Chris Olsen - Greater Cleveland Real Estate Gems for Buyers and Sellers!

Think Outside the Box

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:18:48 -0600

Think Outside the Box

This is such a cliché eh?

I am not a fan of slogans, and whenever I hear this particular phrase, it makes me think of Taco Bell’s: Think Outside the Bun. This slogan has been so overused – remember: Push the Envelope?

The converse slogan of: When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

I do happen to like this slogan as it seems that real estate agents are viewed by most consumers as commodities and essentially do the same thing.

Have a home to sell? Quick, I’ll come over and:

Put a sign in the yard
Put it in the MLS
Place an ad – print, online
Put photos online

And other new fangled marketing techniques like social media sites, video tours perhaps and other “new and improved” ideas.

But…how does this differentiate you from the other kazillion real estate agents in your marketplace? Don’t they all do relatively the same thing?

There are a few leveling mechanisms at play here as well as the “exposure” concept that work as a disadvantage to the individual listing agent to distinguish themselves in the marketplace:

Public websites and the Internet. Consumers can go to one of thousands of websites to search for homes. They don’t care who has the listing

Exposure. Whether a buyer learns about your property via some syndicated website from your MLS, Realtor.com, your individual or company website, or the via Twitter, Facebook or ActiveRain, one of the main tenets of market value is exposure and an element of exposure is time. The more time a property has been on the market, the more exposure (theoretically speaking) it will have with buyers, within limits.

Since most real estate companies, and even many MLSs provide for “real estate syndication” of listings, chances are, regardless of what you do marketing wise, a consumer will find it in short order.

So…what causes a home to sell? Is it your wiz-bang marketing / Web 2.0 strategies, your catered-lunch broker’s open house that at least in our marketplace is often paid for by a lender and title/escrow company, or your extensive marketing techniques?

What do you think really causes a home to sell?

I would argue it has very little with most of this stuff.

Why?

Some homes sell quickly even when an agent bungles the marketing of a home. Why? The simple fact is, some homes are just easy to sell and in fact practically sell themselves. Either the location, price, condition, amenity or some combination thereof makes the home a strong draw.

Some homes at the opposite end of the spectrum need a lot of help to overcome “obstacles” to selling. Usually relating to price, condition, location, lack of demand that makes a property beg for ingenuity sometimes.

Going back to the When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail slogan reminds me of the common real estate agent’s response that if buyers aren’t biting, lower the price to stir demand. While there is logic and truth to this statement and sometimes it does need to occur, this option should not be main and only option pursued.

Which leads me back to the original point: How do you think outside the box for your clients?

Thinking outside the box doesn’t need to mean you are inventing a previously unheard of concept, or your approach is so novel that it creates an “ah ha” moment. Quite the contrary, sometimes, it is the application of something that has been tried and tested many times before but might not rise to the surface of something that is intuitively obvious, while upon some reflection, may seem basic and not worthwhile of serious attention.

It is at this point where the analysis can break down quickly and an agent reverts back to the tried and true.

I’ll use my eight year-old son and his friend in a real life example. A few weeks ago on a warm late-Fall day, my son and his friend had been playing for several hours. They are normally pretty creative kids and don’t need much (most of the time none) intervention from adults.

They gel really well together, but after several hours of playing, my son came up to me and said:

Dad, we’re bored, there is nothing to do.

I looked at them for a few seconds, and I could have easily reverted to structuring their next move and relied on many things, such as:

You must be hungry, do you want me to make some lunch for you? – I knew they weren’t starving as I know them quite well and they just ate quite well just a few hours ago and they could easily play another 1-2 hours before they wanted to stop if they could find something engaging.
Want to play a board game, game of cards, video game, TV show?
Etc.

Instead, my feeling is that kids lives are way too structured today and over-monitored, with too much intervention. With the advent of organized sports, music lessons, play dates, video games in the car, life is just one huge organized and structured distraction for kids. When I grew up, as long as I was home for dinner, I was free to roam the neighborhood and we invented and did many things all on our own, all day long. While I wouldn’t let my kids have the level of freedom today I once enjoyed (sad commentary indeed), I replied to my son and his friend:

Just relax for a minute and I bet you will find something to do.

That was NOT the answer they were looking for.

I went back inside and was discreetly observing when next thing I know:

they are trying to slide down a far to gentle and small slope in our front yard with a snow inter tube. They were jumping on each other and having a blast. They did this for a looooong time.

It got me to thinking, am I this creative for my clients? This is not to imply that creativity is an override or replacement for doing the basics really well, it’s not.

But…how if the basics aren’t working for many homes in today’s market, then what other options are you doing that aren’t cookie-cutter, but which may exist at the individual property level that requires taking a fresh look at what the challenges a given property might face and be presented as objections buy buyers?

Personally, it requires a solid understanding of what is selling, what is not, and why particular properties are selling.

For example, there are many homes on a given street that have gone unsold for well over a year, when a given seller approached us on this street to sell their home. We quickly saw that this property would be one of the many homes on the street that would not sell if we didn’t spruce this home up quite a bit, and do it in a hurry to take advantage of every decreasing buyers in the as the strongest part of the selling season was behind us and was starting to wind down. We quickly got this home spruced up and showed exceptionally well and priced it to sell out of the gate and it did.

Another home we sold this year had a home right next door that was in serious disrepair while the home we were selling was a true gem, quite a contrast. While we couldn’t make the home next door disappear (I called David Copperfield but he never replied), we could have simply thrown up our hands and said we will have to wait until the right buyer comes along who doesn’t care. We suggested extending a solid 6’ fence on one side, nice blinds on a few key windows that filtered and/or blocked the offending view and a few other minor items.

Sometimes, the answers lie in nuance, the small details, that when taken together, combined and implemented properly, can be a direct cause of why a property to sells.

The answer can lie in:

The condition aspect still doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves in today’s marketplace. Home staging, re-design, home maintenance repairs and even minor to moderate renovation can make a measurable difference in a home seller’s net financial bottom line. While this approach is not relevant for all homes and sellers current financial constraints, it’s one tool in the toolbox that gets left inside the toolbox far too often.

Detective. Sometimes it takes a careful analysis of a home to really pin-point what buyer objections will most likely be and if it is something that can be changed and resolved BEFORE it becomes an issue, can you identify it? Know how to cost-effectively remedy it?

Being pro-active. Anticipating challenges and problems before they occur and solving them before they gain traction.

Home Staging. Let’s face it, the overwhelming majority of home today on the market could benefit from this and listing agents as the point person, often don’t understand the benefit, know how to do it themselves, have an exceptional home stager in their back pocket to recommend.

Renovation. What is the overwhelming majority of homes that are selling are either bargain-basement priced homes or renovated homes and your home (like most) that you may list is in the middle and needs serious updating. Would you know how to create an “Extreme Makeover” with your own recommended and cost-effective contractors in a quick time-frame to get a home on the market?

Negotiation. This is widely touted but in my humble opinion, not practiced enough.

Candid Conversations. Are you willing to have that hard conversation with a seller that their home faces challenges in today’s market and offering solutions to address it

Listening. Really understanding what a client wants and needs can be akin to peeling back the layers of an onion. Asking open-ended questions like “Why’s That?” and then really, really listening to what they are saying, how they are saying it and what is really important to them can go a long way from having a mediocre experience for a client versus exceptional.

While each market is unique and faces it own unique set of issues to confront, we as REALTORS owe it to our clients to maximize their position in a sale or purchase.

I’m not comparing the details of the complexities and balancing act of selling a home versus an eight year-old being creative, but it does (at least to me) beg the question on how can we really add value to your clients.

How do you think outside the box and what is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

Westlake Ohio Homes For Sale between $500,000 - $1,000,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:39:44 -0600

Westlake Ohio Homes For Sale between $500,000 - $1,000,000.

As a Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR) and a REALTOR with strong negotiating experience, I would be happy to assist you with your next home purchase or sale in the Westlake Ohio real estate marketplace.

Here are currently (as of 11/15/2009) 48 homes for sale in Westlake Ohio between $500,000 - $1,000,000.

Homes between $500,000 - $1,000,000 in Westlake Ohio

View all the homes for sale in Westlake Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your Westlake Ohio Home

Westlake Ohio Homes For Sale between $250,000 - $500,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:36:56 -0600

Westlake Ohio Homes For Sale between $250,000 - $500,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/15/2009) 93 homes for sale in Westlake Ohio between $250,000 - $500,000.

Homes between $250,000 - $500,000 in Westlake Ohio

View all the homes for sale in Westlake Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your Westlake Ohio Home

I'll Just Offer the Buyer a Credit

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:28:45 -0600

For crying out loud, if the buyer is interested in my home and they don't like: _______________________________________________________________________

then I'll just offer them a credit at closing so they can put it in and pick out the color/material they like.

Let's think about it: How many times as a listing agent have you heard that?

What is your response back to your seller?

A listing agent's goal should be to not simply respond with the pros and cons to this question at that point in time. The mere fact that the question has come up AND, here's the real important part:

If this is the first time you are addressing this with your seller, then in my opinion, you have let your seller down as this type of information can almost always be known ahead of time by:

Knowing how this business works
Having your pulse on the market
Working regularly with buyers and knowing what they want and prefer
Knowing what home staging is and its strengths and weaknesses
Knowing what is selling in your community
Knowing what is NOT sellling in your community
Knowing the financial impact to a seller's net financial bottom line by utilizing a seller credit to the buyer versus eliminating the issue in question before the home goes on the market

Granted, there are always exceptions when having this conversation may not be appropriate:

Seller is strapped for cash
Short Sale
Divorce -- Attorneys, Court-Appointed Receivers
Elderly
Health Issues
etc.

But...for the average seller who has access to capital, these issues should be identified, analyzed and cost-effective solutions offered before the home goes on the market. If the seller does not opt for this course of action, that's fine, but you have done your job in preparing them for potential negative market feedback.

Which leads back to the original question: Why can't I just offer the buyer a credit?

Many buyers will:

Not pursue your property because of these deficiencies and the only feedback (if you receive any) won't be that illustrative.
Only see what is right in front of them.
Not visualize the "to be", they only see the "as is."
Get so hung up on the negatives, that they can't see the positives, and thereby are already going through in their heads "cha chunk" with a lower offer for all the things they will need to do to your property to make it okay for them.

I'm not sure of the origin or if I have this saying right: forEwarned is forearmed.

Here is how this will normally play out (short answer):

The seller will end up netting less by not addressing the issue
The property will stay on the market longer
A property that stays on the market longer will cost more to maintain, operate, monthly payments
A property that stays on the market longer makes the seller have less negotiating power

Cuyahoga County Tax Rates

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:10:54 -0600

I work regularly with relocation buyers who have decided to make Greater Cleveland their home.

Depending on where these buyers are relocating from, there are always questions about property taxes. In some parts of the country, there is one tax rate for the entire county, and there may be 2-4 counties surrounding an entire metropolitan region -- for example, the Greater Washington, D.C. area.

However, here in Greater Cleveland, the county that surrounds the City of Cleveland is Cuyahoga County. In Cuyahoga County, each community sets its own property tax rate.

Here are the tax rates for the all the communities in Cuyahoga County.

Please visit the County's Treasurer Website for more details.

Using Shaker Heights as an example, as this community has the highest property tax rate in the State of Ohio, the tax as a percentage of market value is 3.12%.

If a property is valued by the County at $100,000, then the annual property taxes are 3,120. For a $500,000 home, that is approximately $15,000 in annual property taxes.

Since property taxes are one of the four components of your monthly mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) (PITI), it's important to keep this in mind when analyzing communities, home prices, and the like.

Stream Stewardship for Residential Property Owners - Six Easy Steps

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:59:32 -0600

Some residential property owners are fortunate enough to have a stream running through their property or perhaps their property adjoins a common area or some other entity that has a stream.

People are willing to pay higher prices for property with natural amenities such as wildlife, streams, lakes, ponds, panoramic views, etc.

For people who have a stream on their property, there are six easy things to do that can help maintain the health and vitality of your stream and also benefit your downstream neighbors.

Don't mow the lawn to the edge of the stream.
Leave a buffer.
Eliminating the plants and bushes in the buffer zone causes the root systems to be lost and creates more erosion problems.
Plant live, but dormant, unrooted cuttings (no buds, leaves or visible roots) in the buffer zone.
Don't Dump anything near the stream or into the stream.
This includes organic material like leaves and grass. These will decompose and eliminate oxygen in the water -- a bad thing. Please ensure any contractor who cuts your lawn does not dump the grass clippings near the stream or even down the hillside or ravine that feeds a stream.
Remove Trash From Streams. In my neighborhood, a fellow resident and I co-developed an annual Spring Clean-Up Day in our neighborhood to clean our streams. After three years of doing this, we have seen dramatic improvements. We can now see clear running water and the shale beds underneath.
Don't change the path of the stream. Sometimes homeowners are thinking they are helping when in actuality, they are hurting the stream.
Septic Systems -- Keep in Good Condition. If you have a septic system, please ensure it is in good working order and be judicious or eliminate sending bleach, chemicals, etc., down your drain.

This is a photo of just "some" of the excess branches, twigs, etc., that were in my own community's streams that a group of 20 volunteers removed in one day. This doesn't include the 55-barrel drums, construction debris, plastic tarps, forts, plastic, glass and aluminum bottles and a host of other things we removed.

Simple and Free Window Cleaning Service

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:21:37 -0600

Answer: You.

Question: How can I easily, quickly and for free, clean the outsides of my windows on my two-story home when I have windows that do NOT tilt in?

Now that you know the answer, the steps are easy.

I once bought a long painting pole that is threaded on one end so a threaded paint roller handle could be screwed on.

I was cruising down an aisle in Target last week with my son (he was after baseball cards) and I was after dog bones, when we ran by one of the cleaning aisles and I noticed this combination handle mop with a squeege. And guess what, both the handles on the mp and squeege were threaded.

So...for $9.99, I bought it -- (okay, this part isn't free) and off we went -- along with some dog bones and baseball trading cards.

With a bit of Dawn soap, a 5-gallon bucket with water, a garden hose set on "Jet" mode, I sprayed my 2nd floor windows, extended my 20' pole after screwing the mop handle on, washed all my upper windows, rinsed them with the hose, and then switched out the mop and put the squeege on, and I washed all the windows (1st and 2nd floor) windows in my home in under 15 minutes.

Since many companies charge $75 - $100 to clean the outside of a home's windows, it looks like there may be an opportunity there for a younger entrepreneur to clean up -- pun intended!

So...the next time I ask my sellers to have their windows cleaned before their home goes on the market, and if they hesitate, I may say: I'll do the outside if you do the inside.

Caveat: If the home is really old, say pre-WWII, and has true-divided light windows, I bet a special, small squeege would need to be found and ensure the triple-track or wood-framed storms are removed.

Attention Brecksville Residents: Fixed Gas Rate of $6.74 Through IGS Energy

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:43:09 -0600

The City of Brecksville has negotiated a fixed gas rate of $6.74 through IGS Energy. There is NO early termination fee and it runs through October 2010.

If you are currently using an "Energy Choice" type of provider, please ensure the company does not charge an early termination fee.

IGS Energy can be reached at 1-800-280-4474.

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Refunds Slowing to A Crawl Thanks To Fraud

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:26:15 -0600

The IRS has acknowledged that 2008 Amended Tax Returns for the first-time homebuyer tax credit has hit a brick wall in that refunds that were taking 6 weeks to process are now taking up to 20 weeks.

Why's that? Good question.

You can probably guess: FRAUD.

Yes, you got it. Some questionable claims were filed by none other than: IRS Employees. Filers as young as 4 years old were also asking for the refund.

These questionable claims are estimated to total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Let's think about this for a second. The IRS has all of our information already on file. It surely can't be that hard to have an automated system of cross-referencing to prioritize legitimate requests from bogus claims. In fact, perhaps there needs to be a RETS like transaction standard for EDI for official tax reporting purposes to take the fraud aspect completely out of the picture.

So...for you first time home buyers who have recently amended your returns, I would be curious to know if you get your tax refund sooner than had you filed your 2009 tax return in Mid-February and the refund takes six weeks on average.

Whose Customer Service Policy is Better: Best Buy or Yours?

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:55:38 -0600

I recently ordered a television from Best Buy. The rep in the store said that customer service will call you the night before to let you know the window. I asked if I could pick the time-slot and asked how long the window was. He said 2 hours and NO. No? Say What?

You mean to tell me in this day and age, one can't have enough "intelligent scheduling" to at least give the customer a few options?

Sure enough, customer service called the evening before. She politely informed me they would be at my home between 2-4pm the next day. I said that window won't work, but I was available with other time slots.

Get this: the rep said the computer automatically schedules deliveries and we just make the calls to let customers know.

The delivery guys were nice and did a good job bringing it in, setting it up, etc. They then left a card for me to go fill out a questionnaire on my entire experience.

I couldn't help but think of a real estate analogy. Let's just say we have a super busy, mega listing agent who needs to schedule 10 listing appointments during the next 3 days.

I wonder what clients would think if they were told that the listing agent will be there be at your home at 3pm on Wednesday?

Best Buy says they take client satisfaction very seriously and they have a survey requesting feedback. My simple point is, perhaps they should look at the delivery schedule process more and worry less about the surveys.

That said, it sure beats the gas and water companies when sellers are moving out and they require them to be there for a four hour window.

Sell a 500K home, read a meter: 4 hours.

Buy a $500 television: 2 hours.

Heck, I would think the 4 hours should be 5 minutes and the TV should be 10 hours.

What is your customer service policy regarding appointments? Do you bend over backwards to accommodate your clients busy schedule? Ask them to meet you half-way with a mutually convenient time, or is it your way or the highway?

I know a few agents who stop at 5pm and don't work weekends. I wonder how they accommodate a two-wage earner family who both have demanding jobs during the day and during the week. Would you turn down a 1 Million Dollar Home Listing if the sellers could only meet at 7pm or later during the week or during the weekends?

Shaker Heights Ohio Homes For Sale from $1,000,000+

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:26:33 -0600

Shaker Heights Ohio Homes For Sale from $1,000,000+.

As a Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR) and a REALTOR with strong negotiating experience, I would be happy to assist you with your next home purchase or sale in the Shaker Heights Ohio real estate marketplace.

Here are currently (as of 11/8/2009) 9 homes for sale in Shaker Heights Ohio from $1,000,000+.

Homes from $1,000,000+ in Shaker Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in Shaker Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

Olsen Ziegler Realty -- An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your Shaker Heights Ohio Home

Google's Godzilla-Sized Eyeballs Will Soon Be 360x360x360

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:14:48 -0600

I wonder if Aldous Huxley had lived in a time sufficient to forecast the pervasiveness and invasive nature of technology, what his novel of today would be like forecasting the future in the age of Google?

ActiveRain members have accumulated a vast store of knowledge and techniques on how to get visible on Google <a good thing> but ponder a moment on how the reverse (Google Knowing Us) will soon dwarf in comparison, our efforts to reach out to the world.

Don't get me wrong, I love technology and I think Google is perhaps the coolest tech company except for Apple to hit the tech stage. I got a degree in Computer Science back in the 1980s and wrote an artificial intelligence theorem prover software program in Lisp and also wrote a host of very cool software applications. That said, as the world becomes smaller by the day thanks to technology, which is benign by itself, always has two edges to the sword and eventually comes attached with "unintended consequences."

While Google (as the company exists today), and the founders' vision, are not about monopolies and they don't appear to want to "obliterate and kill their competitors" the way that Microsoft often goes for the jugular (hence the numerous mega-dollar antitrust suits it has lost), what happens if Google gets so incredibly big (like it's not huge already) and it gets sold to investors who don't have the same great moral compass that the current founders do? Do you really want one company in possession of so much data, buying history, financial decisions in the hands of one single entity?

To me, that is a scary proposition and it's more of a societal question on what we as a people are willing to tolerate in the name of progress, convenience and technology.

While I am a huge fan of Google, I do start to wonder about how pervasive and invasive their technology, when integrated and combined with outside data from retailers and even perhaps banks someday, will create a world so personalized and customized for each unique "customer", that it will border on Big Brother?

First it was Google's search engine...

Then came a plethora of other applications, such as:

maps
Earth
mail
calendar
Mobil App
Docs
Android
Latitude
Soon to be released Wave -- which I cannot wait to road test as trying to have intelligent conversations via e-mail anymore is next to impossible to organize, manage and make productive

With GPS and Maps available for their new Android phone operating system, just think if Google:

Is able to integrate your buying history through retailers who send your purchasing history to Google, banks do the same thing, and on your cell phone exists GPS, Latitude, etc., and Google send you a text message (or unprompted voice message) as you are walking down the street in front of your favorite store and says:

"Hey Chris...I see that you are walking in front of your favorite store "Modern Outfitters" and I see that they are currently having a 50% sale on the All-Terrain Hiking Boots you purchased back on 5/29/2006 and the boots are now on sale at $49.99."

"Hey Chris...I see that you are near your favorite restaurant and your favorite movie theater. Are you going to see a movie and have dinner afterwards? I respond yes. Google's automated response (in a very alluring and soothing voice says): I'll be happy to order your movie tickets for you right now and book your table at your favorite restaurant: Market Seafood.

I can just see people's eyes lighting up with many different responses:

That is so cool and will be a time saver and may actually help me remember something I wanted or needed but didn't realize until I got home and it was too late, so I'm glad Google told me.
This is cool when it accurately forecasts something I want, need or am going to do.
This is okay but it gets annoying because it's not fine-tuned enough and it keeps bombarding me every time I pass something I've done or bought
This is like BIG BROTHER and what's next.

Far fetched? Imagine what Aldous Huxley would think in today's rapidly evolving tech age.

I can just see it now, fast-forward 5 years and my daughter says to me:

"Dad: Google Latitude says you have been sitting in the chair typing this blog post for the past hour and you should be setting up for my birthday party on the other side of the house and I've been watching your coordinates and you have yet to get to the grocery store to pickup my cake!"

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale from $800,000+

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:46:56 -0600

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale from $800,000+.

As a Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR) and a REALTOR with strong negotiating experience, I would be happy to assist you with your next home purchase or sale in the Cleveland Heights Ohio real estate marketplace.

Here are currently (as of 11/8/2009) 15 homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio from $800,000+.

Homes from $800,000+ in Cleveland Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your Cleveland Heights Ohio Home

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $500,000 - $800,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:43:43 -0600

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $500,000 - $800,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/8/2009) 15 homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio between $500,000 - $800,000.

Homes between $500,000 - $800,000 in Cleveland Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your Cleveland Heights Ohio Home

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $350,000 - $500,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:39:04 -0600

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $350,000 - $500,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/8/2009) 19 homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio between $350,000 - $500,000.

Homes between $350,000 - $500,000 in Cleveland Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your Cleveland Heights Ohio Home

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $250,000 - $350,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:26:04 -0600

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $250,000 - $350,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/8/2009) 42 homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio between $250,000 - $350,000.

Homes between $250,000 - $350,000 in Cleveland Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your Cleveland Heights Ohio Home

The Brownstones in Franklin at First and Church - Franklin TN Real Estate

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:37:47 -0600

I think Mike's post is an exceptional example of using technology. Both the slideshow and the home search feature are well done.

Via Mike Nastri Franklin TN Homes (Keller Williams Realty):

The Brownstones in Franklin at First and Church - Franklin TN Real Estate

These are classic Brownstone in Franklin style homes in the heart of Historic Downtown Franklin TN. If you love Franklin and the urban lifestyle in a quaint southern town, you'll love these. Enjoy the slide show below from Franklin's streets and scroll below that to the current Brownstone listings.

The current listings are below. Click on the listing for more information.

/   Home   \  / Franklin \  / Brentwood \  /  Nashville \  /  Maps   \

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Franklin TN - Home Search - Area and Market Report Index

Brentwood TN - Home Search - Area and Market Report Index

The opinions expressed by The Activerain Network and it's members and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Mike Nastri Keller Williams Realty - Franklin, TN neither Mike Nastri or the Keller Williams Realty Franklin  office, which is independently owned and operated are responsible for the accuracy or content provided by The Community.

Links to Mike Nastri past Real Estate blogs, Listings, or Market Reports.

Contact Mike for the most recent listings and market information.

Blogged Listings, Market Reports, Opinions, Community News and Events

Mike Nastri  Keller Williams Realty
9175 Carothers Pkwy Franklin, TN 37067
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Short Sale Net Proceeds Versus Foreclosure -- Where's the Beef?

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:54:16 -0600

I talk to my colleagues all the time on how banks, lenders, underlying investors, etc. absolutely BLOW SHORT SALE residential real estate deals out of the water on a regular basis, like they are getting a glass of water from the tap! In fact, it's so routine and the short sale problem is so huge, that it barely gets a public mention anymore.

I think there should be a national database (or setup by a non-profit) that tracks (both property specific and aggregated at various higher levels such as neighborhood, municipality, region, state) the net difference (probably universally a net loss) between the short sale net proceeds when an offer is agreed to by the seller versus the investors/lenders net proceeds if foreclosure occurs.

My perception is: everyone loses far more when a property goes into foreclosure, and if actual data were capture, analyzed and reported, and then correlate this impact to a community and the larger economy, perhaps the tide would shift and more emphasis would be placed on concluding these transactions before they go into foreclosure. It's the best alternative of a bad situation.

The reason this information is important is sometimes, far too often, a lender/investor will allow a property to go into foreclosure when it could be avoided with a successful short sale.

I think these statistics would create a public outrage and perhaps could be a catalyst to force the banks and underlying investors to stop playing an active participant in the demise of communities that are struggling.

Most of the time, it makes absolutely no financial sense at all and leaves everyone scratching their heads in disbelief. The amount of money wasted in getting to short sale failure is also a wasted effort on many fronts.

And to think that banks actually want to eliminate the separation between commerce and banking and get into the business of real estate. Makes me shudder!

Do such #s already exist somewhere?

Proposed Federal Housing Tax Credit Bill By This Friday, November 6th, 2009?

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:57:37 -0600

I have been reading various websites which states the House of Representatives voted today 403-12 to expand the federal housing tax credit and it "MAY" be signed by the President this Friday.

Here is link one of the many articles on it.

I hope some CPAs and Tax Attorneys jump in here in addition to real estate professionals.

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $200,000 - $250,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:58:33 -0600

Cleveland Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $200,000 - $250,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/1/2009) 25 homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio between $200,000 - $250,000.

Homes between $200,000 - $250,000 in Cleveland Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in Cleveland Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your Cleveland Heights Ohio Home

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale from $250,000+

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:52:13 -0600

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale from $250,000+.

As a Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR) and a REALTOR with strong negotiating experience, I would be happy to assist you with your next home purchase or sale in the University Heights Ohio real estate marketplace.

Here are currently (as of 11/1/2009) 4 homes for sale in University Heights Ohio from $250,000+.

Homes from $250,000+ in University Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in University Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your University Heights Ohio Home

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $200,000 - $250,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:48:01 -0600

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $200,000 - $250,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/1/2009) 13 homes for sale in University Heights Ohio between $200,000 - $250,000.

Homes between $200,000 - $250,000 in University Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in University Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your University Heights Ohio Home

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $150,000 - $200,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:44:58 -0600

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $150,000 - $200,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/1/2009) 38 homes for sale in University Heights Ohio between $150,000 - $200,000.

Homes between $150,000 - $200,000 in University Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in University Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your University Heights Ohio Home

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $100,000 - $150,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:41:50 -0600

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale between $100,000 - $150,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/1/2009) 65 homes for sale in University Heights Ohio between $100,000 - $150,000.

Homes between $100,000 - $150,000 in University Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in University Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your University Heights Ohio Home

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale up to $100,000

Chris Olsen Broker Owner Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Olsen Ziegler Realty) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:36:17 -0600

University Heights Ohio Homes For Sale up to $100,000.

Here are currently (as of 11/1/2009) 14 homes for sale in University Heights Ohio up to $100,000.

Homes up to $100,000 in University Heights Ohio

View all the homes for sale in University Heights Ohio at Olsen Ziegler Realty

Happy searching!

An innovative and cost-effective way to buy and sell your University Heights Ohio Home