Southwest Ohio Real Estate

   I received a call from a potential client last week who found me on. She needed to sell her home as she has now entered the foreclosure process. She had found me on internet through and needed someone in the area that was knowledgeable with the process and how to help her. She is going to have great difficulty in selling her property as she feels that she needs to net 20,000.00 from the sale. She bought the property 18 months ago with 100% financing. She has not made a payment in the last 6 months so with penalties, interest, and legal fees the payoff is about 15,000.00  more than the loan amount.

   She had bought the property directly from a national builder with no buyers agent and they talked her into almost every upgrade that they had to offer. She paid 240K for her home and the same model on the same street closed at 191K. I told her the facts as gently as I could and her one big hangup is that in my brokers contract we ask for a 6 month listing period. She did not feel that she should sign for 6 months as she had previously listed the property and it did not sell during the listing period.

  The biggest complaint that she has and the drawback to her agreeing to list the home is the length of the listing period. I told her that We could adjust the listing period to 90 days because of the time year that we are in but my dilemma is how to tactfully tell her that she doesn't have 6 months and may not have the 90 days to live in the property. 

Morgan Township's 36 square miles is in the southwestern corner of Butler County, straddling the Indiana state line. Welsh immigrants founded the township in 1802; many Welsh descendents still call Morgan Township home today. Over 5300 residents live in the villages of Okeana, Macedonia, and Shandon and surrounding areas of the township. Stately Federal homes, traditional ranches and modest frame homes dot the landscape of the region. Like its Welsh ancestors, Morgan Township residents have a strong sense of community and are happy to welcome newcomers to the area.

Transportation

St. Rt. 126, a winding country road, is the primary access road through the township, also served by St Rt. 748. Butler County has three regional airports, including Butler County Regional in Hamilton, Hook Field in Middletown, and Miami University Field in Oxford. Cincinnati West Airport is less than 10 minutes away in Harrison; it's a short 19-minute drive to the Greater Cincinnati International Airport.

Hospitals

The Morgan Township Volunteer Fire Department provides fire and EMS services to the area. Mercy Hospital Fairfield is located just east of Morgan Township in Fairfield, and The Fort Hamilton Hospital is located to the northeast.

Shopping

More than necessities are found in the township, although major shopping runs necessitate a jump in the car to the shopping mecca minutes away in Fairfield. Shandon's known as a great antiquing destination, and during the annual Strawberry Festival every summer the village hosts antique lovers from around the region.

Recreation

Governor Bebb Preserve, named after Ohio's 19th Governor, is 264 acres packed full of recreation opportunities, including a Pioneer Village, covered bridge, picnic and playground sites, a nature trail and campsites. Hikers and fisherman will frequent Paddy Creek off the Great Miami River. Morgan Township is positioned a few minutes away from a regional ski resort in Indiana and heading east, the bustling city pleasures of nearby Fairfield.

Dedicated area residents work energetically to support the schools, beautiful homes, and excellent recreational facilities. From its classic older neighborhoods with winding tree-lined streets, to exciting new single family homes, to the spacious and stately residential development, Forest Park has a home for every taste and budget. Its residents combine with a strong and active business community to create an ideal environment in which to live. Residents enjoy the best of both worlds... Forest Park offers the friendliness and relaxed atmosphere of a smaller city, and the cultural, educational and recreational attractions of a major metropolitan area. Forest Park is a proud and leading community which is rich in quality of life and innovative ideas. Whatever your style, you can be at home in Forest Park!

Transportation

Forest Park is ideally situated at the Winton Road and Hamilton Avenue exits of Interstate 275 and is within 10 minutes of I-75, I-71 and I-74. The city is located 14 miles north of downtown Cincinnati and 40 miles south of Dayton. Forest Park is serviced by the Queen City Metro Bus Service.

Hospitals

Forest Park has four medical clinics and Mercy South Hospital one mile to the north of the city, providing general and specialized care to the area. Mercy Franciscan Hospital - Mt. Airy is located 10 minutes away with most other Cincinnati hospitals located within a 25 minute drive of the community.

Shopping

Forest Park has seven main shopping centers, the largest of which is Cincinnati Mills. In addition to these fine shopping centers, the community is within 10 minutes of both Northgate and Tri-County Shopping Malls via I-275.

Recreation

The Forest Park Recreation Commission administers a full summer recreation program as well as eleven public parks and other recreation sites, such as playgrounds and athletic fields. Private recreational resources include a tennis club, racquetball club, gymnastics center, an indoor soccer club and various fitness centers. Adjoining Forest Park is Winton Woods, a 2100 acre county park, featuring fishing, camping, boating, athletic trails and an 18-hole golf course. Two additional municipal golf courses are also located in neighboring communities of Forest Park. One of these courses, Glenview, was the site of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship Tournament. The Powell Crosley YMCA on Winton Road offers year-round activities including indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been working in the Southwest Ohio area for about a year investigating some of the flipping that has been going on. Some of the people involved are now to the sentancing phase of the trials that have been the outcome of this investigation. Here is a  partial reprint of the Cincinnati Enquirer story about one of the trials.

A REALTOR® was killed yesterday in a new construction home in the Washington D.C. area. It just reminds us all to never be to careful when you are showing property. Now the dilemma for the builder is now that the home is infamous do you disclose that someone was shot and killed in a home that was never lived in? You can see from the neighborhood involvement that everyone will be willing to share the news with the new owners. 

Here is a link to the news story it will open in a new window.

http://video.nbc4.com/player/?id=111919

  I was scheduled to close with the sellers of one of my listings on Friday afternoon. This had been a drawn out affair and we were closing 10 days after the original contract date because of financing issues with the buyers. To make everything go according to plan we were to close at the title company at 3:00 P.M.. Well I was there and my sellers were there.The manager of the mortgage brokerage called me at 12:30 P.M. and told me he needed to get one thing taken care of and everything would be OK. The buyers Realtor called me at 2:00 P.M. and said he would not be there because he was going out of town.  The buyers never showed up! The mortgage broker called me at 3:05 P.M. as we were sitting in the office and told me that he could not get approval today. We left and went to my office to wright up a release from contract.

  About 5:00 P.M. I received a call from the other agent. He had received my request for release and would we please go until Monday as we were able to close then. I reminded him that Monday was Memorial Day and the title companies and lenders were all closed. Sorry my people are just tired and want to get the home back on the market thank you very much. 

  I currently have a property listed that is 2 years old. There are lots of upgrades in the home and the owners are not expecting to recoup the upgrade money. The home is priced to the market 369,900 but there has been one large problem the tenants! 

 The tenants are renting this property for 1400.00 per month and know that they have a great deal. They have been in no hurry to leave and have made selling the property difficult. One of the worst of many things that they have done is to make the basement uninhabitable.

 This is a great basement ready to finish. The owners had extra depth added to the basement so when it is finished you can have 9 foot ceilings. There are 5 full windows in the basement and it is a walkout. The way that the tenants have destroyed it is by letting their 3 LARGE DOGS use the basement as a latrine. The aroma has been a source of many feedback comments from showing Realtors.

  Now the owner has had enough and has told the tenants it is time to leave. Maybe now that someone is not actively trying to prevent the home from being sold we will stand a chance!

Morgan Township's 36 square miles is in the southwestern corner of Butler County, straddling the Indiana state line. Welsh immigrants founded the township in 1802; many Welsh descendents still call Morgan Township home today. Over 5300 residents live in the villages of Okeana, Macedonia, and Shandon and surrounding areas of the township. Stately Federal homes, traditional ranches and modest frame homes dot the landscape of the region. Like its Welsh ancestors, Morgan Township residents have a strong sense of community and are happy to welcome newcomers to the area.

Transportation

St. Rt. 126, a winding country road, is the primary access road through the township, also served by St Rt. 748. Butler County has three regional airports, including Butler County Regional in Hamilton, Hook Field in Middletown, and Miami University Field in Oxford. Cincinnati West Airport is less than 10 minutes away in Harrison; it's a short 19-minute drive to the Greater Cincinnati International Airport.

Hospitals

The Morgan Township Volunteer Fire Department provides fire and EMS services to the area. Mercy Hospital Fairfield is located just east of Morgan Township in Fairfield, and The Fort Hamilton Hospital is located to the northeast.

Shopping

More than necessities are found in the township, although major shopping runs necessitate a jump in the car to the shopping mecca minutes away in Fairfield. Shandon's known as a great antiquing destination, and during the annual Strawberry Festival every summer the village hosts antique lovers from around the region.

Recreation

Governor Bebb Preserve, named after Ohio's 19th Governor, is 264 acres packed full of recreation opportunities, including a Pioneer Village, covered bridge, picnic and playground sites, a nature trail and campsites. Hikers and fisherman will frequent Paddy Creek off the Great Miami River. Morgan Township is positioned a few minutes away from a regional ski resort in Indiana and heading east, the bustling city pleasures of nearby Fairfield.

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Beckett Ridge is suburbia at its finest. A perfect place for golf and/or tennis enthusiasts, Beckett Ridge has its own maze of walking/running trails. Beckett Ridge Country Club has a pool, tennis courts, golf course and restaurants. Residents are in the Lakota Local School District. A great place to "get away from it all", Beckett Ridge is just 30 minutes from Downtown Cincinnati.

Transportation

Beckett Ridge is just 30 minutes from Downtown Cincinnati, traveling on I-75. It is also just 40 minutes from Dayton, Ohio if you travel north on I-75. Queen City Metro, Cincinnati's public bus system, does not go this far north, however, many workers park their cars at designated lots then ride the remainder of the way downtown on the Metro. There is also a car pool system in Greater Cincinnati that is used by many commuters.

Hospitals

The nearest hospital is Mercy-Fairfield, just 10 minutes away at Gilmore and Mack Roads.

Shopping

There are numerous small strip malls around Beckett Ridge. Nearby are numerous restaurants and shopping atthe streets of West Chester and Union Center. A quick 10 minute drive to the Tri-County Mall and the surrounding shopping district for large department stores and unique specialty stores and fine restaurants.

Recreation

Keener Park is just 4 miles from Beckett Ridge and has baseball fields, soccer fields, a playground for smaller children, walking trails, picnic shelters, an outdoor amphitheater and a historic log cabin. Sharon Woods Park is approximately 15 minutes from Beckett Ridge and has a fishing pond with row boats, paddle boats, walking/running trail, an 18-hole golf course, a fantastic playground, hands-on learning stations for children that tell about how the immediate area was formed by retreating glaciers, a snack bar and more.

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  One of our local television channels has done an investigation on Home Depot. One of the things that they have found is that one home owner had a new roof put on their home and since that was done it leaks. There have also been problems with carpet installation they report. In my area Home Depot has had 66 Better Business complaints in the last 3 years!

Would you recommend a company that had 66 formal complaints in a 3 year period?

Here is a link to the story it will open in a new window.

http://www.wlwt.com/news/13360413/detail.html

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