Now that the federal tax credit incentives are gone, what's a Greater Cleveland Home Seller to do? How about get a little creative?  Let's face it, everyone who hasn't been under a rock for the past few years knows this is one of the toughest markets to try and sell a home in generations. How so...one might ask? Offer to pay for some of the buyer's closing costs (3-5K) can go a long way to making up some of that 8K Get crazy with with inexpensive cosmetic improvements -- we specialize in makeovers for our clients and it's pretty easy and inexpensive to spruce up bathrooms and other sundry things Most homes for sale are not spotless, I'm talking Mr. Clean spotless.  How about being the one home on the market that is?  Free labor. Improving the curb appeal of your home Never turn down a s... 06/27/2010

Cleveland Home Buyer Tip - What's This Home Worth? Home buyers in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio marketplace will ask me when they are inside a home we are touring and ask: What's This Home Worth? My answer usually is: I have no idea.  Sometimes, I have a general idea, but I would never spout off at the mouth until I have done a variety of tasks to see if my general sense is mirrors the reality of the market for this home, neighborhood, community, trends, and the like. There are many things a good Cleveland buyer's agent will do before answering this question.  A few tasks a good buyer's agent should do are: Look at recent sold comparables and do some adjusting to bracket a reasonable range Determine how long the property has been on the market (including periods where it has been taken of... 06/27/2010

Cleveland Home Seller Pricing Tip - Will Your Home Be Over-Priced? Home sellers in Cleveland, Ohio oftentimes dread the topic of pricing their home for sale, given the strong buyer's market that still predominates most local, sub-markets in the Greater Cleveland residential real estate marketplace in June 2010. While Greater Cleveland home sellers can't wait to hear the price their potential listing agent may tell them, and they are all ears at this point, the anticipation of a higher price normally gives way pretty quickly when the listing agent presents their Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) showing what a few comparable properties that are nearby have recently sold for. While listing agents would love for a home seller to fetch a higher price, most of the time, with rare exception, ... 06/27/2010

Beating Japanese Beetles around Cleveland Ohio can be a challenge. They come out like clockwork around the 4th of July every year, but this year, they came out several days ago and caught me off guard. I've tried: Plucking them by hand in the early morning and late evening hours and drowning them in water -- to limited success due to their sheer volume Spraying soapy water on them -- to limited success Shaking a tree and see if they would fall off -- not a chance Hitting the branches to see if the vibration/shock would make them fall off -- not a chance Taking a foxtail cleaner and swooshing them off -- not much luck here either After reading online for some other techniques, I tried using a product this past week called NEEM. NEEM is an insecticidal soap which is suppose to kill them o... 06/27/2010

Stan Stepak | Howard Hanna Real Estate Services | stanleystepak@howardhanna.com | (440) 476-0234 16009 Normandy, Cleveland (westpark), OH 3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $159,000 Year Built Unspecified Sq Footage 1,332 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 2 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size .138 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Open Sunday 6/27/10 220pm-4pm Feel at home in this brick colonial located in the heart of the Westpark/ Kamms area. Hardwood floors in living & dining room. Painted in todays modern colors. Beautiful working gas fireplace hightlights the living room. Kitchen has updated ceramic flooring. Upstairs are 3 comfortable sized bedrooms with a full bath. Downstairs a 21x15 rec.rm with 2nd full bath & ceramic tiled separate laundry room completes this... 06/25/2010

Cleveland Ohio Luxury Homes For Sale - Map Search  Olsen Ziegler Realty has one of the finest Greater Cleveland, Ohio real estate luxury home search products on the market -- fast, complete, maps, tons of local information, mortgage calculator and more! Search for Luxury Homes All Greater Cleveland Ohio Not only can you search for luxury homes for sale in all Greater Cleveland Ohio by using Google Maps technology, you can select your choices in the following drop down boxes: City Property Type Price Range # of Bedrooms # of Baths The results display on a customized Google map which you can then hover your mouse over a house icon to see a photo and click to view the property details, including: All the MLS details like multiple photos, room dimensions, square footage, taxes, etc. Optiona... 06/20/2010

    My son has always wanted to watch the Cleveland Indians play the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, so we went today for Father's Day. While the Indians lost (again -- gee shocker!)...we had a lot of fun.             All I had was my Blackerry...so pardon the photos...:)   You forget how new life is through the eyes of a 9 year-old boy: When I see tractor trailers bearing down behind me rather close behind while descending a steep hill, my son sees a cool HUGE truck wanting to race When we are twisting and turning down the highway as we descend on downtown Pittsburgh, he knows the stadium is right next to the river so he pronounces: Better slow down dad, I don't want to end up in the river and miss part of the game! When I see a huge traffic jam and trying to figure out ... 06/20/2010

Cleveland home sellers need to understand that no matter what the media says, no matter how gloomy the Cleveland real estate statistics look, no matter if you see for sale signs splattered all over neighborhoods around Greater Cleveland with no pending nor sold riders on them, that... It only takes one buyer. Yes, that's right, just one buyer.  While a Cleveland home seller who is thinking of selling their home cannot ignore demand, price, condition and marketing, it only takes one buyer, and the more one focuses on price and condition, and the symbiotic relationship between the two, the more likely that that one buyer out there that is perfect for your home will decide yours over someone else's home and you just: defied the media defied the Cleveland real estate statistics caused envy ... 05/31/2010

Be safe and happy! I am not a complainer, not at all. My glass is always at least half-full. I enjoy turning disadvantages into advantages and turning advantages into benefits for my loved ones or for my clients. My last experience with Delta challenged this attitude. As my Facebook friends know, I was taking a long trip to Ukraine and Russia. That was an amazing journey! I took part in Yalta International Real Estate Conference, I also taught classes on building Real Estate business as a system in three cities: Yalta, Ukraine; Tyumen, Russia; Chelyabinsk, Russia. Meeting and speaking with hundreds of Real Estate professionals from Ukraine and Russia made my life brighter. Young, well educated, eager to learn and develop their business, our Ukrainian and Russian colleagues are on the ed... 05/30/2010

When a REALTOR meets with a seller to discuss the sale of their home, Cleveland home sellers would be wise to focus on four key concepts of (in order of importance): Demand Price Condition Marketing You should visualize these four concepts as building blocks that sit on top of each other, with the foundation of all being demand, then price, then condition, then lastly, marketing. While this is a simplification, it helps one to contextualize the information given.  An example of why this is a simplification is the "seller's motivation" will influence price and condition.   Notice that: marketing was listed last.  Why is that, every good listing agent knows that no amount of marketing can: Create demand where it does not exist. Sell a home that is overpriced. Sell a home where the conditi... 05/29/2010

Here is a tip that can help Cleveland Ohio home buyers and sellers: Pay attention to the seller's residential property disclosure form.  This form is required for sellers of  residential properties with 1-4 dwelling units that is by sale, land installment contract, exchange, lease with option to purchase, 99-year lease with renewable forever as described in ORC 5302.30. Here are some common problems I see on a routine basis (not to be taken as an exclusive list): Question(s) not answered Seller forgot to initial/date the bottom of pages 1-3 and/or sign/date page 4 Question answered yes, but no explanation describing the issue and/or stating the outcome of the issue in question Vague answers -- Simply saying "problem fixed" doesn't give a buyer a warm and fuzzy feeling as to what actuall... 05/29/2010

I have been showing a TON of homes these past few months and one thing rings true over and over and over again here in Greater Cleveland and here is a home selling tip: Condition Matters. You may think your shag carpeting from the 70s is still fine -- it's not. You may think your avocado colored appliances from the 1960s-70s are still fine -- they are not, especially when a buyer opens the oven door and it looks like a science experiment on the inside. You may think your golden harvest and badly worn and scratched formica countertops are still just fine -- buyers don't think so.  You can replace them for $700-800 on average. You may think having 30-80% of your home covered in dated wallpaper is just fine because it's intact and not falling down -- buyers don't want to remove it, prep wa... 05/23/2010

Cleveland Mortgage Broker Mark Kellogg was sentenced this past week to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay 6 million dollars in restitution for mortgage fraud. Cleveland's Slavic Village was decimated by the foreclosure and subprime mortgage crises and it is any one's guess how long it will take to recover. I wonder how many individuals (mortgage brokers, real estate agents, etc.) have been prosecuted and convicted for fraud over the past few years? Are there any national statistics? 05/23/2010

Many home buyers and sellers in Greater Cleveland Ohio are aware of Zillow's Zestimates.  I am amazed sometimes at how much home buyers and sellers erroneously rely on this information as an indication of how much their home is worth. As a former real estate appraiser, residential REALTOR, broker/owner of my own real estate brokerage serving the Greater Cleveland and Akron Ohio marketplace, I am well versed with helping a seller understand market values, trends, absorption rates, months of housing supply, % chance of selling, home staging, current buyer preferences, how the time of the season can influence value, and a myriad of other topics so a seller can evaluate all their options to correctly price their home on the market. My opinion is that home sellers in the Greater Cleveland an... 05/17/2010

Every savvy real estate agent knows that all real estate is hyper-local and it only takes ONE BUYER in order for a home to sell. A listing agent must thoughtfully research and evaluate:   Price Demand Location Condition   As the main tenants for a potential home seller.  To get any of the above four items wrong will be a complete waste of time for everyone involved as most likely, a sale will not occur. A listing agent should be able to "connect the dots" in non-geek speak that is easy to understand. The real questions are:   How do you know you are getting solid advice? When you do determine you are getting solid advice, are you going to listen to it? Do you have a solid game plan laid out to execute the above? and last but not least... WIIFM -- What's in it for me.  What are my expens... 05/16/2010

My son and I took in a Cleveland Gladiators arena football game last night. Cleveland Gladiators 68, Tulsa Talons 55. So...it was a great night. If you want an action-packed,never a dull moment, unconventional view of football, this is a highly entertaining event to see.  We were in the fourth row and had great seats, although there aren't really any bad seats in the house. Here is the Cleveland Gladiators upcoming schedule. The only downside is I felt like I was in a research study being bombarded by constant advertising, it was everywhere.  Perhaps if Google ends up owning the world, this is a foreshadowing of what it will look like! But given the arena was only partially full, I would imagine without the advertising that does exist, this team might not be possible. It was pretty cool... 05/16/2010

Cleveland Real Estate - 18824 Ferncliffe Ave. ( Cleveland, Ohio )... More information at www.cjharrington.com or Call (440)336-0612 LinksCJ's TEAM SITEPhoto GalleryDescriptionTotal Remodel! Like a breath of fresh air! Dual heating systems on 1st and 2nd floor. Hardwood floors. 1st floor master with walk-in. Updated 1st floor bath with ceramic tile. Cherry kitchen with stainless steel appliances. 2 floor full bath. Ceramic tile in finished basement, glass block windows. Pella Windows. Large covered deck. Extra insulation. Zoned heating and cooling on 1st and 2nd floors. MUST SEE!For more information...CALL... (440)336-0612Or visit our website at www.cjharrington.com for real estate information across Cleveland, OH.Search Homes for Sale, Information on Foreclosures Listings, First Time H... 05/14/2010

Cleveland Ohio Real Estate - What Happens After The Home Inspection    In this article, we will discuss the post-inspection process when buying a home here in Cleveland and give suggestions on how to move forward in a smooth manner in order to get what you want. At this point in the process, we will assume that you have thoroughly gone over the inspection report and discussed issues of concern directly with the home inspector. While discussion here will be limited to post inspection issues only, you can read about the entire buying process by viewing the link below:  A Complete Guide To Buying A Home in Cleveland One of the most stressful parts of the home buying process can be dealing with post-inspection issues. Depending on how you proceed, this next step can lead to round 2 of negot... 05/11/2010

Cleveland Named one of Best Bicycling Cities     For the first time, Bicycling Magazine has added Cleveland to its list of best cities for bicycling.  This list is based on government and community initiatives that offer more amenities to bicyclers as well as overall efforts of the area to "go green" and provide better conditions for healthy recreation. This is the first time Cleveland has made the list. Cleveland was officially ranked number 39 on the list and was named a "rising star" by the magazine.  Bicycle enthusiasts are delighted to see our city recognized.  Cleveland currently has eight trails and is planning to add eight more.  We also have one of the biggest Metropark systems in the country, with great trails for biking. In addition, the city is also considering creating a "B... 04/28/2010

If you are a Greater Cleveland, Ohio home seller (or soon to be), here is a tip: If your home has more than 10 or even 20 colors all over your home's walls and ceilings, do yourself a favor (your net proceeds will thank you later) and get rid of 80-90% of these disparate colors. I have been showing a lot of homes these past few weeks to several buyers and while going through a home is always a unique experience, looking at well over a dozen (I counted 15 colors in one home), STRONG, VIVID, BLINDING colors, all over the rainbow, some finishes are in SEMI-GLOSS, some flat walls were touched up with SEMI-GLOSS,  coupled with TONS of accessories, contrasting furniture, carpeting, window treatments and the like, and you throw it all into one huge pot, and this can easily create a tipping poi... 04/17/2010