Property Management

Weeds poking out through cracks in the driveway. A grimy front door. A dirty kitchen. Closets crammed with stuff. Too many garden gnomes. Garages that can no longer fit any cars.

Although sellers often think about replacing big-items such as roofs and flooring, veteran Realtors say the former often overlook small and inexpensive fixes that can help eliminate big turnoffs for potential homebuyers.

“It’s amazing how much small things matter,” said Orem Realtor Chris Nichols. “The little details really do add up quickly.”

If you are thinking of selling your home, Nichols and other real estate agents have some thoughts on how to get your home show-ready, on the cheap:

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Declutter (and declutter some more) » “I think we become blind to what our home really looks like because we see it all the time,” Nichols said. “The trick is to

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More low-income housing may soon be headed for high-profile communities such as Green Township, Symmes Township and Hyde Park.

That’s because the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) is close to settling a discrimination finding filed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Civil rights attorney Robert Newman filed the complaint when people on the Section 8 waiting list found out they were being excluded by CMHA from certain sections of Hamilton County.

Newman alleged that former CMHA Board Chairman Arnold Barnett sought to restrict new Section 8 housing units in Green Township, where Barnett lives, and locate Section 8 housing in Hyde Park, where he lives.

“HUD did an extensive investigation and found indeed that the housing authority was being run in a racially discriminatory manner in a number of different respects,” Newman said. “One

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Automobile companies have always seemed to engage well with consumers. Through innovative commercials, webisodes and other initiatives, their marketing departments have successfully communicated and excited consumers. It should come at no surprise, then, that according to a new study which looked at all pages with more than 100,000 fans, an automobile company, Audi, tops the charts for member engagement on Facebook. It beat the likes of Justin Beiber and Lady Gaga, with an average of 47 more likes per post than any other brand, celebrity or cause. What pages can you take from Audi’s book?

Do you rock? Rockmelt, that is. The “social Web browser,” which just launched an iPhone app, integrates posts from Facebook, Twitter and news feeds into the site. A one

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More people bought new homes in March, helping give the battered industry a small lift after the worst winter for sales in almost a half-century.

The Commerce Department says new-home sales rose 11 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 300,000 homes. That follows three straight monthly declines. But it remains far below the 700,000-a-year pace that economists view as healthy.

Last year was the fifth consecutive year of declines for new-home sales. Economists say it could take years before sales return to a healthy pace.

Poor sales of new homes mean fewer jobs in the construction industry. Each new home creates an average of three jobs for a year and $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

More people bought new homes in March, giving the battered industry a small lift after the worst winter for sales in almost a half-century.

New home sales rose 11 percent last month from February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 300,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Monday. That follows three straight monthly declines. Still, the pace remains far below the 700,000 homes a year that economists view as healthy.

Sales of new homes fell last year for the fifth consecutive year and the market is showing no signs of rebounding. Economists say it could take years before sales return to a healthy pace.

The median price of a new home rose nearly 3 percent from February to $213,800.

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