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Voice of America Shopping Center

I have lived in West Chester for over 30 years and have seen many changes. One of my favorite updates to the neighborhood was the construction and opening of the Voice of America Shopping Center in 2004.

     

It is located at the corner of Tylersville and Cox Roads. Now I don't have to travel to Tri County, Mason or Kenwood to buy my office supplies at Office Depot. The rest of my family enjoys the convenience of shopping at Target, Bath & Body Works, TJ Max, Dressbarn, Famous Footwear, Petsmart, Michael's and many more stores and shops.

Another reason I frequent the Voice of America Shopping Center is for all the restaurants. There are many. Everything from Longhorn Steakhouse, Chipotle, Panera Bread, Chick-Fil-A, Ruby Tuesdays, Soho Japanese Bistro, Bonefish Grill, CiCi's Pizza and one of my favorites City Barbeque.

Across the street are my favorite banks, Verizon Wireless, many other restaurants and Graeters Ice Cream. There is no need to leave West Chester 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.

What are the Seven Hills of Cincinnati?

Cincinnati has really grown over the past 100 years. It was originally settled in 1788 as part of a charter granted to John Cleves Symmes to develope the land between the Great Miami and  Little Miami River's.

The history of Cincinnati is fasinating and I suggest you go to this web site The History of Cincinnati to learn things many of us citizens of Cincinnati didn't know.

But what are the seven hills we so often hear said in radio and TV commercials describing our fair city?

Legend has it that Cincinnati, like Rome, was built on seven hills. The fact that there are more than seven hills has caused considerable confusion as various citizens seek to identify the "original seven." These are the hills most frequently listed: Mt. Adams, Mt. Auburn, Walnut Hills, Fairview Heights, Clifton Heights, Vine Street Hill, Price Hill, Fairmount, Mt. Lookout, Mt. Hope, Mt. Echo, and Mt. Storm.

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 Cut in the Hill

I love working in Northern Kentucky. It is really beautiful...in most places. However traffic can be a challenge sometimes.

We have an area called the Cut-in-the-Hill. That is a stretch of Highway I-75 located in Covington between Buttermilk Pike and the Brent Spence Bridge.

 

Shortly after I-75 opened in 1962 it was nicknamed "Death Hill". By 1968 a total of 23 people died in crashes on the hill so a concrete wall was installed to separate northbound and southbound traffic. The wall helped reduce fatal crashes but accidents continued, and in 1977 the hill averaged 583 automobile accidents per year.

As a result of a fatal accident involving a tracktor trailer killing a Northern Kentucky University student in 1986 Governer Martha Lane Collins banned most northbound tractor-trailer traffic from the hill. From 1989 until 1994 $50-million in reconstruction was spent to straighten the hill's S-curve and add a fourth lane for southbound traffic, and in 1995 the truck ban was lifted.

In 2006 the hill and the Brent Spence Bridge saw 151 crashes in the northbound lane and 121 crashes in the southbound lane, totaling 272 in all. To help reduce the number of accidents a flashing "Steep Grade" sign was installed, and a Kentucky State police trooper was assigned to patrol just the Cut-in-the-Hill.

In 2007 there were eight radar speed signs installed to remind motorist to drive a safer speed.

The Cut-in-the-Hill was originally designed to carry up to 80,000 vehicles per day, but in 2006 it carried 155,000 daily. Kentucky officials are reportedly working to raise more than $2 billion to replace the section of highway, but as of 2008 no construction is planned.

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.

Price Hill Chili...it's an icon to experience

Today was my first time to experience Price Hill Chili. I met with friends of mine who works for a non profit organization "Serenity House" that is a transitional housing facility for men. They are about to increase their services buy purchasing another building to accommodate women with the same services and success as Serenity House has experienced for the past 5 year. Before we start looking at prospective buildings we needed to fill our belly's. Ivan suggested Price Hill Chili and Fred agreed so that is where we went.

 

I don't know why I have never experience Price Hill Chili until now but it will not be my last time to eat at this wonderful restaurant. I even have a relative that works there. Brian Schmidt, my nephew-in-law (Mary Jo's brothers son).

When we finished eating I asked the waitress if Brian Schmidt was working. She looked at me a little bewildered, thought a minute and another waitress overheard my question said "Oh you mean KoolAide". Sure he's here...I'll go and get him. So KoolAide, I mean Brian came out met my friends and went back to work.

The experience was delightful. I had a Reuben sandwich and a small garden salad with greek dressing. Ivan had eggs, ham and toast. My other friend had a sausage pasta dish.

We all had our fill of great food and then took off to find the right building to accommodate the women in transition. This group home is being run by a very sweet, hard working modest caring lady named Angie. She has poured all her own money into helping these women and doesn't have the experience with grants and fund raising that Ivan & Fred have acquired over the past 5 years. So she came and asked for help. They immediately contacted me to assist in finding and purchasing the right property.

We looked at several properties today. One in particular stood out. It is owned by Price Hill Will an organization of community service groups lending a hand that buys property, fixes them up and offers them to a deserving buyer with many benefits that only a west sider would appreciate.

That was my experience with Price Hill Chili, Price Hill Will and West side properties in general for the day. I really love Cincinnati. West side as well as the East side. It has merits no matter what side you live in.

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.

Ohio Real Estate Trivia

I thought it would be fun to kick off the week with a little real estate trivia.  Real estate is local and is regulated on the local level through the state department of commerce so this may not apply in  other states.  In Ohio if a person plants crops and then sells their property they are entitled to come back and harvest the crops.  They own the crops. 

 

Crops that can be harvested are considered personal property. Crops that cannot be harvested during the time of acquisition are considered as part of the realty, and are appraised (as in the case with perennials, trees and shrubs).They are sold with the property unless specified that they are not included in the sale.  Not a good idea, or even legal to sell your home and then decide to take the hostas and grandma's rose bush with you when you move, they are all attached to the property and are part of the sale.

For sellers who want to take grandma's rose bush with them when they move, and it does happen, all they have to do is specify that the rose bush is not included in the sale.

Had a seller once who had a Japanese Maple tree that was given as a wedding gift three years ago.  They wanted to keep the tree so we put on the sellers disclosure and in the MLS listing that the tree was not included in the sale.  The seller gave the new buyers a gift certificate for the local nursery for an amount that was slightly more than the value of the tree.

There are other items that are automatically included in the sale of a home.  Anything that is attached or built in and that includes light fixtures, cabinets, doors, and the kitchen sink.  I once had a seller try to take the built-in dishwasher. 

Here in Ohio appliances like stoves and some times refrigerators, washers & dryers are sold with the home although considered personal property. They must be listed on the contract to purchase as personal property being included with the sale or the seller has no obligation to leave them...even if they are listed on the MLS listing. If they are built in like a wall oven, cook top, dishwasher or garbage disposal they are considered as part of realty.

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.

I hate when this happens!

Here we are on the eve of Independence Day. July 4th is a day to celebrate the founding of our Wonderful country. This is the day that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence that brought legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain in 1776. This is the very beginning of the United States of America as we know it today.

If you think about it, the whole emphasis was on or around REAL ESTATE. Buying, selling and owning real estate is the fuel that drives our United States to greatness. And yet every week I hear about more homes that go to foreclosure. The effects of foreclosures are mounting to epidemic proportions. Some days that is all you hear about next to the failing economy in our country. And what is the main trouble with our economy? ...the dropping values of our real estate. It all starts there and has caused havoc across the country. Not to mention all the lives that are near ruin do to the effects of our failing economy.

"What can I do"? You may ask. If we could just reach out and help one person from the horrors of foreclosure would be a start. 90% of the time there is no need to have someone's good credit damaged and their lives totally disrupted. There are several solutions. None of the are pretty but are better than foreclosure.

My goal is to reach these people that need to hear the good news about there impending doom. the only way to reach them is to let more people like you know that I am here to help. So please...don't let your friends, neighbors, family or co-workers throw their lives away because they cannot pay their mortgage. Cal me and let me help.

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.