Tag Archives: central Ohio weather

The 1978 Blizzard was worse … get over it!

Posted on 02/16/2010 | Leave a comment

We have lots of snow on the ground here in southern Delaware County. According to NBC’s Jym Ganahl, we’ve received 45″ so far this winter, which is more than Cleveland has (42″). Naturally, we’re all complaining because we usually don’t have this much. We’re spoiled.

In the past 10 days since we’ve starting receiving these three storms, I’ve had a lot of viewers to an article I wrote in Jan 2008 about the 30-yr anniversary of the 1978 blizzard. When you see the photos that I included in that article, you’ll see we’re not as bad now as it was then.

There were some key differences to then vs now. The main one was that cars were primarily rear-wheel drive. Volkswagen was about the only one with front-wheel drive. (We had a VW Rabbit) Jeeps had 4WD but the SUV concept hadn’t come into being yet. If you read the article, you’ll learn we lived in Marysville which is FLAT with many roads running NW-SE causing additional problems with drifting.

The National Guard was called to the city to help out. Gov Rhodes asked for further assistance from people with snow mobiles as they were the only transporation that could make it through the rural roads. We’re certainly not that bad now. We lost electricity for several days after the blizzard. Thank goodness that hasn’t happened in these recent snow storms. I don’t recall snow blowers being used then, although they could never have handled the amount of snow that we had. It was strictly backbreaking shovel work.

So, you see, it’s not so bad here. Now don’t you feel better. This is like the story your grandpa told you about walking to school … up hill … both ways. :-)

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Posted in Central Ohio

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Did we have fun today?

Posted on 02/15/2010 | 2 Comments

So far February 2010 STINKS!
Sunbury Rd over Hoover Reservoir, Galena OH 43021

Realtors® are like postal workers. Neither snow, nor sleet, nor dark of night …

Big Walnut Rd, Galena OH 43021

I read on Twitter that an Amber Alert has been issued for Al Gore.

Near Alum Creek, Lewis Center, OH 43035

I am so-o-o over this friggin’ snow! How about you?

 

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Posted in Central Ohio, Delaware County, Galena Ohio, Lewis Center Ohio, Realtors®, Transportation

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I’m a Listing Agent … I’m prepared!

Posted on 02/14/2010 | Leave a comment

There are two kinds of Realtors® … agents who work mainly with home buyers … and agents who primarily work with sellers. Generally, over time, an agent will gravitate to a preference to work with one or the other type of client based on their skills or personality. However, there may be an additional difference … their cars.

Buyers’ Agents usually have nice, clean cars – or they should. The successful ones drive the luxury versions for a smooth ride for the clients when they view 10-15 homes at one time.

Listing agent's carListing Agents may drive vehicles that can easily hold yard and open house signs AND those signs can be thrown in quickly when it’s raining or really, really cold. They also may carry a bunch of odds ‘n’ ends supplies required to handle most any emergency that arises on the listing.

Listing agent's carThe WEENR-mobile is perfect as a “listing” vehicle. The 4WD gets me through most any kind of road. The back is easy to throw in yard or open house signs. In a pinch, I can fold the back seat down when I need to haul larger items.

At this time of year, the one thing it isn’t, is a CLEAN car. But, like a boy scout, I’m prepared for just about anything!

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Posted in Central Ohio, Elaine's Listings, Homes, Real Living HER, Realtor® selection, Realtors®, Sellers, Transportation

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“Other Duties As Assigned”

Posted on 01/10/2010 | 2 Comments

How many times have you and your co-workers joked about your job description and the ever-present “other duties as assigned“. We all know that means that the employer can ask you to do most anything. At my former Marketing career, we often would say, “do whatever it takes to get the job done”, meaning we would work above and beyond our stated job description to get results.

Elaine shovels snowToday was one of those “other duties as assigned” days. As with much of the country, we’ve had a fair amount of snow. A showing was scheduled on the home. There was snow that needed to be shoveled at the entrance. It’s as important to stage the outside as well as the inside.

  • ScoobyDoo earmuffs – √
  • Warm gloves – √
  • Duck boots & warm socks – √
  • Heavy sweater, warm coat - √
  • Snow shovel & broom – √
  • Blackberry in the pocket to call 911 – √√

I know … lots of you think we Realtors® lead lives and dress like they do on the home reality shows. You think all we do is unlock doors and drive fancy cars. And that we make LOADS of easy money. HA!!!!!

I’ve shoveled snow for many listings over the years. I’ve babysat their dog when they left for vacation and kennels were full. I’ve mopped floors when they left the home too dirty. I’ve kicked their beer-drinking buddy’s dirty underwear from the middle of the room to under the bed (ew-w-w-w) so it wasn’t visible during a planned open house. I’ve had to clean up hairballs when the cat decided to deposit it in the living room floor during an open house.

I’m certainly not alone in doing what is called for – lots of responsible agents do the same thing. We take our job seriously, and our job is to do what it takes to successfully market and sell our clients’ homes. Think about that the next time you watch a reality show with some chick in high heels driving a classy sports car being presented as a real estate agent.

My life and the lives of many of the rest of us are the TRUE REALITY. We work hard – usually 7 days a week, and many are accessible waking hours via our cell phones. How many other professions can say that!

Copyright © 2009. 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 Central Ohio, Elaine's Listings, Home selling process, Homes, Realtor® selection, Realtors®, Sellers

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Is it too cold to buy a home?

Posted on 01/04/2010 | 3 Comments

buying a home during the winterWhile viewing prospective homes during the winter certainly isn’t as pleasant as during a balmy Spring day, it can be a great time because more of the home’s flaws can become apparent – just like viewing during a heavy rain.

It’s “darn cold” today! I showed homes over the weekend when it was also “darn cold”. You just have to be prepared for it. Here’s some suggestions:

  • Dress for warmth because if you’re like me, you WILL get chilled.
  • Wear boots that are easy to remove because you should take them off at the front door. Wear warm socks or bring small slippers to put on, especially if you’ll be viewing unoccupied homes.
  • Wearing boots is better than regular shoes because as we continue to get snowfall, there may be unshoveled snow on the drive or sidewalk. You don’t want to risk falling.
  • If the home is occupied, the interior will probably be warm. If it’s not occupied, often sellers minimize the heat settings on the furnace. Generally, the temp will be set in the low 60′s, but I have shown homes with the temp set in the 50′s. That can make the interior rather chilly, so dress warm.
  • If you’ll be viewing unoccupied homes, count on the plumbing having been winterized. That means that there will be no running water available which means no emergency use of the toilets. Just as your Mom used to say, use a restroom before you leave.
  • You may want to have a flashlight available in your car in case the light bulbs in an unoccupied home have burnt out. Agents often keep flashlights in their cars for situations like this, but have your own just in case.
  • Cold weather is a good time to check the effectiveness of the windows or areas where you’ll need to caulk or insulate. I showed a new-build one time where the wind was blowing in from ill-fitting windows. For a $300K plus price, that was unacceptable and an indication of the builder’s quality.
  • When there’s 6-8″ of snow on the ground, there is a tendency for buyers to avoid walking around the outside of the home. If you find you’re interested in the home after viewing the inside, be sure to trudge through the snow to check the outside as well.
  • While you may not be able to see the roof very well, you can look at the gutters for icicles which can indicate a possibility of ice dams from the roof.
  • Sloped drives can present problems. In fairness, remember that once you buy the home, you’ll be driving into the garage rather than getting out of the car on the driveway. The advantage to a sloped drive is that the snow will melt and run down to the street.

If you’ve decided you want to view homes now, give me a call. I’ve got my duck boots, warm gloves, and ScoobyDoo earmuffs ready.

Copyright © 2009. 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 Buyers, Central Ohio, Home buying process, Homes, Homes for sale

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Photographing homes for sale in Central Ohio

Posted on 03/19/2008 | 3 Comments

Well, I know why I’ve had such a hard time taking good photos of my homes for sale this year. Jim Gahnal, NBC4 TV said that we’ve only had 18 days without some form of precipitation so far this year.

Let’s see, today is Mar 19 – that means there have been 79 days – so that equals 22.7% of the days where I can take a photo without shooting through raindrops or snowflakes. And the forecast for the next few days indicates the percentage will continue to drop.

Oh-h-h … we’re SO ready for Spring!

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Posted in Central Ohio, Homes, Homes for sale, Realtors®

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