Carolyn Kolba - RE/MAX Traditions - Mentor, Ohio

This really great home in Painesville is one that I am so excited about. I am marketing it for the sellers, who are, of course, also very excited.

It's really sharp... kind of cape-cod'ish looking from the outside.... with lots of city charm ! It's three years old, and although it is a single, detached home, it is technically termed a "ranch condo." Don't you just LOVE that three-sided bay window in the front?

It has an over-sized garage... the builder called it a two-and-one-half car garage... but where you'll get another half-car to put in there... I don't know. So... I am guessing it would be perfect for a whole bunch of storage.

Having a home in such a nice quiet area, and being on a cul-de-sac... and all those trees... means lots and lots of privacy. There are lots of trees all around the neighborhood. Full sidewalks, of course, and all front-entry garages.

Although there are many really cool features in this home, the kitchen is one of my favorites. Just oodles of cabinets, a really great gas range, hard-surface counter tops, and a range vent-a-hood. All the appliances remain.

The laundry room is spacious, and included a full-sized washer and dryer, and extra cabinets for even more storage. The landscaping is beautiful, and the maintenance fee of $115 per month is considered low. It has central air, of course, and a nice private rear patio that overlooks a wooded area.

For your very own personal tour... please give Carolyn Kolba a call at my direct number... 440-567-7211. I think you will be very pleased at how much low-maintenance home you can get for such a teeny price.

Oh, what oh what is a girl supposed to do ? This is typical of what I have been so used to seeing over the past month or six weeks here in the beautiful city and countryside in Mentor, Ohio.

The leaves have been just gorgeous. The trees... just brilliant with the changing of the leaves... well... it could not have been prettier if it had been painted by an artist.

But, then again... it HAS been painted by one of my all-time favorite artists... Mother Nature ! She uses such beautiful colors.

The last six weeks or so has been such a great time to take walks... again, both in the neighborhood here in Mentor, and all around the beautiful countryside here in NorthEastern Ohio.

Such beauty is so hard to say good-bye to. But it appears that I may have to be using sad words of farewell to these beautiful colors all too soon.

It appears that Mother Nature is up to her old tricks again. Last weekend was Halloween, and it was so great seeing all the cute little neighborhood kids... and some of the bigger "kids" as well... all decked out in their costumes.

Door to door they went... with their yearly chants of "Trick or Treat."

From what I have been hearing on the local TV and Radio weather forecasts, however, it sounds like Mother Nature is going to be taking away her treats, and playing some of her at times cold-natured tricks on us.

Would you believe it ? The local weather guys and chicks are telling us there is actually a chance that it could SNOW this weekend.

I have checked some of the weather history around Mentor for previous years. And of course, that nasty old "lake effect" may just sneak up on us... and drop a nice heavy, wet blanket of this stuff they call "snow" on us.

I really do NOT want to spend part of my days tomorrow or Sunday clearing away the snow... even IF I get an extra hour of time... (which I was hoping to spend sleeping).

I know Active Rain covers all different parts of our beautiful country. Has anyone else felt Mother Nature threatening to wave her Icy Fingers your way yet ? Just curious as to if I am going to be the only one shivering when I thought I would be raking leaves.

I have a confession to make.

I know this is going to sound silly, but I contend with it every day when I sign on to Active Rain.

I guess I could be called what some of my friends at RE/MAX call "balloon heads."

I have heard others call those of us who look like this... members of the Blue Man Group.

I am even considering going to my dermatologist to see if perhaps, without knowing it, I have developed some sort of "skin condition."

So yes, I guess I AM... a balloon head. And yes, I guess I DO belong to the Blue Chick Group.

Oh... the shame of it all. Ostracized everywhere I go. I went to Dillards the other day... and I guess I got just a little too close to the Clinique counter. Some of the girls... you know, those pretty young things in those cute white lab-coat dresses... I just knew they were talking about me.

And yes... I guess... just from looking at my photo, I guess I DO need a make-over. I stopped, bought some new foundation, some eye-liner, and even some blush. They even applied it for me... sort of a mini-make-over.

Then... back to the office... revved up the computer... and there I was again. Faceless. Hmmm... this just hit me now. Can I even BE on Facebook... if I don't have a "face ?"

What a scary thought. Any ideas on how I can fix this, or perhaps who I should go to for a better make-over... I would love to hear about it.

Perhaps if I went to Nordstrom. I hear they do great "make-overs."

I was looking through the available homes today. I have a buyer who is very "kitchen conscious." I guess you could easily say that having a nice spacious kitchen is one of her top "hot buttons."

So you can just imagine how "up" I felt when I read in the comments... all about the "gourmet kitchen" with all the 42-inch hanging cabinets, the oodles of counter space, and the over-sized gourmet food-prep island.

If you can imagine all of that... you can then probably imagine how UN-excited I was when I saw the actual picture of this wonderful, spacious gourmet kitchen. And... just as was written... it has its very own "over-sized gourmet food-prep island."

Ummmm... anybody see an island here ? I think there's one her somewhere. I am guessing that neither this Listing Agent nor this seller... used the services of a home stager in preparing to market this home.

So, just how quickly would you jump to your computer keyboard to email this lovely picture to your ready-to-buy buyer ? What were they thinking ?

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Please give me a call... Carolyn Kolba... at Prudential Select Properties in Mentor, and Let my put my Marketing Magic to work for you. I have seen some really nice homes up for sale recently, and I'd love to show them to you. I can best be reached at 440-567-7211. Let's see what we can do to start Making your New Home Dreams Come True.

So often when I am talking to young buyers, one of their primary complaints is that they think they don't have enough money to buy a home. They have all heard the stories about how loans are harder to get, that down payment requirements have increased, and lots of other scary stuff.

This is where my past experience as a Realtor can be extremely helpful... both to first time buyers, and to just about anyone who is buying a home in today's market.

If you can come up with about 3.5% of the selling price for a down payment, that SHOULD be just about all the money you will need to buy your new home, and get you moved in.

Why so little ? Well, sure, you will need closing costs... and closing costs generally run another three to four percent of the purchase price. But, instead of having that problem DOUBLE the amount of money you need... asking the Seller to PAY your closing costs instead of making a "price offer" can take care of that.

If you would like to purchase a home, and take advantage of some of the great prices on homes currently for sale, and ALSO take advantage of interest rates that are LOWER than most folks can even remember... when we write your offer, we can ask the Seller to pay your closing costs... and then, start packing !

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Carolyn Kolba, Mentor and Lake County, Ohio Real Estate Expert, can be reached at (440) 567-7211. Call Carolyn today, and ask her how YOU can buy a home, and have the Seller pay your closing costs !