Do you REALLY know where you live?

Posted on 08/09/2010 by Elaine Reese| Leave a comment

Searching the Internet for homes for sale in Delaware County by zip code can be a mistake. Likewise, trusting any housing stats that show the info by zip can be very misleading. Why? Because the boundaries for the zips in Delaware County have no relevance to municipalities or school districts or general geography.

The first home I purchased was located in Franklin County, in the Worthington School District, with a Dublin phone exchange. The property taxes were based on the city of Columbus with Columbus police, fire, trash and snow removal. My MAILING address was Powell 43065. Essentially, I wasn’t sure where I lived.

At that time, I inquired as to why I had a Powell mailing address since Powell is in Delaware County. I was told that it was due to the mail routes (and zips) being set up when the land was rural. They told me that Worthington wasn’t set up to do mail delivery to farm land properties.

ZipMap
Click map to enlarge

So fast forward to today to see how strange the zip codes are for southern Delaware County. I’m not sure how these zip boundaries were determined but since the area was farms until recent years, I suppose it has something to do with rural carrier routes. Even then, I don’t understand why 43015 (Delaware, orange area) extends all the way down to Powell Rd, west of Rt 23. Why doesn’t 43065 (Powell, lavender area) go straight to the east with Rt 23 as its border?

Another issue is that these zip areas contain multiple school districts. For example, the 43065 Powell zip contains portions of 4 school districts (Olentangy, Dublin, Worthington and Buckeye Valley). Because home sales/prices differ within each of the four school districts, it would be misleading to provide you with the data using only the zip code. A similar problem exists for the Galena zip code (43021, teal area) and the Delaware zip (43015, orange area). These additional areas also have multiple school districts which aren’t aligned with the zip boundaries.The Lewis Center zip code, 43035 is a little “cleaner”.

This “mess” is why I typically report sales by school district. First of all, doing so provides larger geography, making the reports a little easier to understand. Home buyers are “generally” a little more familiar with school district areas, and even if they don’t have children in school, they know that their property taxes will be impacted (high or low) by the levies from the schools.

The next time you see a real estate agent or a newspaper reporting on housing sales or prices, try to determine what they are using for their search, otherwise you’re apt to be misled.

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.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Delaware County, Delaware Ohio, Galena Ohio, Home buying process, Home prices, Homes, Homes for sale, Housing stats, Lewis Center Ohio, Powell Ohio, Schools

Tagged ,

Why did southern Delaware County grow so fast?

Posted on 08/06/2010 by Elaine Reese| Leave a comment

newspaperA local newspaper reporter called me this morning to discuss the housing growth that has occurred in southern Delaware County this decade. I’m usually nervous about talking with the media for fear of being mis-quoted. I hope he doesn’t do that.

After our conversation was over, I thought more about why the growth has occurred into southern Delaware County. I think there are several events that occurred that set the stage for it.

  • I-270 made it easy to go from one suburb to another. Businesses (jobs) built up around the various interchanges. Suburbs located inside 270 were land-locked with limited room to expand further housing.
  • Suburbs, like Dublin or Powell close to the freeway, had room to expand their borders. They also had easy access to the freeway with major roads such as Rt 315, Sawmill Rd and Rt 33 already in place.
  • Lewis Center’s growth was impacted when Banc One (now Chase) built the huge employment center and the nearby Polaris Mall was added, both outside of I-270. Old State Rd provided access to that employment so many housing subdivisions were built off of that road.
  • Golf Courses have played an important part to the housing growth as well. Dublin already had Jack Nicklaus’ huge Muirfield Village but then Arnie’s Tartan Fields was built north of Muirfield. Powell began with Wedgewood, then added Scioto Reserve and Kinsale (Golf Village). Shamrock and Safari are nearby, but they are not lined with homes the way the other courses are.
  • The southwest part of the county contains both the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers. I’m not a geologist but it seems there is more variance to the terrain between the rivers, providing more opportunity for the wooded, ravine lots that many home buyers like.
  • The southeast part of the county has the big water reservoirs with Alum Creek and Hoover. Both offer boating opportunities, albeit they have different motor restrictions.
  • Dublin and Powell already had groceries and retail, but those types of commercial buildings have expanded to keep pace with the housing. Dublin added Perimeter Mall and Powell added the shopping at Powell Rd and Sawmill Pkwy.
  • Some of the northern most housing developments in the Lewis Center area were several miles from groceries, gas stations, and fast-food eateries, but with the recent addition of some new stores along Rt 23 at Lewis Center Rd, that is changing.
  • Columbus State Community college recently opened along Rt 23 and Ohio Health is at a certain stage of providing convenient health care for the area.
  • More growth along Rt 23 between Powell Rd and Cheshire Rd was on the drawing board but it has been put on hold due to the economic downturn.
  • Southern Delaware County is primarily served with four school districts: Dublin, Olentangy, Westerville and Big Walnut. Olentangy covers the largest geographical part of the southern part of the county.

Like thousands of others, I’ve found the county to be a great place to live and work. If you would like to join us, give me a call and we’ll go house shopping.

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.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Central Ohio, Delaware County, Dublin Ohio, Franklin County, Golf Village, Kinsale, Golf course communities, Homes, Homes for sale, Lewis Center Ohio, Media, Muirfield, Newspaper, Powell Ohio, Scioto Reserve, Water fun, Wedgewood

Tagged , , ,

Bad news from my CPA

Posted on 08/04/2010 by Elaine Reese| Leave a comment

I received an email from my CPA that he sent as an alert to his clients for tax-planning purposes. The email included an attachment with his analysis of proposed changes being discussed in D.C. that will impact our financial well-being starting Jan 2011.

There were two components to his analysis. One was the impact of allowing what is called the “Bush Tax Credits” to expire the end of 2010. The other was the tax implications of the Health Care Reform Bill. The two events, when combined, will increase our taxes beginning Jan 2011. All of us will be impacted, not just those earning over $250,000 as the politicians say.

I would like to share the details with you but the email is proprietary – only for the CPA’s clients. However, suffice it to say that all tax brackets will see an increase to the tax rate. Deductions for dependants will be cut in half. There are other such changes that will affect middle-America and all age-groups.

I encourage you to discuss these two issues with your tax-preparer in order to evaluate the steps you may want to take now to plan for the 2011 hit to your wallet if these issues go into effect. It’s difficult for ordinary citizens to sort through IRS forms trying to make sense of the potential impact, so relying on professionals is necessary. Talk to your accountant or CPA or financial planner. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! :-)

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.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Central Ohio

Tagged ,

Do you know what interest rates are now?

Posted on 08/03/2010 by Elaine Reese| Leave a comment

Quick … if I were to ask you what the interest rate is now on a 30-yr fixed rate loan, would you know the answer? Do you know what the rate was a year ago?

A year ago the rate was 5.25%. Today it’s 4.5%, depending on the applicant’s credit score and income/expense ratios. That may not seem like much of a difference, but let’s look at how much it changes your monthly payment.

Suppose you want to buy a home in southern Delaware County with a $250,000 mortgage. At last year’s rate, your P&I would have cost $1,382.50. At this year’s rate the P&I would be $1,267.50. So your mortgage payment would be $115 less than it would have been last year. That’s a savings of $1,380 per year … basically the savings of one entire monthly payment.

If you been sitting on the fence regarding selling or buying a home, you should consider how beneficial it would be to do so now from an interest rate perspective. Of course, there are other things to think about such as the equity you now have in your home and the price it might sell for, but if you’re in a good position it is certainly something to think about.

Give me a call and I can help you with comps, plus, I’ll do a Net Equity Estimate for you to see if it is a good time for you to change homes.

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.

→ Leave a comment

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

Tagged , ,

If you own a home … you need a Will.

Posted on 07/30/2010 by Elaine Reese| Leave a comment

Last Will & TestamentWhen you buy a home, you will be signing quite a few legal documents. Although there’s one more legal doc that you should sign, too often we put it off because it’s an unpleasant subject. When you own property, you should have a Will. Yes, I know that you - like me - are immortal but it’s something we need to do anyway – just in case.

Do as I say … not as I did

Why am I writing about such an unpleasant thought? Because I’ve been guilty as well. I have a Will but it’s old and most of the instructions no longer apply. Suffice it to say that the current Will dealt with a trust for my youngest daughter’s care as a minor. Since she’s now 38, I think it’s time for a change, don’t you? Me bad.

I’m in the process of redoing the old Will and am working on the draft that a lawyer * has done for me to approve. I lead a simple life so disposing of my worldly possessions merely means assigning everything to my two girls. The “Last Will & Testament” is easy. Split my assets in half and make sure both kids are listed as beneficiaries on any financial accounts to avoid Probate. The “boilerplate” draft to do this is 13 pages filled with legalese to cover every possible nuance that might occur.

I also have to choose which daughter will be the Executor and the General POA. Per the way the docs are written, the General POA has financial authority to manage money/assets prior to death and the Executor does a similar function after death.

So far the process has been easy and a no-brainer.

Then I get to the Living Will draft and the Health Care POA. Here’s where it got tough. The Living Will doesn’t apply until I’m no longer capable of making my own decisions. Do I want CPR? What about DNR (do not resuscitate)? angelWhat do I want done if I’m brain-dead or a terminal illness? Do I want machines turned off if they are all that’s keeping me “alive”? Do I want food and water withheld? The Living Will gives instructions and authority to the Doctors. It overrides the Health Care POA. The same questions are addressed in the POA doc, but the POA also has authority to decide to move me to a nursing home, different hospital, or a hospice, etc.

Who wants to pull the plug on Mom?
(try to not act so eager!)

I’m getting together with my girls this weekend so we can discuss all this. I want them to know what my wishes are and to agree to their roles in this process. Hopefully, doing that, will make it easier for them, when/if the time comes in the event I’m not the first person to be immortal.

I also plan to talk about WHO will care for The Murph, and provide him with the hugs, kisses, and general spoiled lifestyle that he’s come to expect. :-)

* Links to a blog with lots of helpful legal advice for real estate and estate planning.

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.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Commentary

Tagged ,

2010 BIA Parade of Homes in New Albany – a Realtor’s® view

Posted on 07/28/2010 by Elaine Reese| Leave a comment

Yesterday morning was Realtor® Day at the 2010 BIA Parade of Homes at Ackerly Park in New Albany. Eight builders have homes in this year’s Parade. All of the homes have been built to conform with New Albany’s strict design style. This year’s builders are:

I was short on time but did manage to visit 7 of the 8 homes. I missed the Knight home and I didn’t visit the second floor of any of the homes. I did manage to take some photos for you.

Some of the differences that I noticed this year were the darker wall & wood colors and extensive use of decorating textures, mainly stone. Ceilings have become fancier and the flooring on the main level was mostly wood or very interesting tile. Countertops were either granite or the new concrete, which according to one of the builders, is similar in cost to granite. And yes, that IS a wood floor in that shower photo.

The Parade lasts until August 8. Visit BIAParade.com for more details.

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.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Central Ohio, Franklin County, Homes, Homes for sale, New home builders

Tagged , , ,