Let’s start with the long answer: Dayton investors, flippers, intrepid pioneers often want to see the bones of the home: What do they need to replace, repair, rehab. They don’t care about any emotional attachment to the home because this home purchase is a financial decision. They may not plan on living in it, or they may plan on living in it only long enough to fix and sell for a profit. These are visionaries with a good business sense so they don’t need to see how furniture could be arranged- they can do that on their own. Often these buyers have bought multiple homes, or have extensive construction experience. They look at many many distressed properties and the dirt, smell, and repair issues that scare off most buyers are met with grim determination. As one investor told me “A house that smells like cat pee to everyone else, smells like money to me.” Okay then. Staging isn’t going to impress him much.
Most buyers don’t fall into that category though. Most Dayton buyers think of property as “home”. For these buyers a well cared for property is what they are looking for. They walk into a property wanting that emotional, visceral connection that lets them know their hopes, dreams, loved ones, and life, well be safe and tended to within those walls. The more like home you can make a buyer feel, the more likely they will be to write an offer, and an offer that appeals to you- they want this home.
Discerning sellers take note: RISMedia offers 5 Reasons Vacant Homes Are Tough To Sell In Today’s Market:
1. People don’t simply buy houses; they buy the next chapter of their lives.
This is an emotional experience and emotion influences what people buy and how much they will pay. Vacant houses are devoid of life, and the chance to make an emotional connection is lost.
2. Vacancy distracts buyers from looking at the house itself.
They wonder: “Is this a divorce? Why did they move out? Are they selling because they have money problems? Is this home hard to sell?” They’ll make a low-ball offer, thinking the owner is desperate.
3. When a house is vacant, buyers focus on flaws.
They look at nail holes, carpet wear and gaps in the molding rather than how the space works. In a vacant house, floors, walls and ceilings are all the buyers see. This drives the price down.
*Note: I wrote this post awhile back, but today is National Open House Day and homes throughout the Greater Dayton Area will be open. Sign up at any Open House and you will be registered for GC from Lowe’s. Remember the ground rules for Open Houses- the Realtor hosting the Open is working for the seller, so be very careful about giving that Realtor any thoughts and opinions about the property you are looking at, lest you enter into a Dual Agency situation (read about the caveat emptor of Dual Agency below).
It’s Sunday morning in Dayton Ohio and you want to go looking at homes. I understand that. You probably want to go looking at homes during an Open House because you might be undecided about which Realtor to use, and you figure at an Open House you can remain anonymous. I understand that as well. Or maybe you just love looking at homes? Makes sense to me. Or perhaps you have family that is moving back to Dayton, and you promised that you’d go to Open Houses to see what is on the market? Trust me, I understand that there are many many reasons that Dayton residents spend their Sundays looking at Open Houses, and that’s why I like Open Houses.
It allows you to refine your criteria to specific areas, specific price ranges, etc, so that when you hit the “Submit” button in the upper right corner, you get any homes listed as “Open Houses” in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and you also get all the information about that property that you would see through the MLS. So instead of a few lines of copy and one grainy photo, like the newspaper, you get a complete printout for the property. You can also map them, and, drumroll please, you can print them up. Cool, huh?
Of course, please keep in mind that many Open Houses in Dayton are hosted by, well, “hosts” that not only may know nothing about the property, they may not be licensed Realtors, which might be a good thing if you want to just go look at a home, unmolested by pushy salesfolk. But if you want information about the property, then you have to talk to a Realtor anyway, as an unlicensed host is not allowed, by law, to discuss any property listed in the MLS.
Here’s where it gets tricky: If you go to an Open House, and it is hosted by a Dayton Realtor, please remember that that Realtor works for the seller- they are not, at that moment in time, working for you, even though they may ask for your contact information. That is, any information that you tell a Realtor at an Open House, that pertains to your thoughts, feelings, and opinions about that particular house, will be conveyed to the seller. Buyer beware! Be very careful about what you are saying at an Open House.
Which brings us to a whole other point: When you are serious about looking at homes unmolested, contact me. While I can’t say I would never be a dual agent, I can say I would only be a dual agent to a client who specifically requested it. I will represent you and only you in a sale. A buyer’s representative can take you to look at any home listed in the MLS, and you can get a private showing, if you will, with an experienced real estate agent, who truly has your best interest in mind. It’s a fiduciary relationship, and when you are making such an important purchase, you really want someone who understands that relationship in your corner. Call an agent who you feel comfortable with, and allow them to work for you.
One more thing, getting into the Dayton Area Board of Realtors MLS is easy- just click on the link on the upper right sidebar. But, if you want to make this really painless, a specialized home search can come to your inbox. It’s simple as can be, just let me know- 937-478-7781, and we’ll set it up for you. Some Realtors might call this a VIP Buyer Search, or some such thing, as if it’s something no other Realtor can offer. I think it’s basic customer service. When you are ready to automate the process, let’s talk.
*Note: Alas, this property is no longer for sale, but other homes are! Feel free to browse the entire Dayton Multiple Listing Service, without signing up and without obligation. When you have any questions about any home you see, or when you are ready to talk to a Realtor, contact Dayton Realtor Jennifer Core, Exit Realty Central for information about any home for sale in the Dayton area, Dayton real estate information, how much your Dayton area home is worth, or for email updates about real estate in your Dayton neighborhood. Always free, always no obligation. Just call 937-239-0373, or write, jennifer(at)exitdayton.com.
HUD property #411-383497. See HUD property details here. Buying a home in Dayton Ohio? Contact Realtor Jennifer Core, Exit Realty Central, at jennifer@exitdayton.com, or 937.239.0373 for experienced, knowledgeable help throughout your home buying process. Jennifer can show you any home listed for sale, regardless of who has it listed, and can offer you representation, as well as real estate advocacy. Give her a call to find out more.
HUD Disclaimer: All properties are sold in “AS IS” condition. Seller makes no representations or warranties concerning the condition of the property and does not guarantee that the property is free of hidden or visible defects. Buyer is responsible to take action to satisfy himself that the property is in a condition acceptable to him. Seller will make no repairs. Buyer is encouraged to have a home inspection to identify any defects.
The purchase of Real Estate is a legal transaction. The signing of a sales contract is legal and binding between two consenting adults. Anyone under the age of 18 is NOT PERMITTED TO SIGN THESE DOCUMENTS.
Dayton has always been bike friendly, but now is the time to capitalize on it
When we were really young, we rode our bikes to a neighborhood woody lot and biked around dirt paths. Today you need a special bike for this, but I used my blue coaster bike with the headlight, big white saddle seat, the mud fenders and balloon tires. It had a little spring closure carrying rack on the back- good to clamp your balled-up jacket in and not much else. As I got older, like most people my age, I used a bike as a main method of transportation. I lived in a semi-rural neighborhood and rode miles and miles unmolested by traffic, and I had tons and tons of fun doing it! Perched precariously on those skinny 12-speed racing bike tires, I’d careen down long hills praying I didn’t hit a gravel patch in just the right way and have the tires shoot out from under me, sending me onto the pavement. Helmet-less, of course. We always rode helmet-less.
I’ve always owned at least one bike. Think about riding a bike: There is a sense of freedom and exhilaration that does not happen when driving a car. You are unencumbered by stuff. Just you and the road and the bugs in your teeth.
Independence Day, the New York Times published Bike Among the Ruins on the Op-Ed page. Toby Barlow writes about biking in Detroit, but the same could be written about Dayton:
While bike enthusiasts in most urban areas continue to have to fight for their place on the streets, Detroit has the potential to become a new bicycle utopia. It’s a town just waiting to be taken. With well less than half its peak population, and free of anything resembling a hill, the city and its miles and miles of streets lie open and empty, beckoning. And lately, whether it’s because of the economy or the price of gas or just because it’s a nice thing to do, there are a lot more bikers out riding. ...
Arcade Rehab to start: We want to impress the city.
New owners still interviewing contractors, but restoration of the facade to start in August.
DAYTON — The new owner of Dayton’s historic downtown arcade says work on the exterior of the five-building complex will be evident by the next Urban Nights event on Friday, Sept. 11.
Restoration of the facade will begin in August with power washing of the exterior as a way to announce the arrival of work crews
“We want to impress the city,” said Gunther Berg, who along with partner Wendell Strutz bought the Arcade at a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office tax lien sale on March 12
Berg said he is researching different types of glass to replace windows in the arcade’s landmark dome, 70 feet high and 90 feet in diameter. ...
Volunteers Sought for Mediation Training The Dayton Mediation Center, a City of Dayton agency providing free or low-cost mediation services to individuals, families, and organizations, is offering training for citizens interested in learning to serve as volunteer community mediators. Volunteer mediators help resolve conflicts and reach understanding on a variety of issues, including neighborhood problems, workplace concerns and elder care decisions. Candidates are expected to attend training sessions on August 15, 20 and 29 and to commit to volunteering at least monthly for 18 months. For more information, contact Michelle Zaremba at 333-2345.
Dayton Daily News finally catches on to the corporate welfare BS.
Today, the Dayton Daily News editorial board finally agreed with a position I’ve staked out as one of the primary threats to our society: Corporate welfare.
It’s a stunning turnabout for a company that has never met a tax break they didn’t wholeheartedly endorse. The ones for Reynolds & Reynolds, Relizon, Workflow One etc- were all great by their reporting. Bill Pardue and his QBase reality distortion field- where governments should not only fund his startup, but then hire his firm- hailed as innovative. And, then the NCR debacle, where our Ohio politicians hadn’t talked enough about how we should drop our drawers to the almighty Bill Nuti and his extortion machine.
If you look at todays paper, their hypocrisy is evident, where they rail against the tax break, but fail to hang Congressman Turner for his willingness to sell out to NCR as long as they are a Dayton business.
They take the tax break system apart gently, as a ruse to give money to big companies for promises written on paper as useless as yesterdays news- ...
Barriers to Regionalism
The Dayton Business Journal has some extensive reportage on regionalization issue due to a recent panel discussion hosted by the D B-J. There will be another panel discussion about Southwest Ohio regional economy in July. ...
It seems the barriers to conventional city/county merger form of metropolitan government are insurmountable in this area, though it is heartening to see Joey Williams and Dan Foley taking the lead on the issue (from the political side). Yet, the local business community seems to be finally getting behind the concept, if the Business-Journal interest is any indication. Still, no clear champions have surfaced from the private sector to really push the issue, which is in itself a big local weakness.
Since governmental merger is a non-starter, perhaps people need to get creative and look at different approaches at regionalization. Since the big regional concern is economic development...the weak local economy, which crosses city and suburban boundaries...that should be were regional efforts should concentrate, since it is the one area were people agree something needs to be done.
Getting the Word Out, are We Selling Ourselves Short?
(...) Since I haven't seen us in print, I decided to look online. Here's some of our local business development info:
Ohio.gov isn't bad for small business and start-ups
Ohio's "development" site where apparently we're The State of Perfect Balance. And I must be having browser problems because most of the tabs/links don't open for me.
OhioMeansBusiness, yet another state site.
Dayton Development Coalition targeting Aerospace R&D, Information Technology, Advanced Materials & Manufacturing, Human Sciences & Healthcare, and most recently the region's water supply. The Coalition has been very aggressive with BRAC stuff and advocacy in Washington. Maybe it's advertising in Texas and around other military bases that are closing or downsizing. As for the site, I can't tell if the it's promoting the region as much as it's promoting the work/efforts of the coalition. Perhaps it's a little of both.
Business First - Montgomery County's efforts to reach out to local businesses as a retention/expansion tool. Sit down with us and we'll see what we can do for you. There's also additional information on the County's economic development page. The County's website is awful. Check out the URLs. How would anyone fine anything on it? (...)
The Dayton region landed a big victory Wednesday, as the state is awarding $3 million to create the Center for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Exploitation in the region.
The Ohio Third Frontier program is allocating the funds to the University of Dayton’s IDCAST, which submitted the proposal for the UAV center.
The 6,000-square-foot UAV center will be located in the 25,000-square-foot Air Force Center for Rapid Product Development, at 104 Janney St. in Dayton.
The project advances unmanned aerial vehicle technology by supporting research for national security and emergency response applications.
The project is a collaboration among a handful of local organizations including the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, BAE Systems and UltraCell Corp.
A coalition of organizations and companies have formed an alliance in the past two years centered around forging the region as a hub of UAV research and manufacturing.
UAVs, also called drones, are remote controlled aircraft that don’t carry pilots, thus preventing airmen from flying into dangerous areas. …
Growing America: Student Run Farm and Farmers Market
The Ohio State University, The PAST Foundation and Metro High School in Columbus have teamed up to create a student-run farm and farmers market through its new Growing America program. This program has been created to introduce students to farm planning, design, management and operations, plant growth and development, and produce marketing through a small-scale farm and student-run farmers market. The project is led by teacher Neal Bluel, who is a Botany/Research faculty member with the school. The farm will be at the Waterman Dairy Farm on Ohio State’s campus. The farmers market will run from July 25 to Aug.15 at The Metro School,...
Building codes, sprawl and value.
Bill Pote over at Dayton Most Metro has a long post and a small comment debate going on about how restrictive building codes and over-the-top requirements are making redevelopment severely expensive at the cost of much of our existing infrastructure- and empowering sprawl. He asks:
But have we made these codes so restrictive that we’ve destroyed any good chance of bringing our long-vacant downtown buildings back to life? Is there any room for some flexibility and compromises that still ensure proper safety AND make it cost-effective to redevelop and re-inhabit our downtown buildings?
via Restrooms, Elevators and Sprinklers - Oh My! | Dayton MostMetro.
I’ve asked the same question for a long time (search old posts).
There is no doubt in my mind that many of the codes have been pushed through legislation by the building trades. Other rules come from the Americans with Disabilities Act, fire safety, environmental rulings (no more incinerators in homes like the one I grew up in). Many are well intended and good. As Pote points out: “I suppose we could just say to hell with handicapped folks and just make downtown a handicapped-free zone, but that would ensure Dayton’s position on Forbes’ list of the Top Ten Asshole Cities.” ...
Address to Address Planning on the RTA
The Greater Dayton RTA now has an address to address trip-planning service right on their main landing page. This is great - I find the maps and route tables confusing as all get out. Unfortunately, this is also as they're planning service cuts and rate increases. I was against that kind of move in 2007, and I still am today. Gas prices lowered again during the fall of 2008, but they're starting to come back up. In the long run, I think that lowering was a fluke, not the trend. Public transit will become more important, and Dayton will hurt itself by reducing its public transit capabilities.
Is there about to be a water war in Dayton?
Our water source is a huge aquifer underneath Dayton. We have so much good, potable water that we even pump millions of gallons of it in the air every hour at Riverscape. But, a source told me today that Montgomery County and the City of Dayton have reopened the water contract and things could get interesting, soon.
The contract that’s in place wasn’t due to be renegotiated until 2016. The county has been threatening to build its own well field at Crane’s Run for years. The last deal put that proposed plant to sleep, however, in an attempt to “save” money, the county may be threatening to build it again so as to renegotiate rates. This is coming when Dayton is looking at a huge surplus of capacity supply ...
The Air Force Museum and the National Park
DDN editorialist Ellen Belcher opened up an interesting discussion with her op-ed on the relationship of the National Musuem of the US Air Force and the Dayton Aviation National Historic Park.
The Air Force Musuem is one of the great tourist attractions of Ohio, and it's free. So is the National Park (at least the parts that are actually controlled and staffed by the Park Service). And co-0peration between Wright-Patterson AFB and the National Park Service is ongoing, though not as visible as during the establishment of the park. In fact, this partnership is written into law, into the enabling legislation establishing the historic park.
But the question for local boosters is how to tap into this tourist flow to the Museum. ...
Dayton Area Home to American Icon
Next to the American flag one of the most popular images that portrays American patriotism is that of the Bald Eagle. Though no longer on the endangered species list it is a federal offense to kill a bald eagle. Most American Bald Eagles are found along the West coast, specifically in Alaska, Canada and as far south as Mexico. They have also been on the "threatened list" in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
And we have four right here in the Dayton area, near Wright Patterson Air Force Base!
Bald Eagles, by Ron Alvey from the Dayton Daily Newswebsite
Living on the Dayton/Riverside boarder I've had frequent occasion to drive Harshman Road between Airway and Rte. 4. Just at the northern-most entrance of Eastwood Metropark I frequently see 5-10 people at a time huddling at the edge of the park, facing the Air Force base from dawn until dusk with binoculars and cameras. I always wondered what they were looking at....
UniGov- a hot topic since 1967?
Thomas Suddes makes a case for UniGov in today’s Dayton Daily News.
He’s dead on, except at this point, this amounts to kicking a dead horse:
Ohio also doesn’t need its 700 “special district” governments, such as port authorities and fire, park, etc., districts. All that brush just hides which typically unelected folks caused which mess.
• Ohio doesn’t need horse-and-buggy counties and should require (not just allow) each county’s voters to simplify its government. Cuyahoga County is the poster child, but 87 others are antiques, too.
It’s ridiculous to elect coroners and engineers and sheriffs. Each county should elect a legislative body by districts (whether legislators are called “commissioner” or “councilor” or “exalted floorwalker of the first chop”); elect one countywide executive; and elect a prosecuting attorney. That’s it.
via Thomas Suddes: Ohio has too many school districts, government entities.
I’ve had this copy of Dayton USA for a while, it’s from April 1967- and one of the cover stories is “How Do You Spell Modern Government?” Where Peter Dayton makes the case for UniGov.
He points out the stupidity of 25 different fire and police chiefs and says “Our only reason for residing in this area is that Dayton is a business, manufacturing, financial center. And no matter where we live, we depend on its health for our livelihood.”
Fascinating reading- even 42 years later....
Last fall, the City Council approved a $20,000 contract with Toledo-area artist Keith Hasenbalg to bring a fresh, colorful look to the downtown plaza wall at the corner of Main Street and National Road.
Could you not find anyone with talent in Englewood, Ohio? Did you look? Did you call Robin Dakin at Northmont High School to see if there were any talented artists living in Englewood you could support?
Or, how about this freshly-minted BFA from Miami University, graduate of Northmont Hight School? I know for a fact he has some student loans to pay back and $20,000 would have gone a long way toward that. Not to mention a loyalty for his childhood town.
Why do we look for “talent” outside of our own community? In a town of 25,000 or so people, I think we may ...
Why move to Dayton Ohio? It’s time to reverse the wagon train?
I had an interesting conversation the other day. A potential buyer is looking online and finds me and gives me a call. He’s a Californian. He’s a family man. He’s a hard-working construction guy. We have a long talk.
He lives east of San Francisco and has been looking for a home out there for two years. He can’t afford anything, so he starts to look elsewhere. For some reason he looks at Dayton Ohio. “I could pay cash for a house in Dayton.” Yes, yes he could. I have to ask, “Why Dayton?” ...
Dayton’s Online Presence
I'm not an internet expert. I'm not a marketing expert. Nor do I claim to be. What we heard at the Updayton Summit is that people want to be connected. They want to know what's going on and how to...
Sensationalizing the obvious: the chicken little news
We’re facing tough times. I don’t need a newspaper to tell me that- every single day. Today there was a story about people ditching their cars for insurance money, real effect on most of us, negligible. Damage to our attitude and psyche, progressively worse.
We’ve had two bold, daylight murders- both drug related. Effect on most of us- minimal. Damage to our perception of safety- real.
The Wright Brothers were from Dayton. It’s been over 100 years since they first flew. Every time their great niece sneezes- it’s a front page story. Why?
News isn’t just writing about what happened, or regurgitating a press release. News is supposed to give us some sort of insight on what is going on around us. Make us smarter. It’s supposed to help us analyze what is happening so we can work together to solve our common problems. ...
7952 Rustic Woods Dr, Huber Heights, OH The Olympus model is like many floor plans in Huber Heights- built for usefulness without wasted space. This particular home has an addition of a front patio and a back deck which will expand the outdoor living space to make a comfortable home inside and out.
The upstairs contains 3 bedrooms and one full bath, but the window at the top of the stairs makes it light and bright instead of a dark afterthought. The main level is where you can find the living room, the dining area, the galley kitchen.
It’s HUD-owned, look here for details about HUD and bidding on HUD homes, it ain’t for everyone, however, this home, which will need new flooring and some repair work, is listing at $79,000. ...
The Landscapes of Everyday Life
A months worth of blogging on Colonel Glenn Highway, just a corner of the Dayton region. Four blog posts on New Germany, the proverbial wide spot in the road.
That there is this much to say, that there is this much backstory to what at first glance is a banal, everyday landscape is proof of the viability of a suburban studies approach to place blogging. In-depth inquiry and anayses brings out the details of how places came to be, how they developed and why they look like they do, as well as their economics and sociology. Suburbia is as rich an enviroment for inquiry as traditional cities.
There is enough history to suburbia that one can trace the evolution and development of suburban vernaculars, opening the door to a typological analyses of buildings and developments as well as entire suburbs, not to mention uncovering places like New Germany that have been subsumed the great wave of postwar development. ...
Four New Ohio blogs on Prosperity, Revitalization and Preservation
The Restoring Prosperity Blog, brought to you by Greater Ohio, is the first step in utilizing better technology to spread the message about the Restoring Prosperity to Ohio initiative. The blog is intended to keep people up-to-date on legislative, research and outreach activities conducted by Greater Ohio. It will also act as a community forum through which cities throughout Ohio can contribute feedback on the Restoring Prosperity legislative agenda, communicate with other cities to identify best practices, and propose new outreach activities and research ...
Pave more roads or free bikes? Stimulus for the future
While everyone seems excited about getting Federal Stimulus dollars, spending them on existing infrastructure doesn’t really stimulate much for very long. Real change means changing the infrastructure to make Dayton a more desirable ...
“Strategic Building Re-use Study”
The Downtown Dayton Partnership released it's downtown building re-use study last week. 10 designs for for various buildings and sites, mostly focused on east of Main Street.
The Partnership's website has the details, with full coverage of the graphics and narratives and pix of buildings. Link here and be inspired (or depressed, when one realizes the good design talent here that is going to waste) ...
In these times, it’s great to immerse oneself in the arts. Dayton has a panoply of options for the art lover.
Today I’m visiting the Dayton Art Institute. I hope you find the time to come enjoy their free exhibits and also peruse some of the traveling exhibits too. ...
