If you want to buy in Columbus, Ohio, they have some great programs! Did you know that you can purchase a home with free money from the City of Columbus for as low as $500? Let me say that again since it may have been a typo. Yes, $500.00 down payment! You can't even rent an apartment with that low money down!

Of course you will have to put up with those annoying Ohio State fans, unless you are a Buckeye fan yourself! The we do have Blue Jackets, but not the kind that sting. Yes, it does snow here from time to time but not too bad.

Can everyone get a home with $500 down payment. Well, no not everyone. You have to qualify with income standards. You have to make below the median income based on family size, so the program is not for people with lots of money but you will be surprised how lenient the program is. And you have to live in the house for the next 5 years or you may have to pay the money back. And the house needs to be in Columbus, and in certain locations so many of the upscale neighborhoods may not qualify but there are still many great homes in many great neighborhoods that qualify.

So how does it work? Well, you get a grant from the City of Columbus for up to $5000 or 6% of the homes purchase price to use for the down payment or closing costs and you only need $500 of your own money. You have to go to a homeownership class to learn about owning a home, and you have to live in the house for 5 years, so the program is not open for investors. You do not need to be a first time homebuyer, either, but if you are you can combine some of the first time homebuyer programs as well.

Interested? Give me a call and I can start you on your way towards homeownership for only $500 down! You don't even need perfect credit! So before you send in one more rent check, shouldn't you check into being a homeowner?

                    Seems as though maybe everyone is out of original thoughts? I was reading the blogs for the last few days and it is hard to find one that wasn't written just a few days or minutes ago by someone else. I saw the same blog reposted 3 times in the 30 minutes I was on the site reading blogs!

So is everyone out of original thoughts? Or just so starved for points that they simply repost the same ideas over and over? Kind of like re-listing the same house for the same price over and over, and expecting it to sell?

So where did you go, Joe DiMaggio? (Stole that line) Where did the original thinkers all go to hang out? Where can I find new ideas, new challenges, new thoughts?   I miss all the original posts that used to be here! 

You know the saying? "Put a fork in him, he's done?" Used that all the time when I was younger, and it meant just what you think it does, that they would be finished just like a cake in the oven. Time to take the cake from the oven.

So are we that close to customer service being done? I think so, unfortunately, and this new(er) centralized showing that companies are using, provided by a few different companies, is pushing that fork just a little closer. You know, that big room of phones somewhere that you call into to set showings on listings that serve many companies and many agents, all from the same room?

Had 7 showings to set with 7 different companies and 6 of them used the same centralized showing service. Made it somewhat easy for me because once i called in I could give my same information on all the homes at once, regardless of the company that had the home for sale. I got 6 calls back from them, 1 on my cell phone, 3 at home (where I never am and didn't find the calls till the next day) and 2 at my office. Also received 4 emails confirming the showings without instructions as to how to get in, and 2 emails for feedback before I even showed the house, which I promptly responded to :)

So is that a service that is customer friendly for your clients? You list your clients home with the promise of excellent customer service and you turn over the showings to a third party warehouse with no skin in the game and no control by the listing agent? I wonder how many showings get bungled? Any concern that your competitor offers the same product as you, and the same services you do?

Know what a "commodity" is in the marketing world? Its a product that the consumer percieves as not being able to distinquish one brand from the other, like toilet paper. So do you know how a consumer shops for a commodity? Easy, they shop for the lowest price. Are you one more step closer to making yourself a commodity since you all look like each other and the only difference is the color on the sign? Its just basic marketing, my friend, and you need to be different to charge more, not the same.

We have an online class at Columbus State Community College in "Real Estate Investing", which is 100% online and availabale for college credit. It is 11 weeks of hands-on learning for agents or investors who may want to learn about buying, sellling, and analyzing investment properties. It is very inexpensive and counts towards your real estate degree, or maybe you can transfer them to your regular college as an elective.

We have students from all over the United States enrolled, and we have space for you or your clients! It is a 3 credit hour class and cost $79 an hour, so it is a bargain. We still have spots available, so join us! Log on to www.cscc.edu.

Got any ideas to help me? I am using Advanced Access and I am tired of the poor service, slow emails, and constant nondelivery of promises and returned calls.

I am really tired of paying for crap, so if you know of a good website that your company uses that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, could you let me know? I am not real picky, but if it generated a lead or two that would also be a nice feature.

In my last blog I explored the who part of this equation by answering the question "Who buys a condo", and now I would like to address the why part.

So whyy buy a condo anyway? Why not just rent? Good questions and tough to answer but let me explain it to you.

I own a refrigerator, and in that refrigerator is some food and some beer. I can stay home and cook some food, have a beer, and watch TV and all is good. But what I really like to do is go down to my local restaurant for happy hour, sit at a bar, have some appetizers, drink an ice cold beer, and watch the news or sports on their TV. There is just something about them cooking and serving and cleaning and all that stuff. I like to order my food, they bring it and when I am done they take it away. No dishes, no wiping the counter, no slaving over the hot skillet.

Condos are kind of like that. You own everything on the inside and can do with it whatever you please, including moving walls and decorating and building stuff. But on the outside, they take care of the roof, the lawn, the parking lots, everything. Sure, you have to pay for it just like I pay for the food at the local diner. Just imagine that someone else has to go outside on those brutal July days and mow the grass, let alone those frigid January days shoveling the sidewalk.

Just imagine if you owned a condo how much more free time you would have. Maybe you could hit a bucket of balls, then go to happy hour. Sounds like a plan to me!

For many people John Bearden was the face of GMAC Real Estate. With his powerful demeanor, his candid speaking, and his unshakable spirit in the face of tough times for GM, GMAC, and real estate in general, he was an impressive leader. He lead us through the many changes of the industry and the many changes of GMAC as a corporate owner of a real estate company. Most of us knew that when the company sold, it would not be if, but when. On behalf of many of us in the GMAC family of brokers I wanted to say thank you and good luck. Thanks for your leadership, guidance, and faith in a better tommorrow.

We can only hope that our next leader is as Good as John Bearden.

People that know the joy of ownership and the financial benefits of owning their own place without the bother of spending their time fixing things or mowing grass, that's who! Why spend those lovely days mowing the grass, mulching the yard, and pulling weeds when that time can be spent on the nature trail behind the condos that border Alum Creek, right off Cooper Road?

Prices starting at $113,900, these 2 bedroom condos have never been lived in! Special financing starting at 5% down payments make these units very affordable. They all come with 2 full baths, tall or cathedral ceilings, and an elevated deck over the nature trail and breathtaking views of Alum Creek. Come take a look, and maybe you will find all that extra time you used to spend taking care of your yard can be spent enjoying the outdoors!

Visit us at www.edgeonalumcreek.com.

Just curious, because we all want to be accessible 24/7 but no one answers their phone. I don't care if they work in an office, at their desk, in their car, whatever. I can't tell you the number of businesses that I call and no one answers their phone. First I have to listen to you company recorder, then dial your extension and STILL get another voicemail.

I wonder how many people just call the next agent on their list?

New agents: Want a point of difference and learn how to beat top agents? Be accessible. Don't just talk it like other agents do, pick up the phone next time it rings. It might be that buyer you have waited all week for!

Seems like a waste of money, a glorified way to rent, a way for a developer to make a bunch of money. But is there really a reason to buy a condo? Well, let's take a look.

One key point is ownership. Ownership gives you the right to change as you wish, to renovate and decorate. Landlords get a little upset if you take out a wall, or paint some custom colors, or put holes in the walls for your pictures. A condo allows you to do anything you want (as long as you don't make it unsafe) without fear of the landlord inspecting and evicting you with a huge damage bill.

So to answer my questin of who buys a condo? Its independant people. People that want the benefits of low exterior maintenance with the independance of not being told what to do with the interior. It doesn't matter if you are young, old, or in-between, its a matter of not being told what you can do once you close the front door behind you after a stressful day.

Additionally, its about roots. You are establishing roots in a community of people like you, free-thinkers, who don't want to move every time the property complex is sold and the rent adjusted. Its annoying to see moving vans in the parking lots every Saturday morning and the constant turnover of meeting your neighbors on a continuing basis.

So who buys a condo? Independant, free thinking individual who want roots and stability with the joy of limited or no outside maintenance. What about you? Come visit us in our model at 6350 Edgecreek lane (off Cooper Rd) just minutes from Schrock Rd and St Ann's hospital. Prices start at $113,900. Free thinkers encouraged to come by. Find out more at www.edgeonalumcreek.com