The sunny side of the housing slump

Despite the downturn, some people are making lots of money off real estate. Here’s how they’re doing it.

By Judi Hasson, MSN Real Estate

• 8 tips from real-estate investors
• A foreclosure primer
• MSN Money: Foreclosure crisis is overblown

Yes, there’s gloom and doom in the housing market. In many markets prices have plummeted, sales are stalled and foreclosures are on the rise. But for some, the hard times are an opportunity.

“There’s always someone selling. There is always someone buying,” says Steven Brown, an investor who buys houses in Mobile, Ala., does a face lift and makes money on the resale.

Houses too burdensome for their previous owners have become investment opportunities for others! While the market for foreclosed and distressed homes is significant, rock-bottom prices in some areas have tempted renters and investors out of the woodwork.

Some buy a single house and flip it for a profit. Some buy in hopes of becoming a landlord. And some buy because it’s now cheaper than renting.

Renters turn homeowners

One of those renters was Morganne Teseniar, 26, of Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, who says she wanted to buy a house last fall despite the touch-if-you-dare market.

Teseniar, who works for the American Heart Association, went shopping with a real-estate agent. She found her dream house for $64,000, bid $50,000 on the foreclosed property and moved in this past November.

The previous owner walked away from the house when he got a new job in California, couldn’t sell it and wouldn’t pay the mortgage, she says. Left behind was a perfectly fine house with redone floors, wrought-iron fixtures and granite countertops.

“It was gorgeous. I couldn’t breathe when I got it. It was so cool,” says Teseniar, who is divorced and has a 4-year-old daughter. The price was right, too. She now pays $586 a month for her mortgage, taxes and insurance, $200 less than what she had been paying for rent. And she qualified for a 30-year Federal Housing Administration mortgage to buy it.

Then there are buyers like Lymaris Roman, a Tampa, Fla., pharmacist, and her husband. They saw opportunity, too, in a one-story home with four bedrooms in suburban Lutz, Fla. They bought it for $270,000, far less than its $400,000 appraised value. They moved in on Christmas Day.

Roman’s husband, a self-employed contractor, had plenty of time on his hands because of the housing downturn. He spent less than $10,000 upgrading the house, pulling up the carpeting and installing hardwood floors.

They took out an interest-only mortgage and are renting their old house until the market “comes back up.”

“Hopefully, the economy will be up and running again. If we can rent it out for longer, great,” Roman says.

Opportunity for the little guy

For the smaller entrepreneur, the deal is the thing.

Alex Szalay, a software writer from Pittsburgh, has redone two houses in the past 18 months. He says it’s profitable to buy foreclosed homes that are in reasonably good shape. He bought one house for $72,000 and sold it for $117,000 a few months later in Sharon, Pa., about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

“You have to be willing to sit on a down market,” Szalay says. “I have been fortunate in finding good deals. When I started doing properties, I would buy one fixer-upper at a time. Now, I am able to do a couple at a time.”

Tom Cook, an Arlington, Va., contractor, bought a ranch house in January for $500,000. He didn’t think that was too risky. He plans to sell the renovated home in this Washington, D.C., suburb for $1.2 million after a complete renovation that will include five bedrooms, 4½ baths and a two-car garage.

“The market is flat in Arlington but not as flat as outside the Beltway,” Cook says. “Arlington is resilient. People work in the government and defense industries. In the long run, we feel we can move it in 60 days.”

While Cook and others see openings in the short term, Stephen Crawford of Richmond, Va., is looking for long-term opportunity.

The father of four children, Crawford recently bought three investment properties in Atlanta at reduced prices in hopes they will help finance his kids’ college educations. He’s still looking for a fourth nest egg for his 6-year-old.

Crawford has no problem sitting on the houses, betting that the property values will rise as the market regains its footing. In the meantime, he’s renting out these homes to pay down the mortgages.

“Once the market takes a turn, these properties will be worth it,” says Crawford, who works for a health-care company. “Real estate has always been a good investment.”

Flipping on a grand scale

While mortgage rates have been dropping, it can still be difficult for buyers with low credit scores to get a mortgage as a result of the subprime scandal, where buyers were signing up for badly crafted loans. Plenty of mortgage money has dried up, and banks are extremely cautious about making sure buyers are qualified to make their monthly payments.

Still, there are plenty of people willing to take a chance if they can. With he assistance of his Realtor, Brown, the Alabama entrepreneur, sold 85 houses last year. He expects at least that many sales this year, banking on the construction of a ThyssenKrupp Steel USA carbon and stainless-steel processing plant that will bring many new jobs and home buyers to his region.

He usually spends less than $20,000 on rehab, adding new fixtures, upgrading the flooring and installing central heat and air conditioning in houses built 50 years ago.

Florida investor Cody Loughlin is another of the hard-times risk-takers, expressing confidence that the market will do well for him even in a state that has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country.

Unlike big builders who constructed giant homes at top dollar and are stuck, Loughlin says he makes money in his market by buying properties at 50 cents on the dollar and selling them for 75 cents on the dollar.

Loughlin’s company, Florida Property Club, is attracting buyers from all over the United States and as far away as South Korea.

He recently bought a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Lakeland, Fla., for $240,000, made $30,000 in repairs and sold it for $365,000 within three months.

“When people tell you, ‘Don’t buy real estate,’ well, you should buy real estate,” Loughlin says. “People aren’t going to stop retiring. Kids aren’t going to stop graduating from colleges. This lag will catch itself, and there will be more demand than supply.”

And there are plenty of people such as Loughlin still willing to take a chance to make money on real estate. Sandy Muff, 31, an office manager in Tampa, Fla., decided to buy a bungalow last year for $70,000.

She’s renting it out at $950 a month and paying a $900 monthly mortgage. She eventually hopes to sell the 950-square-foot home for $135,000, its current appraisal.

“You have to spend money to make money,” Muff says. “You’re not going to be in a slump forever.”

It’s not all sawdust and profit

Experts caution the housing market has not reached bottom, and it may be another year before the economic realities shake out. Lehman Brothers has reported that the number of foreclosed homes is expected to increase this year, adding perhaps as many as 1 million properties to the market in 2008.

Yet plenty of investors are willing to take that chance and many of those who do are making big profits!

For those looking to buy a personal residence, there has never been a better time to do so as prices are down as are rates and even if prices do slip a bit more, appreciate rates in cities like Columbus, Ohio average 3 to 4% per year and any loses will be recovered quickly once the market makes it’s complete turn around!  

Thriving in the chaos

Despite the pitfalls, many say they can beat and have beaten the system by seizing opportunity while remaining flexible.

In Tacoma, Wash., Steven Ling is making money off foreclosures or on houses that are on the verge of being put on the auction block. He buys them at a steep discount, adds granite countertops and maple kitchen cabinets, and gives them a bit of curb appeal.

Right now, he’s working on a house originally listed at $300,000. He bought it for $225,000 because the owner wanted to avoid having a foreclosure listed on his credit record. Ling is adding some updates and a fresh coat of paint, and getting it ready for an “average Joe.”

Ling says it takes maneuvering to get some potential homeowners qualified for a mortgage. That occasionally means renting them a house on a lease-purchase deal and helping them straighten out any credit mess to qualify for a mortgage.

“We make sure the income they make is feasible to handle the house. And if that is the case and credit is messed up, we let them buy the house on a lease option,” Ling says.

Many renters feel buying a home is an impossible dream. But consider this: A landlord expects to make a profit after paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs and other expenses. His only “income” for the rental property is the rent paid by the occupants. As time goes on, and the value of the property increases, rents rise and his profit margin grows.  If you want more control over your housing, and more importantly a share in the profits, buying is the choice for you. If you’d prefer to continue putting money in your landlords pocket and adding to his net worth, don’t make any changes and continue renting. Before you choose you may also wish to consider the following. The basic premise of renting: Someone buys a property whether it be a single family home or a 300 unit apartment complex. They find tenants, i.e. people to pay their mortgage for them ,and in return they allow those people to live there. You are always buying a house, when you are renting you are just buying it for someone else.  Lets say that you are renting an apartment with two of your friends. All three of you pay the same amount each month for the right to live there but when you move out, what do you have to show for your time and money spent at the apartment? Answer: NOTHING! Now, lets say that you owned the house and rented rooms to those two friends of yours. Your roommates are paying at least 2/3 of the mortgage for you (it’s quite possible that they will actually be paying more) however, YOU get to deduct all of the mortgage interest and real estate taxes from your income taxes each year (in the first few years of your mortgage over 90% of the payment is interest)! So, by keeping those same roommates you were living with before and simply having them live in YOUR home, you can reduce your tax burden and save thousands of dollars each year while building equity in the home you are on the fast track to owning!

The benefits of ownership don’t stop there! A home is an asset that appreciates, that is it increases in value over time. The rate at which a home appreciates is the result of factors such as it’s location, that is, the higher the demand for a home in a location such as a city or subdivision, the higher the rate of appreciation. Other factors include the cost of building supplies associated with the construction of a home and the general health of the economy in the city the home is located. Appreciation rates in Columbus tend to average around 3 to 4% (which means a $200K home is likely to appreciate $8,000 a year!).

 Furthermore, if you purchase your home with a mortgage, a home is what’s called a leveraged asset. That is, while you may only put a few thousands dollars down when purchasing the home, it appreciates based on it’s total value rather than the value of your down payment. For example, if you purchase your $200K home with a $5,000 down payment, your home (and thus your net worth) would increase in value by $8,000 ($200,000 x 1.04) rather than the $200 ($5,000 x 1.04) you would have earn on your down payment! Buying a home is one of the smartest decisions most people will ever make! But don’t take our word for it, take the Federal Reserve’s. It’s Survey of Consumer Finances has consistently found a huge gap between the wealth piled up by homeowners and that accumulated by renters.  

Source: VIP Forum, Federal Reserve Board

Home ownership builds wealth through the forced savings of paying down a mortgage, appreciation of the asset and the tax benefits the home provides.  

Inventory levels are at their highest levels ever and as a result of this prices have been easing downward. But not only are prices depressed with a selection of homes that is greater than ever, but interest rates are still hovering around 40-year lows! It’s the “Perfect Storm” and there has simply never been a better time to buy a home!

Think home prices are too high and the dream of home ownership is out of your reach? Think again! You can buy an 2-bedroom condo in Dublin for under $100,000! As mentioned supply currently far exceeds demand, which is forcing those who need to sell to make drastic price reductions! This is exacerbated by the increased number of foreclosed and short sale homes (a short sale is a sale in which the lender agrees to accept a price below what the current owner actually owes on the home and is an effort to avoid foreclosure) currently on the market. There are many options available to buyers offering payments right around, or perhaps even less than what you are currently paying in rent! (and this is before you factor in the tax savings you’ll incur as an owner!) 

In this current market it’s not uncommon to find a $150,000 home priced $15-$20K below market value. For those looking to buy their dream home with $600,000 or more to spend, there are lots of motivated sellers in this price point (and even short sales and foreclosures offerings savings in the hundreds of thousands, especially when you get into the million dollar range)!

Again, if you’re thinking of buying a home there has never been a better time to do so! Rates are low, inventory levels are high, sellers are anxious and prices are down but will rebound as inventory levels begin to stabilize and the market returns to a level of equilibrium.

Think before you rent! Pick up the phone and begin the path to financial freedom!

We’ve all heard the doom and gloom reports on the Real Estate Market and the increased number of foreclosures resulting from the subprime mortgage crisis. Well here are some real numbers and statistics representing what’s happening here in Columbus and Central Ohio, courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch:

In the eight-county Central Ohio area (Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Madison, Morrow, Licking, Pickaway and Union counties) 8,485 homes went into foreclosure in the first six months of 2007. These numbers are up from 2005 which saw approximately 6000 foreclosures, and will likely be up from 2006 which saw more than 10,000 homes lost to foreclosure.

The biggest percentage jump in foreclosures occurred in Union County (175 through June 2007 compared to 80 for 2006).

Not surprisingly Delaware county, one of the nations fastest growing counties has also seen a spike in foreclosures. Delaware county experienced a 34 percent increase this year to 368 foreclosures, from 275 in 2006.

Foreclosures are occuring in all areas and all price points, even high-priced communities such as New Albany which has seen 100 foreclosures since 2005.

Seven of the 10 worst-hit Zip codes are found south of downtown and contiguous to one another, running from the Hilltop/Franklinton area on the west, down to Grove City, east through the German Village area and over to Reynoldsburg.

The hardest hit area is 43207, which includes the Obetz area.  Obetz owners are hopeful that the bustling business growth in and surrounding the nearby Rickenbacker Airport will stimulate home buying and increase home values.

Within the city limits, the Linden area is struggling, with the zip code 43211 portion of the Linden area winning the number 1 spot in the Top 10 list.

While these elevated foreclosure rates are having a negative impact on housing values, these effects will be short lived as they are the result of the banks competitively pricing these properties in an effort to unload them as quickly as possible. The problem is inventory levels are already at historic highs due largely in part to developers overestimating the demand for housing in our city. As such a surplus of housing currently exists with both the builders and banks competing for buyers which in turn is resulting in some of the best deals on housing ever offered. In this market it is not uncommon for the banks to let a property go for thousands below market value! And again these opportunities are available in every price range, from $100,000 homes up to $1,000,000 plus estates!     

Quite simply, there has never been a better time to buy a home… Period. Interested in learning about some of these opportunities and finding out what’s available in your price range and just how much you could save… call or email us for a list of opportunities(homes)… you won’t regret it.

This is your final reminder to take a few minutes from holiday merrymaking and get those last-minute tax moves done. You have until Dec. 31. After that, there’s little you can do to cut your tax bill.

Here’s what you can do before the end of the year to trim your 2007 tax bill. I’ll start with the simple things.

What you need to do now

Mortgage interest. Make your January mortgage payment Dec. 31. Send in a check or pay it online.

Remember to add the interest you paid to what your bank reports on its Form 1098. Your bank will get your payment in 2008 and won’t report it for 2007.

But because you paid it this year, it adds to your 2007 deduction. (The downside, of course, is that you won’t be able to deduct the payment from your 2008 return.)

Real-estate taxes. If you pay your own real-estate taxes, make any payments due in the beginning of 2008 by Dec. 31. My fourth-quarter real-estate taxes are due Feb. 1. By paying them Dec. 31, I get the deduction a year earlier. (Again, you can’t deduct payments made in 2007 from your 2008 return.)

A friendly warning: Taxes aren’t allowed as a deduction under the alternative-minimum-tax computation. If you expect to get hit by the AMT, don’t prepay.

Charitable donations. If you contribute to your church, your college, the local dog pound, United Way or organizations contributing to disaster relief, make these donations by Dec. 31. And make sure that before you file your tax return, you have a receipt from the organizations that benefited from your generosity.

If you don’t have the cash, find out if the organization can process a donation via credit card. As long as the donation is made by Dec. 31, it’s valid as a 2007 deduction.

Separately, any contributions of clothes or household goods must be in good condition or better to qualify for a deduction. If a single item has a value of $500 or more, you will need an appraisal. The Internal Revenue Service can deny deductions for items of minimal value.

Complicating any deductions will be new requirements on record keeping. This is important.

To deduct a cash donation, regardless of the amount, you must have a bank record or a written communication from the charity showing its name and the date and amount of the contribution. Acceptable bank records would include canceled checks or bank or credit union statements containing the name of the charity, the date and the amount of the contribution.

Medical and miscellaneous deductions. Medical expenses and miscellaneous itemized deductions have “floors.” For medical expenses, only those in excess of 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) count. Miscellaneous itemized expenses have to exceed 2% of your AGI to qualify.

An important point: Your health insurance premiums count so long as you’re not paying them out of a flexible spending account.

If you’re going to exceed the floor, accelerate your expenses. Prepay your orthodontist or your tax preparer. Send in your payment either online or via the U.S. mail by Dec. 31. Alternatively, if you’re not going to exceed your floors, defer the deductions to 2008. You may exceed your floors then.

Pension or IRA contributions. These are especially important if you are self-employed. Unless tax rates shoot up, you want to pay your tax “tomorrow” rather than today.

If you’re contributing to a retirement plan such as a 401(k) plan or a 403(b) plan, you can put in $15,500 this year and the same amount in 2008. If you’re 50 or older, you can put in an additional $5,000 as a catch-up contribution.

Cash gifts. If you might ever be subject to the estate tax, make your $12,000 tax-free gift before the end of the year.

Capital gains and losses. 2007 has been a wacky, volatile year for investors, but the market is likely to show gains for the year. If you have capital gains, remember that any net capital losses over the $3,000 allowed on your 2006 tax return should be carried forward to offset those 2007 gains. If you still have net losses, up to $3,000 may be used to offset ordinary income for 2007.

All net long-term gains are subject to a maximum 15% rate. If you’re in the 15% or lower tax bracket, your tax hit is softened to only 5%.

If you’re single with taxable income of $31,850 or less, you get the 5% rate. With a standard deduction of $5,350 and a $3,400 personal exemption, you can have as much as $40,600 in gross income and still qualify.

If you have net capital gains, sell losers to offset those gains. If you have more losers, sell at least enough to get the $3,000 offset against ordinary income. If you have shares of stock pregnant with gains and you don’t expect them to appreciate further, sell those shares and shelter the gains with the losses on your losers. Worst case: Pay the maximum 15% tax. You can’t go broke taking profits.

Tax-free IRA distributions to charities. If you’re 70 1/2 or older and looking to make a donation to a favorite cause using funds from your individual retirement account, this may be the year to do it. For 2007, you can distribute as much as $100,000 directly from your IRA without recognizing any income.

You don’t get a charitable-donation deduction (unless the distribution was from a Roth IRA), but the distribution does count toward your minimum-distribution amount.

A note: This provision will expire after Dec. 31 unless Congress renews it. A renewal is expected, however.

Home sellers looking for an extra push in today’s more difficult markets have a new tool at their disposal:

HomeGain’s Home Sale Maximizer

Details count in today’s market and Realtors know there are select things sellers can do to get their homes in tip top shape before listing that tend to get more interest from prospective buyers and thus aid in the speed of sale as well as promote higher sale prices.

HomeGain today released an online home improvement evaluation tool, Home Sale Maximizer, that aims to help homeowners identify key repairs for getting a home ready for sale that can help fetch a higher sale price.

The company says it recently surveyed over 2,000 real estate agents nationwide and configured a list of the top 10 moderately priced home improvements that will benefit sellers most when they sell their homes.

Thanks to a variety of aggressive incentive programs, such as 10 year tax abatements of 75 to 100% and low cost financing, more and more leading developers are finding the downtown residential market to be a highly attractive environment for private investment. 

As a result, Downtown Columbus is literally bursting with thousands of new housing options. From luxurious penthouses, to spacious townhomes, to chic lofts, there’s something for everyone.

199 South 5th Street   @ Fifth and Rich   $265,000 - $675,000   Under Construction   Visit Website

CityView at 3rd  @ Third & Chestnut   Starting under $200,000   Units available for move-in   Visit Website

225 North Fourth   @ Fourth & Hickory   $223,665 - $584,760   Now Selling - Immediate Availability   Visit Website

Hartman Loft Condominiums   @ Fourth & Main   $140s - $350s   Now Open   Visit Website

Terraces on Grant   @ Grant & Walnut   $161,500 - $268,000   Now Open   Visit Website

Rich Street Walk   @ Lester & Rich   Starting at $239,900   Under Construction   Visit Website

342-346 S. High St.   @ High & Mound   $234,000 - $244,000   Now Selling   Visit Website

NeighborhoodLaunch.com   @ Fourth and Gay   $149,900-$650,000   Under Construction   Visit Website

8 on the Square   @ High & Broad   Under Construction - Taking Reservations   Visit Website   View Virtual Tour

The Condominiums at North Bank Park   @ Neil & Spring   Starting in the $300s   Now Selling - Under Construction   Visit Website

The Lofts at North Bank Park   @ Neil & Spring   Starting in the $300s   Now Selling - Under Construction   Visit Website

Burnham Square Condominiums   @ Neil & Spring   $229,000 - $649,000   Now Open   Visit Website

EcleXtion Lofts   @ Front & Spring   $165,000 - $380,000   Now Open   Visit Website

Lafayette Lofts   @ High & Lafayette   $230s - $270s   Now Selling   Visit Website

Lofts at 106   @ High & Long   $126,500 - $465,500   Now Selling - Under Construction   Visit Website

Miranova   @ Civic Center & Main   $400,000 - $2,000,000   Now Open   Visit Website

Sixty Spring   @ Pearl & Spring   $164,000 - $349,000   Now Open - Units Still Available   Visit Website

The Brunson   @ High & Long   $529,900   Now Selling   Visit Website   View Virtual Tour

The Buggyworks   @ Fletcher & Nationwide   $240,000+   Now Selling   Visit Website

Washington Rich Townhomes   @ Washington & Rich   $359,900 - $404,325    Now Selling   Visit Website

Beck Place   @ Grant & Beck   $462,200 - $726,300   Accepting Reservations and Contracts   Visit Website

Brewer’s Gate Condominiums   @ Brewery District   $240s - $319,000   Immediate Occupancy   Visit Website

Courtyard Townhomes at Jeffrey Place   @ Fourth & Auden   $355,000 - $446,400   Taking reservations and contracts   Visit Website

Flats of Harrison Park   @ Perry & First   $172,000 - $240,000   Under Construction   Visit Website

Homes of Harrison Park   @ Harrison Park Place & First   $290,000 - $550,000   Under Construction   Visit Website

Kramer Place   @ Fourth & Warren   Under Construction   Visit Website

NB1 - The North Block at Jeffrey Place   @ Fourth & First   $148,900 - $269,900   Taking reservations and contracts   Visit Website

The Dakota   @ High & Hubbard   $209,900 - $899,900   Now Selling - Under Construction   Visit Website

The Jackson on High   @ High and Fourth   $199,900 - $899,900   Now Taking Contracts   Visit Website

The Jeffrey   @ Fourth & First   $129,000 - 499,000   Under Construction   Visit Website

The Lofts at Jeffrey Place   @ Civitas & Yeats   $269,000 - $478,000   Taking reservations and contracts   Visit Website

Victorian Gate Condominiums   @ High & Lincoln   $145,000 - $349,500   Now Selling - Now Open

Yukon Studio Lofts   @ High & Poplar   $123,500 - $149,900   Now Open   Visit Website

The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle and the enjoyment of your home. The convenience, safety, and available amenities in the area all play their part.  Here are some tips to help you choose:

1. Determine the maximum travel time to and from work you’re willing to tolerate.  Traffic in some areas of Columbus can be excessive so don’t just use mileage to judge if your commute will be OK. I can guide you in determining which routes would work from any given community to your employer’s place of business.
   
2. Talk to me about other activities your family does routinely – for example, movies, health clubs, churches, parks, and shopping areas you visit frequently. We can discuss travel time from each neighborhood you’re considering to your most common activities.
 
3. Check out the school district. There are a number of agencies that keep statistics on school district accountability ratings as a determinant of school quality, a few of these sites can be found in the Links section of this site). As is the case in most parts of the country, school districts are a BIG deal in Columbus so even if you don’t have children; a home in a good school district will be easier to sell in the future. If you do have kids, consider a visit to the schools your children will be attending to make sure they meet your needs. Even in good districts, individual schools can vary widely. 
 
4. Find out if the neighborhood is safe. While I can provide general crime statistics, it is a good idea to ask the local police department for crime statistics on individual neighborhoods. Consider not only the number of crimes but also the type.  For example, property crimes versus violent crimes. Also, is the trend increasing or decreasing? Obviously this would also be useful to know.
 
5. Determine if the neighborhood is economically stable. Again, I can give you general statistics, but if you are concerned, check with the economic development office for the area to see if income and property values are stable or rising. Additional things to consider: how many of the homes in the neighborhood are rentals (tenants don’t have the pride of ownership and often don’t keep up a home as well as an owner would), what is the percentage of homes to apartments? Apartments don’t necessarily diminish value, but they do mean a more transient population.
 
6. Is the neighborhood appreciating? Although past performance is no guarantee of future results, I can give you information about price appreciation trends in the neighborhood. This information may give you a sense of how good an investment your home will be. I also keep up with planned developments such as new schools, retail growth, or new roads that might affect value.
 
7. See for yourself. Once you’ve narrowed your focus to two or three neighborhoods, go there, and look for yourself.  While I can point you to specific areas, only you can choose where you want to live. What is the character of the neighborhood? Are the homes tidy and well maintained?  Are the streets quiet? Pick a warm day if you can and chat with people working or playing outside. Are they friendly? Are their children to play with your kids?

Click here for detailed information on Central Ohio Communities and Neighborhoods.

It’s been more than 25 years since a new hospital has opened in the Columbus area. That will change next month when Dublin Methodist Hospital begins to accept patients. The hospital is one of the 53 members of the Pebble Project, a joint research effort between the Center for Health Design a non-profit research and advocacy organization and forward thinking healthcare providers. The concepts incorporated into the hospital include all private patient rooms large enough for patients, families, and caregivers; no restrictions on family visiting hours; pull out sofa beds for guests who stay over night; standard rooms to reduce errors and increase efficiency; interior court yards allowing natural light in nearly 90% of all spaces; open and decentralized work stations to bring caregivers closer to their patients; large waiting areas with comfortable seating and outdoor views and natural materials whenever possible and natural color schemes for paint and furniture.

Roof top gardens will be planted in the spring to allow patients, staff and guests to step away for a moment. Patients are greets in the lobby by a calm, serene waterfall and live trees.

OhioHealth has been planning to build a hospital in Dublin since the late 1980s when it purchased 89 acres along U.S. 33. Now after several years of construction the first patients will be admitted in early January. Registered Nurse Cheryl Herbert is the hospital’s president.

“This community is actually a bit under served in terms of services that are located close to home,” Herbert says. “Dublin Methodist is designed to be a community hospital offering an environment that is less stressful for the patients and their families.”

It’s also designed to help reduce medical errors that occur during treatment. The 325,000SF, $150 million hospital has 32 examination rooms in the ER department which should cut emergency waiting room time. The rooms are arranged to speed up treatment and to reduce costs.

“They are laid out identically to one another so nurses and physicians don’t have to think twice about where to find things in the room,” Herbert says.

It’s the same with the 94 in-patient rooms in the hospital; each is laid out identically to the others. And though each is a private room, it’s large enough to accommodate family members at any time of the day or night.

“There is now overwhelming evidence that single bedded rooms both reduce medical error and help to prevent hospital acquired infections.”

And Herbert says private room patients are more likely to communicate freely with medical staff.

“Patients are actually more likely to communicate more completely with their care givers if they’re in a private room,” Herbert says. “They’re less likely to do so if they think someone they don’t know can overhear what they’re talking to their nurses and physicians about.”

There is also good evidence that when families are allowed to remain with the patient, everyone’s stress is lowered and can lead to faster recovery for the patient. This is why the 60 standard rooms will offer 340SF, and the nine labor and delivery suites, 400SF. 

Among the accouterments to be offered in these state of the art patient rooms are roomy showers, flat-screen TVs, Internet connections and large fold out sofas. They are also designed to be “acuity adaptable” which means that they can be changed depending on the patient’s needs. As a result, patients who need intensive care won’t have to be moved.

The rooms have nosie reduction materials in their floors and ceilings, big windows and a standard layout so medical staff will approach the patient from the same angle in every room. 

Each patient also has their own patient station. “We have a computer come down from an arm in the ceiling, where patients can access the Internet while in bed,” Herbert said. “They can e-mail, surf the Web, do their patient education and order their meals.

“They can have food when they want it, rather than when we decide they want it,” within their prescribed diet, she said.

More high tech systems include medical records that are kept electronically, a program called e-Prescribing will allow physicians to write and send prescriptions from a handheld device, eliminating the need for patients to take their prescriptions to the pharmacy to be filled, patents can also be monitored, if needed, by eCare Mobile, a mobile, computer-camera device on wheels that allows caregivers in OhioHealth’s eICU to work with doctors and nurses at the patient’s bedside (a tone is sounded before monitoring begins that lets the patient know they are being monitored). Herbert says she expects the extra costs will pay for themselves.

“What we have found out incorporating everything that we have in this building is that our construction costs are 2 percent higher than a more traditional hospital facility would be,” she says. “Those charges do not get passed along to patients. The return on that investment is that we will spend less taking care of patients who otherwise might have acquired an infection or had a medical error.

If Dublin’s population continues its rapid growth, OhioHealth officials say Dublin Methodist can be expanded from 94 to 300 rooms. Additional information about the Dublin Methodist Hospital can be found at OhioHealth.com as well as information on job and volunteer opportunities. 

You’re probably reading this posts because you did a word search in Google for expired listings. And you probably don’t want to call us (because another Realtor failed to get the job done and you’d like to better qualify the next agent you hire), but you do want to get your home sold, and want to know why your house didn’t sell in a timely manner. Alternatively, you may currently have your home listed and you are interested in learning what you can do to get your home sold and avoid having it sit on the market. Either way, you’ve come to the right place.

What are some reasons that a home would fail to sell?

• The listing is overpriced. Buyers engage in comparison shopping when looking for a home and will not pay more for a home than they could pay for another that is similar. Thus your asking price should reflect the condition of the property and it’s standing among other local homes. Inventory levels are currently at historic highs and thus buyers have a larger selection of homes to choose from than ever before which in turn is increasing the impact pricing is playing in the market. In this market the homes that are selling are those that are in the best condition and priced competitively. When selecting an agent to market and sell your home, you should not base this solely on which agent proposes the highest list price (click here to learn about the process known as “Buying the Listing“) but rather, the agent who is best able to substantiate their proposal based on recent comparable sales. There are a number of reasons why a home might fail to sell, however, in 70% of the cases it is because the home was overpriced. 
• The home needs work. Buyers are looking for a house that makes them ”feel at home”. The best way to encourage this feeling is to create anenvironment similar to that found in a model home. There are many ways to create a more exciting and saleable environment, without spending an arm and a leg to do so. The simple fact is, if you have dirty soiled carpets, cluttered rooms, overgrown landscaping, etc., it’s unlikely your home will sell. And while it may be difficult for you to look at your home objectively, as this is the setting of many cherished memories, the buyer will be cold and detached and if flaws exist they will immediately find them and in most instances will promptly decide to move onto the next property on their list. By showing attention to detail and understanding the buyer’s need to visualize your home against a neutral backdrop, you can dramatically increase the saleability of your home.
• The agent you selected to market your home. Not all agents are the same and in today’s market it takes more than a price and a sign to sell a home! It takes; experience, an extensive network of affiliates, strategic multi-level marketing campaigns, a knowledge of the Internet as well as a strong web presence, keen negotiating skills, a compassion for people, a relentless desire to exceed expectations and a reputation for professionalism and honesty.  

Those are the three main reasons why listings expire. I’m sorry that the explanation is so somber, but there are only a finite number of things that can go wrong in trying to attract buyers for a property. Do you feel as though your home was priced correctly, you had a clean, neutral and clutter free house, and experienced, competent representation that was able to put together a 21st Century Marketing Campaign? If not, give us a call today and start packing! We look forward to hearing from you!

Dublin’s new upscale residential community designed to embrace the high architectural standards and parkland traditions that have made this such a well-loved central Ohio city.

Designed with gently curving tree-lined boulevards, a neighborhood retail center with brownstone-like storefronts, and homes that boast pristine hedges and welcoming brick sidewalks, Tartan Ridge is one of Ohio’s finest examples of a “well-planned mixed-use community” where residents and retailers can thrive together.

Tartan Ridge is situated on 189 acres and when finished will feature 270 homes ranging in price from $400,000 to $900,000. The residential styles will be as mixed as the land use, with estate and manor homes on large sites; park lots that line the greenspaces; cottages and courtyard homes in a village-like environment; and townhomes with the appeal of big city brownstones. 

Of the 189 acres in Tartan Ridge, 17 acres will be reserved for an upscale neighborhood retail center being developed by Stavroff Interests, Ltd.  It will be located at the Hyland Croy entrance and will feature destination shops such as boutiques, spas, restaurants, coffee shops, specialty markets, and the like.

The colonial revival architecture of the retail center will be reminiscent of the market squares that were common at the end of the 1800s. The retail center also will feature a picturesque pond with a boardwalk and promenade that will serve as a gathering place for Tartan Ridge residents 

» View the Tartan Ridge Master Plan

Section I of Tartan Ridge will include 31 Villasby Romanelli & Hughes, Truberry Group, and Michael Edwards Building & Design — with construction beginning in early 2008. This first section also will consist of 67 single-family homes accessed from the same Jerome Road entrance as the Villas. The roads leading to the townhomes, single-family homes near the retail center, and larger estate lots on the north end of the community will be built as site sales warrant.

Tartan Ridge Builders:

» Corinthian Fine Homes» Duffy Homes