Down-Payment Assistance Program Helps Buyers, Agents

It’s not the same ol’ down-payment assistance program that hit the wall about three years ago!


This is a totally different program – not financed by sellers and builders who “jacked up” prices to recoup their costs. Instead, this program is offered by local and state housing-finance agencies and includes federal funding through HUD.

NORTHWEST OHIO, SOLAR HOTSPOT?

The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and investors around the world recognize Toledo as a hotspot for research, development, and commercialization of advanced solar technologies. The Regional Growth Partnership in Toledo estimates that more than 5,000 jobs in solar energy have been created in the Toledo area over the last five years. Stemming from its history of glass making, Toledo has leveraged academic successes at the University of Toledo, industry leadership successes at First Solar, entrepreneurial successes at Xunlight, and significant support from the Ohio Third Frontier to become the home of a dynamic cluster of people, companies and products focused on solar photovoltaics - technology that directly converts sunlight into electricity.

Realtors mark your calendar and save the dates for the 2012 Re/Max Convention. March 5th -8th. It will be at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. This will be so much fun as we help Re/Max celebrate their 39th anniversary! Make your reservations early and if you attended the convention this year, tell us what you learned and if you will go back again! There are so many changes in the Real Estate business and thanks to Re/Max they keep us all on the cutting edge of technology! This year's convention was a "WOW" for me and we are implementing some of the changes Re/Max has recommended.

Ohio tax policies found friendly to businesses

 

BY LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

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Five months after an election was won in part with a pledge to make Ohio "open for business," two new surveys of tax burdens on businesses and their owners say Ohio was among the most tax-friendly states in the nation -- in 2009 and 2010.
The accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP's annual ranking of tax burdens on new investment puts Ohio third lowest at an effective tax rate of 4.4 percent on new investment, trailing only Maine and Oregon.
Meanwhile, the Virginia-based Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, a nonprofit pro-business advocacy group, says Ohio had the 9th-best business tax system in the nation and the best of any state in the northeast quadrant.
By comparison, Michigan ranked 24th in the Ernst & Young study and 27th in Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council comparison.
The Ernst & Young study looked at the potential tax liabilities that new investments might face in 2009 in selected industries, such as during the site selection process for a potential new factory or corporate headquarters. The estimated tax burdens were combined to provide an overall measure of the business tax competitiveness of each state.
"The results reflect the type of analysis that businesses use to evaluate decisions about where to locate new capital investments in plant and equipment," Ernst & Young report author Robert Cline wrote.
While companies typically look at a wide range of factors when choosing a location to build a factory or headquarters, "tax factors can be a determining factor between states with otherwise similar nontax costs."
The other study measured 18 tax measures -- from its top personal income tax rate and capital gains tax rates to whether the state imposes an Internet access tax -- and combines them into one score, stacking that measure against the other states.
In the SBEC study, Ohio finished behind South Dakota, Texas, Nevada, Wyoming, Washington, Florida, Alabama, and Alaska, largely because it ranked 30th with its state and local property taxes as a share of personal income. Michigan finished 40th in that category. But Ohio finished higher overall because it doesn't have a corporate income tax or a corporate capital gains tax as some other states do.
Ohio's newly elected Republican Gov. John Kasich based his successful campaign on improving Ohio's business climate.
In Michigan, newly elected Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has introduced a budget that seeks to dramatically lower business and corporate taxes while simultaneously increasing the tax burden on lower and middle-income residents as well as taxing pension benefits for the first time.

From ToledoBlade.com

Gary Vee: 'Stop Throwing Cash Down the Toilet'

Ask ANYONE who heard Gary Vaynerchuk speak at R4 in Las Vegas whether this author and social media visionary is worth your attention.

After they rave about him, spend a few minutes reading some quotes from his presentation and asking yourself if your approach to social media is truly serving you well.

Later, watch some video and order his new book, "The Thank You Economy," which was released the day he spoke to RE/MAX.

And if you can't find anyone who was at R4, it would be a good idea to read on anyway.

Insights from Gary Vee: – "What's the ROI of social media? I don't know. What's the ROI of your mother? What's the ROI of your best friend? There's a lot of things you can't put black-and-white numbers on, especially when it's this early. You're in the people business, and people are now talking publicly on the web in a way we've never seen before. Your ability to mine it with no cost, to look at the data and interact with them, is zero except for the time you put into it."   – "Every business wants to talk. We want to push our message and our agenda, our phone numbers our websites. The 'Thank You Economy' is all about listening. You guys have all been in business and have never had a listening platform. For the last 100-plus years, the only way business had to communicate was by talking. It's not your fault, it's the way the game was. But guess what, it's about to change."   – "In the last 15 months, 55 percent of all new homeowners were 30 years or younger. How do you think you're going to talk to them? You think they're going to get pumped for those billboards and bus ads? Because I promise you, when they're in a bus they're looking down at their iPhone. Social currency will be the dividing line between selling your properties and not."    – "We've all been in the push business, but now it's pull. So many in the audience say 'Well, we tried this Gary.' I know what you did in social media – you pushed. You said 'Come to our open house.' You were talking; you weren't listening. You weren't giving to your community. You were using the skill sets that it takes to give a presentation; you weren't using the skill set that it takes to be good at a cocktail party. Everybody treats social media like they're a 19-year-old dude; they're all trying to close too fast. You need to relax. People want real. If you don't want to be real, you're going to lose."   – "People don't think it's practical, and some say that I don't understand. 'You don't get it, Gary, we're a different business.' I do get it. We are in the people business, and people have never been more attainable. The reason I can answer this guy's Facebook post is because I want to. The cost is much lower than the way I used to have relationships. And I don't want to hear that we're losing relationships. It's the opposite. I believe everybody's dramatically more in touch with their friends, much more social. I get it, I know it's new and it's a time commitment, but you have to reallocate."  – "While I was a junior in college, I launched winelibrary.com. From 1998 to 2005, I grew the business from a $4 million to a $45 million business. I built that business in a traditional way – billboards, radio, print with local TV ads, bus stop ads. I believe in traditional media; just do it right. I think you should do everything you still do, but please don't close out where it's going. When things get tight, people retreat and they go to tried and true. Don't go back to what got you in the bad place. You go in a different direction."   – "No tweet left behind. Everybody who tweets has to be responded to. How are we going to do that? Take three commercials, don't do them and instead hire nine people to actually care about your end user. Stop throwing cash down the toilet. Maybe you don't buy a Yellow Pages ad this year. You don't need it, I promise. You're better off doing smoke signals off the top of the building. It's 2011. If you go into the trenches of social and go to one-on-one, making a contextual relationship with your end user or the person who can give word of mouth through another end user, you will be living through the five-year gold rush of this system."

• Social media value
• Future of business
• Real estate
• Pull, don't push
• Practicality
• Traditional strategies
• About the end user
• Not an age thing – "I didn't grow up tech. I didn't have a computer until I was 20 years old. I hear people say, 'Gary, I didn't grow up with this, I'm older.' Well, you didn't grow up driving, but you figured it out. It's not an age thing – it's a DNA thing. From the beginning of time till 2003, there was this much content. Now every 48 hours, that much is produced. What that means, my friends, is one thing: It's going to be difficult to break through. The only thing that's going to break through is caring about the end user. Personal relationships close the day in every business. Once you create that emotional context, things happen.

© 2011 RE/MAX, LLC. RE/MAX Affiliates may share this article, provided they do not charge for it and this notice is included. All other rights reserved.

RE/MAX Green : “Green” ideas that appeal to home buyers and save you money

More contemporary home buyers are looking for sustainable “green” features. “Green” is not limited to renewable resources. It also refers to energy conserving features that limit the impact on the environment. Energy conserving features save money by decreasing utility costs, and that is music to home buyers’ ears! The following are some relatively easy to implement “green” ideas that are likely to increase the “green” in a home sale.

#1 Compact fluorescent (CF) Lights One inexpensive and easy to implement idea is to consider converting the light bulbs in the house from incandescent to compact fluorescent (CF). CF lights will save the homeowner $30 in energy costs over the lifetime of a single bulb. CF bulbs use 75% less energy to produce the same amount of light. Because they are also cooler, producing only 25% of the heat of a conventional light bulb, they save even more energy by decreasing the workload on the air conditioner.

#2 Programmable thermostatsProgrammable thermostats can save $150 in energy costs per year by adjusting temperature settings to save energy while homeowners are away or sleeping. Body temperature drops several degrees at night, thus making it more comfortable to keep the room temperature slightly higher at night in the summer. In winter, pajamas and blankets help maintain body heat, making it more comfortable to keep the room temperature slightly cooler. Resources such as Progress Energy, and others, suggest that this can save as much as 5-10% of an average household’s cooling and heating costs. According to the Colorado Rural Electric Association, for each 8 hour period that the AC keeps a house 1 degree warmer, or the heater keeps a house 1 degree colder, a household can realize approximately 1-3% savings on their energy bill.

#3 Ceiling FansCeiling fans can reduce heating and cooling costs. Ceiling fans that are reversible can either draw warm air up to the ceiling, or push warm air near the ceiling down lower to the floor. The major benefit of a ceiling fan is in the summer. Water in perspiration can absorb a great deal of heat, drawing it away from the body, thus making it seem cooler. Ceiling fans circulate air and cause evaporation of perspiration, further cooling the skin. This allows a person to feel more comfortable at a higher room temperature. Running the air conditioner less means decreased energy consumption, and therefore lower utility costs. In winter, with the fan circulating the air in a downward motion, the fan does circulate warm air downward. The benefit may be offset, however, by the air movement which causes evaporation of perspiration and thus skin cooling. A savings calculator can be downloaded from EnergyStar.gov

#4 Insulation and Sealing air leaksSealing air leaks and improving insulation is one of the most cost effective ways to save energy. Proper insulation can reduce heating and cooling costs by 20%, and overall annual utility costs by 10%. More information can be found at EnergyStar.gov

#5 RefrigeratorsEnergy Star refrigerators use just 40% of the energy of a refrigerator model made in 2001, and half the energy of refrigerators made prior to 1993! An older refrigerator may be responsible for the greatest percentage of a household’s energy requirements, especially ones kept in the garage. The energy saved by buying a newer model is equivalent to the energy needed to light the average household for nearly four months! More information can be found at EnergyStar.gov.

#6 DishwashersOlder dishwashers, made before 1994, are costly to run. They require more water, are less efficient to run, and use more electricity to heat the water. Replacing an older model dishwasher with an Energy Star dishwasher can save $30 a year in utility costs.

#7 Clothes WasherReplacing a clothes washer made before 1994 to an Energy Star clothes washer can save $110 per year on utility bills and use about 60% of the water used by older washers. Front loading machines are more energy efficient than top loading machines. Front loading machines use less water. They also have higher spin speeds, decreasing the moisture content and thus decreasing the time needed to dry the clothes.
#8 WindowsReplacing single pane windows with Energy Star certified windows can save $125–$450 a year in energy costs. RemodelingOnline reports that a whole house window upgrade costs about $10,160, but adds $8,500 to the value of the home.

#9 Central Air conditioningUpgrading to a Energy Star central air conditioning system can improve efficiency and save money. Potential buyers want to know that the basic, most costly house components (i.e., roof, windows, central air units, heating system, etc.) will not need repair or replacement soon.

Central air conditioners are rated by a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). Energy star models are approximately 14% more efficient than standard models, making them less costly to run.

Replacing a central air unit may cost $2,500-5,000, but may increase the value of your home AND may save your house time on the market. Time is Money!

A savings calculator can be downloaded from EnergyStar.gov.

#10 FurnaceLike central air units, upgrading to an Energy Star furnace can also save money on utility bills. Furnaces are rated by an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). Some Energy Star rated furnace models can result in a savings as great as 15% over a standard model.

Replacing a furnace may cost $2,500-5,000, but may increase the value of your home AND may save your house time on the market. Again, time is Money!
A savings calculator can downloaded from EnergyStar.gov.



An Inconvenient Truth on DVD

RE/MAX Protection: Protect Your Privacy When Marketing Your Home

Your home is on the market, and your home is now open to untold numbers of strangers. How private can that be?

You have managed to clean, declutter and depersonalize, but have you ‘privatized’ your home? Perhaps you know and trust everyone in your community, and feel that you have nothing to hide. Think again!

Leaving personal information for others to see may have significant consequences for you. First, while most people are kind and decent, and will respect your belongings, others will not. Second, bad things can happen to good people! The best advice here is to perform an ‘ounce of prevention’ to prepare for the worst case scenario.

Burglars, identity thieves, employers, and stalkers may enter your home as a potential buyer for the sole purpose of obtaining valuable information!

Disarming burglars, stalkers, and identity thieves are some of the best reasons to privatize your home prior to placing the “For Sale” sign in your front yard. Equally important reasons to protect your privacy include preventing potential home buyers from having an unfair advantage!

Burglars may watch your house to learn the general routine of household members, then review the layout with a guided tour from a real estate agent before violating your security and taking your prized valuables. It is not uncommon for burglars to enter the home as a potential buyer, and leave a door or window unlocked for later access.

Identity thieves are on the lookout for any and every piece of valuable, private information they can get their hands on! Bills, checkbooks, social security cards, voter’s registration cards, birthdates, pay stubs are just a few items that contain information valuable to an identity thief.

Employers past, present or future may be surreptitiously seeking valuable insight to your loyalty, lifestyle habits, risky behavior or potential health risks that may adversely impact health insurance costs!

Finally, the average potential home buyer may obtain a significant advantage in bargaining power if they saw the calendar circled with your move date, or the meeting with the mortgage broker regarding your home loan. Stacks of second notices for bills can imply that you are desperate to sell, and will settle for far less than your asking price.

What should you do to minimize your risk of invasion of your privacy?

1. Remove ALL private or personal photos, diplomas, awards, and trophies.2. Remove any and all calendars! These often contain a great deal of private information that could be used to your detriment.3. Remove ALL valuables. Consider placing them in vaults, or boxes which can be secured or easily carried with you.4. Remove ALL bills, letters, magazines and library books. Shred papers with personal information that are no longer needed.5. Password protect your computer to block access to your private files.6. Turn off your printer and fax machine before each showing. Printers and fax machines often have the capability of printing the last numbers dialed or received.7. Turn off answering machines. This avoids personal messages being left while strangers are in your home.8. Unplug and remove phones. Many phones have caller ID.9. Remove or conceal all digital devices that contain information about you or your family (i.e., cell phones, personal digital assistants, iPods, USB drives).10. Do not list personal names or phone numbers on handouts or flyers with information on your property. Real estate agents should be the only ones with access to your private phone numbers.

YPN & why you should care (& come to the 2011 kick off event today!)...

First of all, YPN stands for Young Professionals Network.

Now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about the
Y: Young...the target group is Realtors and affilliates under age 40, but everyone is welcomed. This is important because gets a new demographic of industry types involved.

P: Professionals...our industry struggles with keeping the standard high when the market around us is so challenging. With approximately half the market being distressed sales, we all have to work that much harder to sell homes, keep them together, and see them through to closing. With more and more of the transactions  being conducted on line (via e-mail) an not in person, the level of care and professionalism can become a problem.

N: Network...It's a great to meet each other face to face and actually connect! When you're in the middle of a tough transaction, it's easier to keep it together when you know the person on the other side. As younger and often times newer agents to the industy, it's a way for to connect and even brainstorm.

Check out the NAR Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/NAR.YPN
For details on today's kick off event at Table 44:
http://www.facebook.com/NAR.YPN#!/event.php?eid=172016326182436&index=1