Sharon Roark's Blog: All Categories

A recently-released study conducted by BusinessWeek magazine has name Wilmore, KY the "Most Affordable Suburb" in Kentucky. The study selected one suburb in each state where residents can find" the best quality of life for their money" in 2009."

Popular with residents because of its low crime rate and moderate pace of life, Wilmore, located in Jessamine County, has a strong Christian influence due to the two major institutions of higher learning located there: Asbury College (a private, Christian college) and Asbury Theological Seminary.

Businessweek was looking for small cities with populations of 5,000 - 60,000 people; median family incomes of $51,000 - $120,000, and low crime rates. Wilmore boasts a population of just under 6,000 and a median income…

With current market conditions, there's been an increae in the number of home buyers offering a "contingency" contract to buy your home. But is it a good idea to accept a contingency contract on your home?

For the buyers, the big advantage is obvious -- they don't have to go through with the purchase if their home doesn't sell so they don't risk much.

Buyers do face the disadvantage of incurring costs such of inspecting and appraising the property, but the expense is minimal compared to buying a new home before selling the old one and ending up owning two homes at once.

From the seller's perspective, contingent sale offers aren't usually as desirable because the outcome is uncertain. This is why sellers who agree to a contingent sale offer usually want…

As many of you know, I am a realtor in Lexington KY who is also a home stager in Lexington KY. Although staging does involve quite a bit of extra work up front, the end results have been so positive that it always seems worth it to me.

Well, I'm proud to announce that I've once again kept my record of selling all the homes I've staged within 58 days! I work with Lexington KY real estate extensively, and most houses I stage are under contract within 4-6 weeks, though a couple have taken almost 8 weeks. One of my latest listings just went under contract this morning, the 58th day since it was listed, and I couldn't be happier!

This home was a bit of a challenge because it's an older home that's had only a few updates, while some of its competitors had…

According to a report issued by Realtytrac, foreclosures dropped 23.9 percent in Kentucky from December to January,  RealtyTrac is national firm based in California that specializes in tracking foreclosures. 

Kentucky's January foreclosure rate for January 2009 was still 17.3 percent above its foreclosure rate for January 2008, despite a temporary moratorium on foreclosures instituted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for January.

Nationally, Kentucky still ranks well below average in numbers of foreclosures with one out of every 2,841 household involved in a foreclosure versus a national rate of one in every 466 households falling into foreclosure. According to the RealtyTrac report, Kentucky ranked 40th in the nation in percentage of households in…

After much debate, both the U.S. House and Senate have passed the Economic Stimulus Bill, expected to be signed soon by President Obama. The bill, which contains many provisions designed to provide Americans with various forms of tax relief, also provides an $8,000 tax credit for buyers in the form of a tax credit that does not need to be paid back (unlike the previous $7500 tax credit that acted more or less like an interest-free loan).

One significant change in the tax credit (besides reducing the proposed amount of $15,000 to $8,000) is that the credit applies only to first-time buyers, meaning buyers who have not owned a principle residence in at least 3 years. (Owning rental property is okay as long as none of those properties were your principle…

Forbes Magazine has named Lexington, Kentucky the fifth-best in its list of top 10 “Top College Sports Towns” in its February edition. 

The criteria included what the Forbes called “quality of life measures” such as housing costs versus median income, public school quality, crime and the availability and value of real estate in Lexington, KY.

Here’s what Forbes Magazine had to say about Lexington:

"If you like basketball and horse racing, there's no betterplace in the world to live than Lexington, Ky. Besides the university's hoops team and the tracks around the city, there is quality affordable housing to be found. A four-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot home costs just $234,500, while median earners make $45,622 a year."

Ann Arbor, Mich., home to the…

I'm proud to announce that effective this week, I am now a member of the Keller Williams Bluegrass family, which is part of the national franchise of Keller Williams Realty.

Many items factored in to my decision to join Keller Williams, not the least of which is their impressive market share (number 2 in Lexington, KY real estate and quickly gaining on number 1) and the incomparable training and support they offer. Another factor was their size -- they're one of the larger offices in the Lexington area, which gives me as your agent more opportunities to network with other agents who may have clients who would like to see your home/property. I've only been at my new office a few days, but already I'm impressed with the "get it done" attitude of the support…

Should you buy a condo or a single family house? Should you spend as much as you've been pre-approved for or less? The answers to these questions depend on your lifestyle, whether you're looking at homes for sale in Lexington, KY or Dallas, TX.

Single family homes are wonderful -- if you don't mind taking care of the yard and landscaping. Even if you buy a home that's been professionally landscaped already, you'll still need to put time and effort into maintaining it.

For some people -- especially busy professionals -- a condominium or townhome is a better fit for their lifestyle. With these types of homes, there's usually a monthy association fee that includes the cost of maintaining the outside of the home, including the lawn and any landscaping. If…