The Cincy Life
My Thoughts on Real Estate and Real Life in Greater CincinnatiOakley Kennedy Connector Update
After months, or really years of back and forth, The City of Cincinnati and M-E Companies presented their recommendations for the “Kennedy Connector” last night.
The main goals seem to be to ease congestion and well as traffic accidents in the area. The on and off ramps and poorly aligned intersections have made this area one of the most dangerous in the city. The new proposal realigns the intersections and adds two new connections to I75 and OH-562.
Building Cincinnati has a great article and I really couldn’t summarize it any better. So head on over to Builing Cincinnati to get all the scoop and a picture to help make things a little clearer.
Don’t forget tomorrow is Oakley After Hours from 6-10. This event is so much fun- I hope to see you there!
The new siding revealed!
So many people have asked me to post an update to my previous post about the new siding going up at our house. Your wish is my command. I’m posting some before and after pictures so you can understand why the neighbors have literally been stopping me on the street to thank me 
It’s a miracle- garage parking for an OTR condo bldg!
Finally, some one has listened and provided at least one condo building in Over-The-Rhine with GARAGE parking! Good Fellows Hall located at 1306 Main Street has 5 units in all each with their own garage parking and an elevator that opens directly into your unit.
Of the entire Gateway Quarter tour these had to have been my favorite. Besides the additional amenities I’ve already mentioned I just liked the flow of these units. The model we looked at was unit #2, which is approximately 1,760 sq feet.
OTR Gateway Quarter Condo Tour: Part 2
Today on our tour of the Gate Quarter is “Falling Wall”. These condos are located at 1417-1421 Main Street. There are six loft style condos here and these are tied as my favorite of the event along with Good Fellows Hall just down the street (which I will feature on Friday). Read on for all the details.
Update on the $8000 credit
Many of you saw my tweets over the weekend about the $8000 credit and the rumor that it could now be used for you down payment on an FHA loan.
Well, after numerous phone calls to my office broker, my favorite loan officer, and then finally to the Realtor board, I have the answers to your questions.
OTR Gateway Quarter Condo Tour: Part 1
On Saturday I headed downtown to my old stomping ground to checkout some new condos in the Gateway Quarter, and a little beyond. All week long I’m going to highlight a different building and show you some pictures and give you all the details.
First up- The Lofts at Mottainai @ 1222 Republic. I don’t have any idea how you pronounce that name but the website says “Mott-tie-nai”, which truthfully doesn’t really help me. Either way, it’s a Japanese word that means too valuable to waste. And this condo project is LEED certified- the first of its kind in the Gateway Quarter.
Tips for buying new construction
So you read my article yesterday about the encouraging signs in new construction, and you’re thinking about building a home. Now what? Do you just walk in to the model home and see what happens? NO.
Read on for some common misconceptions about new construction:
New Construction Numbers Encouraging
I think most of us in the real estate business, and probably anyone whose been listening to the news, knows that new construction home builders have been some of the hardest hit during this current real estate decline. Builders have been going out of business, slashing prices on market homes, and I’ve seen very few currently building spec homes, or any homes for that matter.
So I was a little surprised to get this article today from the National Association of Home Builders which basically said that while overall starts fell 12.8 percent to a record-low seasonally adjusted annual pace of 458,000 units, the decline was entirely confined to the multifamily sector, where production fell 46 percent to a 90,000-unit pace for the month, while single-family starts posted a 2.8 percent gain to 368,000 units. A gain of 2.8%! I’m not going to lie, like I said earlier I was surprised. Single-family housing starts rose for a second consecutive month in April, posting a 2.8 percent gain to a 368,000-unit pace for the month. At the same time, issuance of single-family permits, which can be an indicator of future building activity, rose 3.6 percent to 373,000 units.
So are you thinking of building a new home? Wondering whether or not now is the time? There are a lot of things to consider when weighing your options for new construction. Check back tomorrow when I’ll discuss some pros and cons along with why you should always use a Realtor- even in new construction.
