Whether you reside in Cincinnati, West Chester, Fairfield, Liberty Township, Fairfield Township or Mason, Ohio you have either experienced mortgage problems or read/heard about them in the media.  Finger pointing, consumer frustration and drooping real estate markets have focused on the myriad of issues causing the mess.

What caused the Mortgage Mess? 

To understand how we got to this point take a few moments and listen to Dan Green. Green is the author of TheMortgageReports.com and he has prepared a great video on “Why It Matters When Mortgage Guidelines Change”.  Once you understand how we got to this point, it may be easier to see why so many people were caught in the net.

Unfortunately because the problem is national the government is charging in on a “white horse” to save as many institutions and borrowers as possible.  On Friday the Wall Street Journal covered how “FHA May Aid Those ‘Underwater’ on Loans“. 

The Fed’s involvement is like a red flag in the bull ring and today’s article in today’s Cincinnati Enquirer details the clash with this year’s political campaigns each coming out with their proposals to fix the mortgage mess.

This problem is affecting homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth, sellers having to sell for less and the average home owner who also pays taxes.

For  this blog I remain neutral on all the proposals and programs currently under discussion.  However as a taxpayer I have to wonder how far my tax dollars will spread to bail out every company that made high risk investments, reaped high profits and are now want the government to subsidize poor business practices.

What do you think about the mortgage bailout?  How would you “fix” the current problems? 

Leave a comment below or send an email.

Having a problem with your mortgage- stay tuned for a blog on how to work with your lender.

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Many of you have called or emailed asking how to access the local auditor’s web sites in order to check on your property.  The sites are listed below by county:

• Butler
• Brown
• Clermont                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
• Hamilton
• Warren

All of the sites are very easy to use.  If I missed listing your county or you need help finding your property- call me 513-300-4090 or send an email.

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According to the greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service in the past 14 days there are:

• 62 new listings  in the Fairfield School District (Fairfield and Fairfield Township)
• 112 new listings in the Lakota School District  (Beckett Ridge, East West Chester and West West Chester)
• 65 new listings in the Mason School District (Mason)

If you are the proud owner of one of the 239 properties did your house soar onto the market or are you still waiting for something to happen?

In today’s very competitve real estate market- premarketing a property is more important than ever before!  What do I mean by premarketing?  Think of some product you heard or read about that piqued your interest -but the actual item was not on store shelves just yet.  Did you cut out the article or make a note to remind yourself to check for the item in the future? 

Most homes hit the market with a sign in the yard on day one and in the multiple listing service on day one or day two.  No buzz, no excitement and no anticipation.  Nice photos, maybe a virtual tour (in my book a waste of money and bandwidth) and marketing sheets placed in the house.  A  week or so later, a “Just Listed” postcard hits the neighbor’s mail boxes.  The Open House is held the first or second Sunday after it goes on the market.  Sound familiar?

Premarketing starts in advance of the “For Sale” sign and Multiple Listing Service (MLS) but after you sign the listing contract.  It is a little known fact that in the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati, a seller is allowed to request the property be held out of the MLS until a specific date.  For example, sign the listing contract on 3/26/08 and at the bottom of the contract the agent inserts a line “seller does not want property posted in MLS until 4/10/08.  The seller needs to date and intial the change on the contract.

Now the fun begins. 

• Since it is listed, your agent ( or if you are a FSBO follow the same timelines) photographs the property inside and out and prepares great marketing materials. (1-7 days depending on complexity of materials and where the printing is done) .
• Schedule an Open House advertisement in the Enquirer for the 4/13 - first Sunday.
• Utilize reverse prospecting tool in MLS (sorry FSBO’s) to find agents with clients looking in the area.  Contact them, send marketing material  and invite them to send their clients to the Sunday Open House.
• Use your neighborhood phone book or church guide to invite neighbors and friends to  a private “preview” open house on Saturday 4/12.  Even if 3 neighbors actually show up- the buzz has been created because they will tell other people.
• Put the yard sign and Open House sign out on 4/10- but  remember no showings until the Sunday Open House.  Nothing like a few people looking at your home at the same time to encourage timid buyers into action.
• The Thursday or Friday before the Open House, call up and down a few streets of an area where potential buyers currently live and personally invite them to visit on Sunday.
• The Tuesday after it is listed in MLS, host a Realtor Open House for any agents who may have interest in looking at your property without their clients.

Please note, all the marketing/advertising “buzz” in the world cannot sell a property in poor condition that is overpriced- so make sure your “product” is market worthy.

Is your property “soaring” or just “sitting” on the market- share your stories.

Need help with real estate?  Call 513-300-4090 or email.

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NAR (National Association Of Realtors) just released existing home sale numbers and for the first time in 7 months the number climbed 2.9%  Sales for the year were down 24% from February 2007.

Nationally the median home price was $195,000 in February down 8.2% from 213,500 in February 2007.  Read the entire report here. 

You have to remember our local market, while in a slight slump, never experienced the wild appreciation of and now the huge losses of many housing markets.  In order to figure out the loss (or gain) for your particular area and/neighborhood you need to run a complete Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) for resales and new construction and then make an informed decision about your property.  For more details on local market click here.

Stay tuned- new home sales figures will be released on Wednesday, March 26th.

If you have some thoughts about the local housing market in general- please share it by leaving a comment below.

Need help gathering the data for a CMA call 513-300-4090 or send an email.

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The weather forecasters are claiming that 3-6 inches of rain dumped on us since yesterday. 

And as the miserable rain continues many area home owners have discovered their sump pump is dead in the water (pardon the pun).

Now is not the time to lecture about home maintenance items…..but if you have a wet basement/lower level there is a good chance your gutters and downspouts are clogged and/or the sump pump failed.  Many years ago our sump failed and on the day my daughter graduated from high school we spent hours moving “stuff” up from our basement.  Lesson learned = the sump is now checked every 3-4 months to ensure it is still functioning.  Many of our neighbors have gone one step further and installed battery backup for their pumps.

Checking the sump is as simple as taking the lid for cover off and dumping a bucket of water into the hole.  The water should trigger the pump to run.  If the pump doesn’t work, check the electrical connection (carefully) and try adding water again.

Still not operating?  You have 2 choices, replace it yourself or call somebody and have it replaced.  Do not delay getting a replacement.   You may not be experiencing a problem this very moment but as the hydrostatic water pressure builds the water will eventually work its way into your basement.

Basically there are two ways to check your sump pump:
    1.   Proactively
    2.   Reactively

The voice of experience recommends number 1 to all home owners.

Need help with real estate-be proactive and call 513-300-4090 or send an email.

More articles on sump pumps:

Pump Types

Buying and Maintaining

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