Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, we say Thank You to those who have died in our nation's service. We remember.

Southern Ohio Travel Guide

With gas prices on the rise and family budgets tightening, many families may look for vacation spots a little closer to home and less costly. Brown Publishing who owns our local newspaper, just put out a magazine called TRIP - Southern Ohio Travel Guide. I thought it was well done, informative, giving many options for the family to have a good time in an affordable, close to home manner! If you haven't saw one, check it out! They are around town, available at the Times Gazette newspaper office, or see me!

Celebrating 100 years

The real estate industry has a rich history that will celebrate a monumental anniversary this month. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) turns 100 years old! With a century of change behind us, we have seen many positive influences to the business of real estate. These changes have included a Code of Ethics, creation of a MLS system, promotion of healthy competition, and more equitable, affordable and accessible home ownership.

The recent issue of the Realtor magazine showcases the many people that have impacted the many events throughout the past 100 years of the NAR. Click here to read more. To read another article click here.

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Hillsboro Gets A New Road!

According to Highland County Engineer Dean Otworth, Hobart Drive will extend by approximately 7100 feet to reach St. Rt. 73. Unanimously approved by the Highland County Commissioners. The read more click here.

Pay Less Property Tax

If you believe your property value has decreased since the market has been adjusting...so should your property taxes! To check out how to pay less property tax click here. USA Weekend has an article half way down the page.

Is the Real Estate Market as Bad as the Media Says?

The National Association of Realtors has reported that sales of existing homes rose by 2.9 percent in February. Economists were caught by surprise as they had been expecting another decline. To read more click here.

Seven Caves is now Cave Canyon Nature Preserve

We live in a wonderful area! A great article about our 7 Caves now known as Cave Canyon Nature Preserve was featured in our local newspaper. Breath-taking beauty, awesome scenery, cliffs and canyons, 23 caves, and rare plant life can be found minutes East of Hillsboro! Take the family and check it out! To read more and contact information, click here.

State of the Highland County Market

When someone asks me how is the real estate market, let me answer the question this way. It's not as bad as the media would indicate! Locally in the Highland County, houses are selling! Interest rates are at record lows and great loan programs are available, which means that if you are going to borrow money do it now! You can buy more house for the money now than 10 years ago! Inventory levels are high which means there are plenty of quality homes to pick from and some really great deals to be had! Listen to a video by a Realtor friend of mine Sam Miller, in the Mt. Vernon area. Click here.

Repossessed Homes

Highland County Sheriff Ron Ward states in a local article that a steep rise in Highland County foreclosures and sheriff sales beginning in 2001 when an average of 75 sheriff sales per year increased to more than 200. The count for 2007 was 366 new sales. To read more click here.

Ohio adds military status as new protected class

A new law, recently signed by Gov. Strickland will provide greater protections and benefits to members of the Armed Forces beginning March 24, 2008. To read more click Here.
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Highs and Lows

The Cincinnati Business Courier has written an excellent article stating that the greater Cincinnati area which includes us in their statistics now stands as one of the financially safest places to live. The greater Cincinnati area ranks in the lowest risk category for housing price declines, with a prediction of a less than 5% chance that home prices will slide below their current levels by 2010.

Click here for the full story as featured in the Business Courier. To find out more about Highland County real estate statistics visit our website.

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Highland County Treasurer Announces New Tax Bill for '08

The treasurer's office is responsible for the printing, mailing, and collecting of taxes set by the county auditor's office. And, Fenner says, your upcoming tax bill will have a brand-new look.

The new bills are very from what has been sent in the past. Now, you'll not only be able to see the county, but also the township, school, JVS, MRDD, health and mental-health departments, and the appraised value. You'll also see the Homestead reduction and any special assessment.

To read this full article by Corinne Gompf, click HERE.

Mortgage bankers' report says Ohio 9th in nation in delinquencies

Ohio was the top state in percentage of loans in foreclosure, and ninth in delinquencies not yet in foreclosure in the third quarter. The percentage of all mortgages nationwide that started the foreclosure process jumped to a record high of 0.78 percent during the July-to-September period. The rate in Ohio for foreclosures was 1.17 percent. The rate of all loans in foreclosure was 3.72 percent.

To read this full article by The Associated Press, click HERE.

Wall Street rallies again on Bush plan, high hopes for Fed rate cut

Wall Street has been concerned about the housing slump's impact on consumers. However, stocks eventually pushed higher; a weak consumer, though bad for corporate profits, at least supports the opinion of the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. A rate cut could help rejuvenate the slowing economy and loosen up the tight credit markets.

As President Bush announced a plan allowing some homeowners facing foreclosure not only to freeze their interest rates for up to five years, but also to refinance their mortgages, stocks got a major boost. The plan was created by the Treasury Department, mortgage lenders and banks, and might be able to help about 1.2 million homeowners.

To read this full article by Madlen Read, click HERE.

October U.S. foreclosure filings up a whopping 94 percent over last year

The foreclosure filings in the U.S. have nearly doubled this October from the same month last year. The latest consequence of the increase is that many homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and increasingly losing their homes. Unfortubetly, Ohio's foreclosure rate remained among the highest in the country.

A total of 224,451 foreclosure filings were reported nationwide in October. This is a 94 percent increase from the same month a year ago. The number of foreclosers has increased 2 percent from September to October alone. This has equaled an incredible 1out of every 555 households filing a foreclosure in October.

To read this full article, Click HERE.

Sewer rates may be going up in Rocky Fork area

Residents of the Rocky Fork Lake area may be experiencing a raise in sewer rates in the near future, after the sewer system operating fund decreased as the result of a large number of people who have fallen behind in payments.

The Highland County Board of Commissioners was told during the board's regular meeting Wednesday that 23 percent of residents in the area have left their sewer bills unpaid for an extensive amount of time. This has lead to the only alternative that can be found, raising the rate.

To read this full article by Katie Wright, click HERE.

Commissioners open bids for new project

Three sealed bids for the construction of a new sewer pump station on the north shore of Rocky Fork Lake were opened by the Highland County Board of Commissioners during the board's regular meeting Wednesday.

Bids for the project were received from Downing Construction of Baltimore, Ohio at $166,313.60, Cooper's Excavating of Winchester at $131,750, and Unger Construction of West Union at $122,512.

To read this full article by KATIE WRIGHT, Click Here.

State hearings seek fix to septic systems

On Nov. 14, the state of Ohio will begin a series of legislative study commission hearings on household sewage treatment systems. These hearings are designed to fix the septic system rules created by the Ohio Department of Health almost two years ago.

To read the full letter to the editor, click HERE.

Activity in Ohio's housing market continued to progress at traditional levels during the third quarter. Sales have reached the fifth best ever for the period, according to statistics provided by Ohio's Multiple Listing Services. Statewide sales of new and existing homes during the first nine months of the year are right at 6.9 percent behind sales posted during the period a year ago. The housing market is continuing to progress in Ohio, and will hopefully continue to increase.


To read the full article, click HERE.

Skyrocketing cropland prices shackle some farmers

Average cropland values in the U.S. rose by 13 percent to $2,700 per acre this year, up from $2,390 last year, according to the Department of Agriculture. In Ohio, the price jumped 10.7 percent, to $3,920 an acre.

The increasing value of cropland is being fueled by higher prices for commodities such as soybeans, wheat and corn, which is getting an extra bump by the popularity of the corn-based fuel additive ethanol.

To read this full article, click HERE.