Why I love being a Realtor

David Adrian far surpassed our expectations as a realtor. From the moment he walked through our front door, his presentation was thorough, well researched, and professional… but at the same time personal. Personal is the type of service we received from David. Our first realtor attempted a “cookie cutter” approach at selling our home. When they were unsuccessful, David went out of his way to prove he would try something different and really use a more targeted approach to market our home. He kept a steady stream of buyers through our house, despite selling during a tough market. David always kept us informed as to what was
going on in our neighborhood, and gave us very concrete suggestions on ways to
make our home more appealing to buyers. He made himself available to address any and all questions and concerns we had regarding the showings, open houses,
negotiations and all the way through closing. We were very pleased with the
level of service David brings to the table.”


-Amy & Denny O’Brien

I love overcoming difficult situations in Real Estate. One of my favorite areas in Real Estate is to target expired listings (homes that failed to sell during the time another Realtor has had it listed), assess why they didn't sell, make my presentation to the homeowners and work very, very hard to get their home sold.

Most Realtors will tell you that Price is THE reason why a home doesn't sell. While that is often the case, there's usually much more to the story. All Realtors are not the same; our services and how we sell very greatly and it does affect how much, how quickly, and how stressful a selling a home can be.

Amy and Denny had a very nice ranch home in Strawberry Farms. It was formerly listed with the "top agent" in Central Ohio with another firm. She does a ton of business in our market, but she is a volume dealer and doesn't spend much time with their clients. Let's just say the only time you'll ever meet this Realtor is at the listing presentation and when she comes to collect the check. The rest of the time you are dealing with one of the ten members on her team if they have time. I competed against 3 other Realtors for the opportunity to sell Amy and Denny's home. They had already been through 3 price reductions on their home and I felt like their home was already priced aggressively after the last price reduction. That wasn't why their home didn't sell. I looked at the previous listing and found many flaws in the marketing approach. Their home was in dire need of some inexpensive cosmetic fixes. They enjoyed their home, but it needed some neutralizing and fresh landscaping.

Traffic was their biggest problem; the 'most successful' Realtor in our market was unable to get people to come through their home. How was a man who wasn't on a major team or spent tens of thousands of dollars on print advertising going to get traffic?

Without boring you to death with the details, I spend much of my time shooting fantastic photos, creating an attractive virtual tour, customizing how their home appeared on all the major websites, networked and pushed their home at local area Realtor meetings, and held their house Open regularly.

Denny and Amy saw more traffic and qualified buyers come through their house from September through early November than they saw from the previous March - August. We had a lot of good interest and the feedback was very good about the house. Denny and Amy had their home in contract, sold, and closed before Christmas.

This isn't a rare occurrence for me. Next time I'll talk about the home in Delaware that was on the market for over 800 days and I sold it in less than 2 months for $15,000 more than they had it previously listed for. If you have a home in Central Ohio and it's no longer listed (or hasn't been listed yet), please give me an email or call. I'll be happy to talk about my personalized marketing plan for your home.
david.adrian@kingthompson.com

Never been better for first time homebuyers!

The first quarter of 2008 may be the best time ever for people who have never owned a home to jump into home ownership. Now is the time to lock in the amazingly low interest rates and take advantage of downpayment assistance programs before they're gone!

As of this posting, the 30 year fixed rate is 5.4%, combine that with Nehemia and Ameridream downpayment assistance programs and the vast amount of new and pre-owned homes on the market you have the "perfect storm" to find the right home for you.

If you plan on living in the Columbus city area (not necessarily downtown, but in the Columbus district), you may qualify (income qualifcation and education requirements) for downpayment and closing cost assistance through the "American Dream Downpayment Initiative Program" which will provide you with up to $5,000 towards your downpayment and closing costs.

Housing inventory in central Ohio is still very large and many great deals on homes are still out there. Consider buying a home like the stock market "Buy low and sell high". Well, homeprices are as low as they're most likely going to get, and you can get the money to buy a home at incredible interest rates.

So, not only do you get the best prices of homes, the best rates, the best downpayment assistance programs, you also can get buyer representation from a Realtor (me!) at essentially no cost to you!

For more information, please email me at: david.adrian@kingthompson.com.

Portrait Homes partners with Coldwell Banker King Thompson and selects David Adrian to join the team

When I found out that Portrait Homes selected CBKT (Coldwell Banker King Thompson) as their new Homes Sales partner I became ecstatic at the potential opportunity that lay ahead. Portrait Homes is known for their quality product at a great price point. Simply put, they make the best homes/condominiums out there in the mid $100's to low $200's.




I am proud to announce that I was selected to the Gahanna Grove sales team along with Gabriell Graf from the Dublin office and Cindy Fenstermaker from the Clintonville office.

I believe this we have a very strong team and will find many people great homes in this community and other Portrait Homes communities.

If you want to find out more information about Portrait Homes (doesn't have to be in Gahanna, I can help you find a Portrait home anywhere!), please email me at david.adrian@kingthompson.com with your contact information and I'll get back to promptly.

When to buy a home if you have a house to sell.

In our changing market, I've seen many buyers lose contracts because they had a house to sell before they purchased another. A common statement I've heard from all of them is: "When we find the perfect home, we'll jump on that.... but we don't want to put our home on the market until that point."

Essentially, what they are talking about is putting an offer on a home contingent on the sale and closing of their home.

In a 'seller's' market this is a popular way of buying homes. I did it in 2004 when I moved from a condominium to where I live now. I gave myself 2 months to sell and close on my condominium and knew if I priced it right it would happen. I sold my condominium in less than 2 weeks and closed with time to spare.

However, there is a world of difference in the Central Ohio market between then and now. Back in 2004 there were less than 15,000 properties for sale in Central Ohio. This was definitely a sellers market, where there were more buyers than sellers. (low supply, high demand)

In 2007, the market is different. It's still good, but now there are 19,265 active properties as of today in the MLS. Home sellers are a little more nervous and if they are represented by a good agent, they will be hesitant to take a home sale contingency. They know if your property isn't desirable or priced aggressively, your home could take too long to sell. They basically lose that time on the market while your home is waiting to sell as an active listing.

What to do if you're thinking about buying a home:
If you are serious about buying a home 'down the road', put your home on the market now and find areas that you want to live in. The great thing about this market is that there are a lot of great properties out there and there will be others when your home sells. When your home gets a solid contract, know what is available and be prepared to write an offer. Get pre-approved through a reputable lender and aggressively tour homes in the areas you want. You will most likely find the home you want or one close to that.

Why this is good:
In the scenario where you write a contingent offer and it is accepted, you are under a lot of pressure to sell and sell quickly. How do you sell quickly in this market? You must make your home stand out from the competition by quickly putting in sellable condition and making the home more attractive to buyers by dramatically sacrificing your equity. This is ugly, it's very stressful and you lose a ton of money.

So, if you want to buy a home, put your home on the market now and you can protect your equity. Price it fairly, but this way you don't have to 'take a beating' because you are under no immediate pressure to sell.

I had two buyers almost go to divorce because they had a home sale contingency, but weren't able to properly prepare the home and price it well enough to sell. They lost out on the contract and their dream home sold two weeks later. I felt very bad for them, but if they prepared for this scenario earlier it wouldn't have happened.

If you have any questions or want to talk to me about your situation, please email me at: david.adrian@kingthompson.com.

The I-270 & 161 mega project finally open - the impact on real estate.

Ah, the day has finally arrived for residents on the North East side of town; the 3 1/2 year, $134,000,000 super project is finally taking down the barriers. I don't know where to begin, I am elated.

As a resident of Strawberry Farms subdivision, located directly in the middle of the largest road construction project since.... well ever (this was bigger than even the I-670 construction project) I have been personally affected by every orange barrel put up over the last 3 1/2 years. I have seen the impact on the areas real estate market, heard the complaints from residents, and sat in traffic for hours on end trying to figure out which exit ramp was open and which lanes were closed.


Finally, this week all of it opens up and we'll see the dramatic economic impact this will have on our area. The Sunbury and 161 Krogers and surrounding businesses will enjoy a renewed influx of traffic and customers, the nearby apartments that were giving away rent to pack units should now find new tenants with ease, and home sellers will see an increase in traffic in open houses which could, in time, lead to a rebound in sales prices.


Residents of Huber Village, Strawberry Farms, Little Turtle, Sunbury Woods, New Albany, Gahanna, and other surrounding communities will all benefit from the increased ease of access and area improvement.


I am energized and optimistic about the quality and care given by the engineers and ODOT who spent a lot of time and money ensuring that this construction project was done with the mindset of improving the economic impact of the area.


Residents may take a little time getting adjusted to the new exit ramps and routes to their homes, but I think most will be very pleased with how this alleviates the severe congestion with which we were accustomed.

Seller funded down payment assistance programs to get the plug pulled on Halloween, Nehemia to follow their fate.

****UPDATE: 10/24/07 - Ameridream Program has been extended through February 29th, 2008.

If you are a first time home buyer looking for 100% financing using federal programs you better hurry.

Seller funded down payment assistance programs are being halted by HUD and the FHA. What this means is that if you are approved for an FHA loan requiring a 3% down payment - you can no longer enroll in these programs which use a 'gift' from sellers by inflating the purchase price to cover the 3% you need for the down payment.

Surprisingly, the FHA's reason for closing these programs down has little to do with the risk factor of the buyers receiving a 100% financing. Margaret Burns, the Director of Single Family Program Development for the FHA states in a written press release:

The core problem with these programs is not that the borrowers they serve
are riskier or less credit-worthy; it's that the programs disrupt the natural
negotiations between buyers and sellers in a way that results in inflated sales
prices and thus higher mortgage amounts. Seller-funded down payment assistance
programs flourish in weak real estate markets. In weak markets, low buyer demand
means that sellers are less likely to get full asking price for their homes and
are therefore willing to participate in programs that will help them sell for a
higher price. As such, the property overvaluation associated with seller-funded
gift programs occurs in markets that are least able to adjust to and accommodate
pricing variations.

If you are about to purchase a home and were going to use one of these programs, all hope is not lost. Nehemiah, due to a judgement in 1998 gets a 6 month reprieve from the immediate effects of this change. Eligible borrowers may still receive 100% financing through Nehemiah until March 31st, 2008.

Going from fact to speculation: our in-house lenders believe that FHA and HUD are making room for different programs that don't use artificially inflated purchase prices to cover the required down payment. I suppose they are basing their opinion on this statement from FHA:

I want to conclude my testimony by thanking this Committee for the bipartisan
support and leadership it has shown on FHA Modernization. I also want to point
out that if enacted, both the legislation introduced by Chairwoman Waters and
the legislation introduced by Ranking Member Biggert, by authorizing FHA to
insure "Zero Down" mortgages, would go a long way toward resolving the issue before us today.

Now, the question remains, with the national foreclosure rates and sub prime crisis (which is blown out of proportion, but that's a story for another blog entry) will our politicians be willing to let the Federal Housing Administration to completely insure 100% financing? Time will tell, but in the meantime people better jump on these programs before they flat line.

Columbus Real Estate Market Collapsing? Hardly...

When I look at the mainstream media these days I see countless doom and gloom reports about how our housing market is collapsing and there is virtually no hope. I know that if you have found this blog that you too have seen these reports... and most people blindly believe them.



The one thing everyone needs to know about the Real Estate market is that there really is no such thing as national trends. As the famous cliche' goes, Real Estate is about "Location, location, location". What may be true in South Florida's real estate market is certainly not true in the Columbus area. Likewise, what's true in the Youngstown market does not have a reflection in our market here.



Additionally, 2005 was the strongest market we've ever had in Real Estate. Last year we (Columbus) had the 3rd highest sales volume on record. Home values have increased over 33% since 1996. [source: Columbus Board of Realtors]

How many long term investments have you made over the last 10 years that have increased in value over 33%?



The issue with Columbus right now is inventory. We are still selling at staggaring rates, but there are also more homes in Columbus than ever. That has translated to an average time on the market increase of about 20 more days than a few years ago. Home prices are down from 2005 about 1.5 - 2% from the record levels of 2005.



Forbes.com recently rated Columbus as the 3rd most stable market in the country.

Based on Moody's Economy.com calculations, next year Columbus should boast the eighth-fastest sales rate of the 40 markets examined.

(credit to Forbes.com Amy Harris)

Basically, if you bought your home more than 5 years ago, you still have seen significant appreciation. Could you have sold your home a little more quickly in 2005 and for a couple grand more?

Probably, but look at it this way.

In this market you make up your equity when you make a smart purchase, not when you sell. I see it as a wash.



If you're thinking about selling, it takes an agent who will market your home better than other homes around you. Your home needs to stand out. I make that happen.

Email or call me today to see what I do to sell homes that 99% of other agents do not.