Focus on Real Estate

Extreme Makeover show involving Whitehall home airs Feb. 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Remember the house M/I Homes demolished and rebuilt in one week back in November? That episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will air on Sunday, February 11, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. on ABC.

The Thomas home at 4699 Harbinger Circle West in Whitehall was completely leveled and rebuilt -- including adding a basement -- in 110 straight hours! The massive project involved hundreds of area businesses and volunteers working day and night. Visit the web site for more info.

2007 BIA Parade of Homes in Grove City

 The BIA will host its annual Parade of Homes in Grove City at Pinnacle in Grove City, June 9-24, 2007. Builders are preparing to break ground on the 600-acre master planned community with a large diversity of housing product all within 10 minutes of downtown Columbus.

Pinnacle is located in the heart of the Grove City's growth corridor and just 10 minutes from downtown Grove City's charming historic town center with old town neighborhoods, tree-lined streets, retail shops and cafes. With price points reaching $700,000+, parade attendees will see the latest in design trends and home technology, and even some green buildings.

American Heritage Homes, Ashley Homes, CV Perry Builders, Dani Homes, Duffy Homes, Heitmeyer Homes, Lakeside Construction, Rockford Homes, Showcase Homes, Trinity Builders and Wayne Homes are the builders featured in this year's parade.

Buyers are Liars and Sellers are Too!

A new book by REALTOR® Richard Courtney Buyers are Liars and Sellers are Too! The Truth about Buying or Selling Your Home has been the subject of enthusiastic reviews, including from Publisher's Weekly. The book is an engaging, common-sense guide to the myriad of real estate sales issues as well as the psychology and perspective of the other side, which raises the prospect for a more successful transaction. It's available in book stores. But we also purchased a copy for the CBR library if you'd like to `check it out'.

One House Webs

 A new type of real estate web site is beginning to catch on -- the individual house for sale website -- or what are also called "One House Webs." A website devoted to one listing offers you the ability to put as much info about the listing as you would like. It also captures the attention of the buyer to say nothing of how much it will impress your seller. Add a rider sign beneath your For Sale with the web address, something like 451ElmStreet.com.

There are several sellers of such sites. One seller -- SingleHouseWebs.com -- uses an innovative site building tool which allows you to build a One House Web in under an hour. For about $7.50 per month you can have the site complete with slideshow, Google Satellite Maps, mortgage calculator and requesting appointments on line.