Clear the decks so you can relax this summer!

Before you start sweating the summer away, make sure to schedule time to organize the things that matter most to you! School starts in just a few weeks, and your home should be the last thing you worry about once the chaos starts back.

John Sawyer

SAWYER WALLACE HOME COLLECTION

http://www.sawyerwallace.com/

918.289.7065

Walkability Score - what is it and why it's important to Tulsa real estate!

Walkability Score - what is it and why it's important to Tulsa real estate!

People are looking for alternatives to driving, whether it be for environmental, financial or health reasons - or a combination of each. People truly do want to walk to the grocery, a restaurant, the park or a library.

As defined by Wikipedia, "Walkability is a measure of how friendly an area is to walking. Walkability has many health, environmental, and economic benefits."

Walkable neighborhoods strengthen our community in that residents tend to meet and associate with their neighbors. Not only does that make living in your neighborhood more pleasant, it includes an obvious deterrent to crime.

Walking is good for our health. Studies show that the average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs less than one living in a sprawling neighborhood.

What makes a neighborhood walkable? [Source: WalkScore.com]
• A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a center, whether it's a main street or a public space.
• People: Enough people for businesses to flourish and for public transit to run frequently.
• Mixed income, mixed use: Affordable housing located near businesses.
• Parks and public space: Plenty of public places to gather and play.
• Pedestrian design: Buildings are close to the street, parking lots are relegated to the back.
• Schools and workplaces: Close enough that most residents can walk from their homes.
• Complete streets: Streets designed for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit.

So how walkable is your neighborhood? Go to this "walk score" web site, enter your address and find out! Tulsa is becoming a more 'walkable' city and we invite those considering a move to Tulsa to walk around with us!!

Lori is a residential Realtor with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors serving the greater Tulsa area, and specializing in midtown Tulsa real estate. Please visit Lori’s web site, LoriCain.com or call 918-852-5036.

KOTV Channel 6 Interview- Sheryl Chinowth

Last night on KOTV Channel 6, Sheryl Chinowth was featured discussing the new square footage regulations affecting the real estate industry. Below is the interview conducted by Tara Vreeland. You can also click on the link in the title and see the actual interview!

By Tara Vreeland, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- For most folks who are looking to buy a home size matters. But buyers looking for specific details about square footage are discovering just how hard it is to find that information.

Home for sale. Four bedroom. Four bath. Three-car garage. One number likely missing from the listing? Square footage.

Due to a lawsuit, Bowman vs. Presley, realtors are opting out and not posting square footage stats to protect the real estate industry.

"It's very difficult for us to assure accuracy because realtors are not the ones that measure the homes," Sheryl Chinowth, Chinowth & Cohen Realtors, said. "The measurements are done either by court house records, which are not always accurate, or also by appraisers and builders.

Because the Oklahoma Supreme Court allowed the lawsuit to move forward last June, realtors were put on notice to make sure square footage is accurate.

"It's similar to using more or less," Chinowth said. "When you have this many square feet more or less."

But Sheryl Chinowth, a real estate broker, says measuring is subjective. She says second levels, stair cases and open areas make uniform measuring difficult and viewpoints vary.

"Builders measure differently. Most builders go wall to wall or frame to frame," she said. "Appraisers measure differently and it's rare that you will see two appraisers measure a home exactly the same.

The lawsuit says its fraud if a realtor passes square footage information on to the buyer and that number turns out to be incorrect.

That puts the realtor's license in jeopardy.

However, Chinowth says through the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors, a waiver and release form was developed for sellers to give the square footage information to the buyers.

She also says there is a new system that allows three square footage estimates to be put into the MLS system.

Then that way the buyers can decide which square footage seems most accurate to them.

Chinowth says people don't buy homes specifically for square footage, but she says if you must know, you can always get your own square footage appraisal. She says that can cost between $60 to $100

Not Once, Not Twice, But FOUR Times: Best of the Best 2010

Chinowth & Cohen Realtors announced today, the company has been voted by the readers of Oklahoma Magazine as a winner of “The Best of the Best Awards 2010” of Real Estate companies. This is the fourth year in a row Chinowth & Cohen Realtors has been awarded this honor.

The award comes from readers across Oklahoma polled through the magazine and asked to select their favorites in multiple categories. Thousands of ballets were received. “Winning Best of the Best Real Estate Company four years straight is a huge accomplishment,” said Sheryl Chinowth, CEO of Chinowth & Cohen Realtors. “Lee Cohen and I are so proud of our Realtors and staff. They are the Best of the Best! Our recognition in the community is a direct result of the caliber of people we have in our company. I wish to express my sincere thanks to all who voted for Chinowth & Cohen Realtors.”

Chinowth & Cohen Realtors is a full service residential real estate company with six locations in the Tulsa Metro area. Founded by Sheryl Chinowth & Lee Cohen in August of 2004, the company has over 350 associates and a commercial division, C&C Commercial Realtors. For more information on the company or to view any listing on the MLS visit www.cctulsa.com

What is a garage really worth when you are selling a home in midtown Tulsa?

How much does the absence of a garage affect the value of your property when you're selling a home in midtown Tulsa?

Depending on the area of midtown, many of us have no garages or we have detached garages, a detached carriage house (used for living space) and often a porte-cochere (carport one can drive through).

My girlfriend who lives in Swan Lake sold a home last fall in the Patrick Henry district - darling home with a 3/4 acre lot - but no garage. This property should have sold in one week, yet every prospective Buyer wanted to see surveys and get estimates to add a garage.

Another home Seller is preparing his mother's home for sale in an area of midtown perfect for 1st-time home buyers. Although the converted garage is probably the best insulated portion of the house, I told my Seller that he probably ought to convert it back to a garage before we put the house on the market.

I currently have a midtown home for sale where the garage was converted to living quarters that were handicap accessible. It's a nice and spacious 3-bedroom home and the converted living space could be a 4th bedroom or den. We are advertising in the public remarks that the Seller will convert the space back to a functional garage if the Buyer chooses. Few inquiries, thus far - Buyers seem to want the garage already there.

So, what's the big attraction of a garage if there is a shed or some other location to store your lawnmower and yard tools? Is it that everyone cares that much about hail damage on their automobiles? Few of our garages in midtown Tulsa are attached to the primary residence, so I can't see safety being the issue.

What say you? What is a garage really worth when you are selling a home in your neighborhood? My guess is that garage conversions are rarely a good idea for re-sale, regardless of the area of town you're in. Think about this before you convert your garage into extra living space!  

Lori is a residential Realtor serving the greater Tulsa area, and specializing in midtown Tulsa real estate. Please visit Lori’s web site, LoriCain.com or call 918-852-5036.

Looking for something to do tonight??

Talena M. Floyd
Chinowth & Cohen Realtors
"Make My Hometown, Your Hometown"
www.WelcomeHomeTulsa.com
Talena@WelcomeHomeTulsa.com
(918) 361-3404

PARADE IS UPON US

The Greater Tulsa Parade of Homes is the area's only new home showcase, with more than 150 homes on display from 70 of the areas top builing companies. Homes are located throughout metro Tulsa from Bartlesville to Coweta, and range in price from $100,000 to more than $1,000,000. Homes are open from 1 – 7 p.m. daily during the event as well as three extended hour events in featured subdivisions. The Official Guide will be for sale at all area QuikTrips beginning June 18. June 19-27, 2010. Homes are open daily from 1-7 p.m., and the event is FREE to the public. June 19-27, 2010. Homes are open daily from 1-7 p.m., and the event is FREE to the public.

Talena M. Floyd
Chinowth & Cohen Realtors
"Make My Hometown, Your Hometown"
www.WelcomeHomeTulsa.com
Talena@WelcomeHomeTulsa.com
(918) 361-3404