Before becoming a REALTOR®, I searched my heart (and the internet) to see if it was "ok" to be somewhat shy and still be a great real estate agent. I googled: "introverted real estate agent". That search lead me to the "Sell With Soul" book & philosophy...and my life was changed forever!!

Not only am I a pretty darn good real estate agent (thank you very much) while keeping my personality intact, I'm now sitting in a beachfront condo in Florida...with my friend & mentor, author of that life-changing book, real estate guru Jennifer Allan!! 

After emailing Jennifer to thank her for writing such an eye-opening book, I found myself becoming her part-time virtual assistant, doing some admin functions for her business. But I honestly never thought in a million years I'd actually be vacationing with her!! Ok...I admit it...I'm an SWS groupie, and proud of it!

Besides being in warm & sunny Florida (compared to cold and not-so-sunny North Olmsted, OH), I've been getting tons of in-person training by hanging around with Jennifer and our hostess & Realtor, Robin Sherman of Pensacola. Driving around the other day with those two real estate superstars...well, it was better than any 3-hr CE class I could have signed up for back home!

Thank you so much Jennifer & Robin - it's been an absolute blast!!

My new client, Sam, wants to buy his dream property out in the country ~ a little farm close enough so his wife doesn't have to drive a long distance to work, but far enough out so he can have a large garden, 1 cow, 2 pigs and a couple dozen chickens. He'll retire in a few years, and wants to "keep himself busy", while knowing where their food is coming from. Healthy eating is very important to them.

He really wasn't sure what he could afford, but knew he had terrific credit ~ his  score was close to 800 at the beginning of this year. I gave him the names of several lenders I've worked with and he chose Troy McMahan in North Olmsted, OH from my list.

After being preapproved, he got the results of his current score. It had dropped to close to 700! He was pretty sure what had happened...an ongoing dispute with a company who opened an account without his authorization, sent him merchandise (which he returned) and who'd turned his account over to a collection agency. That sweet man was beside himself with worry!

I suggested he go back to Troy and see if he could help him get this cleared up. Troy made a few phone calls, and 30 minutes later had a promise from the company that they would credit Sam's account and remove it from his report. His credit score should go back to his well-deserved 800 very soon!

Sam called me from the parking lot of the bank. He said he had tears in his eyes when Troy told him the good news, and by the end of our conversation, I had tears in my eyes!

The moral of this story? Please take the time to check your credit annually. Remember, some of those companies out there aren't actually FREE, but www.annualcreditreport.com is. And don't be afraid to ask for help if you see something that shouldn't be there!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This has certainly been a challenging year economically for many people, but houses continue to sell in North Olmsted, OH! As you can see from the two charts below, the average SOLD price has increased from October to November:

Coupled with an increase in the SOLD PRICE to LIST PRICE ratio, this is great news for sellers! We keep hearing whispers that the housing market is getting ready to turn around, and of course no one knows when we'll be totally out of this hole. But these signs can only bring encouragement to current homeowners who are considering selling.

And what about those buyers out there, you may ask? If home prices are creeping back up, and sellers are getting closer to their asking price for their homes, how does this affect them??

Considering the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit has been extended to April 30th, and expanded to include many current homeowners, and interest rates are still incredibly low, this is still a fantastic time to buy a house!

Homeowners are taking steps to make sure their house is in tip-top shape before placing it on the market. Many are offering Home Warranties to make their listing more attractive to buyers. Removing 20 year old wallpaper, painting in neutral (but not necessarily boring) colors, replacing carpet or exposing gorgeous hardwood flooring. Steps sellers during the boom years didn't always have to take. So the buyers during those years (myself included!) put quite a bit of sweat equity into their newly purchased home. Of course, with the slew of foreclosed properties being sold ~ and the next wave that will hit the market in the upcoming months ~ there are still plenty of sweat equity opportunites to be had!

The next market update will include not only December, but also how the 4th quarter compared to the 4th quarter of 2008.

Happy Holidays!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful October, with more treats than tricks! Life has been good in the Gabriel household. Kitties are fighting less (yay!), we've had one birthday and 2 more coming this week. My son turned 17 last month, and got his driver's license. I held my breath when he made his first solo drive home last week, but he's doing very well!

My daughter will turn 20 this Wednesday. That poor girl has never received a birthday card in the mail on her birthday - it's Veteran's Day and there's no mail delivery. So I'll be driving to Kent State on Wednesday to hand deliver her card and take her to lunch. She's coming home for the weekend, but I still wanted (needed?) to see her on her birthday.

And my birthday is the day after hers ~ yes, she was my 30th birthday present. I'll let you do the math on that one!  : )

An early birthday present was one of my listings going under contract. It helped contribute to a very good month in North Olmsted real estate! Title transfers next week, so we'll be included in November's SOLD numbers. October's closings (34) were up from September's (30)...so that's good news! I really think the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit extension and expansion will keep the momentum going throughout a traditionally slower 4th and 1st quarter.

On that happy note, here are the housing totals for October in North Olmsted, OH:

Have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone, and we'll see you next month!

My son plays JV football Saturday mornings for the North Olmsted Eagles, but the JV team suits up and goes to the varsity games Friday night...to support the team, as well as being available to play if needed. Every Friday after school, several of the guys walk to the neighborhood McDonald's for dinner and walk back to the high school. The problem is, the straightest shot to Micky D's is across a 5-lane street (2 lanes each way, plus the turn lane). And of course the boys (and everyone else, for that matter) cross where it's most convenient, and not at the crosswalks 90 yards to the east or west.

Well, 3 weeks ago my son and 2 of his teammates had just crossed back over when they were approached by a police car. Oh yeah, did I mention that the police station is on one of those corners 90 yards away??

Anyway, they were all given tickets - for jaywalking. They were mortified - especially my son. "But Mom, I'm a good kid! I don't GET into trouble!!" And he doesn't...none of them do. My goodness, when he was little, that boy would pick up litter from the parking lot as we went into a store. Instead of asking for candy and gum at the checkout line, he'd be putting it all back in order. He's in honors classes...gets As and Bs. He doesn't know how to lie. He gives unsolicited hugs and listens to my rantings and ravings and stories...and remembers my clients' names and what houses they're buying or selling. Everyone loves him! But...he still broke the law.

So there we were last Friday, at Juvenile Court. Yes, he had to go downtown to court, and go before a judge to "plead guilty" to jaywalking and face a possible $400 fine. The judge did a very fine job of scaring the heck out of him, but let him off easy. "Since it's your first offense, we're collecting turkeys for Thanksgiving and I want you to bring 2 frozen turkeys back to the courthouse on November 23rd."

Whew. We can do that. It helps those less fortunate, and still teaches a lesson. Even if the law is a "silly one", it's there to protect everyone. There have been folks hurt and killed while jaywalking, and the driver is the one who must live with that guilt the rest of their lives. And I'll be ever thankful that those kids didn't become a statistic.

Oh yeah, while we were waiting our turn to go before the judge, one of the other Moms said, "I've never been here before, and I don't want to EVER come back! " AMEN to that!!

A little update...Ellie is still with us. The little furrball has wormed her way into my heart, and I could never part with her. Apparently, nor could Tigger:

Without further ado, here is the housing market update for North Olmsted, OH for the month of September 2009:

I'm very pleased with the activity in my hometown, as well as the other Cleveland, OH suburbs Our office is buzzing, and it's so much fun to watch after the past couple of "challenging" years.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you next month. Happy Halloween everyone!!!

As promised in an earlier post, I'll update the North Olmsted housing market every month. In the meantime, I decided to take a look at what the summer of 2009 looked like here in my home town. Who's buying what? Houses, condos, lower priced homes, high-end properties? North Olmsted actually doesn't have a lot of homes in the $300k and up range, and only one sold since June 1st at $332,000. Surprisingly, it was only on the market for 59 days. That seller must have been very pleased, considering the average days on the market for the past several months has been 4 1/2 months!!

Anyway, here is what my research has discovered. Since June 1, 2009:

SOLD:

99 properties, with an average sale price of $124,086

17 condos and 82 single-family homes

Average Days On Market is 138...4 1/2 months

CONTINGENT/PENDING:

79 properties, with an average list price of $129,917

11 condos and 68 single-family homes 

Average Days on Market is 140...4 1/2 months

Now remember, this is just North Olmsted, a large, very diverse southwestern suburb of Cleveland, OH. As you know, all real estate is local...but I find these numbers very encouraging! Especially since most of my clients happen to be first-time home buyers, and these numbers are perfect for those just starting their home search.

Of course, I'm sure the $8000 Tax Credit has had a huge impact on those numbers. Every one of my buyers this year will be taking advantage of the tax credit!! I truly do hope the government extends the credit, and also gives an incentive to ALL buyers...not just the first-timers. This market is turning around, but could still use some help!