KIKI.

4.17.2011

eggs.

It's almost Easter, so Greg and I decided to get in the spirit of Spring and color some eggs. Most of them, well, almost all of them appear to be done by a kindergartner. At least we had fun!

4.12.2011

4.11.2011

This time of year outdoor space is a major selling point. Buyers tend to pay more attention to the outdoor potential this time of year, so it is important to have decks, patios, lawns, and landscaping looking top notch. Below are some photos from frontgate.com. A Realtor showing a home with a patio space looking like any of these would be very happy to write an offer for their buyers.

wsj

The Seller’s Edge

Home Improvements to Improve Your Sale Price

By Iyna Bort Caruso

The decision to put your house on the market is often the easy one. The hard part is deciding which, if any, home improvements to make before hanging the For Sale sign. Whether you leave the home “as is” or upgrade for a higher sale price, the answer depends on the category of home.
“In the half-million-dollar category, expectations are lower,” says Tracy Bacigalupi of Harbor Sotheby’s International Realty in Bay Harbor, Mich. “Buyers reason that if the home isn’t fixed up, they’ll do the work.” But in the $1 million-plus range, they “expect the home to be in really good condition, needing only minor cosmetic changes.”
Bacigalupi recalls one home that sat on the market for two years before the owner finally invested in improvements. Immediately after the overhaul, the home sold.
Home improvement expert and host of DIY Network’s “Money Hunters,” Matt Blashaw, says one of the easiest ways to increase the value of a house is to beef up its curb appeal. “This will increase the value of your home as well as your neighborhood.”
Remodeling Magazine’s 2010 Cost vs. Value report supports that suggestion. Something as simple as an entry-door replacement gets a big bang for the buck. In fact, this fix tops the magazine’s list of home improvements, with a 102.1% return in the midrange project category. Replacement projects historically perform better in resale value than remodeling. They are less expensive, for one thing, and contribute to curb appeal, which strongly influences homebuyers.
Big-ticket projects, of course, require both a budget and due diligence. “The kitchen is king,” says Blashaw. “Unless your home is falling down around you, the smartest place to put your hard-earned dough is in the kitchen. That’s where all the magic happens. If you have the means, make sure to place all your new toys into a nice flowing workspace. This will pack a lot more value into your home renovation,” he says.
A major upscale kitchen remodel averages $113,164 according to the Remodeling Magazine survey and returns 59.7%. A midlevel kitchen averages $58,367 with a 68.7% return. Blashaw recommends stylish choices but nothing too lavish. In high-end homes, he suggests quality stainless-steel appliances, gas stove, stone countertops and tile floors. “You don’t have to go with professional-grade appliances or blow your budget on Travertine.”
Bacigalupi agrees on the role a kitchen plays in a home’s salability. “I’ve watched buyers fall in love with the house, but if the kitchen isn’t where it needs to be, they walk away. It’s such an emotional aspect of the home. They want it to be amazing.”
The master bathroom is another important area that can prompt an offer. “A sanctuary, it truly needs to feel special, like a mini spa,” says Bacigalupi.
Sellers should think like buyers and ask themselves, what aspects of the home detract from the experience of living there? Weigh the quality and condition of the countertops, cabinetry, flooring and fixtures against their age and style, recommends architect David Ellison of The D. H. Ellison Co. in Cleveland, Ohio. Old doesn’t always mean less marketable. “A vintage kitchen or bathroom in good condition is often of equal or better value – and more attractive – than a brand-new kitchen. Never replace a high-quality vintage item with a low-quality new item as this degrades value,” he says.
Most remodeling projects with the best returns are practical, such as siding and window replacements. The average cost of fiber-cement siding is more than $13,000, but it returns 80%, second in the Cost vs. Value survey.
Another factor to consider is whether the home is a primary or secondary residence. Vacation homebuyers just want to show up and enjoy. They may be willing to rip up a carpet, but they’re generally not interested in ripping out a kitchen. In Mallorca, Spain, about 70% of properties are holiday homes, with many owners hailing from Germany and Great Britain, says Stephen Dight of Mallorca Sotheby’s International Realty. Easy fixes that won’t interfere with the enjoyment of the house get buyers’ attention. “The majority of people like to have something ready as they have neither the time nor the inclination to source furniture, decorators or building contractors. This is especially true with first-time buyers who know fewer people and are daunted by such a project,” Dight says.
Whether primary or a vacation home, renovating up to buyers expectations is always a sound investment. A home’s appearance should measure up to the best property in the neighborhood. Anything that might raise questions should be repaired, restored or replaced. “Don’t give buyers a reason not to buy. Give them a why,” says Blashaw. “If there’s one thing out of order, that’s when a potential buyer starts focusing on the negative.”

Link to Article on WSJ.com SIR Microsite

word on the street.

Is it a sellers market?

It has been a buyers market since I moved back to Ohio is 2008 and got my Real Estate license here. With the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit last year, low interest rates, and thousands of Short Sale properties and Foreclosed homes on the market, buyers have had a run on the market and been able to have the pick of the litter. Many news polls and statistics still show that there is more inventory than buyers, and it is technically still a buyers market, but our team has noticed something this Spring market....we have noticed sellers sticking to their guns and not negotiating as much as you would expect. Spring market does bring out a lot of buyers, and we have had several cases in our office recently where their are either multiple offers on a home, or the sellers refuse to do any request to remedy items, including radon and mold mitigation which are somewhat important issues and usually a no brainer as something that must be done. In a way, it is good that the sellers are gaining ground and evening out the industry, but is sure is a shock to those buyers out there who expect to get a HUGE deal because of this so called " buyers market." This trend is simply something we have noticed in our specific market, and is by no means an indicator of what is going on around the country...this is just a little anecdote and something to hopefully get people to realize that there may be change coming!

4.10.2011

obsessed.

Yachts With High Sea Style

Architectural Digest Article

celeb sales.

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott
Encino, CA
$3,199,000
6,718 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms

4.05.2011

fun real estate gifts.

http://www.etsy.com/

property crush.

British Virgin Island Edition

http://www.sothebysrealty.com/

4.03.2011

Word on the Street

Ibiza On High Edition:

Retail, residential, office space planned

According to this Article in the Columbus Dispatch, the Ibiza on High has changed hands, and is now in the hands of a new developer, Schiff Capital. The new developer is planning to build an office and residential tower that should be 8 to 10 stories, with restaurants on the ground floor, office spaces, and apartments on the top floors. The original plan of the Ibiza initially attracted interest, until the Real Estate industry took a hit, leaving an estimated 60 buyers out their deposits for now as they patiently wait for the original property manager to pay them back. Check out the entire article in the above link.

Word on the Street

Beck Place Edition

Beck Place Website

Beck Place is a development in Columbus, Ohio, in German Village that consists of Townhouses and Warehouse Lofts located on Grant Street and Jaeger Street. The reason I am spot lighting this particular development is because I recently showed a few of the units, and I was very impressed with the size, finishes, security, and the ability of this development to hold true to the German Village historical charm and style.

Beck Place is a converted warehouse and the average unit size is over 2,400 square feet. There are 2 and three bedrooms units, and they all have a two car attached garages, and most include terraces and courtyards. The finishes are amazing; granite counter tops, top-of-the-line appliances, and large closets and living spaces.

My only concerns regarding Beck Place is the sales history is not active. There are two sold, and a few more in contract thanks to a recent price drop. In the past it has not done very well, but currently the activity is very exciting for the development and should make buyers a little more secure about the resale potential of the units. It is always hard to predict how a building/development will do in the future where there is no history to look at, so sometimes you have to just go with your gut.

Check out the below pictures and the link to the website above, and if you would like to see any units, please call me at 614.570.0728.