I recently had an opportunity to tour the Mitchell model home built by Fischer Homes in the new construction community of Santuary Village in Villa Hills, Kentucky.  This new build community will have a community pool, club house, workout room and more.  For the Mitchell model you can get 4-5 bedrooms, between 2-5 bathrooms and a 2 or 3 car garage.  Take a look at the walkthrough and reach out to me if you are interested in buying a new construction home in Northern Kentucky or Greater Cincinnati, Ohio area.

What Does Rent to Own Mean in Real Estate?

If you don’t have money saved for a down payment but renting feels like you are wasting cash, rent-to-own homes are an option that might be a better fit. Rent to own offers some of the advantages of buying and renting. Could it be right for you?

If you are contemplating buying your first home but don't meet the qualifications yet, renting to own could be an excellent option.

But how does rent-to-own work, and what do you need to know before choosing this option? Let's examine what rent-to-own homes are and what you should know about them.

What are Rent-to-Own Homes?

A rent-to-own agreement allows you to purchase the home you are renting. You will likely pay more than other rentals if you sign this kind of agreement. However, this extra money will become your down payment when the lease ends.

There could be an "option fee" to pay when choosing this arrangement, which might cost you between 2% and 7% of the home’s value. If you don’t buy the home, you will lose this and the extra you have paid in rent.

How Does Rent to Own Work?

With a rent-to-own home, your rent payments help you eventually buy the property. Part of your rent will become your down payment when you decide to buy at the end of the lease.

The Advantages of Rent-to-Own

• Save for a down payment. While renting the home, some of your rent will contribute to your...

What To Know About Remodeling A Bathroom

Remodeling a bathroom can add some freshness to a home and increase the utility of the bathroom when done right.  When done wrong a bathroom remodel can make things look and run worse.  The bathroom needs to be functional otherwise there will be no benefit for the remodel.  The tips in this article provide homeowners with some smart tips on how to properly remodel a bathroom.

Try Not to Take Away Bathroom Space

Taking away bathroom space by either adding in large fixtures like cabinets and showers or taking away bathroom space for other rooms can quickly turn a bathroom remodel into a disaster.  Bathrooms are usually made smaller compared to other rooms and taking away space from an already small bathroom will not result in a positive return on investment even if the space is used someplace else.  Tiny, cramped bathrooms are more likely to turn off future buyers.  If a bathroom is already on the smaller size then best bet is to remodel without taking away any useable space from it.

Adding or Removing a Shower/Tub

If the bathroom has enough space to add a shower or a tub where none is currently present this may or may not help the home value.  Some home buyers still expect there to be a half bath where there should be one and where there are already plenty of full baths in the home.  On the other hand, where a home has fewer baths as it is, adding a shower/tub to a half bath can improve the value of a home.  Where a home goes from one and a half bath to two full baths...

The data you see below is from the Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  Average days on market refers to how long on average a property stays on the market before accepting an offer.  The properties sold represents the number of multifamily properties that have been sold during the month being reported on.  If there is other data you would like to see please feel free to make a request in the comments below.