Real Estate

Future of Home Sales in Central Ohio Looking Bright

jerrykaltenbach

The Columbus Board of Realtors released the following article yesterday suggesting the continued bright future for a housing market comeback in Central Ohio.  As most of our readers know, a good portion of our law practice is spent representing real estate brokers, agents, and their clients in transactions, disputes, with complaints, and in litigation.  A good attorney is both easy and important to find!  Here’s the CBR article:

November marks the fifth consecutive month of increased home sales in central Ohio this year after the first half of the year struggled to keep up with increased sales from 2010 due to the home buyer tax credits.  According to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®, 1,406 homes sold in November which is seven percent more than the previous year.

Additionally, the number of residential homes scheduled to close was up over 37 percent, from 1,341 last year to 1,843 last month (November 2011).

“We’re finding that sellers recognize the challenges of today’s market and are realistically pricing their homes to sell,” says Rick Benjamin, 2011 President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “Buyers are responding well to the pricing and, of course, the record low interest rates. It’s still a great time to buy a home.”

Homes in central Ohio this year have sold for an average of $157,032, down 2.5 percent from the average sale price in 2010, but up over five percent from the average sale price in the first quarter of 2011. The average price of a home sold in November was $153,673, up 3.1 percent from the previous month ($149,082).

The number of homes listed for sale last month (1,949) is 20 percent less than listings added to the market in November 2010 (2,439). The total inventory of homes available for sale in central Ohio was 12,675 at the end of November, which is down 27.5 percent from one year ago.

As a result, the month’s supply, a measure of inventory that estimates how many months it would take to sell the entire home inventory, fell 28.5 percent to 7.4, down from 10.3 last year.

“A healthy months supply for our market would be around 6.5. So the decrease in inventory is a positive sign of market recovery,” adds Benjamin. “Plus, based on the concept of supply and demand, when we  have too many homes on the market, homes are more likely to sell for
less.”

We love hearing positive news about the return of the housing market in Central Ohio and across the state.  Kaltenbach Law, LLC is cheering for an even better 2012!

JK-Q&A: Do I have to trim my tree because my neighbor says so?

jerrykaltenbach 1 Comment

A friend contacted me with this question:

What was that? Ahh, just the panic alarm on the new caddy. I'm sure it's fine.

I have a weeping willow in my back yard and some of the branches hang over my neighbor’s fence, and he told my wife yesterday that we need to pay someone to trim the tree to prevent the braches from falling in his yard and supposedly killing his grass. My question is, do I by law have to trim the tree at my expense?

The short answer is NO.  In this situation, my friend is not legally obligated to trim his tree.  But, it is important to know some of the consequences of doing nothing.

1.  The neighbor has a right to protect and enjoy his own property.  At the same time, the neighbor has no right to encroach on my friend’s property.  Section I, Article I of the Ohio Constitution provides that : “All men are, by nature free and independent and have certain inalienable rights, [including] acquiring, possessing and protecting property…” This Article (and ample Ohio case law), provides that the neighbor may undertake reasonable  steps to protect his property or exclude others from its use and enjoyment.

What does that mean?  The neighbor might grab a pruner and go to town trimming the tree himself!  But, he needs to be cautious.  The neighbor is only within his rights to trim the branches that physically extend onto his property and the neighbor cannot kill or cripple the tree.  A neighbor exercising reasonable care and only cutting back the branches that cross onto his property is probably safe.   My friend may be left with a lopsided tree, but he didn’t have to do the work or pay anyone.

If the neighbor cuts a branch (or even a part of a branch) that is over my friend’s property, the neighbor may be guilty of a fourth degree misdemeanor pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 901.51 and 901.99, and would owe my friend double the amount of damages in a civil claim, such as the replacement cost of the tree x2. Continue reading →

You Must Buy My House, But Don’t Have to Paint My Fence: Specific Performance

jerrykaltenbach 1 Comment

Contracts, contracts, contracts.  We all have a basic understanding of what a contract is: it’s an agreement to do something in exchange for something else.  The fundamental elements of a contract are:

Hey, Huck, how about you paint this fence?

Offer: I’ll pay you $50.00 to paint my fence.

Acceptance: Ok, it’s a deal.

Consideration: $50.00 paid to the painter.

Performance: The fence gets painted.

Now what happens if you pay the $50.00 and the painter runs off with it?  You can sue the painter for breaching the contract.  Have a look at my post on small claims court practice for information on how to do this.

Let’s say you sue and you win.  What is your remedy?  Can you get the $50.00 back?  Absolutely.  Can you force the painter to paint the fence (a remedy known as specific performance)?  No.  Ohio law is pretty clear that specific performance for a contract for personal services is not an available remedy.  The reasoning behind this is the “mischief” that could result by forcing a party to perform a service after breaching a contract. Continue reading →