Welcome to the Jungle!

Where can you feast on a lunch of fresh smoked salmon sushi under a giant, pink elephant head?  Where can you watch the enormous can of Campbell’s Soup enjoy a good time on a giant swing?  What other grocery brings shoppers in to shop, in a tour bus?  It can only be Jungle Jims!

Jungle Jim’s location is 5440 Dixie Highway (Route 4) in Fairfield, but going there feels like a shopping vacation!  Depending on where you live in the Greater Cincinnati area, it can be a bit of a drive.  From Milford or Eastgate,   it’s about 30 – 35 minutes.  From points in Mason, it will be perhaps 20 – 30 minutes.  If you live in the Hyde Park, Mt Lookout area, again, about 30 minutes.  But seriously. What else do you have to do on your day off? Laundry? Wash the floors? Nope….plan a trip to the Jungle.

The lively animated characters will entertain the kids, and the food selection will knock your socks off.  We can take a ½ hour just looking at the cheese selections. As Jungle Jim’s boasts over 1400 cheese selections in just the International Cheese section alone, before you even hit the deli, you can see why we get stalled! The bakery is just painful to enter if you have a sweet tooth.  So many dessert options. So little time.  There is an outstanding deli of course.  Select one or two of the overwhelming number of delicious prepared salads to enhance your main course.  There is a Natural Foods section, International Foods, and fresh Seafood.   You just have to go.

Soup on a swing? Why not!

We had our smoked salmon sushi lunch, and were treated to a complimentary taste of the hot cider.  We found the free samples of an outstanding fresh antipasto, and then tried the sample of whipped salmon mouse on a flat pretzel. Yes, if you are lucky, you can graze your way through the store.  Saturday and Sunday are the big sample days. 

There are more than just groceries here of course.  The Shasta store is fun. As in “She Hasta Have That”. Clever. If you have errands to run, there is a bank, post office and pharmacy to help check those chores off the list.  Be sure to check out the 2009 America’ Best Bathroom award winner.  I don’t generally recommend any particular locations “comfort station”.  Just trust me on this one.

There isn’t enough room here to discuss this place. I haven’t even mentioned the monorail, the humidor or the wine selection. Visit their site for all the latest information, including cooking school information and the online flyer of weekly specials.

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

• Thomas & Friends – June 10 & 11, Bank of Kentucky Center, NKU
• Riverbend Music Center has a great line up for June:
June 4 – Coldplay, June 12 – Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, June 16 – Dave Matthews Band, June 19 – Brad Paisley, June 20 – 311, and June 27 – Oh yea, they’re back! It’s The New Kids on The Block.

• Milford Ohio Kicks off the Summer with the 47th Annual Frontier Days! June 4 – 7. The parade starts at 6:30 on Thursday June 4th. Enjoy Food, Games, Lawn Mower Races, Karaoke Contest and the Big Chicken Dinner. Check out the official Frontier Days site for more information!

• At the PNC Pavilion at Riverbend The Offspring play June 24
• Broadway Across America Presents “A Chorus Line” at the Aronoff Center through June 7
 
• Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra – June 18, Music Hall. Featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• Playhouse in the Park presents “Marry Me a Little” – Through June 14. In the Thompson Shelter house.  Songs by Stephen Sondheim. “What can you do on a Saturday night alone?” These and other meaningful questions answered comically and musically here!
• There is ALWAYS something happening at Jungle Jims! The following events aren’t necessarily “kid friendly”, but mom & dad need an afternoon off too!  Here are few things to check out:
June 19, 7 – 10 pm it’s Beerfest!  What true Cincinnatian, or soon to be Cincinnatian, would pass on the “native” refreshment?
June 13, France vs. USA. Wine Tasting 1 – 3 p.m.
June 20, “Rhone Style” Wine Tasting 1 – 3 p.m.
June 27, The “Not to Miss” Event….Battle of the Bands Wine Tasting Event! Ten of the Top Suppliers will be on Hand Vying for Your Vote as “The Best”
Be sure to check out www.junglejims.com for more information, times, reservations and costs.

• Kevin Pollack – June 18 & 20 Special Engagement! Funny Bone Comedy Club. Newport on the Levee
• “Junk in the Trunk” Sale in Lebanon. June 6. Interfaith Hospitality Network of Warren County Hosts at Lebanon Jr. High. Call 934-5250 for more information
• Pack up the Family and head to a Reds Game. Buy the $5 “Cheap Seats” for an economical night out. There isn’t a bad seat in the place! June 5 – 7 the Reds hot the Chicago Cubs. June 16 – 21, there’s a 6 day home stretch. The Reds host the Atlanta Braves & the Chicago White Socks. Let’s see if they can stay in the run for 1st place!
• June is a big month for church and school festival fundraisers. Link to Local12.com for a complete list.

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

Currently, there are 3 loan categories. Loans under $417,000 are considered conforming. Loans $417,000 – $729,500 are in the conforming jumbo category. Loans over $729,500 are considered super jumbo.  Jumbo loans remain quite costly compared to the interest rates for conforming loans.  Jumbo buyers with outstanding credit and plenty of available cash for a down payment are being viewed as higher risk borrowers than those seeking a loan with lower credit scores and minimal down payment funds.

Nationally, sales above $750k are down. A month’s supply of luxury home inventory, a.k.a, the absorption rate, continues to rise. This trend is occurring both nationwide, and in the Greater Cincinnati area. Check out these numbers, by year, sales over $700,000. All stats, of course, from The Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service:
               2000 – 118          2005 – 334  ** Peak of the housing bubble**
               2001 – 141          2006 – 327
               2002 – 200          2007 – 288
               2003 – 211          2008 – 209
               2004 – 283          2009 – Nearly ½ way through the year, “drum roll please”!    29 !!

Overall, precious few of us will ever need to obtain a jumbo or super jumbo mortgage, so you might wonder if this affects us. The answer is, of course, absolutely.  As these jumbo mortgages become increasingly difficult to obtain, many luxury buyers are forced to liquidate their assets to make the home purchase. The rest of us call that “paying cash”. Even though paying cash for a $1,000,000 plus home may be “do-able”, many are reluctant to do so when they should be able to find long term, low interest debt like the rest of us, and keep the cash right where they have it now. Presumably, making more cash.  The reluctance is obvious, as the shear volume of luxury sales has plummeted.

Jumbo Loans are Difficult to Obtain

This current scenario is doing its part to slow our economic growth, and certainly is inhibiting the “chained cougar” known as the Housing Market. The Housing Market is ready, willing, but not quite able to lead us out of our current economic situation. Unleash the “chained cougar”, and history tells us the Housing Market will start running toward recovery, and most of the rest of the economic sectors follow.  The ability to not just purchase, but to re-finance the high rate jumbos into lower rate loans would certainly help to give a kick in the seat of the pants of this sluggish economy.  If these jumbo borrowers were able to reasonably re-fi and save an estimated $6000 – $15,000 yearly on interest payments, well, wouldn’t they?  Money then free to be spent on vacations, education, clothing, and re-investment, potentially jump-starting and feeding other areas of the market.

The National Association of Realtors is doing there part to stir the pot on this issue.  The NAR has proposed that Congress and the White House take a close look at making permanent some rules that have been temporarily put in place recently to loosen the jumbo market. We’ll see how it goes. In the meantime, it’s back to window peeking.

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

Are you ready to Get Serious and get your home SOLD in 2009?   

Great! ….Here’s How!

Gone are the days of “let’s just see” and “we’ll test the market”.  Today’s sellers must be serious about selling…..or the market will make that decision for you!  Today’s seller must take a pro-active approach to marketing to protect their equity.  Today’s seller needs to encourage what precious few buyers are available to choose their home, by eliminating as many obstacles as possible! 

Maybe your home failed to sell previously and you are ready to try something new. You waited for showings that were never scheduled, or had showings but no offers.  Perhaps you are ready to sell, but don’t want to experience the “never-ending time on the market” that your neighbors did. The stress of never knowing how much longer that “For Sale” sign would be in their yards. Then let’s Get Serious!

The $650 “Serious Sellers” Satisfaction Package

* Here’s What’s Included *

• Home Warranty – Coverage is Provided to YOU While the Listing Agreement is in Effect. Transferable to Buyer at Closing.
• Pre-Listing Home Inspection – INCLUDING Termite & Wood-Boring Insect Inspection!! This WILL Save You Time & Money!!
• Professional Photographs – Experience the Difference!
• Staging Consultation with Home Staging and Decorating Professional – Your Home is Lovely, But Today’s Buyers Demand More than “Clean & Tidy”.  The Way You Market & Stage a Home is Much Different from the Way You LIVE in Your Home.

Learn From a Professional & Reduce Your Marketing Time!

Also Included………

• Pre-Marketing Appraisal – Your Agent Has Provided You with a Statistical Right Price Analysis.  The Appraiser Will Provide True Market Value, or TMV.  Price at or Near TMV. You WILL Reduce Your Marketing Time & Saves it WILL Save You Money!
• Online Promotion – Your Home Has its Own Web Page!  Showings Happen Around the Clock, Every Day of the Week. Online Promotion in the MLS, Local Broker Websites, RE/MAX.com, Craigslist …..and 10 Other Sites Used by Home Buyers Across the Globe!
• VoicePad…a 24/7 Information Line!  and In-Home Brochures
• “Front and Center Promotion” to our Google Based Online Home Buyers – Literally Thousands of Online Shoppers Reach Our Site Monthly. Your Home is Featured in our “Market Monitor”.  We Are Keeping Home Buyers Up to Date AND Promoting Your Home When it’s a “Match” to Their Search Criteria!
• Vacant Home Cleaning – An Added Value to Your Potential Buyer & A Time Saving, Stress Reducing, Money in Your Pocket Bonus!

Give The Real Cincy Group a call! We will prepare your Right Price Analysis and get serious about selling!

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

Eastgate, a section of the larger area also known as Union Township, is a prime candidate for continued growth. Development and re-development of existing retail space is a wise investment for both independent and “big-box” retailers. The Eastgate Mall expects a new anchor to take up residence on the sight of the former National Amusement Cinemas drawing even more customers to the area. Eastgate boasts relatively impressive demographics.  Approximately 11,500 households with yearly incomes $50,000 + are located within a 3 mile radius of Union Township.  The demand for new and upscale retail is palpable!

Successful because of the wide open land, with opportunities for commercial, small business, healthcare, housing and entertainment, there is still room to grow. Of course, with all the growth, comes traffic! The Eastgate corridor will soon be undergoing a “facelift”, to ease congestion.

A couple of the reasons that so many people want to explore the homes for sale in Union Township is for it’s convenient proximity to downtown Cincinnati, CVG, Lunken Airport and Clermont County airport. There is a variety of housing: comfortable starter homes to luxury home price points. The popular Polo Fields and Lexington Run are “must explore” pool communities for many incoming buyers.  Mature, treed neighborhoods with rolling terrain, and friendly neighbors, like Deer Valley, English Creek or Surrey Ridge, invite homebuyers to enjoy custom, quality built homes in the $200,000 – $300,000 price range, approximately 15 – 20 years old.  Many of the homes boast walkout basements, and wooded lots.

Meeting the demand for a variety of housing, new town homes are being offered in Wetherby Farms, along with quaint, single family homes designed to transport you back to “yester-year” with front porches, private rear patios, and garages accessed from rear alleys.

Ivy Trails straddles both Clermont and Hamilton counties, and offers both grand, upscale custom built luxury homes, and a Life-Style section. In the Life-Style section, the homes are smaller, but not wanting for a single, beautiful amenity!

Residents of Union Township enjoy a wonderful park system. Clepper Park and Veteran’s Park are just two of the area’s out door playlands. Ballgames, picnics, trails, fishing lakes….all to enjoy! The Cincinnati Nature Center’s Rowe Woods is also located in Union Township.

 The Union Township/ Eastgate areas are served by the West Clermont Schools.  West Clermont embraced the small school concept in 2002. High school students may attend either Glen Este High, or Amelia High, as they choose, based on the student’s interests. Ten small schools, 5 at Amelia, 5 at Glen Este, were established in 10  course studies as:

• School for World Studies
• School for Creative Arts and Design
• School for Business and Technology
• School for Applied Health Sciences 

Are you ready to learn more about properties for sale in the Union Township area? Just let us know.  The realtors with The RealCincy Group of RE/MAX Unlimited would be glad to provide you with homes available now, that just might tempt you to the area!

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

The contest is centered on “Cincinnati Trivia” and every customer who plays is a winner!  You’ll claim either an instant-win food prize or a discount on a Cincinnati-style chili T-shirt. As any true Cincinnati-style chili consumer knows, you want your chili the way you want it! Order your 5-way, 4-way no onions, cheese coney “no mo”, that means no mustard for those of you new to the area still learning “chili-speak”. You can order your winning t-shirt to match your order preference. Who wouldn’t wear that proudly? :) Check out www.chilitownusa.com to see what I mean.
 
The grand prize winner will win a year of free family entertainment at Greater Cincinnati’s top attractions. The grand prize package, valued at more than $3,325, includes:
 
• Family memberships to the Newport Aquarium, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Nature Center, Reds Hall of Fame,  and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
• Two tickets to three Cincinnati Bengals games during 2009
• Four tickets to the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway
• Four tickets to the Five Show Series: The Marx Theatre Package at Playhouse in the Park
• Season ticket four-pack for the Northern Kentucky University Basketball season at the Bank of Kentucky Center
• A family four-pack to the Nutcracker at the Cincinnati Ballet
• A family four-pack to The Beach Waterpark and Kings Island
• A family four-pack for the Florence Freedom 2009 season
• Plus other additional great surprises

Those are great prizes! So get over to the Gold Star nearest you and play. You just might learn a thing or two about your hometown, or “adopted” home town, and win a little something along the way. Check out www.goldstarchili.com for more information.

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

 Spring has arrived!

• Paula Deen – April 8. Cintas Center, Xavier University
• Tom  Foss – April 9. Funny Bone Comedy Club. Newport on the Levee
• Drew Hastings – April 15. Go Bananas Comedy Club…that should be a good show!
• Kings Island – April 18th……Opening Day….!
• Queen City Barbie Doll Club Show & Sale – April 19. Holiday Inn, Sharonville. I know my girls would have loved this when they were little!
• Sesame Street Live: When Elmo Grows Up – April 23 – 26. Bank of Kentucky Center
• Butterfly Show – April 18 – June 21. Krohn Conservatory

Such a welcome sight

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

• Getting ready for the boys of summer! Spring training is underway. Get ready for the Reds winning 2009 season with a  visit to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame & Museum. Downtown. Free admission for active military & veterans   
• Take advantage of the last days of the skiing & snowboarding season while you can at Perfect North Slopes. Close to Greater Cincinnati in Lawrenceburg, IN
• Restaurant Week starts March 16th! This is a great value! March 16 -22, you can visit 29 locally owned restaurants and take advantage of a 3 course prix-fixe dinner for $26.09. Enjoy Andy’s Mediterranean Grille, Behle Street Café, Bella Luna, Tink’s Café ( a favorite of mine), Brown Dog Café  (another one of my favorites) Chalk Food & Wine, China Gourmet, Pompilios, Nicholson’s ( I love this place)  and plenty more! Get more information here!
• Timon of Athens. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Through March 22. Here’s the Story: frozen credit markets, corrupt government officials, bankruptcy, foreclosures, extravagant spending by the “haves” and the expense of the “have not’s”. Sound familiar? Set in 1607, not 2009, you’ll wonder how mankind has not learned a lesson or two. 
• The Aronoff hosts the Cincinnati Ballet’s production of Sinatra Suite+ More. New to Cincinnati, this show brings classy to meet classic.  March 27 – 28
• Playhouse in the Park presents “The Foreigner” starting March 10th. A shy Englishman pretends to not understand English while staying in a rural lodge in Georgia. Of course, those around him assume they are free to speak and scheme….and it only gets funnier from there. Go see the show and have a good laugh
• You can’t go wrong with Cooking School at Jungle Jims. The following list is just a short example of the cooking classes available this month at Jungle Jims:
March 9 – Knife Skills
March 14 – Wine & Food Class: Italian Style
March 10 – Guest Chef Molly Steven works with Best American Recipes
March 23 – Guest Chef Justin Dumcum features Cooking with Spirits
March 24 – Beer & Food Class: England’s Fun, Food, and Best Brews
March 26 – A Greek Easter Feast
For more information and to see the other class offerings this month go to the Jungle Jim’s site.

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

I grew up thinking “chili” as in “Tex-Mex” or Texas style chili. A big ole’ bowl of chili pepper spiced ground beef, onions, kidney beans, tomatoes. Pile on the cheese and hot peppers. When I was about 11 years old and needed to earn my Girl Scout Cooking Badge, I flipped through my mom’s circa 1960’something Betty Crocker cookbook, and found a recipe I thought my family would go for.  Chili-ghetti it was called. Basically, make the beef, beans and onion tomato-based sauce, and serve it on spaghetti. It was a hit, even with my twerp little brothers.

When I first move to Cincinnati in 1988, a co-worker suggested Skyline for lunch. I wrongly assumed it would be similar to the Chili-ghetti I so proudly served.  She warned me that most people don’t like it at first. I didn’t. “You have to try it a second time” she said, “… it takes getting used to.”  She was right. I’m hooked.

Now, for something different: Cincinnati-style chili.

Don’t think Tex-Mex, think Greek.  Cincinnati style chili recipes are all based on what might be considered a Greek version of spaghetti.  Spices like cinnamon, cloves, and rumors of chocolate, are woven into the closely guarded secret recipes of each of Cincinnati’s old chili parlors.  Pile the chili on a hot dog or spaghetti, serve with soda crackers and hot sauce, and you now have a regional delicacy!  Cincinnati is the Chili Capital of the World, with bragging rights to more chili parlors per capita than anywhere else you will ever live.

You need to learn the lingo if you’re going to be mistaken as a Cincinnati native.  A 3-way is the sauce, spaghetti and generous heap of cheddar cheese.  A 4 – way: sauce, spaghetti, cheese, and your choice of beans or onion.  A 5-way is the base, plus onions and beans. Definitely my favorite. Hot sauce and soda crackers are a must.  Of course, the sauce can be found in burritos, on salads,  or on top of hot dogs then topped with cheese.  (I watched Randy eat 4 of those one day, I promise) A Greek salad with feta cheese and kalamata olives makes a great side too.

 By the way, you don’t “twirl” the spaghetti, you cut. I don’t know, it’s some kinda’ rule. Rule breakers will be quickly admonished by the seasoned Cincinnati-style chili connoisseur.

A couple of the most popular chains are Skyline and Gold Star.  Skyline Chili opened in 1949. The first restaurant strategically overlooked the Cincinnati skyline. Skyline products can be found in groceries and Skyline Dip is a staple at “bring an appetizer” parties all over town.  Gold Star Chili was opened in 1965 by 4 brothers who scraped together $1200 to open their first restaurant, Hamburger Heaven, in the Mt Washington area. On the menu was their Greek inspired chili. They “tweaked” the recipe until they had a hit. The brothers renamed the store Gold Star and opened 2 more restaurants within the year!

Independent or small chain parlors are a hit here too.  Price Hill Chili is a west side landmark, family owned.  Big specialty sandwiches, tasty appetizers, and salads are on the menu. But it’s all about the chili that gives this Cincinnati establishment its name.

Pleasant Ridge Chili is known for its late night dining. Open until the unreasonable hour of 4:30 am, you know they are competing for the attention of the White Castle and all night pancake house crowd. They probably win.

Empress Chile has 3 locations, including one in Alexandria, Ky. On the Ohio side of the river, you’ll find Empress on Vine Street and Rapid Run Road.  Milk shakes, good looking salads, and a popular baked potato entry topped with the sauce. I can’t say I’ve been to Empress, but I hear nothing but good things. Give it a try in my stead.

Randy raves about Dixie Chili.  Established in 1929, “Papa Nick” opened Newport, Kentucky’s first chili parlor. Remember the lingo? 3 –way, 4-way, etc?  At Empress, they offer a 6 – way that include chopped garlic. I’m willing to bet that’s good.

Now my favorite: Blue Ash Chili. Established in 1969, this chili parlor is like entering a ‘50’s diner complete with celebrity photos and the tempting desserts under glass on the counter. Have the carrot cake. Our office is close enough to Blue Ash Chili that whenever we have a team meeting of The RealCincy Group, we look for an excuse to make it a late lunch or early dinner at Blue Ash Chili.  Their 6 –way adds jalapenos to the 5-way base. Incredible! The double and triple decker sandwiches could feed a small army. They have a gyro served on a grilled pita with onion, tomato and tzatziki sauce that I want to try. Problem is, I can’t go in there and NOT get a 5 –way or 6-way. What’s a girl to do?  Be sure to play the Spin to Win game on their website. Maybe you’ll win a freebie.

There are small, local parlors dotted throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. No doubt, wherever you decide to live in the area, there will be a Cincinnati-style chili parlor right around the corner. Give it a try. Then try it a second time….it’s take some getting used to.

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com

Because of Teresa’s expertise, she has been a featured contributor to WCPO Channel 9 News, The Cincinnati Enquirer, and Home Improvement Magazine.

Teresa and Stage a Star has developed for you a complete and total staging package, always keeping in mind the individual homeowners’ needs and budget. You will receive a 50+ page guide, jammed with tips, checklists, and a “Seller Survival” guide. I’ve seen it! You’re going to love it! 

You just never know when a buyer will decide she is ready to see your home. You may get a 1 or 2 day notice.  Sometimes you get about 15 minutes notice. Rule #1 – Never, Never turn down a showing. Talking with Teresa the other day, she shared one of the tips she gives to sellers.  She suggests homeowners get a basket for the bathroom. Every day, before leaving the house, toss all the hair brushes, mouse, styling products, toothpaste, floss, tweezers, all the items we need to make ourselves pleasant for the public, into the basket, and stuff it under the sink.  Sounds simple, but when you want to sell, need to sell, every little tip that makes life easier for you is a blessing. And, you won’t panic when you get the call from the appointment center letting you know someone just drove by your home and would like to see it….in 15 minutes.

Her consultation package includes a CD Rom with success stories. There are 1 or 2 visit packages to choose from.  She will stage using your furnishings, concentrating of the areas of the home most important to buyers: kitchen, living room, dining room, master bedroom and baths.   Vacant home staging is offered too. Staging a vacant home is critical to getting a home sold! I know from touring with buyers every blemish just jumps out and gives the eagle-eyed buyer too many opportunities to dismiss the home over cosmetic and very minor flaws. Every cobweb stands out, every carpet stain, no matter how small, is magnified.  If you’ve already moved out, I can not overstate the importance of vacant home staging.  Prices will vary of course, depending on what the two of you agree to do.

Now your home is staged, and we need to show it off. I know for a fact many homebuyers will immediately dismiss a home when searching the net for homes to visit, if the online photos are not available from Day one. Teresa has wisely partnered with Jenny Walters Photography. You can view Jenny’s work on the Stage a Star site. You can’t help but be impressed by Jenny’s eye for even the smallest detail. Your home will leap off the computer screen and onto the buyer’s “Must See List”.

Be sure to visit the Stage a Star site and enjoy the before and after gallery. It’s fun to see the transformations. Teresa, Jenny and the rest of The RealCincy Group  look forward to helping you sell.

Give us a Call.      36 Days. Wow!

More Cincinnati real estate information can be found at RealCincy.com