Carole's Cleveland Blog

Cleveland Carole The Realtor® Does Not Feel Like A Stereotype To Me

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:52:28 -0600

My pal Linda Davis and I banter back and forth about politics. We are rarely of the same political philosophy but good friendships survive that! Linda says I am Carole The Realtor® This tag has been blogged about on Active Rain (social network for the real estate profession) over the last few weeks but I have my own take due to public perception about agents. And it still ain't pretty. Our company, Howard Hanna, bought Realty One/Real Living over the past few days. Shaheen Samovati from the Plain Dealer has been on top of it, she's a sharp cookie and a good writer. She did a story about it here. The PD columns get a lot of strange commentary, but since this time it was about real estate, it hit home. You can go read all the comments but here is an excerpt from one:

"For the most part, Realtors are the laziest and least ethical people out there, doing everything to make a commission for themselves without regard for the homeowner. Do yourself a favor, don't list with a realtor. Whatever you think your home is worth, lower it by 10% - 15% and sell it without the hassles."

Brokers and agents like Linda Davis have written about what we really do as have a lot of you. Still, stereotypes persist. Carole The Realtor® doesn't feel like a stereotype to me. Why?

1. Greed and only working for the commission is not part of my equation. Yes I need to make a living just like Sally the Secretary and Diana The Grocery Manager. But there is no greed in wanting to pay my bills and keep up my house.

2. Unlike Joe the Plumber I could not buy a business this year for $250k nor would anyone give me a loan to do it. And this with having a steady stream of business for quite some time now.

3. I don't snark at other brokers or agents from other brokerages. I don't try to steal their clients either.

4. I don't only show my own listings and I don't only market listings to agents in my company.

5. I DO network with other agents and have great relationships with people in other brokerages.

6. I have never tried to cut another agent out of a deal, held back offers from clients so one of my clients could buy the house instead or any other strange behavior of the same ilk. And frankly in six years in this business I have only ever seen maybe two or three agents who are like this.

There are bad peaches in every bunch (and don't ya hate when that happens) but this is true whether or not you are dealing with real estate, telephone companies, grocers, or any other business! What is my career really about and what do I do all day? I learn! Agents are like investigative reporters. What do I investigate and learn?

1. The history of neighborhoods, how each one came to be. Maybe a factory is close by and therefore housing for the workers sprung up like flowers in a garden back in the day. Maybe there was an active religious institution; a school; maybe it's on the transit line. Who chose to live where and why, back in the day, is fascinating to me. I wind up at the library a lot because of some tidbit of info I've found out in the different ‘hoods.

2. I ferret out what's vibrant in each of our neighborhoods. Is there a long time hardware store or bakery? The Brothers Lounge was dormant in one of our neighborhoods for a few years. Now Cudell Edgewater residents (and people from all over the city) are ecstatic that it re-opened. Gordone Square Streetscaping is happening in Detroit Shoreway and the Capital Theatre will be open in about six months. That neighborhood is becoming more vibrant by the minute. And the tid bits go on and on.

3. Real estate nuances. Why is one street more sought after than the one right next to it? Why would a house sell more near a transit station and one on the other side of the community not?

4. Government regulations and how they play out in house sales and house market values. Do you have to have a city point of sale inspection if you sell your house? Are you going to be a landlord? Do you know you need an inspection? Did you know the city will come out and do a weatherization checklist for you to help you save on fuel costs? There is a lot to learn that is helpful to buyers of homes.

5. Through many people/clients I have learned how to refinish floors with boat paint, where the best (insert culture) restaurants are that people of that culture frequent. Where there is a leather tailor to fix my briefcases or purses or coats. Where are their neighborhood block clubs and where are the dog parks?

6. What communities have point of sale inspections and which ones don't. Which communities have land banks of vacant land and how they can be purchased and who to contact.

7. Sometimes I even find out what companies are hiring in a community, which ones aren't. What cool new business has moved into a neighborhood. (We have one person who makes ‘thingies' for guitars and has a patented way to keep strings from needing to be tuned as much. Keith Richards, among others, buys this stuff from him). Where are the best independent coffee shops? All of these things make for a vibrant neighborhood. I get to learn where they are in each community. And then I get to pass this information on to folks looking to buy a home.

8. Something different every day. This is not an exaggeration. Every single day. If you get right down to it, almost every job allows us to learn something every week, challenge ourselves. But in real estate I get to do it every single day. Being somewhat geeky that makes me feel even better about getting up and going to work every day. Probably helps keep me young too!

Agents are like matchmakers. I keep thinking about that. We help match up clients to homes. I always have ideas running around in my brain and one of them is to set up monthly meet ups for agents of every brokerage so we can talk with each other and find out who has clients that might be good for our listings and vice versa. God knows we all work hard and taking time off is difficult so why not match up a social event with some good work networking? This may sound like a digression (lol) but it's not. Because being an agent allows me to think up creative ideas.

They may or may not work, but throwing the ideas out there for sure can't hurt. We all do this, and isn't that another wonderful side benefit to our careers? This week, I look forward to welcoming, one on one, agents from Real Living who will be working under the same umbrella brokerage as I am, and celebrating the fact that I can count on thinking about or learning something new every day. And hopefully matching up a few people to homes. There really is no stereotype to our career is there? Peace Out - 3C

Wayne Would Have Said 'Excellent Dude' About Yesterday's Ward 20 Neighborhood Summit

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:17:51 -0500

A couple months ago, I found myself in talks with Bryan Gillooly (Executive Dir) and Sister Linda (Board Member) at Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation (BPDC). We were interviewing each other, as to whether or not I should be on the Board. Last night's Ward 20 Neighborhood Summit made me even happier that I accepted the position. The Summit combined dinner, a chance for neighbors to meet and talk with each other, poster style presentations by groups in the area doing quite a few good things for our community, and speeches. (Politicians spoke too and as you would predict they were a tad long winded and uh, political! But even they had some good info lol)

What impressed me? First, the commitment of the BPDC staff to keep adding on programs, efforts that help the community. And get this: an ever increasing effort to talk to residents, both home owners and business owners, to find out just what the neighborhood wants. Imagine that! Everyone had forms on the table allowing them to pass on what they wanted to see in the neighborhood or to express concerns they might have. Since I'm a big believer in this kind of interaction, I was excited to see this.

Some of the highlights:

1. The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) helps people pay their energy bills. As you can imagine, HEAP will be needed to help even more people this year. Prior to this year, our Ward 20 residents had to get to the HEAP office located in Clark Metro. Not impossible for those who drive, but for those taking public transportation? Because of bus transfers? 2 1/2 hour trip. Not conducive to seeking help! So Bryan Gillooly and the BPDC staff worked to get a satellite HEAP office set up at the BPDC office with separate HEAP staff people. Again I say, excellent dude!

2. Cleveland Public Theatre works with our community students through the STEP program (Student Theatre Enrichment Program). Our students put on two performances with CPT's assistance, one being at Jefferson Park this summer during the annual Ward 20 Ice Cream Social. The STEP program helps build student confidence and self esteem, while being just plain fun as well.

3. There is a gardening program at RG Jones and Riverside (see photos). Students not only garden, but then help market the produce. It's a way to teach students business and marketing skills along with helping them learn to garden and see the results of their efforts. It's an ongoing, wonderful program (I would love to help out with it next season).

4. We are the only Ward with a mediation program. Mostly, we all enjoy our neighbors but you know, every now and then a dispute arises. In order to resolve issues in a respectful way that also avoids legal action, Bellaire Puritas (BPDC) offers a mediation service. The mediation is also useful when teen issues arise.

5. The Cleveland Foundation is working with us on a Youth Development Program. The idea is to identify in-school and outside projects (like some of the ones above but a much longer list) that could help our Ward 20 students thrive.

Once a stereotype gets going, it's hard to break it. But truthfully, our schools are helping students thrive. All the elementary schools in our Ward are going to be brand spanking new. And if enhancement programs can help students thrive, no one will feel the need to pull their kids out, or move out of the neighborhood, because parents will continue to see the good results.

I'd like to use the gardening analogy about all of the above. You prepare the dirt (good enhancement programs at schools and mediation services available), You plant the seeds (like the CPT/STEP theatre projects) and you get a vibrant community of neighbors helping, talking with and enjoying other neighbors. Again I say, excellent dude!

To contact Bellaire Puritas about any thing listed here or not, call 216-671-2710. h/t to Rachel Napolitano, the community organizer at BPDC for putting on a great Summit last night. Peace Out - 3C

Say No To Second Stimulus Package and Yes to Jobs...Let's Get Creative!

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:56:18 -0500

The Election is almost over and it's going to be time to roll up our sleeves and get to prioritizing issues that need to be tackled. If you had told any of us five years ago that our Government would be willing to pump money into banks, financial institutions or anything else, we'd have all said collectively someone was pipe dreaming. HR 1424, The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act is in effect and now we can see the possibilities. One of our most important and least sexy urgent needs is infrastructure repair. You can go onto many NE Ohio blogs or forums and find people who comment about this. One of my ‘fix the infrastructure' like minded friends sent me this blog post from WIRED, written by Dave Demerjian.

His premise is a good one, that throwing money into all the green ideas (especially surrounding things like electric cars, alternative fuels and my hot button, high speed rail, won't work unless we get down and dirty and start from the ground up, fixing our roads, highways and bridges. I don't have to tell anyone this is true, but the question is, how should we do it? Demerjian likes this idea: "(Congress) should invest in the more than 3,000 ready-to-go highway projects that could be under contract within the next 30 to 90 days," says John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "Funding these ready to go projects offers Congress a tremendous opportunity to put Americans to work and help cash-strapped states repair and replace our crumbling infrastructure."

In the days of Roosevelt there was the Works Project Administration (WPA). We keep hearing about increasing consumer spending power (we all got those IRS refunds over the last 8 yrs - and most of us wound up using that money to pay bills, not spend money on consumer goods.) Maybe a different approach is better yes? The original mission of the WPA was to put people to work doing things that absolutely needed to be done. Some of our best built and most beautiful bridges were built during this time. Again, I don't have to tell you that. A lot of us believe it's time to revisit this idea, get down to the basics, and get our Country's foundation ship shape again. One of the mission statements from WPA records:

"....the WPA-headed by Harry L. Hopkins until 1938-was designed to increase the purchasing power of persons on relief by employing them on useful projects. WPA's building program included the construction of 116,000 buildings, 78,000 bridges, and 651,000 mi (1,047,000 km) of road and the improvement of 800 airports...."

If we look at those 3k ready to go highway projects Demerjian blogs about, people can get back to work and the infrastructure work can begin. Congress is now talking about a new stimulus package. Isn't this (WPA) a better stimulus package?? Yeah, it's all going to cost money. But we can be as cost-effective and smart about how we do this as possible. Look at this from the Popular Mechanics site. It's featuring the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the award it won from the American Society of Engineers (ASE). It's not so much the bridge itself (why I'm directing you there), as to the criteria they used to determine the winner.

Using the American Society of Engineers criteria for making this award as a basis for a new WPA set up makes sense. An explanation:

1. It came in under budget. AND ahead of schedule. Imagine that!

2. Efficient Design

3. Environmental Impact

4. (though not listed as a separate category by the ASE, it was discussed throughout) - Community Involvement.

Several designs were proposed and according to the ASE, the community voted on the winning design. A higher bridge was proposed but the community said no, make it shorter. They still only have to raise the bridge (estimate) about 65 times a year, when in the old days on the old WW Bridge, it was over 200 times. More ships and barges can get under this new bridge without it having to be raised.

They also used pieces of the old bridge to build fishing reefs etc, a good recycling and reuse of materials mission. What do you think about this 21st Century version of the WPA project instead of a new stimulus package? As usual, please weigh in. These are heady times for us but also times when, because we are all forced to take note and take stock, and shouldn't we have a say in how our money is spent? Please weigh in with your thoughts. Peace Out - 3C

Ohio Infrastructure Needs - Web Investigations:

Sherrod Brown on funding water improvements.

Progress Ohio weighs in on prioritizing National infrastructure repair.

The Columbus Dispatch on need for road repair monies.

Ohio Dept of Transportation release on Inner Belt (I-90) Bridge repairs

Update: This from Thursday's (today) WS Journal onn various ideas for a second stimulus package. Sexy or not, I still say a majority of any spending should go to infrastructure -- the candidates weighed in with McCain saying 'vetted' projects were ok as far as he's concerned (see above for highway 'stuff' already in pipeline).

Obama and others said "...Democrats depict more spending on roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure -- an idea championed by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama -- as an investment that would create jobs in the U.S and pave the way for future economic growth...." Hopefully this link to the WSJ article works if you're not a paid subscriber.

Some Good Real Estate News For a Change..No More Chicken Little Please!

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:49:41 -0500

Do we need some good news for a change or what?????

The Case Shiller Report studies 20 metropolitan regions in the U.S. The August Report shows that Cleveland and Boston were the only two regions out of twenty to show an increase. The report is here and an excerpt:

For the August/July period only 2 regions, Cleveland and Boston, had positive returns. Cleveland returned +1.1% and Boston returned +0.1%. Boston has had positive monthly returns for each of the past five months. Dallas and Denver's streaks of 4+ straight positive returning months ended in August. San Francisco was the biggest decliner for the month returning -3.5%. This worsened from its July/June return of -1.8%. From August 2007 to August 2008, Dallas and Charlotte have the best relative performance. Dallas is down 2.7% over the year and Charlotte is down 2.8%.

Boston and N. Carolina have shown positive growth albeit small for the last few Case Shiller reports; but finally Cleveland is included in the mix.

We had a very active summer as far as sales are concerned (meaning my office and my colleagues) so I'm not surprised. We'll keep our fingers crossed that the scales can keep inching up. Still not expecting major recovery but we'll take this yes? Case Shiller also reported that even though most of the markets showed a decline the rate of decline was smaller than recorded for other months this year.

The Northern Ohio Multiple Listing Service (MLS) stats for this past September are also available for viewing now.

Cuyahoga County stats show 1,109 homes transfered title last month, compared with 914 sold in September of ‘07. The highest sale price last month was $1,372,500. In September of ‘07 the highest sale price was $1,050,000. So that's an increase in sale prices - while the average sale price is down 12.5% this September from 2007 ($116,522 and last year, $133,181). Both years had identical averages for days the sold homes were on the market: 87.

In fact, three months from being listed to sales are the averages for most (not all) NE Ohio communities.

If you'd like to see the entire MLS report by County, go here. Peace Out - 3C

Peace Out - 3C

What Happens After The Bailout: An Effort At Continued Transparency

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:06:11 -0500

We can kvetch all we want but The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) is now the law. It makes sense for us to follow what happens from here on out. Active Rain seems like a good place to do this. Many people who read Active Rain are not in the real estate business and frankly, maybe there are readers who can contribute to the pool of information I'm going to try to track here. I hope so! (Yes, you Rainers too!)

To start, as the NY Times' Mark Lander and Edmund Andrews explain, now EESA is law, and now Treasury begins to set up the Administrative end of this. The devil of course, is in the details.

Good points from this article:

1. It will take some time for Paulson et al to set up a staff. Supposedly, Treasury wants to outsource most of the work and is estimating what they call a small in house staff of about two dozen people.

2. The outsourcing will be to "....professionals who will oversee huge portfolios of bonds and other securities for a management fee...."

3. They do not expect this new entity to be fully operational until after the Nov. 4th election.

4. They have to work on laws that will take care of (!) conflict of interest issues. In other words, if a Goldman Sachs staffer/executive winds up working for us as an asset manager, they will have two duties: one to us, the taxpayers, to make sure we are not overspending, and one to their company shareholders to make as much as possible. Yes, the devil is in the details.

My thought: can't people who have the expertise from these private companies take a leave of absence for a year so there is not a conflict of interest? I'm asking sincerely, because 1) maybe this is too cost prohibitive for us. but 2) it could mean some of the financial peeps who have lost their jobs can take short term positions as replacements for the men and women who come to work for us. They will be working for us, won't they?? Why not a one year term for everyone from a private company who comes to work in this new wing of the government. Then they go back to their old jobs.

This idea may sound hard to make happen, but in reality (according to the Times article, there has been at least one person who was the managing director of Pimco, who offered his services for free. We could pay them (they plan to do this anyway) but at least while he/she is working for us, they won't have a conflict. (Now you can all tell me why this won't work LOL)

Now to the real estate related stuff, meaning sub prime mortgage assets (if you can call them that). Lander and Andrews point out that in order for an entire Trust to be purchased by the Feds (and apparently a lot of the sub prime assets are in the form of Trusts) they would have to have 100% agreement from the Trustees. So they plan on only purchasing half of the assets in these cases which circumvents the need for 100% approval.

Also this quote: "....Treasury officials have emphasized that the government will also be buying up whole mortgages, which have not been securitized, and that it may well buy whole mortgages through one-on-one negotiations with individualbanks. Officials said they would probably experiment with other approaches as well...."

I'm going to see if the financialservices.com site (run by Congress) is allowing visitors (they were 'down' all last week, so many people wanted to read the text of the proposed Bill....the final Bill is up to 510 pages or so....). As soon as I can find a link that works, I will link it here. (Do any of you have such a link? If so please link)

More of the 'devil in the details' to follow as we go along. Here in NE Ohio we will be particularly interested in how the mortgage foreclosure aspect of the EESA is set up and handled.

Please link anything here you think is of value!

Peace Out -3C

UPDATE: so far, this is the only place I can find what might be the full text of the EESA. It's the Sun Light Foundation's Public Mark Up site.

Finally, the financialservices.gov (US House) is finally loading so I will link it here. (Maybe people are already tired of reading it! lol)

h/t to Elaine Reese for pointing out Jim Crawford's posts on the EESA. To say the least, he's not a fan of it lol. In any event, here is a good post by him listing the 'earmarks' added into this Act. For those of you who don't want to read all 500 or so pages, these earmarks may be an eye opener.

10.05.08 - Wachovia was set to be purchased by Citi and then Wells Fargo got into the mix, most of you already know this. Here is today's update on the continuing saga, now a judge has blocked the Wells deal, for now. NYTimes article here.

Also today, good stories linked here in NYT about how Europe and the European Union is grappling with same economic/bank failure issues.

10/8/08 They put it this way: calming London in order to stablize the World economy. Britain moves closer to US Bailout sytem in stead of a 'prn' or as needed basis

Also today, Paulson says stay calm and Bernanke orders a small Federal rate cut. I'm thinking (and I'm not an economist nor do I play one on tv) one more week until The World including us can get a handle on initial steps the Feds and the World markets are taking, and I doubt the stock market will really calm down until then.

On a positive note, we had 10% more sales as a company this past month than we did in 2007. And NAR announced that there is a significant increase in the number of homes 'pending' (under contract, waiting to transfer ownership) in September. That matches what happened with us locally, especially in our office, we had a terrific volume in September.

Just wanted to point out that there are buyers realizing the interest rates are still great and prices (for them) are terrific.

OCTOBER 9th Update: Okay I knew this would wind up being a long post but I'm about to make it longer. Here is an early look at today's WSJ article on McCain's proposed home mortgage rescue idea. The reporters claim to know what he plans to do. If they are correct, they will be allowing some of the predatory lenders get rescue money too. I don't really know if this article is accurate, but I'm going to add a total cut and paste here:

OCTOBER 9, 2008 JOHN D. MCKINNON

McCain Reshuffles Rescue Deal

Proposal Could Help Homeowners but Also Reward Predatory Mortgage Lenders

JOHN D. MCKINNON

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain's $300 billion plan to help homeowners struggling with mortgage debt carries big potential benefits for the troubled real-estate sector, but could reduce the funds available for rescuing banks.

The proposal, which Sen. McCain announced during Tuesday night's presidential debate with Sen. Barack Obama, also could make winners out of investors -- including predatory mortgage lenders -- that the Bush administration and Congress have tried to exclude from the government's largesse. And it raises knotty administrative questions about how the government would handle potentially huge numbers of mortgage refinancings. Among the challenges: screening out undeserving homeowners who might seek to qualify for help.

The McCain plan highlights the continuing struggles of Washington policy makers -- and Sen. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, in particular -- in coming up with a workable solution to the interwoven problems of the real-estate and financial sectors. Just two weeks ago, Sen. McCain threw his weight behind House conservatives who wanted to shrink the government's role in the rescue. With this week's announcement, Sen. McCain is seeking to maximize government assistance, while focusing it on homeowners.

McCain advisers believe the plan would require no new legislation and is a less-costly prescription for real-estate contagion than buying lots of risky mortgage-related securities, as the recently passed $700 billion rescue measure aims to do. But some analysts said it could drain money away from the rescue effort for banks.

The plan focuses on using much of the government's rescue powers to buy individual mortgages that homeowners are having trouble paying.

An earlier mortgage-assistance plan passed by Congress over the summer tried to do something similar, but with a key difference: It forces lenders and investors to take a loss of principal -- a "haircut" -- on the troubled mortgages, in exchange for the government's help. That program appears to be off to a slow start, partly because lenders have been reluctant to accept the large losses they now face on troubled loans, according to analysts.

Another possible reason is that some up-front funding for last summer's $300 billion program -- which was to come from fees paid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- could be in some doubt since the two mortgage giants were taken over by the government last month.

Sen. McCain's program would effectively reinvent the homeowner program to speed up the process. The government would buy the existing troubled loans at face value -- absorbing the haircut itself -- and the Federal Housing Administration would issue a new, federally guaranteed 30-year fixed-rate loan, based on the property's present value, at a "manageable" interest rate, the McCain camp said.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he needs "to learn more about the [McCain] plan," but that the administration is already working to help prevent foreclosures.

The McCain plan envisions combining the resources of last summer's $300 billion housing bill, the $700 billion financial-rescue plan enacted last week, and the still-considerable buying capacity of Fannie and Freddie.

If it works as planned, the initiative would help qualifying homeowners and would put a floor under declining housing prices. It also could help banks by shoring up the value of their troubled mortgage-related assets, McCain advisers said. That, in turn, could reduce the need for buying up troubled financial assets. The plan also could free up credit, lowering interest rates and further stimulating the real-estate sector.

"By starting with the homeowner and working up, you accomplish some of the [same] objectives of the financial-stabilization plans that we've seen come out of Congress," said McCain economic adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin.

The McCain plan is similar in some respects to the Depression-era Home Owners' Loan Corp., which made 1 million refinancing loans totaling $3 billion to help prevent foreclosures. In recent months, some prominent academic economists have suggested similar programs as an alternative to the Bush administration's rescue plan.

Whatever its economic effects, its focus on homeowners is likely to have considerable political appeal.

The Obama camp attacked the plan as a poorly designed giveaway to the least-deserving lenders. "It's a huge gift to the least-responsible financial institutions, some of whom have committed fraud, that leaves the taxpayers with guaranteed losses, all of the downside risk, and none of the upside," said Jason Furman, an adviser to Sen. Obama. "It's an example of John McCain being erratic and walking away from the principles that he purported to support as recently as a week ago."

It wasn't clear whether the government would share in the eventual profits homeowners might realize when they sell their homes.

By relying on existing rescue resources, the McCain plan could reduce the amount of money available for buying financial assets from institutions, said Karen Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics.

-Deborah Solomon contributed to this article.

Write to

John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com

The Resolution Trust Corp and Bailout and How It Can/Should Apply To Cleveland

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:32:18 -0500

I'm pretty much just going to post this as Bill Callahan and Frank Ford wrote it. Just a few extra thoughts before I do. The key point to me is that no matter how angry it makes me or all of us, clearly we need to do this. But what we need to do in a quick, band-aid fashion, is a bailout. What should take longer, in my opinion, is the actual restructuring that may occur.

We need to make sure that all the necessary checks and balances are in place, that any regulatory changes put into place make sense for the long term. And as Bill and Frank are pointing out, that they make sense for those of us in our communities. I'm posting this on Active Rain instead of my outside blog because the points they raise are thoughtful, deserve discussion, and might spark some ideas for your own community needs regarding this bail out. Here is what they wrote:

To: Interested parties in Greater Cleveland RE: What we learned last night about the proposed Federal Bailout September 19, 2008 Proposed "Resolution Trust Corporation" - a Community Protection Agenda

While the details are murky, Paulsen, Bernanke and Congressional leaders are publicly committed to create,within a few weeks, a new Federal entity described as analogous to the Resolution Trust Corporation.

Yesterday's Bloomberg report says:

"The two regulators, in talks with lawmakers late today, sought support for a plan to help financial institutions remove from their balance sheets illiquid mortgage related assets at the root of the yearlongcredit crisis.

Congressional leaders said they intend to work to pass such legislation within days."

Presumed insiders Brady, Ludwig and Volcker, in their oped piece about this proposal in the WSJ Wednesday, described the proposed entity's functions:

"Such a stabilizing mechanism would accomplish four much needed tasks:

"First,by buying paper that otherwise is effectively not trading, it would help restore liquidity to the marketplace and help markets to function more fluidly again.

"Second, by warehousing the troubled paper for a longer period than, for instance, the Fed's discount window typically should or could, it would allow for a more orderly liquidation of this paper, and the chance for much of it to recover a portion of its value.

"Third, by giving the agency the ability to manage mortgages with flexibility to keep people in their homes and businesses running, it should lessen the number of foreclosures. This, in turn, would help moderate the decline in real estate values and the deterioration of neighborhoods, thus supporting house prices that in fact lie at the heart of the crisis.

"Fourth, where necessary, like the RTC of the 1980s, this new mechanism can assist the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in resolving sick institutions that are so clogged with the troubled paper they cannot continue as independent entities. However, we would hope that purchasing the mortgage related paper will minimize the need to provide emergency, short term assistance to solvent banking institutions."

The third function " managing mortgages" to "lessen foreclosures" is very attractive, of course, and

presumably will be a major political talking point of proponents. It's possible that this initiative represents a breakthrough for our efforts to tame the foreclosure beast in Cuyahoga County.

But how would this work, exactly?

We're aware of three basic categories of "illiquid mortgage related assets" that this "RTC" might take agree to acquire. The first is actual mortgages held by the institutions in their own portfolios. The second category probably much bigger and more problematic is mortgage based securities. The third is contracts and derivatives related to mortgage based securities.

It's easy to see how the "RTC" could take over the management, workout and disposition of actual unsecuritized mortgages, just as the original RTC did. But unsecuritized home mortgages are not a very large factor in the foreclosure crisis.

Much harder to see is how the "RTC" will reduce foreclosures by taking over and managing the institutions' junk mortgage based securities and derivatives. The owner of an MBS doesn't "own" any of the underlying mortgages only an equity share in a pooling entity (e.g. a trust) for which "control" is divided among various contract players, i.e. the trustee, the master servicer, etc.

So how will just taking over an institution's portfolio of nonperforming mortgage based securities which seem to be the main "illiquid mortgage related assets" at issue, and are certainly at the heart of the national foreclosure tsunami enable the "RTC" to do what Volcker et al. say it's supposed to do?

Answer: It probably won't, unless the law is written to make sure it does.

Our proposal:

To the extent that we have any contacts who may be in a position to influence the final shape of this proposal, we should try to get the following principles written into it:

1. In managing any mortgage related assets it may acquire, the "RTC"'s guiding mission includes:

a)avoidance of foreclosure of owner occupied homes;

b) equitable renegotiation of mortgages as needed to preserve both home ownership and equity for all parties;

c) enabling current residents, including tenants of rental housng, to stay in their homes through and after foreclosure;

d) the management and disposal of properties after foreclosure in a manner consistent with community preservation.

2. The "RTC" will not take over any mortgage related asset unless the terms of acquisition give it full

management and control of the underlying mortgage(s).

After drafting the preceding points, we had the opportunity to discuss them with members of the Cuyahoga County Vacant and Abandoned Property Action Council - including representatives of the County, the City of Cleveland (administration and City Council), the First Suburbs Consortium, Cleveland Municipal Housing Court, the Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition, and the Enterprise Foundation, as well as Neighborhood Progress.

The Council's members expressed broad agreement with the concerns raised above and their willingness to participate in an effort to address them with legislators.

Members of the Council raised another important concern: Foreclosed properties now controlled by Federal entities (HUD, VA) are exempt from municipal enforcement of building and housing codes. This is creating major problems for cities, especially in connection with HUD properties. Acquisition of thousands of foreclosed properties by a Federal "RTC" could make these problems much worse unless the legislation provides that:

3. The "RTC" will promptly establish and record clear title to any real estate asset it may acquire through

foreclosure or otherwise, and as owner will be subject to all applicable state and local laws and

regulations.

Bill Callahan is the convener of Cleveland's Foreclosure Action Coalition, and blogs about foreclosures and

other local concerns at http://www.callahansclevelanddiary.com. (Bill is being modest here, he is clearly one of our area foreclosure experts.) Frank Ford is Senior Vice President for Research and Development of Neighborhood Progress, Inc. Reprinted with permission from Bill Callahan Peace Out - 3C

UPDATE: Adding this Times article about the Bush request/Fed proposal with more flesh on it now that it's Saturday.

Also adding this link on the bail out from The Economist I always appreciate clear explanations. This sums up what has transpired very well.

FInally, here is a Wall Street Journal blog post with the text of the initial wording of this proposal.

Sept. 22nd Update: Here is a link from The Washington Post's Politico site with the text of the Democratic Party Bailout Proposal they recommend.

$600/year For Fuel Bills and Walking Distance to the RTA. Eco Village Cottages Are A No Brainer!

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:05:54 -0500

Last year I wrote this post about the proposed Eco Village Cottages at W. 58th and Pear. It's an exciting project, and this past week it moved closer to fruition and occupancy with a ground breaking ceremony.

These homes will meet Leeds standards for energy efficiency, are all of the same design (I think there are five homes). They are part of the Cleveland Land Trust which means they will remain affordable throughout their lifetime. (The Land Trust sells homes at market value but the buyers buy at about 80% of market value). You can read about the Land Trust here.

Green City Blue Lake has an informative post on the Cottages. Here is an excerpt:

"....The homes are universally designed, life-cycle homes that allow aging in place. They will include accessibility features such as ramped entrances to porches, and, in the three bedroom model, a first floor bedroom with bath. Buyers who need a fully accessible home can have the additional features they need added at no additional cost.

The cottage designs grew out of the Cleveland Green Building Coalition's Emerging Designers initiative, which brought together young architects to learn about green design while applying what they learned to real projects...."

There are income requirements for eligibility to purchase and of course the supply is limited. But it's exciting to see this project move along (they had projected an August ground breaking and they are pretty darn close to that date).

A wonderful side benefit? Short (and I do mean short) walk to the RTA Station. To recap: affordable, unbelievably low fuel costs, close to public transportation. Do we need more of this all over Cleveland or what?

Peace Out - 3C

What Do Zen, Cooking, and Neighborliness Have To Do With Each Other?

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:57:32 -0500

Have you ever read a book that stays under your skin and makes you think about it as well as ideas that seem to spawn in your mind because of it?

Are you tired of negativity in your city and among your neighbors? Do you feel like you live in a community without the actual community cohesiveness that would be nice?

Have you ever wondered to yourself, 'there are so many issues that need to be tackled in my neighborhood and I would love to help but I don't know where to start.' I know I have. And now I've read a book that is both under my skin and causing my mind to go off in what could be some good directions. What is the book? Instructions from The Cook, written by Cleveland's own George Nemeth (BFD) (@georgenemeth) and Jack Ricchiuto (@DesigningLife.com). You can read about or order Instructions from The Cook here.

Have you ever had an idea about something you'd like to do for a neighbor, for your neighborhood, or something you'd like implemented into City life? Or maybe you have an idea for neighborhood kids or a business venture. It all seems overwhelming but Jack and George wrote this book to show how it doesn't have to be. And as a matter of fact, they say two important things:

- good things, ideas with longevity, usually start out small not large.

- "people will authentically support what they help create" (page 55 of the book).

- there are lots of good ideas, not just one

- meeting to talk about ideas with people of all sorts of mindsets is usually much more productive than just meeting with people who think like me (this ties into the 'lots of good ideas' truth above).

When Jack and George wrote about 'slow and small' being better than 'fast and big', it took me back to how we learn (my education training kicking in). We learn at our best, our most comprehensive, when we start with a solid foundation of information and then expand our knowledge on that topic/subject as we go along. It helps us not live with pre-conceived ideas, but to be open to possibilities...and yeah it helps us retain the information in a way that leads to the ability to be creative with the knowledge.

I keep thinking about this book ....they point out (and it's so true) "....negativity doesn't necessarily breed progress...."It can bring people together to solve a neighborhood issue, but then when it's resolved, usually people go back home and wait for the next problem. In order to affect something positive Instructions From The Cook recommends building trust amongst ourselves, having no pre-conceived goals set in stone, but let the community build on ideas. Get to know our neighbors.

It reminded me of the famous Jane Jacobs book The Death And Life of Great American Cities, written in the early 60s and yet it rings very timely now. One theme that ran through the book was how things kept getting built by city planners without much thought to how the residents would really use the building or space, and certainly without much input from them. Does this sound familiar? LOL Ah, the Clevelander's lament. And it keeps getting me back to the point that those of us in the community are the ones who can affect postive change, not our governments and our cdc's. How do they know what we want if we don't tell them???

The book gives examples of how people have done just what J and G recommend. They show why it works. And darn if it hasn't gotten me thinking. I find myself back in communication with my own CDC, I find myself talking to other people in the neighborhood. I find myself discussing ideas with a few friends (and yes, at this point they are 'like-minded' friends but I'm hoping it becomes more diverse).

Thought I've had, because of the book: Pick an establishment I'd like to support in my community, and start going there once a month at a regular time. Let people in my 'hood know when I'm going. And anyone else I meet, or anyone else they meet, can come too. It supports the neighborhood and allows us to start getting to know each other and see what kind of ideas might sprout.

Second thought I've had because of the book: If someone on my street needs their lawn mowed I could do that for them all summer. Maybe in turn, they could provide me with something I need in return. Maybe I could tutor someone's young middle or high school student in return for that student cleaning out my gutters and doing other jobs that are just a bit too much for me. You get the idea.

I've had quite a few more thoughts, but am more interested in what other people might want to do. And I'm also dying to get together with George Nemeth and talk about the book over some good coffee! What say you, George? And does anyone else want to come? Peace Out - 3C

(I debated where to post this: my outside blog or Active Rain. Shaking things up a bit by posting it here to see what others in the Active Rain community think about it, get the book some exposure around the country, and also then link it to my outside blog.)

talk with me on Twitter at @clevecarole

History Meets the 21st Century in Downtown Cleveland's Historic Gateway Community

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:23:28 -0500

Cleveland is divided up into approximately 36 neighborhoods and I think most are aligned with their own community development corporation (CDC). Last time I explored Detroit Shoreway; now we head Downtown to Historic Gateway. This is one of my favorite areas. The variety of things to do will blow your mind!!! And like the National statistics, more people are moving into downtown areas to take advantage of car-free, transit oriented development (TOD) living, and all the amenities surrounding the housing.

Did you know that one of the first ever shopping malls is in this neighborhood? The Arcade is a magnificent beauty of scrolled ironwork and brass, nothing like our modern day malls, no offense to anyone who is enamored with modern indoor malls. (The photo leading into this post is an interior Arcade shot I took last weekend.) This one was built in 1890. I remember being a kid and walking around wide-eyed and in awe of all the artistry that went into this place. Now, for better or worse, it is owned by the Hyatt Regency. I will say they spent a good deal of money refurbishing all that glorious scroll work. Back in the day when so many of the famous industrialists lived and ran their companies from Cleveland, they would spend their money on other amenities as well. John D Rockefeller and others were involved in putting up the money for The Arcade.

I bet you wouldn't expect a Baseball History Museum here? Yep! 2042 East Fourth Street. Call 216-621-3524 for details. And yes, Jacobs Field, er, Progressive Field (don't you love how the names keep changing) and The Cleveland Indians are at home here too. And of course The Gund, er, Quicken Loans Arena(I swear I can't keep up with the name changes)? Anyway, whatever you call it, you can watch LBJ (LeBron to the rest of you) and the Cavs there, as well as awesome concerts. In fact, Nine Inch Nails (NIN) is coming on August 22nd so you know where I may be :-)

The Historic Gateway District is also home to a tradition NE Ohioans hold dear. The right to free speech and the gathering of knowledge. Exemplified by The City Club, As they say on their website:

"...Established to encourage new ideas and a free exchange of thought, The City Club is the oldest continuous free speech forum in the country, renowned for its tradition of debate and discussion...."

They have been holding meetings since 1912 and I used to listen to them whenever I could when I lived in the DC area; the weekly luncheons are covered all over the Country. The speakers? OMG. How about Franklin Roosevelt, Desmond Tutu and WEB DuBois for starters? Here is a list of upcoming City Club Speakers from their website.

Shops galore! And not your run of the mill chains! I bought a straw baseball cap from Mike The Hatter after my open house at Pointe at Gateway last weekend. They've been in operation a lot longer, but at their Prospect Ave. location for 35 years. Awesome staff and awesome hats. And coincidentally, an article in a blog on our local WKYC website shows how there is a 21st Century spin as well. Have you ever thought of shopping and enjoying a few libations at the same time? No not for food, but for clothes? You can here! The M Lang clothing store now has a full service bar and yes a liquor license. M Lang can be found at 1801 East 12th Street. Check it out :-)

How fabulous would it be to live here and enjoy all I've mentioned and more?Just for starters, check out Pointe at Gateway (PAG) -see how fabulous a location you will have if you live there. 750 Prospect (see the street-scape with the Winking Lizard, PAG's entrance awning is just beyond that). You could get a condo for around $159k, a penthouse for a bit more (with a deck and a view and you might just set up a grill and never leave ). The developer is offering an extra year of tax abatement on him and is applying for more through the City. He is also offering a year's free parking in the garage across the street. Check out my website for more details about The Pointe, call me if you have any questions or would like to see it.

It took me exactly three minutes to walk from Pointe at Gateway to the East Fourth Street excitement. The photo at the right shows some of the places, like the high tech Corner Alley bowling alley, but you can get everything from Vietnamese food, The House of Blues, to our own Iron Chef Michael Symon's Lola's (and be sure to check out Michael's blog, appropriately named Symon Says). East Fourth is home to entertainment, but also to apartments, in fact most of the shops and restaurants have apartments above them. The street has been blocked off to auto traffic and as you can see from the photo, it would be easy to spend a lot of time there! If you are looking to rent and not buy but want to live in the area, check out the street and get the uh, word on the street (!!!) about what might be available. You can also tell from the photo I shot this weekend that the streetscaping included some gorgeous flowers. I hope you have enjoyed the tour! No matter what you like to do, I think it's probably available in Historic Gateway. Peace Out 3C

Links I did not list above:

The Corner Alley

The Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Cavaliers

The East Fourth Street Neighborhood Site

The House of Blues

Mike The Hatter

Michael Symon's New Food Network Show Dinner Impossible

Hang Out In Cleveland's Newest Hot Neighborhood This Thursday...Detroit Shoreway (LOCALISM FEATURED)

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:37:41 -0500

You know how sometimes you walk through a neighborhood and the energy is almost palpable? I swear you can feel the vibrancy of Detroit Shoreway when you are there. This Thursday we have a Twilight Tour in D/S and you might want to take the opportunity to try out new eateries, shop some galleries, take a zen moment at the Lake shore, and view some open houses, all in the same evening. What could be better?

About 17,000 people call this neighborhood home. Cleveland is divided up into CDC neighborhoods, and this one's borders (depending on who you talk to) go from Lorain Avenue to W. 50th to W. 117th and to the Lake. Now some of that area is claimed by Edgewater Cudell (closer to W. 117th and Clifton) and Ohio City (closer to W. 50th and Franklin.) But we aren't here to worry about borders now are we?

The heart of The D/Shoreway neighborhood can be found beating quite nicely at W. 65th & Detroit. So much has happened there and why it has happened can be seen in why Niki Gillota chose to open Gypsy Beans in Detroit Shoreway instead of anywhere else. She did her research, she was already an experienced coffee/bakery entrepreneur but she wanted her own place. She also felt the pulse of this neighborhood and decided this was going to be the next, hot district. She knew a lot of money (and I do mean a lot!) was being poured into it. She knew other people were planning shops there. Now Gypsy Beans is a destination for many Clevelanders, not just the locals. (It's my favorite Cleveland coffee house.) Check out Norm Roulet's blog on the opening of Gypsy. Many of us were there and we blogged about it but he did the best job!

In less than a year the Capitol Theatre will be open for business. The grand old theatre is being refurbished and will show independent movies, similar to the Cedar Lee venue on the east side. Two fabulous restaurants have opened up in the past few months so you might want to put one of them on your list for Thursday. Luxe was created and opened by Marlin Kaplan of One Walnut fame in Downtown Cleveland. Luxe boasts a very chic and hip decor, not stuffy at all, and the food is fabulous. Here is an article by Douglas Trattner of the Free Times about Luxe.

Many of us watched and waited and watched and waited as Stone Mad went through her own refurbishing on W. 65th north of Detroit. We watched beautiful stone and iron works get put into place. I think the owners were very meticulous about what they wanted. It's a traditional Irish Pub with traditional Irish fare. The PD has a gorgeous night photo of the pub and an article with further details.

My suggestion? Follow up a coffee and a pastry at Gypsy Beans with a home tour. We have a list of homes being held open Thursday evening, July 24th from 6-8 pm. (In fact if you stop at my open house at 1336 W. 54th Street, pictured to the left, I'll have some Gypsy Beans goodies for you). This Kings Terrace town house (listed at $259,900) is walking distance to Lake Erie with Lake views from the 3rd flr deck. Beautiful living space and walking distance to Gordon Square and public transportation.

1781 W. 52nd will be open as well. This 1910 built home is listed at $119,000. As you can tell from the photo on the right, it has the cottage or school house beauty to it. Both the interior and exterior have been beautifully updated/restored. It is truly right out of a magazine.

6303 Franklin is one of the grand old dames lining Franklin Blvd. At an affordable price of $159,900 you would be getting quite the house. Much original woodworking and fireplaces and nooks and crannies still exist in this home. (photo on left)

There are many more homes to see that evening from 6 to 8pm. but I decided to list three of them to represent a spectrum of price ranges.

Come spend a fun summer evening in Detroit Shoreway this Thursday...you just might not want to leave. Oh yes, and after all is said and done, head to The Happy Dog for reflection and libation :-)

There is a lot of talent in Detroit Shoreway, here are just a few links to some of the creative people working their magic there:

Gordon Square Arts District

Cleveland Public Theatre

Capitol Theatre

Latitude 41 Restaurant

The Detroit Studio Web Design

Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery

Alternative Press Magazine

Peace Out- 3C

Thumb Your Nose As You Pass The Gas Station: Live Along The Shaker Rapid Transit Line (LOCALISM FEATURED)

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:41:00 -0500

Transit oriented development (TOD) has been a hot button for a decade. I was on the bus yesterday and as we passed a gas station on Lorain I saw that regular fuel would cost me $4.05/gallon. Yes, it's better today (relatively speaking!) at $3.99/gallon. But wouldn't you like to save money and live on the Rapid Transit Line !!!???

We have one of the original transit systems in the Country right here in NE Ohio, in the form of The Shaker Rapid. Many of you know the story, but for those of you who may be considering relocating to NE Ohio, this is a little history of light rail for you. Two amazing visionaries - the Van Sweringens - built Shaker Heights. They built Shaker Square and The Shaker Rapid light rail system, all with the idea of providing everything residents would need regarding transport and shopping. By the way, this all started in 1913. Read this excerpt from clevelandmemory.com (lots of good history on that site) - they show how housing was tied into transportation even way back then, explaining that the Van Sweringens felt a good transportation system would help their Shaker home sales....they were correct.

By 1930, the Terminal Tower in Downtown Cleveland was open and Union Terminal as well. (yes the Van Sweringens were responsible for this too). This is when The Shaker Rapid System, our very first TOD, began connecting Shaker to Cleveland.

The Shaker Rapid system is vast, with stops on major streets like Shaker Blvd, Van Aken, Lee, Chagrin. You can get almost anywhere in Shaker Heights on the Rapid and one of the biggest destinations has historically been Shaker Square. Shakersquare.net is a great site for information on what currently exists there as well as surrounding activities (like a farmers market, concerts, Balaton's Hungarian restaurant among others, and lots of service industries. Once again, so you can keep your car in the garage for occasional use. There are plenty of rental apartment buildings located along the Rapid....some of them even have roof top gardens and patios off your living space, high ceilings, hardwood floors and yet modern amenities. How about homes for sale in Shaker?

There are currently 485 homes for sale, including multi-family homes. I've picked out three as examples, with an emphasis on the Rapid line.

1. How about a modest two family home for $59,900 (not bank owned) in the 17400 block of Chagrin Blvd. It has two brs in each unit, up and down, a two car garage to store that car you won't use much, and it's near the Avalon Rapid stop. It's brick, it has over 1,000 sq ft in each unit, and a two car garage for those cars you won't use much.

2. How about another multi family, this one a gorgeous Tudor-style home on Winslow (gorgeous, tree-lined street), close to Shaker Square and one short block to the Lynnfield Rapid stop. This home is for sale for $189,900 and according to the description, has been totally updated inside.

3. Maybe you would prefer a single family? For around the same price as above, $189,900, you can get a Van Sweringen built (1956) 2,116 sq ft. colonial on a deep lot with four brs, two baths, a/c, close to Beachwood Place and the RTA stop on Laureldale.

People from other large cities considering a move here might be surprised to know about Shaker's history and it's transit oriented development status. It truly is one of the first light rail systems in the United States, still taking care of commuter needs on a daily basis. Peace out - 3C

Links:

For a cool pictorial history of The Shaker Rapid, James Toman's A Shaker Rapid Album, which you can buy at Cleveland Landmark Press' site.

The Shaker School District

City of Shaker Heights

I want a rain barrel, and if you do too, here is a way to kill two birds with one stone, although I don't want any birds to die! The Shaker Lakes site features the beauty of the lakes and also talks about their rain barrel making workshops.

Shaker Library

The Shaker Rapid/RTA

Tempo Five MLS, Better System For Consumers In Spite of Some Bugs

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:51:31 -0500

Here is an article in Inman news on some agents in San Diego who decided to switch to Tempo 5 for their MLS system. According to the article, there has been a bit of an uproar from agents now using this system. I haven't posted here in a while but I felt the urge based on this Inman News story. My short synopsis is this: progress never comes without bugs. Profound no? :-)

We've been using Tempo 5 in NE Ohio for what seems like about six months. Our NORMLS MLS system switched us over after months of announcements, trainings and manuals to download for assistance. Now I don't want to be all Pollyanna like and say it was smooth sailing. To say there were some 'bugs' is putting it mildly. I do a lot of stats and monthly sold data posts on my other blog. For quite some time the stats were not coming out accurately. There were things that normally get added to MLS listings that wouldn't load. Every week it was a long list of 'we are working on......'

But the truth is, there are added features now that really make it better for consumers and that's really what it's all about. And btw, I consider myself a consumer, since I use their service.

1. Attachments: as listing agents we can attach copies of the property disclosures, etc. to the MLS listing now that Tempo 5 is our system. I have town homes and condos for sale and I am able to also attach the condo disclosure sheet that provides contact names and telephone numbers of board members. I've also utilized this as a buyer's agent. I can download the property disclosures along with MLS print-outs for my buyers. You can't always count on these being provided when you do showings. It's very helpful to not have to make a phone call to an office and ask for them to be faxed to me.

2. I get to provide more photo description on my listings. And one more photo. May not sound like much, but it really allows me to showcase my listings.

3. There is capablity for voice overs and virtual tours and other things that can now be handled much quicker than before.

I could go on, but these are just a sampling of what is good for the prospective buyers or listers about Tempo 5.

Do I not think a few things may still be more cumbersome than they used to be? Yes. But when I look at the pros and cons, the pros win.

So i say to all of you who are now getting into this new system to hum the Guns n Roses song Patience and get ready for a user friendly (for the most part) and consumer friendly MLS system. Just MHO.

If you want a glimpse at how it looks on our NE Ohio MLS system, here is the home page for which you do not need to be signed in.

Peace out - 3C

Puritas Park Town Homes Offer The Best of City and Park Living: 4541 Big Met Place

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:13:43 -0500

I discovered Puritas Park Town Homes when I had a buyer client a few years ago. She was a flight attendant and living close to Hopkins airport was one of her requests. Puritas Park is definitely a great find. And I happen to have one listed for sale at 4541 Big Met Place. The Bellaire Puritas area itself is a great place to live (I know because I live there too!). I wrote about it in 2006.

What Puritas Park Town Homes has to offer:

1. Close to the Metro Park - situated on the border of Cleveland and Fairview.

2. Close to Big and Little Met Golf Course

3. Just over a mile from Gunning Recreation Center

4. The town home community is not too big and not too small, and is walkable with your own attached garage and spaces for guests to park. Easy living!

5. A new strip shopping center at the intersection of Grayton and Puritas. It already has a travel agency and more service oriented shops are expected to open there.

What does 4541 Big Met Place have to offer you?

It's in truly move-in condition. This pretty end unit town home has tasteful interior colors, a completely finished lower level that could be a third bedroom (two abundant closets) or your entertainment room. Two full baths, including one on the lower level.

Since this is an end unit, the home features more natural light than you might expect in a town home. The master bedroom has three windows, a vaulted ceiling and a double closet.

The home has been through the Airport Noise Insulation Program - which means it has new exterior doors, furnace, a/c, windows and electrical wiring. There is the added 'end unit' advantage - a small flower garden where you could put in your own annuals or perennials, without having the maintenance of a whole yard that comes with a single family home. Truly the best of both worlds, again.

The previous owner upgraded the kitchen: ceramic tile (which extends to the foyer), rich wood cabinetry, and a peninsula counter and cabinet that provides extra kitchen storage, not common in these town homes and very useful.

There is over 1500 square foot of living space here. You have your own private deck accessible through sliders from the living room. The Home Owners Assn. maintenance fees are low (about $74/month) If you work at NASA Glen or Hopkins, you could live five minutes away! If you simply desire to be close to I-480 or I-71, you are right there. Cleveland living at it's best.

Call me for an appointment and I would be delighted to show you this home.

Carole Cohen, Realtor®, ePRO, Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office

My listings

My Cleveland Blog

What Tchotchkis Do You Want In Your Apartment or Condo???

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:41:45 -0500

If I fantasize about myself being a renter, there is one thing for sure: I want enough amenities to make me happy while I am home, to allow me to become a part of my home community and interact with people, but not so many amenities that I don't go out and become a part of the larger community. Does that make sense?

I'm also thinking why not brainstorm out of the ordinary tchotchkis for condo complexes as well?

Cool article in the Washington Post Thursday on a rental complex called Camden College Park. They are offering some amenities that are not the norm: WiFi, W ii, ipod docks in fitness center, a croquet and bocce ball set up (although they spelled it boccie which I think is wrong, anyone know? lol).

Would you like a game room with a poker table? Flat screen televisions in the community room? Fitness rooms are de rigeur now but having a W ii game is not! When I first moved to Maryland in my twenties, one of my neighbors invited me to a Summer party and they had bocce....it was totally new to me and I loved it (I'm saying this because this Camden College Park complex does not seem to be geared towards older people but rather people of all ages....albeit ones with enough money to live there).

What about a climbing wall?On my wish list would be a coffee house. Starbucks or a cool independent (translation: one with really good coffee). They could offer WiFi as well. And I have to admit the poker table appeals to me.

This is discussed as a luxury building. Could some of the amenities be included into moderate apartment complexes? I'd say the climbing wall probably costs a bit of money but an Internet Coffee house would bring in money to the owner of the building so it shouldn't drive up rental prices. Any developers reading? If so, your expertise would be appreciated.

What else would float your boat that hasn't been mentioned? I'd add only one more thing: how about instead of underground parking it had a light rail stop underground so I never had to get wet or snowed on while waiting for it.) (okay that one's a bit pricey; how about a light rail stop across from the complex? Good compromise?) And yes, Camden will have what I want:

"....Other conveniences include a car-wash station; proximity to the University of Maryland shuttle bus and Metrobus; and an adjacent new shopping center that includes a Potbelly sandwich shop, a Starbucks, a FedEx Kinko's and a Mexican restaurant. This summer, the complex will begin its own shuttle service to the Greenbelt Metro during rush hours...."

What say you? Peace Out - 3C

I Wish I Had Invented That!

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 16:55:45 -0600

Back in the day I worked for an advertising company and we all moaned and groaned about tangled phone cords. I was always spouting off about inventing a way to hook up the receiver to the phone on a ball so the cord would stay straighter. Of course I only whined about it, didn't try to invent it; lo and behold, we wound up with just such a land line attachment available.

I realized about a month ago there is something else I wish I had invented: the Tiny URL. It eases the life of many a web user but for those of us Twitter-addicted folk, it is invaluable. I have 140 characters to say what I mean and god knows that is not easy, as those of you who know me will attest :-) So most Twitterites use the Tiny URL.

Did you know where it came from and why? Once upon a time there was a young boy named Kevin Gilbertson who loved to ride unicycles. This love stayed with him and he found himself looking for newsgroups to interact with other cyclists. Apparently it was cumbersome to link to all those long newsgroup URLS. He is also a web programmer so necessity being the mother of invention, he came up with a solution. You can read a cool article about Kevin Gilbertson and Tiny URL here on the WIRED site.

How popular is Tiny URL? Here is a ZDNET 2006 web articletalking about how Madison Avenue is very interested in Tiny URL and how some of the info gleaned can be further gleaned into stats that would help MAD AVE advertisers figure out who is reading what, when. And the prediction is the Company could garner big bucks if sold (since this article is from 2006 I have been trying to see if a sale ever occurred and so far it seems not...any of you have different info?)

Most of you already know how this works but I suppose I should at least give an example. I'm going to use Bonnie Erickson's AR Blog(in honor of the fact that the URL inventor lives in Minnesota and so does our Bonnie). If I wanted you to see her post on Webkinz I would paste it normally like this:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/381568/Webkinz-Distractions

If I take this and copy it exactly on the tiny url website it comes out to:

http://tinyurl.com/2fsz9j

59 characters down to 25.

So what's the point of my post? Heck if I know! :-) Is there anything you wish you had invented? Anything bothering you enough so that you wish you had a solution? If so, don't wait like I did on the phone cords, get crackin! :-)

A big shout out to Kevin Gilbertson for this invention and when you get a chance, check out his unicycle website with the coolest logo ever at Gilby.com

See you all on Twitter! And if you sign up, my sign in is Clevecarole Peace Out - 3C

43 Things on my 2008 'To Do' List

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:01:10 -0600

We are real estate professionals of one sort or another right? So we always have goals. Well, some of these are work related and some aren't. But I'm hoping you guys can relate. A fellow Cleveland blogger asked me to do this, come up with 43 things I want to do in 2008...and the point is to make these reachable goals.

At first I thought og, how am I going to come up with 43 ‘things?' It turns out it wasn't hard. I took the Really Bad Cleveland Accent - Christine Bourne challenge. You can read about the challenge (and maybe do your own list. Today I am doing the list here, I will possibly go to the ‘43 Things' site and add it, but since one of my items on my ‘to do' list is limit my social networking sites, well, dunno. Here is my list:

1. keep meeting new people also interested in grass roots solutions to Cleveland's challenges

2. attend more Meet The Bloggers events (on my mind, just signed up for another one)

3. figure out a way to not have a car; it's a challenge, being a Realtor®. Even City Wheels thinks it's not possible. Moving closer to RTA would help....see later ‘things to do' lol

4. do a better job staying in touch with family

5. do a better job staying in touch with friends

6. learn as much as I can about Cleveland's government and how it can be lead to affect needed results by grassroots efforts

7. organize my closets - I don't even have real closets in my bedrooms but that can be corrected

8. paint two living room walls; I found a cool paint color at a broker's open - Spring project

9. put my ten speed back in working order

10. clean out my garage; there are things in there from the previous owner of my house, need I say more?

11. exercise

12. do better at meditation - I'm so much better than I was but still need to work on it

13. go to more concerts

14. make more money so I can go to more concerts

15. get a few friends and go hiking in the Emerald Isle parks this summer, or even somewhere more strenuous

16. take the RTA to work when I have no plans to show homes. Hard to convince myself as a Realtor but good for the environment.

17. learn how to make tasty beef soup; I make kick ass chicken soups and others but good beef soup is elusive to me

18. if I have to have a car, buy a mini cooper; that fantasy is pushed back to Fall now

19. keep fixing up my house so I can move by 2010 - yes I will be staying in Cleveland but on RTA line

20. meet out of town friends for the first time (we met on social networks)

21. figure out what my best efforts should be to help get The Ohio Hub up and running

22. learn a few on line organizational systems; my friend Linda Davis is the queen of this stuff; maybe paperport®?

23. actively work on three networking/social media sites and forget about the rest of them. I even removed my posts from Landbrkr

24. become more limber; seems like the best preventive medicine I can practice

25. get health insurance before the end of the year!

26. start going to movies at the new Capital Theatre in Detroit Shoreway. I can't wait for it to open

27. buy an ipod and enjoy filling it up with music

28. hang the paintings, artwork on my walls. I know I know, I've only been in this house three years LOL

29. hold a picnic in the park for all my friends and past clients. A nice late summer party.

30. go to the CSU debate between Hillary and Barack....I hope this can happen!

31. get back to running three miles every other day

32. ride a steam engine at least once this year

33. take a train somewhere!

34. take the dust off my guitar and start playing

35. go to Lola's. I mean really, I can't believe I haven't gone yet

36. attend as many of the CSU Levin College Maxine Goodman Forums as I possibly can, they are awesome

37. drink a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne with at least one good friend. It's been a while

38. go on the Detroit Superior Bridge Tour

39. walk more; I love walking why don't I walk more?

40. still debating this one but I would love a dog.

41. earn another designation; maybe ‘neighborhood' - alternatively, just learn something useful!

42. figure out how to convince an entreprenuer to open a coffee house near 150th and Puritas. I mean, that intersection has more traffic than you can shake a stick at. People in that neighborhood deserve good coffee (well, I'm not that far from it either). I'm just sayin!

43. Tell each of my friends they are important to me and why. Life is short

If any of you wish to do your own list, on just about any topic, go to the 43 Things website. It's pretty nifty.

Peace Out - 3C

It's January, Must Be Time for an Ohio Hub/Passenger Rail Update

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:31:57 -0600

I've met some awesome people over the past six months and that is the up side to working on and caring about this issue....because it all moves so slowly. Having said that, here is what is new or newer (now I sound like a Realtor®) regarding passenger rail/The Ohio Hub.

First, most of my rail posts last year were strewn with pleas for support of SB294 to restore monies to AMTRAK for rail improvements. I'm happy to say that the Senate passed the Bill! 268 Yays and 153 Nays later, with my only disappointment - Senator Voinovich did not support it. This after correspondence from his office saying how supportive he was of pursuing the idea of high speed rail in Ohio. I guess he wasn't going to put the pocket book with the words? If you are disappointed, write him a letter. Seriously! More Bills and issues will arise and we need both of our senators on board. (Senator Brown voted for it).

Now comes word that President Bush may veto the Bill. Sigh. Here is a thoughtful article about iton the Accuracy in Media site by guest author Paul Weyerich. Yeah, the article is from 2005 but it lends some light on why the veto may occur. Here is a glimpse:

"....If President Bush is serious about getting the reforms and Congress fails to act, then Bush will have to veto the Transportation Appropriations Bill and insist that no money be forthcoming for Amtrak until the reforms are enacted.
For an Administration that did not veto a single bill in its entire first term, it is a real stretch to think that its very first veto is going to be over Amtrak. Unless that threat is real there will be no action and we will be back to square one. There will be just enough money to operate but not enough to do what Amtrak President Dave Gunn says needs to be done. Who wants to continue the same old game?"

Next up we have the report by the National Transportation Commission. (follow that link for the entire report.) All Aboard Ohio's website highlights the following and I am going to as well:

"....Of particular importance to All Aboard Ohio is Section 6 INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL: A Program to Serve High-Growth Corridors by Rail. The commission believes that congestion on America's roadways and airways constitues a serious threat to national mobility. This section of the report states that Amtrak and other intercity passenger rail corridors have consistently demonstrated that fast, frequent, and reliable rail service can seriously relieve congestion on other modes of travel.
The report calls for the states and US DOT to create an Intercity Passenger Rail Program that would build a network of rail lines that would primarily connect regions and populations centers within 500 miles of each other. The commission report states that this program has the potential to fund upto $357 Billion worth of rail investment in the United States for over a 44 year period. All Aboard Ohio is fully supportive of such a recommendation and is currently working to support efforts to implement this and other rail investment in the state of Ohio...."

Sandusky is now seeing the light and is working in support of The Ohio Hub. This article in the Sandusky Registerby Jennifer Grathwol discusses how the Sandusky City Commission voted in support of it's US Representative's vote on matching Federal funds for the building of The Hub. One sound byte I like from the article has someone saying 'This is not pie in the sky anymore.' Amen to that!

While we are waiting on the Innerbelt Plan and the West Shoreway plan to take shape (sigh) and keep hearing about delays, ODOT seems to think that the first leg of The Ohio Hub can begin in two years. By the way, Parade Magazine, of all things, did a great story on passenger rail it included an on-going poll being conducted by Washington Watch. If you go to my other blog, Cleveland Real Estate News,you can see the widget in my side bar. It updates constantly; currently 51% are supporting monies for passenger rail. Last week it was 50-50. If you click on the widget it takes you to a nice compilation of info about passenger rail and the poll as well.

The next Bill we need to support is HB 3074. And of course we need all of you to contact your Congress people and Senators to ask them for their support. The Freight Unions, The Highway Unions, Federal studies, and public opinion is all swinging towards passenger rail. We have our own reasons in Ohio. Yes, fuel prices are high, dependence on foreign oil keeps us boxed into foreign policy issues that we don't like. But the truth is, Ohio needs a better economy and passenger rail, in the words of Stu Nicholson from ODOT can "be the penicillin that is good for what ails us."

If you are in Ohio and interested in staying abreast or even helping out with grassroots effort to move passenger rail along, email me through Active Rain or at c.cohen@adelphia.net. We have a Yahoo! group for all of us grassroots types and I can forward your info along to the moderator!

Lastly, a shout out to Linda Davis who provided this awesome link to an Alaska Rail Line slide show. You will find it breathtaking I know you will!

Peace Out - 3C

I Have A Big Time Crush on My New Cell Phone: The LG Voyager VX1000

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:17:53 -0600

I just spent the last half hour text messaging with a client. Who would have thought?

When the iPHONE came out and Jeff Turner reviewed it, I was so jealous! First it was an Apple product and second it was wayyyyy sexy. Alas, it was only an ATA&T product, so I had to pass. Luckily for me, Verizon just introduced the LG Voyager VX1000 - and after only having it for about 10 hours, I'm already in love with it.

The features: VZ Navigator: a GPS system that is easy to use, even for me. I programmed in a few locations and it was right on target. I can see, as a Realtor®, using this feature a lot.

Messaging: Video, Photo and Text. So far, I have just used the heck out of texting. I can see the value in being able to send photos since a client sent me photos from a house he was in a week ago....by using his iPHONE lol. When CNET reviewed the LG Voyager, they said the downside was the exterior touch screen did not offer the qwerty keyboard. Maybe, but, the regular phone keypad is MUCH easier to use than most of your standard cell phone keypads. In fact, I used it more than the qwerty feature today. THAT surprised me.

The touch screen does not require a stylist. It's very intuitive, in fact it vibrates and makes a 'tone' when you touch it, which really helps you navigate.

I checked out CBS Sports and ESPN.....got all the game scores for basketball and the NFL from this past week. BTW, you can watch television on the Voyager. Not a feature I plan on activating at the moment, but during World Series Week, who knows lol.

The camera feature - as CNET opined, the clarity could be a bit better. Not bad in a pinch, but I would not want to be using this as my listing photo camera. It's the only downside I see. For me, I have a great digital camera, so no worries. But still, it would have been better to have a higher quality camera feature. I bet this improves on both the iPHONE and LG as time goes on.

Of course you can email, surf the net, download videos. And the next feature I plan to download? VCast Music of course :-)

This phone is pricey, if you ask me. In stores it's about $359. On line you can buy it, with a two year contract, on the Verizon site, for $199. At least that is what it said last week. It's in such demand, it could be higher now. I was fortunate because I had a Company discount so it did not cost me as much for the phone. But if you don't wince at spending a few hundred bucks for a phone, I think this is well worth the price.

Do any of you have this phone? Love to hear what you say about it. I'm in love.

Here is a You Tube video demo of the LG from PHONE SCOOP Peace Out - 3C

What Part Do Individual Markets Need to Play In Our National Mortgage Crisis?

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:15:41 -0600

There are two thought provoking posts on the board today getting my brain in a swirl. The first one was on the issue of California Sub Prime Relief by Lenn Harley. This post is replete with the relief issue as proposed by the California Governor, and the general question of how involved should The Government be in these relief efforts (Gena Reide). Lenn asks important questions and some of them said, is the California Market pertinent to her Maryland market?

I say, how intertwined are all of our markets based on the severity of the issues involved? And I ask that question hoping that mortgage and financial 'peeps' and economists from around the Country will weigh in.

The second post was written by Bryant Tutas on the Subprime Market. Who should bear the responsibility of correcting the situation? Should the foreclosure and ARM resets just play out, and if not, what kind of intervention is appropriate?

As a believer in the 'we all need to think and act for ourselves' philosophy, I have some serious questions.

First, my brain siezed on an issue based on something said in Lenn's post. There are areas in the Country where speculative investors/buyers and housing bubbles in general had reached a level of (in my opinion) insanity. Lenn makes a point in a comment on her post:

"I see foreclosures as the only way to bring prices down so that home buyers can buy homes with reasonable mortgages. As long as the "designer loans" are available, home buyers, many of them, will buy to the limit of what they can qualify for, not what is affordable or wise."

Our NE Ohio experience was different. We had over 30 years of stable housing growth (not without cycles mind you, but stability). Our average return on investment per year for those 30 years was 3%. And this includes years averaged in when our unemployment rates were 22% (I know because I was in Maryland at the time reading about it and wondering if the entire area was going to collapse....it did not).

We saw 2004, 2005, 2006 'teeny spikes' in that 3% number. Some communities had 5%. A few (like Westpark and Lakewood) had 11% or 14% for ONE year. That does not a housing bubble make. So my question is:

Since we have not had bubbles and huge amounts of speculation, but we do have foreclosures, what is in our best interest? Should we be for relief? Should we hope that many lenders follow suit with other lenders and freeze the ARM reset dates? Do we want more foreclosures to get it over with? Do we want a policy that is good for the whole Country when our own market is different? Or is a National Policy possible that provides the best course of action for Cleveland too? And if so, what is that policy?

I think we all need to be proactive in learning all we can about these issues so if you have an expert opinion with facts that make sense to back them up, please talk to us! lol

And even though we did not have bubbles, or high percentages of speculative buying, we do have some corrections going on. Here are some statistics:

These figures cover all of Cuyahoga County for 2006 through 11/06 and 2007 through 11/07

Pending or 'waiting to close' sales: 1,126 in 2007 and 1,084 in 2006

The Average Ask Price in 2007 was $170,638 and higher, $221,186 in 2006

The Average Sale Price was $166,777 in 2007 and $171,350 in 2006 for same eleven month time frame.

Percentage of Sale to List Price was 95% in 2007 and 93% in 2006.

Average Days on the Market: 93 in 2007 and 82 in 2006.

And Lenn, volume difference is ten properties: 725 sold in eleven months in 2007 and 735 in 2006

And we won't even list the number of foreclosures but we know, especially by looking at Callahan's Cleveland Diary, that a good number of them occur every week.

We are the professionals in the field, be we mortgage lenders or agents or brokers. But we are not economists, at least not most of us. Again I ask, should there be a National policy that we all participate in to provide a solution? Is there a solution? If you think so, why? If not, give us facts as to why not. And will NE Ohio and Maryland and Florida and California and Maine all benefit from some policy already discussed or not, or should we let 'nature take it's sad course?'

Peace Out - 3C

Adding Good Reading Links on the Subject as I go along:

The Economist - Good insight into Cleveland and the rest of the Nation

Global Economic Monitors - Different perspectives on what should be done or not, and links to their opinions

I had to do a post on my other blog, because I had some truly insightful comments from Lou Tisler of the NHSGC who is in the trenches and working on these issues here in the Cleveland area.

Gabriel Silverstein's No I'm Not Going to Bail You Out

Ed Rybczynski's A Coin Only Has Two Sides

Brian Brady's Lose a Limb or Slowly Bleed to Death

In Cleveland You Can Have A Zen-Like Experience Without Being Dead

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:29:35 -0500

I'm not kidding; look at the photo I snapped of the Reflecting Pond across from Wade Chapel in Lake View Cemetery. Yes, it is that peaceful and gorgeous. Elliot Ness had his ashes scattered in this pond. Are you curious? Are you curious about all the other famous people buried in the hundreds of acres that make up Lake View? Then read on!

My friend and author Casey Daniels was the host of a Lolly the Trolley Tour sponsored by the Fairview Park Branch of the Cuyahoga County Library System. The Tour had a mystery 'bent' to it; Casey's Pepper Martin books take place in Cleveland neighborhoods like Little Italy and Ohio City. And Pepper Martin, the Series Heroine, works at Lakeview, errrr, Gardenview cemetery when she' not solving murders. It was a great reason to get out and explore Cleveland on a sunny, 85 degree day. We toured other places like Erie Street Cemetery, The Rock Hall and The West Side Market, but the highlight was Lake View Cemetery.

What is Lake View and what is so special about a cemetery? I call it Cleveland's Central Park. Lake View was built in the 1860s and modeled after great cemeteries in Europe. It encompasses almost 300 acres of land, with walkable trails, memorials, thousands of tombstones that are works of art in themselves. Here are some highlights of other famous NE Ohioans (and famous people from elsewhere who adopted NE Ohio) buried there:

Jeptha Wade: he founded Western Union but was also very attuned to nature. He was responsible for building Wade Park (yes it's named after him) and was the first President of the Lake View Cemetery Association. How fitting that Wade Chapel is a memorial to him. I had never been inside before. The walls are lined with Tiffany-style mosaics detailing Old Testament rules and regulations and the Flight of the Souls Tiffany Favrille window (the focal point of the chapel) is truly breathtaking. Factoid: The original green coke bottle used Tiffany style glass!

Dr. Harvey Williams Cushing: A famous brain surgeon who went on to amass a library of books that became the heart of the original Yale University Medical Library. He was considered one of, if not THE greatest neurosurgeon of the 20th Century. Oh yes, and like so many other people from our great area, he invented or enhanced a lot of things: he introduced the use of XRAYS for patient diagnosis; he also invented a thing to measure blood pressure. (Some day I will have to do a post on all the great inventions that arise from our area...I think it's the smell of the smokestacks that enhanced creativity lol)

James Garfield: Who only wound up being President of the U.S. for three months, but that was only because he was assassinated. His memorial was breathtaking. (See photo taken from top floor deck; I enjoyed the soaring of a hawk from that vantage point but was not able to capture him on camera). His memorial is Gothic and beautiful and well worth the trip inside. He was a famous Civil War Officer and that is how he came to be the 20th President of the United States.

John D. Rockefeller: Unless you live in a cave (or are under 30), you know who this guy is. He founded Standard Oil in 1870 and the rest is history. It was not one of the City of Cleveland's best moves, aggravating Mr. Rockefeller, who left Cleveland in a snit and of course went on to spend the rest of his time in NYC. It was most definitely our loss. However he made his mark here. There were SO MANY ancillary companies that grew and operated because of Standard Oil.

Carl B. Stokes: The first African American Mayor of a major city in the United States. I was in awe of him when I was in my 20s as he sat at the dinner table with other creative thinkers of his time discussing his vision for Cleveland. (no, I was not lucky enough to have him at MY home, but I WAS lucky to have friends who knew him). Besides being Mayor, he served as a Municipal Judge and later became a U.S. Ambassador (appointed by President Clinton) to The Seychelles. There are 21 other Cleveland Mayors buried in Lake View.

I think you get the idea. There are way too many famous people to name; they obviously wanted to be buried there for the same reason I want to keep visiting; it's beautiful. You do not however, need to be famous to be buried there. 285 pastoral acres to walk in complete serenity. You can do tours that originate at the Cemetery; you can hire Lolly the Trolley to take you there with forty of your friends; or you can obviously just go on your own, which is how I had previously explored sections of Lake View. One of my friends commented on Sunday, that you could go once a month for the rest of your life and probably not experience every thing there is to offer.

So whether you are visiting the Cleveland area or you live here, I highly recommend meandering to one of our Citie's great treasures. Peace Out - 3C

My Attempt To Make A Smaller Video on a Post

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:55:57 -0500

A Walk Down Memory Lane .....My Childhood Domain is More Than Just a Bunch of Foreclosure Statistics

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:37:48 -0500

Today I stopped at E. 71st and Harvard to buy gas. I could not pass it up, Gas USA was selling it for $2.54/gallon (and who would have ever thought that would be a bargain). While there, I snapped a photo of the diner at the corner. My Aunt Ann used to hold court there, serving the hungry factory workers on the way to begin their days (and occasionally a niece on her way to junior high). It's now called the Harvard Inn. I have no clue what it was called in the old days lol. A lady named Hattie beckoned me over to her car asking why I was snapping photos. Neither of us lives in the neighborhood anymore: she lives farther East and I live farther West. But she had good things to say and as we parted company I touched her shoulder and she informed me that now that I touched her, I would have good luck. She said "....honey, go play some three digit numbers!...." Yep, that is the colorful neighborhood I remember.

I have a listing in Millcreek and I frequently find myself passing by my old neighborhood. I kept glancing at the intersection of East 71st and Harvard and saying to myself I used to live here! This block was my domain, back when domain meant something entirely different. It amazed me that a beauty salon still exists on the block; has it always been there in one version or another? Karen was the salon owner when I was a kid. My Friend Since Five Connie and I walked to her shop for haircuts on a regular basis. One time she refused to cut my hair two inches from my head (a request she was sure my mother would not appreciate her fulfilling). There was a record store. My Dad and I would walk there and he would buy the latest Hank Williams or maybe a Glenn Miller album. That's how the neighborhood was. Vibrant. There are no vacant shops in my memories.

This was my elementary school. It's still an architectural beauty in it's present incantation as the Harvard Senior Apartments. What was true then is still true now: a city works because of sidewalk activity; a city works because of the businesses that cause people to be on those sidewalks. A city gives us a sense of place because of the neighbors visited on a sidewalk trek around the block. There may be hundreds upon hundreds of foreclosures in this neighborhood but there are still people calling it home.

So if you are in the neighborhood of East 71st and Harvard, have a look around. Strike up a conversation with friendly residents, the shopkeepers, the others like you who are just passing through. Jim Rokakis challenged us to look beyond foreclosure statistics. I decided to enjoy the humanity. I can't really go home again, but I can enjoy the friendliness of people who work and live in what used to be my domain. All is well, it is their domain now. Peace Out - 3C

Cuyahoga County Treasurer Writes About Slavic Village, Foreclosures and The Poignancy Behind the Crisis

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:02:23 -0500

Jim Rokakis has been our Treasurer for quite some time. I had no idea how eloquently he could write a story. The Washington Post's Outlook section featured an article he wrote today. The article is about everyone wanting the American Dream, not having enough money to get it, and then being given false hope that a loan can in fact make you a 'part of' that Dream.

There are parts of the article that make me uncomfortable, because he talks about predators and that includes Realtors®. He talks about Ohio's NAR lobbying against predatory lending legislation a few years ago. Regardless of how reputable I feel I am, it's hard not to feel uncomfortable when anyone in my industry makes all of us look bad.

I grew up on the outskirts of Slavic Village, the neighborhood he features. I was part of the lower middle class community, as a kid, with not a lot of throw away money to be had but a meal on the table a squeaky clean house and a neighborhood that watched out for all of us. You know, the part of the American Dream. We all had a sense of place, a sense of community. I personally think it all went wrong when the stakes kept getting higher; you know, the material evidence you could show people that proved you were still attaining the American Dream.

It's when Jim Rokakis talks about the human face attached to this predatory lending/foreclosure debacle that I started to cry:

"....In my county, more than 74,000 homeowners have filed for property tax reductions this year -- people like the elderly woman on Berry Avenue on Cleveland's west side who brought me a beautiful photo montage of her well-maintained home, sitting in the midst of abandoned houses. She sobbed quietly as she explained that she had spent thousands of dollars on upkeep and on improving the property. That's money she will never get back. We've all read about the losses at investment-banking firms like Bear Stearns, but we don't read about that woman on Berry Avenue...."

My experience with this begain last February, dealing with dozens of phone calls from people with desperation in their voices, trying to figure out how to get out of the predatory lending mess they were in. People too scared to call their lenders, people who realized they had been sold homes at the highest prices, over market value, by people involved in scams who represented themselves as agents, lenders, and reputable title company representatives. In the worst cases, there were no agents/Realtors® involved, they were simply approached by 'someone' who said they would give them money if they would put their names on a title and be a part of an effort to allow others who can't afford to buy do a rent with option to own and work for a year, paying them rent, and then buying the home.

Of course we know this sounds a lot like the Nigerian scams we still get in our emails every day. But to someone who needs quick money, or who always wanted to be a part of the American Dream, I guess the allure was too good to pass up.

Back to the article. Jim Rokakis equates the foreclosure mess that has been going on in the Slavic Village neighborhood for years, on the decimation of the community, the loss of sense of place and neighborhood cohesiveness. And he blames this in part on the death of a young girl who was caught in cross fire between two bad guys.

He explains the crisis' cost to cities this way:

"....Unfortunately, none of these bills addresses the costs to cities associated with maintaining, policing and, in the most dire case, demolishing neighborhoods such as Slavic Village. One bill introduced in Congress would allocate $100 million over the next three years to help with demolition costs -- a number that met with peals of laughter at a conference on vacant properties that I attended in Pittsburgh last week. "Add a zero," one participant suggested...."

I can remember conversations on AR a year ago when people said 'well, gee, that's too bad about all those foreclosures in your area but that is not happening here.' and in some cases, thankfully for you, it probably still isn't. But none of us exists in a vacuum. The crisis (and it is a crisis) affects the entire Country economically.....in the same way the crisis affected our own community microcosm of Slavic Village.

Also pertinent: A Call To Arms Homeowners In A Bind Can Call Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland and Callahan's Cleveland Diary Peace Out - 3C

Sunday October 7th Update: There will be a mtg on this issue and I wanted to post the info here:

Cleveland Councilwoman Nina Turner, who represents the Lee Harvard neighborhood, will hold a financial-education seminar at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to help residents avoid foreclosure. Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis will attend along with representatives from several banks and the Cleveland Housing Network. The seminar will be at the Harvard Community Services Center, 18240 Harvard Ave.

A Call To uh, No ARMS ....Are ARMS really the devil incarnate?

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:09:46 -0500

Approximately 600,000 ARMS are set to well, reset next month. This prompts a coalition of groups to call for a moratorium on ARMS. A two year moratorium. WKYC's website has an article about it here.

Cleveland's Slavic Village and Union-Miles neighborhoods are in the unfortunate position to be number one in the Country in foreclosures...yes, that is the Country and not the County! So Slavic Village was the setting for this moratorium request. They call it the Save The American Dream program. There were people there from other cities like Des Moines and Pittsburgh.....places also hoping to stem the tide of foreclosures.

They give the example of someone with an $800/month mortgage finding themselves owing $1200/month or $1400/month. I have this nagging question: If you are going to get an ARM mortgage, do you not ask first what the monthly payment might be if the interest rates are 1,2 or 3 % higher than the beginning interest rate? I know I would. Is it that this information doesn't come up? Or that it doesn't make a difference to the purchaser? Do they have salaries documented that will cover the $1400/month down the road?

I would love to have the mortgage Rainers give their professional opinions about a moratorium. I think an open debate could truly help the consumers who read our blogs. I know it might help me make up my mind.

Some of the groups involved in this call to No ARMS: Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People, The National Training and Information Center in Chicago, and of course, Save The American Dream on their word press blog. Heck, even the Cleveland Catholic Diosese is on board. What say you, Mortgage Lenders and everyone else?

Does it give people a chance to reform their spending habits: improve credit scores, make payments on time and be able to refi in 12 months? I guess that is my real question.

Peace Out - 3C

Real Estate News From Inman - First Hand Homeowner Stories on Their Upside Down Ownership Experiences

Carole Cohen Realtor®, ePRO (Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:09:09 -0500

Many of us read Inman on line. They just started a three part series highlighting stories from actual homeowners who are upside down and facing foreclosures. The first part was very insightful, covering several different homeowners: one who lives in her property and finds herself upside down because of the market and the terms of her loan; a guy in Atlanta who said he unfortunately purchased investment homes at good prices in neighborhoods that weren't the best investment areas. You can read the entire article here.

It was sad but insightful to read how they got into trouble because of job losses or not enough reserve money. Here is a quote regarding one homeowner:

"....A painting contractor, Knight has worked to sell off several investment properties at a loss and is working with a real estate agent to complete a short sale on her primary residence. Job troubles and high monthly payments have put her into a foreclosure process..."

One homeowner talks about going into home ownership with $175,000 in the bank and a 700 credit score. Then, having to resort to putting expenses and bills on credit cards, everything went to hell and a handbasket. And all of this happens quickly. Another quote from the article:

"....[The home owner] recommends that homeowners build up a substantial reserve that can sustain them during times of hardship, such as the loss of a job or a death in the family. She also said that people should research their loans thoroughly...."

While this article details first hand accounts dealing with home owners who are not in the Cleveland area, the principles and results are the same. I've had conversations with homeowners experiencing the same issues for the same reasons. One last quote from the article, because it's rather poignant:

".... You could easily call it the quiet poverty," she said of the rush of nationwide foreclosures. "It affects everybody. Nobody is coming out of this unscathed. It's wiping out the market...."

I have advised clients who wanted to invest and not live in homes in areas with high foreclosure issues to think things through carefully. One community specifically, had close to 700 homes for sale this Winter when we were shopping for homes. Ultimately this client did not purchase, but truthfully? Not because of my guidance. His job situation changed (thankfully) before he got into a contract situation. He was hell bent on buying in this area. Sometimes no matter how much we provide guidance it doesn't work. Karma stepped in this time.

Once you read this article written by Glenn Roberts, Jr., sign up for the email notification, if you haven't already; Inman is a great place to read about real estate. And there are still two more parts to the story.

September 14th update: Here is an article in Time Magazine that talks about the correlation between our economy and the housing market. Overall it's rather good. There is also one really good paragraph I want to hightlight here; it speaks to our upside down market woes:

'....The main reason for the boom's doom was that in the nation's San Diegos, double-digit annual price increases put most homes out of the reach of middle-income buyers. The mortgage industry and its funders on Wall Street responded with laxer lending standards and creative loans (no downpayment, teaser rate, interest only, etc.) that really made sense for borrowers only if prices kept going up and they could sell at a profit or refinance. When prices stopped rising last year, the edifice began to crumble...."

NOTE: I want to add this excellent article written by David Briggs of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He's on the same topic, using himself as an example of moving up to more and more expensive homes. Also worth the read!

Peace Out - 3C