columbusbestblog.com

Joe and Rudy of Sellsius° Real Estate Blog talk to Brad Inman of Inman News before taking off on their historic journey across the United States.

Historic - I think this is the first YouTube video I have put on ColumbusBestBlog.com I may have used a link to one before but I did not know how to embed one. Piece of cake.

On ColumbusBestBlog.com

“the bus stops here”

Columbus made the list

Worthington The Bus Stops Here!

Blog Tour USA

Columbus Capital of blogging

On ActiveRain (Happy Belated Birthday ActiveRain it was in June) - Columbus Ohio

Real Living is a BlogTour USA Sponsor

Columbus Ohio - The Bus Stops Here!

“what’s your bikini?”

On Discover Columbus

Columbus Bloggers - Blog Tour USA

Columbus is on the map

That’s it… no more Blog Tour USA until after the 4th of July. I promise.

At our office sales meeting last week we had a quote from Harry S. Truman on our agenda: “The bus stops here.” (modified)”

hmmmmm? It was about 12 hours later before I “got it”. I didn’t give it a lot of thought. I had wondered why Harry S. Truman would be worrying about a bus?

Here’s another one. “If the heats too hot, step away from the grill.” OK it’s not even close to Truman’s “If the heats too hot, get out of the kitchen.” Bloggers are invited to a Weenie Roast… in the Columbus Ohio suburb of Worthington. The Blog Tour USA bus will be there, Joe and Rudy of Sellsius Blog and hopefully some local and semi local blogging celebs.

When: July 13, 2007 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: 6902 N. High Street Worthington, Ohio 43085

Hosted by Real Living HER Worthington Office and sponsored by Chicago Title and Real Living Title.

The image above is from Wikipedia which says of the photo of Harry S. Truman“This image is a work of an employee of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, taken or made during the course of the person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.”

I like Red White & Boom a lot but my favorite part of the 4th of July is the Doo Dah Parade in the Short North. Or as Experience Columbus is now calling it, “the Short North Arts District.”

The Doo Dah Parade

“Hey You!

Stupid wars and stupid regimes got you down?

Theocrats knocking on your bedroom door?

Are gas prices keeping you from finding a job?

Are all your twenty-something blonde role models in jail or rehab?

Strippers got too many clothes on and dancing too far away???

Have you finally had enough!!!

Then it’s time to put your worst foot forward, wake up your friends, put your funniest Doo Dah float together and drag yourself over to the Doo Dah Parade, to send it all up and put some lunacy back into the …well…lunacy.

Join the celebration on Wednesday July 4, 2007, at Park Street and Buttles Avenue, for line-up at Noon.

All the regular Doo Dah hangers-on will be hanging on…All we need is you and your biting sense of satiric humor…”

I love satire! I love trying to think of what will be made fun of. I am just not that good. I am usually surprised by what I have forgot. Or what has gone right over my head.

With the Dancers for Democracy issue in Ohio this year it should be a good Doo Dah Parade.

Previously on ColumbusBestBlog

Mid Ohio FoodBank Scores Bagels

She’s a Brick House

I love the traditions of the Doo Dah Parade, The Marching Fidels, the art cars etc.

In a column about celebrating Independence Day in Columbus in 1857 Ed Lentz of this week magazine wrote of parades of militia’s and then what sounds like a very, very early Doo Dah Parade:

“To keep the growing crowds of people amused, a second parade passed through the middle of town. “At 11 o’clock, the nondescript company called the Earthquakes, appeared. They were dressed in all sorts of uncouth costumes - some on horseback and others on foot. They were accompanied by some fellow who made hideous music on a horn. They attracted great attention and excited much laughter.”

Uncouth costumes?

More 4th of July Celebrations from Discover Columbus

New site. Barret Niehaus a real estate agent in Washington State introduced me to WalkScore.com on his ActiveRain blog entry  How Walkable is Your Clients Neighborhood?

Walk Scores based on address:

 90 - 100 = Walkers’ Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It’s possible to get by without owning a car.
50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a car.
25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving is a must.
0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

Mapping hmmm do they make adjustments for areas with no sidewalks?  Areas with sidewalks within the subdivision but the main streets don’t have sidewalks?  Do areas that get snow that have no sidewalks get scored down more than an area with more temparate climate (no mounds of snow on the main streets ) with out sidewalks.   

I tried some addresses I am familiar with.  An Old Worthington address at the ccorner of New England and Oxford Street gets a score of 68?  Walk to the sub shop, Graeters,  restauarants, the drug store…

That should score ought to go down since the Jubillee closed, WalkScore.com is  still howing the distance to the Jubilee.

What really surprises me is how close the Old Worthington score is to an address in the area notrth of 270. An address in the area north of 270 scored 52 out of 100 on WalkScore.com when I checked both upon reading about the site.

Walk Score: 52 out of 100 in the area north of 270 but south of the Franklin County line?  Near Park Rd. and Worthington Galena.  Without sidewalks? Yes it is only 1/2 mile to a great Indian Grocery Store, 3/4 of a mile to Kroger or a Mexican grocery store… a Turkish Restaurant, Anatolia Cafe is only 0.44 miles. Within the neighborhood you have sidewalks but not out along Park Rd. Worthington Galena Road, Sancus Rd.

This unwalkable Worthington area (north of 270… it is the city of Columbus, Worthington School district.)

It’s been updated, the Jubilee in Old Worthington  is gone…Walk Score: 64 out of 100 Old Worthington (corner of New England and Oxford Street)  score slipped by four points. 

The area mentioned above, near the  corner of Park and Worthington Galena slipped five  points in a few days too.    Walk Score: 47 out of 100

Other areas I wondered about:

Golf Village  in Powell  ”Walk Score: 20 out of 100″

Weldon Park (east of 71 S. of Oakland Park) “Walk Score: 42 out of 100″

South Clintonville  (South of Okaland Park) “Walk Score: 71 out of 100″

Not satisfied I’m going back for more…

Weldon Park (east of 71 S. of Oakland Park

Far north side Worthington Galena / Park Rd. area “Walk Score: 47 out of 100″

Minerva Park (east of Cleveland west of Westerville Rd, south of 161 “Walk Score: 45 out of 100 MP”

Brookside Colony ( off Snouffer east of Sawmill) “ Walk Score: 22 out of 100″

Brookside Estates East “Walk Score: 7 out of 100″

Summerwood Neighborhood (north of 270 off Smokey Row at Sawbury ”Walk Score: 51 out of 100″

Salem Village Neighborhood (just west  I -71 south of 161  ”Walk Score: 44 out of 100″

The very worst:  Grove City (far south east side)  neighborhood is called Hennigan’s Grove, it really is out in the country.   “Walk Score: 4 out of 100″

The one I feel worst about Village of Riverlea  “Walk Score: 31 out of 100″

  The CNNMoney.com list of 100 Top US cities said of Westerville: 

Population: 37,500
Median home price (2006): $200,889
Average property taxes (2006): $4,409

Does the Median home price info come from Trulia? Trulia is a great place for people to find ads about homes.  Trulia is a real estate search.   Real Living HER has ads for our listings on Trulia.com  You can search for homes there, it is better IMHO (in my humble opinion) to search Real Living HER’s data base. A more complete list of properties.

Which “Westerville”  is the $200,889 median price on CNNMoney.com for?  The City of Westerville?  The homes with Westerville mailing addresses (zip codes 43081 and 43082)?  The homes within the Westerville School District? 

I believe the $200,889 is the homes with a Westerville mailing address (zip code.) 

I can’t remember the last time someone told me they wanted to buy a house in a zip code!  ”I am looking for a home in the 43081 zip code.  

Buyers say “I want a home in the Westerville School District…”  or the Worthingon School District or the Columbus School District ….   

If you look at the bottom of the write up on CNNMoney.com about Westerville you can search for Westerville homes!  The search is Trulia.com  What Trulia considers Westerville homes is homes with a Westerville zip code.  You can tell if you look at the map if you know what to look for.  Look at the markers for homes west of I-71.  Those homes do have a Westerville zip code.  They are in the City of Columbus and in the Worthington school district.  Nothing wrong with those homes except they have very little to do with the city of Westerville other than that’s where they go to pick up mail occasionally.

Addresses (zip codes) are a great way to narrow things down but the mailing address has little to do with the value of a home in Central Ohio in my experience.

A common way of advertising properties in Central Ohio is to say:

‘Westerville, Columbus taxes!” 

What that typically means is the house is in the Westerville School District, it is in the City of Columbus.  The buyer gets Columbus services NOT Westerville services. 

Which Westerville? The city of Westerville?  From the Columbus Board of REALTORS® MLS for Westerville corporation limit… the city of Westerville: 

Average square feet 2061

Average bedrooms 3

Average full baths 1

Average half baths 1

Average days on market 84

Average list price $ 221,673
Average sale price $ 216,205

Which Westerville? The homes with a Westerville mailing address? ….the zip code Westerville, 43081 and 43082? Some are Westerville, some are Blendon Townhship, some are Genoa Township… maybe other townships?  Some are homes in the city of Columbus. 

Average square feet 2224

Average bedrooms 3

Average full baths 2

Average half baths 1

Average days on market 96

Average list price $ 260,951
Average sale price $ 253,394

Which Westerville? Is the CNNMoney.com median price for the Westerville School District and Westerville mailing address (zip codes 43081 and 43082) townships:

Average square feet 2224

Average bedrooms 3

Average full baths 2

Average half baths 1

Average days on market 92

Average list price $ 250,926

Average sale price $ 243,698

What other homes are in the Westerville School District but do not necessarily have a Westerville mailing address (zip code)? Homes in the Village of Minerva Park, a vast number of homes in the City of Columbus, some homes in townships in Franklin and Delaware County which are within the Westerville School District.   

Which Westerville? Is the CNNMoney.com Westerville homes, homes in the Westerville School District regardless of zip code:

Average square feet 1996

Average bedrooms 3

Average full baths 1

Average half baths 1

Average days on market 88

Average list price $ 222,404 Average sale price $ 216,373Home price?  Is CNNMoney.com using just single family homes?  Does it matter?  Average sale price of a condo in zip codes 43081 and 43082 (mailing address Westerville) in 2006 was $ 154,720.   If the CNNMoney.com median is $200,889 for Westerville homes includes condos (they are homes) it would pull that median down… I am guessing the CNNMoney.com may just be single family homes. Who knows? Maybe if I read it cover to cover I can see what is apples and what is oranges. Median vs. Average is a whole ‘nuther discussion.Westerville and Gahanna make the top 100 best cities list City of Westerville website

Westerville Visitors and Convention Bureau 

Westerville School District

Am I going to do the same thing for Gahanna? (#96 on the list) on CNNMoney.com?  No way!  No offense.  I love Gahanna.  This was too much work for a blog entry though.

Median price for Westerville (City of Westerville) by month is on this entry on Discover Columbus from February 2007.

1/06 $181,000, 2/06 $180,000, 3/06 $199,000, 4/06 $195,000, 5/06 $197,000, 6/06 $218,000, 7/06 $199,000, 8/06 $180,000, 9/06  $220,000,10/ 06 $180,000, 11/06 $215,000, 12/06 $196,000

What zip code do you wanna buy a house in?