Are you getting your home ready to list it for sale?  Preparing to sell a home in West Chester, Liberty Township or Beckett Ridge can be an overwhelming task if you are not prepared.  The process of getting your home ready can be simplified by breaking the areas of your home up into groups. 

In my previous post, >>Preparing Your Home To Sell, we covered Curb Appeal, Front Entry / Porch & Landscaping.  Today we will cover your first impression (interior, foyer).  When selling your home in today’s real estate market it is critical that the first impression that homebuyers have of your home is a welcoming one.  A welcoming space is one that invites the homebuyer in and lures them into the rest of the house.

Many times homeowners don’t even come and go through their front door and thus don’t place a great enough emphasis on this area of the home.  This is the area of the home that starts off the showing for the homebuyer and this is where they begin to anticipate the rest of the house.

The homebuyer needs to be able to envision themselves in your home, so this is definitely an area of a home listed for sale that should have all personal effects, photos and clutter removed.  Generally speaking, any furniture that is located in this area should be removed with the exception of a properly sized foyer table.  Be sure that there are no pieces of furniture or babygates blocking the path or view from the foyer in the rest of your home.

Be sure to de-clutter your foyer closet.  A full and cluttered foyer closet simply tells homebuyers that you are short on closet space.  The foyer closet should not be more than half full.  Store unused and seasonal coats in plastic tubs in a storage area away from the living spaces of your home.

All personal/family photos should be removed from the foyer area.  If your foyer has a space that you feel needs decorating consider a mirror instead of photos.

The foyer paint color should be neutral and an earth tone.  Under no circumstances should your foyer have wallpaper on the walls.

As buyers enter your home, the scent that they smell must be clean and very subtle.  The use of candles or spray air freshener is not recommended.  Many homebuyers can have adverse reactions to these strong smells and in some cases may actually wonder what it is you are trying to cover up.

We have now created a great first impression for homebuyers as you continue preparing your home for sale in today’s real estate market.  In the next post in this series of articles we’ll cover Living Room, Dining Room, Family Room & Study.

Read the first article in this series here >>  Preparing Your Home For Sale In Today’s Market Part I

Relocating To West Chester, Liberty Township Or Mason, Ohio??  Request Our Free Relocation Information Package By Clicking Here!

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

Are you getting your home ready to list it for sale?  Preparing to sell a home in West Chester, Liberty Township or Beckett Ridge can be an overwhelming task if you are not prepared.  The process of getting your home ready can be simplified by breaking the areas of your home up into groups.

1.   Curb Appeal, Front Entry/Porch & Landscaping

2.   First Impression (interior), Foyer

3.   Living Room, Dining Room, Family Room & Study

4.   Kitchen

5.   Bedrooms

6.   Finished Lower Level

7.   Rear Yard, Decks & Patio  Areas

Why is any of this necessary you ask?  Because if at all possible you want to avoid that unpleasant feeling of rejection when home buyer after home buyer comes through your home for sale and doesn’t make an offer.

If you can properly stage your home for sale, you’ve greatly increased your chances not just of selling it in today’s challenging real estate market, but of selling it quickly and for significantly more money than you otherwise would have.

Today we’ll address Curb Appeal, Front Entry / Porch & Landscaping.  Always remember, this is the first impression home buyers will have of your home.  First suggestion:  Stop cutting your grass (yourself).  Get a service to maintain your lawn while your home is on the market for sale.  There are many good lawn services in the West Chester, Liberty Township & Beckett Ridge Ohio areas.  A good lawn service can keep your lawn trimmed and edged neatly, will keep your lawn mowed regularly and can also trim your bushes & shrubs and provide fresh mulch (please use black mulch) to complete the great look.

Keep this in mind:  If your yard is beautiful and well maintained, home buyers will assume the whole house has been kept the same.

If your home has a front porch make sure that it is freshly scrubbed and clean.  If there is enough room, place a couple of chairs and a small table on the porch to stage the area.  Caution: Be sure the size of the table & chairs do not overwhelm the space.  Also keep in mind, I am not talking about the “$10 plastic chairs & table” here.  They need to be something nice!

If your home does not have a front porch just be sure the outside area around the front door is clean, no cob webs and also be sure the front door itself is clean.  More than likely the front door needs a fresh coat of paint and probably new hardware.  If you have outside lighting/coach lights they probably need replacing also.

This is a great start on preparing your home for sale in today’s market.  In the next post in this series of articles we’ll cover First Impressions (interior), Foyer. 

Relocating To West Chester, Liberty Township Or Mason, Ohio??  Request Our Free Relocation Information Package By Clicking Here!

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

It’s Tuesday, so this must be the Tuesday Open House.

What is Tuesday Open House?? Well, it’s clearly not an “open house”. Open Houses don’t sell homes… good internet marketing does… but it seemed like a good title for this weekly blog post.

It is my way of throwing the doors open on the RealEstate-Ink.com blog and offering up a few quick articles and facts on real estate for the West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Mason and Fairfield Township, Ohio areas. It is not intended to be all about homes for sale, but it will be about that some of the time…

Buying A Home: One of my favorite writers and the author of Seth’s Blog, Seth Godin had a great blog post last week on how to buy a house.  Actually he termed it how to think about buying a house.  It is an really good article that is definitely worth taking the time to read.  You can read How to buy A house here

Mortgage Interest Rates: The interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage was just 4.90% this morning.  If you are thinking about a 15 year fixed rate, you can get that today for just 4.25%.  Both of these rates were with no points.  These mortgage rates come courtesy of Third Federal Savings.  With rates this low, moving up to a larger or newer home seems like a very good decision.  For instance… if you are currently in a home with a $200,000 mortgage at 6.00% your principal and interest payment is $1199.  Moving up to a home with a $300,000 mortgage at 4.90% carries with it a monthly principal and interest payment of $1592, just under $400 more.  Clearly there are many factors to consider including your job security, other monthly bills, etc., but if the time is right for you personally, this is a great opportunity to move up!

Keller Williams RED Day: Keller Williams Realty Red Day plans are underway! On May 13th, the Keller Williams Associate Partners office will be conducting a huge food and clothing collection drive for Reach Out Lakota!!!! Praying the day will be a huge success…Please RSVP to let us know if you would like to donate…we’ll come to your home on May 13th and pick up your donations. All you have to do is leave it out on your front porch for us. To RSVP, please visit our Lowry Team Real Estate Facebook Fan Page!

 Thinking Of Selling?: It is spring in West Chester and Liberty Township and this is a time of year when many homeowners think about putting their home on the market for sale and now is a good time to do so.  But first, consider finding an experienced real estate professional to consult with you.  It is very important that your home is ready for the market, there clearly are improvements that are critical to your home selling for the most money possible.  You can get our 20 Steps To Help You Sell Your Home In Today’s Market here for free.  This will get you started.  Also, be sure that you get a detailed market value analyis of the value of your home so that you start out day one on the market at the right list price.  You can request a Free Market Value Analysis here.  In today’s market, experience counts.  Your choice of a real estate agent could determine if your home sells at all!  Let us know if we can help.

Our Facebook Fan Page of the week is: Taste of Cincinnati. The Taste of Cincinnati is just a month away now.  Taste of Cincinnati USA is held every Memorial Day weekend in downtown Cincinnati. Started in 1979, it is now the nation’s longest running culinary arts festival.. Check out their Facebook page for all of the details.  As of today they have 2394 fans.

While you are on facebook checking out the Taste Of Cincinnati fan page, please visit and become a fan of our facebook page:

 Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

What is a Market Snapshot? A Market Snapshot is a detailed real estate market report providing you with information on homes for sale and recent home sales in your  West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio neighborhood.

Detailed information on each home is included on an interactive map as well as statistical data, all of which comes directly from the Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

Get your West Chester Real Estate Market Update delivered right to your inbox:

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

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Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

It’s time for the Tuesday Open House. What is Tuesday Open House?? Well, it’s clearly not an “open house”. Open Houses don’t sell homes, but it seemed like a good title for this weekly blog post. It is my way of throwing the doors open on the RealEstate-Ink.com blog and offering up a few quick articles and facts on real estate for the West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Mason and Fairfield Township, Ohio areas. It is not intended to be all about homes for sale, but it will be about that some of the time…

New Listing: 8419 Edgeview Drive, West Chester, Ohio. Located just minutes from the shopping and dining at Voice Of America and both I-75 and I-71.  This terrific home really is a must see. It features three bedrooms and two and a half baths, along with a cathedral great room, remodeled kitchen, large master w/ adjoining bath and first floor laundry. You can get more information and see interior and exterior photos of 8419 Edgeview Drive in West Chester, Ohio on our website, www.LowryTeam.com.

Need Mulch? As I have mentioned several times, if you are preparing your home to get it on the market for sale soon? Don’t forget the curb appeal. As the old saying goes… you only get one chance to make a good first impression. So clean up the landscaping and get yourself some fresh mulch. I’m not sure that there is a better way to go than to get it from the boy scouts. They even deliver! You can see the article in the Cincinnati Enquirer here or you can just go directly to the boy scouts site right here. My mulch is being delivered this week…anyone like to help??

10 Days To Tax Credit Expiration: The tax credit of $8000 for first time hombuyers and $6500 for move up buyers expires on April 30th, 2010.  Could the time to buy be after the expiration of the tax credits?  Maybe… homeowners that haven’t sold may be more likely to accept a lower price if the showing and selling activity slows after the tax credit expiration, providing an even better opportunity for a good deal.  Will the activity slow?  No one knows, we will just have to wait and see.  Also, keep in mind interest rates remain very, very low.

Keller Williams RED Day:  Keller Williams Realty Red Day plans are underway! On May 13th, the Keller Williams Associate Partners office will be conducting a huge food and clothing collection drive for Reach Out Lakota!!!! Praying the day will be a huge success…Please RSVP to let us know if you would like to donate…we’ll come to your home on May 13th and pick up your donations. All you have to do is leave it out on your front porch for us.  To RSVP, please visit our Lowry Team Real Estate Facebook Fan Page!

It Must Be Spring:  You know it is spring in West Chester and Liberty Township when The Cone opens.  I drove by the Tylersville Road landmark this past week and the crowds were already huge.  The Cone is the local ice cream destination.  Check out their website for more information and to read the history of this local West Chester business.

Our Facebook Fan Page of the week is: The Cincinnati Bengals.  This week is the NFL draft and the eyes of all Bengal fans will be on the team to see which players they select.  Hopefully it will be a successful weekend for the Bengals.  Check out their Facebook page for all of the details.

While you are on facebook checking out the Cincinnati Bengals fan page, please visit and become a fan of our facebook page:

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

I am pleased to present my 1st Quarter 2010 Real Estate Market Report for West Chester, Beckett Ridge and Liberty Township, Ohio. In this report you will find detailed real estate information and statistics. The source of this information is the Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service. By seeking out and understanding the trends in our market place we are better able to forecast the upcoming market conditions. Any thoughts and insight into what may occur in the future are solely my opinions and forecasts.

I am very focused on providing the best information possible and to being the real estate expert in our West Chester, Beckett Ridge & Liberty Township, Ohio area. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding any of this information. So let’s get started:

SALES:

There were 189 homes sold in the 1st Quarter of 2010 compared to 195 homes sold in the 1st Quarter of 2009. This represents a decrease of 3.08%.  If you simply leave it at that, it doesn’t look too bad.  However, if you dissect the market a little, you will see that things can look a little different depending on the price range.  Also, we must keep in mind that in the 1st Quarter of 2010, sales with out question have been supported / propped up by the goverment’s tax credit incentives for both 1st time homebuyers and repeat buyers.  We did not have these incentives in place in the 1st Quarter of 2009, thus one could surmise, pretty easily I think, that the percentage decrease would have been quite a bit larger if not for the tax credit incentives.

Below, you will see the sales broken down by price range, which paints a picture of several different markets within the West Chester and Liberty Township, Ohio real estate market:

AVERAGE SALE PRICE:

The average sale price in the 1st Quarter of 2010 for the West Chester and Liberty Township Ohio markets was $223,139 compared to $207,772 in the 1st Quarter of 2009, which constitutes an increase of 7.40%. So, let’s talk about what this means and what it doesn’t mean. First, it does mean that the average price of all of the homes that sold was quite a bit higher, 7.02% higher in fact.  However, what this doesn’t mean is that the value of our homes rose by 7.40% in this period. This average sale price is affected quite a bit in this case by the fact that we saw a pretty good increase of sales of higher priced homes compared to the market as a whole. This occurred while we had a decrease in the percentage of sales closed in all of the ranges under the $400,000 range, thus causing the average to be higher.

So, is this good news or bad news? Really to be honest, it is no news. To know the value of your home and just how much the value has fallen you need a detailed, analytical analysis of the current market value. You cannot draw a conclusion from market averages, and certainly not from what you read in the newspaper, Cincinnati Enquirer, USA Today or otherwise.

SUPPLY OF HOMES FOR SALE:

The oversupply of homes for sale is where the pricing pressure comes from. Too many homes for sale in relation to how many are selling is a critical indicator to monitor as we watch for signs of market stabilization. At the end of the 1st Quarter of 2010 we had 720 homes for sale in the West Chester, Beckett Ridge and Liberty Township, Ohio marketplace compared to 743 homes for sale in 2009. Meaning we have not seen a huge reduction in the amount of homes for sale. With a current inventory of 720 homes for sale, based on our current rate of sale we have just under 7.39 months worth of inventory for sale. Meaning if we continue to sell homes at the current pace and no new listings come on the market, it would take us just under 7.39 months to sell them all compared to a 7.75 month supply one year ago. So, relative to the pace that homes are selling, we have seen a small reduction in the inventory of homes for sale.  However, just like unit sales, these numbers can vary greatly by price range as you can see below.

INTEREST RATES:

At the end of the 1st Quarter of 2010 interest rates on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage were hovering around a range of 4.95% – 5.05% which is largely the same as they were just one year ago. We have seen interest rates start to increase in the last few weeks though.  Just two weeks ago that thirty year mortgage was right around 4.75%.  So in the last two weeks rates have increased approx. .30%.   This is still a very clear example of the extreme value of today’s interest rates.

TOP 10 SALES:

The top 10 sales of the 1st Quarter of 2010*:

*These sales are not necessarily those of Eric Lowry and the Lowry Team.

Summary:

New Listing On LowryTeam.com…

8105 Tollbridge Court, West Chester, Ohio 45069

West Chester, Ohio 45069

Lakota Schools

$244,900 - Three Bedrooms – Three Full Baths, One Half Bath

This Is A Terrific Two Story Home In Beckett Ridge Subdivision:

• Cathedral Great Room w/ Wood Burning Fireplace!
• Gourmet Kitchen w/ New Cabinets & Granite Countertops
• Spacious Master w/ Adjoining Luxury Bath & Walk-In Closet
• Finished Lower Level w/ Rec Room, 4th Bedroom & Full Bath
• Too many updates to list
• Cul-de-Sac Street
• Fenced Rear Yard
• Close To Schools, Shopping & Expressways

Click here to see more information on this terrific Beckett Ridge, in West Chester, Ohio home for sale including many more photos

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

Everywhere you look these days there is news on home values.  It’s in newspapers, like the Cincinnati Enquirer, it’s on the web on sites like CNBC.com and USAToday.com and many others. Some is positive news and some news is very negative. 

There are somethings to keep in mind here before you go off the deep end regarding your homes current market value.  The first is, don’t forget your basic math. Average sale prices have been going up in some areas, down in others. The average sale price is the just the value that occurs when all of the sales that occur in a given market are added up and divided by the number of sales. For example, if 100 homes have sold for a total sales volume of  $16,570,000. the average sale price would be $167,500. This simply represents the average of all of the homes that have sold and does not establish anything remotely close to a property’s value.

The second thing to remember is, when you hear these national news reports and economists discussing the rising or falling home prices, they are talking about national averages and these have nothing to do with our market values in West Chester, Beckett Ridge, Liberty or Fairfield Township areas.

These national reports are very much like getting a national weather forecast.  The average temperature in the United States tomorrow is not likely going to effect your life very much.  What you want to know if what the weather is going to be here tomorrow and if you are concerned about your homes value, you need to know the market data for our area, not some large metro area or state or country.  Local real estate market information including data on recent homes sold and homes for sale in your neighborhood in available to you by simply clicking here!

The best way to determine the value of your home is to get it analyzed by an experienced real estate professional. There are many factors in determining home values today and picking an average out of the air could hinder the sale of your home and frankly could cost you money. In today’s real estate market it is more important than ever to price your home appropriately.

If you would like to learn the current market value of your home you can request it here!

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

It’s time for the Tuesday Open House. What is Tuesday Open House?? Well, it’s clearly not an “open house”. Open Houses don’t sell homes, but it seemed like a good title for this weekly blog post. It is my way of throwing the doors open on the RealEstate-Ink.com blog and offering up a few quick articles and facts on real estate for the West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Mason and Fairfield Township, Ohio areas. It is not intended to be all about homes for sale, but it will be about that some of the time…

New Listing: 325 Bridle Pass Way, Monroe, Ohio.  Located in Bridle Creek subdivision this terrific ranch home really is a must see.  It features three bedrooms and two full baths on the first floor, along with a cathedral great room, eat-in kitchen, cathedral master w/ adjoining bath and first floor laundry.  The lower level is really special, featuring a large rec room w/ wet bar, recessed ceiling and recessed lighting, a fourth bedroom and third full bath, plus a professional class media room.  You can get more information and see interior and exterior photos of 325 Bridle Pass Way in Bridle Creek on our website, www.LowryTeam.com.

 Need Mulch? As I mentioned last week, if you are preparing your home to get it on the market for sale soon? Don’t forget the curb appeal. As the old saying goes… you only get one chance to make a good first impression. So clean up the landscaping and get yourself some fresh mulch. I’m not sure that there is a better way to go than to get it from the boy scouts. They even deliver! You can see the article in the Cincinnati Enquirer here or you can just go directly to the boy scouts site right here. I am placing my order this week.

Good Reasons To Buy Now: Here is a really good article on why now is the time to buy real estate if you have been thinking of it and are just undecided or unsure.  5 Good Reasons To Buy That Home NOW!

This article makes the point that waiting to buy a home until later may in fact cost you money.  The below example spells this out pretty clearly I think:

 Let’s say that you buy a home for $200,000 and make a  10% down payment using a 30 year fixed rate mortgage.  If your interest rate today is 5.00%, the monthly payment will be $967. 

But let’s say you want to wait to see if home values fall farther in the West Chester/Liberty Township area.  If home values do fall a little more and that same home can now be purchased for $195,000 with the same 10% down payment, but while you waited interest rates went up slightly to 5.25%, your payment would now be $969.  Even though you paid $5000 less, you payment is now $2 higher. 

If rates have moved up to 5.50% during this time, your payment would now be $996.  And these payments are based on the lower purchase price, if the value of the home you were buying didn’t drop and the rates went up the monthly payments would be even higher. 

So waiting to buy may very well cost you money.  Rates have started to rise, not dramatically yet, but don’t wait too long! 

Our Facebook Fan Page of the week is: Reach Out Lakota. This community organization does a lot of good in our community.  They need more than just for us to become fans of them on facebook, they need our support and donations!  As of this writing their page has 53 fans, so I ask that you check out their fan page, become a fan and invite your facebook friends to do the same.  More importantly though, consider donating nonperishable food items and clothing to Reach Out Lakota today.  Check it out.

While you are on facebook checking out the Reach Out Lakota fan page, please visit and become a fan of our facebook page:

 Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

The tax credit is not just for those buying a bigger home, it also works for those wanting to downsize

When the First Time Home Buyer Tax credit was extended and expanded most people thought the expansion was only for home owners who wanted to move up, those who wished to buy a bigger, more expensive home. In fact, the expansion simply includes those who have owned a primary residence and lived in it for at least five consecutive years out of the last eight years. If current home owners want to downsize they can use the tax credit toward their new home, regardless of whether it costs less or is smaller than the home that they are selling.

It is an anomaly that everyone assumes the tax credit is only for purchasing bigger and better. Many people, especially those whose children have grown and left the nest, want to downsize. After-all, who doesn’t want to make life simpler these days?

If you have been considering selling your home and moving into a smaller space, consider doing so before the tax credit expires. Place your new home under contract by April 30th and close by June 30th and you could have a few extra dollars in your pocket.

Learn more about both of the homebuyer tax credits here!

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Visit My YouTube channel at:  www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

 Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio