There were a few Central Ohio school levies on the ballot on November 3, 2009.  School levies typically result in higher real estate property taxes, so you should be aware if you are looking to buy a home in any of these school districts.

Southwestern City Schools levy (Southwestern Schools serve Grove City and Southwestern Columbus)

Yes Votes = 19,591  (51%)
No Votes = 19,178 (49%)

Reynoldsburg Schools levy

Yes Votes = 5,420 (48%)
No Votes = 5,827 (52%)

Westerville Schools levy

Yes Votes = 9,876 (52%)
No Votes = 8,973 (48%

Worthington Schools levy

Yes Votes = 11,435 (59%)
No Votes =  7,936 (41%)

If you’d like to get an estimate on real estate property taxes you can go to the Franklin County Auditor’s website and use the tax estimator tool:  http://franklincountyoh.metacama.com/globalTaxEstimator.jsp.

If you’re interested in buying a home anywhere in Central Ohio, please contact Petra at 614-895-0496.  I am an Accredited Buyer Agent Representative who’s been a Realtor® in Columbus since 2001, with over $50 Million in real estate sales throughout Central Ohio and currently with RE/MAX Connection Realtors®, in Gahanna Ohio.

I’ll work hard to help you find your ideal home and negotiate the lowest possible price, while representing your best interests throughout the process.  Best of all, my services as your personal buyer’s agent are FREE to you!  I appreciate the opportunity to help you buy your ideal home or condo in Central Ohio.

2009 COLUMBUS AND CENTRAL OHIO SUBURB BEGGAR’S NIGHT AND TRICK OR TREAT DATES:

If you live in or around the Columbus Ohio area, I’m providing the dates for 2009 Beggars Night or Trick or Treat in Columbus and all the surrounding suburbs. Halloween is a fun time of year for many kids in Central Ohio.  I know my son always looks forward to Trick or Treating to stock up on his favorite candy (since we don’t buy any candy in our home).

Since Halloween, October 31, 2009, falls on a Saturday this year, you’ll find Columbus and many central Ohio communities have scheduled beggars night/trick or treating, for October 29 instead.

Franklin County Trick or Treat Dates

• Bexley: 5:30-7:30 pm - Oct. 29
• Columbus: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
• Canal Winchester: 5:30-7:30 pm - Oct. 29
• Dublin: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29
• Gahanna: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
• Grandview Heights:  6-8pm - Oct. 31
• Grove City: 6-8pm Oct. 29
• Groveport: 5:30-7 pm - Oct. 29
• Hilliard: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29
• Jefferson Township (Gahanna): 6-8pm - Oct. 29
• Village of Lockbourne: 6-7:30 pm - Oct. 29
• Madison Township: 5:30-7 pm - Oct. 29
• New Albany: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29
• Reynoldsburg: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
• Upper Arlington: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
• Westerville: 6-8pm - Oct. 31
• Whitehall: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
• Worthington: 6-8pm - Oct. 29

Delaware County Trick or Treat Dates

• Galena: 6-7:15 p.m. - Oct. 31
• Genoa Township (Westerville) 6-8 pm - Oct. 31
• Lewis Center: 6-8pm - Oct. 31
• Orange Township: 6-8pm - Oct. 31
• Powell: 6-8pm - Oct. 31

Fairfield County Trick or Treat Dates

• Lithopolis: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29
• Pickerington: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29

Licking County Trick or Treat Dates

• Granville: 5:30-7 pm - Oct. 29
• Pataskala: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29

I hope you have found this information helpful for planning your Halloween activities in the Columbus area.  If you see any mistakes or want to add to this list, please contact Petra with information.   Happy Halloween!

I had to go to my dog’s vet, Lifetime Pet Wellness Center, at 454 Lazelle Road, Columbus, Ohio 43240 yesterday to pick up some supplements to help with a digestion problem he’s been having.  I noticed a brochure entitled Lifetime Pet Wellness Center Pet Salon.  I was curious what they considered a “pet salon” so I began reading some of the services they offer.

There are the typical grooming, bath,  dematting, nail trimming, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, etc.  What really caught my eye though were the spa services.  Here’s what the **Spa Package** includes:

Blueberry Facial - tearless shampoo that brightens your pets face and leaves a fresh scent.  Uses aromatherapy that is calming as well.

Upgraded Shampoo of your choice
Whitening - Brightens whites and all other colors as well
Oatmeal - Best for sensitive flaky skin
Herbal: All natural shampoo for any coat

Conditioner - great for dry skin and coat.  Also great as a detangler

Revitalizing Spray - finishing spray that seals and protects your pets coat.

I thought this was so funny, so I asked the lady at the counter if people really do all this for their pets.  She very enthusiastically explained yes because it’s just so wonderful for the dogs.  She went on to describe how the blueberry facial makes their face smell so good and brightens their fur and the dogs really seem to like the smell too.  She said it was like aromatherapy for the dogs because she thought it helped to relax them. Inside I’m thinking - do people really do all this for their dogs?

While I’m sure I’d personally love it if my dog could smell like blueberries - I know for sure that my crazy dog is more into smelling stinky.  He actually just got groomed today and got his doggy bath and the groomer then sprays some clean smelling finishing spray on him - so he typically smells good for maybe two days.  Well usually the first thing he does after getting groomed is to come inside the house and roll around all over the floor - like he’s trying to wipe the clean smell off or something.  Well today right after he got groomed, he wanted me to let him out in the back yard.  He was out there for a while and I didn’t think anything of it.  When I let him back in the house, he smelled horrible - he had rolled in God knows what and now he stinks!!  So unfortunately for me, my crazy dog would rather stink than smell good.

So while I realize grooming has many other benefits - I’m a bit frustrated that my dog doesn’t enjoy his clean smelling self.

We really love our vet at the Lifetime Pet Wellness Center because they tend to take as non invasive approach as possible including prescribing natural remedies instead of drugs, whenever possible.  I always appreciate this approach because many drugs have side effects and I’ve found that many natural alternatives are effective with less side effects.  The Lifetime Pet Wellness is conveniently located on 454 Lazelle Road really close to the Polaris Mall, within about 15 minutes of the Worthington, Polaris (Lewis Center), Westerville and North Columbus area .   You can reach them at 614-888-2100.

Being a dog lover (yes I still love my dog in spite of his quirky behavior) I can totally understand how hard it is to find a good vet.  If you’ve recently moved to the Columbus area, have a dog or cat and are looking for a good vet, I highly recommend them.

A friend sent me this special song - kind of a tribute to man’s best friend.  I hope you enjoy it.

One of my favorite events is coming to Columbus next week July 13-17,  Restaurant Week Columbus.  Columbus and Central Ohio has a quite a variety of wonderful restaurants and this is a great opportunity to try a new restaurant or one of your favorites at a discounted price, while benefiting the Mid Ohio Food Bank at the same time!  Many of my favorite restaurants are participating in this special event, offering three course meals from $15-35 per person.

This event is so popular, they recommend reservations because many restaurants may quickly book up. This is a great week to experience places you’ve been meaning to try. Plus, you’ll be supporting the local restaurant industry and the Mid-Ohio Food Bank which will receive a $5,000 donation on behalf of participating restaurants and (614) Magazine.

I’m excited because many of my favorite restaurants are participating in this event.  Here’s list of restaurants participating in Restaurant Week Columbus:

Spagio - Italian Restaurant in Grandview
The Rossi - Bar and Kitchen in the Short North Arts District
Trattoria Roma - Italian Restaurant in Grandview
Cimi’s Bistro - at the Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City
The Lost Shepherd - Divine Pub in Powell Ohio
Vittoria Ristorante - Italian Restaurant in Powell Ohio
Level - Modern American Restaurant in the Short North Arts District
Haiku - Japanese Restaurant in Short North Arts District
Sage American Bistro - Upscape Contemporary American Food on the Ohio State University Campus
The Melting Post - Fondue Restaurant at Easton Town Center
Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse - at Easton Town Center
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Worthington Ohio
Rosendales Modern Bistro - Upscale Restaurant in Short North Arts District
Mortons Steakhouse in Downtown Columbus
Moretti’s of Arlington - Family Owned Italian Restaurant in Upper Arlington
Mitchell’s Steakhouse - in Worthington and Downtown Columbus
Mezzo Italian Kitchen and Wine - Italian Restaurant at Creekside in Gahanna
Matt The Millers Tavern - in Muirfield - Dublin Ohio
Lindeys - Upscale Restaurant in German Village
Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse in the Short North Arts District, Dublin, Worthington and North Columbus
Columbus Fish Market - Seafood Restaurant in North Columbus and Worthington Ohio
Columbus Brewing Company in German Village
Bel Lago Waterfront Bistro (Beautiful outdoor dining on the Hoover Resevoir in Westerville Ohio)

I hope you take the opportunity to try one of these wonderful restaurants during Restaurant Week Columbus and support our local restaurants and the Mid Ohio Food Bank.  To learn more and view the specially priced menus visit:  http://www.restaurantweekcolumbus.com/

I keep thinking I should include a helpful tip about house hunting that most people don’t even think about.  We have shoes for runnning, walking, relaxing, hunting, working, going to the beach and well you get the picture by now.  

I was out showing condos in Powell, Lewis Center, Dublin, Westerville and New Albany today and several of the condos had notes requesting we remove our shoes.  Some of the condos were new builds, some were newer and some were, well not so new looking anymore.  But still the request to remove our shoes seemed to be common.   While I certainly think it’s a great idea to remove your shoes for showings, to help keep floors clean, it certainly can slow down the process of looking at homes.   

The buyers I was showing condos to were an older couple relocating to Columbus Ohio from the Knoxville Tennessee area and they found it quite inconvenient to constantly untie their sneakers and remove them.  But being from a more polite and compliant generation, they complied with the requests. Then it got a little more interesting when one condo actually had some hospital scrub type slippers that could fit over your shoes.  The buyers thought this might be easier than having to untie their sneakers and then put them back on again.  Well, imagine standing in the doorway,  balancing on one foot while trying to stretch these one size fits all slippers over your sneakers.  I consider myself to be somewhat coordinated - I say this because people are always commenting on how gifted I am at doing so many things while driving (you know as a REALTOR® I can’t just drive, I often find myself talking, eating, writing, mapping, etc. all while driving.  Of course, I usually count on the lucky buyer sitting in the passenger seat to help keep an eye on the road to make sure it doesn’t somehow dissapear on us.  But as coordinated as I am, I still find it challenging to stretch those slippers over my average size shoes.

So . . . In an effort to make house hunting in Columbus Ohio easier for buyers, I’m recommending you consider what shoes you’re going to wear before the hunt.  Just like any adventure, the shoes you choose to wear can certainly enhance the experience.  Just what would the ideal house hunting shoes be like, you might ask?  Simple . . . something that can easily be slipped off and back on again - without untying, yet comfortable enough to climb stairs and treck to and from the house hunting vehicle.  Some suggestions include: clogs, sandals and loafers.  

P.S. Happy House Hunting