Dawn Isenhower

I was doing a buyer counseling session with a young couple. They were looking for their first home, so I reviewed the purchase contract with them as a part of that session. When we got to the section concerning earnest money, they asked "What exactly is earnest money, and do we have to pay it?" This was a question that my husband and I had when we were in the process of purchasing our first home as well, and it seems to come up a lot with first-time homebuyers in general.

I love to help people find a home. It is one of the most fascinating processes that we go through. To see someone find "the place" after sifting through many others is always exciting, but is home ownership for everyone? Once the new owners get through the initial excitement, there is really a lot to do in order to keep the home in good condition. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. The grass will have to be mowed. It has to be mowed not only for aesthetic purposes, but also to keep it away from the house, where it can cause damage.

We had a wind advisory last night. The winds would kick up, and then we would get rain showers. Our weather went on like this for a few hours, and then things calmed down before bedtime.

After dropping my daughter off at preschool this morning, I drove around the corner to see how one of my signs held up. The only thing that was still standing was the frame with the "Sale Pending" rider on the top. Everything else was on the ground.

So he wasn't the Grinch, but he came to my home with boxes-lots of them. He walked into my home with my Realtor (at that time, I was not an agent), she introduced us, and then she left us to do "our work."

January is in the history books, and here are the results according to the MLS of Greater Cincinnati:

During the month of January, there were 455 active listings, 29 properties that sold, and 54 properties that were pending at the end of the month for the area including Milford, Miami Township, and Goshen Township in Ohio.

Tax season is here! Will you be taking advantage of the First-Time Homebuyer tax credit? Here are some things to remember:

Any "first-time homebuyer" who puchases a home between August 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009 qualifies. (A first-time homebuyer is anyone who has not owned a home for the 3 years prior to purchase.)

According to the NAR, curb appeal is the feature of your home that will give the biggest return on investment- for the second year in a row. We've all heard for years that kitchens and baths were the areas that give the most bang for your buck, but not anymore. Now there is a focus on the exterior, and decks rule the day.

Back in September, the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through the Cincinnati area like a very bad dream. There was extensive damage, and the power was out in some areas for a week. As difficult as that time period was for some of the people in this area, it was but a drop in the bucket compared to what people went through in New Orleans a few years ago during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

As I am writing this post, I am looking down at a computer screen. Every once in a while, I look up and find that my 2-year-old daughter is pretending that a launcher for one of her brother's rockets is a microphone. She is singing and dancing til her heart's content, and I am looking down at this screen. I can only imagine the things that I am missing since I am so busy looking down.

You see a home while driving down the road that catches your eye. It looks great, and you have been considering taking advantage of the historically low prices and interest rates that exist in our current housing market. With this in mind, you pick up your phone and call the listing agent whose number is on the sign.