Yesterday I had the chance to catch up with a dear friend who has been dabbling in antiques for many years.  She is looking for items dated prior to 1970 and wanted to know if I had any sellers with items for sale. 

Short story long, she has a booth at the recently opened Ohio Valley Antique Mall located at Route 4 and Woodbridge.  (The site of the long gone Van Leunen’s store)

I must admit that I am not an antique shopper but decided to stop on my way home and take a peak at booth 271 (my friend’s spot) and was amazed at the size of the place and the amount of merchandise on display.  Unfortunately I did not have time to wander up and down the aisles- but there is enough neat things there to warrant another trip in the near future.

The good news is the revival of a great location just as you enter Fairfield on Route 4. 

 Since Van Leunen’s closed a zillion years ago (it seems that long), Laser Tag has been the major draw to fill the large parking lot.  There was a lot of traffic heading into the Antique Mall at 4pm on a weekday afternoon- good news for Fairfield and the vendors displaying their “stuff”.  As a long time resident of Fairfield (and a realtor) reviving Route 4 is not only good for the local economy- it is critical to maintain good residential real estate values.

Now back to my friend- if you have any pre 1970 goodies (she is really into  steamer trunks) call or send an email and I will let her know.  Or if you are out and about (maybe on your way to Jungle Jims) - stop by the Mall.

 Oh- and don’t forget to slow down and take a long look at booth 271- it will make you smile.

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For decades Fairfield residents heading west on Resor Rd had to turn right or left when the road dead ended at Pleasant Avenue. 

The intersection started to change in May, 2004 when the Welsh Development Company paid $5,025,000 for approximately 27 acres of land and began the transforming the land into the Emerald Lake subdivision.

Along with new homes, we finally got a much needed stop light at the intersection of Resor and Pleasant

Since construction started in 2005, over 50 homeowners have moved into the neighborhood with recorded sales prices ranging from mid $300,000 to over $600,000. 

It looked as if the future in Emerald Lake was in question when, in the fall of 2007, the builder Ryan Homes abruptly pulled out of the Cincinnati market leaving both the home owners and the city concerned about the continued development. 

Fortunately, (probably due to the price range and location) Fischer Homes stepped in and took over the lots….and they hit the ground running - work has already begun on  a model.  The subdivision is handled by Sheri Adkins fielding questions via phone until the model home is completed. 

 Emerald Lake now has two sections -the Platinum Homes with prices starting at $280,000. and the Grand Estates starting at $430,000.

While Fairfield has experienced pockets of new construction, Emerald Lake is the first upscale subdivision to be built close to downtown Fairfield.  I wandered around the area and surprised at the elevation and views from the top of Emerald Lake Drive and Edmorr Way.  I am not sure if it is as high as our streets in Wildwood- but I enjoyed the bird’s eye view of the surrounding area.                                                                                                                        

If you are a long time area resident and are looking to build something new- this may be a good location for you.

Close to downtown Fairfield with quick access to the Community Arts Center, Lane Public Library, Post Office and shopping…maybe the city will consider running a path along Pleasant for the biking/running crowd.  In addition to Fischer, there are 3 new homes for sale -left over from the previous builder and a few resales.

Need more information call or send an email. 

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Press Release

Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors®                                                         

1,123 Homes Sold in January;

Average Price Off Only 2%

The average selling price is 2% off from a year ago. That’s not bad, considering the total sales activity includes a number of foreclosed homes, which often times sell for less than comparable neighborhood home sales.

Sellers who are anxious about getting their properties sold, work with your agent to ensure it is priced to capture an offer from the next buyer shopping in your price range!

For information about your neighborhood call or send an email.

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In today’s slower market, receiving a decent offer on your house is only the first step toward closing!

Before you make repairs, change utilities and order the moving van, make sure your closing doesn’t collapse because of problems with buyers and sellers upstream of your deal.

In the normal real estate deal, the seller and buyer come to terms on price, closing dates, inspections and more.  Typically the buyer has a home to sell and/or close.  Their  contract to purchase your home spells out for a certain number of days to apply for a loan and then a loan commitment date.  When the buyer’s lender notifies their agent that the loan is approved…everybody sighs with relief.  Unfortunately it isn’t quite that easy.

Picture this:

You are selling  “A”.  In order to purchase your home, the buyer is selling  “B”.  The buyer of “B” is selling “C” and so on.  The first two properties have purchase contracts and closing dates scheduled.

As the third house downstream , you (if you are a  FSBO -For Sale By Owner) or your agent need to actually review the upstream purchase contracts to ensure all the dominos are lined up correctly.  

The counter offer is a best time to request a copy of the contract(s) to ensure dates and conditions can be met prior to your buyer closing with you.

The sales usually line up like dominos.   

If the first sale does not fall into place..the rest of deals may be delayed or not happen at all.

As the seller you need to understand that many things affect the closing and while your buyer has done everything correctly, they may not complete their deal with you because one of the upstream sales did not close.

Home sales fall into place like dominos….but only if the first domino falls correctly and the rest of the blocks are lined up correctly.

Take some time at the beginning of the deal to make sure your home sale is lined up for success.If you feel you need help with “proper alignment” call or send an email.

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Two truths you need to know about real estate blogging.

Many of you have sent emails or called to ask “what is blogging?”.  So to describe blogging in it’s simplest term- it is web logging or web journals. 

Blogs are written by individuals or companies on just about every topic of interest.

Blogs are “interactive” - they want you to comment on the content and share your opinions. 

At times I have find more useful information contained in the stream of comments- offering a point/counter point to the topic.

Here are some of my favorite sites:

Indianapolis 
St Louis
St Paul
Columbus
Chattanooga
Clearwater
San Francisco Bay Area

This is just a peek at some of the real estate blogs.  If I am missing your favorite blog-let me know.

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