I tried to schedule a showing on a property for Thursday evening. The home is listed by a listing service. In Ohio with proper disclosure signed and documented a brokerage can list a home on the MLS and offer absolutely no service to their "client".  The showing instructions said to call the seller directly at a given phone number. The number was picked up by an answering machine that had reached its limit so no message could be given. I called the brokerage and let them know my dilemma. They in turn called the seller and in return gave me the message that the seller was out of town. The seller also did not rent a lock-box from the brokerage so they have to go unlock the home. The brokerage also told me that the seller will be back in town on Saturday and we can arrange showings for t... 07/26/2007

                                                      For those of you that read my June 20 entry entitled "Why Stage A Vacant?"  I can now answer the hypothetical question I had posed...The reason to stage a vacant is that a staged vacant sells and in this case                                                                                     IT SOLD IN 2 WEEKS!Thre are many reasons that it is essential to stage a vacant but I am convinced that there are 2 reasons that stand out above the rest:Effective staged photos get showings while it is next to impossible to grab the attention of a prospective buyer with 4 empty walls.If you want the buyer to fall in love you must have attractive furnishings that compel the buyer to "feel" the advantages of the home...it's tough to do that when e... 07/08/2007

  I received a call from a potential seller that had found me on .   They wanted to sell the home that they purchased in June of 2006. At that time they paid 170,400 with the sellers contributing to their closing costs. They purchased the home using 100% financing. No they were not having trouble making the payments but had the chance to move to a subsidised housing area with their employer.   Doing the seller net sheet and trying to work in the prepayment penalties I came up with a number that was to high for the area and type of home. I told them that the only way I could see their home selling was if they were willing to bring money to close which they were not willing to do.  The home is now on the market at 189,900 a price to high to make sense in the area and in this market when w... 07/02/2007

Summer is a wonderful time to maximize the Curb Appeal of your house. We know all the standard Curb Appeal Do's such as water the lawn, trim the bushes, power wash, etc.... I see alot of houses on the market that have followed all the tips and their homes look, how shall I say..."very well groomed " That's a great thing...its better than weeds in the landscaping and a dirty front door, however sometimes it just looks standardized. Yard is green and mowed (check!), bushes trimmed (check!), 2 flower pots on either side of the front door (check!), and new mat (check!...double check!)....you get the idea here.    The Curb Appeal can be "neat" but sometimes lack personality.  Summertime gives you that opportunity to create Curb Appeal that will have potential Buyers hearts pounding as soon a... 07/01/2007

  I just pulled the 24 hour market watch for my area. I think that the numbers say it better than anything that I could come up with.   Just a thought though how do we explain to 572 home sellers that the market is getting better when we can only prove it to 14?   24-Hour Market WatchNew Listings43  Back on Market4  Price Increases2  Price Reductions23  Pendings8  Solds14  Expireds572  Inactives7   06/30/2007

  Three months ago I met a very nice couple. Their desire was to sell the home that they had bought nine months earlier. They could easily meet their payments but wanted to live in another area.  I only ran into a few problems doing our analysis with meeting their needs. They wanted to sell without having to bring money to close.They had bought the home with no money down.The improvements that they did were not improvements-- covering a Slate floor with Pergo.They had a one car garage. The standard for the area is a two car.  When I ran a comp report on the property I came up with a lower range pricing than would meet their needs.  Projected Values Calculated by: Assessed valueSq Footage$148,120.00  $153,962.62     I told them we could put the home on the market and always have it showi... 06/05/2007

Giving starts the receiving process. (Richard Robbins) If you have a gift and don't give it away, you don't get to keep it. (Marianne Williamson) Givers gain. (Business Network International) I could go on about giving. And probably will later. I spend a lot of my time working with For Sale By Owners. I don't try to hard sell them on listing with me. Now understand, I won't complain if they want to! But I know when I have a house to sell, the idea of paying a 6% commission hurts. I've tried to sell homes on my own too! *before I became a Realtor* I've developed a lot of ideas and resources to help people sell on their own. I visit with a good number of FSBOs, and always share ideas with them. I've developed a drip email campaign with ideas. I even recently started a relationship with "T... 06/01/2007

Every day people ask me about the state of the market. Well, kids, all the stats say there are a LOT of homes for sale out there. That typically extends the time to sale, and depresses prices. Buyers are more picky today than when there were fewer homes to choose from. So if you're selling, it's important to pay attention to the details in order not to have your home passed by, over and over. Here's a few ideas on how to get your home sold. Kick up the "WOW" factor outside. It starts with the view from the curb. What can you do to make people say "WOW!" when they drive past your home? (Hint: then they'll want to see the inside!) It goes beyond trimming the grass and shrubs, I'm talking dressing up the home - just like you'd dress up when you go to your 20th high school reunion! You don'... 06/01/2007

The Cincinnati Enquirer did a front-page "slash and burn" job a few weeks ago about the state of the Cincinnati real estate market. It felt really wrong to me, since the production boards at my office are loaded with recent activity, and my business is booming. So I decided to take a look at the statistics published by the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, and share some of those here. (Note: these are extracted from the March '07 single family & condo stats). Homes for sale: 15,455. Up 8.4% from March of last year. Closed homes in March: 1,738. Down 13.5% from March of last year. Pending sales in March (contract accepted, waiting to close): 3,533. Down 13% from March of last year. Average price: $177,543 -.29% Average days on market: 88 (up 13.6% from last March). Months of inventory:... 06/01/2007

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been working in the Southwest Ohio area for about a year investigating some of the flipping that has been going on. Some of the people involved are now to the sentancing phase of the trials that have been the outcome of this investigation. Here is a  partial reprint of the Cincinnati Enquirer story about one of the trials.    Title company owner guilty Was party to mortgage fraud BY MIKE BOYERThe owner of a West Chester real estate title company faces up to 30 years in prison after being found guilty Friday by a jury in U.S. District Court of 11 counts of fraud and conspiracy to money launder..  For more information please go the WWW.Cincinnatienquirer.com 05/26/2007

             Before                                                                        After*                                                                                 Wallpaper and older window treatments                          New wall color and attractive furnishings I recently looked up the word neutralize in the dictionary and decided after seeing that the definition is "The loss of a distinctive feature" that I would forever strike that word from my staging vocabulary.   I hadn't given the word a lot of thought prior to 2004 when I and my team of designers began staging homes in Cincinnati.  But I had associated it with the idea of preparing homes for sale.  Now the word frightens me!I recently saw a photo of a home in an article about the tough real estate market.  Th... 04/29/2007

Attention Custom Home Builders in Cincinnati, I am looking for a contact to build a professional relationship with. I specialize in working with buyer clients throughout the tri-state area. Please contact me so that I may be able to introduce you to several of my clients and would love to show them your properties. To contact me please call direct 513-519-3912 or email me at KrisCooper@remax.net Thank You Kris Cooper 04/16/2007

 I have heard a lot of talk about email addresses lately. A lot of people have the opinion that a email not connected to your broker is a good thing. Some of these people are commenting that you can get you own email at your own domain for 50.00 a year. Well here is a less expensive solution. AOL offers a free email account at your selection of domain names. This sounds like a better way to go. We all know how tight marketing money can be and why pay for something if you can get it for free? Make Up Your Own Email Address With AOL® My eAddressAOL is the first and only free email provider that lets you make up your own unique, personalized email address from scratch. Not just the part before the @ -- we're talking about the whole thing -- like you@thenameyouwant.com. By choosing a custom... 04/15/2007

Cincinnati MLS features virtually ALL Greater Cincinnati Ohio MLS (Real Estate listings). The Cincinnati Real Estate database (MLS) also includes Real Estate listings in the Clermont County Ohio MLS (Loveland, Milford, Eastgate, Batavia, Amelia,Pierce Township,New Richmond,Goshen, Union Township, Withamsville), Hamilton County Ohio MLS (Cincinnati, Anderson, Mariemont, Terrace Park, Indian Hill, Hyde Park, Mt Lookout, Blue Ash, Kenwood, Sycamore, Montgomery, Mt. Adams, Sharonville, Deer Park, Walnut Hills), Butler County Ohio MLS (Becket Ridge, Liberty Twp, Monroe, West Chester), Warren County Ohio MLS (Hamilton Twp, Kings Mills, Landen, Lebonan, Maineville, Mason, Wayne Twp) and other surrounding areas and counties.Call me anytime to help, you find your home!   04/10/2007

Everyday I am asked, "How is the market?" I would like to say "Good if you price your home less than your competition!" There are alot of sales happening, but we have a 2 fold situation. first our inventory is more than 10 to 25 % higher than it was last year, and the number of home sales are about 5 to 10 % less than last year. Just like stocks at the right price it will sell!! 03/23/2007

http://prwebpodcast.com/releases/pod488417.htm Welcome to my BLOG!  You can listen to the Pod-cast of a recent interview in which I was asked to provide an update on the current state of staging in the Cincinnati marketplace.  Just click on the link above and a variety of listening options will appear.  For more information about many of our successful Cincinnati Home Staging projects, Please contact: Design To Market LLC                               Jo Potvin                             513-265-0952 Design To Market has been staging homes throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky since 2004.  For more information about this project and our  other Cincinnati home staging services please call us at 513-265-0952 or visit our website at www.designtomarketllc.com . 03/23/2007

While showing a property today, I noticed that there was a sump pump in the corner of the basement that looked to be a part of a waterproofing system.  Since 95% of the basement was finished, it was not possible to know if the waterproofing went all of the way around the foundation.  That's what property disclosure forms are supposed to tell you.I then started looking closer at the unfinished area near the furnace and after moving a some stacked items, I noticed what appeared to be some mold across the bottom section of the back-side of the drywall.  Obviously with the basement being waterproofed, they previously had water in the basement.When looking at properties, make sure you "carefully" check out things whenever possible, so that you can get a better idea of the true condition of t... 03/12/2007

I was recently scanning the loan programs for a client of mine looking for 100% financing. It turns out that 100% financing is the most common form of financing in the US today. After looking into some options for them, this particular “No Money Down Plus” program seemed to be a fit for my clients. Sharon Natarus of Wells Fargo has made some additional comments below on this new product: Here are some thoughts on the 100% NO Money Down Program. Many people have chosen the 80/20 program over the last several years, but there is a nice alternative for people that one to have "one loan and one payment" Our product is the No Money Down Plus. We can offer a fixed rate for 30 years. Many times the payment is lower than 80/20 ( if a customer chooses a fixed product for the 2nd, the rate is hig... 03/11/2007

Does your home have a little piece of Cincinnati history inside? If you live in Cincinnati, chances are good that you or your neighbors’ home just might! Here in Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park and Oakley, almost every other home built in the early 20th century houses a work of art: Rookwood Pottery! You’ve seen it a million times; shopping for a new home, visiting friends, or at a party, a fireplace adorned with beautiful Rookwood tile would likely stand out, and be given attention. This home in Mt. Lookout showcases its fireplace in the Living Room as the center of attention. This warm, neutral color tile is found in many Hyde Park, Oakley, Mt. Lookout and Walnut Hills homes, even areas of Ft. Thomas, Newport and Covington in Kentucky have fireplace and other focal points made by Rookwood Pott... 03/07/2007

The Number 1 Question I have been asked in the last month as a Certified Residential Specialist is: "Is it the right time to buy Real Estate and why?" Usually the very next question is "Where should I invest?" and that second question is for another blog topic! To answer this question, for me, a well seasoned Accredited Buyers Representative, is second nature. Absolutely! In this buyers market, it's the right time to buy. There are several reasons I am confident in my advice. To begin, there are more homes on the market than buyers. It's simple supply and demand. What that means to the buyer is that they have a greater opportunity to find the exact home of their dreams with almost zero compromises to make. Versus a market with much less supply and greater buyer competition, ... 03/07/2007