Columbus Neighborhood Spotlight on King Lincoln/Bronzeville District

I’ve loved the first two installments of this series focusing on the Short North and German Village. Tonight, we get to see the next Columbus Neighborhood’s history come to life. The third installment in WOSU’s Columbus Neighborhoods series premieres tonight at 9pm on WOSU TV and showcases the King-Lincoln neighborhood. Learn more about the deep history of Columbus and its core neighborhoods during this one-hour documentary produced by WOSU.

King-Lincoln Documentary Premieres April 19 (tonight!) at 9pm.

About the King-Lincoln Documentary:
At its height in the 1930s, hundreds of people filled its bustling streets. The nation’s top musicians played its many theatres and clubs. African Americans of all walks of life lived and shopped there. Its two fabled streets, Mt. Vernon Avenue and Long Street, anchored the neighborhood that became the commercial and cultural heart of Columbus’s African American community.

Columbus Neighborhoods: King-Lincoln shows how this thriving neighborhood developed on land once used by Buffalo Bill when he brought his wild west show to Columbus. Because Columbus was practically—if not officially—segregated, a self-contained and self-reliant African American community developed and flourished on the city’s Near East side. The documentary explores the area’s rich and vibrant music heritage and includes features on Elijah Pierce, Aminah Robinson, Roman Johnson, and other artists. The program also explores the neighborhood’s demise as the interstate separated it from the rest of the city and shows how the renovation of the Lincoln Theatre may be a sign of the community’s rebirth.

For information on purchasing the Columbus Neighborhoods documentaries, click here.

How Does Franklin County Arrive at Your Home’s Value?

Click here to download or open a short PowerPoint presentation from the Auditor’s office about how Franklin County – or really most any county in Ohio – figures out how much your home is worth so that they can then figure out how much tax you should be paying on your home. > caao-yourhomeyourvalue-07-08

New Numbers out today – Franklin County Real Estate Update

The Columbus Board of Realtors released official February numbers today…

2011 Central Ohio home sales off to a strong start

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(March 22, 2011) Home sales for the first two months of the year are just 1.1 percent behind the same period last year suggesting a strong start for the central Ohio housing market according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS® (CBR).

There were 2,178 homes closed in January and February compared to the 2,202 closings during the first two months of 2010.

February home sales dipped slightly to 1,128, just 1.3 percent less than the 1,143 homes sold during the same month one year ago.

“Why are we pleased at the small decrease in sales this year” asks Rick Benjamin, CBR President? “At this time last year, the first-time home buyer tax credits were significantly impacting our sales volume. To remain at nearly the same level without that incentive is a positive sign of a strengthening market.”

“Additionally, there were 1,812 residential homes put in contract in February which is 18.7 percent more than February of 2010 (1,527). This also bodes well for March closing activity.”

Franklin County saw 658 homes sell last month and 1,637 more listed for sale, while 137 homes sold and 302 homes were listed in Delaware County. The City of Columbus topped the charts with 423 sales and 1,023 new listings. Other cities which saw higher sales and listing activity include Dublin, Hilliard, Westerville, Gahanna and Pickerington.

School districts experiencing higher sales and listing volume in February included Columbus, South-Western, Olentangy, Hilliard, Westerville, and Dublin.

“Although, the actual numbers of sales and listings for these districts were higher, we’re fortunate to have many strong school districts in central Ohio, several of which showed larger activity gains when compared to last year,” adds Benjamin. “Every area is different so it pays to ask a REALTOR® to help you interpret the data.”

Canoe and Kayak registrations have doubled in Ohio since 2000-Is There Waterfront Living in Central Ohio?

For $179,000, this could be your view from a nearly 1000 sf 2 bedroom cabin in Hide-a-Way Hills on Lake Eagle Claw

Isn’t that fantstic?

In 2010, the State of Ohio registered 424,700 watercraft–an increase of over 5,000 over the 2009 year.  

As of today, there are 276 homes active in the Central Ohio MLS that are ‘Waterfront’ of one sort or another. 29 of those homes come in asking $1,000,000 or more but they range all the way down to a $56,000 1 bedroom vacation home on the banks on the Muskingum River, 90 minutes from Columbus just outside Stockport.

I’d love to help you find your waterfront property this Spring to enjoy this Summer.

Get out and Go Paddling!

Columbus Real Estate: Topic – Earnest Money – What is it and Why?

No Single topic seems to haunt the Columbus area home buyer more than Earnest Money.  For good reasons too: 1) It’s usually a pretty large chunk of change and no one wants to give away free money, 2) At the same time, no one wants to buy a house they don’t want to buy-for whatever reason.

When combined, these two reasons make earnest money a potentially contentious issue. Home Buyers need to know as much as possible about the topic of earnest money to feel safe and secure during the real estate transaction. Sellers, too, need to know the ins-and outs of how they can be compensated by buyers who waste their time and keep their house off the active market.

Three big points regarding earnest money in Columbus Real Estate transactions. First, it is not a requirement in the State of Ohio for the buyer to put down earnest money. Second, that said, almost every residential real estate transaction in Central Ohio involves earnest money. Third, earnest money must be handled however it stated in the contract to be handled–whatever amount, in whoever’s account, to be distributed as laid out however the mutually agreed upon contract says it should.