Perrysburg Blog

I get these calls a lot – it’s my job.

It’s what I do.

But . . . this call was from a far away state.   Let’s call it Oregon.

This was a guy who bought his first “house”.

On the internet.

Without visiting Northwest Ohio.

Without “putting any eyes” on the property before sending his money.

“UFF DA”* as my Scandanavian grandmother would say.

*(when my brother and I were REALLY naughty and she was watching us while my parents were out gambling or worse she would say “UFF DA FEE DA” . . . which was the warning right before the “wooden spoon” came out of the kitchen drawer . . . but I digress.)

So I put some eyes on the house.

I already knew that the plumbing, siding, furnace and more would be gone.  (It was a $4000 auction buy in Toledo).

But in this case . . . . the entire house was gone.  

Which is actually good news for my putative client since then the City of Toledo won’t dun him for tearing the house down (oh, say $9000 . . . )

So . . . what lessons should the wise real estate buyer learn from my little story and how does it relate to Perrysburg?

1. Never, ever buy real property without a property visit.   Ever.  All the time.  Never.

2. A great deal is often . . . not a great deal.  

3. It is very hard to make great returns on a $5000 house when you live one or two time zones away.

4. It is often much safer to spend MORE money and to buy a house/duplex/condo in an area with less crime and vandalism.

5. The seductive rent returns (“I can rent that $5000 house out for $500 a month!) are not real.  They don’t really happen all the time.

6. The investors that I work with who buy $5000 houses have lots of them – to defray their staff and crews and sophisticated management and tenant service operations.   They have a little bit more invested than one house can support.

7. I think that a $50,000 or $75,000 buy in Perrysburg or Maumee is much, much safer.   If I own that (and my wife and I do . . . ) we can rent it, manage it, take care of it without fear of destruction, and have the amenities and schools pull our tenants in.

8. It is very strange . . . but in real estate right now it seems that the simplest investments (see above) and the most sophisticated and complex real estate investments (read this WSJ story and weep . . . ) are absolutely fraught with risk and danger for “average” investors.

I like to buy local.

You want some real estate?  Want to buy in this greatest of all investment markets?   Buy local and buy what you can see and touch.   And if you need professional help . . . you know who to call.

Please just call me before you buy!

Some are good.

Some are bad.

Some are sad . . . usually a dead cat or dog!

Some are glad.

Today in a house in Toledo that is closing tomorrow I opened up the old, abandoned wood record player, FM stereo, and television console . . . which weighs about 400 pounds . . . and is now totally n0n functional and destined for the street.

And what did I find?

These memories of cable tv in Toledo from 41 and 31 years ago.  (I can always tell when an owner has lived through the Great Depression of the 1930′s like the owner of this house did – they tend to save EVERYTHING.

If I would tell my kids that at one time there were 12 cable channels – that is it – and you had to get up out of the chair to change the channel – they would not believe me.

There have been a few lists on line of other things that young people today have never known . . . like this one.

The Toledo Blade just ran a story here.

About March 2011 City of Toledo numbers.

And their rather precipitous drop.  *(Which I have written on/predicted/sang like a canary in a coal mine about)*

They say:

Guaranteed.

It’s a strong word.

“It shall be done”.

“Do this”.

Or how about “promise”.

Also a strong word.

In the world of short sales . . . . I don’t think you can either or honestly issue many guarantees or promises or commands – not unless you are the mortgage holder.

They hold the note.

They loaned the money.

They have the gold and they make the rules.

The signs that proclaim “I Buy Houses!” are usually come ons for a bait and switch exercise to list your house or even worse get you to fraudulently convey control of it.

The Federal government has an opinion about this too.

You can read about it here.

I will boil it down for you:  no promises allowed.  No guarantees allowed.  No getting paid up front.

Any Realtor or “real estate investor” who approaches you and wants some money up front to help you with your short sale or foreclosure?  They are breaking FEDERAL LAW.

Any Realtor or “real estate investor” who comes and promises results, or claims some inside track with the lender or the government . . . again, breaking FEDERAL LAW.

The FTC says that paying $$$ up front is totally forbidden -

“The most significant consumer protection under the FTC’s new rule is the advance fee ban. Under this provision, mortgage relief companies may not collect any fees until they have provided consumers with a written offer from their lender or servicer that the consumer decides is acceptable, and a written document from the lender or servicer describing the key changes to the mortgage that would result if the consumer accepts the offer. The companies also must remind consumers of their right to reject the offer without any charge.”

I have not yet seen anyone doing this in Perrysburg.  I have seen this happen in Toledo and Sylvania . . . . with terrible results for those scammed.

Nothing in a short sale is guaranteed – except that it will be hard and difficult, filled with surprises, and the end result holds the potential to get you out of terrible trouble.

Just wondering.

I was an intern once for the City of Toledo.   Just like this guy.

And believe me . . . you never want to work in the sausage plant if you go in loving the product.

You are going to have your eyes OPENED.

That links to a great read in today’s Toledo Blade.

About Stephen Leggett.

Just about every homeowner gets tagged with special taxes on their property tax statement: sewer improvements, water improvements, ditch maintenance, mosquito control, on and on and on . . . oh, and often you get a special ding for “street lighting”.

This poor legislative intern did a terrible thing.

He used his mind.

He told the truth.

He stood his ground.

Homeowners who are faithfully and obediently paying ALL their property taxes are not only not getting what they pay for, they are now aware that the public servants paid to be good stewards of the public trust are complicit in a cover up.

How sad.

I wonder if a group of homeowners in Toledo would sue the City of Toledo -  what would happen?

****(I did about 10 seconds of research, since I used to be a research intern – and trust me it is REALLY easy to do research now in the internet age – and guess what I found?  Lots of people sue about special assessments that are unfair or broken or false!)

I wonder if a homeowner whose street had inoperative street lighting refused to pay for their streetlight assessment – or maybe paid 65% of it – what would happen?

It’s probably good they fired him.

It’s easier than listening to him and coming up with a plan to make sure the lights are really on.

I have returned.

3 or 4 days.  In Dallas.

At the 5 Star REO / Foreclosure Conference.

Which is now, in my opinion, the BIGGEST real estate conference in America.

Sad to see that.  We used to, as a trade group, fill up Waikiki or SFO or New Orleans to meet and network about new houses.

Now?  We fill up Dallas to meet about foreclosures.

Theme song?  “I Used to Rule the World” . . .

Dallas? Nice town.  I lived there once.   Great climate . . . except when it snows (which it does) and then the denizens of the Metroplex turn into suicidal automotive kamikazes . . . but I digress.

Heard former First Lady Laura Bush speak.

Former Minnesota Viking Nemesis Roger Staubach speak (it WAS pass interference by the way).

Met with other top producing Realtors from across the country.

To “compare notes”.

And heard from a passel of nervous – in fact, very nervous bankers and Fed guys.

What are they worried about?

I will post on that next.

But a hint  -  it rhymes with “Strategic Default”.

Advice I am giving to potential sellers:  don’t sell unless you really need to.

Advice I am giving to sellers that really need to:  make sure you really need to sell.

Advice I am giving to sellers that are sure that they really need to sell: there are too many houses for sale given the buyer activity we have right now – let’s find out how we can work together to sell your house in this environment.

The WSJ has an interesting missive out today - about the glut of houses on the market.

Interesting reading:

“Pending sales, signed contracts on the purchase of new homes tracked by the National Association of Realtors, were down 3% in June compared to May. That month saw a 30% drop in the index, after the April 30 expiration of the home buyer’s tax credit.

The pending sales numbers point to more alarming home sales figures, wrote Credit Suisse analyst Dan Oppenheim in a note Tuesday. Mr. Oppenheim said that given the sales pace, we’re on track to sell 3.7 million homes total this year–-the lowest seasonally adjusted level of single-family existing home sales since the fall of 1996.”

I read elsewhere that a major US builder does not want anymore tax credits or Federal home buyer stimulus.  “Just let the market work” was their plea.

The housing market is tough right now – investors from out of state are buying 100 to 400 houses in a single auction.  You want to compete against that?  In Toledo? “Gird your loins” as they say.

In Perrysburg we are not at that point (and never will be . . . !) but the dynamic pressures just to the north of us still impact this market.   When housing values plummet close by it hurts us.

Great listings are still in demand.

Great buyers are still coming to PBurg.

Enjoy the Glut if you can!

There really was one a couple of weeks ago . . . although I did not feel it.

But there has been an ongoing one . . . for the past 3 or 4 or 5 years.

The “mortgage implosion”.  Which is really the “people who have lost their jobs can’t pay their mortgages implosion”.

Excerpting from today’s Toledo Blade:

Metro area 52nd highest in ’10 foreclosure filings

Metro Toledo ranks 52nd highest in foreclosure-related filings in the first half of the year among the nation’s top 200 metro areas, a new study shows. The ranking, the worst among the metro areas in Ohio, is based on the number of filings of default and auction notices and repossessions per households. RealtyTrac Inc., a national real-estate data tracking firm, says in a report released today the Toledo area has one such filing for every 65 houses.

#52.  Of the top 200 foreclosure towns.

Not.  Good.  At.  All.

You can argue about school funding, TARTA leaving, and the constant I-75/475 construction projects all you want to.

But when 1 out of 65 houses in T Town has JUST GONE UNDER THE GAVEL in 2010 . . . . the other problems are not that important.

My advice?  No need for a Foreclosure Czar.  No need for a conference.  No need for a telethon.

People in Toledo need J.O.B.S.

That is the only thing that is going to bring housing back, equity back, and end the misery and physical destruction of real estate in Northwest Ohio.

Got kids?

There are good things and bad things for them to do.

My wife and I have been blessed with three of them.   And I know this:  you better have a plan.   For some activities.

Because if you don’t they will make their own.

Here is a list of just SOME of the things we have tried to do or done or continue to do with our little brood, in no specific order:

1. Attend a Mud Hen’s Game and do everything but watch the game.
2. Play miniature golf.
3. Go ice skating at BGSU. (when the arena is finally done!)
4. Attend a high school football game at Steinecker Stadium.
5. Attend a play.
6. Bike or walk with them.  Talk to them while you do.
7. Enjoy nearby Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon.
8. Attend the Circus at the Seagate.
9. Go to the Rodeo.
10. Discover electricity at COSI Toledo.
11. Go out for pizza.
12. Go sledding at Ft. Meigs.
13. See Lights Along The River.
14. Drive out to Crane Creek for birding, hiking, swimming.
15. Watch the Polar Bears at the Toledo Zoo.
16. Catch a “road show” such as Ice Capades.
17. Go to the Carousel Museum in Sandusky.
18. Go to Mystery Hill on Catawba.
19. Visit the Lakeside on Catawaba.  Sit at the dock and look.
20. Watch the Rockets at UT.
21. Waterslide and play at Cedar Point.
22. Explore on “Monster Island” at Sidecut Metro Park.
23. Get a poolside hotel/motel room for a mini-vacation.  Try the new Holiday Inn in Maumee by the turnpike – close and quick.
24. Go to Perrysburgs’ giant jungle gym, Ft. Imagination.
25. Explore Ft. Meigs.
26.  Try the Museum of Art “It’s Friday” program for families.
27. Go to Perry’s Falls for miniature golf.
28. Attend Annual Art Fair in Ann Arbor.
29. Almost anything at Sauder’s Village in Wauseon.
30. Go to the new Tennis Center south of PB on SR 25.  Expose them to tennis.
31. Take the boys to Dayton for the Air Force Museum.
32. Old fashioned soda fountain trip to Grand Rapids (Main St.)
33. Take a pony ride at a fair.
34. Check out Toledo Zoo’s latest exhibits.
35. See the F-16’s at Toledo Express.
36. Overlook the city from a hot air balloon ride.
37. Visit the Monkey House at the Toledo Zoo.
38. Attend any ethnic festival in Toledo.
39. Go to the Toledo Symphony.
40. Go on a boat ride from Sandusky.
41. Cross-country ski at Oak Openings.
42. Play at KidsSpace at COSI.
43. Tour the courthouse’s dome  in Bowling Green.
44. Try the Arawana boat ride.
45. Discover your family tree on-line and have them help research.  Write a book about what you find.
46. Attend the Toledo Opera.
47. Get some “hot” dogs at Tony Packo’s.
48. Pick strawberries out on Central Ave.
49. Attend the Nutcracker.
50. Play golf on beautiful public courses. Kids caddy.
51. Try the annual Air Show at Cleveland.  90 minutes away . . . or in Toledo when it happens.
52. Drive to the docks on east side.
53. Go on the S.S. Willis Boyer.
54. Take the Jet Express from Pt. Clinton to Put-in-Bay.
55. Go to the indoor shooting range at Clelands (if old enough!).
56. Drive to Amish country (Holmes County).
57. Go to the Wood County Fair tractor pull.
58. Go fishing, anywhere.
59. Catch a musical at the Stranahan.
60. Go to the Rubbermaid Outlet in Wooster (trust me on this one).
61. Have an old-fashioned soda at Mom’s in downtown Archbold after hiking Goll Woods.
62. Bike the new bike trails.  Slippery Elm is GREAT.
63. Fly a kite in our windy skies.
64. See a first-rate hockey game at BGSU.
65. Watch an IMAX movie at The Henry Ford Museum – less than 1 hour away off of I-75.
66. Chuck E. Cheese’s!!!
67. Go to Ritter Planetarium.
68. Go to the Detroit Car Show.
69. Go to any Common Space art classes.
70. Watch the Fourth of July Fireworks at Ft. Meigs.
71. Pet animals at the Toledo Zoo Petting Zoo.
72. Go to a Michael’s Craft Classes.
73. Domino’s Pizza Farm, Ann Arbor.
74. Watch Ft. Meigs Militia reenactment of 1812 battle.
75. Visit a pet store.
76. Help Daddy build a jungle gym.
77. Visit Camp Snoopy at Cedar Point.
78. Visit the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Indiana.
79. Tour Barry’s Bagels.
80. Try Safari Park on Catawba.
81. Go to the Zoo’s “Music Under The Stars”.
82. Have a cheap, I mean cheap, giant cone at Twistee Treat on Dixie in Perrysburg.
83. Spend a day at Shipshewana.
84. Barnes and Noble story time.
85. Go to the kids workshop on Sat. morning at Home Depot in Perrysburg.
86. Go to the Way Library, hear stories, read, have fun.
87. Eat out Friday night— everyone else does.
88. Go to any parade.  Try Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day
89. Harrison Rally Days, Perrysburg.
90. Pick a bushel of apples yourself at McQueen’s Orchard.
91. Watch Independence Day fireworks on the Maumee in a boat (get there really early!).
92. Visit the Apple Butter Festival, Grand Rapids.
93. Take `em to a Tigers Game at the new Comerica Park.
94. Go to the Detroit Farmer’s Market.  WOW!
95. Get in the car, drive to downtown Chicago, have lunch at FoodLife at Watertower Place, shop at The American Girls Store (girls only!)  go on the submarine at the Museum of Science.   Drive home.   Whew!
96. Visit any Navy ship or vessel that comes to Toledo and has tours.
97. See the glacial grooves on Kelleys’ Island.
98. Go pedal boating at Olander Park.
99. Go through the tunnel to Windsor.  Open your windows – honk the horn.
100. Read them a bedtime story.
101. Watch old movies from your childhood & let them laugh at you.

I moved here as a child – had no choice in the matter since my parents were in control.

I moved away for grad school and a term with IBM in my first career.

But I came back.

And I am planning on staying.

It’s the experience of many transferees – get here and see how great the land/people/values/housing/transportation . . . and even the climate is.   Especially when compared to Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and other “big” cities.

Northwest Ohio has them ALL beat.