Medina County Home & Garden Show will be held at the Medina County Community Center (737 W Lafayette Rd, Medina on the fairgrounds) on March 20th & the 21st. Times: Friday, March 20th from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. and on Saturday, March 21st from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.  Admission will be $5 with children ages 12 & under - FREE! Also: Friday is Senior's Day - any senior over age 65 can get in for only $3.  Come and catch spring fever while touring through gardens, viewing presentations, with several demonstrations - along with experts available to answer your home & garden needs. For more information, visit http://www.MedinaHomeandGardenShow.com - plus there will be great treats & food!

Grafton Firemen's Festival on May 21-25th, 2009 at Willow Park, Grafton Ohio. Times are as follows: Thursday & Friday from 6 pm til 11 pm. Saturday & Sunday from 12 noon til midnight. Monday from noon til 8 pm. Come out & enjoy the festivities! There will be fun for everyone!!

For more information, call: 440-926-2075

Lorain County Metro Parks, LaGrange Ohio - Holiday Lights 

Once again, Lorain County Metro Parks gives back to the community, presenting the 8th annual "Festival of Holiday Lights", happening NOW through December 30th, 2008*.

Times:  6-9 pm Sunday - Thursday

           6-10 pm Friday - Saturday

( *Note: Will be closed on 12-24-08 & 12-25-08 )

Where:  Carlisle Visitor Center, 12882 Diagonal Road, LaGrange OH 44050

Enjoy a trail that's decorated for the holidays, plus a tram ride around another trail.

Admission: one non-perishable food item

For more information, call: 1-900-LCM-PARK  or (440) 458-5121  

North Ridgeville - Senior Health Fair

All seniors, their children, friends and neighbors are welcome to attend the Senior Health Fair on January 6th, 2009 from 10 am until 2 pm.  Location: 7327 Avon Belden Road, North Ridgeville

This event is free and open to the public, with refreshments being served. Over 10 Health Care Agencies will be present to answer questions and provide valuable information for older adults.

This event is hosted by the North Ridgeville Office for Older Adults. For more information, please contact Shelley Sullinger at 440-353-0825

OPEN HOUSES: what do you serve? coffee, tea, bottled water, cider? cookies, candy, pastries?

I wanted to throw this idea out to my activerain bloggers - to gather ideas on what others are serving, if anything, at their open houses.

Since I am in Ohio, on cold wintry days, I have a pot of coffee made - but I have heard cider is very inviting and makes for a great aroma.

On hot, summer days, most coming to my open house were very thankful for a cold bottled water.

I have another real estate friend who gives out a package of microwave popcorn with her card attached, along with a catchy phrase.

Another real estate friend brings a tray of pastries - but she claims lately, the tray of pastries ends up going back home since traffic is off - and ended up gaining 10 pounds over it.

I believe in Open Houses, because I first hand, have sold many of my listings this way, including writing one up at the sellers table during an open house.

Any comments?

Close to Lake Erie Shores & Public Beaches - Asking $107,500.

**Home currently not available, taken off the market - waiting for pricing to improve.

                           Built in 2001

What a rare find! Like New Ranch with a wonderful alternative from condo living, escape the monthly maintenance fees. Step inside and say "wow" - easy one level living featuring nice sized living room, open dining-kitchen area, master bedroom with private bath, 2 additional bedrooms nicely sized. Lots of closet space and storage inside. Deep garage. Fully fenced backyard with storage building. Energy Efficient - Low Utilities. (All electric home with $99 budget plan).

   Listed by Carla Harbert, Re/Max Pros  877-737-0373

What can $19,500 buy you in Amherst, Ohio? Check this out...

2 Bedroom, fully furnished, "like new" 2007 manufactured home including major appliances, furniture, linens, cookware, even a vacuum sweeper! Storage Shed with lawn mower inside to remain. Energy Efficient with low utility bills. Lot rent of $222 a month includes snow removal & trash pick-up. Playground and picnic pavilion close by.

  Dining-Kitchen View

  Closer View of the Kitchen Area

For more details and information, please contact listing agent: Carla Harbert with Re/Max Pros @ 877-737-0373.

Open Houses - how are they working in your market?

Is there a day, time, that is better than others? Do you participate in Open Houses all year long? Have you tried having an open house during the week?

Having an open house is easy - ask any "for sale by owner"! Just put up a sign, run an ad, buyers will come. Or will they?

Yes, anyone can have an open house, but having a "successful" open house takes planning and real experience - or consider it a waste of time, for all parties involved. My success rate with Open Houses has been extremely successful! And I have been fortunate to sell many of my own listings this way. Do I have secrets? You bet I do!! Don't you?

Remember first, what is the REAL purpose of having an open house. Do you think it is an excellent way to pick up buyers? Believe me when I say, that is only a small part of what your true expectations should be. My honest, true intention of holding an open house on a particular home is "I am going to SELL IT today". Attitude is everything. Having the correct mind set is extremely important. All efforts should be in focus on getting THAT listing sold for your client.

Focus, Planning, Attitude are all ingredients in having a successful, productive open house, or why else waste time doing them. Do I hold open houses often? You bet I do!! On a regular basis. It's a lot of work, but experience has helped me streamline most of the tasks ahead of time.

I strictly follow my Open House Checklists faithfully. I have a "BEFORE" open house checklist and a "DURING" open house checklist, then a "AFTER" Open House Checklist. Keeps me on track, totally prepared.

Here's a testimonial from a couple of my clients:

"We had our home listed with another company for six months, with little showings, and only 1 open house during the 6 month time frame. When I asked the listing agent why it wasn't held open more, I was told that open houses don't work. We interviewed agents when our listing expired. Carla seemed to have a fresh outlook on how a home should be marketed, truly believed she could sell it for us. When our listing expired with the other company, we had originally priced at $114,900 but by the end of our term, had lowered it down to $104,900. Carla showed us comps for the area & we listed with her for $110,000 with the promise that she would hold the house open within the first week. Carla kept her promise, had an open house on Sunday - and sold it to a buyer who came. We couldn't believe it - and it closed within 30 days. All that time wasted with that other company." (name withheld at this time)

"Our home had been on the market for 6 months with a well known real estate company. There had only been a couple open houses and was told that nobody came. We really felt that our agent forgot about us, so when it expired, we found Carla. The other company had our home listed at $169,900 and wanted us to reduce it. Told us that our price was too high. Carla showed us a very detailed marketing plan with pricing, and we listed our home at $170,000. Carla held our home open, it sold within 10 days from a buyer that had come through. We received a full price offer, too, $170,000!" (name withheld at this time)

"I listed my home with Carla because she believed in open houses and told me that she believed my home would sell. There were many homes in my neighborhood that had been for sale a year or more. Again, Carla told me not to worry about the other houses for sale. Just worry about mine, told me some things to get fixed. We priced my home for $92,900 and it sold for $92,900. Carla rocks! I couldn't believe it sold and closed so quick." D.Jeffrey

Do open houses work? For me, they do! Just ask my sellers!! - Carla Harbert, RE/MAX Pros

I am the proud owner of 2 beautiful doberman's, Seren & Xena. Seren just celebrated a birthday, so I wanted to post a pic of my baby. You can see that her youthful figure is going (gained a few pounds here & there), more white hair coming in, but she truly is aging gracefully, in spite of several fatty tumors that have recently appeared. Our vet tells us it is nothing to worry about - but she is like one of my children. Tumors are scary.

    Happy Birthday, Seren!!

 Here is Seren in her prime! almost 6 years old!

 Here is Xena ( 1 year younger than Seren). As you see, she doesn't like Seren's birthday presents. In fact, Xena doesn't like anything near her toy basket. (since it has all her chew toys).  It's so funny to watch her antics. She's really a very gentle, loving dobie who thinks she is a Lap Dog!

Grafton Firemen's Festival on May 22-26th, 2008 at Willow Park, Grafton Ohio. Times are as follows: Thursday & Friday from 6 pm til 11 pm.  Saturday & Sunday from 12 noon til midnight. Monday from noon til 8 pm. Come out & enjoy the festivities! There will be fun for everyone!!

For more information, call: 440-926-2075