In Ohio most sellers must fill out a “Residential Property Disclosure Form” when selling their house or condo.

Legally the form requires owners to disclose “material matters” which have occurred within the last 5 years (or before -if they haven’t been fixed) and most sellers are diligent about providing detailed information.  However some sellers seem to have “selective amnesia” and omit or minimize problems-perhaps hoping the buyer’s inspection misses the issue(s).  Unfortunately non disclosure of ongoing problems, like leaky basements, leaking roofs, cracked chimneys, are usually discovered and the potential buyer exits the deal without giving sellers a chance make repairs.

In short, sellers need to follow the “Golden Rule” and disclose.  And with the current market tipped in favor of buyers-sellers may want to consider disclosing major items, that may be older than 5 years and may potentially scare buyers away.  In my experience most buyers who have detailed information about problems listed usually don’t panic when the home inspector points out a…repair on foundation wall, burn marks on wood where seller had disclosed an old fire in the kitchen and so on.

Which brings us to question why don’t sellers tell all?

To be honest, some people fix and forget problems- they don’t disclose because they just don’t remember.  Others count the days and minutes and if the defect was exactly 5 years and 1 minute ago- so legally they don’t have to disclose.  Finally the ones that end up with most of the problems decide to not disclose problems and then wonder why buyers walk away after bad inspections.

Today’s real estate contracts do not require the buyer to provide a copy of the home inspection report before asking for a release from the purchase contract -so sellers can remain in the dark about issues with their property.  One way to get ahead of inspection/disclosure issues is for sellers to order and pay for a “pre-listing” inspection.  Many more sellers are opting into having an inspection, then deciding on what to fix and providing a copy of the inspection report, property disclosure and receipts for the fixed items to potential buyers.

Reports on “pre-inspected” properties may provide some peace of mind to potential buyers.

Finally with rainy weather and iffy soil conditions around greater Cincinnati wet basements can happen.  Nothing is more interesting than when the new home owner is talking to a neighbor about problems with a wet basement and finding out the former owner had the same problem-but never disclosed the information.  So even if you fooled the home inspector, sellers never know what well informed neighbors will say-so play it safe and tell the truth when filling out the “Residential Property Disclosure Form”.

Cincinnati Public Schools is making some changes to which Cincinnati school kids will be attending in the fall of 2012. If you’re not sure if your street has been impacted click here to access the page below.

The District has provided a very easy way to find out the details of about the changes.

Picture a buyer flying over greater Cincinnati looking for a home or condo to buy and what do they see?

Lots of options with 10360 single family homes and 1835 condos for sale can potential buyers find your property at all?  The big picture in greater Cincinnati real estate is lots of inventory for sale and buyers don’t bother looking at overpriced merchandise.  How can you tell if you’re listing is overpriced?  Lots of showings, tons of internet traffic and no purchase offers.

In order to capture buyer attention and get them to focus on your listing- you need to be competitively priced and move in ready.  Compare your pricing strategy with other properties in your area.  According to the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati- current information for the following zip codes-

Sellers wanting to capture the next buyer need to stay in tune with the ever changing real estate market.  If you didn’t see numbers for your area of have questions about stats for last week call or email me for help.

If you live in Hamilton or Clermont Counties the dollar sales volume for condos is ahead of 2011…. the other 2 counties are lower.  Like all of the local Cincinnati real estate market, condos sales have some bright spots and lots areas with slower/lower sales.  Complexes which experienced fewer problems with short sales and foreclosures and have maintained FHA financing certification are surviving the slowdown.  If your complex has lots of foreclosure/short sale activity- you will most likely experience problems until the “distressed inventory” is sold.

One bright spot in the condo market (unlike single family home sales) is sale prices in Butler and Hamilton Counties are higher than they were in 2012.  This is especially good news because both counties have a lot of complexes feeling the effects of lender requirements for occupancy.

The prospect of tons of foreclosed homes and condos hitting the market in the next few years (Shadow Inventory) and uncertain economic times are impacting condo sales in the greater Cincinnati area.  If you’re buying or selling and want up to date information – just call.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, grandmothers and everybody else who cheer us on and provides loving support throughout our lives!

Thanks MOM.

Spring and summer activities are kicking off this month starting Saturday as the West Chester Farmers & Art Market opens for business at 9am right in front of our office -on West Chester Towne Centre Drive.   Local artists will join the market every other Saturday- adding some extra fun things do while shopping for various food groups.

In addition to Findlay Market (open all year) Farmers Markets are popular throughout the area -so if you can’t visit this one click here to find one near you.

Enjoy the weekend!

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

Cincinnati real estate sales volume for single family homes in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton are higher than last year, however the  Warren County dollar volume is lagging behind 2011.  So when you read reports that home sales are improving …the story is partly accurate but also somewhat misleading.

Higher sales volume doesn’t always convert to higher prices and a look at the chart below reflects the lower sale prices.

The market will continue to adjust to the very slow decrease in home inventory and renters sticker shock as landlords begin to take advantage of higher than  average vacancy rates in many complexes.  The one big unknown is the impact of the next wave of foreclosures and the daily struggle with short sales.  Lenders are promising to speed up their internal processes in order to expedite sales of distressed sales….but we’ve heard that claim before!

Stay tuned for the sales results for the condo market in greater Cincinnati.  Let me know if you have any comments or questions.

Turmoil in the world wide stock markets may, or may not, impact the local Cincinnati real estate market. Right now compared to last week’s numbers, greater Cincinnati’s real estate activity and pricing remains stable.  Across our area we continue to see a burst in buyer activity (not necessarily converting to contracts) but the more people shopping will eventually have a positive outcome.  Just ask some buyers who waited and ended up in a battling bid for their dream home.

The median prices for random zip codes are below:

If you’re not sure about pricing or have questions about the local housing market- give me a call today.

Recently I had the opportunity to sneak a peek inside the new Jungle Jim’s which will open in Eastgate later this year.

All I can say is WOW!