home buying: It Looked Good On The Surface
- 02/04/19 05:07 PM
When you're shopping for a new home, you might see quite the spectrum of home conditions.
Some homes you walk into and they're ROUGH. LOTS of things obviously wrong, but depending on what those issues are might just prove to be an opportunity for a good deal and not a deal breaker.
Other homes will have a few obvious things wrong, but overall appear to be in great shape.
And then there are the homes that APPEAR to have NOTHING wrong. On the surface everything looks perfect.
The reality? Every one of these types of homes may have something MAJOR wrong with them that wouldn't … (4 comments)
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home buying: Wants Vs. Needs
- 02/02/19 04:42 PM
I've always had a bit of a soft spot for timepieces.
By nature I'm a punctual person. Even before my Navy days, but definitely reinforced with phrases such as "Time, tide and formation wait for no man" and "If you're on time, you're LATE!".
Now I know that essentially all watches are the same when it comes to the essential question of function: "What time is it?".
It's the presentation that makes the difference between a watch that appeals to me and one that doesn't. I'm not much of a frills kind of guy. Any given day you'll find me in khaki trousers … (5 comments)
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home buying: Should I Pay Full Price?
- 01/27/19 04:41 PM
We've found a house you like, maybe even LOVE.
Enough that you want to buy it.
And one of the key questions is "What should I offer?".
"Do I need to pay FULL price?"
"Less?"
"More?"
To help make that decision we've got facts:
Pricing for similar homes sold Pricing for actively listed homes Typical time to sell and how long this home has been on the market And we probably have some clues about activity too. How many agent business cards left on the counter? Other buyers coming and going at the same time as our showing(s)? And another fact to consider, do … (7 comments)
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home buying: Pros And Cons. Which Condo Is Right For You?
- 01/16/19 08:22 PM
You want to buy a Cincinnati condo.
There are a good number of them that fit your general criteria: price, 2 bedrooms, 2 car garage, and the right location.
How do you decide which one to buy?
It's time to weigh the pros and cons to help determine the condo that best fits your needs and plans.
For me as your agent, one of the key things I compare is the resale ability. While you may not plan to move for a LONG time, life changes and you may suddenly find yourself wanting to sell unexpectedly. Wouldn't it be good if you owned a condo … (2 comments)
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home buying: Throw Out The Stats If You Want That Home!
- 01/10/19 03:37 PM
Some pockets of our market are a bit irrational right now. Under normal circumstances you can look at recent sales, figure out trends and determine a value that a home shouldn't sell above. Exceed that dollar amount at your own risk.
But what happens when the past sold information stats don't seem to have any bearing on what's happening in the market today?
What happens when the scarcity of homes for sale causes buyers to ignore past prices?
And that's exactly what I'm seeing happening in some communities thanks to low inventory, particularly for affordable Mason condos.
Supply and demand at work as sellers and … (4 comments)
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home buying: Don't Wait For An Open House
- 11/10/18 12:59 PM
If you're looking to buy a new Cincinnati home, you're probably watching for new opportunities. Inventory is a bit low, and we're in our annual slow down period as the temperatures get colder and colder.
However, if you see a new home opportunity and decide to wait for an open house, you're gambling big time.
For instance, Mason Ohio condos are under contract in an average of 6 days, and 1/2 of those are actually under contract in 3 days or less. MOST of those condos will never have an open house either because the listing agent doesn't hold the home open, or … (4 comments)
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home buying: Buying A Home In The Dark
- 11/07/18 07:41 PM
The condo went live in MLS at 4 p.m.
By 5 p.m. my autosearch had alerted me that I had what looked to be a perfect match for one of my buyers.
By 6 p.m. I'd chatted with my buyer and arranged to meet him at 7 to be one of the first (if not THE first?) buyer to get a look a this condo.
Only one little wrinkle. Thanks to the time of year and Daylight Savings Time, it was pretty much dark by 5:30.
Darkness makes buying a home a bit more difficult. Other than the pictures in MLS, it's tough to visualize … (4 comments)
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home buying: Don't Let Appearances Fool You!
- 09/19/18 08:16 PM
From the outside it might not look like much. A bit plain, but functional. In a convenient location so that's good. You' wouldn't expect much from the outside appearance, but there's a treat inside. They've done something nice with this ex-Wendy's restaurant! Well, it's not a home, but Mason's Tenji restaurant. It's one of our go to restaurants for take out. A nice mix of Chinese, Japanese, Thai and a good selection of sushi and it's convenient with its location just off of I-71 and across from Kings Island.
And there's some parallel with this restaurant and home buying. Buyers often say … (4 comments)
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home buying: 12.7% Off Asking! What A Great Negotiator I Am!
- 09/12/18 05:16 PM
If you know me, you KNOW there's something wrong with that title! While I may somewhat quietly assert that I know more overall about Cincinnati patio homes than any other agent in Greater Cincinnati because I can back it up with any Google search on the topic, I'm not in the business of bragging.
So that statement about being a great negotiator because I got my buyer 12.7% off of asking price?
Am I just be sarcastic?
There MUST be more to the story, right?
And there is.
As an engineer I know if you want to bend numbers, you can tell pretty much … (2 comments)
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home buying: What It Is And What It Could Be
- 08/20/18 08:19 PM
Nerd joke alert:
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There are two types of people in this world. Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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Well that joke reminds me that there are two types of home buyers too. Some home buyers can extrapolate from incomplete data, and there's everyone else.
Now many buyers would prefer a home be totally move in ready. They're working with What It Is homes only. Everything done, no need to ever change anything beyond some cosmetics. And for them, the housing market can get pretty limited. Finding that perfect home in perfect condition at a perfect price? That can be a pretty small piece … (3 comments)
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home buying: Keep Calm, We Got This!
- 08/03/18 08:01 PM
Buying and selling a home has its moments when there's the potential for everything to go thermonuclear.
A misunderstanding about what is or should be.
A perception issue due to a miscommunication.
A big defect with the home found during inspections.
If not handled carefully, BOOM goes the deal. And the shame of it is that in MOST cases it didn't need to go sideways if the right parties just kept their cool.
This is when a good agent earns their paycheck and a not so good agent throws gasoline on a freshly lit match.
We've had deals that could have easily blown … (2 comments)
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home buying: We Bumped Them Off!
- 07/25/18 07:23 PM
In a competitive real estate market where multiple offers are common on the best houses, a buyer has to do what a buyer has to do to win a house.
Sometimes that means bumping off another buyer!!
Hey, you do what you gotta do, you know???
Now before you think the worst, there wasn't anything violent going on here.
The home in Mason's Squire's Gate was listed as "Active" in Cincinnati MLS when we went to visit. It was one of several we saw that afternoon, and when we finished discussing the homes and the pros and cons of each one, it was the home … (5 comments)
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home buying: In Search Of The Perfect Home
- 07/23/18 08:04 PM
If you're a real estate agent you'd better like challenges!
Buyers have sets of Must Haves and Want To Haves in the search for the perfect home.
And sometimes that perfect home doesn't exist. Okay, it DOES exist, but not at a price they're willing to pay!
Some buyers lists are on point with market conditions, and their demands are minimal. For them, there are quite a few perfect houses and that makes my job easier.
Other times, the buyer's lists are pretty restrictive.
"Bill, I'd like a patio home, new construction, with a view of a lake or woods, and under $250,000."
I can get the … (1 comments)
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home buying: The Eyes And Ears Of Our Out Of Town Buyers
- 03/22/18 07:16 PM
Technology has made a HUGE difference in how much I can do for our buyers. Some years back I bought a tablet, and thanks to video streaming, it's possible to have a live walk-through for clients that are hundreds, even thousands of miles away.
While it's not quite the same as being there, it's pretty close. If we just had smell-o-vision we'd be all set wouldn't we?
It's becoming more and more common for me to work with buyers that I've never physically met. We talk, text, email, live stream, but we may never meet in person until they're new home owners of a … (5 comments)
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home buying: Football And Real Estate Aren't That Different
- 10/21/17 04:41 PM
I just watched my favorite football team lose. It's not that they couldn't have won, they very well could have. Fact is they have a good tradition of winning, especially on their home field, but today was a different story.
It all came down to making more mistakes and missed opportunities than the other team. A fumble here, a picked off pass, a foot short on a fourth down try, a penalty at the wrong time, it all added up to a big "L".
And the common ground with real estate? The difference between achieving your real estate dreams and missing out comes … (2 comments)
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home buying: Price Per Square Foot Isn't All There Is To Home Pricing
- 10/20/17 07:02 PM
It's not uncommon for home buyers to focus on price per square foot when home shopping. It's an easy thing to figure out. Seller wants X dollars, home has Y square feet of living space...and a simple calculation and you've got $$/ft2. Pretty simple right?
And then you can use that number to compare House A to House B, right? Well maybe yes, maybe no.
If House A and House B are on the same street, built by the same builder, have similar features, size, lots, etc., then you MAY have an apples to apples situation and it would be fair to compare … (0 comments)
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home buying: Change The Criteria, Change The Results
- 09/18/17 05:21 PM
In our mail today was Money magazine's annual Best Places To Live list and for the first time in awhile Warren County didn't have a Top 50 city. Mason Ohio has typically been in the top 25 when the criteria aligned with what Mason offers. But this year, it looks like the criteria shifted a bit. For instance in a previous ranking, it was smaller towns/cities with a max population of 50k, well above Mason' official population. This year's edition was up to 100,000 for population and guess what? 30 of the top 50 had populations greater than 50,000. Frankly, there … (13 comments)
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home buying: An Evening In Paris
- 08/25/17 06:28 PM
Anyone local knows the picture to the right isn't that famous tower in France. It's actually at a local amusement park called Kings Island, it's big, but it's only 1/3 scale of the real thing.
An impressive imitation, but still, just an imitation.
And of course amusement parks aren't the only places to find imitation. It's pretty prevalent in real estate too.
Homes are often filled with imitation products. Engineered to look like the real thing, and perhaps functionally just as good, or at least they are for their designed life. Frankly some of the imitations are REALLY, REALLY hard to tell from what … (3 comments)
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home buying: You're NOT The Listing Agent??!
- 08/20/17 05:23 PM
"I was just looking on your website and I have some questions about 123 Chantilly".
We regularly get calls that start in a similar manner. And we'll fire up the MLS so can quickly gather more information and answer questions. It's part of our role when we're helping buyers, assuming the caller doesn't already have an agent (we ask!).
Now for some callers, they're just looking for help and are happy to have a professional agent's assistance.
Other callers, they're looking for the listing agent and ONLY the listing agent. Either they already have an agent or they've fallen victim to the myth that … (5 comments)
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home buying: Two Critical Questions Your Buyer's Agent Should Ask You
- 07/29/17 06:21 PM
You're searching Cincinnati homes for sale on our website and you find a home you want to see. It looks PERFECT! You're eager to find out if the in person experience matches up with the great impression on line. So you fill out the form on our website requesting a showing or give us a call.
Now if you expect I'll just reach back quickly to set up the showing, you're partially right. I will contact you as quickly as I can (unless it's late evening). But my initial response is going to involve two questions.
Those two questions set the foundation for … (4 comments)
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