The next company struck me because it’s a CPA firm, voted one of the top mid-sized companies in 2010 (in NE Ohio).  Cohen & Company   has a cool niche.  From their website: 

 Cohen & Company specializes in a wide variety of accounting, tax, and planning issues. Working closely with the entrepreneur, we provide advice on operating and managing the business. Learn how building a relationship with us can help you meet your (or your client’s) goals.     

Cohen & Company has five locations in NE Ohio and now also three affiliated locations in Florida.  They have been around since 1977.   They have jobs available, according to their website, but what I really liked was their Internship program. Are you in college, thinkng being a CPA might be a good choice?  Their internship program includes short term assignments, attending company meetings, and other activities you would experience as a licensed CPA.  They also require community service work….  check out Cohen & Co’s web page on internships.

The last company featured today also advertises itself  (I paraphrase only a little) as  a toy company, but a digital toy company.  Find A Way World  has been around for about six years only, but their patented audio player called Playaway® is out (it’s pre-loaded, which I gather is very exciting to consumers) and the company is very well recieved and recognized all over the U.S.  FindAWay World  was voted one of the fastest growing companies in the Country by Inc, magazine.

I love that it was started by five native Clevelanders. Picturing them sitting around tossing a nerf basketball and coming up with ideas.  Anyone use Playaway® ?   Would be cool to support a local company when buying a video/audio player.   Their website says Playaway® can hold up to 60 hours of audio.  That sounds darn competitive, no?  Seriously, it sounds  like this 2 oz audio books specialty player would be great to own. And they have Playaways available all over the World already!

Congrats to these companies for being what our area has been historically…innovative and insanely creative!   Peace Out  3C

At the tax sites, you will:
• Prepare an electronic federal return
• Prepare an electronic state return
• Prepare a paper local return
• Ask survey questions so we will provide better services next year
• Provide an opportunity to build assets
• Provide outreach for legal advocacy
• Provide access to sign up for other benefits
The ideal volunteer:
• Has prepared their own or others tax returns
• Is detail oriented, and are able to think through the process of filing a tax return
• Comfortable with using a computer and filing returns electronically
• Available to volunteer several times (but not for every time slot) between
January 24 and April 14, 2012
Tuesdays 3-7 pm
Thursdays 3-7 pm
Saturdays 10 am- 2 pm
If you are interested in learning more about the volunteer needs at Neighborhood Housing Services, please contact Darren Hamm at 216.458.HOME X318, or by email at

dhamm@nshcleveland.org.

Did you know that every time you use your cards a merchant pays the card company a % fee?  They also have fees for closing out sales amounts each day,  statement fees.  Some they have just because they offer the service.  Did you know that if your card is swiped and it’s declined, they get charged a fee for that too?

I found this site, Merchant Seek, which lists some generic fees. 

I’ve spoken to local merchants recently.  Unless their volume is really high, it can be quite expensive a service.

So if you are wondering if there are ways to help our local economy, you might try to have green cash on hand whenever possible!  Shop local!  3C

Best House Decoration Idea I’ve Heard or Read in 2011  This was something I read last Spring.  The idea stuck with me so I’m revisiting it here for you.  Wish I could remember where I read it!  It starts with us having old furniture, things we’ve collected that could be something else, and most importantly, the wish to update our home’s look without spending a fortune.

In spirit of a healthy environment, spending wisely and re-purposing: Host a party with a few friends. Each one brings a piece of furniture or collectible  from their home to strip, stain, paint, transform  into something else.  Have an old table top radio? I bet one of your friends can help you add a lamp kit to it for a cool change.  And you might be better at taking broken mosaic tile and re-doing another person’s coffee table top.  You get the drift! Everyone can make a day of it.  Seems like it would turn a chore into a fun day. 

Now to the sites with home decor ideas they found trending in 2011. 

I love the Lamps Plus gallery.  You have to check out the bike turned into a bathroom sink.  No,  I wouldn’t have thought I’d like it either, but I like it a lot!  I love the idea of accenting with the retro geometric patterns.  However, not sure I’m feeling the busily patterned wallpaper.  What do you think? 

Organic materials are definitely still trending strong and probably upward.  I don’t see this changing anytime soon.  Bamboo roman shades may not surprise you (they are nice, however). How about bamboo curtain and drapery hardware?   Very cool.  My latest thing (not that I’m a professional – just sharing!) is to put up rods that don’t match.  I also like the trend (I saw this several times in my NE Ohio home showings for 2011) of using cool things like skateboard tops for shelving.  HGTV has a photo gallery of window decor and hardware they feel represents the trend to new and enviro friendly materials.  

My last suggestion is a site called Houzz.  They see trending: grays in many shades, fiery wall colors as well (I love red/orange). There gallery of photos also features what they say is a return to using silhouettes as decoration.  I haven’t seen it, but like the photo they use as an example.

I saw (in real life home touring and in articles) a trend towards use of metallic, both in textured art as well as room colors and accent peices. 

Hope you enjoy this end of the year tour of 2011 home decor trends, and I wish for all of you a Happy New Year.  3C

One point made states ‘don’t offend the seller or they won’t work with you.’ (I paraphrased).  Another point explains why you don’t want to offend the seller.  Both points are well taken. A house may be fairly priced to sell but there are not many sellers who don’t realize a buyer is going to come in at a lower offer price.  I don’t know too many agents who won’t come in with an aggressive offer.  The key is, as the article states, to know your market and be sure to present the offer with an explanation for the offer price.  Fair enough. 

It’s also an article that infers having really good discussions with your agent before you ever wind up writing an offer on the house.  If you’re making an FHA offer and you know the seller is going to have to make a few repairs to get it up to par for the FHA appraisal, factor that expense into your offer price ahead of time. 

I like to advise my clients, when writing an offer, to think about what their ‘best and highest’ offer would be.  It could vary house to house, based on amount of work needed to move in or on just how wild about the house they are.  And of course, unless you are in multiple offers, you don’t have to offer your best and highest amount.  Just know what it is ahead of time.  Much less stress when you think of all the angles going into the process.

I personally hate, hate, hate the word low ball.  I also hate the phrase ‘I’m not going to just give away my house.’   First, low ball offer.  The phrase itself is insulting.  Buyers are making what they consider a fair offer price and sellers have to decide if they will accept it or counter back.  Why this phrase has to be continually used baffles me, because it sets up a mindset of a confrontation (or yes, an insulting offer!) when that is not what is happening.

The ‘I don’t want to just give my house away’ phrase is so over used by sellers! Please help me out by not using it anymore!  No one, not me, not other agents, not people interested in buying your home, wants you to just give it away.  We all want you to get a fair market value for your house, based on it’s condition and location.  But  we might come to you with an offer that is lower than your asking price.  And we will tell you why (if I am presenting the offer, anyway). 

The sign of a good article is one that gets you thinking and apparently, from my standpoint, this was a good article!  I hope you enjoy it too.  3C

In order to participate, there are Federal standards, and one standard (a major one) is that you have to be able to know exactly where the food comes from, tracing all the way back to the farmer.

I read about this program a few months ago.  This is what the Where Food Comes From®label looks like.

Here is a quote from the article, as well as a link directly to Heinen’s info on the program:

Heinen’s Fine Foods, a regional retailer with 17 locations in northeast Ohio, are pleased to announce the launch of the WhereFoodComesFrom® labeling program in the grocery chain’s meat department. The program is designed to give customers more information about the source and origin of Heinen’s Own Beef and Pork. IMI Global has created a new website detailing the program at www.wherefoodcomesfrom.com/heinens.

It’s also true that when you lay an area rug over those beautiful old wood floors, the perimeters will eventually look different than the areas under the rug.

My first tip about new pre finished floors, is to expect variations of color. Sometimes, depending on the type of finish you have, the area under the rug will appear lighter than the areas left exposed (I know, the exact opposite of how most old wood floors react).  For more info on this topic, you can see general comments on Garden Web.

My second tip is to investigate all quirkiness of the flooring you are putting down on the floor.  You need to know how the particular individual floor boards can be expected to expand and contract. You need to consider how you use the room. Some floors do better in rooms without water.  In fact, some pre finished flooring cleaning instructions tell you specifically do NOT clean with water, it harms the finish. 

This is not new, when you think about it.  Single sheet flooring started becoming available years ago with gloss, a nice shiny finish, already added to the vinyl.  And certain cleaning products would dull that gloss quickly.  Just make sure you check out what you will need to do and use to clean your floor.  For info  on new wood floors and cleaning new wood floors,  go here.

Tip Number Three: When deciding to do a green renovation on your flooring, check out the differences between bamboo and cork.  You want to make sure you are knowledgable about what you are doing. You may like the look of one and then decide the other is better for your room.

Bamboo flooring is generally considered a very hard surface, harder than most old hardwoods like oak.  Cork is good for people with allergies, or so the experts say.  If you have pets and worry about scratches or ‘accidents,’ you want to consider your flooring choices as well.  Here is a site  that goes into depth  about different surfaces  for your floors, especially in high traffic, water exposed areas, with a good amount of info related to pets and our floors.

Recap: Do not be surprised if your new pre finished wood floors change colors; make sure you research how your floors will be used as opposed to just going with what you think looks best.  Peace Out – 3C

Your lender can help you know:

1. What you need to ‘clean up’ on your credit before purchasing.

2. How long your lease term should be. This could be because of credit issues or could be because of a need for a salary/debt to income ratio improvement.  Or any number of things. Seriously, do not go it alone, work out a plan. Then we can find a house!

Here are some tips from two lenders.  The first one is Darrin Kresevic of First Place Bank, based in Solon  He worked with one of my buyers and now sends email newsletters to me.  I find Darrin very informative and knowledgable about lending. Here is what he kindly provided when I asked for tips on what to consider when thinking about a Lease Purchase.

“Lease to own can be tricky. Rent credit for option to purchase is an acceptable source of funds toward the borrower’s down payment. Credit for the down payment is determined by calculating the difference between the market rent and the actual rent paid for the last 12 months. From the lenders perspective the market rent is determined by a lender approved appraiser when appraising the property. For example the monthly market rent is $1,000 and the rent paid is $1,200 the credit available for down payment would be $200 per month.

As the lender we are required to obtain the following:
-          A copy of the rental / lease option agreement evidencing a minimum original term of at least 12 months, clearly stating the monthly rental amount and specifying the term of the lease (for example, market rent is $1,000 and the actual rent is $1,200 with $200 being credited from seller to buyer at closing towards buyer down payment).
-          Copy of all consecutive canceled rent checks for the last 12 months or actual term of lease if longer. Make sure rent is paid on time or early – this is a zero tolerance issue!
-          Market rent as determined by the lender approved appraiser.
-          A copy of the canceled check for any deposit paid at execution of the rental / lease option. (make sure the original rental / lease option agreement stipulates that the deposit paid is to be credited to the purchase price upon title transfer – if there is a separate deposit paid as a security deposit the agreement needs to stipulate that)

If the reason a person is looking at a rental / lease option agreement is due to poor credit, do not just rely on the on time monthly rent payments as the sole source for reestablishment of credit. Do not bury your head in the sand when it comes to repairing your credit. Take an aggressive approach to requesting your credit report from the three major agencies; EQUIFAX www.equifax.com, TRANSUNION www.transunion.com and EXPERIAN www.experian.com and write letters of dispute for incorrect info, pay off old bad debts and open 3-4 new accounts to establish new history even if you have to use a secured credit card. It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway, limit the use of the secured credit card, don’t charge more than 30% of the credit limit and pay in full each month. I recommend and encourage clients to contact a credit repair company to help ensure success.”

You can reach Darrin – 440 349 7550  or via email – dkresevic@fpfc.net.

Darrin mentions contacting a consumer credit company to ensure your credit gets repaired properly and efficiently.  Remember, you need an organization that ends in .org not .com for this one. There is no reason to pay a lot of money for this service when there are excellent non profits who may charge a nominal fee (the CCC  for example, is a good place to check out and it’s Better Business Bureau approved).

The next lender is someone I’ve trusted to know lending rules and communicate well with clients - many years of experience!  Bob Wilson, Finance Manager at Howard Hanna Mortgage Services.  Here is what Bob had to say:

“Make sure all collections, judgments and charge offs are paid in full as soon as possible.  Make sure the balance on all revolving credit is kept to 50% of the credit limit and most of all payments are made on time.  No lates period.”

Bob can be reached at 216-373-7450 or bobwilson@howardhanna.com.

You really do need to string 12 months of ‘no late periods’ in a row.  Maybe you already have six months in a row, and that is your only issue, and so you can try to find someone who would give you a six month lease period.  I had that work once; that client is still living in the home (about three years later?) he purchased six months after leasing.  More common is to find someone who wants you to do a 12 or 24 month lease. Which is not bad when you need time to get your downpayment squirreled away or credit repaired.

 To recap: talk to a lender, develop a financial plan, talk to a Realtor® and start finding your ‘lease to purchase’ home.  It really is a team effort, and that is not a bad thing!   Peace Out – 3C

If a home has also been listed for sale, a tenant needs to know up front when/if the seller will be back to marketing the home for sale.  Depending on the terms of your agreement with the landlord/seller, they may be doing this.  So let’s go over the different kinds of ways to approach this.

One way is to do a straight Lease With an Option to Buy. In this case, a buyer might only need to save money for a perchase a year or two later. In this scenario, you might write in the lease offer that you (the buyer) want the right to make an offer first, or if a buyer shows up and makes an offer to the Seller. You will want to know, for example, if you sign a lease in October, that in March the for sale sign is going back in the ground and you agree to allow the place to be shown. Sometimes the house never goes off the market at all (for sale) but then that can be true if you are doing a straight rental.

The method that can make both buyer/tenant and seller/landlord feel the most secure, without all the potential for showings to other people at a later date, is a Lease Purchase Offer.

Using this method, this is what i recommend.

1. Both parties agree on a monthly lease price and a future sale price.  Up front, in the initial agreement.  

2. They also agree on a non-refundable deposit put down by the tenant/buyer.  It’s usually at least $2,000. If the tenant buys, it goes towards their down payment or closing costs.  If they do not buy, they lose the deposit.  

3.  There is also an in place agreement on how long the tenant will be leasing before the purchase takes place.  This step requires every tenant/buyer to work closely with a lender from the beginning of the process, not afterwards.

Why?  Think of it like this: If you see a house you want to buy and make an offer before talking with a lender, you might get an unpleasant surprise meaning, you don’t qualify.  The whole purpose of a Lease to Purchase is that you are working towards a goal, established by you and  your lender, with an expected outcome.  Much less stress, believe me.  That and the fact that a seller is not going to get into a Lease to Purchase with you without feeling somewhat confident that you know what you are doing and that you ARE working with a lender.  

In my next post, I will have some tips from two lenders that can help guide you in this process.

Look for it tomorrow.  Peace Out – 3C