We'll Take What We Can Get

We'll take what we can get, but we have our first sign of spring in Cleveland! These are the first bulbs--hyacinth? daffodils? Hard to tell yet, but they're here, and here to stay. I had a nice referral today (thank you R. Hefter of Hebrew Academy of Cleveland). The potential Clevelander asked first and foremost about the weather. I told her not to move here because of the weather, but rather in spite of it. Cleveland may have the worst climate I have ever lived in, but has the warmest heart. The people here, the sense of community, the way you can belong all add up to fabulous value. Add in the fact that our housing is cheaper than many places across the country, and our tuition and costs of that sort are less as well, and there you have it.

I have always thought that the first sign of spring in Cleveland is the vans of Amish day-workers coming to build in town. I expect we'll see that sign of spring soon, but our first and foremost sign was actually found in nature--enjoy!

Snowy Day in Cleveland

We woke up to (more) snow in Cleveland. Not to worry, word on the street is that it will let up some time today.

On the housing front, two foreclosures in the Green Rd. area last week were snapped up by savy buyers. One was listed at $84,000, and the other at $52,000. Buyers wondered about the difference. Both were three bedroom, 1.5 ba houses. Both had detached garages, both small back yards. Both were decent in side. The higher priced one (Milton Rd.) was cleaner, nicer, has a large and nice family room with built-ins, the other (Baintree) had a small, somewhat junkier family room, but also had a walk-up third floor (unfinished as of yet). The main difference is that the asset manager at the respective banks chose different prices! Each time the bank holds a property, they get three price opinions (the BPO or Broker Price Opinion) and then they price from there. Baintree has traditionally sold for less than Milton, and in this case, that remains true. It's been a slow but steady trend in our neighborhood to see 1 foreclosure at a time. This is the first time we've seen two at once. I just hope they go back on the market promptly and get sold at decent prices.

As far as the actual houses go, it will be interesting to see what the re-habbers do with them. Top notch jobs with granite? Somewhat cheesy jobs with el-cheapo carpeting? Wait and see. Better houses are definitely still moving.