  I love to eat food. Even people who don’t know me can tell I love to eat food. Living in Cincinnati there are a lot of great foods that I have eaten since I was a child. When I was a poor, recent college graduate I could not afford to eat at the restaurants I loved, so I tried my very best to copy these meals for much cheaper at home.
The problem was I could never quite get there; my Skyline cheese was too hard and the canned chili never tasted the same. My wanna-be Montgomery Inn ribs were chewy even though the sauce from the bottle was still delicious. And trying to make Graeter’s Ice Cream out of cream and sugar left me with a messy kitchen and a pile of inedible creamy sugar. My point is sometimes spending the money makes a world of difference. This can be true when it comes to selling your house by owner. In many cases, spending the money for the expertise of a realtor can lead to a much less stressful and much more successful home sale. A good realtor can be like the delicious one-of-a-kind cheese on a Skyline Chili coney. However, for the person who is brave enough to tackle a home sale by owner, here are a few ideas on how to make it work. First and foremost is the decision on pricing. Researching your neighborhood sales, and understanding current market trends will allow you to reach a price point that won’t undermine your efforts right off the bat. I have always been tempted to put our house on the market for 5 million dollars so that a rich person’s curiosity would be peaked about what could possibly be in the house that was worth so much. Then when the really curious rich people do their walk through, I would have a really fancy, antique chest with a lock on it that says “do not open until home purchase.” I bet that would get them to buy. That leads me to my next point, which is the importance of marketing your home. The prominence of social media has not just allowed people to see pictures of each other on vacation, but it can also be used to spread the word on your home sale. That being said, realtors have the advantage in this area because of connections with other realtors, buyers, etc. Lastly, a major deterrent for people in the for sale by owner process tends to be the large amount of legal paperwork, including the real estate purchase agreement, involved in selling a house. However with the use of an experienced lawyer, it is possible to reduce the cost of the sales transaction if you already have a buyer or believe that it will not be necessary to market your home to secure a person to purchase. Ultimately the amount of effort you put into the for sale by owner process correlates with the success of the venture. And this doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. I have full confidence that paying Elliott Stapleton to help me sell my house would end well, especially if he brought Skyline chili for everyone.
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 Why is this important?
If you own a home or rental property, it is important to understand the potential risks associated with snow and ice removal. Is it safer to not shovel? There is a common assertion among property owners that not shoveling your sidewalk or property carries less liability than removing the snow and ice. This, like most overly general statements, is not true. The concept stems from a misunderstanding about liability and the risks associated with owning property. While it is true, if you decide (or have a contractual duty) to shovel, you must do so in a reasonable manner that does not create additional risk. But it seems hard to imagine how removing snow and putting down salt could create more risk. When can you be liable for injury? The build-up of snow and ice is categorized as a natural phenomenon. If a person is injured because of a natural phenomenon, the law requires, at the very least, some evidence of an intervening act by the property owner that aggravates a hazardous presence of ice or snow. An intervening act would likely result from a property owner’s action or inaction prior to the accumulation of snow; such as leaving a garbage can lid on the sidewalk or not repairing a damaged gutter which produces an excessively dangerous accumulation of ice. Courts have also held that an owner or occupier of land owes no duty to warn invitees of open and obvious danger. To be open and obvious, a hazard must not be concealed and must be discoverable by ordinary inspection. If the danger were covered by snow would it be open and obvious? Removing snow and ice allows you (or your snow removal company) to uncover what may otherwise be hidden and hazardous conditions. By uncovering hidden dangers you are either removing them from being a danger or making them open and obvious. Conclusion Unless your shoveling skills are so bad that you create hidden dangers, it is best to shovel. Without shoveling, potential dangers will remain hidden. A Purchase Agreement establishes the terms and conditions for the purchase of real or personal property. In Ohio, there are specific requirements for disclosures related to the sale of real property. As with all agreements, it is vital to create clear, objective standards for payment and delivery of the property.
Yes, generally there are two categories a Power of Attorney will fall into: A Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions and Health Care Power of Attorney.
A Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions can be as broad or as limited as you prefer, even limited to a particular date or purpose. This power can become effective immediately after signing or only become effective if you are disabled/incompetent. For small business owners, it is especially important to have a Power of Attorney reserved for a trusted co-owner or family member. A Healthcare Power of Attorney grants authority to make medical decisions if you are in a coma or become mentally incapacitated. Within the Medical Power will be specific guidance as to what your wishes were before becoming incompetent. Without these protective measure, there could be a devastating lapse in time where the business cannot operate should something happen to you. Before a bank will loan you money to purchase a piece of real estate (also known as real property) the bank will require a title search for all current liens upon the land. If, however, a bank in not involved in the purchase (it is a cash purchase) you will want to conduct your own title search through a title company.
If you do not conduct your own title search, and there are liens on the property, you as the new owner would have to pay or satisfy those liens before selling the land or obtaining a loan. This encumbrance can be avoided by using a qualified title company and by purchasing your own title insurance. |
Elliott Stapleton Attorney with CMRS Law
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