I have long been a fan of Pinnacle condos in Downtown Cleveland.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of walking the lobby or gazing out of one of the Pent House units into the great wide open, it is something I strongly recommend.  This building represents North East Ohio’s premier condominium, hand down.  The views, the quality in construction, the location and amenities make it hard for other condos to compete. 

The new construction phase is more or less gone, all but a few pent houses over $1million have been sold and often resold and the association is in the hands of the owners . 

Even though these condos seem to be in a class all their own, they have not been immune to the market and for the first time, some very attractive units are being

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Ohio City is arguably Cleveland’s trendiest and most established areas for entertainment, dining and shopping.  It seems as though every time you turn around there is another restaurant, boutique or brewery opening up.  The latest addition is Market Garden, a 3,000 square foot cobblestoned American beer garden across from sister brewery Bier Market.

This area is already a huge destination for shopping mainly due to the West Side Market’s appeal as well as Dave’s Super Market for local residents weekly groceries.   Market Square is home to Great Lakes Brewery, Flying Fig and ABC Tavern to name a few. 

It is no surprise that a trendy and upscale entertainment district such as this would feature one of Cleveland’s top Luxury Condo Developments. 

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This is news! most new construction condos in Cleveland have been a bit in denial over the market and kept prices relatively the same throughout the overall decline.  The developers at Stonebridge Plaza on the West Bank of the Flats have recently made MAJOR price reductions up to $100,000 off, in an effort to be viewed as more of a bargain and to get some would be buyers off the fence.  I think it is a great move and puts them in a very competitive place.  You should see other developers follow suit if they know whats good for them.

Just Launched, Cleveland's source for everything Downtown Cleveland.

I was sitting in one of the upper floors of the Terminal Tower the other day discussing "Cleveland's Image," with some people who's job it is to decide how that image is and will be portrayed in the coming year.

How do we sell this city?  This question has come up over in Cleveland by its leadership.  When I am consulted on this topic I keep telling people the same thing but I am still waiting for someone to listen.  You can't sell someone on investing in real estate in a particular area or market with some gimmicky add campaign.  Buying a home is not like buying a candy bar or a time share. 

Unlike those other things, you simply can't sell a home buyer, you can only share information about a property and take them to it. If the house is not right…

Check out this great event.  If you are looking for something to do on Sunday and want to see what OHIO CITY is all about and you have a dog, or not really.  Its a chance to drink some good beer and mingle with the people in the hood.

www.greatlakesbrewing.com/events/129

We love dogs so I will try to bring my George, although he does get startled with big crowds :)

Keller Williams was rated #1 by buyers for the third year in a row!

For those of you who are considering a condo downtown or even some new construction within the city limits, you may have heard of Urban Assist or NCHAMP.  These are programs that help the city lure developers to build, help developers sell their homes and give buyers of new construction 1.5% below a 30yr fixed rate.

NCHAMP was National City Bank's version of this program and since the merger, it has virtually gone away completely.  PNC showed a bit of faith in downtown, last week when they took a chance with Water Street Condominiums and re-instated the NCHAMP program. 

That means, if you are considering purchasing a condo from the developer, and the current rate is 5.5%, by using the NCHAMP program, you will lock in a rate of 4% for 30yrs.

That…

On July 18th, Keller Williams in cooperation with the Cleveland APL, will hold an event labeled "Paws for a Cause."  This is a charity dog walk which will be held at Punderson Metro Park.  I will be following up with more details but with the funds raised at this event, Keller Williams will be building a home for a less fortunate family in the coming year.  All are welcome to this event and it truly exemplifies what makes this company great!

Many terms like short sale and foreclosure are thrown around these days to the general public without much explanation of the pros and cons...  Here are my two cents on the subject.

I know everyone feels like everyone else is getting steals on properties that have been seized by the bank, picking up property at pennies on the dollar.  Well, some of this is true but its not the entire story. 

First of all the definition...

A short sale is an agreement by the bank, who holds a seller's mortgage, to take less for the house than what the seller owes.  Since going through the entire process of forclosing on a property is actually extremely expensive to banks and often results in a property being vacant and even vandalized, a short sale is seen as a…