Cincinnati Home Buying #15 - What To Know About FSBOs! - 02/28/08 01:29 PM
What is a FSBO?It's an acronym for: For Sale By Owner and it's pronounced (fizz-bo) As a new home buyer, it's important to understand the possible reasons that a seller is selling their property on their own as a FSBO. Here's a few:
They may have little or no equity in the home and need to save money. They may have had a bad experience with a Realtor in the past. They may have sold property as a FSBO before and are doing it again. They may have plenty of time to sell or aren't motivated to sell. They try on … (0 comments)

Cincinnati Home Buying #14 - Your Lender's Expertise Is Critical! - 02/16/08 06:04 PM
As the real estate and mortgage markets continue to recover, we are seeing more and more restrictions on lending to try and right the ship. One monster that started to surface way back in July of 2007 was the "Declining Markets" guidance sent out by FannieMae (Federal National Mortgage Association). In short, FNMA began to notice in their massive data base that there are areas of the country that are seeing consistent declines in market value, yet they don't have a standard industry definition of what constitutes a declining market.So what does this all mean?Well, if your lender receives this message … (0 comments)

Cincinnati Home Buying Tip #13 - "Is This The One?" - 02/07/08 10:35 AM
As you look at different homes, you're always wondering "is this going to be the one"?"Is this the home that I'll fall in love with and live in for many years?"Whether you've looked at 5, 10, 20 or more homes, you'll always wonder if you're picking the right property for you.One of the ways to help you compare is to set up a rating system. On a scale of one to ten, how do you rate each home?I always tell clients anything less than a 5 means 'run away'. If you pick the numbers 6 or 7, it means that the … (2 comments)

Home Buying Tip # 12 - 3 Focus Points When Viewing Properties! - 02/01/08 01:20 AM
When you begin your home/condo search, here are 3 things you need to be focused on when viewing properties:
Functionality of Floor Plan - Does the floor plan flow or is it choppy? Does it meet your needs? When you walk through a home, it's important initially get a feel for the home, because emotion plays a big part when house-hunting. It's easy to get distracted by the seller's furnishings if the home is occupied, so you need to do your best and visualize the property with how you would furnish it. Is the floor plan bright & open or seem dark … (0 comments)