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Lakeshore Learning Center recently opened a new store in Woodmere on Chagrin Blvd. Located in the same plaza as Verizon, Lakeshore Learning Center is not just for teachers.
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Lakeshore has materials for infants & toddlers through the 6th grade. From awesome crafts to imaginative play and blocks this store really has great stuff. Plus every Saturday is free craft day for kids.
Lakeshore is a great addition to our community. If you have young kids you should check it out today!
More information about Lakeshore Learning Center
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen Weiner at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan cities is out and the numbers are not good. Home prices have fallen even more, this time to lows not seen since 2006. In Cleveland home prices are down 1.8% from February to March. These numbers are due to high amounts of foreclosures and less demand. David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices says “Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight.” The S&P/Case Shiller index has been down for 30 straight months.
Do the lower home prices make you more or less likely to buy a new home? Are they an incentive to get a great deal, or do they make you nervous that the market is still going to get worse?
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen Weiner at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
Here are some quick tips for staining your deck, so you can have a deck you can be proud of this summer.
Clean The Deck Before you Start: Make sure to prepare, prepare and prepare,the surface of your deck. A great product that wont harm your plant life or you for that matter is Sodium percarbonate wood cleaner. This is a great way to prep your deck for the stain.
Don’t forget to use a Wood Brightener: This is the most skipped step in staining a deck. Wood brighteners open up the surface to improve penetration of the stain. They also neutralize any stain strippers. Best of all, you just spray it on and rinse it off. No scrubbing is necessary.
Stay away from the Cheap Stuff: As always you get what you pay for. Better ingredients cost more money. Stay away from the cheap stuff if you expect the stain to last.
Using a Paint Brush is Still Best Method: Sherwin-Williams give instructions here for applying the stain. A paint brush is best for working the stain into the pores of a board. Make sure you keep one handy.
Let the Deck Dry for 24 hours and enjoy your beautiful deck with friends and family all Summer!
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen Weiner at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
PlayhouseSquare located on Euclid in Downtown Cleveland has a lot to be proud of. It is the second-largest performing arts center in the country by audience capacity. Second only to Lincoln Center.
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PlayhouseSquare is home to 10 performance spaces with a total of more than 9,000 seats. Yesterday the Wall Street Journal highlighted PlayhouseSquare because in a time when “arts and culture is losing its market share of philanthropy,” Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare seems to be in better shape than the rest.
The article talks about what makes PlayhouseSquare and its foundation so unique. I think it is important to highlight the article here because we sometimes forget what a great city we live in. When is the last time you checked out a show at PlayhouseSquare? Maybe it is time you should. Here is a link to the upcoming events at PlayhouseSquare.
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen Weiner at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
As we continue our series on the secret to great curb appeal. Here are a few quick fixes to help you get started. 
(Photo credit: http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/exteriors/curb-appeal/ways-to-add-curb-appeal/?page=3)
1. Make a Grand Entry: When buyers are out looking for homes, they usually pause at the front door while the agent opens the lockbox and unlocks the door. Make sure you front door is a grand entry. Try adding molding around the door. Molding acts like an architectural eyeliner when applied to the sides and top of the doorway.
2. Replace Gutters and Down Spouts: Make sure all the gutters and down spouts are functioning correctly and not rusty. Rusty down spouts make a home look like it needs work and that could be less appealing to a buyer.
3. Don’t Forget About Lighting: Buyers also like to drive by at dusk to check out a house. One way to make your curb appeal better is to add driveway or front lights. Try Solar powered driveway lights.
Click here for Some More Curb Appeal tips
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen Weiner at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
Selling your home? What do buyers think when they pull up your driveway? Do you have the best curb appeal on the street? Here are some secrets to having great curb appeal.
(Photo credit: http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/exteriors/curb-appeal/ways-to-add-curb-appeal/?page=9)
First you have to decide what your current curb appeal is telling buyers. Next time you come home stop down the driveway or across the street . Make sure you are far enough away to see the full view of your home. Take a look and ask yourself the following questions.
1) What are you first impressions of the house and yard area?
2) What are the best exterior features of the house? How can you enhance them?
3) What are the worst exterior features of the house? How can you fix or minimize them?
Write a list of potential fixes that need to be made to improve your homes curb appeal.
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen Weiner at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
Recently it was announced that Keller Williams Realty was the 2nd largest real estate company in the country. On the heels of that announcement Keller Williams Realty has dominated the REAL Trends 500 survey, an annual industry ranking published by REAL Trends, Inc., a leading source of analysis and information on the residential brokerage and housing industry.
Keller Williams Realty is Real Estate Franchise company that was founded by Gary Keller and Joe Williams with the mission to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning and lives worth living® for its associates.
This mindset is clearly a wining way to do business as is shown in the recent agent growth as well as the REAL trends 500 survey. In the Cleveland area Keller Williams is growing more and more every day. Keller Willimas Realty Greater Cleveland’s philosophies and business strategies allow us to sell houses at a higher level than our competition.
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
Deciding to sell your home could be one of the largest financial transactions of your life. Don’t just hire the agent who tells you the price you want to hear. At The Weiner Real Estate Group we meet with our sellers and discuss the market. Together we come up with a price that is reasonable to get the house sold.
Here are some more pointers when it comes to selling your home:
- Hire an Agent: Navigating this tough seller’s market takes patience, and experience. Make sure you hire an expert agent to represent you.
- Interview Potential Agents: Once you decide to hire an agent, sit down and meet with your agent. Discuss your expectations and ask lots of questions. Make sure you trust your agent.
- Determine a price: Be realistic. Look at the market and all the statistics and come to a price together. Don’t just hire the agent that gives you the highest price. These agents are trying to win you over by false expectations. Over the course of the listing they will slowly chip away at your price bringing it down to where other agents might suggest you start. Pricing your home too high to start could cost you move money over the long run.
- De-clutter and Clean Your Home: Get rid of any unnecessary clutter in your home. Make countertops as clean as possible. Homes look bigger that are free from lots of furniture and clutter. Consider staging your home. Your home is now a showroom. Make sure it spotless.
- Market your home 24/7: Buyers could be looking for your home any time of day with the internet. Make sure you are capturing all those potential buyers.
- Follow up on all showings: Once a buyer comes and sees your home make sure you follow up and hear the feedback.
The Weiner Real Estate Group are experts at selling homes. We work hard every day to get our listings sold for the most amount money in the shortest amount of time.
Link to our Home Seller’s Checklist
Link to our Free Market Analysis
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
Recently I came across an ad in Parent’s Magazine about the social benefits of home ownership. I thought that I would share them here.
There are many important benefits to owning a home. Pride of ownership, tax benefits, building equity all of which we speak frequently about. However, in addition to these important benefits are substantial social benefits for families, communities and the country as a whole.
1) Higher Academic Achievement: The National Association of Realtors suggests that several studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between home ownership and educational achievement. Home owners are more involved with their children’s lives especially when it comes to schooling, says a study done by Richard K. Green and Michelle J. White in 1997. Also home owners tend to move less often than renters. This stability adds to a child’s success in school.
2) More Cohesive Communities: Check out these numbers from the same NAR ad, 28% of home owners are more likely to repair or improve their home when owning. 15% of home owners are more likely to vote then renters, 11% more likely to know who represents them in Congress, and 9% of home owners are more likely to know who their school board representatives are. Simply put home owners stay longer in a community so they feel the need to improve and are more involved in the community.
3) Better Connected Families: Along with being more involved in their communities, home owners are more active and connected to their families. Compared to renters home owners are less likely to have alcohol and substance-abuse problems, and 16% more likely to belong to parent-teacher organizations. (All statistics from research compiled by the Cincinnati office of the Neighborhood reinvestment Corporation, April 2003).
4) Improved Health and Safety: Home ownership is proved to reduce crime. Home owners have a financial stake in the value of their home. Therefore, owner have more incentive to deter crime by forming and implementing voluntary crime prevention programs. Also, home owners are happier and healthier then non-owners. In fact one study found that people who recently become home owners reported higher life satisfaction, self-esteem and perceived control over their lives.
5) Stronger Economy: Home ownership creates jobs: remodeling, landscaping, lawn and pool service, home improvement and real estate services. In fact, NAR says, that each home purchase generates as much as $60,000 of economic activity in the local a surrounding area. A home owner’s net worth is 45.9 times that of a renters.
In general home ownership leads to stronger communities and happier people. Why not get started in you home search today!
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
Are there really any advantages to a buyer’s market in real estate?
The real estate news on TV is bad. In fact the real estate news on the internet, in the paper and on TV is mostly bad. Bad news gets ratings, clicks and sells papers. The thing is, these news people, are keeping a horrible secret from you. What they don’t want you to know is that if you have good credit, and don’t have a house to sell this is the best time to buy real estate in almost 30 years.
Here are some advantages of a buyer’s real estate market. Take it from a real estate expert, this is a good time to buy!
1) Inventory is up in neighborhoods leading to a price war: It is the same old story of supply and demand. Currently the supply is so great that sellers are forced to price their homes well below the competition just to get people to notice them. Shop around and get a sense of what fair market value is in a neighborhood. Chances are it is a lot less than it was 5 years ago.
2) Mortgage Rates are Down: Did you know that in the 80′s mortgage rates were up around 18%-20%. Compare that to the today’s mortgage rates. Right now you can lock in a 30 year fixed mortgage for a lot less, saving you lots of money.
3) There is a Huge Opportunity To Purchase ‘More House’: If prices have fallen at the same rate on all homes in your market, the discount, measured in dollars, will be bigger for a more expensive house. Say you’re in a $200,000 home and want to move up to a $500,000 home. Your cost of upgrading will be $300,000. But if prices drop 10 percent, your current house is worth $180,000; the one you’ve got your eye on is worth $450,000. Cost to upgrade: $270,000.
4) Hire a Buyer’s Agent to represent you: ABC News is a genius! They say that you should “make sure you hire a buyer’s agent who only represents you, and does not have any connection or obligation to the seller.” Ellen and I at the Weiner Real Estate Group are perfect for that job. We represent lots of buyers to make sure they get the deals they deserve. It just makes sense to have someone working on your behalf. Oh, and did we mention that the seller pays the realtor commission not the buyer.
Prices are low, mortgage rates are down, you can purchase way more house for your money now then you could have 5 years before and there are professionals available to help you make informed and good decisions. What more are you waiting for! Get off the couch time to start looking for your next dream house.
If you would like to get started buying or selling your Shaker Heights, Pepper Pike, Solon, Cleveland Heights or Chagrin Falls home please contact Ellen at 216-789-9368 or email Ellen@NoPlacelikeCleveland.com
