

Do you have kids toys to deal with? Here are some ideas.

Thanks to Reel Productions TV- Real Estate Video for the

Selling your Central Ohio home?

Why beautiful kitchens sell homes

Selling your Central Ohio home it starts with the mailbox

Selling your Central Ohio home it starts with your mailbox II

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Who else has received their Google Wave invitation?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:49:05 -0600

OK I've got mine... and I have invitations. Is there anyone with Real Living who wants to try Google Wave? Let me know and I will send you an invite.

Or are you with Real Living and have a Google Wave account?

It felt like Christmas morning the day I opened my Gmail and the Google Wave invite was there.... but I have done nothing with it.

Cheryl has done some great posts about Google Wave.

Cheryl wrote:

"Google Wave is kinda sorta a hybrid of email/instant messaging/twitter/group blogging. I can see a lot of uses for it."

I think it would be fun to look at it from within Real Living.

Use the Email Me on ActiveRain or my Real Living email if you want a Google Wave invite.

Via Cheryl Johnson, Bob Taylor Properties, Inc., Los Angeles, CA:

I received mine, I know Missy Caulk and Kevin and Monica Ray received theirs. Anyone Else?

My Wave account does not yet have the function to invite others. Google says this is the reason:

As soon as we're confident that the system can accept more users, we will add a wave to your account that allows you to nominate friends and colleagues for an account. Once you have the capability to invite people, the wave appear in your inbox.

Meanwhile, if you did get your Wave account, we can practice waving at each other.

I discovered you must add the individual to your contacts list before you can wave with them.

If your Google Wave account is set up, go to http://wave.google.com

Click on Manage Contacts, at the bottom of the left panel.

Click the + sign/add contact icon

Enter my name: Cheryl, and my gmail address: cheryljns @ gmail.com, click save.

Once I am entered as a contact, you can create a New Wave, and add me to that Wave.

Google Wave is kinda sorta a hybrid of email/instant messaging/twitter/group blogging. I can see a lot of uses for it.

Gee, maybe I should create a Google Wave group here on AR.

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Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs), Part 1

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:13:31 -0600

When it comes time to inspect many Central Ohio home in Clintonville, Worthington or one of the other "older" areas, the electrical system is one of my least favorite parts of a house... but luckily most Central Ohio home inspectors do a good job explaining what is what to buyers.

This is a Re-Blog of a post from Reuben Saltzman in Minneapolis, I had to share this well written article about "Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters" with you. This is not necessarily written just for buyers... either. Reuben is talking to homeowners.

Keepin my eyes open for the rest of the story (Part 2) to see "how they irritate me" from Reuben.

Via Minneapolis Home Inspections - Reuben Saltzman (Structure Tech Home Inspections):

For this this week and next week's blogs, I'll be waxing on GFCI outlets. I'll talk about what they do, why they're so important, what you need to know about them, and how to test the outlets in your own home.

First, a quick refresher. In my blog about reversed polarity outlets, I explained that there are two wires that conduct current - one get connected to the earth (grounded) and the other doesn't. The grounded conductor should always be white, and is referred to as the "neutral" wire. The ungrounded conductor is usually referred to as the "hot" wire, and it can be any color besides white or green, but it's typically black. Because the neutral wire is connected to the earth, any time you're in contact with the earth and you touch an ungrounded wire, you'll complete the circuit and you'll get a shock. The general, technical name for this event is a ''ground fault", because current is getting back to the ground in a way that it shouldn't (it's using you!).

Not all shocks are the same. Here's where we'll get in to a little more detail about what happens when a human comes in contact with an ungrounded (hot) conductor.

No shock. If I could magically levitate and grab on to a ungroundedconductor, I wouldn't get a shock. I'm not providing a path back to the earth, so the electricity doesn't have anywhere to go. This is why birds can sit on power lines without getting a shock. No ground fault.

Small shock. If I were working on the second story of my wood-framed house, wearing rubber soled shoes, standing on the carpet, and then came in contact with an ungrounded conductor, I would probably receive a relatively mild shock. The current has a difficult time traveling through my skin, through my body, through my shoes, through the carpeting, through the wood framing in the house, and eventually back to the earth. I say 'relatively' mild because this has happened to me several times, and I'm still here to tell about it. It still hurt like hell every time, and it's always dangerous. This is a ground fault.

Severe / lethal shock. If I were holding on to the kitchen faucet with a wet hand and I touched an ungrounded conductor with my other hand, which was also wet, I'd probably get killed. Having a wet hand will make it easier for electricity to pass through my skin. After the electricity passes through my body, it has a very easy time getting back to the earth; it will pass through the kitchen faucet to the water pipes, which are directly connected to my electric panel. This ground fault could easily be enough to kill me.

To prevent lethal shocks through ground faults, special electrical devices called Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters, or GFCIs, are required in homes. If a GFCI device detects a ground fault, it will shut off (or 'interrupt) current within a fraction of a second. It won't be fast enough to prevent a painful shock, but it's enough to keep you from getting killed.

GFCI devices were first required near swimming pools in 1971. Today they're required in all the areas that lethal shocks are most likely to happen - typically at areas that are wet and have good contact with the earth. These areas include the exterior, garages, kitchen counter tops, bathrooms, unfinished basements, crawl spaces, and outlets within 6' of laundry sinks, utility sinks, and wet bar sinks, among other places. For an excellent one-page chart that lists all the locations and shows when the specific requirements went in to effect, click here.

That's enough information on GFCI's for this week. Next week I'll talk about the different types of GFCI devices available, the difference between new and old GFCI outlets, how to test them, how they irritate me, and how to save money while installing them.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections – Email – Home Inspector in Minneapolis

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Teresa is tops when it comes to Twitter!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:14:34 -0600

Tops when it comes to Twitter Lists

What are Twitter lists to you?

Too much work?

Tweetdeck (or something else ) already does it?

Too much time?

Teresa is tops when it comes to Twitter lists

Teresa Berry a Seattle WA real estate agent took the time to make some lists and ended up on a Top Twitter Curators list on Listorious.

Listorious says "Discover the Best Twitter Lists"

When I saw the site I thought I won't KNOW any of them...

I follow Danny Sullivan on Twitter and of course Twitter... but Teresa was the one on the list that I KNOW.

I know Teresa from ActiveRain.

Discover the Best Twitter Lists!

TWITTER TOP CURATORS on Listorious

Twitter with 31,997 list followers
Jason Pollock with 668 list followers
Larry Wentz with 116 list followers
NFL Players with 96 list followers
:: Kim Sherrell :::: with 91 list followers
Jonathan Nafarrete with 73 list followers
Peter Urbanski with 66 list followers
Liz Pullen with 46 list followers
Bloggers Blog with 44 list followers
leweb with 42 list followers
Courtenay Bird with 41 list followers
Clouderati with 36 list followers
Rebecca Woodhead with 30 list followers
Elucid Marketing with 25 list followers
Daily Image with 23 list followers
DJ Sam House with 21 list followers
Jose Blanco Oliver with 21 list followers
Miss Destructo with 20 list followers
Josh Weinberger with 19 list followers
Michael Gillett with 19 list followers
Danny Sullivan with 19 list followers
Dusty Reagan with 16 list followers
Greg Galant with 16 list followers
Teresa Berry with 16 list followers
michael lazerow with 15 list followers

You can follow Teresa on Twitter. @TeresaBerry

Tweet? YOU can follow one of Teresa's Twitter lists...

Image credit Image credit: 17/365 You're the Tops - Mykel Roventine

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/ / CC BY 2.0

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Dublin Ohio History

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:47:26 -0600

Dublin Ohio was once the wild, wild west according to the Dublin Historical Society.

In "From Leatherlips to Microchips" by Scott T. Weber a chapter from the book 'The Faces of Old Dublin' tells of

Weber who grew up in Dublin shares this poem about early Dublin:

“Dublin, Dublin, city of beautiful roses,
Gouged out eyes and bloody noses,
If it weren’t for the solid foundation,
It’d be gone to hell and damnation.”

Rock throwing was common?

There's a story about a "rumble" between Dublin and Worthington.

The first non Native American settlers in what eventually became Dublin arrived in 1810 from Franklinton, 12 miles south. Dublin Ohio celebrates it's bicentennial in 2010.

Dublin is much changed today.

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Westerville History - the Underground Railroad

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:35:10 -0600

Westerville History - the Underground Railroad

Benjamin Hanby lived in Westerville as a teen and young man. His father William Hanby was an abolitionist. Hanby House was a station on the Underground Railroard.

The song "Darling Nelly Gray" was the story of an escaped slave Joe Selby on his way to Canada to earn money to free Nelly Gray.

Westerville history - the Underground Railroad

Hanby House - 160 W. Main Street Westerville Ohio is owned by the Ohio Historical Society and operated by the Westerville Historical Society.

The image is the sign as you enter Westerville on W. Main Street with Sharon Woods Metro Park on the south side of the road and the Annehurst subdivision all around.

Westerville History on Ohio History Central

Westerville's history

Westerville is the BEST place to live in Ohio

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Ohio Issue 3 Gambling

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:58:32 -0600

On the ballot Tuesday - Issue 3 is casinos in Ohio.

Four casinos in the state. One casino each in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo are what we are voting for or againtst.

Vote here first. Vote for real on Tuesday.

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Real Living HER Open House List - the show must go on...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:56:29 -0600

Of course there are open houses today... Real Living HER Open House List

There are 128* open houses on the Real Living HER Open House list today.

Search for open houses by community.

The Real Living HER open house is the best place to find an open house each and every week in Central Ohio!

The link above is to the Real Living HER open house list on my website. Each Real Living HER agent has (or can have) the open house list on their website.

Search for Central Ohio homes

The list is in real time, the number is subject to change*. The Real Living Open House List is not an archive. You will always see the current list in the link here.

Central Ohio open house advice for buyers

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Your cheating heart.... are you cheating on ActiveRain?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:32:48 -0600

I wanted to title this My cheating heart but I think the classic song is "Your cheating heart"

I was amused by a comment on one of my posts that Re-Blogging is cheating...

Isn't Re-Blogging for consenting adults? Who's getting cheated on?

ActiveRain?

The real estate blogosphere?

The Blogosophere?

The www. ?

The Internet in general?

Who am I cheating with? - Re-Blogging content for consumers

Michael Thornton provided readers of my outside blogs with information about fireplaces - fireplaces hidden dangers

Regina P. Brown about bathtubs.... Warning do not paint your bathtub

June Piper-Brandon about fall planting - fall garden planting

Steve Shatsky about credit - building good credit getting the word out

I wanted to cheat with Linda Wetzell and Re-Blog buying a bank owned home but the embed was too wide.

Who are you cheating with (I am asking who have you Re-Blogged) no confessions please.

What is Re-Blog? - Why it's not hurting anyone

If you don't understand Re-Blog it is syndication. Use Search there's lots of blogs about it. If you are a Rainmaker you can share content from for consumers from people who specialize in home inspection, finance, staging even if you don't.

I seldom Re-Blog content written to those in the industry. As you can see I Re-Blog content to consumers.

I'm cheating on ActiveRain (if Re-Blogging is cheating) and my readers get good content out of it!

I've seen lots of excuses why not to use Re-Blog. Are you cheating consumers out of good content on your blog?

Photo credit: Photos is from the Flickr photostream of erin_MC_hammer

"All sizes of this photo are available for download under a Creative Commons license. "

The Creative Commons license linked to the photo is being difficult this morning!

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Columbus homes sales rise 10%

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:28:49 -0600

The Columbus Board of Realtors announced homes sales rose 10% in September 2009

Columbus home sales rise 10%

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® covers more ground than I do. I work primarily in northern Franklin County and Southern Delaware County - Maureen McCabe

How much did home sales rise in your area?

Clintonville home sales (mls area)

+ 20.5% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average Clintonville home sale price $187,000

Dublin home sales (Dublin Schools)

+ 70.4% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average Dublin home sale price $267,000

Gahanna home sales (Gahanna Jefferson Schools)

-3.6% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average Gahanna home sale price $174,000

Grandview Heights home sales (Grandview Heights Schools)

+10% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average Grandview Heights sale price $182,000

Hilliard home sales (Hilliard Schools

-4.3% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average Hilliard home sale price $182,000

Lewis Center home sales (Lewis Center ZIP code)

-6.9% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average Lewis Center home sale price $240,000

New Albany home sales (Plain Local School District)

+27.3% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average new Albany home sale price $313,000

Powell home sales (City of Powell )

+10% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average Powell home sale price $301,000

Upper Arlington home sales (Upper Arlington Schools)

-16.4% from September 2008 sales

Average Upper Arlington home sale price $317,000

Westerville home sales (Westerville Schools)

+12% from September 200

Average Westerville home sales price $186,000

Worthington home sales (Worthington Schools)

+ 87.5% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008

Average Worthington home sale price $187,000

Selling your Central Ohio home?

Trendgraphix uses single family and condominium sales combined. The graphs are based on data available at the end of September 2009. The graph was created with data from the Columbus Board of REALTORS® and Trendgraphix. Only Real Living HER agents are authorized to use Trendgraphix in Central Ohio.

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Happy Halloween ActiveRain

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:04:54 -0500

Happy Halloween ActiveRain

I like Halloween...

ActiveRain 2009 Halloween posts - localism*

Columbus Scare - A -Torium

Central Ohio Trick or Treat 2009

Worthington Ghost Story the tale of rap, rap, rap

Columbus Ohio's haunted ship

Dublin Ohio's ghost stories

Powell Ohio Halloween

Worthington haunted or just historic

Powell Ohio - October 2009

If I could have I would have blogged about ghost stories, haunted houses or Halloween events in Clintonville, Gahanna, Grandview Heights, New Albany, Upper Arlington and Westerville too....

Halloween posts to my peers (other ActiveRain members) on ActiveRain

Halloween Picnik it's ghostly

Haunted House

Jay Leno Yourself

Localism is for talking to the general public. You post the content on ActiveRain just like any other post but as long as you are a Rainmaker you can talk directly to the general public on Localism and / or an Outside blog. Google eats Localism posts up like fun sized Snickers bars... I had about 5 for breakfast this morning, fun sized Snickers bars.

*Localism posts I usually turn off the comments initially as I don't appreciate the ActiveRain "great post thanks for sharing" type commments.

I like Halloween, can you tell?

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Powell Ohio - Halloween

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:02:54 -0500

Powell Ohio - Halloween 2009

Powell is one of the Central Ohio communities that has 'Trick or Treat' or 'Beggars Night' tonight.

I had it wrong on my Central Ohio Trick or Treat post I wrote that Powell was Trick or Treating on Thursday night with Dublin, Worthington, Columbus, etc. It all started with confusion about when Trick or Treat was in Lewis Center...

Central Ohio Trick or Treat 2009 and more

Tonight is Trick or Treat for ... well here is the Kids Linked list...

Kids Linked - Fall Parents Guide

Powell Ohio - Halloween 2009

I believe Trick or Treat in Lewis Center, Orange Township and Powell is this evening, Halloweeen!!! Along with the City of Delaware, Westerville, Sunbury and Galena... but look at the official Kids Linked guide. It has links to many of the municipal sites.

Pictured the old church in Powell which is now a businss, Espresso Yourself Muisc Cafe . The photo has been ghostified and one ghost added just for fun.

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Worthington haunted or just historic

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:13:09 -0500

Worthington haunted or just historic?

Haunted Worthington

Worthington is old. Worthington was settled in 1803.

I had a client tell me once that a house had to be haunted since it was so old, that it had to have had someone die in it... The house was not in Worthington, it was on the northeast side of Columbus, I don't really even think it was that old. Same era as Clintonville I believe. It's all relative.

Worthington had a number of cemeteries... Walnut Grove is one of the newer "graveyards."

From The Worthington website Worthington Cemeteries

"Visit the Worthington Memory Web site to access a searchable database of cemeteries in Worthington, Ohio."

I knew of Walnut Grove (ghost is not real of course) and St. John's Episcopal Cemetery, but I am not sure I realized Worthington Presbyterean and the Worthington Methodist churches both had graves at some point. The graves have been moved.

There is the cemetery in Flint, Sharon Township.

Worthington Memory - Cemeteries

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Columbus, Ohio 43229 homes for sale - October 2009

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:25:47 -0500

Columbus, Ohio 43229 homes for sale October 2009 by Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Worthington

Links to some Central Ohio school districts including the Columbus City School District. Most of the homes in Columbus Ohio 43229 are in the Columbus City School District but a smidgen of the Devonshire neighborhood is in Worthington City School District and a little bit of a couple of different 43229 neighborhoods are in the Westerville School District. The school districts were in place before the Northland area was developed.

ZIP codes are just mail routes. ZIP codes are subject to change. ZIP codes don't change often especially in areas where there is not new construction going on.

Columbus Ohio 43229 ZIP homes for sale - a market report

197 homes for sale
33 homes sold in September 2009
6.0 months of inventory based on sales

Average active price $111,000
Average sale price $94,000

-23.9% homes for sale than a year ago.
7.1% more months of inventory (based on closed Sales) in comparison to September 2008

Columbus, Ohio 43229 homes for sale - Northland neighborhoods

There are homes on the market now in Chaseland Manor, Devonshire, Forest Park, Granville Manor, Kar-Mel Village, Lakewood Park, Northland Park, Sharon Woods, Skywae Heights, Tamarack Condominium, Willowick Condominiums, Woodglen Condominiums and more nieghborhoods in the 43229 ZIP code. About 30 homes are in the Columbus Board of REALTORS® MLS (multiple listing service) with no subdivision listed. A few aren't really in a "subdivision" but most are. What a shame for those sellers.

Columbus Ohio 43229 home sales - September 2009

-28.3% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008
Average sale price $94,000
Median price $97,000

Columbus, Ohio 43229 home sales September 2009 Northland neighborhoods

Cheshire Commons
Devonshire
Forest Park
Granville Manor
Kar-Mel Village
Lakewood Park
Northland Park
Sharon Woods
Skywae Heights
Tamarack Condominium
Willowick Condominiums
Woodward Park
Worthington Forest Condominiums

Search for Columbus, Ohio 43229 homes for sale

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Trick or Treat Traffic - raising the dead

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:49:28 -0500

Trick or Treat Traffic - I have a Zombie blog...

Did you put up anything special for Halloween on your ActiveRain (or other) blog? Are you getting traffic from it? Not traffic from other members stopping by to say "great post thanks for sharing" but traffic from people in your community?

Localism Trick or Treat Traffic - talking to the locals

Most of our Central Ohio communities had Trick or Treat last night. Yes, I know it was NOT Halloween... but we had Beggars Night last night. Some communities have their Trick or Treat on Saturday so I will still get a bit of traffic in the next few days.

I will miss the traffic when Halloween is over.

I put up Trick or Treat on all of my blogs... even an old dead blog (the Zombie blog) ... because I still get so much traffic from that old dead blog. Ok I will admit I have started re-posting real estate content there too, I re-post content I've posted on my ActiveRain blogs. They come for the Trick or Treat schedules or Mexican Food posts, if they see real estate content maybe they will remember me when they need me...or click on a link to search for homes...

My Zombie Blogs Trick or Treat 2009 post is almost exactly the same as what is posted on ActiveRain which shows up here, on my Outside blogs (new alive blogs) and Localism

Central Ohio Trick or Treat 2009 and more

On the Zombie Blog - the chart below is for Thursday October 29 only. It has had a lot of traffic all month, the traffic is up almost 100% for the month.

I had 635 Pageviews on my old dead blog yesterday. That is about three times my normal traffic for that blog.

434 Pageviews were on my Trick or Treat post for 2009. That post had 422 unique page views yesterday according to my Google Analytics. Pretty good for an old dead blog...

My old dead blog with huge traffic (most of it from search engines) was started in 2005. 95.59% of the traffic yesterday came from search engines.

Google 51.81%

Yahoo 32.76%

I have the same Trick or Treat content posted on my WordPress blog too... I get traffic there too but not like that old dead blog...

Trick or Treat Traffic - do you have a Localism post for your area?

Do you have content about this holiday posted for consumers? That would be posted to Localism.... here. If you don't and your Trick or Treat is tonight or tomorrow. I'd throw up a quick post. I hate doing event posts but gee whiz I love the event post traffic and Trick or Treat traffic is better than most events.

The post you post today about Trick or Treat will bring in people from your community for years to come. That's how I know when it is time to post the Trick or Treat calendar... when the old, dead posts from 2008, 2007, 2006 etc are dragging in traffic to an old dead blog.

I had 82 Pageviews of Columbus Trick or Treat 2008 yesterday, 45 Pageviews yesterday for a Trick or Treat post from another year. If I view the report there are views of my real estate content on the Zombie blog too... just not the traffic that Trick or Treat posts bring out this time of year.

The image is Zombie + Victim from MindonFires Flickr photostream. Creative Commons license which allows commercial use.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindonfire/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

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Columbus, Ohio 43235 homes for sale - October 2009

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:09:20 -0500

Columbus, Ohio 43235 homes for sale - October 2009 by Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Worthington

43235 is a northwest Columbus ZIP code. 43235 is sometimes called West Worthington. Prior to the ZIP codes creation in the late 1980s, the area was part of the 43085 ZIP code. ZIP codes are just mail routes!

There are neighborhoods in the Columbus, Ohio 43235 ZIP code in the Columbus, Dublin or Worthington school districts. The school district boundaries existed before this area was developed.

The neighborhoods in the 43235 ZIP code are primarily in the City of Columbus but some are in unincorporated areas in Perry Township or Sharon Township.

Central Ohio school information on selected schools including the Columbus, Dublin and Worthington school districts.

Columbus, Ohio 43235 homes for sale - a market report

256 homes for sale
47 homes sold in September 2009
5.4 months of inventory based on sales

Average active price $258,000
Average sale price $182,000

11.9% more homes for sale than a year ago.
29.9% less months of inventory (based on closed Sales) in comparison to September 2008

Columbus, Ohio 43235 homes for sale - neighborhoods

In October 2009 there are homes for sale in Ashville Commons, Briarbank, Brookside Colony, Brookside Woods, Brookside Estates, Courtney Place, Gables, Kempton Run, Lakes of Worthington, Linsdey Woods, Linworth Village, Linworth Woods, Misty Meadows, Mt. Air, Northwoods (or North woods?), Northbridge Hamlet, Olentangy High Bluffs, Oldstone Crossing, Oakridge Meadows, Portage Grove, Sharon Hills, Smokey Row, Stilson Highlands, Stilson Village, Sycamore Hills, Summerwood, The Ravines at Flint Park, The Sanctuary, Village at Worthington, Timbers Edge, Traditions at Highbluffs, Trotters Chase, Village at Forest Ridge, Village at The Bluffs, Village at Willow Brook, Village of Olentangy, Villas on the Boulevard, Whispering Pines, Wishing Well Acres, Woods at the Josephinum, Worthington Green, Worthington Hills, Worthingview and many, many more northwest neighborhoods...

Columbus, Ohio 43235 home sales - September 2009

+ 11.9% home sales in September 2009 over September 2008
Average sale price $182,000
Median price $161,000

Columbus, Ohio 43235 home sales - September 2009 neighborhoods

Bethel Commons
Bethel Village
Brookside Estates
Crown Ridge
Dublin Green
Gables West
Lakes at Bethel Park
Lakes of Worthington
Misty Meadows
North Hampton Village
Northbridge Hamlet
Old Woods Farm
Olentangy Highbluffs
Smoky Row Manor
Summerwood
Sycamore Hills
The Bluffs
The Woods at the Josephinum
Traditions at Highbluff
Trotters Chase
Village at Willow Brook
Village at Worthington
Worthington Hills
Worthington Run

Search for Columbus Ohio 43235 homes for sale

Columbus, Ohio 43235

Dublin schools homes for sale

Worthington schools homes for sale

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ActiveRain posts in my monthly newsletter

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:34:46 -0500

Bob asked us to share if we are Using our blog to enhance existing relationships

Bob asked specifically:

"Do you use your blog posts in a monthly newsletter that you send to your past clients? What kinds of posts are you including?"

Well Bob as long as you ask...

Yes I do.

I have.

Actually I have included links to blog posts most months since I started my first blog back in 2005.

This month I am doing it a bit different for "oh so many" reasons.

I am posting my Outside Blog's Market Reports!

The bane of other agents, boring market reports...

The source of hyper-local Google juice!

Posting links to the market reports will not give my Real Living E - newsletter Google juice. It will allow readers of the E-newsletter to see how the Central Ohio real estate market is doing in smaller increments than what they get from the local news.

A present or past client receiving the emailed newsletter or reading the newsletter on my website could subscribe to my blog. There is a subscription link at the bottom of each post for their convenience.

I aim to please.

Here is a link to the present E-newsletter, publishing tomorrow:

November 2009 - E-newsletter on MaureenMcCabe.com <--- Link will always be to the current E-newsletter on my company website.

I will admit. I went the last month or two without putting blog content on my email newsletter. There was a probem. One month or two? I thought if I turned off the newsletter the problem would go away.... WRONG.

I have done other blog content in the past. Local events, event calendars, polls. The newsletter goes away after the month (it's got no Google Juice ... boo) other content I have shared big new local real estate announcements like Real Living's Peace of Mind Program... when Columbus makes a national list...reallly whatever I feel like sharing from my blogs at the time.

I have used it with my WordPress blog and my original blog more than my ActiveRain blogs... but I have shared the content via links to my ActiveRain Outside blogs before too.

This month I am using content from my Outside blogs.

Here's a post where I was waiting for the Real Living Newsletter impatiently in late May:

Real Living Newsletter Broken or Breaking News?

In May in a Members Only post I said

"Real Living agents,

Do you do the Real Living E-Newsletter?

Either mine is broken today or the information is not available because of something historic that I believe is going to be in the June 2009 issue. Broken or breaking news?

Here's mine:

The June 2009 eNewsletter on MaureenMcCabe.com once it's published of course the links will all work.

I " jazz" mine up. I have for a long time, before blogging my E-newsletter was more of a priortiy for me. Now I use my online content (blog stuff) to supplement my Real Living E- newsletter. "

The newsletter was delayed for breaking news. It was historic.

The link in the quote from my May post would go to the current version of the E- newsletter so I broke it...

So I am sending out market reports in November. Would I do that same content every month? Nope.

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