Central Ohio Home Source

We will be attempting to highlight our new bank owned/REO/Foreclosure listings as they come up.  Keeping up may be a challenge, as we are expecting many, and they seem to be going into contract rather rapidly.  I had recently heard that the banks have a “shadow inventory” of homes, meaning they have thousands of homes that they have taken deed to after Sheriff’s sale, but have not yet put on the market, possibly to allow the inventory to slowly be absorbed into the market, as opposed to dumping them, thus driving down the values.   So housing news is good, but there are still many foreclosure homes in Columbus that are “waiting in the wings”.

Back to our subject property.  This home is on the east side of Columbus, OH, just off Noe Bixby Road, in the Walnut Bluff subdivision (Columbus city schools).   This looks to be already in contract, after just a few days, due to being aggressively priced at $35,900.  This is rehabbers/handyman special.  Looks to need a new roof, soffits, gutters, new flooring, some doors, new kitchen, bathroom repairs, and some other basics.  And make sure you check out the commode (or throne) in the lower level bathroom/utility room - quite a vantage point!

But a solid 3 bedroom split level that will probably be looking pretty sharp in the next few months.  Some very comparable homes in this neighborhood have sold for in the $80’s (k), and one complete rehab sold for $99k back in May. 

The Mrs. and I hit the BIA Parade of Homes at Tartan Ridge, just north of Dublin last friday.   This year, the builders were encouraged to focus on more traditional designs, ones that would mimic the look of 100-200 years ago (at least thats what one of the folks working at the Gossing model told me. 

 Did the builders hit the mark?  Well, there is only so close that luxurious 5000 square foot homes in suburbs can go to mimic the humble homes of years gone by, with their lack of a 90 degree corners,  and 7 foot ceilings (if you were lucky).  I did wonder:      How would Laura Ingalls Wilder have felt soaking in the giant tub of the glorious master suite in the Romanelli and Hughes model?  I guess we’ll never know…

I would have to honestly agree with the judges as to the “winners”.   The Kevin Knight model, the Duffy Homes model, and the Gossing Construction model were my 1-2-3.   The New England Homes was a close 4th.   They all hit the “traditional” theme spot on.

 The Kevin Knight & Co. home was the unrivaled favorite for us.  This year is  the first time that we have gone back to see a model a second time.  I think Mr. Knight thought he had a ready buyer, based on the amount of time we spent there.  The Mrs.  loves wide open spaces, natural surfaces, and DESPISES formal living areas, and the Knight home hit all those marks.   It hadn’t sold yet as of our visit.  I was somewhat surprised, but the more I pondered, the more I realized that his design did not have the typical large home appeal (read: Palatial).  We talked to the builder, as well as the window contractor and the flooring artist.  Kevin Knight described the design as  ”seeing how close to the edge he could get without going too far”, or something like that.   

Here are a few shots I took.  I forgot to increase the resolution on the camera, or these photos might be better.  

2nd floor technology area - Knight Model

Open living in Knight Model

 

Close up view of Kitchen Table

Subdued Master Bedroom

“Huh?  I know Google, but what is Google Voice?”  I thought you might say that.  

Short version?  A quick and easy way to get in touch with us — just click the “balloon” on the right side of our front page, input your area code and phone number, and it will ring your phone and connect you directly with us — that simple!

Here’s a more detailed explanation:  In Google’s never ending quest to add more and more unique applications that we cannot live without, they have struck a sweet spot with their new Google Voice.  More accurately, like they did with YouTube and other applications, they have found a very promising new toy that already existed (it was called Grand Central before), and added it to the Google family.

Here’s what it is:  you have a unique, NEW phone number that you select, and you decide which phone you want that number to ring to.   Its just that simple.  You can change which phone it rings to at any time, so your number can “follow” you.  Plus, it has built in voice mail, which e-mails you when you get a new call or message.  Got Google’s GMail?  It will e-mail you a computerized transcript of the message (its a computer doing it, so it can be a bit amusing to see how the message gets transcribed, especially if the caller is talking fast). 

Long distance calls in the lower 48 states?  FREE!  Plus incredibly low rates for worldwide long distance (like $0.02 per minute to Europe) — almost unbelievable to me — if you are old like me, you might remember your phone bills 20 years ago when you were in college calling your girlfriend 2 states away — it sure as heck was NOT three cents a minute — and she WASN’T in Switzerland!!

Technology is an amazing thing.

OK, so how much per month does Google charge for all these great features?  NOTHING - ZILCH - NADA!  Zero dollars and Zero cents.  Wow.

There could be a waiting list as I write this.  I got signed up 18 months ago, when it was still “Grand Central”, and I had to wait around for a while to even be able to pick my number from the available list that they had.

Go type in “Google Voice” to Googles search engine and check it out…

Mortgage News Daily reported on Tuesday that data released from the American Bankers Association seems to point towards more loan delinquencies and potentially more mortgage defaults.   If you want to read the article in its entirety, here it is: Bad News for Housing Recovery.

Essentially, the article states that they are seeing increasing rates of delinquent payments  in most of the loan types (other than mortgages), such as home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, auto loans, etc.

Job losses and decreased hours seem to be accounting for these numbers.

And you architecture lesson for the day:   Tom’ s neighborhood of choice features the craftsman bungalow style of architecture, sometimes referred to as Arts and Crafts style.  You can see many homes in this style here in Columbus in Clintonville.

**7/7 - update:  Tom has added a complete video on his YouTube channel on this project, which he called the “Hat Trick House”.  Check it out:

Gahanna’s Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival is one of the nicest community festivals of the summer.   It is a very manageable size (especially if you are toting the little ones), and the weather usually ends up cooperating (most years).   With the recent Creekside development, parking has become much less of an issue (wear comfortable shoes, just in case the garage is full, which it very well may be…).  It also has much more of a “family” feel, with the crazy “carny” action of some of the other outlying community festivals kept to a minimum.

NOTE:  They are charging $2 a head this year, but kids and military are free.

Find out more at their official website, Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival.

Cabinet Hardware Options

Hardware?  Like bringing in the toolbox from the garage and displaying it prominently in the Living Room?  Of course not!  Go to the Kitchen Design Center at your local big box home retailer, and mention “hardware” — it they are worth their salt, they will know exactly what you are looking for (unless you are holding a broken hammer, and have a “lost” look on your face.  Enough joking:

Hardware = Pulls and Knobs for your Kitchen Cabinets

Adding good quality hardware to your already presentable (but naked) cabinet doors can really make the kitchen stand out, especially if your home is similar to others that are currently on the market.   Now, if you already have hardware on your cabinets, but it is marred or outdated, it’s time to change that, too.

The most popular brand that you will see at your local home center would probably be Amerock.  Options can start as little as $1.00 each, and go up to $10-15 each an higher.   A good rule of thumb to use is select hardware that 1) matches the finish of the cabinets themselves (this one should be a no-brainer), 2) matches the other features of the kitchen, like countertops, windows, etc.,  and 3) does NOT break the bank - there is no point spending $2000 on hardware if your home is in the $80,000 price range, and it will probably look out of place.

Here are some examples of popular pieces:

One note of caution:  if you are not the best handyman/handylady, have someone with more skills do the installation — it is extremely easy to have a terrible result, if you are not careful.