Akron home prices fall 13 percent

Commuter wrote:

Something Wicked wrote:
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May I add another point to your most accurate statement; Northeast Ohio pays the highest utility rates in almost every state around. My nephew lives in Sherman Oaks, CA and pays less for electric, home heating and water.
Of course your nephew has a lower heating bill; he lives in California. DUH!
Now, now, Dis....Wicked did say lower rates, not lower bills.

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Adding My Two Cents wrote:

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Realtors were charging 7% ten and fifteen years ago. It seems to be the 7% has stayed the same. What other service or, for that matter, item have you purchased lately that is the same exact cost as it was ten years ago? In my opinion, 7% is a small price to pay for the professional and marketing service that Realtors can offer. In fact, over the past ten years, Realtors can now market your home in alot more ways then they could ten years ago .... and all for the same fee. The article mentioned that the price of homes has gone down. Let me tell you folks, the sale of homes is still happening. If it were me selling my home, I would much rather spend the 7% to have the great marketing of my home in addition to the knowledge of the many, many things necessary for home sales or purchases. Realtors know present laws and know the proper forms that need to be included. In today's world, people are way to "sue happy" and I would rather spend 7% to safeguard myself from future lawsuits. My hat goes off to those FSBO's (for sale by owners) who attempt to sell on their own. If you can't sell it after a while ... try a sales agent or realtor. After all, they only earn their mere 7% when the house sells. Seems like a win - win situation for everyone.

eastsider wrote:

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I understand the need to rent your house, instead of having to make two mortgage payments and I hope you have great tennants.
This is not a personal attack.
My complaint with this (in my neighborhood, at least) is that it is happening so much. Out of the 40 homes on my street, in the last three years, 6 have became rentals.(6 already were)
What used to be the cornerstone of my neighborhood, was it's 30-year-mortgage-tightness with the community.
1 year lease/rentals are erroding that.
Face it, most renters will not care for a property the way an owner would, and potential buyers are not as likely to buy in a rental community.

Toledo Tim wrote:

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Boy, you're lucky the IRS has decreased audits the last 10 years or so. Improvements are usually required to be capitalized and depreciated, repairs can be written off in the year of the expense.

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Betamax wrote:

Hmmm, I wonder why the folks that so conveniently place the blame on Bushyboy, ignore the fact that their demoncritter controlled congress hasn't profered a single thing to stem the tide of risin' costs and deflatin' values.

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Epiphany2 wrote:

This is so sad....Are we better off now, than we were 8 years ago? The answer is self evident. Time for a change...

SDespot wrote:

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Absolutely. Plus, in the first year you can write off all the improvements you did prior to turning it into a rental, no matter when you did them. I was able to go back to 1995. After that, you can only write off improvements as it is currently a rental property. Still, you get a kick back from what you put into the property.
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It took only a couple days once I pulled it off the market.
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Not a bad idea. Save all your receipts from the improvements you have done to that home and anything you spend on getting it ready for a rental and you can put that on your taxes next time. Turbo Tax is great for going through all the possible scenarios that you have for write-offs. In fact, there were things I had no idea you could write off, like a percentage of your automobile loan interest if you use your car to go to the rental. I knew the mileage and gas, but the interest was a new one on me. If you use your computer to conduct business with the rental, you can write off a percentage of the cost of the computer or supplies. It is endless what people are entitled to at tax time.

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AppleJack wrote:

Although this certainly isn't good news, there are two points worth noting...
1. It is happening everywhere, with our area a bit worse and
2. The one thing people here tend to forget is that it is one of the least expensive places to live in the country. Even at the reduced levels, the median price Nationally is $196k while the Akron median is $96k. That is HALF the price you would pay in most other parts of the country. That compares with a $48k national median income (24% of the median home price) and $32k for Akron (33% of the median home price).
That 9% difference in home-to-income ratio is HUGE in terms of affordability and cost of living.

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Smart Alek wrote:

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Nice try at your spin. When did the Democrats take over? Just over a year ago. Stuff does not happy overnight. You should know this.

me-ksu alum wrote:

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apparently your ISP has routed you through the lovely burg of Inkster, MI...wherever that is. Maybe it's better than Akron?

SDespot wrote:

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Yeah, I suppose so. I thought for sure I would have gotten it this year, but my audit risk was computed as very low and they had my refunds to me before the end of February.

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Smart Alek wrote:

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Nice try at your spin. When did the Democrats take over? Just over a year ago. Stuff does not happy overnight. You should know this.

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MaD wrote:

<quoted text> HMMM, Democrats took over congress less than two years ago...Bushboy, and a republican congress had the six previous! In that time mortgage laws were weakened, war with Iraq, the healthcare crisis, even Cheney's beloved Halliburton moved off shore! Gee, dems control congress, let's blame them!

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Seems as iff'n the mindless demoncritters...

The bottom line is that y'alls beloved demoncritters aren't doin' a thing,...

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westside johnny wrote:

and our property taxes are going down when?