January sales stats are in for Columbus...

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

Teachers, Firefighters, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Medical Technicians can get a HUD home at 50% OFF! No lie!

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a program that most people do not know about. You can get a HUD home for 50% of the list price of the home if you are one of the following:

- Teacher (Pre-K through 12)
- Law Enforcement Officer
- Firefighter
- Emergency Medical Technician

It's called the "Good Neighbor Next Door" program, and if you're interested, please contact me for all the details. This could be too good to pass up! Wow.

PS - I wonder if Schwarzenegger's character in the movie "Kindergarten Cop" could have bought a house for 100% off the list price?? Hmmm....

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

What the heck is a short sale? A sale for people under 5 feet tall?

If you're a home buyer, you've probably heard the term "short sale" thrown around here and there. And as I posted earlier this week, the term short sale is an oxymoron normally. First of all, it's not a short (or quick) process usually. Read my post from earlier this week for proof of that.

Here's how InmanWiki describes and defines short sale (if you're really interested in know more, click here to read the whole accompanying description...):

A Short Sale is when a homeowner owes more against the home than what the home is worth. What's important to note here, is that the homeowner MUST sell.

If the homeowner does not have to sell, or does not want to sell their home, there are MANY options available to homeowners. They could move into a more affordable home and rent out their existing home, they could take on a roommate, they could refinance (although this is not always the best path. Homeowners in a short sale situation are often in financial distress, which means higher rates and fees because you're seen as a higher credit risk to a new lender), they could talk with their existing lenders to re-configure the terms of the loan.

Click here to read the rest of the explanation of short sales.

So, if you're a buyer, and you're interested in purchasing a short sale home, you may be able to get a great deal right now.

If you're a seller, and you're in a situation where you have no other choice... contact me right away. We'll get you the help you need.

And always know, there's nothing to be embarrassed about if you come across financial hardship. Donald Trump was in debt $9 Million! Yep.

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

Ever Heard of "Buyer's Remorse"?

Wikipedia defines "buyer's remorse" as:

Buyer's remorse is an emotional condition whereby a person feels remorse or regret after a purchase. It is frequently associated with the purchase of higher value items such as property, cars, computers, jewelry, etc. The common condition is brought on by an internal sense of doubt that the correct decision has been made. With high-value items such as a property, this is exacerbated by the fear that one may have acted without full and complete information, for example, the property was not fully surveyed or that (perhaps) one harbours doubts about the veracity of the surveyor. An equally common source of disquiet is a sense than one cannot actually afford the item or that it represents more of a want than a need, despite any protests to the contrary.

So you ask, is this common? Isn't this just something that people joke about having?

Yes, it's common.

No, it's not just a joke.

Buyer's remorse is real, and it is sometimes very powerful. But if you've been helped to your decision by a real estate agent who is very knowledgable and acts more as a consultant than a "yes-man," you can be pretty certain you've made the correct decision when purchasing a home.

In fact, I talk about every pro and every con of a property with my buyers before we make a decision. Plus, I even talk to them about buyer's remorse, and I make sure they are completely comfortable every step of the way. You need a Realtor who will do the same.

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

Short Sales are Oxymorons...

Short sales are becoming more and more popular now because of the looming foreclosure crisis. But just like the terms "jumbo shrimp" or "old news", a "short sale" is not a "short" sale at all. In fact, usually short sales take a really long time.

For example, I wrote an offer on a short sale property in mid-January. The offer still hasn't been reviewed and approved by the bank yet. The earliest we'll most likely be closing is late-March, maybe even April. Is 3 months a "short" sale? No way Jose.

Don't get me wrong. Sometimes short sales can progress and close fairly quickly, but not usually, unfortunately.

For more on short sales, or what a short sale is, please feel free to comment or contact me.

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

Credit Scores

I found this post about boosting your credit score at InmanWiki.com, written by Ilyce R. Glink:

If you want to raise your credit score, then you'll want to keep your credit cards open as long as possible. Unless you absolutely have to close an account, you're better off keeping it open.

If you feel as though you have too many lines of credit open (which can also be a negative when it comes to your credit score), then pull a copy of your credit history at www.annualcreditreport.com and see which accounts have been opened the longest.

Keep the oldest accounts open and then close some of the others in writing. You'll want to make sure that any balances on the card are paid off before you close the account (or you'll wind up trashing your credit history unnecessarily).

In general, it doesn't hurt you to have a couple of gas cards and a department store card. What really hurts is when you don't pay your bills on time.

.Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

Have You Heard of Yahoo Live?????

Have you heard of a new project by Yahoo called Yahoo Live? It's basically a video website like YouTube, but all of the videos on the site are LIVE. That's right. Nothing is recorded. It is all showing up on the site via webcam. Here is one of the most popular channels (as the site is still in it's first week of release and people are not broadcasting a lot yet:

The Aquarium Channel:


How cool would it be to have a webcam set up in my office or at one of my Open Houses? Hmmmm........

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

YouTube's Rival in Real Estate

The following video is one of my listings being hosted on a real estate video website called Wellcome Mat. The thing that separates Wellcome Mat from YouTube is the fact that you can add scenes to the video, such as the kitchen, the master bedroom, or the family room. It's really very nice! Check it out below:

Real Estate For Sale - Columbus / Marysville OH

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com
www.WellcomeMat.com/HamiltonHomes

Video about www.OpenHouse.com

From InmanTV.com:
"Ben Phillips is vice president and managing director of Realogy's OpenHouse.com, which recently began accepting open house listings from all brokers, including those not affiliated with Realogy's brands. Phillips talks about whether open houses actually help sell homes and why Realogy decided to open the site to everyone."

Want to sell your home and get maximum exposure, including numerous Open Houses? Contact me today!

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

Swap This House!

This really is becoming a much more common thing.

Contact me if you're interested in doing this in Columbus.

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

The "Denial" Stage

This section is from an article from the Inman News Blog, posted by Jessica Swesey. I thought it was quite interesting and wanted to share it with you. I'll continue with my opinion at the end:

"Denial is a defense mechanism in which a person is faced with a fact that is too painful to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence." --Wikipedia entry.

Zillow leaked some survey results today showing that 77 percent of homeowners polled nationwide said they believe their home has held or increased value in 2007, despite all the news reports of the sagging market, credit crunch and depressed values.

At last month's Real Estate Connect conference in New York, Barry Ritholtz, chief market strategist of Ritholtz Research and CEO and director of equity research for Fusion IQ, noted the similarities between the market and the five stages of grief learned in college psychology class.

As in grief, Ritholtz pinned denial as the first stage. When the market began to slow, some analysts and experts, and especially industry groups like the National Association of Realtors, said the slowdown would be short-lived.

At the next stage, there was an admission that there was a housing problem but a denial that it was impacting the overall economy.

One would think that we've been past this denial stage for some time, but Zillow's survey conducted by Harris Interactive, paints a different picture among homeowners. About a third of homeowners surveyed (36 percent) said they believe their homes had actually increased in value during 2007.

Interesting huh? Real estate is a part of life, therefore when there is grief in real estate, it must follow the same stages of grief in life.

The overall point of the article is to say the sellers are in denial about home values over the past year or two. I do hate to be the bearer of bad news but sometimes that's my job when it comes to real estate: Do not expect that your home has appreciated in value over the past couple years. In all honesty, don't expect that it's value has even stayed the same.

Yes, you're home's value may have actually decreased from 2005. For many of you, this won't be a big deal because you've been living in your home for over 5 years. In that case, even though the value has decreased a little over the past year or so, you're still coming out ahead because from 2000-2005 the value increased at a much greater rate than this decrease.

But if you've purchased a home in 2005, 2006, or 2007, don't ecpect to sell your home now and make a profit (unless you bought a fixer-upper or something comparable). The market is stabilizing itself now, and property values are getting themselves back to where they should be. They were probably too inflated in '04 and '05.

Please be realistic. If you want to sell your home to make a profit, you're going to need to wait another couple years at the very least before you try to sell. If you want to break even, you may even have to wait.

Don't kill the messenger.

But please trust me... things will work themselves out, and things will be back to normal sooner than you probably think. I'm sure of it.

Contact me if you have questions.

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

"Did You Know?" (This is a great video if you've never seen it)

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

E*Trade Baby Spoof / Parody - Super Bowl Ad - Real Estate

Dan Hamilton and Hamilton Homes Group of Keller...
(more)
Added: February 05, 2008
Dan Hamilton and Hamilton Homes Group of Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty in Columbus, OH teamed up with the E-Trade Baby from Super Bowl XLII (42).

Seriously though... if you or someone you know (even outside Columbus, OH) are thinking about buying or selling a home, please contact me.

In Columbus, I can offer you the best real estate services and the most care as you buy or sell your home.

Outside Columbus: I can get you in touch with the perfect Realtor for your personality and needs.

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

New Listing - Video Tour

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

My Super Bowl Ad - I Could Only Afford to Show 14 Seconds of the Ad

This is my commercial for Super Bowl XLII. Unfortunately, SuperBowl Ads are a lot more expensive than I realized, and I could only afford 14 seconds.

If you or someone you know is thinking about buying or selling a home, please do not hesitate to contact me.

www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com
(614) 944-5936
dchamilton@kw.com

(Obviously, this is not a real Super Bowl ad; just a spoof/parody).

Dan Hamilton
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

REALTORS® Know Your Market

Dan Hamilton, REALTOR
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com

A REALTOR® is Someone You Can Trust

Dan Hamilton, REALTOR
Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com