About Kenton County, KY

Looking for a house with plenty of room to move around? Want an established neighborhood with mature trees, close to local schools?

Come see me Sunday, October 8 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at 2610 Harris Pike in Independence! I'm holding an open house for an amazing colleague, Doug Garner.

Description from NKY MLS:

Huge 1 story on 1.25 wooded acres. From the moment you walk in to the massive entry foyer you will never doubt that you'll have enough room. From the sunken living room to the 1st floor family room and 4 spacious bdrms, the room to live just keeps on comming. All the common areas in this house have oak hardwood floors, the bedrooms have carpet(hwd beneth). Beautiful wooded view from covered patio.

This week, while having its share of frustrating moments, has been amazing. I've had some very special moments with several amazing clients and I'm starting to be known among my friends and family for my real estate expertise. I've been working hard and building relationships.

My favorite quote from the week? This comes from an email that an investor sent me:

"You do great work, Amanda!! If this house doesn't work; you're the expert resource we need to help us locate one.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - new does not mean bad, and several years experience definitely does not mean good. It's all about finding the right agent that works best with you and for you. Interview me and you'll see what makes a difference!

Why is a low interest rate a big deal, anyway?

Why are agents making such a commotion? I mean, it's not that great, is it?

Think again.

I'm going to give you some calculations from mortgagecalculator.com. I don't think most people realize just how much interest they pay in a mortgage scenario over the long haul, and why it takes so many years to build equity in a home.

Here's the scenario:

$150,000 mortgage

We'll assume 0% down payment through the USDA Rural Housing loan.

First calculation - 4.5% interest (similar to right now).

Second calculation - 6.5% interest (similar to rates just a few years ago).

Finally, we'll use the default tax and PMI rates.

.....

....

..

.

Ready?

At our current rates, you'll pay approximately $329,860.07 total for the $150,000 borrowed - that's $116,110.07 in interest alone!

At our OLD rates, you'll pay approximately $397,566.73 total for the $150,000 borrowed - that's $182,254.23 in interest, a whopping $66,144.16 more than now, not to mention $188.07 a MONTH higher payment!

Do you really want to waste all that money? Wouldn't you love an extra $188 a month? What about the fact that the average home price is down 11% in the last 5 years (Data from NKYMLS comparing average sold price in August 2006 ($155,000) to average sold price in August 2011 ($138,000) for a downward adjustment of 11%)? You can get more home for your money, a lower monthly payment, and save literally thousands upon thousands of dollars in interest. Why not call a Realtor (R) today?

NKY Specifics: Special Incentives for Living in Certain Areas?

Yesterday, I asked some of my Facebook friends if they had any real estate questions that I could answer on my blog, and this is one of the questions asked. My answer: yes, yes, a thousand times YES!

First of all, there are FHA loans for first-time homebuyers, which most people know. Technically, if you are buying your primary residence home and you haven't bought in three years (among other requirements), you are eligible. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

If you are interested in living in Covington or Latonia, there are several programs available, including homes that are being completely rehabbed by the city and offered at affordable price or any home with up to $10,000 down payment and closing cost assistance ($6000 for Latonia) which is forgiven after 15 years of living at the property. If the property has exterior code violations, they'll also give you between $1000 and $2500 to fix the façade, also forgiveable after 15 years. There are some amazing properties that are priced extremely affordably. Did I mention that if you don't a low enough income ratio, they'll also take the purchase price down on their rehabbed properties? Amazing, and worth a look if you ask me!

The second major incentive for living in certain areas is the USDA Rural Housing Loan. This comes in two types - guaranteed (from a choice of lenders) and direct (for very low to low incomes, straight from the government), and is subject to income restrictions as well as location restrictions. They can be used with any home in the correct area that means condition standards up to $165,000 (which is a fairly large budget in today's market) and can be used towards new construction, if that interests you. They cannot, however, be used on existing manufactured homes. USDA Rural Housing Loans offer 0% down and the ability to ask for closing costs from other sources, so there is a potential for no money out of pocket. And check out the coverage map:

All of the orange areas are excluded, but that still leave most of Hebron, Burlington, Richwood/Union, Independence, Taylor Mill, Walton, Wilder, Highland Heights, and Alexandria, which is still a HUGE portion of NKY!

There are a few other programs out there that can help, but these are the biggest and most all-encompassing programs available. Of course, a quick call to your Realtor will let you know what programs you could possibly qualify for.

Now for the new FTC-required disclosure:

This communication is provided to you for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon by you. Century 21 Garner Properties is not a mortgage lender and so you should contact the entity providing mortgage product(s) identified directly to learn more about its mortgage products and your eligibility for such products.

If you are moving to Northern Kentucky from outside this area, it appears that we are a geographically large area with many different cities. It's confusing, especially if you are relocating for work purposes, and it's difficult to choose a place to live without knowing the layout. One of my most recent clients told me that he had to explain over and over to friends and family in Las Vegas that NKY is boroughed like a bigger city, with each city taking the shape of a neighborhood more than anything else.

Northern Kentucky wasn't heavily "colonized" until the 1950's and 60's, when Cincinnati began to outgrow its boundaries and people started to realize that just beyond the bridge in Kentucky, they could build communities and have a much, much shorter commute to downtown. In the mid 90's, many farms were sold and the Florence area exploded - along with several other NKY cities, so that they all ran together like a large extension of Cincinnati. If you lived in Boston or New York or Chicago or Los Angeles, this would make perfect sense as a neighborhood map, even if everyone still had a Cincinnati, Ohio address. In fact, when you travel from city to city, oftentimes you won't find a city limits sign and have no way of knowing, unless you are from the area.

When choosing a place to call home, keep in mind several factors instead of city limits:

• How close am I to the amenities that I want nearby?
• How long will it take me to commute to work?
• What are the property taxes in each city?
• How much land do I want (and how much am I willing to pay for land)?

If you work in downtown Cincinnati, your commute will most likely be much quicker from NKY than from the rest of the greater Cincinnati area. For example, from our office in Independence, I can be downtown in a matter of 10-20 minutes, depending on traffic, and in the morning rush hour no more than 30 minutes. From the other newly "colonised" areas such as Mason, Sharonville, Hamilton, Fairfield, and Loveland, I can expect at least a 45 minute commute daily, with an increase in time with accidents and rush hour traffic.

When it comes to choosing between Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati, it's an easy answer. We've got it all, from urban to suburban to rural, from townhomes to subdivisions to farms, and usually, it's cheaper, too. Come see why Northern Kentucky is your best bet for buying in Cincinnati.