Columbus Backyard Barbecues

Aside from this gloomy day, we have been enjoying great, Columbus weather this spring, especially around dinnertime, when we’ve been having a lot of barbecues. There is hardly anything that beats getting friends and family together and grilling out for a good old-fashioned Columbus barbecue! In this post we’ll explore some awesome BBQ recipes, some great backyard games, and take a look at some amenities that make barbecuing even more fun.

If you have ever had a freshly ground beef burger you know that it is SUPREMELY better than ground beef/chuck you buy at the store. It’s like the difference between frying a fish freshly caught that day versus buying one that has been frozen and shipped across the country. You can find a variety of meat grinders all over the Internet. The key is to find one that fits your needs. One of my favorite burgers I’ve made was a chuck steak mixed with ground bacon, with Bleu Cheese kneaded into the meat. If you’re feeling extra classy, pick up a rib steak to grind at home from the grocery, for an extraordinarily decadent burger.

My goodness, do I love ribs. The best recipe I’ve ever had for ribs takes a little while to cook, but wow is it worth it! The ribs literally fall of the bone. First, you are going to want to go to the store, and pick up a rack of ribs and a variety of barbecue sauces, (I recommend Sweet Baby Rays, it’s affordable and tastes great!). Then follow these steps:

1. Heat oven to 275.
2. Divide the ribs up so that they can fit in an over safe dish.
3. Place ribs on tin foil.
4. Spread BBQ sauce all over the ribs, and wrap the tin foil around the ribs like a birthday present.
5. Place in oven for 2.5 hours.
6. After 2 hours take the ribs out of the oven and place them on heated grill for about 10-15 minutes each side
7. Eat, enjoy!
8. Feel immensely satisfied.

One of our favorite newer backyard BBQ games is called Ladder Golf. It has the same premise as Corn-hole, but tossing tethered golf balls at a ladder to gain points. This is a game that all ages seem to enjoy. The game can be bought at most any Target or Wal-Mart store.

Interested in some weird ways to grill? Check out The Big Green Egg! The Big Green Egg is a ceramic charcoal grill that can heat up to temperatures of 700 degrees. You can use seasoned wood, such as hickory to give your meat that smoked flavor. We love the Egg for all different kinds of meats from the quick hamburger to your Thanksgiving turkey. If you find that being called “the grill master,” makes you feel like you’ve just single-handedly lifted a car over your own head, in front of your in-laws, then the Big Green Egg is a must have for you.

We hope you enjoyed our BBQ special, and hopefully this weather turns around so you can enjoy your own Columbus backyard Barbecue.

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Columbus Housing Market Hot in April

The weather may have been cold but the Columbus housing market was hot in April! Remember that article we wrote a week ago about now being time to sell in Columbus? Well we weren’t lying! The Columbus Board of Realtors just released their April housing report for Central Ohio, and found that the 2,390 homes sales last month was the highest number of sales on record for April, beating out 2004’s 2,286. That’s what we call a hot market! We are seeing listings come and go in a matter of days. In fact, just last week The McVey Team put a house on the market on Friday and it was already in contract the following day! In Upper Arlington, in particular houses have been flying off the market, with the average sales price in April being $321,617. You read that correctly THE AVERAGE SALES PRICE in Upper Arlington in April 2013 was $321,617!

The Columbus Board of Realtors also found:

“In addition to the increases in sales, home prices continue to rise also. While the average sale price has increased every month in 2013 from $149,477 in January to $163,084 in April, the average sale price year-to-date ($156,386) is up almost one and a half percent from 2012.” - http://columbusrealtors.com

As prices increase more people are seeing the advantages of putting their home on the market. Some have even reported getting as much as 25% more than what their home was worth. The Columbus Board also said:

“98 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® describe the current housing market as moderate to strong and 94 percent expect home prices to increase in the next year.” - http://columbusrealtors.com

You can read the whole April 2013 housing report here. Again, if you even have the slightest, little feeling that you might, just possibly want to sell your home. Give us a call or click on our website and we would be more than happy to schedule a listing appointment at your convenience. If your kids have gone off to college and you want to downsize, give us a call. If your kids are growing up quickly and you need a little more space give us a call! What’s that retirement? You’re calling my name? Let us know and we’d love to help you sell your home. We love nothing more than to help our clients get the absolute best value in whatever way we can. If the Columbus housing market was hot in April, it’s going to be a scorcher in May.

 

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Are People in Their 20′s Afraid to Own a Home?

It’s no secret that buying your first home is exciting, and also a little bit terrifying. Most people are well into their 20’s before owning their first home. We decided to sit down with 24-year-old Libby Craig to see what she thinks about owning a home in her 20’s. Libby works for The Learning Spectrum in Worthington, Ohio. The Learning Spectrum provides services to children with Autism, including teaching, and providing families with individualized services designed to meet the needs of children in and out of the school setting. Libby is currently in the early stages of thinking about buying a home. We sat down with her for an interview on what other people in their 20’s think about owning a home.

 

The McVey Team: What is it like thinking about buying a home in your mid 20’s and when would you ideally like to own a home, and what holds you back from buying a home now?

Libby Craig: I think that a lot of the reason why it’s scary to think about buying a house in your 20’s is because life is so unpredictable, and no one really knows where they’ll be even one year down the road. Then thinking five years down the road is even scarier for people my age. Also, thinking about location because it is so much easier now to travel and go to different places that people want to branch out from where they grew up to try to figure out where they want to live in the future. The options are infinite so it makes it scary to buy a home and be committed to a certain place for a certain number of years.

TMT: What age would you ideally like to buy a home?

LC: I think that by 26 I would like to have owned a home; maybe 26 on the early side. I think that for people my age 26 seemed a lot older when I was younger but now 26 is not that old. It’s really not that many years out of college.

 

TMT: Speak to the generational differences between your generation and your parent’s generation?

LC: I think a lot of the generational switch has to do with the fact that people are getting married later in their lives. It was more understandable to get married before you move in together. People my age are taking more time to settle down before owning a home.

 

TMT: Do you think education on how to buy a home has anything to do with the rate of home owners in their 20’s?

LC: I think people think it’s complicated and it’s easier to do what you know and rent a place, because you know you can pay month-to-month and you don’t need to worry about a mortgage or anything repairs wise. And it’s what most of us do in college.

 

TMT: Would you ever be interested in owning an income property?

LC:I would want to do that down the road. I think a reason why people my age don’t do that is because buying a home seems like such a huge financial jump, even though if you look at it versus renting you get so much more out of it. However, in actuality to someone my age it seems like such a commitment move that it is completely put on the backburner, until a couple years down the road.

 

Thanks Libby for sitting down and talking with us!

 

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Going to The Columbus Zoo

We’re going to The Columbus Zoo! Does anyone else love the gorgeous weather we’ve been having? We sure do! One of the best ways to spend one of these beautiful days is to head up riverside drive and go to the Columbus Zoo. Voted #1 zoo in America by www.10best.com, The Columbus Zoo sits on 100 acres along the banks of the Scioto River and houses more than 100 different species of animals including polar bears, penguins and rhinoceroses. Your read that correctly, The Columbus Zoo beat out the San Diego Zoo for the best zoo in America!
Opening in 1927, The Columbus Zoo has gone through major changes to become the #1 zoo in America. Jungle Jack Hanna, who is the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, helped the zoo go through major renovations between 1978 – 1993. Even now the zoo continues to grow, with the development of the North America exhibit, which houses grizzly bears, timber wolves, and the popular polar bear exhibit. The North America region of the zoo is just one of five regions, which include: Australia and the Islands, Asia Quest, Shores, and Expedition Congo (home to the lowland Gorillas). The Columbus Zoo has experiences “just for kids,” which range from play areas, to face paint, and sometimes even petting animals. If you would like a guide to take you through the Columbus Zoo, they also offer tours with their incredibly knowledgeable staff. Sting Ray Bay, is the newest attraction at the zoo, where attendees can reach in the 18,000 gallon saltwater pool to touch all different types of rays.

If it’s 96 degrees and you feel like you just can’t walk around looking at animals anymore, bring your swimsuits and walk over to Zoombezi Bay for some water park fun. And for the golfers out there, drop the rest of the family off and head on over to Safari Golf Club. You can enjoy 18 holes, while the family is right across the street enjoying the wild animals.

The Columbus Zoo really is an absolutely fantastic summer attraction. You know the McVey Team loves family-friendly environments and the Columbus Zoo is no exception. They have an absolutely fantastic staff, who loves to educate children on all of the exotic animals. If you live in Columbus, we highly recommend going to the Columbus Zoo and participating in all of the exciting activities, looking at all of the wild animals, and just having a great summer day!

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Pickwick Dr In Home Video

Check out our first in-home video with Barb and Jon!

 

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Listing on Pickwick Dr

Check out this listing in Upper Arlington at 2875 Pickwick Dr. Just put on the market, this house features a super split layout with great living and working spaces! Large yard fully fenced, nicely landscaped.

Quiet street near Kingsdale and convenient to bus stop; easy access to Rt 315. Spacious kitchen with see-thru fireplace to living room. Kitchen has pegged hardwood floors!

Screened porch off kitchen with access to yard and patio area. Master bath remodeled; first floor bedroom with full bath makes great in-law suite; possible 5th bedroom. New HVAC in 2008. Very close to the new Whole Foods Market! Please join us for an open house for this property on Sunday, May 19th, from 2-4 pm.

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Now is The Time To Sell in Columbus

Now is the time to sell Columbus real estate! Most of us watching the news each day probably don’t get to see just exactly how the housing market has not only recovered, but has come back like the Kenny Guiton vs Purdue. Some houses are literally going into contract, with multiple offers, the day they are put on market. As realtors, right now our problem is not with selling homes, it’s that we’re selling them so fast that we have a lack of inventory. If we were to look at a span of 16 days between May 1^st and May 16^th in the Dublin school district alone, there were approximately 968 freestanding homes that were either sold or went into contract.

16 days! That’s an average of 60.5 houses per day in Dublin alone, going into contract or sold.

If the 2013 Columbus housing market were to be given a movie title name here would be some great candidates: “Housing Markets: Return of The Seller,” “Honey, I Sold Our Home and Made Us a Ton of Money,” “The Day After Tomorrow: Your House Will Sell,” and my personal favorite: “Indiana Sellers Market and The Temple that Sold for a Great Price,”

What’s more, is that buyers are willing to pay a good price on homes because interest rates are historically low — 3.71 on a 30-year fixed mortgage. Compare that with 2000 where the average interest rate was 8.05 on a 30-year fixed mortgage (http://www.freddiemac.com) . “Hey! I would love to see a mathematical example,” said someone, somewhere. On a $100,000 loan today with 3.71 interest, monthly payments would be around $460, which is well above my monthly rent when I was in college. Compare the monthly payments on the same $100,000 loan in 2000 at 8.05 and you would be paying $737, almost $300 more per month.

Most economists aren’t asking “if” interest rates will go back up, but “when” will they go back up. Buying a home now is going to save us money in the long run, because interest rates WILL inevitably go back up, and how smart will we look when we’re paying $460 a month and our neighbor is paying $737 on the same priced home? “Holy cow! Really smart!” is the answer you were looking for. Now is the time to sell real estate in Columbus.

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