Free Buyer's and Seller's Guide

If you're thinking of buying or selling a home in the Cincinnati or Dayton area, you'll want to download our guides. Inside you'll find Key Tips that can either speed up the real estate process or provide leverage when it comes to negotiating. All provided by our team here at The Ohio Agent.

National Trend of Investment Sales Increases

Posted on | September 2, 2010 | No Comments

Here’s some interesting information since we’re always talking about doom and gloom considering things like Dayton OH homes for sale or Dayton commercial property.

Sales of multifamily and commercial real estate nationally have spiked in June touching 9.7 billion dollars according to a report from real Capital Analytics. This has been the highest volume of sales of commercial property in significant capacity since September of 2008. The closings at their latest mark have pushed 2010 first half sales to 36.2 billion dollars which marks a 67% rise from the cyclical bottom around the same time a year ago.

The constant increase in the activity throughout the year from the first to the second and then over the second quarter shows that investors remain unaffected by the downward corrections of the outlook towards the economy and impact on stability due to the debt markets in Europe. The existing levels and tally of contracts seems to indicate that the activity level will continue to remain high in the third quarter as well.

The activity in real estate coincides well with pricing trends too. The commercial property price index of Moody is showing a 3.6 % rise for all property types in the index of May (similar to completed sale increases of Mason OH homes for sale and West Chester OH homes for sale). After touching the bottom of the valley in October 2009, the prices have risen by as much as 8.6 percent. However, the cap rates were lower consistently when compared to the highs of 2009 across all transactions and sectors. The average cap rates for the office sector for closed sales during the month of June were below the 8% mark which is a whole 1% below the mark in January of this year.

Interestingly another emerging trend is that the growth in volume of sales and the steady decrease in cap rates are both seen consistently in those markets that have a lot of appeal for the large institutional investors. During the first and the second quarters, the greatest cap rate declines have been in the top tier of markets where price premium and attention of the investor goes to the assets of highest quality. However, the feature of this nothing to buy market has been highlighted by a very small supply of the high quality assets that are indeed available for sale. An average office cap rate of 6.4% was posted by Washington D.C. in the first half of 2010. The cap rate though has been much higher in the Baltimore area which is just north of the capital city. A handful of large assets have been closed or in contact in New York City as well.

Although the information in this article takes into effect national numbers, Realtors such as myself remain hopeful that increases will trend in the Cincinnati commercial market and also for completed sales of Cincinnati OH homes for sale.

First of its Kind Parking Garage for Dayton International

Posted on | August 31, 2010 | No Comments

Although parking garages have been a permanent fixture at many US airports over the years, Dayton International Airport is gearing up for its first parking garage only now. The 35 million dollar project was prioritized by the management after many passengers had complained about the absence of facilities and said that they wanted a parking garage consistent with the terminal building in many different surveys. Finally the parking garage’s entrance is right opposite to the entrance of the terminal.

The official opening of the garage was on July 29th and was built by Barton Mallow Co. The rental cars will occupy the ground level of the parking garage while the public overnight and short term parking will occupy the other two levels. Officials are having their fingers crossed that the Dayton airport will give competition to other top airports like Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Columbus that now cater to individuals living in Cincinnati OH homes for sale and Dayton OH homes for sale. The Dayton airport will be catering chiefly to the business travelers (some of which reside in West Chester OH homes for sale) who will comprise of at least 60% of the passengers’ crowd, flying to various destinations like New York, Toronto, Denver and Atlanta.

The garage is having an amazing offer wherein it will provide the first half an hour of parking free of cost for those who are waiting to pick up the passengers or drop them. The parking is equipped with heating coils under the sloped ramps and the exterior pavements to melt ice and snow. The administration of the airport is also looking to install kiosks for self service that will allow travelers to print their own boarding passes and entirely avoid the ticketing counter. This would be a major accomplishment given that many airports have long queues for the ticketing counters. The kiosks can be used by the passengers through a driving license or the credit card used for buying the ticket. The boarding passes can be issued at any time irrespective of the timing of the flight.

The garage is the first of its kind at Dayton which can be dated way back to the 1920s and was bought by the city in 1936. Former aviation directors of Dayton said that it was one of the biggest airports in the country to not have a garage of its own. According to estimations of the city officials the garage is likely to generate a whopping 6.6 million dollars in revenues every year while adding 10.7 million dollars in debt to the project. Not a profitable strategy, but the effectiveness could attract those travelers I between Dayton and Cincinnati (like owners of Mason OH homes for sale) to consider Dayton International airport as a viable solution.

Man Fakes Ownership of House to Cheat Tenants

Posted on | August 31, 2010 | No Comments

The below article is a growing trend for Mason OH homes for sale, as well as surrounding areas:

A housing scam has cost some people a home and some others a shelter where they can live. A Cincinnati man is currently being investigated by the Mortgage Fraud Task Force made up of the FBI and the Cincinnati Police Department. The charges on him include record tampering in order to scam tenants and home buyers out of thousands of dollars by falsifying documents on Cincinnati OH homes for sale. There have been 11 counts of tempering with various records on the 43 old David Halsell. According to authorities David Halsell used to drive around the neighborhoods looking for houses which were foreclosed or abandoned. He would then turn in conveyance papers at the Auditor’s office of Hamilton County which were supposedly fake.

These conveyance papers would supposedly have been signed by the owner of the property transferring it to Halsell. (This is called conveyance where property is legally transferred to the buyer from the seller.) He would then show these papers to the tenants and convince them that they owed him money. This was an easy scam to pull off as the unsuspecting tenants would look at the documents and then pay him the money that he said they owed him. The bigger scam was when he would sell a property that he didn’t own to unsuspecting buyers. Even the organization Price Hill Will, fell victim to this scam according to its executive director Ken Smith.

According to the executive director David would just go up and down neighborhoods looking for houses that seemed abandoned. He would then keep an eye on them and when after months would finally feel confident that no one cares about the house anyway would assume ownership of the property. In fact at one point Price Hill Will won a bid in an auction for a house for which David had turned in phony documents. Finally there were title issues at the time of closing the deal. According to the executive director, there should be a better system in the auditor’s office to catch such scams.

Another woman who was living in one such property claimed by David was worried that she would have to move out until the original owner assured her that she didn’t have to. She expressed happiness at the fact that the police have finally caught up with him so that he cannot take advantage anymore of those unsuspecting people who were desperate for a place to live.

Craig’s List is another front for fake papers and West Chester OH homes for sale scams. Some people offer Dayton OH homes for sale (or the like) for rent, and say they’re doing business overseas for a year or more. The scam will often ask that you mail a large security deposit overseas to secure the lease and get the keys. All you’re doing is mailing money away, so please be careful, and remember:

If it sounds too good to be true, chances are it is.

Sell and Rent Back Cincinnati OH Property Irrespective of Condition

Posted on | August 25, 2010 | No Comments

This is a new scenario wherein you can sell your property and rent it back too. There are many sell and rent back property firms which specialize in dealing with this kind of scenarios. There are many advantages of sell and rent back property. The biggest advantage is that you don’t have to wait till you leave the property to sell. Often, people are looking to relocate and cannot sell their property until they move out. However, once you move out of the property selling it becomes really difficult and troublesome. You might have to come every now and then to meet prospective clients, especially in certain locations like Mason OH homes for sale. Instead, if you are unsure when you have to leave, you could simply deal with a sell and rent back property firm which will allow you to stay for rent in the same property until you have to move out.

The most important aspect of sell and rent back property is selling it away at a good price, just like any other West Chester homes for sale. You don’t have to worry about finding the clients and ensuring that you get a good price. Often selling a property means renovating it, adding facilities, and repainting it in order to impress potential buyers. This might require a lot of investment in terms of money and time. If you don’t have time to get involved in all that or don’t have the resources to invest in refurbishing and renovating your piece of Cincinnati OH homes for sale, a good option is to go for sell and rent back property dealers who will take care of all that and also give you a good price for the property.

One thing that these companies are very keen about however is that the building is structurally sound. They would first inspect the house end to end for various scenarios, even on Dayton OH homes for sale. This might include the moisture level in the ground and if there are chances of water seeping through the floors, the strength of the columns, the amount of moisture absorbed into the walls, if the house is infested with termites by any chance and how solid the foundations of the house are. Only after satisfying themselves that the structure of the house is totally intact and will not collapse, is when the sell and rent back property dealers will put their money into the property and try to renovate it and sell it at a better price. So you can continue to look for a new home in the same place or elsewhere for a longer while.

Apartment manager challenges Cincinnati’s nuisance ordinance

Posted on | August 13, 2010 | No Comments

Some news affecting investors of Cincinnati OH homes for sale:

Downtown Property Management Inc., the Tri-State’s largest apartment management companies has sued the City of Cincinnati, alleging its chronic nuisance ordinance violates the US constitution. The company states that the ordinance subjects the landlords to fines or possible criminal prosecution for actions not in the control of the landlord including conduct by visitors or trespassers. The company also contends that the ordinance is short of appropriate standards causing it to be an unconstitutionally arbitrary and capricious, overreaching and void for vagueness. Even the City and Cincinnati Police Department failed to respond for comments.

Downtown Property Management Inc. owns 2000 local apartments including six large complexes in Westwood, Avondale, English Woods and Walnut Hills, which have triggered enforcement actions under the ordinance. The company seeks a court order hindering the city from enforcing the ordinance. Documents filed with police complaints indicate that police assistance was needed hundreds of time in 2009 for incidents ranging from small fights to illegal drug use.

Lawyer Julia Carney filed the case for the company at Manley Burke, in addition to filing of appeals related to three of the company’s properties mentioned in the lawsuit. The hearing in June went well, since the city hearing officer supported the enforcement actions against those properties in addition to the city’s billing of the company for the cost of numerous police service calls to those properties. However, the officer explained that he did not have authority to consider constitutional claims.

Carney highlighted the unfair penalizing of larger complexes by the ordinance, since 11 nuisance calls in a year will trigger enforcement actions at premises more than 40 units but more calls are allowed at premises less than 40 units, which does not logically make sense. Lawyer Richard Norton at Katz Greenberger informed that the city’s solicitor office along with the police agreed to revise the ordinance long back when a similar lawsuit was filed by Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Association, but the revision has not been made. The lawsuit is still on hold with the decision pending on if the changes will move forward.

Although it does not particularly affect investors renting out homes in the categories of Dayton OH homes for sale, Mason OH homes for sale, or even West Chester OH homes for sale, investors in those areas are urged to check all city or township ordinances before buying a property.

Staging Can be Done by Experienced Cincinnati Real Estate Agents Too

Posted on | August 13, 2010 | No Comments

There are many professionals who have built a lucrative real estate consulting business. These people come into the picture when there is a house sitting on the market for more than 2 months without getting an offer. One such consultant would in fact check out if the house is giving any bad vibes to the potential buyers. This was during a time when very few people outside the Asian community had heard about Feng Shui. Hence, most of the problems were beyond things like whether the front door was opening into the stairs and so on and so forth.

The occupant in one of the cases had died in the house about 100 years back and the consultant felt that the person’s spirit was giving negative vibes to the prospective buyers (similar stories exist involving some Cincinnati OH homes for sale). It wasn’t possible to write much about the consultant as the market was down due to economic factors which were what was affecting home sales more than anything else. However, the efforts of the consultant were not in vain as she brushed with feng shui soon afterwards. It simply became another way of looking at the same problem which was why some houses sold faster than other houses.

At one point in time if you posed the question to a real estate agent about why a house wasn’t selling, the answer would simply be that it wasn’t fairly priced. However, in the present market where values appreciate way faster, the prices change continuously. Hence the old reason wouldn’t work anymore. There has to be another reason. These days, one common trend that can be seen is that home owners bring professional staging firms to get things like Mason OH homes for sale to sell quickly and for a good price. One cannot be sure if television started the trend or is spreading it but there are a couple of channels dedicated to home staging too.

According to one such company’s press release home staging includes quite a few things which include adding and rearranging home furnishings, de-cluttering and cleaning, painting, minor remodeling projects, using fashionable color schemes etc. This is one thing which even experienced real estate agents must know as some of them have been helping to sell houses for decades and are at the top of their game. Such real estate agents are quick to spot things like dog odor which could affect the potential buyers. They can often recommend the services provided by staging firms either for West Chester OH homes for sale, Dayton OH homes for sale, or those other locations around Greater Cincinnati.

Four Warren County Ohio Bicyclists to Bike to Fight Cancer

Posted on | August 9, 2010 | No Comments

American Cancer Society’s fourth annual Pan Ohio Hope Ride will be conducted at the end of this month to benefit the Society’s Hope Lodges and other critical cancer programs. Four bicyclists from Warren County will participate in this event.

The Pan Ohio Hope Ride is a four-day touring ride from Cleveland to Cincinnati. It starts on July 29th and ends on Aug 1 with overnights at some of Ohio’s beautiful college campuses. The Warren County cyclists will ride through home territory on Aug 1 as the route passes through Morrow and Loveland on the Little Miami Trail (close to Mason OH homes for sale and eastern Cincinnati OH homes for sale). These four bicyclists will join along with 350 and more participants. The participants are all of different skill levels, who together will enjoy a mix of scenic by-ways, country roads and spectacular vistas through the ride.

The Hope Riders from Warren County include Michael Zecchino and Lindsay Markwart from Mason and Donna Burnett and Carole Blackschleger from Morrow.

They will ride the complete route or a portion of it. Michael Zecchino will be making his fourth Hope Ride. By the time he reaches Cincinnati, he will have biked more than 1,300 miles since 2007 for the American Cancer Society. Carole Blackschleger and Donna Burnett ride for Team Charlene, which was formed in memory of the late Charlene Bush. Every one of these Hope Riders has been touched by cancer in some way.

Tips are given to the participants to reach individual fund-raising goals. It is up to the riders’ choice to take part in one, two or four days of the route. Challenge options are included for more experienced cyclists in the portions of the Hope Rider route. But the ride includes all meals, rest stops for every 18-20 miles, complete support from traveling mechanics, and safety crews. The ride for Day 3 ends at Wittenberg University in Springfield on July 31st. On day 4, the riders will pass through Xenia, Morrow and Loveland and finally will reach Cincinnati on August 1 (sorry to those hoping to stop off and see West Chester OH homes for sale or Dayton OH homes for sale).

American Cancer Society Hope Lodges provide cost-free, comfortable and supportive places to stay for cancer patients who travel for treatment. The American Cancer Society have helped guests in saving millions of dollars, helps people by finding cures and fighting back the cancer.

Mason, OH – Popular Suburb in the Greater Cincinnati Area

Posted on | August 9, 2010 | No Comments

Mason is a suburb of Cincinnati in the southwestern part of Ohio. Mason proved to be one of the fastest growing communities in the state in the past decade. The town was named after the Revolutionary War veteran William Mason who purchased 640 acres of land in 1803, which is now a part of downtown Mason. The town was just involved in farming for a very long time and even in 1970 had only a few thousand residents. However, currently, it is a booming suburb of Cincinnati with good schools, beautiful neighborhoods and a good economy for many large businesses. Mason has been preferred by many individuals to live in and there are several reasons behind this great transformation.

The foremost reason behind how people choose a community to live in depends upon the quality of school system, and a good reason Mason OH homes for sale are popular. Mason has inherited a school system which has in fact received the Blue Ribbon Award for excellence for several years in a row. Right from preschool to high school, there are some large schools with facilities new home buyers cherish. The high school is attached to a stunning recreational facility and natatorium accessible by Mason residents as well as students.

The next reason is that the Mason homes are less expensive and more desirable than other areas of Cincinnati OH homes for sale. Mason is just a half hour drive (an hour sometimes during rush hour) to downtown Cincinnati, making commutes easy. Besides, the subdivisions and neighborhoods are very well planned out that it appeals to all kinds of buyers. It creates a feeling to homeowners that they had obtained the best value for their money in real estate.

The economy is also growing with large businesses and organizations. The revenue obtained is employed in building places for entertainment like Kings Island amusement park, Great Wolf Lodge, Beach Water Park and Lindner Family Tennis Center. These places encourage tourists and individuals from the neighborhoods of Mason to visit and thus their services and events create a stronger economy. P&G has opened a business center in Mason along with a few top corporate offices.

This complete package attracts more new residents to Mason and thus a small farming community has turned into a wonderful suburban community with happy residents.

Areas also to be considered are nearby West CHester OH homes for sale to the west of Mason, or Dayton OH homes for sale to the northwest.

One Man Suspected in String of Greater Cincinnati OH Home Break-ins

Posted on | August 9, 2010 | No Comments

There are series of home burglaries in the Mount Washington area. Cincinnati police suspects that it could be one man who is responsible for all those incidents. Currently the police are on a serious look out for the suspect, troubling some Cincinnati OH homes for sale.

Eric Warren is the man who is suspected for the above incidents over the past several weeks. He is wanted for breaking into nearly half a dozen homes. Rare coins and jewelry are the most common items that are looted from different locations. The locations identified are Beechmont Avenue, Wayside Avenue, Corbly Road, Wilarey Terrace and Ambar Avenue. According to investigation so far, police has reported that the items taken from the homes were later sold out at a local pawn shop.

An interesting part of the story is that almost all of the break-ins which Eric Warren did were during broad daylight hours. As per the statements given by the local pawn shop owner, it is also found that Warren visited the pawn shop several times to sell the jewelry last week. On further inquiries, police got some clue on Warren. During his visits last week, in one instance Warren was not wearing a shirt and the pawn shop owner clearly noticed the cross tattoo on his back. The pawn shop owners did not feel any suspicion about Warren because as per the law, he displayed an ID during his jewelry sale. The shop owner says Warren lied when he asked him if the jewelry items he was selling belonged to him.

Last Wednesday, Warren was spotted by a neighbor behind a home on Raytee Terrace. It is reported that the neighbor scared him off. Detectives have spread awareness to the general public that Warren may try to knock on home doors anytime. He may visit the homes like asking for help to find his dog. Detectives believe that Warren first ensures that if anyone is present in the home before starting the burglary.

Police are constantly in touch with the general public advising them to be aware of any person who acts suspiciously in the neighborhood.

It is advised that when looking at certain areas like Mason OH homes for sale, West Chester OH homes for sale, Dayton OH homes for sale, or anywhere in between, obtain certain cirteria about crime rate documented by law enforcement officials or similar professionals.

Excellent Ideas For Cincinnati Kitchen Remodeling

Posted on | August 9, 2010 | No Comments

A kitchen forms the heart of any residence. It is the warmest and the liveliest room in any home. This is the place where the household meets, cooks, eats and entertains at times. As a result of this, it is necessary that the kitchen must create a functionally sound and secure location that is meant for entertaining or family bonding. Cincinnati kitchen remodeling can be considered for modeling a kitchen with the additional requirements an individual wants, and is not just limited to areas like West Chester OH homes for sale.

When a decision to remodel the kitchen has been reached, it is important to consider several aspects to come up with a good remodeling strategy. For Mason OH homes for sale, you need to consider certain buyers expect certain features, and you can find a variety of prices offered by local contractors. The way of life is the key for choosing the perfect Cincinnati kitchen remodeling strategy. An individual needs to decide the preferences in his/her activities in the kitchen apart from cooking.

In case of the presence of kids, they may prefer to prepare their own snacks and consume inside the living or family rooms. Some individuals may prefer to drift towards the kitchen, preferring to read or do homework or just sit and talk. Consider all such activities that will be performed in the kitchen and choose a remodeling strategy based on it, accommodating the primary function of meal preparation along with secondary functions such as a comfortable place to sit and eat or interact.

Determine a theme, perhaps a color scheme or a scheme based around the type of elements applied and incorporate it throughout the kitchen. While choosing the materials like wood, or a mixture of wood and steel, consider the required maintenance factor. It must be noted that there would be lots of work that will be performed in the kitchen and hence you will need to look for complicated components for cleaning and maintaining. You will also require the surface must be heat and water resistant.

After deciding what the requirements are for your Cincinnati kitchen remodeling (or the remolding to Dayton OH homes for sale), write it down on paper. Determine the required uniqueness of your kitchen, items that need to be retained and replaced, new appliances that need to be purchased and new storage units that can get crafted or old ones that can give a new lease to life after repainting.

There are plenty of good ideas on home design trends on property improvement websites, even some on this website focusing on Cincinnati OH homes for sale. Visiting these stores and sites can help in efficient formation of the remodeling strategy.

keep looking »

• Sibcy Cline

  
  Contact: Jeff Nelson
  Phone: 513-833-1863
  jeff@theohioagent.com

• Social Media

  

• Mortgage Calculator

  	Purchase price: $ Down payment: % Mortgage term: years Interest rate: % Property tax: $ per year Property insurance: $ per year PMI: % First payment date: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Amortization: show by year show by month © Mortgage Calculator Loan amount: $ Loan term: years Interest rate: % First payment date: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Amortization: show by year show by month © Loan Calculator

• Categories

  • Buyer and Seller Tips
  • Listings
  • Local News

• Search

  Search for:

• Helpful Links

  • Google Keyword Tool
  • Jeff Nelson – Sibcy Cline
  • Minnesota MLS
  • Rent-O-Meter

• Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org