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Is a final walk-through necessary?

In the contract to purchase approved by the Greater Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors Legal Counsel, on page two paragraph 10 under MAINTENANCE it explains that the Seller shall continue to maintain the Real Estate in good condition. Seller shall repair or replace any appliances and/or equipment currently in normal operating condition that fail prior to possession. That the Real Estate will be in as good condition as it is presently except for normal wear and casualty damage from perils insurable under a standard all risk policy. If prior to Closing, the Real Estate is damaged or destroyed and is not restored by and at sellers cost as it was prior to the damage, then the buyer has the option to terminate this Contract by written notice to Seller.

It further states: Buyer and Seller agree that Buyer shall be provided the opportunity to conduct a walk-through inspection of the Real Estate within 48 hours prior to closing, solely for the purpose of ascertaining that the Real Estate is in substantially the same condition as it was at the time the Contract was executed.

What does this mean?

I did a final walk-through today with my young first time buyer. Although He is a student of my class "Guide To Home Buying" that I teach at the University of Cincinnati, there is no alternative to first hand experiencing every step of the way and asking a lot of questions. You really cannot fake your way through this process.

Naturally he didn't quite know what he was to do. I led him to the utility room where the furnace was and gave him the written receipt from the HVAC company that just completed servicing it. We noted that the filter was brand new and they had placed a sticker on the unit with the date they completed the service. So I checked that required repair off my addenda list.

Then we moved to the family room and tested the window that had fallen apart during the home inspection. We asked the seller to have the window repaired to open and close properly. They agreed, they fixed it and it worked.

The seller was present, doing the final cleaning, getting ready to move the final boxes of their stuff before the closing tomorrow. She asked my young buyer if he would like a wooden corner cabinet. They had no use for it and would be willing to leave it for him it he wanted it. They also planned on leaving the oldrefrigerator in the basement for him. Both of these items worked and since he is coming from a small apartment he said "YES" and was grateful for the offer from the seller.

She continued to point out a few details on the operation of certain items and showed him where they were leaving all the manuals. It was a very good visit.

My young buyer was happy with the results of our walk-through and is ready to go to the closing tomorrow afternoon.

The above photo is taken of the front garden area of the small condo complex my young first time buyer is buying.

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.

Sunday's Church

This Sunday I am featuring a very beautiful 15 year old stone building with stain glass windows. The Loveland United Methodist Church at 10975 South Lebanon Rd, Loveland Ohio 45140.

          

The congregations roots dates back to 1853 and has made several big changes though the years. See the history of this church. Now this church sets on several gorgeous acres overlooking the Loveland valley.

 

 

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.

Splish Splash

This really puts me into the spring mood. Not only has Easter passed by, we have had to deal with some adverse weather lately. This photo was taken on the grounds of a condo property. What a beautiful view from the deck or balcony.

                    

I took this photo four weeks ago. The media keeps saying the market is so bad, yet I have 4 new sales in the past 3 weeks and working on 3 - 4 more in the next couple of weeks.

I'm not bragging...much. However my point is that the market is not as bad as some people make it out to be. Interest rates are at an all time low, the Federal Government is offering up to an $8,000 tax credit to first time home buyers (FREE Money) and there are plenty of great deals to be bought if you just try. And you don't have to try very hard. Real Estate is everywhere as are the good deals.

Don't wait till Mid October to make the decision to buy. Your timing for the tax Credit will expire on October 30th. So the best time to buy is right now.

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.

Today is April 22, 2009. This is a special day for a couple of reasons.
Nationally we are celebrating Earth Day. 

Personally I am celebrating a more special day. 37 years ago today, downtown Cincinnati at the St Peter In Chains Cathedral, in front of all of our families and friends, Mary Jo and I exchanged our wedding vows with each other and our lives together began. What a life it has been...WOW! I am the luckiest man on earth, on Earth Day.

Happy Anniversary Mary Jo

                          

I guess it is no secret how much I love this woman. She is my best friend, my business partner, my biggest fan, my favorite groupie, the mother of my children and grandma to my grandchildren. She is no doubt a Saint sent to me by God to have put up with living with me all these years. And guess what?...we ain't done yet!

Nope, we have more clients to help, more clothes to clean, more walks with the dog, more gigs to go to, more meetings to attend, more meals to fix, more trips to visit mom, and more vacation cruises to take. The neat thing about our lives together is that we are in this together and wouldn't want it any other way.

I love you so much I don't mind publishing this for the world to see. In fact the more people that read this can testify just how grateful I am to have you in my life.

Now...whats for lunch?    Oh, by the way I'm out of clean tee shirts.

 

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.

On the road again.

A dear friend of mine Jim Kastrup called me the other day and asked if I would take a quick trip to Atlanta Georgia with him. It had to be a quick trip, there an back. He couldn't drive it alone, and besides we were going to get some special equipment for our band BlueStone Ivory.

           

Jim drove first...the whole trip (8 hours) to Atlanta and I slept part of the way. We timed our departure from Cincinnati (2:30 am) to get us into downtown Atlanta just after rush hour traffic. It worked.

I needed a little break. Real Estate business has really picked up for me the last two weeks. The phone is ringing and email is arriving with buyers ready to buy and sellers fulfilling their dreams and accepting contracts on their homes and then becoming buyers. I really like working two deals from one client.

Atlanta seems to be a very busy city, but what I saw was quite beautiful. Of course I had my Nikon loaded and ready. What an opportunity.

            

On our way home I was driving and had my Tom Tom dialed in to navigate us home. However our conversation distracted me just a bit and we missed our exit to get onto I-75 north. We made a short diversion that took us through a beautiful small town called Georgetown. It was very clean and had very rustic style old buildings through all 6 - 7 blocks of this small town.

I wish we could have stopped to check it out further. We had a deadline. Get home by 9:00 pm. That is exactly when I arrived home to get ready for another busy day.

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.

The West Chester Township wins the basketball game.

Here is the story. Two people a couple of neighborhoods over from my home got into an argument because one of them didn't like the kids playing basketball and making so much noise. The police were called and the complainant won the argument because he dug deep into the township ordinances and found that permanent basketball hoops were not allowed in county right-away. Guess what...it had to be removed. It was and the person that was the defendant got upset and said, "If mine has to be removed then they all are going to be removed".

He drove all the neighborhoods and reported where all the basketball hoops were planted, reported them and made the township remove them. That included ours that has been at the end of our cul-de-sac for over 30 years. I play on it. My kids play on it and so do my grand kids as do many other people in our neighborhood. None of us wanted it to go. But it is now gone. END OF STORY...Not if my youngest daughter has anything to do about it. We are making plans. Stay tuned and hang on. It may become a bumpy ride.

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.

This is an antique

  As a Realtor I get to see a lot of houses. Not all buyers are searching for a newer or even slightly less than newer home. I am often able to go through some very old homes with my buyers.

Most of the older homes on the market have updated mechanics (Heating, A/C, Plumbing, Electric, and Water heater). Every once in awhile I run across the left over antiques that were used in the yesteryear.

This R2D2 looking contraption is an old Ruud water heater from a century ago. This is not the first time I have seen this particular old model. They must have been plentiful in the day.

This website Water heater Rescue pictures many old antique water heaters and also will give you good info on your modern water heater questions.

I have a friend that has been doing without hot water for about 2 weeks saving up enough money to invest in a tank less water heater. Based on the research that is the most economical way to go. Just think about it...why keep 40 or 50 gallons of water hot all the time. Many hours go by when you are not home and your water heater tank is keeping those gallons of water hot. That costs a lot of money. Instant water heaters will deliver hot water on demand and will never run out. YES!

The downside to the tank less water heaters is the initial cost. They start out about $900.00 and go up from there compared to $350.00 for a 40 gallon tank. However you will save about $300.00 per year in utility cost with a tank less water heater. That makes the most sense.

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.

Put on your Easter bonnets

Spring is here. The weather was beautiful today and I went out and cut my grass for the first time this year.

While cutting I almost ran over a little baby bunny rabbit. It must have just escaped its nest because it was very tiny and ran like a scared rabbit to keep from getting run over by my ridding mower.

That made me think about Tomorrow being Easter Sunday.

I was born on Easter Sunday in 1951. My birthday will never land on Easter during my lifetime ever again.

This Yard decoration caught my eye two weeks ago. I always have my camera ready to shoot when I see something interesting. Now this photo puts me in the Easter holiday mood. It didn't two weeks ago. That was a little early to have Easter decorations out. But now it is appropriate.

Here is a little Easter Day card from me to you.

Spend tomorrow with family and remember what Easter is all about. Take some time to attend the church of your choice and remember to pray for world peace.

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.

What personal property is appropriate for a buyer to ask for?

Just what is personal property? Personal property are items that are not physically attached to the real estate. Items that are not personal property would be attached lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, Heating & air conditioning systems, carpeting, built in dishwashers and microwave ovens. Items considered personal property are not physically attached like free standing oven/ranges, refrigerators, hanging window drapes and curtains, TV's, Dining room suites, beds and dressers.

Very few personalitems are included in the sale of real estate. In fact too many items of personal property can distract from the actual value of the real estate and appraisers will ask they not be included in the sale or mark them as having no value.

The topic of personal property comes up during most negotiations. The most recent situation occurred last week. The seller offered to leave the oven/range and refrigerator. Usually included in most home sales. The buyer, however wanted the seller to include the clothes washer and dryer.

I have very strong opinions about a buyer asking for the sellers clothes washer and dryer. Have you looked inside the washing machine? Like the washer pictured here. I wouldn't put my dirty clothes in this washing machine. Believe me it looked more disgusting in person. This picture doesn't give you the true condition.

At the home inspection after I arrived, my buyer said he wanted to show me something and took me to the laundry room. He opened the door to the washer and this is what we saw. Caked gunk and grunge built up all around the exterior perimeters of the appliance.

He asked me if we could require the home owner to thoroughly clean and disinfect the washing machine before he took over ownership. I just smiled and suggested that we give the washing machine back to the owner contractually since they had agreed to leave it. Then I suggested the buyer purchase their own washer and dryer.

I think my advice was a very good idea. I didn't want to cause the buyer and seller to get into a confrontation over suchmatters. Obviously their ideas of clean and sanitary were different. Please look these items over before you ask for them to be included. Know what you are buying.

God Bless You and pray for all of our troops to come home safe and for our Country leaders to make the right choices to help us get through this turmoil.

Did you know I have my license in both states, Ohio & Kentucky?...So Please call me if you need help around the house or maybe to buy a new home. I will gladly say THANK YOU! Gary Rossignol, the Realtor with integrity. 513-777-2402 email Gary@GaryRossignol.com.

Also, My Video Newsletter is loaded with up to date Real Estate News and Advice. Some of its features include: Current Interest Rates, National Real Estate News, Mortgage Advice, Question & Answers. Plus much more. It is "real time" and changes each week.