Home and Real Estate Today

Difference Between a Real Estate Agent and a Real Estate Broker

2008-02-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

What is the difference between a real estate agent and a real estate broker? Experience, knowledge, longevity, and responsibility differentiate the two statuses. A real estate agent is dependent on the real estate broker in order to maintain his or her license and conduct business.

While I can only speak for Ohio, where my license is held, most other states have very similar requirements.

To become a real estate agent in Ohio, you must be at least 18 years of age, have no felony or criminal convictions, be sponsored by a real estate broker, complete the required coursework, and pass the licensing exam. If born after 1950, you must have received a high school diploma or equivalent.

The course work includes 40 hours of Real Estate Principals and Practices, 40 hours of Real Estate Law, 20 hours of Real Estate Appraisel, and 20 hours of Real Estate Finance. After completing the coursework you must pass the licensing exam to become licensed.

After receiving your license, you then have the legal right to complete real estate transactions, market and sell real estate, and work in the best interest of the client in real estate transactions. The agent works for a real estate broker, and all transactions are legally those of the broker. The commission on each sale is determined by an agreement made between the broker and the agent.

To become a real estate broker you must have been a licensed agent for at least 2 years and have completed 20 transactions. You must also take additional courses in Business Economics, Business Law, Financial Management, and Human Resource Management. Also required is the completion of 90 quarter hours at an accredited college or university. After passing the Broker's Exam, you receive your broker's license.

An agent who becomes a broker may or may not choose to open his or her own business. As a business owner, the broker has the ultimate responsibility for all contracts written by any agent whose license he or she holds. The contracts, both for listings and sales, are the property, and the responsibility, of the broker.

The broker provides space to conduct business, pays for advertising, office machines and supplies, postage and supplies, contract materials, marketing materials, and usually additional training through in-house forums and seminars. A broker shoulders the major financial burden of operating the business. Each agent is considered to be self-employed, and is responsible for taxes and fees individually.

In general, a real estate broker brings a more fully developed knowledge of the real estate industry and its rewards, trends, and pitfalls. Their experience over the years helps put each market change into perspective, and allows the broker to pass this knowledge on to the agents who work for him.

The Dangers of Mold in Your Home

2008-02-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

The dangers of mold in your home have been well documented and publicized much lately. A 300% increase in cases of asthma in the last 20 years has been linked to the exposure to mold, as has the increase in respiratory infections and sinus infections. The young, the elderly, and others with suppressed immune systems (such as HIV-AIDS patients) are at higher risk to develop infections from mold.

Mold is everywhere. Over 50 molds are considered to be the cause of serious problems, including Stachbotry, more commonly known as "black mold". Mold can become a significant problem when it is exposed to water or high humidity (above 55%). Damp, dark areas with poor circulation allow the mold spores to sprout and spread. As a realtor, I have inspected many, many homes, and can almost tell immediately when mold is present. Since mold grows in dark places, it is not always readily visible, but you can small the musty odor immediately if it is present in the home. The odor usually is your first clue that a problem exists.

Mold spores grow on organic materials, such as carpet, wood, leather, sheetrock, and insulation. Mold can also be found growing along walls where cold air from the exterior comes in contact with an interior wall. Behind dressers, headboards, and in closets are prime places for mold growth.

If you find mold growing in your home, and the area it covers is less than 10 square feet, EPA guidelines allow you to clean it up yourself. For larger area, you need to call in a professional, which can be found in the Yellow Pages under "Fire and Water Damage Restoration".

To clean it up yourself, use protective gloves and goggles. Close off the room you are working in to limit the spread of airborne spores. Bag up and remove moldy materials and put them directly in the trash. Then wash the surface where the mold is growing with laundry detergent and warm water and allow it to dry thoroughly. You can also use a solution of 1/4 cup bleach to one quart of water, wash down the surface, let it dry, and repeat. After the area has dried thoroughly, apply a borate-based detergent solution and don't rinse. a borate-based detergent will list "borate" on the label. This helps to prevent mold from growing here in the future.

The best defense against mold in your home is a good offense. Fix water leaks in your home and use a fan to dry out the area. Repair leaky roofs. Install and use exhaust fans in the bathroom and kitchen areas. Vacuum and clean your home regularly to remove mold spores, using a HEPA filter that will trap the spores and not release them back into the air.

Be vigilant in looking for mold around the house when there has been any type of water situation, and dry it out right away to prevent mold from growing in the first place.

Buying Your First Home

2008-02-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

Buying your first home in a depressed housing market is much the same as for any other market. A real estate market is considered to be depressed when there are more sellers than there are buyers. Sellers in this type of market may make some adjustments in the price or other concessions to complete the sale, but your basic guidelines, as a first time home buyer, should remain the same. Here are some tips that will help you to know what to expect as you go through the process:

Contact a lender to receive pre-approval for a loan

This will give you a price range for homes that you should be looking at, and also add more clout to your purchase offer when you submit it. There is no sense wasting your time and effort looking at $400,000 houses, when, realistically, you can only afford $200,000. Checking with the lender early can also allow you to clear up any credit problems ahead of time.

Compare Mortgages

There are so many different types of mortagages available right now that you need to have your lender explain what is available to you. Though interest rates have dropped in recent weeks, the criteria to obtain a loan has been tightened. Ask the lender to explain to you, in detail, the difference between a fixed rate loan, and adjustable rate loan, and interest only loans. Then you can make an informed decision as to what is right for you.

Choose a Realtor

Ask your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors to recommend a realtor they may have worked with on their home purchase. Most will be more than willing to recommend someone that they trust and did a good job for them. Remember, the realtor you choose works for you. The seller pays the commission, but your realtor has the legal duty to work in your best interests. They are experienced with the buying and selling process and know how to work through any problems you may encounter while purchasing your first home. You are doing this for the first time. The realtor deals with it daily.

Find a Home You Like

Work with your realtor to make him or her aware of the type of house you have in mind. Do you want a low-maintanence exterior? Garage? Fenced yard? Basement? 2,3, or 4 bedrooms? Single floor plan or two story? If you already have a specific neighborhood picked out, your realtor can search all possible listings that match your criteria. If you are not sure, ask the realtor to show you homes in different neighborhoods until you find the one that feels right for you.

With the multitude of information listed on the internet these days, you can do your own search for a home without using a realtor. Just remember that you will have to do all the legwork yourself, including contacting the seller for a viewing of the home, negotiating a selling price, obtaining a title company to handle the closing, and locating an inspector to check out the property. If you are working with a realtor, he or she will handle these details for you.

Make and Offer

After you have found your dream house, it's time to make an offer to purchase. This is a binding contract between you and the seller. You will be expected to put up "earnest money", which is a sign of good faith that you will complete the purchase. This will be deducted from your down payment at the closing, so you are not just giving away the money. Make your offer subject to an inspection of the property, acceptable to you, before the acutal sale is committed. In a depressed market, the seller may be willing to accept a lower price or make other concessions to sell the house (such as paying all or part of the closing costs or providing a 1 year home warranty on the property).

Have a Whole House Inspection

Hire a reputable inspector to thoroughly inspect all areas of the house. They will be able to determine that all systems are or are not operating properly or are in need of repair, and can alert you to any problems that may arise in the near future. If there is a serious problem you can request that the owner fix the problem before you buy the house, which he may, or may not do. If he won't, it's your choice whether or not to continue with the contract.

Closing the Deal

If everything checks out with the inspection and you are satisfied with the contract, your lender will prepare the documents needed to transfer the property from the current owner to you, and set up a closing date. After the closing, the property legally belongs to you, and you have just purchased your first home.

Tips to Increase your computer speed

2008-01-31T11:03:00.001-08:00

Recently my computer was running a little sluggish because I had forgotten to do the little housekeeping tasks to keep it running at optimum speed. A couple of friends asked me to help them with their computers, also, so I thought I would share the tips with anyone interested.

Remove the Junk
There are probably programs you have downloaded, or added, that you no longer use, or use rarely. Many of these programs take up much valuable space for the use they give, so dump 'em. Click on Start, Control Panel, then Add/Remove Programs. After the list is populated, scroll down through each one. You will be able to identify the last time you used the program, how often you use it, and how big the capacity is. When you identify ones you think you no longer need, just click Remove to delete it. There will be a prompt to alert you to shared components between programs. Select No on these because you may inadvertently remove components needed to run something else.

Do Clean Up
Click on Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, then select Disk Clean Up. Choose the drive you want to clean up (usually C) and click to complete. The pop up window will show you which files are on C, and how much space they are taking up. Delete downloaded program files, temporary internet files, and Recycle Bin Files. Click the files you want to delete and then click OK.

Organize

If you store photos on your hard drive, consolidate them using a photo organizing program. You can get a free one to download from Google. Better yet, transfer all your photos to a CD. To do this, display the photo images on your computer. Click the image you want to transfer to the CD, then click Copy this File. A box will come up prompting you to select the place you want to copy the image to. Click CD-RW Drive and Click Copy. A balloon will pop up at the bottom of the screen reminding you the "You have files waiting to be written to the CD". After you have chosen all the images you want to transfer, click on this balloon and you will be taken to the CD writing program on your computer. Click "Write these files to CD" and follow the prompts. After you CD is completed, you can delete the photo images from your computer hard drive, saving space and speeding up your operations.

I have done this many times with my computer, and the results are always good. Try it.

More on Turning 60

2008-01-29T12:03:00.001-08:00

As I previously told you, I turned the big 60 on January 5. Last Saturday I had a great thought: All the people I went to school with will be turning 60 this year also. I had a list of email addresses from our last reunion, and zipped off a short note wishing each of them a Happy 60th Birthday. The response I have received has been wonderful.
I heard from a girl I walked to school with for four years and who I have not seen since we graduated. She emailed 3 times that first night, and sent pictures of her family and let me know what she was doing. I heard from another guy who I haven't seen in years and he sent pictures. I heard from a friend who is now living in the Florida Keys teaching scuba diving (we're from Ohio, so that is a big leap). Everyone who emailed me back gave details of what they had been doing, and also asked about me, my family, and my mother and sisters, whom most also knew, since it was a very small town.
So if any of you are thinking about the good old days, contact your old friends. It made my weekend!

Remodeling Your Basement to Add Value to Your Home

2008-01-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

Remodeling your basement is an excellent way to add extra living space, plus extra value, to your home. By planning carefully before you begin you can maximize the space and get the most for your money. When planning, consider a bathroom and wet bar area if the plumbing is available. This will add extra value and make entertaining in this room easier and more enjoyable. A small refrigerator, a microwave, and a coffee maker are good to include. A full bath is a great value, but a half bath is good, too. If the plumbing is there, or you can add it, do so.

The first step is to make sure the basement is, and remains, dry. Water seepage will completely undo all your hard work, so it is very important you don't miss this first step. There are many products sold in your local hardware stores that you just paint on the walls to keep your basement dry and leak free. It's well worth the time and effort.

There are certain elements in the basement that you can't move or change, so plan around them. Beams, support columns, furnace, water heater and any existing plumbing can be incorporated into your plan by building around them. Build a seperate room for the furnace and water heater. Box in beams and columns you want to cover and then drywall around them. Do the same with plumbing pipes, but remember to leave a way to access this plumbing in the future, either by adding a small hinged door, or a removable piece of drywall that can be latched in place.

The duct work for the heating system will be running through the floor joists. You can add a couple of heat ducts from the existing system to the new space to direct heat to where you want it in the room.

Frame the walls with 2 x 4's, with a header and footer, the studs being 16 inches on center. Attach these to the cement walls in the basement, and also to the floor.

Now it's time for the wiring. This is something that should definitely be done by a certified electrician. Electrical outlets should be plentiful, to allow free use of the space for whatever you choose later. Also, the wall switches should be the type that can be operated from two different locations. You don't want to come upstairs only to have forgotten to turn off one of the lights and have to go all the way back down to do it. We learned this the hard way when we did our basement, and changing out those switches is now at the top of my "To Do" list. This is also the time to install the wiring for telephone lines and surround sound speakers.

If you don't already have plenty of insulation, now is the time to put it in. It never hurts to have extra.

Hand and finish the drywall. This is a job that can be done by most do-it-yourselfers, with a little practice. Use drywall screws to attach the sheetrock to the 2 x 4's. You can use paneling if you prefer, but drywall makes it look more professional.

After the drywall is finished, it's time for the ceiling. Using a dropped ceiling is the choice of most people, for a couple of reasons. One is that hanging and finishing overhead drywall is a tough job. The main reason is that a dropped ceiling will allow easy access to those plumbing pipes and any wiring that will be running overhead. If there is a breakage or a leak, you can get to it easily, and also will not have to replace the entire ceiling, just the panels that may be damaged.

Put insulation between the floor joists before you hang the ceiling panels. This acts as a sound barrier to the overhead rooms, and is well worth it. We added extra insulation in the ceiling, and you can be down there with a crowd and the surround sound turned all the way up, and can't hear it from upstairs. It's great.

The flooring is the last step. Carpeting with good padding is a good choice. It makes the cold floor stay warmer and helps with insulation from the ground. Tile floors in the bathroom and wet bar area allow for quick clean up of any spills in those areas.

I hope this will encourage those of you who have been considering a basement remodel to go ahead and do it. It is a big job, but the rewards are even bigger. Enjoy!

New News

2008-01-26T08:35:00.000-08:00

I know I've been out of touch for quite a while, but with the holidays, the new year, and new hobbies and interest, I've been very busy. Plus, I had my 60th birthday on January 5.

I used to think of 60 as being ancient ( didn't we all??), but, you know what, I don't feel much different now than I did 10 years ago. Actually, I feel better. In December of 1997, I had a hysterectomy 10 days before Christmas. As anyone who has experienced this knows, it is not an easy recovery, though I had support and help from everyone around. But I still wasn't feeling so good for my birthday. My husband, in his excuberance, decided I needed a big party to celebrate my 50th, and planned a surprise. Thank goodness my best friend clued me in ahead of time. It actually turned out well, considering I was still taking pain pills from the operation. So this year, I told him absolutely NO PARTY, period. Case closed. This time he paid attention, and we spent a quiet evening with the above mentioned best friends, and with the family the next day. It was great.

I have also found a great website that you may want to visit. It's called Helium, and is a site for writers and those of us who aspire to be writers. You pick something you would like to write about from the many lists available, do the research, and write your best article. Each article is then rated, by other writers on the site, against the articles posted for the subject. Not only does it allow you to learn much about many different topics, you can earn money based on your articles. So far my earnings have been very minimal, but I have learned a lot, and also learned that I really do like to write. Like all of us, I assume, there has always been a novel lurking in the background of my mind. And now I can explore that, and more. Check it out.

I will also share some of my writings here for you to check out. I've found them so enlightening that I think maybe you would like them also. Keep checking back. The subjects are varied, informative and interesting. Thanks for reading.

The Legend of Saint Nicholas

2007-12-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

The legend of Saint Nicholas is the true story of Bishop Nicholas of Myra, who was born in the village of Patara in what is now modern day Turkey. Nicholas was born around 300 AD, to wealthy parents who nurtured him with devout Christian values. His parents perished in an epidemic while he was still young, and Nicholas spent the rest of his life, and his inheritance, helping others. His devotion to the church and his faith was strongl His good deeds were mostly performed secretly and he expected nothing in return.

One of the customs of the time was that a father must offer something of value, a dowry, to prospective suitors of his daughter. Without this dowry, the daughter could not marry and would be sold into slavery. One father had three daughters and was too poor to provide proper dowries for his children. On three seperate occasions, bags of gold were thrown through open windows of their home and are said to have landed in the stockings and shoes set by the fireplace to dry. Our custom of hanging stockings "by the chimney with care" has evolved from this legend.

During one of his many pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Bishop Nicholas was returning by ship when they encountered a fierce storm. As the sailors endured the storm in terror, Bishop Nicholas calmly prayed for their safety. When the storm suddenly ceased and the waters became calm, the sailors felt that Bishop Nicholas had saved their lives. Because of this, he became the patron saint of sailors.

When he died on December 6 343 AD, he was buried at his cathedral in Myra. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, known as Saint Nicholas Day. This day was celebrated throughout Europe and Asia, with each country adding its own interpretation and customs.

When the Dutch emigrated to the United States and settled in the colony of New Amserdam, which became New York, this custom for celebrating the feast of Saint Nicholas came with them. Their name of Sinter Klass soon became Santa Claus here in America.

After the Reformation, German Protestants encouraged more direction toward the worship of the Christ Child as a giver of gifts on his own feast day, which was December 25. When the tradition of Nicholas continued, it became included with Christmas.

Due to unreliable documentation of the events of Nicholas' life, Pope Paul VI ordered that the feast of Saint Nicholas be stricken from the Roman Catholic calendar in 1969. Saint Nicholas is still revered as the patron saint of little children and sailors.

2007-11-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

My E-bay sales are not going well at all. I have one watch on the Reds wallpaper border, and that's about it. And I think I have created a monster with my oldest grandson.

Andrew is 9. He's the one who gave me the nickname of Gramcracker, while we were playing pool in the basement one Sunday afternoon. And since he's 9, he wants all the new electronics, and is always looking for ways to make money. He swiped on the labels off my Maxwell house coffee cans so he could check to see if we won. (Of course, we did not.)

So when the family was over yesterday for our weekly meal time together, I made the mistake of telling Andrew about the E-bay sales. That perked up his interest real quick, and we looked in the storage area for treasures to sell. The biggest problem was that the other four grandkids, Joey, Matthew, Maddie and Jacob, joined in the search. They were all up in our storage area going through everything! Andrew is trying a ceramic Nativity scene that hasn't been used in years, Matthew found an old hat, and Maddie, Joey, and Jacob lost interest and went to do something else.

I let Andrew take the photos for the ad, since he's been using my digital camera since he was about 4 and is pretty good. The problem was he took so many "to get it just right" that it took 2 hours to get the photo, and another 15 minutes or so to post it, not counting the hour it took for him to find the exact thing he wanted. So far we've got 2 hours or so in this project, and, at an hourly rate, we've already probably lost money.

But it's another memory I hope he'll remember.

2007-11-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

I want to update you all about my e-bay experiences. Nothing has sold yet, but one person is "watching" one of my items. Don't know how long a "watch" lasts, since I'm new to this, but it is fun.

I also found a unique Christmas present for my son while I was searching around. My son is a construction superintendent, and also builds things for around the house, and even for me, once in awhile. I found the blue prints of old Crosley Field, the Red's original ball park, so I put in a bid. I originally thought my husband would like them, since he used to live in the neighborhood where Crosley Field was located. But then I realized he wouldn't know how to read a blueprint with a map. In fact, maps give him much more grief than results most of the time. So I figure my son would enjoy and realize what they mean.

2007-11-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

It's a sad day in Cincinnati. The Old Lefthander, Joe Nuxall, passed away last night, after fighting health concerns for the past several years. He is a Cincinnati icon, the youngest play to ever play professional baseball, starting when he was 15 years old. It was during the war, and was recruited because of a lack of players, started as a pitcher on June 10, 1944. He retired from baseball in 1966 with a record of 130-109. In 1967 he began a broadcast career with the Reds, and teamed with Marty Brennaman in 1974. The two of them were Reds baseball, and in our family we listened to them on the radio and watched the game on TV with the sound turned off. No one could personalize the game like Marty and Joe, and summer will not be the same without his voice from the booth.

He will be greatly missed.

2007-11-14T12:19:00.000-08:00

I did it!

I listed 4 items on E-bay, and it was sooooo easy. I now have for sale at the E-bay auction site 1 five piece place setting of Jewel Tea China, 1 Jewel Tea China mixing bowl, 1 book by JD Robb, and 2 rolls of Cincinnati Red wallpaper border, never used.

I already had an account set up, and included Pay Pal, but if you go on the site it only takes a few clicks and they walk you right through it. I check quite often to see what is selling on E-bay, bacause it sounds like fun, but have never got the nerve up to actually try it. Of course, if my stuff doesn't sell in 7 days, I may have a completely different outlook on it

I just heard a health update on Joe Nuxall. He is still in the hospital and is going to have a pacemaker put in. Everybody send him good wishes. He's a good guy.

2007-11-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

Today is typical Cincinnati dreary, rainy, misty, cloudy, but warmer than one would expect for November in the midwest. Actually, the latest weather here would make you really believe in global warming. This summmer we had three months of 90 degree heat, with no rain. In my neighborhood, some of the die hards watered there lawns (like my neighbor across the street), some did nothing, and then there were those like me who watered when it started feeling crunchy. If the grandkids wanted to play in the water sprinkler, it was in the front yard! That way I didn't feel too guilty for wasting the water on the lawn, I was helping the little ones get cool and have some fun.

My task for today is to finally try to sell some stuff on E-bay. When my mom passed away, I ended up with more dishes, china, and lots of junk that is taking up all my valuable storage space. I am going to bite the bullet and dive right in to the auction scene. What I'm going to try first is some china, sold old 78 rpm records, a Bicentennial radio gadget, and some old advertising signs. Wish me luck.

I could use some tips from anyone who has been doing this for awhile and understands their way around. Send me your helpful hints and we can share.

2007-11-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hello to all my fellow bommers!

Through this site I hope to connect with the greatest group of people in the world, those of us who are considered "Baby Boomers". Now that can cover a lot of folks, but join in and share what you're doing today, what you did yesterday, or what you did many yesterdays ago.

What do you remember?

What would you like to forget?

What do you wish you could remember, especially if it only happened a couple of days ago!

(We all know that feeling, right?)

Today my task to do was to vote for Joe Nuxall for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I just heard Willie Cunningham (willie@700wlw.com) talking with Joe's son about Joe's latest health set back. Joe is in the hospital with a pnuemonia flair up, has been feeling tired lately, but hopes to be better soon. Wouldn't it just perk him up to know that he would be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. You can vote at www.baseballhalloffame.org. Vote every day!!!

I also had the task today of entertaining my little six year old grandson, Joey. He got sick at school yesterday and didn't feel like going today, so he's at grandma's house, bored silly but can't figure out what to do. I've suggested the computer, the Play Station, Gameboy, painting, collecting leaves for a collage, taking a walk, gluing shells that he brought me back from his camping trip....nothing works. So far it's just been watching Sponge Bob or Scooby. I guess he wants to save the good stuff for another day.