In case you haven’t heard, we are experiencing quite a run in real estate sales in Cincinnati.  It has drastically swung from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market in only two years.  Home sales are selling 18% faster and properties are going into multiple offers on a regular basis.  If you are a seller, how long do you think the good times will last before you test your own luck in this market?

Personally, I think we are experiencing a short window of opportunity for sellers where inventory is extremely low, buyers plentiful and low interest rates.  It’s only a matter of time before all the distressed inventory that hasn’t hit the market in the traditional manner we are all accustomed (foreclosure sales) starts popping up and is being handled by professional, private enterprises.

Enjoy this video and let me know if you or anyone you know could benefit from taking advantage of the market.  It may not be like this much longer!   – Brett, your local Cincinnati Real Estate Agent

You may have heard that rental properties in Cincinnati can be a great way to generate passive income. Rental properties can provide monthly cash flow, protect against inflation, and usually appreciate over the long term. Some retirees swear by rental properties instead of the usual stock and bond portfolio because they don’t have to stomach the volatile stock market swings. Owning rental properties can help fund your retirement, but being a landlord isn’t for everyone. Here’s how to tell if a retirement property is the right fit for you:

How long until you retire? A rental property can take a few years to generate a stable positive cash flow. Some locations are better than others, and you might be able to generate some income right away in some markets. However, it can be much more difficult in higher cost states where the cost of owning far outpaces the cost to rent. The good thing about a rental is that it is an inflation hedge. Rent goes up and your mortgage payment remains the same. If you have five or more years before retirement, then it’s a good bet that a rental property can turn a profit in that time frame.

Do you have the funds? You need quite a bit of money to start investing in rental properties. Nowadays, banks generally require a 20 to 25 percent down payment on investment properties, and this is beyond the reach of many middle class investors. You will also need to pay the closing costs and save up plenty of money for maintenance and vacancies. If you don’t have a lump sum to invest at once, maybe a real estate investment trust (REIT) would be a better option.

Repair bills can be high. Can you pay $5,000 immediately for exterior paint or roof repair? A rental property inevitably will need costly repairs. One big repair can push you into negative territory for the year. Many new investors underestimate the repair bills and are surprised by these big items.

Poor liquidity. Rental properties are not liquid assets. If you need a large amount of cash, it will be difficult to get it quickly with rental properties. The housing market has long up and down cycles, and if you need to sell during a down cycle, you might have to settle for less than you’d like.

Do you have other types of investments? Do you have stocks, bonds, annuities, and other types of income-generating investments? It’s a good idea to be diversified. When one asset class is down, others might be up. While rental real estate can be a great investment, it’s also a good idea to invest in stocks and bonds. Income from dividend stocks and bonds can cushion the blow of vacancies and other problems.

Being a landlord isn’t for everyone. Rental properties can be a good way to generate income in retirement, but being a landlord isn’t for everyone. If you are young and have many years until you retire, then you should try your hand at rental properties. You’ll be able to figure out if being a landlord is the right move for you, and you will have a lot of time to turn the property cash flow to positive. As an experienced Cincinnati Real Estate Agent who both owns and sells rental property on a regular basis, feel free to contact me so we can discuss if adding homes in Cincinnati to your portfolio makes good financial sense.

This article was adapted from Joe Udo blogs at Retire By 40 where he writes about passive income, frugal living, retirement investing, and the challenges of early retirement.

Watch my brief video to see where the Cincinnati Market is heading for Spring and Summer of 2013. You might be surprised that all that talk about a “housing recovery” may be a reality. We are almost in a balanced market! Feel free to contact me if you have interest in putting your home on the market as this may be a short window of opportunity to sell for a high price before the potential 2nd wave of foreclosures hits the market and short sales replace the dwindling foreclosure inventory.

For an electronic copy of those graphs I used in the video, click HERE.

TREO Realtors, based in Cincinnati Ohio, is the first brokerage to offer interactive floorplans as another one of it’s savvy marketing tools to help sellers market their homes to potential buyers. Check out a quick demo by Brett Keppler, Cincinnati Real Estate Agent, as he provides an overview of this amazing new service.

Happy New Year and Happy Fiscal Cliff Agreement Day! So now that a new deal is approved keeping us from falling off the fiscal cliff, the next step is to figure out how the new agreement will affect the typical Cincinnati home owner.

Several changes were made on an income tax level and several previous rules that benefited homeowner’s and especially those going through a hardship will remain in place for another year. Below is a great article that touches on the benefits of doing a short sale, how you can still protect your capital gains, and the mortgage interest deduction will be around for another year!

http://www.housingwire.com/news/2013/01/02/mortgage-industry-fares-well-fiscal-cliff-deal-debt-forgiveness-law-survives

LendingTree recently conducted a study to determine which state was the most affordable in terms of average monthly mortgage payment as well as investigating what percentage of monthly income goes towards that payment.

Washington DC and Hawaii were the most expensive states with average payments of $1641 and $1536. DC homeowners put 31% of their income towards those payments while Hawaii paid 30% of their income to live on the beautiful island (which I completely understand).

Ohio was the 10th most affordable state with an average of $791/mo mortgage payment. Kentucky ranked 9th with an average payment of $788/mo. But the average mortgage in Ohio only made up 21% of an owner’s income whereas the average Kentucky mortgages made up 23%.
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Above is a video I made giving my 3 BEST tips for making the most of your voting day since this nail-biter contest will likely bring out more voters than normal to the polls. But on a “real estate related” note, I also posted tips on preparing your home for winter. Check out both!

Indoor Winterizing Tasks

- Get your chimney cleaned and inspected Unless you are Jay Underwood from the 1986 Classic “The Boy Who Could Fly”, don’t risk your own safety climbing up on your roof and instead hire a professional.

- If your windows are not made of newer insulated glass, consider installing storm windows. – Those metal things on the outside of your windows that are a pain to pinch and lower/raise, those are storm windows. Definitely be sure you get them working. I am specifically talking to you Hyde Park.
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This video explains everything that goes into making the decision to refinance your home as well as where and how to get the best rate and terms available. Find out how to determine how long you must live in your home for the refinance to make financial sense! Learn which company in Cincinnati will refinance your home for $199 plus recording fees!

Using a tool through CalcXML, you will learn how you can take advantage of the low interest rates but still pay off your home by the previously scheduled due date.

If you are on the fence about whether or not to refinance -OR- your interest rate is above 4%, it is in your best interest to watch this video.

Thanks and I look forward to connecting with everyone again in a few weeks.

The secret information traditionally only found in the Multiple Listing Service about properties is slowing leaking its way out into the public through an assortment of different websites. As technology evolves, so has transparency and MLSs all across the country are battling to keep this information private.

As a buyer in Cincinnati, the moment a property of interest hits the market, you want to know as much about it as possible. Rather than wait on your agent to respond to an email or phone call, this video will show you where to go to find nearly all the information you need to know before deciding to walk through the home. Previously this was considered “insider information” but now it’s at your finger tips, once you learn how to find it!

And if you are interested in simply finding out the neighbor’s paid for their home and how it compares to yours, you can find that out too.

Enjoy this short video and become more property savvy in the future!