Real Estate Information

Don't miss out on this great mixed use investment opportunity!!

The 3 apartment units & income from parking spaces can make your payments. The retail space is a bonus!

Very solid & clean building in high car and foot traffic area

Ready for your business to move in-Can be a Money Maker. Tenants pay heat/air.

Located in the heart of Bethel, Ohio right on St Rt 125

Call Jeff Smith with RE/MAX Elite at 513-659-9645 for more information or a private showing!

CIncinnati Area Real Estate Market Update

Monthly Statistics

Average days on market still low for the month of August

Cincinnati Area Real Estate Market Update

Monthly Statistics

Average days on market drops to 76 days for the month of July.

2008 Cincinnati Area Monthly Real Estate Market Update

These figures are based off of single family home sales data from the Cincinnati MLS.

Despite the negative press you hear on the news concerning the real estate market and the changes in financing there are still good loans with good interest rates available. 

Our team manager heard a so called industry expert on the news this morning saying you cannot get 100% financing these days but that just isn't the case.  We are closing a deal tomorrow where the buyer is purchasing his first home and did not put any money down.  He is participating in an Ameridream Program.  The seller agreed to pay his closing costs and put down 3%  of the purchase price for the buyer.  The seller also agreed to pay $375 for the Ameridream Program fee.   This is a great situation for a qualified and responsible buyer.  Notice I said qualified and responsible.  This type of loan isn't for everyone.  I have noticed the underwriting for these loans has tightened up recently and I think that is a great thing.  Too many people got this type of loan previously and ended up in foreclosure. 

Also, last week I listed a home for a client and our first offer was a zero down buyer. The home is now under contract and again the buyer is not putting any money down to purchase this home.  In this case the buyer is using the Nehemiah Program that allows the seller to contribute 3% for the buyers down payment.  The seller is assisting with the closing costs and paying a $599 fee that Nehemiah charges for their program.   The buyer will not have to put any money down to buy this house, now will he have to use his money for closing costs.   How cool is that! 

Most investments such as gold or stocks require you to fully fund the transaction with 100% of the purchase price.  With real estate, you can purchase a $100,000 home with none of your money.  You can leverage other peoples money to purchase a home.  Leveraging other  peoples money is probably the strongest reason to buy real estate. 

Don't let the press scare you away from buying a home.  The interest rates are good and there are still many loan options available.Rates this past week averaged 6.62 percent for a 30 year fixed rate loan and with some shopping you can do better than the national average.  Give us a call to see if you qualify for one of these 100% financing programs.

Phone:  513-766-9099

Cincinnati Area Real Estate Market Update

Monthly Statistics

Home sales continue to increase for the  month of June and the average days on market drops to 83 days. 

With Ohio being one of the top states for the number of foreclosures, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is offering home buyers some great incentives to buy a HUD property in Ohio.  I have seen some homes sold for very low prices and there are many opportunities still available. 

I helped a client bid on a home recently and HUD was offering $2500 for closing costs and other expenses as long as the buyer is planning to live in the home.  The incentives don't apply for investors. 

They also have a $100 down payment program available if you use FHA financing.   How great is that.  Rather than the normal 3% required for FHA, you can put $100 down and buy one of their homes. 

Many HUD homes require some TLC and some need a lot of work.  To help with the fix up costs, HUD allows you to finance the repair costs by utilizing an FHA 203K loan.  Again, this financing is not available to investors.   It must be an owner occupied home.   So don't let the fact that you don't have funds available to fix up the home deter you from buying a HUD home.  Finance the fix up costs using a 203K loan.  For more details call Dave Brumley  at McKinley Mortgage  791-2700

There are some great deals out there for the buyer that is willing to do some work and will be patient and look for a good buy.  It is crucial to get pre-approval before you can submit an offer on a HUD home. 

A few more facts about buying a HUD Home,

• Buyers that want to live in the home get 10 days to submit bids before investors are allowed to bid.
• HUD requires a earnest money to submit offers.  If the bid is 0 to $50,000 the earnest money must be $500.  If the bid amount is $50,001 - $100,000 the earnest money must be $1000.  If the bid amount is over $100,000 the earnest money must be $1500.
• Your Realtor/Brokerage has to be signed up to submit bids to HUD.  ReMax Elite is signed up and ready to help you.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the benefits of buying a HUD home give us a call at 513-766-9099.

VIP Buyer's Program

Benefits for our buyer clients

· Great Financing assistance We will arrange for free no obligation pre-qualification meeting with an experienced loan officer to update you on the current interest rates, new loans available and to get your pre-approved for a home loan. 

· Automated home search We will set up our automated home search system and provide you with steady and instant updates on homes as they hit the market.   You give us the criteria for the home you want and we’ll establish your buyer’s profile and start e-mailing updates.  You will have access to hot new listings ahead of  most agents.

· Proven professionals Our team of agents and staff have years of experience to help ensure a smooth transition.  We will provide you with contact information for many proven professionals in the industry such as home inspectors, appraisers, lenders, home warranty providers, etc.

· Free Home Warranty  If we cannot negotiate a home warranty, we will provide one for you as long as your home qualifies for a home warranty.

· Buyers security   If you buy a home with us and decide to move within the first six months of the date of purchase, we will  help you sell the home for FREE excluding any brokerage fees for buyers agents. 

· Any type of home  We will help you with For Sale By Owner homes, builders and new construction, homes listed by other brokerages and investment properties.  Our team has experience in all facets of residential housing

· It should not cost you anything - Because the seller or builder usually pay our fees, you should not have to pay us anything for all the services outlined above and you are under no obligation to buy or build a home.

  In return for these services, you will agree:

1)    To get pre-approval - this will  help you get an offer accepted and make your house hunting much easier.  Sellers often require a pre-approval  with an offer.

2)    Allow us to represent you whenever you see a home, new or resale, that you want to view.  Advise all other agents, builders, and For Sale By Owner’s that you are working with us and we are your agent.  If you decide to make an offer on a home, you agree to do it through us.

3)   To give us 120 days to represent you as your agent.

There are certain things you should keep in mind when submitting an offer to purchase a bank owned home.  There are some great opportunities right now and many foreclosures on the market.  As an investor myself, I have purchased several bank owned homes.  I have also helped many clients purchase bank owned homes. 

First, I think its important to mention a big misconceptions I often hear.

• You can buy these homes for next to nothing - I have not found this to be the case.  I have been involved in hundreds of offers on these type of homes and the banks simply do not accept offers significantly below their list price.  For the first month, banks stay pretty close to their asking price.  As time goes on they will begin to drop their price gradually but it is very rare to see a bank accept an offer that is significantly below the list price in our market. 

Banks obviously want to sell these homes but sometimes you would never know it.  They are usually very slow to give you an answer on your offer.  You have to be very patient because it may take a week to get a counter offer or response to your offer.  I have had banks take 2 weeks to give me an answer on an offer. 

Banks don't want to play around, so make your offers as simple as possible and don't put a bunch of contingencies in your offer.  These homes are sold "AS IS" and the banks don't want to make repairs or replace the roof, etc.  They want to sell the home as it is and in their minds have priced the home to reflect the repairs.  Don't expect them to make necessary repairs or put in a new water heater.

Don't put weasel clauses in your offer.  For example:  this offer is contingent upon the approval of my partner within 30 days.  Keep the offer as simple as possible and minimize the contingencies.  You probably will need an inspection contingency and a financing contingency and banks are usually OK with those.

Financing - If the home is in need of repairs, as many bank owned homes are, many banks/lenders will not want to finance these type of homes.  I recommend using one of the local banks that offer rehab loans for investors.  Columbia Savings and Guardian Savings have good programs.  

Cash offers definitely help you offer get accepted.  If a seller has two offers similar accept one is a Cash offer and the other is getting financing at a local bank, which do you think they will accept?  There are too many things that can go wrong with financing and a CASH offer is clean and less likely to fall through.  I have seen banks accept a cash offer eventhough it was much less than another offer that was planning to get traditional financing.  CASH offers are very powerful. 

Get your pre-approval letter from your lender before you start looking at houses.  All banks require this letter or proof of funds with the offer.  If it isn't included with the offer, the banks won't consider it usually. 

Earnest Money - I recommend putting down at least $1000 as earnest money.  You will get this back if the offer isn't accepted and you will get credit for it , if the offer is accepted.  Let the seller know you are serious.

I always included a line in my offers to let the banks know I was buying the home AS IS and was not expecting the bank/seller to make repairs.  I also let them know I was using financing that was designed for investors buying a fixer upper. 

Most of the banks have their own addendum they will require the buyer to sign.  Some of these are 4 to 10 pages long and many times you don't have to sign these until your initial offer gets accepted.   Read these and understand what you are agreeing to.  They often will have a $50 to $100 / day fee if you don't close by the target closing date.  The banks want to make sure these deals close on time and they will expect you to pay these fees if you or your lender doesn't close on time. 

Also, their addendum may have the buyer paying additional fees that are not normal you our area.  Make sure you understand what fees you will be paying so you aren't surprised.

Inspections - When you decide to make an offer on a bank owned home, make sure you do your due diligence concerning your repair costs.  If  you are not experienced with home repairs, make sure you hire a home inspector to help you out.  Put in an inspection contingency in your offer to give you 7 to 10 days to complete a whole house inspection.   Buying distressed properties can be very risky if you are not very skilled at analysing the needed repairs and their costs.  I know you may be very eager to buy a home, but please take your time and understand your fix up costs.  This will make or break your investing experience.

Utilities - make sure you check your local utility companies to make sure there are no fees outstanding for the house you are planning to buy.  These fees may not be found by the title company so you should check yourself.  I have had properties in small villages that had tousands of dollars in outstanding charges that the local municpality tagged to the home for items such as removing and cutting up fallen trees and mowing the lawn.

Be ready to act quickly because these homes go fast if they are priced right. 

I keep hearing how bad the real estate market is from the local and national media.  There is no question, the local real estate market is slower this year than previous yesrs.  We currently have about twice the number of houses on the market than we normally do.  The sales volume is behind previous years and the average sale price is also lower. 

It is definitely a buyer's market right now.  For those thinking about buying a home here in the Cincinnati Market, all the pieces are in place to get a great buy. 

The interest rates are still very good and there are still good loans available.

There are many homes to choose from and many motivated sellers. 

Some of my clients have gotten some great deals on homes lately.   We have helped them find nice homes in nice communities that are priced below market value.  Some of the homes are new homes and homes that need some TLC.  If you have your pre approval ready and are patient with your search, there are some great buys right now. 

There are many bank foreclosures also available.  If you are an investor looking for a fixer upper to hang onto and rent.  Its a great time for a buy and hold strategy.  If you are able to keep these homes until the market turns around, you should do very well.  Also, if you you want to buy a home and are willing to do some work, opportunities are available.

Call us and ask about our VIP buyers program and let us find a great deal for you.  It's a great time to buy.