North Olmsted, OH Real Estate Housing Market Activity ~ August 2009 If you have been following my weekly housing updates for North Olmsted, you may have been asking yourself, "What happened to the past 2 weeks???" Well, life happened. The kids went back to school (one in college, one a junior in high school), business picked up considerably (yay!!) and I've had "cat issues". You really don't want to know about that one....trust me. But if anyone wants a cute little, slightly assertive, probably-best-as-an-only-pet kitty, drop me a line. Ok, so I'm just kidding. I love her to pieces and would miss her terribly. It's the rest of the herd that's voting her off the island! Anyway, back to the market updates. In the past couple of weeks, I have also decided to post this update monthly, rathe... 09/02/2009

North Ridgeville Real Estate - 08/23/2009 - LISTING - 34756 Clear Creek Drive ( North Ridgeville, Ohio ) - Wildwood Estates - WWW.CJHARRINGTON.COM - 440-336-0612 C J Harrington | Keller Williams Realty | cjharrington.crs@gmail.com | 440-336-0612 34756 Clear Creek Drive, North Ridgeville, OH North Ridgeville Real Estate-34756 Clear Creek Drive(North Ridgeville,Ohio)-Wildwood Estates 4BR/2.5BA Single Family House offered at $206,900 Year Built 1998 Sq Footage 2,040 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 full, 1 partial Floors 2 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size .28 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Stunning Colonial Has A Family Room With Fireplace. Formal Living Room and Dining Room With Gorgeous Chair Rail And Crown Molding. Kitchen with Island Overlooking Deck And Great Back Yard. Spacious Master S... 08/23/2009

North Ridgeville Real Estate - 08/23/09 - LISTING - 34756 Clear Creek Drive ( North Ridgeville, Ohio ) - Wildwood Estates - WWW.CJHARRINGTON.COM - 440-336-0612 LinksCJ's TEAM SITEPhoto GalleryDescriptionStunning Colonial Has A Family Room With Fireplace. Formal Living Room and Dining Room With Gorgeous Chair Rail And Crown Molding. Kitchen with Island Overlooking Deck And Great Back Yard. Spacious Master Suite with Glamour Bath. Sprinkler System. Refrigerator is negotiable. Cul-de-sac!!For more information ... Call or Email us at 440-336-0612, cjharrington.crs@gmail.com Or... visit our website at http://www.cjharrington.com for FREE information. -Buy a Home With Little Money Down -FREE Seller Reports-Sell Your Home Fast And For Top Dollar -FREE Buyer Reports-Get The Most Home For Your ... 08/23/2009

Rocky River Real Estate - 08/23/09 - LISTING - 2550 Jameston Drive ( Rocky River, Ohio ) - Under $126K - WWW.CJHARRINGTON.COM - 440-336-0612 LinksCJ's TEAM SITEDescriptionLocation - location - location on this classic brick ranch on wooded lot. Quiet street with easy access to I-90! Fireplace! Covered patio! 1 1/2 baths! Central air! Price reflects cosmetic updating that is needed.For more information ... Call or Email us at 440-336-0612, cjharrington.crs@gmail.com Or... visit our website at http://www.cjharrington.com for FREE information. -Buy a Home With Little Money Down -FREE Seller Reports-Sell Your Home Fast And For Top Dollar -FREE Buyer Reports-Get The Most Home For Your Money -FREE Home Value - Report & Evaluation -Find Out What The House Down The Street Sold For -And much mor... 08/23/2009

North Ridgeville Real Estate - NEW LISTING - 08/17/2009 - 34756 Clear Creek Drive (North Ridgeville, Ohio)- Wildwood Estates - WWW.CJHARRINGTON.COM - 440-336-0612 C J Harrington | Keller Williams Realty | cjharrington.crs@gmail.com | 440-336-0612 34756 Clear Creek Drive, North Ridgeville, OH North Ridgeville Real Estate-34756 Clear Creek Drive(North Ridgeville,Ohio)-Wildwood Estates 4BR/2.5BA Single Family House offered at $206,900 Year Built 1998 Sq Footage 2,040 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 full, 1 partial Floors 2 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size .28 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Stunning Colonial Has A Family Room With Fireplace. Formal Living Room and Dining Room With Gorgeous Chair Rail And Crown Molding. Kitchen with Island Overlooking Deck And Great Back Yard. Spacious Master ... 08/17/2009

North Ridgeville Real Estate - NEW LISTING - 08/17/09 - 34756 Clear Creek Drive (North Ridgeville, Ohio)- Wildwood Estates - WWW.CJHARRINGTON.COM - 440-336-0612 LinksCJ's TEAM SITEPhoto GalleryDescriptionStunning Colonial Has A Family Room With Fireplace. Formal Living Room and Dining Room With Gorgeous Chair Rail And Crown Molding. Kitchen with Island Overlooking Deck And Great Back Yard. Spacious Master Suite with Glamour Bath. Sprinkler System. Refrigerator is negotiable. Cul-de-sac!!For more information ... Call or Email us at 440-336-0612, cjharrington.crs@gmail.com Or... visit our website at http://www.cjharrington.com for FREE information. -Buy a Home With Little Money Down -FREE Seller Reports-Sell Your Home Fast And For Top Dollar -FREE Buyer Reports-Get The Most Home For Your ... 08/17/2009

North Olmsted, OH Real Estate Housing Market Activity ~ week ending 8/7/09 As July approaches the mid-point, North Olmsted housing activity is picking up speed. We have a few less homes in the inventory (261 down from 269 the previous week), 13 more under contract and 5 more happy homeowners received the keys to their new house! The Sales Price to List Price percentage is down a bit. Once again, due to a foreclosure in the mix. Once we have a larger number of closings, those one or two foreclosures won't affect the total as much. I'm confident that day will come soon! Here's the latest:     Till next time!   www.SoldBySueGabriel.com 08/12/2009

West Cleveland Suburbs ~ Home Buyer Tips ~ #10 - Owning A Home is a GREAT Investment...But.... And finally....Home Buyer Tip #10 of the Top 10 Tips To Take the Stress Out of Homebuying: 10. Choose a home first because you love it; then think about appreciation. While U.S. homes have appreciated an average of 5.4 percent annually over from 1998 to 2002, a home's most important role is to serve as a comfortable, safe place to live. Once again, we all wish we had a crystal ball, But, alas, we don't. Homes appreciate at different rates, in different areas of the country...as well as different neighborhoods within the same city! And the amount your home increases in value can also change from year to year. A financial payback is more likely than not, but it usually takes several years to see... 07/22/2009

West Cleveland Suburbs ~ Home Buyer Tips ~ #9 - Unless It Was Love At First Sight....   Home Buyer Tip #9 of the Top 10 Tips To Take the Stress Out of Homebuying: 9. Accept that a little buyer's remorse is inevitable and will probably pass. Buying a home, especially for the first time, is a big financial commitment. But it also yields big benefits! Don't lose sight of why you wanted to buy a home and what made you fall in love with the property you purchased. From beginning to end, the process of finding and buying a house could take from 2-3 months. And unless you fall in love at first sight (although it has happened), you may cross 10-30 thresholds before your lips curve into that little smile and your eyes sparkle ~ you've found the one! You'll negotiate the price and inspection issu... 07/21/2009

West Cleveland Suburbs ~ Home Buyer Tips ~ #7 - Be a good little Scout....Be Prepared! Here's Home Buyer Tip #7 of the Top 10 Tips To Take the Stress Out of Homebuying: 7. Plan ahead. Don't wait until you've found a home and made an offer to get approved for a mortgage, investigate home insurance, and consider a schedule for moving. Presenting an offer contingent on a lot of unresolved issues will make your bid much less attractive to sellers. I'm going to focus on the mortgage part of this tip. Getting homeowner's insurance and knowing your exact move-in timetable are definitely important, but in the end, it all comes down to $$$. In today's market, sellers are more cautious than ever when it comes to the offer they accept on their home. The mortgage crisis has made everyone leary, and... 07/19/2009

West Cleveland Suburbs ~ Home Buyer Tips ~ #6 - Location, Location, Location! And now for Home Buyer Tip #6 of the Top 10 Tips To Take the Stress Out of Homebuying: 6. Remember your home doesn't exist in a vacuum. Don't get so caught up in the physical aspects of the house itself - room size, kitchen, etc. - that you forget about important issues as noise level, location to amenities, and other aspects that also have a big impact on your quality of life. I realize the title has become a cliche when it comes to talking about buying real estate. But one of the most important homebuyer tips is almost the polar opposite of my forest and trees advice in tip #4. This time I want you to take a gigantic step back, and really look at the forest! Is your dream home located next to an interstate? ... 07/18/2009

North Olmsted, OH Real Estate Housing Market Activity ~ week ending 7/17/09 Just as I predicted, we had two closings this past week versus none the week after the holiday. And more good news? The homes under contract have increased to 15! I've also included an additional stat for you...SP/LP%. Pretty cryptic, I know. It's actually very easy. Simply take the Sold Price (160,500) divided by the List Price (167,400) and you get the percentage that the seller received for their home. It's a neat little statistic to watch...for buyers and sellers. When the percentage is a large amount, it usually means the houses are priced well for the current market. As I say every week (because it's true!) houses are selling in North Olmsted, OH! Here's the latest: Also, as I mentioned in my blog last wee... 07/18/2009

West Cleveland Suburbs ~ Home Buyer Tips ~ #3 - You aren't going to buy THAT house, are you?? Here's Tip #3 of the Top 10 Tips To Take the Stress Out of Homebuying:   3. Don't ask for too many opinions. It's natural to want reassurance for such a big decision, but too many ideas from too many people will make it much harder to make a decision. Focus on the wants and needs of your immediate family - the people who will be living in the home.   Of course it helps to bring along a parent or friend to check out a house you're considering buying, especially for first time homebuyers. But everyone’s tastes are different. Identical twins may not like the same house! If you have someone whispering in your ear about the “horrible wallpaper” (that you really wouldn't mind removing, because you lo... 07/14/2009

  Happy 4th of July, everyone...I hope you're having a fantastic holiday weekend! Here in North Olmsted, we had our annual Independence Day parade. Also many of the housing developments had their own festivities - from bicycle decorating contests to neighborhood block parties! Here's your Weekly Housing Market Activity for North Olmsted, Ohio, for the week of 6/27/09 to 7/3/09:   Thanks much, and have a great week!   www.SoldBySueGabriel.com   07/04/2009

Hello everyone! As promised, here's your current Weekly Housing Market Activity for North Olmsted, Ohio! For the week of 6/20/09 to 6/26/09:   Thanks much, and have a great week!     06/29/2009

Hello everyone! As promised, here's your current Weekly Housing Market Activity for North Olmsted, Ohio! For the week of 6/13/09 to 6/19/09:   Once again, please take what the media reports with a grain of salt. As you can see, houses are selling! Please keep me in mind if you need help with buying or selling a house...I'm here to help! Thanks much, and have a great week!     06/20/2009

Hello everyone! As promised, here's your current Weekly Housing Market Activity for North Olmsted, Ohio! For the week of 6/6/09 to 6/12/09:   Once again, please take what the media reports with a grain of salt. As you can see, houses are selling! Please keep me in mind if you need help with buying or selling a house...I'm here to help! Thanks much, and have a great week!     06/15/2009

North Olmsted, OH Housing Market Activity ~ week ending 6/5/09 Hello everyone! Welcome to North Olmsted, Ohio! We're one of the largest suburbs of Cleveland, and I happen to think one of the most diverse and convenient! Convenient to 2 major highways, the Ohio Turnpike, Cleveland-Hopkins Airport, a major shopping mall, and 20 minutes to downtown. Being born & raised a Clevelander, I made North Olmsted my home in 1994 ~ and I'm thrilled I did! Almost every single time I go to the grocery store, or the library, or the high school to help in the bookstore, someone asks, "So how's real estate? Are houses actually selling here??" I'm here to say, "Yes, they are!" and have decided to post the North Olmsted activity each week. So here you go, for 5/29/09 to 6/5/09: (corrected 6/16/09)       So... 06/06/2009

I'm sure many of you have heard this before. "Staging a home is inconvenient and disruptive so it's not worth the hassle." (or at least something close to this statement).  Well, yes, it can be inconvenient and disruptive for the homeowner.  Just think about the daunting task of clearing all your extra appliances and "stuff" off of the kitchen countertops before a showing.  Then dashing into all of the bathrooms to stash the toothbrush and personal items and scrubbing the shower from top to bottom.  Oh, and don't forget about the dirty laundry piled sky-high in the laundry room.  Oh, darn, the kitty potty is full of...well, you get the picture! The reality is that when selling you will have to tweak the way you live in the home.  It must be kept impeccably clean and organized.  It must ... 02/19/2009

So I woke up this morning thinking about interest rates. I know, "get a life, Sue". But besides my family (both the 2 and 4 legged members), this is my life. And lately I keep hearing about how bad the interest rates were in the 1980s. So I did a bit of research, and found the highest rates in 1981...ranging from 16% to 21%. Wow, those numbers seem beyond comprehension to me! Then I started wondering what those numbers meant to our housing budget. I chose 18% as an average rate from "the good old days". Take a look at your average 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath colonial in North Olmsted OH, which recently sold for $160,000. Assuming a 5% down payment, a buyer would be mortgaging $144,000:   Monthly Principal & Interest Payment October 1981 (18%) = $2291 January 2009 (5%) = $816 That's a differen... 01/15/2009