This Columbus Home has Instant Equity — Oh Really?

September 14th, 2009 categories: About Me?, Bexley,Clintonville, Downtown, For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers,German Village, Grandview, Market Updates, Olde Towne East,Real Estate News, Short North, westgate

I've always loved the stone pillars flanking this Bexley Home

Instant Equity. Two words anyone buying real estate in Clintonville, Bexley, Grandview, Downtown, Short North, Berwick, Westgate or anywhere else in Central Ohio love to hear.

The problem is, I’ve heard those two words too often lately. The problem is the context and the definition of instant equity.  In my opinion, anyone buying a home that has instant equity is anyone buying a home at a substantial discount to the Market Value of the  home. That range from selling price to market value equals instant equity (though the bank might not think so).

What I’ve heard a lot lately is something along these lines, “…and this Seller paid $338,500 for it just a few years ago and is selling it for only $299,900. That’s a lot of instant equity for your buyer!”

Hold on a minute Buster, who cares what the Seller paid for it! In today’s market, if the home the Seller paid $338,500 for in 2006 is only worth $290,000 then there is NO instant equity. It’s simply priced at or around market value. Market value simply means whatever the market (all you buyers out there in Columbus thinking of buying a home) is willing to pay for it.

Hold on though, because it works both ways…..I always tell Buyers that what the  Seller paid for the home has no bearing on what the home is worth.  That means if the Seller bought the Columbus home via foreclosure, at auction or even on the market with Instant Equity….ie-if the Seller got a deal…you can’t punish them when buying the house. They are the one who got the deal, they deserve to make a profit and the Buyer should anticipate paying market value for the home. Just because the Seller got a deal on the home doesn’t mean she has any obligation to pass that deal on to the Buyer.

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Annual Sales Volume and Median Sales Price OR Fun with Graphs

September 16th, 2009 categories: Real Estate News

Fun and Informative

I’m a map and chart guy and I’m sending out thanks to the NAR research team for coming up withthis (somewhat) interactive chart that follows both annual Sales Volume of homes sold and the Median Sales Price of homes over a 40 Year Period from 1968-2008 both for the US as a whole and regionally.

Pay special attention to the West Coast (orange if you like) as they go from 1998-2008. What  a ride! Also, note that the Midwest doesn’t have the kind of volatility that the West and North East have over the last decade.

Click here to play with the graph.

Five Years of Columbus Area Real Estate News - Columbus Homes Blog turns 5 October 29th, 2008 categories: About Me?, Columbus News, For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers, Market Updates, Mortgage/Finance, Real Estate News

It was five years ago this month that I started this blog.5 year blogiversary - call me, we'll find you a home or sell the one you have It was a blogger blog back then and not nearly as involved and intricate as it is now – several iterations later. Five years is a pretty long time for a real estate blog. Almost no Realtors were blogging back in 2003. Very few are today.

Now, I’ve opened Delicious Real Estate whose home page (currently in Beta only) is a glorified blog. I hope to attract to the Brokerage tech savvy Realtors who understand something about web 2.0 and how combining their Columbus Real Estate knowledge with the many technology tools at our fingertips creates value for their clients.

Here’s to five more. I hope you find great information here and I hope you keep coming back. I wonder what this blog will look like in five years Keep reading about local markets and you’ll find out.

How All-Encompassing Should Your Home Search Be October 27th, 2008 categories: Bexley, Clintonville, For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers, German Village, Grandview, Olde Towne East, Real Estate News, Short North

Think outside the box of your next home when choosing your search criteriaThe short answer is that your home search should be as wide as possible but only within realistic confines. This is something first time home buyers struggle with more so than 2nd or 3rd time home buyers.

In part, that’s because a first time home-buyer in Columbus may find their home search defined much more by how much they can spend rather than where they’d ideally like to live. If you can’t afford your favored neighborhood, then you have to go where you can afford to buy (this is where a savvy realtor comes in handy). Location is King, so start there.

Where do you want to live, best case scenario Can you afford that community If yes, then zero in on your price range — the realistic one that goes from less than what you’re spending now (maybe even no bottom limit because you never know, maybe you could expand that little bungalow on a great lot) to the top of your comfort zone. Don’t even look past your comfort zone — just don’t. As a general rule, the more homes you run across, the better.

Now that you have the realistic confines of location and price, keep your search as wide open as possible. You think you don’t want a ranch in Clintonville, but what if a 2,100 square foot ranch with a full, walk-out basement on a ravine comes on the market Maybe you’d take a look – but not if you don’t know about it. You think you only want to look at homes in Grandview with at least 1.5 baths.

What if your perfect 2 story with only 1 bath, within walking distance to Grandview Avenue comes on the market and has a perfect spot under the stairs in an old closet for a half bath You would have missed it because you would have limited your search. As wide as possible but only within realistic confines.

If your home is for sale, there should be only one sign in the yard - a for sale sign. (Preferably a Delicious Real Estate for Sale Sign.) John McCain may want to buy your mortgage and save your home, but keep his name off your yard.

Central Ohio is a very polarized place.While it may be more pro-Obama than, say, Marysville, why would you want to alienate half the buyer population with your Obama sign and give off a bad vibe before the potential buyers -from the other party- even walk through the door

Columbus Renters - What if your Landlord isn’t Paying the Mortgage October 20th, 2008 categories: For Home Buyers, Real Estate News

Maybe it's time to quit renting and buy. The market is ripe for buyers. call meAll across the country and right here in Columbus, Ohio, renters are finding out the hard way that their Landlords are not paying their mortgages. Renters are paying their rent but the Landlords are not paying their mortgages. Can you imagine finding out that your home is about to be foreclosed on because your idiot Landlord has walked away from the property but kept the rent you’ve always paid on time Granted, if you’re reading this, it probably isn’t happening to you.

What recourse does a renter have in such a situation I’m not really sure, you’d have to ask a real estate attorney for a sound answer. Aside from monitoring the Franklin County Sheriff foreclosure auction site, you may never know that you’ll be put out of your rented home until the Sheriff knocks on your door.

This happened recently to a five family rowhouse in Merion Village. A fellow Realtor, and this isn’t the first time she had to do this, had the job of listing it for the bank and having to speak with each renter to tell them they had to look elsewhere for living accommodations. In cases like this, the bank often offers a cash-for-keys approach to any tenants who voluntarily vacate the premises in a reasonable and quick fashion—maybe one month’s rent or a little more. It’s not a fun place to be for the Realtor.

Bad-guy Middle Man going around evicting people for Landlords who have absconded with the rent rolls. It’s an ugly situation that shows how important it is to develop as solid a relationship as you can with your landlord. ShareThis This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 9:12 am and is filed under For Home Buyers, Real Estate News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Edit this entry.

Midtown Columbus Real Estate Update - September 2008 - German Village & Short North October 14th, 2008 categories: Downtown, German Village, Market Updates, Short North

If the Jackson condominium building on High Street looked like this the last time you saw the property, drive by again and take a look at the steel coming out of the ground!Here is the breakdown for what has been happening in these Midtown Columbus Markets both in September and the last three months.

Area September Sold Avg Price Avg $/sf Active Active $/sf In Contract IC $/sf German Village/ Schumacher Place/ Brewery District SIX $307,283 $237 207 $197 $9 $154 Short North/ Harrison-Vic Village Italian Village Seventeen $250,366 $159 169 $204 35 $220 Thirty Five Short Northish properties in contract could be deceiving since without Ibiza and The Jackson on High condo projects, there really would be only about 15 with a slightly better $/sf. Coming Tomorrow: An update on Grandview and Clintonville.

With 376 properties on the market in Columbus’ Short North and German Village areas, I bet we could find one that you’d love. ShareThis This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Downtown, German Village, Market Updates, Short North. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Edit this entry. Leave a Reply

Columbus’ Newest Real Estate Brokerage - My Very Own Delicious Real Estate October 10th, 2008 categories: About Me?, Columbus News, Downtown, Real Estate News

Delicious real estate is located at 254 s fourth street - come on down!It’s true. For some time now I’ve aspired to own my own Real Estate Company in Columbus. I want to build something from the ground up. Please Welcome Delicious Real Estate. The Delicious Corporate office is located at 254 South Fourth Street in Sunny Downtown Columbus, Ohio.

The emphasis at Delicious Real Estate is on better servicing the client. Buying or selling a home in Central Ohio just got a little better. Smart, educated agents, better use of technology, better communication, more savvy, more outside the box, more nimble and more creative than big-box Brokerages – that’s delicious and that benefits the client and that saves/makes the client money time and time again. It’s a new day in Columbus Real Estate. I can’t wait to talk to you about your Real Estate needs. Along these lines, you’ll see some changes around Columbus Homes Blog, all for the better and nothing too crazy.

I need to devote a lot of energy to the new corporate site which isn’t quite ready for prime time. It’s going to be a great presence though. Delicious Real Estate is always looking for exceptional agents who “get it”. If you want to talk, call or write me. ShareThis This entry was posted on Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 12:06 pm and is filed under About Me?, Columbus News, Downtown, Real Estate News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Edit this entry.

In Columbus, Can you make a Verbal Offer on a Home for Sale August 28th, 2008 categories: For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers

Yes, you can make a verbal offer on any home for sale in the Columbus area. The Agent representing the Seller is obligated to present all offers, written or verbal, ludicrous or authentic, to the Seller. The seller could accept your verbal offer and you could be in contract.

In Ohio, however, the contract will not be binding or enforceable until it is writing and signed by both parties. My Suggestion, always put it writing. Saying and doing are two different things and everyone’s time is valuable. Need someone to write your offer — give me a call or send me an email.

Talking to buyers and sellers in and around Columbus, it becomes apparent that this idea can be confusing. When speaking about the Real Estate Agent (Remember that Realtor is a copywrited trademark of the National Association of Realtors) that sold the house, we’re talking about the Agent working for the Buyers.

So despite all the hard work, energy and time the other Realtor, the ‘Listing’ Realtor, puts into marketing and selling the home, it is the Buyer’s Agent who is said to have actually ‘Sold’ the home. I don’t know why it works that way either. Among Realtors, we say we sold a home when we were, in fact, the listing agent on the home. It is common to hear another agent say something like, “Oh yeah, I had the buyers on that home, it has a fantastic coffered ceiling in the dining room.” or some such thing.

That begs the question, Can the Buyers’ Agent put a Sold Sign in the home’s yard even if she/he is with a different company than the one who had it listed Yes, after the closing, and with the new owners’ permission, the Selling Realtor can put up a sold sign. I personally think it’s awkward and distasteful but it is perfectly legal.

Of course I’m not above sending out a few targeted emails or postcards saying I sold the home because I (usually) want people in the neighborhood to know that I like working in that Columbus neighborhood and that I’d enjoy helping them and their friends buy and sell a home in that neighborhood. Of course, I can’t sell any homes without clients, so give me a call or send me an email. Search for your next Columbus Area Home