Making progress with one city plot at a time

I made a new internet friend recently. I have been reading the work of Manfield Frazer. He is a writer who I see on Cool Cleveland.com. His articles about Human rights inspired me to contact him through email and tell him that I am a fan of his work.

We have been holding a long conversation for a few months now. He sent me his book that he wrote and I was very surprised to find out that he is a past convicted criminal.

I am reading his book and I have to admit that I can't read it for a long period of time because it sparks such passion in me. I get angry and want to do something to change the way things are.

This man Mansfield is articulate, smart and compassionate. He is a bear of a man and you can't help feeling comfortable around him as he has a warm welcoming charm or charmisa that he has sharpened over his 68 years.

Yesterday I went down to East 66th and Hough to see Mansfields vineyard. Yes, I said that right, vineyard in the middle of Hough!! I haven't ever been to the Hough neighborhood. All I remember about Hough was when I was six years old there were terrible riots and people got hurt and killed all protesting for equal rights. As a little girl the message that I had in my head was don't ever go there.

I was surprised to see so many new homes with beautiful landscapes. Here, Mansfield used to be a part of building homes in this area. He himself lives right across the street from the vineyard in a very nice newer home. I was not surprised to see all the vacant property and vacant buildings.

Mansfield is looking at the opportunity here. He worked with Cleveland Land bank to start his vineyard. He got the land from them and some seed money to get started. He also has the community involved. He is teaching kids in the area how to farm. He wants this movement to continue with his goal being a winery right across the street from the Cleveland Clinic and next to their new projected 10 million dollar hotel.

He wants this all to be a community centered enterprise. Giving the people in the area a chance to learn and work with in the development. He is looking for organic inner city farmers and has a few bio domes planned with the help of some philantrophic donations. All this will be a community based learning and work opportunity center. This is giving the people in his community hope and a postive direction with a fantasic goal.

This started with one little city plot. He calls it The Vineyards of Chateau Hough. Come on you have got to love this! He is looking for sponsors to donate $1000.00 to sponsor one of the 18 rows of grapevines. This money will go toward the funds to help pay the neighborhood kids that are farming it. He is also putting together teaching center on how to grow a vineyard. Yes it is a write off this is a bonafide charity! The sponsors will get a spot to advertise their company and will get all the publicity Mansfield can throw their way.

When I met Mansfield yesterday we stood on the corner of Hough and East 66th under his big umbrella in the rain and talked about what his goals are. I was so enthused I asked to be a part of it.

Good Bye Middle Class in America!

I have just had a really grounding experience. Recently I received a $25 gift card from a business that I do business with as a thank you. This business card was for (can I say the name) Saks Fifth Avenue.

It took me several weeks to get around to driving out to the East side of town to shop at the Premium shopping mall in Cleveland. It has been a really long time since I went to Beachwood. I have always loved to at least make it out there a few times a year in the past.

Since I have had a declining income since 2006 shopping at the higher end stores has been at the bottom of my list of choices. I was so surprised to see how busy this mall was. In the middle of a recession!

Well I went into Saks thinking well maybe I can find a nice sweater on sale and use my $25 dollars off and have something new and nice that maybe will give me a little lift.

Have you been shopping there lately!!! Everything was $300 to $500! When did this happen? I have a credit card there I used to shop there. I can't even afford a wallet! I will admit that there weren't a lot of people with bags of purchases!

Nothing has spoken to me in more valid terms than this. There are tons of people out there shopping here at these prices and I am not one of them! I know I have always been middle class. I know that once in a while I get to score a first class seat in a plane or be invited to a loge to view a game.
I am fine with this being not an everyday thing. I appreciate them more. But Hey! The divide has grown to such a big difference that I can't even imagine even flirting with the luxury lifestyle. You know pretending I'm one of them by shopping in one of those stores or staying a night in a fabulous hotel.

I don't know if this is all smoke and mirrors. But there are poeple making fortunes on the backs of the working class and no one is doing a damn thing about it.

I have read a lot about World War Two and the thing that absolutely blows my mind is while people were being taken from their homes and put in concentration camps other people were living just fine and in fact capitalizing on it. Turning a blind eye to their neighbors and friends because of one stupid reason (religion, status) or another.

What is different today? People are losing their homes left and right. If you don't have a good credit score and a job you can't get a job or a good one! You can't get help with your loan at least not the majority maybe 3% do.

Are we really thinking of electing Donald Trump to be President? OMG!!!I know my age group were teens in the seventies but come on have we all lost our minds? What happened to the America I knew that cared about its citzens no matter what their background. You know the melting pot!

What happened to the land of milk and honey and opportunity for eveyone!

Sorry about the rant! I guess I'll just shredd my Saks credit card and carry on!

Sandy Maline Cleveland Real Estate: In the trenches selling Real Estate in Cleveland O...

Sandy Maline Cleveland Real Estate: In the trenches selling Real Estate in Cleveland O...: "Every morning I check the Multiple listing service (MLS) for the market update. This is a list of new homes on the market that are either ne..."

In the trenches selling Real Estate in Cleveland Ohio

Every morning I check the Multiple listing service (MLS) for the market update. This is a list of new homes on the market that are either new to the market, re listed, reduced, increased, under contract, sold or expired. Today one third of the new listings were bank owned. I can't check to see how many of the others are a stress sale but I would guess another third.

In the past Realtors in the Cleveland market didn't get real involved in the rental market. I can remember saying it just doesn't pay enough. Today I am involved in leasing properties actively! I can make the same money leasing a property that I would make selling a low end bank owned home. The difference is when showing the properties the rentals usually have the snow shoveled and the heat on. This has become a luxury when showing houses! The only good thing about not having the heat on is that the bugs go dormant.

Things have shifted and to stay afloat you have to shift with it. When I list a rental property I put it in the MLS and market it online almost like a property for sale. What I have found to be interesting is the agents that show my rental listings. So often when talking with other agents they talk a big game. Hardly will another agent admit that the market is tough and they are struggling to make the money they once did. When a top producer from a competitive company shows one of my rentals and looks to co broke a commission of say $650.00 I know they are struggling. Game face is gone no more bullshit!

Breaking that down they get half of that and then they split that half with their broker. So what he or she is looking at making is $175.00. Some companies will nickel and dime their agents for other fees like a processing fee making that $175.00 even less. Not so glamorous now is it?

Recently the biggest competitive company out there with agents than any other company (not naming names) has pulled a fast one. When they bring a potential tenant they have added language to their paperwork which is called Agreement to enter into a Lease. Way at the bottom of the paperwork they add language which states that if the potential tenant purchases the property within 2 years the owner will pay the agency a full commission. The problem here is it cuts out the listing broker!

I kept thinking why would Joe big bucks from XYZ company show my rental to making a whooping $175.00? It turns out that because he is looking to skunk me and my client out of our business relationship!

Do you really want to do business with a company that does business like that? Just like the casinos they didn't get that big by being a nice guy like me.

I'll stay small, make a good living and sleep well at night. When and if I make it to the Golden Gate I will look whomever greets me straight in the eye knowing I have lived and worked honorably.

Selling Real Estate in todays market

There are two types of real estate that is selling in todays market. One is new or resale property. The other is bank owned or distressed properties. As a Realtor I would prefer to make my living selling new or resale properties. Unfortunately the bulk of the market (where the money is at)is currently in the distressed market.

I know a few agents out there that have worked themselves into a nice little niche in the distressed market. One of my colleagues has focused his business on this market for over 20 years. He is doing very well but it is not without a cost.

Out of the top agents in distressed sales there are a small number who actually do a great job. Most of them won't even call you back when you send them an offer. My colleague who has been doing this sort of business for over 20 years does a great job. He has a full staff to market and check on the properties. They check the homes every week to make sure there are no squatters and the house is secure and not damaged further.

As an agent when I show distressed sales there are a few issues that I don't usually have with a non distressed sale. The biggest one is will the property be secure. Walking into a vacant house that is not secured for the opportunity to sell it is not my idea of making a good living. Over and over I find these homes missing locks. Also no one shovels snow for these houses. So if I am showing distressed property I am going to dress like I'm having a snow day. There is nothing worse than walking through snow drifts up to my butt to show a vacant home with no heat.

Once a buyer decides on which distressed property to buy we start a whole new set of issues. Are there multiple offers? Will the listing agent even call me back? If it is a short sale how long do we have to wait for an approval? After all this will the bank pay me my commission?

A lot of the people handling bank assets don't have a clue what they are doing. I have found myself having to make dozens of calls just to get the smallest thing accomplished. Like will you accept this offer, can we close this deal, how do I get into this property?

As you can see it is not a pleasant way to make a living. After 26 years of selling real estate I am afraid this distressed market has taken its toll on me. I am 53 years old and I don't want to have to carry a firearm to show houses and make a living.


I applied to Cuyahoga County to work for The Board of Revision. I applied on line. I took a test on line and then went through 3 interviews. Early January I received a phone call telling me that I have the job and they gave me a opening salary offer. After some negotiation I accepted. I had to have a background check and a drug test. I went down to Ontario and Lakeside and filled out paperwork. My start date was January 31, 2010. I was told that I am not supposed to act as a real estate agent in Cuyahoga County because they felt that it would be a conflict of interest.

On January 31 I was told not to come in to work. My new tentative date of hire would be February 14, 2011. On February 9th I got a call telling me that the County withdrew their job offer. After several phone calls I found out that because I am a real estate broker that they felt it was a conflict of interest. If any of my agents sold real estate in The County I would get a percentage of the real estate transaction and they felt that would not be acceptable.

I guess I will continue to sell real estate and not get to be a part of the clean up down at The County. I was honored to get the job and wanted so much to bring some integrity back. I will not close my company down for the opportunity to work for the government.

In order to make a living in real estate in todays market I guess I will be taking a Firearm safety class and acting like Annie Oakley!

2011 will it be better than 2010

As far as Real Estate goes I think that we may be seeing some hope for this coming year. I have been busier than the last few years in January. My colleagues in the Real Estate profession are all stating that they are seeing more interest this year. Of course they always talk big, but I do have some friends that actually tell it like it is and they concur with me.

For the most part I have people looking to make a good investment. I talked with my accountant about taking self directed 401k money and purchasing real estate with it. He wasn't real excited about it. Well I remember 20 years ago I was looking into a 1031 exchange program and no one was excited about that either. I pushed forward, I talked with the IRS to get the low down and set up a third party company to handle the exchanges and saved my clients tons of money!!

I am seeing incredible opportunities to make money. If you don't mind being a landlord this is the time to purchase investment property. One deal I just did will bring in 20 percent profit after taxes and insurance. If my client uses an equity loan to purchase this, he will get a interest write off on his taxes and be able to pay it back within 5 years! Then from there it is all profit. Do three of those and you can retire comfortably.

I own rental property, it is not easy to be a landlord. You have to be tough but have compassion. I always try to fix things right away. My tenants are my customers and I want to make them happy. Like any customer client relationship if they don't pay, you have to make a decision to work with them or severe the relationship.

I have had to evict people and it is not a feel good experience. I have also worked out payment programs with tenants who were going through a tough time and found them to be thankful and loyal tenants because of me being willing to work with them. It is a fine line here where if you are too nice you get taken advantage of. I am known for being quick to evict. If you are 5 days overdue you get a letter posted on your door. If you don't respond to that letter I go forward with the eviction. If you do respond and have a good reason I will work things out. This is what any other business relationship does. Too many people let this go on and on and that is how you lose money.

So if you think you have the stomach for owning property . . . This is the time to BUY!!! You know the saying buy low sell high!

Sayulita I like to call it See you later

When traveling there are few places that haunt you to come back like Sayulita does. That is why I call it See You Later. This is a little village just over the mountain and through the jungle from Puerto Vallarta. It is a really neat drive if you have the guts to drive in Mexico. We have been looking for great locations in the Puerto Vallarta area to represent back here in The States to potential snow birds. I really love this little village. When we arrived we drove down this little street pictured above. It didn't look like much, of course that is how everything in Mexico is, they hide things behind walls. After we drove down this street it just kind of opened up into this quaint little town.



This is known as a surfer beach. It reminds me of an old hippie town. Everything is beautiful and laid back. The beach front is gorgeous and they have really great restaurants and hotels right there. You would never know this if you just drove by. We thought we were being so adventurous coming to check out this town. When we got here it was full of gringos just like me! This is a big retirement community with a lot of people from Canada living here. There is a wonderful development of new homes along the beach. You have to have the get a way from it all attitude to live here. Personally it is too small for me. I am a city girl that needs a lot of entertainment and choices. However I can't get this place out of my mind. I will be in Puerto Vallarta soon and we plan to visit Sayulita while we are there. I will be updating my site with the new construction prices and pictures and a link to the sites there. This place is like a secret favorite spot.