For Buyers
Add This To Your Home Buying Checklist
May 10th, 2012 categories: For Buyers
Home buyers around greater Cincinnati are fairly predictable. Buyer requirements are focused on price, # bedrooms and bathrooms, school district (maybe), neighborhoods, age and of course- amenities.
HGTV has emphasized the importance of granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances-but maybe they should remind potential buyers to look at some other details as well.
Recently I’ve had some fun showing “already rehabbed” homes located mid-city around I-71. The workmanship has been surprising and, for the most part, prices have been competitive. For my buyers, it’s important that whatever they buy is “move-in” condition. But they’ve done their homework and had lots of questions about zoning, fence heights, crime stats and demographics. It’s my job to help them locate the best sources to answer their questions (not me) and let them do the research. In this case information on zoning and fencing was available online- the rest of it will require phone calls.
What is surprising is how few of today’s buyers look beyond the boundaries of the backyard to ensure the surrounding neighborhood will support your dream lifestyle. Think about adding a few things to your real estate checklist:
- Zoning- what can and what can’t you do once you move in (or can your neighbor build a 20 foot storage barn for you to stare at every day)? Are above ground or in-ground pools allowed, backyard gyms, broken cars and trailers parked on grass or parked outside at all, basketball hoops, type and height of fences and more. Just because the neighbor has an above ground pool- doesn’t guarantee you permission to do the same. Also many areas have covenants which may be slightly more restrictive than zoning codes….and many area have little or no way to enforce covenants….until somebody decides they don’t like your new fence and files a lawsuit. Some neighborhoods allow only wood/brick on the exteriors which may mean continued upkeep and expense for you. Finally don’t assume zoning is for single family homes only-over the years many of us have discovered unique zoning codes in our neighborhoods.
- Crime Statistics- call the local police/sheriff department to verify the facts for yourself.
- Neighborhood Planning- what’s on the books or in the plans for the future? Are there plans for commercial, residential or light industrial on the books and is it close enough to have a direct impact. Find out if the field at the end of the block could become home to condos, apartments or a UDF store.
It’s best for buyers to do their own research and get direct answers to all their questions without information being interpreted or misinterpreted by anybody else.
Today’s home and condo buyers have a lot to handle when it comes to inspections, radon, mortgages, title insurance and home owner’s insurance-but don’t forget to take a few extra moments to verify neighborhood information too!
Related Article: US News Money
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Is There Affordable Housing Available in Greater Cincinnati?
May 2nd, 2012 categories: For Buyers
Lot’s of today’s potential home buyers aren’t shopping for real estate because they don’t realize how much affordable housing is available for sale.
Looking to buy a home or condo priced from $75,000- $100,000 within the four county area and you have 967 homes and 355 condos available for sale. The majority of the homes for sale have 3 bedrooms and 2 bedroom condos are the most popular. Two great examples are: the home in the picture (#1300821) is located in Springfield Township listed for $78,000 and the condo (#1297444) located in Green Township listed for $98,500. Remember if haven’t spoken to a lender yet and you’re looking shopping for condos be sure to factor in the monthly association fees as part of your payment. For lots of people buying a condo makes great sense because they don’t want to deal with cutting the lawn or exterior painting- so the monthly fees are worth it to them.
There’s also a lot of confusion about down payment requirements which is also adding buyer wariness. Unlike the “golden days” when virtually no investment was required- the majority of today’s mortgages are obtained through FHA. The great news about FHA is that unlike many other lenders with high down payment requirements- FHA buyers only need 3.5%. And FHA Mortgages can lend (in our area) up to $337,500- which is attracting many buyers attention. Also many area banks are offering special financing programs to qualified buyers-be sure to check if one is available for your professional group or Ohio Housing Finance Agency to name a few.
Down payments, closing costs, inspections, homeowners insurance and title insurance costs all come into the picture when buying a property- but the down payment seems to be the big ticket item deterring many real estate buyers. Lot’s of affordable housing is up for sale (start search) but if you are having a problem and need help- just call me.
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My Home the Money Pit!
April 23rd, 2012 categories: For Buyers
Sometimes owning a home can be a lot like owning a car.
You take care of routine maintenance, keep it clean and maybe even update the interiors and/or exteriors and everything is humming along….then all hell breaks loose. And in the past week our “maintained and updated” home decided to throw us a curve ball and by springing a leak in the main water line. Thankfully our downhill neighbor noticed continued wet and squishy grass and decided to share his discovery with us last week. After a few minutes of walking around the front yard a small subterranean pond was found and calls for help were made to Fairfield at 4:50 pm. Much to my surprise a human answered and promised to have somebody out to investigate that evening. Within an hour a very helpful gentleman arrived and pin pointed the leak and reassured us that we would not have water spraying up in the air or lose access to water in the house. And, as the inspector stamped around the front yard spraying blue paint to mark the path of the current water line, he told us that while we could patch the leak- chances were very good that another leak would appear somewhere else within 6 months- so might as well replace the whole line.
Welcome to home ownership!
Just to be clear in our neighborhood, the water line from the street to the house is the home owner’s responsibility. And while running a new line any repair or replacement of any damage to our much coveted sidewalks is also our responsibility. The plumber arrived the next day to scope out the job and provide us with an estimate. Since the original line was copper this job required a different route for the new line. Of course part of the replacement required removing one block of sidewalk concrete which required another estimate from the concrete guy. If we’d been lucky and had a “blue max piping” problem, sometimes plumbers can run the new line through the old one -saving digging and trenching costs…but no such luck.
Short story long, on Tuesday my private lake was drained when the new waterline was installed. Because we live on top of a very rocky area the efforts to burrow the line without digging up the front lawn were futile- but thanks to a diligent excavating contractor- the damage is minimal. My injured sidewalk is clearly marked as a hazard for the neighborhood walkers and cement contractor will pour a new block as soon as his schedule allows.
All-in-all we have/will spend a good chunk of change to “fix” the problem. The good news is no interior water damage to us or our downhill neighbor and better news is that we had a slush fund for this type of emergency. Bad news is that many of today’s homeowners don’t have any funds to take care of the unexpected.
Home ownership is the “American Dream” but without planning and saving it can become the “American Nightmare”.
If you had purchased my home (no it’s not for sale…yet) and closed in March- the waterline would have been your expense. We haven’t had any past problems and the neighborhood hasn’t experienced a rash of water line leaks so there was no reason to anticipate a leak. Today’s buyer, within the greater Cincinnati real estate market, typically puts 3.5% down, often requests the sellers to pay a 5 of the closing costs and leave the closing with little, if any, cash reserves for a rainy day. Some people are very lucky and have plumbers, concrete contractors, electricians and other helpful types as family members or close friends. But in my experience most buyers have to pick up the phone, call and pay somebody to make the repairs.
Buyers need to use common sense when making a decision to purchase- even though you may be “qualified” for a certain loan amount- are you over committing and underestimating the cost of home ownership? Home Warranties are a good hedge against the cost of repairing/replacing major appliances and systems-but they don’t cover the goofy expensive things that pop up unexpectedly. As a Realtor(c) it’s my job to help you navigate your way through the buying or selling process….but as a home owner and a mom I admit that some of the buyer’s lack of reserves scares me.
Call if you need help with finding the “right” home or condo for your needs.
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Super-Sized Open House Weekend in Greater Cincinnati
April 20th, 2012 categories: For Buyers
Nest For Less April 2012-from cincymls.com
Looking for a property in greater Cincinnati to buy now!
There’s a good chance of finding one this weekend during the “Nest for Less” Open House weekend with 1300+ properties ready for buyers.
Start your home Search* now and good luck.
*I’ve started with some zip codes- feel free to add or change to meet your needs.
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Are You Comfortable About Owning Real Estate?
April 11th, 2012 categories: For Buyers
Go figure- while all the media outlets bash home ownership and the real estate market the latest quarterly National Housing Survey (covers 4th qtr 2011) from FannieMae. The survey covers a variety of questions about today’s housing market and sometimes the findings are quite interesting. For example even though the housing market appears to be sinking- 84% or the respondents believe that owning a home makes more sense than renting.
80%+ of the general population believes that owning a home makes more sense than renting.
Other findings:
- A majority of Americans across all demographic groups believe in the advantages of owning
- Nearly two-thirds of current renters say that they will buy in the future
- Non-financial factors are the top reasons given for buying a home across income groups
- Hispanics and African-Americans see buying a home as a way to build up wealth and cite various benefits, such as home ownership as a symbol of success and civic benefits
However the survey found that while people want to own a home there are obstacles to overcome:
- While a slight majority agree that home ownership has high investment potential, the percentage who feel it is a “safe” investment has declined over the past several years
- Certain groups (renters, lower levels of education, lower income, African-Americans, and Hispanics) cite potential difficulties in getting a mortgage
- Specifically, those renting today are most likely to cite poor credit, complexity of process, and bad economic times as major reasons not to buy a home
- Hispanics and lower-income Americans are not confident that they are getting adequate information to select a loan
The big picture-while there are lots of positive points coming from this survey we need to focus not only encouraging current home owners to move up or resize- we also have to work with lenders to help non-owners the opportunity to own a home in the future.
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