Sellers

Thinking of Selling your home? This is a great place to start learning about the ins and outs from the Realtor’s perspective, The Buyer’s perspective and The Best In Class Sellers’ point of view.  Most Sellers come to us through referrals or were themselves past clients. The rest have landed here and appreciated our straight talk, ability to be creative with their home sale marketing, and our outstanding web presence.

Sellers should sign up for our Delicious Property Organizer which will keep you abreast of the competition in your area. Create a Custom Search with homes similar to your and know when they hit the market and when they reduce their price.  And, since most Sellers are also buyers, don’t forget to look over on that page too.

Clintonville Real Estate – Market Update in a post-tax-credit era

This 3bed, 2bath, 1853sf home on Brevoort sold for $267,900 last month after 16 days on market.

Homes on the market: 147 Active Clintonville homes for sale.

Averaging 1,662 sf,

• $245,932
• $148/sf and
• 87 days on market.

Currently, there are 77 Clintonville Homes in Contract

–contingent on financing/inspections as of today:67

• Averaging 1520 sf
• $208,869
• $150/sf
• 53 days on market

Clintonville Homes Firmly In Contract passed inspection period as of today: 10

• Averaging 1452 sf
• $197,390
• $138/sf
• 17 days on market

Clintonville Homes Closed in April, 2010: 43

• Averaging 1510 sf
• $215,527 avg List but a $208,338 Sale price or 97%
• $149/sf
• 47 days on market

Clintonville Homes Closed first quarter 2010 (Jan-March 31): 61

• Averaging 1453 sf
• $205,218 avg List but a $197,820 Sale price or 96%
• $146/sf
• 81 days on market

Clintonville Homes in contract with escape clauses: none

Clintonville saw a busier than normal Winter market, thanks to the tax credits and remains a solid Columbus housing market neighborhood.  While Clintonville almost always does well year round, the expiring tax credit has more homes currently in contract than sold the first three months of the year. While I continue to believe that for many first time home buyers Clintonville prices are too much of a reach, the homes keep moving from the shelves and it’s certainly not all move-up buyers.

One reason Clintonville did do well during the tax credit era was that 1st time buyers are now saving up more money than the mid 2000’s and can afford more house because of it. Also, the $6500 tax credit to sellers helped encourage sellers, especially on the fringes, to move up-albeit slightly-from their smaller Clintonville homes to larger ones.

Joe Peffer is a Realtor who works in Clintonville, Beechwold and other Columbus Neighborhoods.

Would you like me to break it down by 43214 vs 43202 or  Northmoor vs Beechwold? email me and I will be glad to

The Return of Third Thursday Open Houses and why it works in Bexley

This home at 2465 East Broad Street will be one of a dozen or so open during March's Third Thursday open house event in the Bexley area.

A few years back, some of the Realtor associations inside I-270 had an idea  about Open Houses.  Holding an open house on a day other than Sunday wasn’t a new idea but all agents, working together across brokerages to promote an additional opportunity to showcase listings was new. It wasn’t an idea that orginated from the local Board of Realtors, but in the field.

Fast forward to a week from tomorrow, the third Thursday in March, and the only open houses will be in one zip code -43209- Bexley, Berwick and Eastmoor.  In fact, the last I saw, there were 25+ homes (listed below but still time for others) in Bexley and Eastmoor open.

It didn’t stick in Clintonville, it didn’t stick in the Short North or in German Village or Upper Arlington. Why has the idea not only survived but thrived in the Bexley, Berwick and Eastmoor area?

• It’s a smallish area, approximately 9.3 square miles.
• Between Broad Street, Main Street, Livingston Avenue and James Road, a large amount of cars pass by the Open House signs every month.
• Affiliates of the local real estate association help to underwrite a full page ad in the Bexley News the week prior which details the homes to be held open.
• In Bexley, a relatively small number of agents have many of the active listings at any one time and they urge the homeowners to participate.
• I believe that the last informal tally I heard indicated that 12 homes sold in 2009 where the buyer first saw the home on a Thursday in Bexley, Berwick or Eastmoor. Success begets more chances.

From last count, these are some of the homes that will be Open Thursday March 18 from aprox. 5-7 PM.

How to Turn your $8,000 Columbus Home Buyer tax credit into $9,000….. or more

It's all part of constructing a better Real Estate Brokerage Model

If there is anyone out there in Central Ohio still considering the purchase of their first home, now is the time. I am not a cheerleader type, especially for the same sort of party line that all real estate agents are eschewing right now.

That said, the truth is, there’s never been a better time to buy your first home. Interest rates are at historically low levels and thought to be increasing soon. Housing stock, even at this time of year, is plentitful and growing and less expensive than it may have been a couple years ago.

And, oh yeah, there is an $8,000 tax credit for first time Buyers and a $6,500 tax credit for Sellers. There’s never been a better time to buy your first home. Until now.

Delicious Real Estate is rebating cash back to all buyers.

• $1,000 to Buyers of homes $135,000 and over
• $2,000 to Buyers of homes $235,000 and over
• $3,000 to Buyers of homes $335,000 and over

Just like the tax credit, this offer only extends to any buyer who is in contract on a home by April 30, 2010.  Unlike the tax credit, this offer is not limited to first time buyers, rather it is open to any buyer.

*Buyers must be pre-approved by lender of choice.

*Homes must be in Franklin or contiguous Counties.

*The rebate will mentioned in the purchase contract for the home and listed on the settlement statement as required by state law.

*You must know the secret password which means you read to at least the middle of the post. The secret password is “Go Clippers!”

*Call, email or stop by for more information

Why am I doing this?

1. I’m driven to prove that a better buying and selling experience is possible for less.
2. I want to get the Delicious Real Estate name out in the world more than I have in the first year of the Firm’s existence.
3. I’m concerned about potential negative impacts on our local market of FHA changes and the end of the tax credit and think that the last 3-4 months of 2010 will be very slow.
4. I’m already considering the idea of rebating. It’s part of my client-centric philosophy.
5. The first quarter is typically a bit slower than the 2nd or 3rd quarter of the year.

Selling your Columbus Area Home? Do This!

Buyers like peace of mind. Give it to them.

>>improvement list for your for sale Columbus home <<

Your home is for sale. You want to make a good impression on would-be buyers and stand apart from the crowd. You want to convey as much meaningful information as possible without getting emotional and you want buyers to know that your house is better/more sound/more improved than the rest of the homes for sale in Columbus, Ohio.

Do this. Make a list of improvements you’ve done to your home since you’ve owned it. Put the big improvements at the top. Don’t be shy, put the associated price tag. Buyers want to buy your home for the least amount of money possible and when they see the money you’ve put into your home, they’re less likely to hold your list price against you. Better yet, they’re going to feel great about purchasing your home because they know when the roof was put on, when the air conditioning unit was installed, when you updated the electric lines to that portion of the house and they know you paid real money for it. Even if your cousing Larry did the improvements, you paid him money and you should document it.

You don’t have to have receipts, just a line item list like this one goes a long way to putting the buyer at ease. Especially if you haven’t been in your home long and especially if your asking more than the competition because, darn it, your home is better. Prove it.

By providing the actual costs you go a long way toward transparency and peace of mind.  I’ve seen lists like this go as far as to include things like light-switch plates which may be a little too detailed.

As a bonus for buyers, especially first time Columbus home buyers, the price list gives them a real world estimate to use when they’re looking at other homes that need these same improvements. They have no idea how much these things cost and now you’ve given them one.  In most cases, they’d rather buy the house with the improvements already done—especially for about the same price.

Have questions about selling your Columbus house or which Columbus Realtors go the extra mile? call me at 614-940-9100 or email me.

How To Dispute, Appeal or Contest Your Franklin County Real Estate Tax Increase

Real Estate Taxes vary by School District. Where in Franklin County Do you Live?

EDIT: 12/17/2009 Please see the end of this post for a clarification and correction of any inaccuracies from the Franklin County Auditor, Clarence Mingo.

If your home has been re-valued by Franklin County recently, you probably received a notice in the mail regarding the new property tax. Per the Ohio revised code, Franklin County appraisers review property after a sale and/or every three years or so.

If you receive a notice, you’re no doubt glum about having to pay more real estate taxes to Franklin County. When you realize that the tax increase is for the ENTIRE 2009 year retroactively and that the tax bill you get in December for the January 1- June 30 tax cycle will reflect the increase and be based on this new value, you’re downright hot under the collar. What to do? Where to turn?

First, stop and consider if the new value is reasonable.  After all, if Franklin County is saying your home has appreciated in value, that’s a good thing isn’t it? Isn’t that, in part, why you purchased a home – to build equity?

Not buying that? OK. Here is everything you should know about appealing your Franklin County Tax Increase:

• Everything you need to contest the tax increase is available from the Franklin County Board of Revision site, here.
• Make sure you fill out the forms accurately and completely because the Ohio Supreme Court says a complaint MUST be dismissed if it is not completely filled out.
• You will need to sign your appeal in front of a Notary Public.
• If the property

was purchased after January 1, 2009,you will need to include a copy of the closing statement (3 pages), the purchase contract, and the deed with the appeal form.

Appeals to your Franklin County tax increase must be filed between January 1 and March 31. You can call down to the Franklin County Board of Revision (The best phone number is 614-462-HOME (4663)) and ask what properties were used as comparables for the new value (remember that their appraisers don’t just pull the new tax value out of the air). These will tell you something about wether or not your increase has much viability for an appeal. For example, let’s say you live in Hilliard and the comps the County Appraiser used included both of your next door neighbors whose homes are exactly like yours. That’d be a small chance for appeal.

While you’re assembling any paperwork to take to your hearing, call me for the most recent comparables in your neighborhood and I’ll see what I can find that might help your case. I’ll also tell you if I think you just drop it and suck it up because your home may be worth even more and maybe you shouldn’t call attention to it right now.

There has been lots of talk this year about how far behind many Franklin County Offices are, especially in regard to filing deeds and especially in the case of filing deeds via sheriff sale. The Board of Revision, while not ready to hear your case today, isn’t too far behind in the overall scheme of things.

Consider that there were 6700 complaints filed regarding 2008 tax increases and that the Franklin County Board of Revision is a three member office and that they can hear about 32 cases per day. They’ve even added an extra panel so that cases can be heard simultaneously. Still, your absolute best case scenario is an April 2010 hearing on an appeal you file in January of next year (and, remember, you can’t file before that).

To answer a couple obvious questions…

• Yes, you have to pay your next or pending Franklin County Real Estate tax bill according to the new amount while you’re waiting to hear about an appeal date.
• If you have a hearing before the end of June and it turns out you’ve overpaid, you’ll likely have the overage applied to the 2nd half taxes.
• If you have a hearing after that (and let’s face it, most of you will) chances are the overage will be returned to you.

How long do you have, after the purchase of your home, before the real estate taxes will be increased to reflect the new purchase price? It depends on lots of things but you should plan on them being increased right away. In fact anyone considering a home purchase should estimate the new taxes based on the purchase price (HERE is a handy calculator that does just that) and feel comfortable with that number on top of your pricipal, interest and insurance each month.

You should realize that you were probably pre-approved for your mortgage based on the pre-purchase taxes and You should expect it to take somewhere between 3-12 months, sometimes longer, before you hear anything about a tax increase.  It’s not so much the county as the local Columbus School District where you bought your home that wants your tax dollars increased and they may, in the case of multi-family or commercial properties, file for an increases based on your purchase prices.

VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE CONTINUE READING: Dear Joe, I have read with interest your post yesterday regarding the appeal of real estate taxes. The article does a fine job of outlining the thought process owner’s should follow when deciding whether or not to appeal. There are a few factual matters, though, which I would like to address:

• The appeal is filed against the valuation of the property, not the tax amount. There are two components to the calculation of tax, the tax rate and the value. Only the value may be appealed to the Board of Revision. The tax rate on the other hand is set by the voters and may not be challenged.

• The notices which were recently mailed were notices of the change in value, not tax amounts.

• It is not only the Columbus Schools which actively file complaints against values. Virtually all school districts participate in the Board of Revision one way or another. Still, very few school districts file complaints against owner-occupied residential values, limiting their filings to commercial, industrial or investment properties. Therefore your home buyers have little to fear from the school districts unless the home owner initiates a complaint requesting a reduction in appraised value greater than $50,000 (or $17,500 assessed value). The Board of Revision is required to notify school districts of decrease requests of such magnitude and the school district may then elect to become a party to the complaint.

• On an annual basis the Auditor examines only approximately 5 percent of residential sales, those which have significant differences between their selling price and the auditor’s value. These property values may be subject to adjustment either up or down if needed. All other sales are verified and utilized by the Auditor to establish values for all county properties in each three year adjustment cycle.

• The best phone number to give to clients is 614-462-HOME (4663). Our Public Information staff is highly trained to handle tax-payer inquiries. Thanks so much for your kind and supportive words regarding our processes and staff and our hats are off to you. Keep up the great work! Sincerely, Clarence E. Mingo II Franklin County Auditor