Monthly Archives: March 2010

The problem with polls …

Posted on 03/31/2010 | Leave a comment

When I hear the news media cite the results of the most recent political polls, I tend to be skeptical. In fact, when I read the results of any poll, I like to also read HOW the survey was conducted. Very often that review reveals information that would suggest the poll could be skewed to generate whatever results the pollster was seeking.

Perhaps the main reason that I really question poll results is that so many rely on landline phones. How many people do you know that no longer have a landline phone? Or if they do, how many are likely to answer the phone and take the time to answer a pollster’s questions? Especially in today’s world where we’re so concerned with identity theft.

I thought of my own little immediate family, which I consider rather normal … for the most part. If a pollster were to put the 10 of us into neat little boxes, here’s how we would stack up:

100% of the people have cell phones. 50% have a smart phone.
25% of the households have a landline, 75% of the HH’s do not have a landline.
50% of the HH’s are DINKS (double income/no kids); 50% of HH’s are empty-nesters; 25% of HH’s have school-aged children; 25% of HH’s include seniors (oh, how I hate that term). (totals over 100% due to multiple answers)
100% of those over 18 yrs old are employed. 29% are under-employed.
Of those currently employed, 29% are self-employed; 57% work in service industries; 14% work in manufacturing. Also, 71% sometimes telecommute to their employment.
Regarding those over 18 yrs old, 57% have a high school degree and 43% have a college degree.
80% have a Facebook account.

If you were to do a similar “poll” of your family, what would the results look like? Do you think those phone polls are capturing a “representative sampling” of the population?

Copyright © 2010. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

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Posted in Commentary, Surveys, Technology

Tagged poll surveys

A Columbus Ohio rarity … 7 days of sun!

Posted on 03/30/2010 | Leave a comment

Take a look at this weather forecast on 10TV’s web site today. We don’t often see this so when all the yellow orbs show up, we are really, really appreciative. Reportedly, central Ohio only sees about 52-53% of the available sunlight.

sun forecast in central ohio

With only 30 days left to get into contract to take advantage of the government’s Buyer Tax Credits, this would be a great week to shop for a home. You’ll have a lot more fun shopping this week, than all those earlybird buyers had who shopped in February with the 20″ of snow! To qualify for these credits, you must be in-contract by April 30. Don’t get left out! Give me a call if you need assistance.

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Home buying process, Homes, Homes for sale

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, central Ohio weather

“Stranger Danger” applies to home sellers, too.

Posted on 03/27/2010 | 3 Comments

I advise my home sellers of potential security dangers when their home is on the market. One of the reasons they hire me is all the Internet exposure I give to their home. However, there are also risks in doing that. Not only are potential buyers viewing those photos, but “bad people” may also be viewing. Unfortunately, it’s the world we live in now.

Today, as I was working in the MLS, I noticed something in a photo that I had not thought of previously, even though I’ve seen it before. There seems to be a trend in children’s rooms to place large stickers or wall hangings that spell out the child’s name. All of a sudden it occurred to me how dangerous this could be.

The “bad person” already has access to your home’s address via the listing and the mapping features that most home-for-sale Internet sites include. While it’s fun to look at satellite photos of our homes, those photos give a lot of valuable info to potential thieves or predators. Don’t give the bad guys the additional knowledge of your child’s name as well. If a predator knows your child’s name, your child may think the predator is less of a stranger. Best to remove those stickers or wall hangings when the real estate agent takes photos of your home.

Here’s some other cautions when your home is on the market:

Remove valuable collections or artwork so they are not photographed or in the home.
Remove gun cases.
Place prescription drugs in a safe, secure place so a potential buyer cannot access them during showings.
Put all paperwork that includes account numbers (checks, credit card bills, etc.) in a locked file. Same for jewelry, piggybanks, etc.
If someone drives by your home and says they’re an interested buyer and would like to see your home, NEVER EVER let them in. Tell them to call your agent for a showing, afterall the number is on the yard sign. If they’re a legitimate buyer they’ll do that. If they’re a bad person, you will have avoided a bad situation.
Electronics are such a big part of our everyday lives that it is quite common to see multiple computers and TV’s in a home’s photos. Just be aware that they can be an enticement to thieves and via the photos, the thieves will know what rooms the electronics are in and which window might be the easiest access.
Normally I remove dog food dishes and beds when taking photos. I’m beginning to think that it might not be a bad idea to leave them in the photo as a subtle reminder that there is a dog inside. Even the little guys, like The Murph, can be a deterrent because they bark so much. (OK, so he’s not the threat that my Dobes were, but he is much, much noisier and just as protective of his property.)

As I tell my clients, just because there is a for-sale sign in the yard, doesn’t mean they should let their guard down. Keep your home safe and secure as you would normally do, but use a little extra caution.

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Posted in Advertising, Central Ohio, Home selling process, Homes, Homes for sale, Internet, Safety, Sellers, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, Photography of homes for sale, stranger danger

Is your home a little tipsy?

Posted on 03/25/2010 | Leave a comment

If I were to ask if your house was leaning or was perpendicular to the ground, most likely you would say that your house is straight with the ground.

However, judging by many of the photos in our MLS system, it appears a number of homes in central Ohio are leaning quite a bit, or else the real estate agent that took the photo was a little tipsy. Crooked homes, walls, cabinets or doors are a pet peeve of mine. bad MLS photos It’s so easy to take a perpendicular photo by lining up the image box in the viewfinder. Our image adjustment programs that come with our cameras also allow us to fix photos later.

Here’s a photo of a home (right) that I purposely made crooked for this article. Haven’t you seen photos online that look like this? Do you turn your head when you see such a photo? Do you wonder about the agent taking the photo? I saw one home where every single photo of the home – inside & out – was tilted.

The imaging program that I use allows me to easily define which visual line I want to be perpendicular. It takes about half a second to do. It’s just a matter of deciding which portion of the home’s lines should be perpendicular. bad MLS photos

Since cameras tend to “bend” lines that are furthest from the center of the photo, lines like the back corner of this home will look the worst. But if I make that back wall straight, I know that it will tip the front of the home upward, as shown in this photo to the left. Gahanna Ohio home

Generally, I choose a predominant line in the middle of the photo, since that’s where our eyes focus first. For this home, with all its lines and angles, I chose to have the left edge of the brick facing be perpendicular. (right) I thought that seemed to work the best.

The next time you’re viewing homes online, just for fun keep track of how many tipsy homes you see.

Maybe tipsy homes will become a pet peeve for you, too!

FYI, this is a new-build home in Gahanna that a buyer client purchased.

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Posted in Central Ohio, Homes, Homes for sale, Realtor® selection, Realtors®, Sellers

Tagged "photographing homes for sale", "realtor photography", central ohio real estate market news, MLS photos, Photography

Have you heard the one about the lawyer & the shark?

Posted on 03/21/2010 | 1 Comment

Poor lawyers … they are often the topic of jokes. They’re the profession we love to hate … until we need their services. Some people may feel the same way about Realtors® in that they may not like us, until they need us. Like it or not, Realtors® and lawyers both provide valuable services to clients when buying or selling real estate.

residential real estate lawyer In Ohio, hiring a lawyer for a real estate transaction is a strong recommendation but not a requirement. Our local Purchase Offer Contract (and the other forms we use) was created by the Columbus Board of Realtors® along with the Columbus Bar Association. It has been written to comply with local customs and State/Federal laws. While the Contract includes empty boxes where we can enter in property specific terms, the bulk of the Contract must stay as the CBR and CBA wrote it.

As I noted above, using a lawyer is an option for the Ohio buyer and seller. Once in a while, the buyer or seller may decide to use a lawyer and not use a Realtor®. That’s their choice. But, in either situation, use care in your selection. I’ve written other articles about what factors you should consider in selecting a “good” Realtor®. Knowledge and expertise should be the primary consideration. The same can be said for selecting a lawyer. Not all lawyers have as much expertise in real estate law as they should.

You should consult with a lawyer if divorcing or selling estate property

If you’re planning or in the midst of a divorce, your lawyer and Realtor® most definitely need to work closely together. It’s imperative that the client’s divorce lawyer approve selling the property or the purchase of new property BEFORE any real estate contracts are entered into. I’ve worked with many divorcing couples and always require that their lawyers give approval to list the home, before we sign any papers to actually list the home since the division of assets is such a key part of any divorce. Prior to purchasing a new home, the buying spouse should make sure that there is legal paperwork to keep the new home from being included in the divorce assets.

A lawyer should also be consulted for the sale of property that is the result of a family death. We need to know who has the authority to act as executor to sign all the paperwork; whether one person can sign or whether multiple signatures are required.

You should consult with a lawyer if not using a Realtor®

As a National Association of Realtors® ad said, “You don’t know what you don’t know“. When selecting a lawyer, if you’re not using a Realtor®, you really should ask what their expertise is in RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE. If the lawyer primarily prepares wills or divorce decrees, they may not be as up-to-date on the real estate laws as they should in order to prepare a Purchase Contract.

Once when I was an agent for a seller, a buyer used a lawyer to draw up their Offer rather than using a Realtor®. I’m not sure what the lawyer’s expertise was, but the Offer they drafted for the buyer violated State, Federal and HUD RESPA laws, and potentially would have caused the buyer to commit fraud against the County Auditor and the buyer’s lender. Needless to say, that Offer not only wasn’t accepted, it COULDN’T be accepted. So the buyer wasted whatever money they paid to the lawyer to draft that offer.

When interviewing a lawyer during your selection process, ask them how many residential Purchase Offers they’ve written in the past year, then ask how many of those Offers resulted in a firm Contract to purchase. The laws have changed or been revised so much during the past year, that if a lawyer doesn’t specialize in residential real estate law, they may be unfamiliar with the recent changes. Since lawyers charge based on their hours, you don’t want to pay their fees unnecessarily. Get your money’s worth.

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, FSBO, Home buying process, Home selling process, Homes, Homes for sale, Sellers

Tagged residential real estate law

Another article about providing homes …

Posted on 03/20/2010 | Leave a comment

bird nest I saw a lot of people cleaning up their lawns this afternoon putting the waste into the paperbags for pick-up. While that is commendable – and doing the same thing is on my to-do list – there is one thing you should keep in mind.

Don’t clean up every little stick or twig. Why? The birds can use those smaller stems or debris in making their nests. Ornamental grasses are particularly nice due to their fluffy plumes.

If you have some debris that you think might be just perfect for a nest, you could put it all in one location where the birds can find it. You can clean it up after the nest building season is over. It’s a slightly different version of habitat-for-humanity.

You’ll be treated later when you can watch the parents feed their young and teach them about the benefits of your bird feeder.

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Posted in Central Ohio, Commentary

Tagged bird feeding, bird nests, bird watching