Heart and Home In NWO

Oooohhh I Just Love This Little Charmer! Perfect First Home!

New listing and I absolutely love this home. You will not find anything better for the money!  Completely remodeled. Quality workmanship.

Two New Short Sale Opportunities!

Check out my two new listings.  If you are looking for a good deal on a home, take a look at these short sales!

3118 Mulberry, Toledo, Ohio 43608

$29,900. Short Sale. This 1 story brick home in North Toledo has a new roof, electric, basement waterproofing, hot water tank, security system & fenced yard. Gas forced air with C/A.  1.5 car detached garage. Full basement. Makes a perfect starter home. For more info, see here.  Call today for a personal tour. (419) 902-7184

   5420 Dorr, Toledo, OH 43615

$69,900. Short Sale. This is a great investment opportunity. On awesome 1.4 acre lot. It has newer plumbing & electric. Updated kitchen & bath. The second floor is gutted and ready to be finished as a master suite or bonus/recreation room. Gas forced air with C/A. 24×48 pole barn built in 2000 is plumbed for a bath.  It has 10 ft ceilings & doors on front & back. More info is available here.  Call me to see this home. (419) 902-7184

IT’S A GREAT DAY FOR REAL ESTATE.

SEE MY WEB SITE AT LVDSOLD.COM FOR MORE GREAT HOMES!

Life Is PINTERESTing! Get On BOARD!

If you aren’t already a fan of pinning, I bet you’ve heard about it.  And no, I’m not referring to sewing or a member’s pinning ceremony!  If you aren’t really sure what pinning is, I’m sure you’ve at least heard about Pinterest.  If not, I know it’s something you will love.

Pinterest is the latest rage that’s taking social media by storm.  Pinterest calls itself a virtual pinboard that allows its members to organize and share things they find on the web. And you can browse other people’s boards. I call it a great way to collect the things I love and want to share with others. And, I absolutely love it.

It’s a fun way to store information that you find that you may want to reference later. Maybe you’ve been looking for a recipe for baked asparagus casserole for the holidays and you happen to find one while surfing the net one day.  You can pin the recipe to your Pinterest board and then go back to retrieve it when you need it.  And, it’s a good chance someone else has been looking for a great baked asparagus recipe, so they will be thrilled to repin the recipe to their board.

And that’s how it goes.  You surf the web & you pin things that catch your eye.  This fellow caught my eye — isn’t he absolutely adorable?

You can repin what other people pin, and others can pin and repin!  It’s unbelievably addicting and loads of fun. You can follow fellow pinners and they can follow you!

If you’re planning a wedding, you can find incredible ideas from dresses, decorations, honeymoon destinations, etc. And you can share them with your friends and they can comment and provide their opinions, ideas & suggestions.  And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg! You can share fashion, home decor, remodeling ideas, recipes, games, and on and on and on.

Be careful, it’s ridiculously easy to lose yourself in Pinterest.  But it’s a great way to get wonderful ideas and express your style whether it be personal, home, art, whatever.

You can check out my Pinterest Boards here.  As of now, you still have to be invited to join (it’s free!)  If you need an invite, email me at vandootinghteam@lvdsold.com and I will be happy to send you a personal invite.

Good luck & happy pinning!

MONDAY MORNING COFFEE CHAT WITH LISA – MARCH 5, 2012

He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul’s estate. - Henry David Thoreau

I recently was introduced to eScapestv and I must tell you that it is fabulous. eScapestv is a hybrid radio/television network that provides 15-minute themed episodes 24/7, featuring scenic video and audio serenity. It is headquartered locally in Monroe, Michigan and is available through many cable and satellite television providers.

eScapestv has produced over 500 episodes with backdrops in the United States including Las Vegas, New York, San Diego, Santa Fe, Seattle, Mackinaw, just to name a few. They even feature exotic international locales in Peru, the Caribbean, Belize, etc.

The video is stunning and the soundtrack is so relaxing. It really does provide for a welcome break from chaotic daily life.

In NW Ohio & SE Michigan, it is available on channel 168 on Buckeye Cable and, I understand it is available on certain satellite stations as well. And, what’s really cool about eScapes is that you can find it on YouTube (search “escapestv”) and even tune into episode podcasts via iTunes for free to view many episodes. I suggest you go online and view the eScapes library to see what is available.

So grab that cup o’ joe in the morning, glass of wine in the evening or whatever floats your boat and tune in for a mini-vacation at home.  Even one 15-minute episode will re-energize your mind and calm your soul.  Good Monday morning & make it a great week!

Blessings,

Lisa
It’s A Great Day For Real Estate
In NWO & SE Michigan!

Lisa Van Dootingh, SFR

Key Realty (Ohio) & Key Realty One (Michigan)
The Van Dootingh Team
Cell:  (419) 902-7184
Email: lvdsold@gmail.com
Website:  www.lvdsold.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/lisavandootingh 
Blog:  heartandhomeinnwo.wordpress.com

MONDAY MORNING COFFEE CHAT WITH LISA – FEBRUARY 20, 2012

“We may be very busy, we may be very efficient, but we will also be truly effective when we begin with the end in mind.” ― Stephen R. Covey 
This story is from Stephen Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Once upon a time there was a very strong woodcutter who asked for a job in a timber merchant. Pleased that he got the job, he was determined to do his best for it offered good pay and work conditions.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him where to start. The woodcutter returned at the end of the day with 18 felled trees. The boss was impressed and said “Congratulations, go on that way!”

Very motivated by the boss’ words, the woodcutter went out the next day and worked even harder. But, he only could cut down 15 trees. Determined to exceed his first day’s offerings, he tried even harder. But, still he only could manage 10 trees. Each day he worked harder, but brought in less and less trees.

The woodcutter thought he was losing his strength. Frustrated, he went to the boss apologetically, saying that he could not understand what was happening. The boss then asked him, “When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” The woodcutter looked at him in amazement. ”Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…”

What a great reminder that sometimes we have to stop and sharpen our axe if we are to truly be effective and efficient in our efforts. So, sharpen your axe and let’s raise our coffee mugs to the start of a great week.

Lisa

It’s A Great Day For Real Estate
In NWO & SE Michigan!

Lisa Van Dootingh, SFR
Key Realty (Ohio) & Key Realty One (Michigan)
The Van Dootingh Team
Cell:  (419) 902-7184
Email: lvdsold@gmail.com
Website:  www.lvdsold.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/lisavandootingh
Blog:  heartandhomeinnwo.wordpress.com

Serving Your Ohio & Michigan Real Estate Needs

PUTTING A STOP TO THE TRANSFER TAX RUMORS

As always, I’m on top of the news that matters most to you.  Many homeowners are hearing rumors that, as a result of the federal health care bill, a 3.8% transfer tax rate will apply to home sales effective January 2013.  The National Association of Realtors has researched these rumors and found them to be untrue.  To read more about the facts, see “Dispel the Transfer Tax Rumor” by the Ohio Association of Realtors for more information and links to other resources. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

It’s A Great Day For Real Estate
In NWO & SE Michigan!

Lisa Van Dootingh, SFR
RealtorKey Realty & Key Realty One
The Van Dootingh Team
Cell:  (419) 902-7184
Fax:  (419) 841-7475
Email:  lvdsold@gmail.com
Website:  www.lvdsold.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/lisavandootingh
Blog: www.heartandhomeinnwo.wordpress.com

Serving Your Ohio & Michigan Real Estate Needs

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE…..CRAZY, BUT WONDERFUL!

JUST ONE SEGMENT IN THE DAY AND LIFE OF A REALTOR

Yesterday was CRAZY for sure!  And, in retrospect, it’s pretty funny, so I want to share it with you.

Wednesday Morning 1-18-2012

I text Denise: “Please go to the listing on XYZ St. and check out the lockbox. We have reports that it is not functioning correctly. Please turn on a porch light so showing agent won’t be fumbling in the dark for the 7pm showing tonight.”

Denise: “I would be happy too.”

Later That Morning

Denise looks frantically for her secure access card to allow her to open the lockbox. It is nowhere to be found!  Really? She remembers seeing it not that long ago! Did one of the dogs eat it? Is it in the bottom of the abyss she calls a purse? Did one of the kids sneak it thinking it was a credit card?  GGGRRR. What should take less than 30 minutes now requires a field trip to the Real Estate Board (across town from her) for a new card that, by the way, comes at a fee. Just great!

Denise goes back to the house and tries the lockbox. No good.  It lights up and initially flashes appropriately, but the box doesn’t open and then the dreaded red error light flashes. Denise tries again and again….and a-g-a-i-n. She calls tech support and they run her through a series of prompts to get it to function. Ultimately, they tell her that they can’t help her any further because she has an assistant’s card and is not a Realtor.  The Realtor has to go to the lockbox. Dangnabbit!

Denise texts Lisa: “I tried, but no go. I can’t recalibrate because I am not you. So Sorry.

I respond:  “No big deal. I will go before my appointment later this afternoon. Thanks for trying.”

Do you get the picture of what this day is beginning to look like?

4pm(ish)

I drive to the home on XYZ St., try my card, but it doesn’t work. The red error light flashes, just like Denise said.  But….TA-DA, I’m prepared – I brought a new battery. Mind you, it’s the middle of January in Northwest Ohio and despite the fact we’ve had unusually warm weather this year, this day (of all days) is really COLD.

It’s so cold, but I can’t use gloves because that the screws that hold the battery compartment door closed are so itty bitty, they require a special tiny tool to unscrew. Okay, then, gloves off! Here goes the first screw….awww man; I drop that tiny black tool in the black mulch! Luckily, it is not too hard to find in the daylight on this dreary afternoon

Second screw: removed, old battery popped out, new one popped in. Efficient, right? First screw goes in quite easily, considering my fingers are froze and now absolutely numb from the cold and digging around in the mulch. Second screw….uh oh; second screw where are you? You guessed it, same stupid mulch. Again though, lady luck is on my side.  Without too much digging, I find it and get it screwed back.  Now we’re in business

I call tech support number to have a remote calibration of the lockbox now that there is a new battery. They instruct me what buttons to push. Anticipation sets in.  All set, Abracadabra, open up lockbox. UGGGHHH! (think Charlie Brown exasperation here)  No good, same problem, same ugly red error light

Tech support has me pushing buttons to no avail for several minutes.  They are trying every trick in their bag.  After numerous attempts, they determine that I must go back to my office and put my access card into a card reader to allow a remote read by tech support. They will then calibrate the card, just so I can drive back once done. Great

Sooo…. I drive the 20 minutes back to my office. I put the card in the remote reader and call tech support. They work their magic and the technician asks me what time am I going back to XYZ Street? “Within the hour”, I say. Not good enough. They want a more specific time, so I tell them within a half hour. Still no good! They need to know within a 4-minute window. Are you kidding me? I can’t promise anything with a 4-minute window! Can you

Now, I’m sweating profusely.  So much pressure! I have a scheduled appointment to stop and pick up earnest money at another client’s home prior to going back to XYZ St. So, to be safe, I tell them 7pm, which gives me an hour. So, that means I will then have from 6:58pm to 7:02pm to get my card into that lockbox to make it open

Did I mention that the showing is at 7pm?  I make it to my appointment to pick up the earnest money and drive to XYZ Street. I am early!  That is a miracle in and of itself. If you know me, you know I am rarely early. So, I sit and wait in my car for 6:58. Boy, I am nervous. I feel like I am deactivating a bomb, and I have only so much time. In my head, I hear ticking.  Oh wait, that’s just my heart furiously pounding; there are so many chances of Kaboom! Blown to smithereens

Finally 6:58 on-the-dot!  I slide my card into the slot (heart thumping), enter my code and say “Open Sesame.” But, NO, this lock box has a mind of it’s own.  The red ERROR lights starts flashing. GGGRRRR. Then I question myself; perhaps it really wasn’t 6:58pm.  So I try again, same result. After the third attempt, I feel defeated. I call tech support again and tell them the card didn’t work.  All that running around and adrenaline was for naught

By 7:00 pm in Northwest Ohio on a cold January day, it’s now dark and COLDER!  I am so frustrated! The people coming to see the home are really excited to see it and I have no way of entering. The sellers live in Columbus and the extra keys are inside the house!  Just wonderful

Tech support puts me through another series of button pushing. How in the world did I end up on here in the bitter cold night? I looked a fright, with a flashlight in my mouth so I can see and my phone on speaker sitting on the porch so I can use two hands to hold in the card and push the buttons?  Still no luck

Tech support says sorry but we can’t help you, guess you just have to cut off the lockbox and see if a locksmith can get it open to get the key out. SO NOT WHAT I WANT TO HEAR! I call the owners and ask if anyone in Toledo has a key. Nope.  But they say friends in Perrysburg do. Except that is 20 minutes one-way in the opposite direction

Sigh…resigning myself to the fact that no one is entering this house tonight, I asked them to call the friend to see if I can get the key within the next day or so and then into a new lockbox. I call the agent to tell her things are not working out with this stupid lockbox and tell her that we can get the key tomorrow.  I ask if they could consider rescheduling. She says “Sure, how about Saturday?” Great

The owner calls me back after leaving a message for the friend in Perrysburg. He tells me it is a long shot, but that there might be a key on top of a security light box on the back of the house. I go back there and, while I can the box, I can’t reach it. I am about 7” too short. So, I tell him I am putting my phone down to jump up. So I jump, and I jump, and I jump. I can’t reach. Is this calisthenics? He is laughing so hard I can hear him through the phone that is lying on the ground!

I tell him I will look in my trunk to see if there is anything I can stand on. I find a basket and a small metal flowerpot. I try the basket first. Not so good, it is now broken. I try the little tin pot…failure! Now it looks like a deformed can ripe for the recycling bin. All the while, I am still on the phone with the seller, and he is still laughing. I start exploring the dark yard for something, anything, to stand on. As I round the garage, I can see an animal in the corner. Eyes glowing and, in my imagination, ready to pounce

I tell it to stay there, I only need some rocks and I won’t bother it if it doesn’t bother me. And it listened to me. Yay, finally something is going right. I find two bricks, more like large rocks, behind the garage and I am able to lift them up and make a little step stool

I’m up! Yay!  Holding onto the ledge of the house, I step up and peer over the top of the box, hoping and praying that a key is there. No such luck, no key!  I tell the owner I will go to Perrysburg tomorrow

NOT!  Denise texts me that the agent called her and said they would like me to drive to Perrysburg now and get the key because her clients are very anxious to see this home tonight. “Sure”, I say, “no big deal.”  I am certainly not 100% enthusiastic, but I really do want these people to see the house. Call it a feeling. So I call the seller and tell him to contact his friends in Perrysburg ASAP to see if I can come NOW. Then I called the showing agent to fill her in and she agrees to wait to hear back

Now I have some time to kill, waiting to see if I can go pick up a spare key.  Perrysburg has never seemed so far away! I have a moment alone in my car. I am so frustrated, but I had the overwhelming urge to pray. I prayed to God to please, please, please let that lockbox open. I told him I believed that he could do it.  It’s such a minor thing and He is so great!  Feeling strong and invigorated from this prayer, I got out of the car to give it one last-ditch effort. AGAIN – RED ERROR LIGHT – FLASHING IN MY FACE AND MOCKING ME

That’s enough, you stupid box!  I can feel the frustration and adrenaline coursing through my veins. (I always wanted to write that!).  I begin to beat the lockbox with my fist. “Clang Clang Clang” goes the lockbox, moving to and fro against the railing. Can you imagine what the neighbors must have been thinking watching this crazy lady pounding the porch and ranting and raving like a lunatic.  I’m amazed no one called the police on me

So….for the heck of it and, in true one-for-the-road fashion, I insert the card into the box and………(insert audible gasp here) the light stays green! The lockbox didn’t open like is should, but no in-your-face flashing red error light.  I’m beyond excited so I call tech support and tell them that although they say it’s dead, I have a GREEN light!  “Please, please, please try to recalibrate!” I plead.  The tech support person has to obtain “permission” before she can do so.  I beg…..and she puts me on hold. So I wait with bated breath and a little tune running through my head…”La, La, La, La, my light is green, my light is green…La, La, La, LaLa

I can feel it; God is going to give me a miracle!  The tech lady is back and she has permission to try one last time.  First, I wonder why she needs permission and who is giving permission, the person in charge of Stupid Red Error Light Fiascos?”  Okay, so we get one last time.  The orders begin:  “Push this button, push that button… blah, blah, blah, (rub it nicely and say please and thank you – just kidding!).  Finally, “hit enter”.

HOORAY, the box opened!  I blink and look down; yep, it is open!  My Prayer was answered. I truly believe it was my plea to God that got that box open. I call the agent and tell her to “Come on over, I got the lockbox open. God just gave me a miracle!”

The showing went well and the people like the house. They have it narrowed down to two homes, and my sellers’ is one of them. I am still praying, but now for an offer.  :-)

It was a 3.5-hour ordeal, but so totally worth it.  I would do it again in a heartbeat to help my sellers get their home seen and sold. I will keep you posted if they buy the house. You can pray too if you want. God Bless.

Lisa

Monday Morning Coffee Chat With Lisa (January 16th)

“Scoop. Brew. Pour. Sip. Smile. Ahhh.  – Michelle Hix”

Skimming the pages of a magazine lately, I saw an article asking people to define their life in six words.  On a humorous note, I could definitely relate to Michelle’s response.  You know I just love my coffee!

There were some other interesting summations:

“Surfing life’s ripples, wishing for waves” – Karen Barbier

“Might as well eat that cookie” – Paula Deen

“Stage IV cancer made me live” – Melanie Barbour

It’s intriguing that one could sum up his or her life or values in just six words; yet there was an outpouring of responses to the magazine’s question.  Hmmm.

It’s such an interesting question.  I think I’m going to give some thought to it this week and put six words to paper.

YOU in Six Words?  What would you write?

It’s A Great Day For Real Estate

In NWO & SE Michigan!

Lisa Van Dootingh, SFR
Key Realty (Ohio) & Key Realty One (Michigan)
The Van Dootingh Team
Cell:  (419) 902-7184 Email:  lvdsold@gmail.com
Website:  www.lvdsold.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/lisavandootingh
Blog:  heartandhomeinnwo.wordpress.com

Serving Your Ohio & Michigan Real Estate Needs