columbusbestblog.com

The second update this year Ohio DNR Fall Color Prediction of October 11, 2007 says:

“Ohio’s forests and fields continue to change color this week, with greens turning to yellow, and with rusts and golds appearing in most areas. Peak color is still two weeks away for most of the state – slightly later than originally predicted.”

There is a video there with Casey Munchel, a fall color expert.
Which trees produce what colors?

If you can’t make it down to Hocking Hills this year at least visit some of the Central Ohio Metro Parks. A fairly recent hike in Blendon Woods was fun. Not much color change yet but I learned a lot about trees on the walk and in the nature center. I have always considered myself pretty knowledgable about trees, I must have Druids in my ancestry but I learned some new things about trees in Ohio… trees like Buckeye trees,  Pin oaks, Red oaks, White oaks, Dogwoods, Sumacs, Ashes, Beeches, Hickory trees, Black walnuts, Cottonwoods, Sycamore trees, Red maples,  Sugar maples, Sweetgums and more….

After writing  ’Where the heck is _____ County, Ohio?“  My curiosity got the better of me.  I had to look at the price, size, amenities of the house  and where the heck ______ County is.  This seller is willing to pay a hefty commission to the agent who has the  buyer for her home….  She is marketing it herself with a FSBO Company, the kind of company that sells a homeowner a sign and a website that shows pictures of the home.  She is emailing real estate agents in more populated markets to get them to sell her home now.

Where is ______ County, Ohio? Over two hours from my office. Will I drive two plus hours away to show a home?  Five hours round trip to show a ______ County, Ohio house to a Columbus buyer (because we all know how people are clammoring  to move to counties without jobs….) 

Nope.  

We probably have homes in our Columbus Board of Realtors multiple listing service that are two hours away from my office.  I would not show those, outside of my area of expertise.  I would refer a buyer to someone who knows the area. 

I know an agent on the east coast who is licensed in states and drives hours for showings because his niche is historic homes.  More power to him!  I am not saying those who have  a business model like that are wrong… but to me real estate is local. 

The house in _____ County is priced at $215,000.  It’s looks like a very nice little house, I’m sure you get a lot bigger lot down there…than you do in Columbus. It may say something about lot size, home size on the FSBO (expensive sign) Company website, the site kind of locked up on my computer while I was trying to get around so I left.

The photos of the property show a nice big kitchen with lots of cabinets but there is clutter all over the table and counters.  The shot of the master bedroom that room was not ready to show when the photo was taken either.  What would lead me to believe once I got there with my Columbus buyer who wants to move to _____ County that the house would be in showing shape? Of course I could call when we left Columbus and they’d have two plus hours to straighten things up. 

There is a problem with the Google map for the property.  It is not the FSBO (expensive sign)  companies problem it is a street name spelling Google kind of problem but a Columbus agent could end up in a county NW of Columbus rather than in _______ County because of the map.  Technology!

Thinking outside the box here because this homeowner obviously is.  Some ideas…

Mail gas cards to all Columbus agents that might have a buyer who wants to move out to the boonies.  How you determine which rural area (boonies) in Ohio I don’t know.  You want to pinpoint the buyers who want those particular boonies as opposed to the boonies N.W. of Columbus or the boonies N.E. of Columbus… or the boonies straight east from Columbus…  The FSBO paying for gas for the two plus hour trip (almost five hours round trip)  could motivate real estate agents to take a two plus hour drive to show her home but that’s still a chunk of time. 

Clean the clutter off the table and re-shoot the photos of the property. 

List the house and believe the listing agent on price and what you need to do to  get the home ready to show (the FSBO was listed and blames the local agent for the fact that the house did not sell.)   Take advantage of the local mls where agents who have buyers looking for homes in the  county. 

I got a call from a seller (not a FSBO) who has a home in a rural area of Ohio.  He was listed with a Cinci area agent. The house was on the market with a real live agent who did list the property in the MLS (multiple listing service, a broker to broker system) not a FSBO (expensive sign) company and did not get one showing in a year.  His market is half way between Columbus and Cincinnati.  I told him I thought  he ought to be listed with a local real estate brokerage. He had  thought he’d have better luck finding a buyer for his rural home in either the Columbus or Cincinnati market.  No showings in a year? I guess not. 

His house is a historic home.  The home is large.  It was priced over a million dollars.

Maybe I am wrong about real estate being local, an agent in my office recently listed a property out in the boonies with a relationship with the local Real Living franchise to handle showings.  She and our manager felt like although it is conventional wisdom to list locally that they ought to do what the seller wanted and he wanted to list his out of area home with a Columbus brokerage.  Thinking outside the box? Only time will tell…

I wonder where the heck ______ County, Ohio is?

Date of Request: 10/10/2007

Subject: HOUSE FOR SALE BY OWNER-_____ CO.   

Message: Hello,

My name is _______________ and I live in_____County, Ohio. Our home is listed on ________.com under listing #______________. This home was under contract with a local realtor for 6 months and the realtor did not show it to even one perspective buyer. We realize that the market for_____, (she provided  the name of a town?, village? unincorporated area? It did not ring a bell)  Ohio is not booming, but we also believe that this did not reach the market that we listed it for.  I believe that it needs a broader area, perhaps into Columbus, Dayton etc because many of our newer neighbors have made purchases here for the hunting, lifestyle, and beauty. We are not interested in tying this up again with 1 realtor yet, so we are making the following offer.

If you are a realtor who brings a buyer, and you handle the sale and all formalities, I will pay you a 6% commission. This is a very nice home. You may already have someone you know looking for just such a place. We have been building a smaller home and need to move this one. If you are interested you may send me an email at __________@________  or call the numbers listed on the sellers’ website. We have already reduced this home by a substantial amount, but still have a little wiggle room. All appliances are included and none are more than 7 years old.  The bedrooms are very spacious and the living area is very open.

I look forward to hearing from you if you are interested.

——————————————————————————————

I don’t know where _____ County, Ohio  is.  I was thinking S. E. of Columbus but she wrote Columbus and Dayton so maybe _____ County,  Ohio is S. W. of Columbus?

I am sure _________ County, Ohio is a lovely area.

I wonder how they were marketing it for an area?  Wonder how they were marketing it period?  She certainly does not have a comprehension of the value of the MLS (multiple listing service) or maybe _____ County is so rural they don’t have an MLS?  

Yes I constantly receive inquiries from buyers who want to buy an out of county house with 7 year old appliances.  They always stress the need for 7 year old appliances! I know she meant for me to go to the FSBO (expensive sign) company she is listed with and look at the listing for her house to find out bedrooms,  bathrooms, square footage, price, acreage, amenities. I am sure she has oh so much more there on the FSBO  (expensive sign) company website about the property.  She may even photos have photos of the 7 year old appliances on ______.com! Maybe the FSBO (expensive sign) company even has mapping and I could discover  where the heck _____County, Ohio is.  

Real estate is local.  It’s that lingo thing.  Here in this part of the world “under contract” does not mean listed.  I read and reread her request because it was so funny (it was that  7 year old appliances thing… I kept looking for acreage, square footage, amenities, bedrooms, baths but all I found was 7 year old appliances.)  At first reading I thought her home was “under contract” with a buyer who was a real estate agent  for six months and never closed.  That would be a tragedy.

IF I had a buyer looking for property in _____ County, Ohio, I would refer them to a good agent in _____ County, Ohio. 

She’s with a FSBO (expensive sign) company and willing to pay 6% to a real estate agent.  I know she did not ask my advice but for petes sake list it with a good agent and get it in the local MLS.   They’ll get it “under contract” with a buyer who knows and wants to live in _____ County, Ohio. 

Why didn’t it sell when they were listed before? It was probably over priced for the market … whatever the ___________ County, Ohio market is. 

I can list it in our MLS  if she’d forgo the FSBO (expensive sign) company.    I can funnel all the buyers in Columbus who want to move to _____ County, Ohio to a good local agent.  Heck we might even be able to put _______ County, Ohio on a map.  Or maybe not.

——————————————————————————————

Sellers:

What’s your Central Ohio  home worth? Market Analysis Request

Buyers:

Search Central Ohio Homes Online No Sign Up

MyRealLiving.com - set up your own page Choose me as your agent if you would like to work together to find a property!

Find a Central Ohio Home - Let me help you find your “Dream Home” and by Central Ohio I mean counties I can identify…

——————————————————————————————

Previously on ColumbusBestBlog.com:

 Columbus Housing Market is Stable  - Out in _____ County?  Who knows?

 “If sale doesn’t close, can money be refunded in FSBO deal?”

David Tamny
Professional Property Inspection

Home inspector licensing is in front of the Ohio legislature again this session.  A group of home inspectors calling themselves the Joint Legislative Commission has authored HB 257 with Representative Michelle Schneider of Cincinnati as the sponsor.

Currently there are 32 states with licensing laws for home inspectors with Florida being the latest after West Virginia to join the ranks.  This is not the first attempt to get something through the legislature with previous attempts in 1999 and 2006.  Neither of the previous bills got beyond the House Commerce and Labor Committee and it remains to be seen if this bill will make it through either.

Ohio lawmakers are somewhat reluctant to enact more government regulation when there is little demonstrated need in the marketplace.  Few consumers have really been harmed in a significant way by minimally qualified inspectors.  The amount of complaints with the Ohio Attorney General is minimal and so are lawsuits in the civil courts.  The one stakeholder group which has wanted to see home inspectors licensed for a long time is the Realtors.  They are concerned that home inspectors can continue to disrupt their transactions with no disciplinary measures other than the courts.  One person told me “we just want a way to discipline home inspectors who write bad reports”.  I guess that begs the question what is a bad report?  Hopefully the requirement is not whether a deal has gone south.

A recent study was performed by the Ohio Division of Real Estate through Belmont Technical College.  The study surveyed home inspectors, Realtors and Consumers in both licensed and unlicensed states.  Their conclusion was that the level of home inspection quality was not improved by licensing laws.  HB 257 requires 8 hours education about the law, the passage of the National Home Inspector Exam (NHIE) and General Liability Insurance in the amount of 100,000.  Thirty hours of continuing education are required over a two year period.  It also requires 10 parallel inspections under a licensed inspector.

It should be no surprise that home inspectors are divided over this legislation.  Many experienced inspectors feel that the requirements are too low.  Those that want to see high professional standards feel that a law like this will decrease the quality of an inspection as consumers will believe that all licensed inspectors are competent to inspect.  Other inspectors feel that high requirements are too restrictive and create a restriction of trade forming unreasonable barriers to entry and any law no matter what the requirements is better than no law.  All in all this should make for interesting debate this fall when hearings begin in the Ohio House.  A copy of HB 257 as well as an analysis of key problems with the bill is available at www.ohioinspectorlicensing.com.

David Tamny
Professional Property Inspection
www.worryfreeinspections.com

—————————————————————————————-

Previous ColumbusBestBlog ‘Home Inspection’ Posts

ColumbusBestBlog Welcomes David Tamny of Professional Property Inspection 

A Columbus Home Inspector Who Blogs?

The best home inspector in Columbus Ohio

I like home inspectors with small shoulders 

What was the 4th of July like in 1857? Ed Lentz ‘As it were’ column in This Week Community Newspapers is called City changes; 4th of July doesn’t It’s about celebrating Independence Day in Columbus and across the river in Franklinton way back then. History of Columbus!

Opportunities to step back in time for July 2007:

Glorious Fourth: Independence Day Celebration, Ohio Historical Center/Ohio Village - July 04, 2007 - From the Ohio Historical Center / Ohio Village calendar:

“July 4 Glorious Fourth: Independence Day Celebration Ohio Village, COLUMBUS Noon-5 p.m.
Enjoy a leisurely afternoon of family activities to celebrate the nation’s independence, including a grand procession, patriotic speeches, a greased pole contest, a concert by the Ohio Village Singers and a community dance. Throughout the afternoon, families can enjoy period games, an Ohio Village Muffins base ball game, tug-of-war and a pie-eating contest. Another fun part of the day will include popular elements of “Delicious Dish: The Cold, Hard Facts about Ice Cream.” Taste unique ice cream flavors, treat yourself to a sundae, help make homemade ice cream and learn about the unique history of ice cream. Admission: $9/adult OHS member, $6/child OHS member, $11/adult nonmember, $8/child nonmember, $4/parking fee for nonmembers. 614.297.2666 or 800.686.1541″

Ohio Village Muffins Vintage Baseball Game - July 04, 2007 2:00 PM - Ohio Historical Center/Ohio Village

The Ohio Village Muffins are from the 1860’s? Or recreate the 1860’s? According to the Wikipedia entry on the Ohio Village Muffins it was called “base ball” back then.

One of my favorite Ed Lentz columns about Columbus history inspired Circus Town Columbus.

More about 4th of July 2007 Celebrations from This Week Community Newspapers.

More 4th of July 2007 celebrations from Discover Columbus.
What’s happening in Greater Columbus this weekend June 29 to July 1 from Discover Columbus.