Ohio
Real Estate Professionals
|
Are
you considering remodeling your home?
Remodeling
a home can be a financial and emotional decision.
You must first
decide "why" you are remodeling your home. If the reason
that you are updating is to improve condition (financial decision),
then you will typically get more value out of your improvement
cost. However, if you are making primarily cosmetic changes (emotional
decision), the property value will not likely change nearly as
much. If it makes you happy, only YOU can determine
the "emotional value". However, emotional decisions
that are not well researched may not be financially sound. |
|
For
example:
Many people
dream of having a home with an inground pool. A pool is a
large expense, with initial costs typically ranging from $15,000-$50,000,
not to mention the continued maintenance and higher home insurance
premiums.
In some
markets, pools are highly desirable and have contributory
values similar to or greater than cost. However, in most markets
of Ohio, inground pools can be as much of a detriment as it
could be an asset. The Ohio climate limits use of a heated
inground pool to at most 5-6 months a year. Many potential
buyers of homes will not consider purchasing a home with a
pool. These buyers may purchase a home with a pool at a discount
and fill it with dirt.
Before
you decide to have a pool installed...research the homes with
pools that have sold in the past year in your area and at
what price. Also, research current homes for sale with pools.
You may want to consider purchasing a home with a pool in
lieu of installing a new pool in your yard. You will be letting
the prior owner absorb the functional obsolescence due to
superadequacy (difference between cost new what the market
pays for the amenity or upgrade) and you will be paying market
value for the amenity. IndependenceData.com's Property Report
gives you the neighborhood sales information to get started
in the planning of a project. However, before you make any
major financial decision about Ohio real estate, we suggest
to hire a certified appraiser to assist you in your decision.
When an
improvement is made to a home, it usually falls under one of
two categories: Value or Market Appeal
Value
It is
much easier to objectively quantify value differences in numbers
when comparing homes. Overall size (square feet), number of
bathrooms, garage size, fireplaces, etc. are easy to quantify.
Market Appeal
Condition
is much more of a subjective issue. One person may feel a
home is in good condition, while another may feel the same
home is in average condition and pay different prices accordingly.
Major renovating
is much different than remodeling. Renovation of a home can
greatly change the overall market appeal and value of a home.
Remodeling usually has less impact on value, but more on market
appeal. If you are financing your renovations/remodeling, you
absolutely need to know what is selling in your neighborhood.
Most lenders do not like to loan on properties which are much
higher in value than the surrounding neighborhood values.
If you
think about it...the nicest homes in a neighborhood are not
usually the ones that sell, especially in a down market. The
owners are happy with their upgrades and do not want to move.
It
can be difficult for the appraiser to justify a value higher than
the other sales in your neighborhood. Before you make your decision
on renovating or remodeling, get a IndependenceData.com Property
Report and get to know your neighborhood. Ultimately, we recommend
you contact a professional appraiser before making any major remodeling
decisions. |
A
Property Reporty includes:
- Current
Property Record Card and verified Property Information
- Google
Map, Aerial Maps, Zoning Maps, Flood Map (where available)
-
Sales
Data, Up to 30 neighborhood sales of homes, quick-linked to
the county auditor's record system.
-
Online
links to areas statistics and demographics, school district
information, etc. .
-
- Up
to 15 minute telephone consultation to review results of the
Property Report
- CDROM hardcopy
Property
Reports are available in the Following Counties of Ohio:
Allen, Ashland, Ashtabula, Athens, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Champaign,
Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Columbiana, Coshocton, Crawford, Darke,
Defiance, Delaware, Erie, Fairfield, Fayette, Fulton, Gallia,
Geauga, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Highland, Hocking,
Holmes, Huron, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Lake, Lawrence, Logan,
Lorain, Madison, Mahoning, Marion, Medina, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery,
Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Ottawa, Paulding, Perry, Pickaway,
Pike, Portage, Preble, Putnam, Richland, Ross, Sandusky, Scioto,
Seneca, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Union, Van Wert, Warren, Wayne,
Williams, Wood, Wyandot
|
What
does this information do for you?
Knowledge
of recent sales within your neighborhood can save you hundreds
if not thousands of dollars even before you contact a contractor
about remodeling your home. Typically, the appraisal for remodeling
a property is ordered well into the financing process. Order
an IndependenceData.com Property Report when you start planning
the remodeling project to assist you in making financial decisions
regarding the project.
This information
is also invaluable for your potential mortgage professional
and finally the appraiser who will be estimating the value of
your home, either "as is" or "subject to completion".
Tip:
Give your appraiser a copy of the Property Report, your appraisal
might get finished a little quicker as any neighborhood information
can assist and benefit the appraiser. Do not attempt to influence
the judgment of the appraiser, but providing any additional
relevant information is usually appreciate by the knowledgeable
appraiser.
Ohio
Senate Bill 185 makes it a 5th degree felony to... "Knowingly
compensate, instruct, induce, coerce, or intimidate,
or attempt to compensate, instruct, induce, coerce, or intimidate,
a person licensed or certified under Chapter 4763. of the Revised
Code for the purpose of corrupting or improperly influencing
the independent judgment of the person with respect to the value
of the dwelling offered as security for repayment of a mortgage
loan;"
|
How
long does this take?
The real
estate and finance industry can be very volatile. You need your
information now, but want it done right. There are many free,
instant-online valuation services which are computer generated
and have limited amounts of information on the neighboring properties.
In many cases, the information provided is much more dated (can
be as much as 3-6 months old) and irrellavent. Making a crucial
financial decision about Ohio real estate based on a free, computer
generated service can cost you thousands of dollars.
Once PayPal
payment is received using our Shopping Cart, one of IndependenceData's
experienced real estate professional personally searches all
available property records systems to create your custom-designed
Property Report. In most cases, preliminary Property Reports
are completed within 24 hours from the time it is ordered. We
then provide a 15 minute telephone consultation to review the
results of the property report and to correct any innacuracies.
Once the report is finalized, a CD-ROM will be burned and mailed
to you for a hard-copy back-up of your information.
|
Need Updated Information? |
| If you or any future owner of the property requests
that the IndependenceData.com Property Report to be updated, we
only charge $25. All of the maps and neighborhood sales are updated
to assist in making the current real estate decision. |
|
