Bob Sokoler, Realtor Louisville, Kentucky

If you live or work in Louisville Kentucky near the Hurstbourne and I 64 area you may be experiencing problems with your AT&T phone! In fact, come to think of it , if you live or work in the United States you may be experiencing problems with your AT&T phone!

I’m frustrated, I’m angry, I feel that AT&T has let me and others down and I’m tired of it! I had the chance to get out of my At&T contract when Verizon picked up the iPhone and then when Sprint picked up the iPhone but like a jerk I figured AT&T would make things better. They have not!

Since last night, intermittently, I’ve been unable to place or receive calls on my iPhone. Talking to other people in my office, they’re having the same problems. I just got off the phone with AT&T and was told there servicing several of the towers in my area and there are tower outages 10 miles away from where I work. I asked a simple question why couldn’t the servicing of the towers be done on a weekend or overnight? There was no answer. We all know why, it would give inconvenience to the engineers!

So I have an iPhone that I’m paying for unlimited calls, but can’t use it. As a Louisville realtor I need my phone, I need to be able to make and receive calls! Luckily I have a Skype account which allows me to make those calls. I can check my voicemail to see if I’ve received any calls. But it’s an inconvenience, I thought as the customer AT&T would consider my inconvenience over the inconvenience of their engineers working overnight. I was Wrong wrong wrong!

If any At&T officials are reading this blog post and wonder why AT&T has a bad reputation maybe you can put two and two together. If this was the first time I had a problem with my AT&T service it might be different. But six months ago I went through a similar torture. Same problem, no service at my office and was told AT&T engineers were working on upgrading the towers for the new high-speed Internet service. Hello….. what high-speed Internet service you mean in the year 2020?

AT&T says the servicing of their towers will be completed this afternoon. Great, just in time for the weekend! I’ll be out showing homes this weekend but I’ll try to make it up point of coming into my office see if service has been restored. If not, I expect Monday will be another nightmare and another phone call to AT&T.

We would love to hear if you’re experiencing a similar problem with your AT&T service. There really is only one solution, write about the problem, talk about the problem, get media attention about the problem and may be AT&T will start to get the message.

I’m committed to another two-year contract with AT&T. But management hear me loud and clear, if this persists, I won’t go quietly into the night. I will scream from the tallest mountain tops. I guarantee I won’t be the only one calling your operators. We’re going to demand service, were going to demand an adjustment in our bills and if we need to, we will file a class action suit against AT&T for not living up to their part of the contract and providing service.

I’ve asked AT&T to call me back with the status update. Then I realized how would I know if they called me back I can't get any phone calls. Any suggestions on how to get out of my AT&T contract?

Bob Sokoler is a former Anchor/Reporter turned Louisville Realtor 7 years ago, and co-owner of The Medley Sokoler Team in Louisville Kentucky. You can learn more about Bob, his Team by clicking Louisville Real Estate.

New Louisville Home Sales Numbers for October 2011 show an encouraging trend. The number of homes that closed last month increased 10.7 percent over the year before. Additionally the number of Louisville homes going under contract last month increased by 11.7 percent (see raw data below).

Louisville Kentucky has been steadily moving forward in home sales for the past 4 months. The concern for sellers was that the bottom was falling and there was no end in sight. Based on the numbers we may have hit bottom and now we face an even bigger problem. Proving to buyers that now may be the time to make an investment in a home,

On the negative side of this month's report, the number of days a Louisville Home sat on the market in Louisville increased 6.6 % from 90 days on average in October 2010 to 96 days in 2011. Most importantly for Louisville homeowners the average price of a Louisville home slipped almost 4% between October 2010 and October 2011.

The increase in the number of homes being sold is really due to 3 factors.

1) There were fewer homes sold towards the end of 2010 because many home buyers had already purchased a home thanks to the first-time home buyer tax credit during the first quarter of 2010.

2) New Ford employees moving into the area have started to purchase homes. Granted some of those employees will have to wait to sell the home they currently own in the city they're transferring from. But there are some employees who will either rent their old home and buy here or have already sold their home.

3) The final factor is the most important one. Louisville Home sale prices have bottomed out, and buyers are starting to come back into the market.

In October 2011 our Medley Sokoler Team hit a new sales record. Normally we look to sell anywhere between six and eight homes in October. This year we put a record 20 homes under contract. We continue to list and sell homes and were looking for an even better 2012. Some of the factors were keeping a close eye on include:

1) Interest rates are just about as low as we've seen them, hovering between 4% and 4.25%.

2) There are media reports including the Wall Street Journal and Louisville's Courier Journal indicating that now is the time to start buying because homes prices have hit rock bottom in most parts of the country.

3) The jobs recovery will mean more people in the workforce.

4) 2012 is an election year and the party in power will pull out all stops to show a growing economy.

5) Europe seems to have settled its problems with the Greece bailout leading to the prospect of a stabilized U.S. Stock Market.

As of this report there were 8,793 homes on the market in the Louisville Kentucky area. The one thing we have not seen yet is a return to new home construction. Builders are still on the fence, waiting for signs that the economy has in fact recovered. That may take more time because until we have show continual growth and home sales, builders may be leery of investing money into a spec home that may just sit on the market.

As most know, we're heading into a traditionally slower time for home sales. The question is can we continue the growth over the winter. Stay tuned.

Bob Sokoler is a former Anchor/Reporter turned Louisville Realtor 7 years ago, and co-owner of The Medley Sokoler Team in Louisville Kentucky. You can learn more about Bob, his Team by clicking Louisville Real Estate.

October 2011

October 2010

Are you one of the many people living in Louisville wondering if you should remodel parts of the home and stay in it several more years or simply put it on the market and sell it. You might also be thinking it’s time to fix up the house and then sell it. If so here’s the question your probably asking yourself: Where do you spend the money? As an realtor I can tell you the most popular renovations (and the ones that will help sell your home faster) are in the kitchen and master bathroom. Those are the 2 top hot buttons that will excite a buyer. The problem is if you spend ten thousand dollars to fix up your home say in the kitchen you may not get all of that back when it comes time to sell it. According to a new Remodeling cost vs. value report a MAJOR kitchen remodel will only bring you a 68.7% return on your investment. So if you spend $58,000 you’ll only get $40,000 back when you sell the home. I don’t necessary agree with that because the new kitchen excites a buyer and could bring in more offer. But it brings up the question where should you spend money (at least according to the report) The number one return apparently is your front door. The report (see chart below) says that if your spend $1,218 on a new steel door the value of your home would go up $1,243 when you sell your home. The $102.1% recouping of your cost on a new steel front door seems off base to me. Yes, it will help you resell the home but I doubt it would bring you a large increase in price. The chart on the website will give you an insight to returns on your investment if you plan to do improvements. But take it from us, put some money into the kitchen with new stainless steel appliances, cabinets, counter-tops, recessed lighting and back-splash. Give it the WOW factor and the home will sell faster. The same is true for a master bath. Put in new counter tops, faucet, tub and shower. Add ceramic tile to the floor and wall and watch your home sell faster.

Bob Sokoler is a former Anchor/Reporter turned Realtor 7 years ago in Louisville Kentucky. You can learn more about Bob and his Team at www.weselllouisville.com

It's a mixed bag for Louisville Home Owners! According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nationally homes going under contract for November 2010 increased 3.5% in November. That confirms we’re seeing a gradual recovery that should continue into 2011. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist says “If we add 2 million jobs as expected in 2011, and mortgage rates rise only moderately, we should see existing-home sales rise to a higher, sustainable volume.

Locally Louisville Home prices are a mixed bag of results. A new Federal Reserve report shows Louisville housing prices have actually notched up .46 percent in many areas. That’s great news when compared to other cities in states like Florida, California and Arizona where housing prices are still falling.

Looking back at December 2010, the final Louisville Home Sales numbers are still several days away but the trends (on the surface at least) are disappointing. With several days of closings still unrecorded (because of the extended holiday weekend) Home sales from December 2010 compared to December 2009 were down about 13 percent. That should improve as closing for late Thursday afternoon and Friday are recorded on Monday.

The number of Louisville homes sold in 2010 will be just about equal to 2009. Both years were influenced by first time buyer tax credits and move up tax credits. 2011 will be the first year in several without tax credits offered by the government. Additionally all Louisville builders will be sorry to see the state of Kentucky’s new home tax credit expire. According to a new report in the Courier Journal “About 2,400 Kentuckians have been approved to claim $5,000 off their state income tax bill for buying a newly constructed home in the last year and a half”.

As for 2011 we think it’s going to be a good year to buy and even sell Louisville Real Estate. Look at our video to see what we’re planning to do for our listings in 2011.

We hope you enjoy our blogs we love creating them for you! For more information about Louisville Real Estate or to buy or sell a Louisville Home visit our websites: http://weselllouisville.com,http://www.louisvillehomestoday.com/ and http://www.buylouisvillerealestate.com/

Louisville Home Sales Skyrocket!
It's the home sale version of the cash for clunkers car rebate!  Louisville area home sales for the month of July jumped through the roof in July of 2009. Our area saw a 21% increase in home sales from July 2008 but were still 13% below the levels of July 2007 (before the housing market tanked).
 Another great sign that the Louisville housing market is going in the right direction, homes going under contract in July 2009 compared to the year before were up 32%.
The peak performing home prices were in the 100,000- 160,000 and 200,000-250,000 price ranges. Clearly the $8000 first time home buyers tax credit and lower interest rates played a major part in the homes sales increase and at the same time the people living in those entry levels homes were able to buy their next home which would typically be in the 200,000-250,000 price point.
The numbers show that the tax credit is a winner and along with the success from the cash for clunkers car traded-in program that was extended again this past Friday, our government should realize that extending and expanding the home buyer tax credit program would go a long way to moving the housing market and economy into the recovered category! For more info about The Medley Sokoler Team head to www.weselllouisville.com