Knox County Ohio Blog

Top real estate agents around the world regularly turn to one man when they want to grow their real estate business and that man is Howard Brinton.  I have had the privilege of learning from Howard and his Star Power Network for nearly 20 years.  There hasn't been anyone or anything that has had more positive impact on my real estate career than Howard Brinton and his group of Stars.  

During the past couple of years I have witnessed many real estate professionals who have left the real estate industry because they didn't know how to adapt to the changes that were taking place in the economy.  During that same time my personal real estate business has remained strong and I continue to lead our Knox County Ohio real estate market for the 18th consecutive year.  I attribute my continued success to what I learn each year at the Annual Star Power Conference.  If you want to not only survive but thrive in this changing market you need to attend this years annual conference on July 29th through August 1st in Denver, Colorado.  

The Star Power Annual Conference is much more than a traditional real estate seminar. It goes beyond the typical high energy seminar experience because it offers top level breakout sessions on dozens of current topics which will help you overcome daily obstacles and challenges found during a normal day of selling real estate.  This year there will also be special round table and panel discussions relating to dealing with foreclosures, short sales and working with financially challenged clients and their lenders.  There has never been a better time to learn this information and to talk with other successful agents who are succeeding in this market.  

One of my main goals when I attend the Star Power Annual Conference is to talk with top real estate agents who are selling more homes than I am and find out what they are doing differently than I am.  Attending a Star Power Conference is a lot like winning a back stage pass and gaining access to some of the brightest minds in real estate.  I have already registered for the conference and I hope to see you in Denver.  For more details about Howard Brinton and Star Power visit GoStarPower and for conference details visit Star Power Annual Conference. 

• Desirable edge of town location
• Nicely updated and very stylish
• Hardwood floors and ceramic tile
• Gorgeous appliance filled kitchen
• Unique diner style table and seat
• Great living room / brick fireplace
• Finished basement is a real bonus
• 3rd Bedroom possible in basement
• Huge bedroom sized walk-in closet
• Modern gas furnace and central air
• Screened porch patio and decking
• Attached garage & pole barn garage
• High speed cable internet available 
• $110,000

Trading your current home may be just the option you are looking for today.  Most homeowners recognize that the opportunity to buy a home is much greater today than it has been during the past 30 years.  The challenge for most homeowners today is that they typically need to sell their current home before they are in a position to buy a nicer replacement home.  This is what I like to call the "Real Estate Catch 22".  For many Knox County Ohio homeowners there is a solution to this real estate challenge.

One of the services that I offer on many of my listings is unique real estate trade option.  The trade option exists when I have a client who wants to sell their current home through me and they want to upgrade into one of my real estate listings.  Here is simple example of how my trade option can work:

1. I have a house listed for sale that you want to buy ($150,000 for example purposes).
2. Before you can buy this home you need to sell your current home first.
3. I list your home for sale and I offer to accept a local buyers home in on trade (meaning I will offer to buy their Knox County Ohio home directly from them so that THEY can buy your home using me as their agent).
4. By me offering to buy their home, they can buy your home and you will buy my listing.    

Knox County Ohio is a very competitive community when it comes to selling residential real estate.  There are a tremendous number of homes currently on the market and the reality is that many of these homes will remain unsold.  Most people believe the reason a home doesn't sell is strictly due to the listing price but the reality is that it is often a result of weak marketing and bad photos.  

This is an example of how many homes appear on real estate websites and inside the Knox County MLS.  The quality of this very dark photo is actually not uncommon especially when viewing the interior photos of homes and their virtual tours.  Dark photos are not inviting and they tend to make the rooms look much smaller.  Home buyers are not attracted to homes that look or feel dark or small.  A photo like the one above can instantly eliminate buyer interest in your home and it will generally cause your home to remain on the market longer and it can cause your home to remain unsold.  The bottom line is that poor photos can hurt your home sale. 

The difference between the upper and lower photo is very obvious.  There is no doubt that if the home owner had a choice between these two photos they would select the 2nd photo over the top photo every time.  The reality is that sellers always have this choice available and they should select their real estate professional based on the the number of homes the agent has  sold, the agents track record and their reputation, their use of technology to attract interested buyers, the quality of their photos, virtual tours, videos, websites and make sure you choose your agent based on the agents ability to market your home. 

Here is a helpful online blog article that highlights the difference between photos taken with a basic digital camera lens angle, a slightly wider angle lens and an ultra wide angle 10 mm lens.  You will be blown away by the differences an ultra wide angle lens can offer.  This is a must see photo comparison because once you see the photos you will understand why you should ask your agent what type of camera and lens they use when marketing your home.

Sam Miller 

Desirable and Exclusive Kenyon College and Gambier Ohio Location.

One of the most gorgeous treed settings near the Kenyon college campus and within a short walk of the Kenyon Bookstore.  This home is much larger than it looks and features an impressive room addition with an enlarged family room plus a multi-room home office suite.  

For more detailed information, the current price, interior photos and to view a virtual tour of this Knox County Ohio home please visit 103 West Woodside Drive, Gambier Ohio

The Apple Valley Lake community in Knox County Ohio saw a slight reduction in homes sales in January 2009.  As of today and according to the Knox County MLS there were only 2 residential homes that sold in January which was down from 3 sales in January 2008.  This slower sales activity was not a huge surprise due to the more severe weather we have experienced this year. 

If you are in the market to purchase an Apple Valley home the timing is ideal to be able to negotiate a favorable deal.  Home prices are more affordable than in years past and fixed rate mortgages are nearing a 40 year low so your purchase price and monthly payments will be greatly reduced.  If you are interested in learning more about buying feel free to contact us by phone at (740) 397-7800 or e-mail us anytime.  If you are interested in working with us to purchase an Apple Valley home in the future you should take advantage of our Apple Valley Listings By E-mail.  All you need to do is click the link above and register and our system will search the Knox County Multiple Listing Service and send you the available listings by e-mail. 

The Apple Valley Lake housing market is traditionally slower until early spring.  If you are considering selling your current Apple Valley home we highly recommend that you schedule an appointment to meet with us in February or March so that you can be prepared before other competing Apple Valley property owners list their homes.  Coming onto the market just one month earlier than other competing homes can give you and your home a huge advantage and get your home sold before other competing homes enter the market.   

The links below will allow you to view available Apple Valley Homes and vacant Apple Valley Lots.

View Apple Valley Lake Community Homes

View Apple Valley Lake Vacant Lots

Sam Miller

January 2009 was a slower month for Mount Vernon Ohio home sales activity.  As of January 31st, 2009 the Knox County MLS had only reported 8 residential homes sales in the Mount Vernon Ohio school district so far this year.  Last year during the same time period the Knox County MLS reported 14 homes sales. This means that 2009 saw roughly a 40% decrease in home sales activity during the first month of year.  This certainly doesn't mean that prices are down by 40% but that in 2009 there were simply fewer homes sales.

Each month I spend a substantial amount of time after business hours researching the market activity that is reported to the Knox County Multiple Listing Service.  This month it is very obvious why the home sales are down and that is that many of the January home sales were bank owned foreclosure listings.  You might be asking yourself why this would make the overall home sale numbers lower and the answer is banks do not need to buy a replacement home when they sell their repo listings.  When the homeowner successfully sells their current home they generally replace it with another home purchase essentially accounting for 2 sales or transactions.  When we sell a bank owned foreclosure the bank is not taking their money and buying another home.  This is a very big part of the January 2009 sales drop in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

This may sound like bad news but in reality it isn't bad news at all.  The slow down is simply a small ripple in the Mount Vernon Ohio real estate market which I believe will begin to smooth out in months to come.  Remember that all real estate activity goes in cycles and it's good to move some of the Mount Vernon Ohio  foreclosures so that in the more active months to come many of those Mount Vernon bank owned listings will already be sold when the spring market warms up.  This is important because it can be difficult for an average homeowner to be able to compete financially with HUD foreclosure or a bank who simply needs to get their non performing asset off their books.

I created some special real estate links that will take you directly to homes, condos and bank owned listings for sale that are located in and around Mount Vernon and Knox County Ohio 

Mount Vernon Ohio homes for sale

Mount Vernon Ohio condos for sale

Knox County Ohio bank owned homes

Sam Miller 

Most of Ohio has been snow covered but last night the freezing rain and the ice came which added a new challenge for anyone on an Ohio road trying to get home.  I was watching the news and they made the announcement that Knox County Ohio was in a level 2 snow emergency and they were recommending that people should stay off the roads if at all possible.

I am a a big fan of Twitter and I subscribe to the 10TV Columbus News feed on Twitter so I immediately saw that 10TV had posted the school closing announcement for Mount Vernon City Schools the night before. I quickly checked the school website and they had already updated their website and had posted the Wednesday closing announcement.  I have to say I was impressed how fast 10TV and the Mount Vernon Schools made the announcement because this gives parents some advance time to make plans for their children.

I shot this short video this morning on my way to work and thought it might add a little more depth to the this topic if you could actually see the snow.  I want you to pay special attention to the street once I pull out of the driveway because you can't see where the street is and if I hadn't driven this road thousands of times before I might not have made it out of our neighborhood without landing in a ditch.  

Sam Miller