Going Green

Al Gore recently won the Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe we can all do a little more to help the enviornment.

Easy steps that don't take much effort in the long run can help, not only our pocketbooks, but our resources too!

Levels of pollutants in indoor air can be two to 100 times higher than outdoors, according to the EPA. That indoor pollution is due, in large part, to volatile organic compounds that evaporate from home decorating or cleaning products. By following these green cleaning suggestions, you can breath quality air into your home:

• Use fragrance-free laundry detergents, which don't contain phthalates, which is known to cause cancer.


• Baking soda and vinegar get the green light, as all around cleaning alternatives. They can do anything from deodorizing to cleaining the oven to removing stains on countertops, bathtubs, and toliet bowls.


• Mix your own stain removers. Soak stains in water mixed with borax, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, washing soda or white vinegar.


• For sparkling drinking glasses, ocassionally soak them in solution of vinegar and water.


• Use the dishwasher! Handwashing dishes actually wastes more water . Adding one cup of white vinegar to your dishwasher's rince compartment will leave your dishes spot free.


• Skip the antibacterial soaps. The FDA has found that these work no better than good old soap and water.


• Don't throw out your old cleaning products. What's bad for your home is also bad for drains and landfills, so check to see if your community holds toxic and electronic recycling days and discard them there.

You can even GO GREEN at work. My team at Real Living Upper Arlington has reduced its paper by emailing contracts, not printing out emails, and keeping scanned copies of documents by creating electronic customer files instead of paper files.

I might not win a Nobel Peace Prize, but I am doing my part by GOING GREEN!

MLS Photos

The old adage "a picture is worth a 1,000 words" certainly holds true in the real estate business.
Descriptions like: "Updated", "Must See", "New Kitchen", "Completely remodeled", are all great descriptions for a Realtor to use when writing comments about a listing that will be seen by thousands of people looking for a home. But in an age where 80% of all new home buyers search for a home through the internet, photos are just as important, if not more so, than the words a Realtor uses to describe the house.

The MLS allows a Realtor to post 10 pictures with each listing. Invariably, everytime I am searching for homes for a client, I come across 1 or 2 listings that have either 1 or NO photos. My agency, Real Living Inc., allows me to post 25 pictures, and I always make an effort to use all of the spaces available for a number of reasons. First, I owe it to my client to market their home the best way possible - and the internet is quickly becoming that way! Second, websites like Realtor.com, Trulia, and Street Easy pick up those photos, but in no special order, so numerous angles of the Kitchen, Bathrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, and any special rooms like a finished lower level are going to help make my listing stand out.

Although, I haven't had a client buy a home from just the photos alone yet, I have had many clients who passed over homes with zero photos.

What $1,000,000+ gets you!

Recently Forbes Magazine came out with a list of The Most Expensive Homes For Sale. Topping the list was the 75,000 square foot Beverly Hills home that once belonged to publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst listed at a whopping $165,000,000.

Although homes in our area will probably never reach that level we do have 187 homes listed for sale in Franklin County at $1,000,000+. Of those 187 homes 14 of them are In Contract equating to 7% of $1,000,000+ homes on the marketing being in contract.

In comparison, of the 1769 homes in the $225,000 to $275,000 (which is $100,000 greater than the average home price in Central Ohio ) 11%, or 198, are In Contract.

Which goes to show you that Columbus might have a $165 million dollar home, but the homes we do have sell!

Click here to see what a $1,000,000 + buys in Central Ohio!

Arlington Crossing

A few weeks ago, the Upper Arlington office of Real Living held our sales meeting at the Arlington Crossing, the new luxury condo development on Tremont Road. The developer, Bob Long of Long & Wilcox, spoke to our group about the development and his vision for the future of Upper Arlington. If you now Bob, his presentation is very understated and sincere.

After he spoke, I felt compelled to add a few comments, advocating to my real estate colleagues why we needed to support Arlington Crossing and similar developments in our town.

Arlington Crossing represents the future of Upper Arlington, but the community at large is still very unsure about where this future is going.

Personally, I think the new developments along Tremond Road will be aesthetically attractive, adding new beauty, design, and luster to a tired neighborhood where old rental properties once stood.

Secondly, the new devlopments have already added a new thrust to the re-development efforts of Kingsdale Shopping Center.

Finally, when we encourage the succes of these developments with our words, our actions, and our wallets, it will lead to a long needed revitalization of our town center, adding long term value to our community.