It’s been a while since we’ve taken a trip on the education express to architecture town, so saddle up and get ready to learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about TUDORS!
Part Medieval cottage, part fairytale palatial estate, the Tudors that we mostly think of today are actually (fun fact) not really Tudors at all! They’re mock Tudors that are really just throwback versions of the English cottage style built during the Tudor dynasty in the 15th and 16th centuries. I know, impressive branding by those Tudors.
Anyway, this style was largely popularized from the 1910’s to 1940’s with all that prohibition era money being tossed around, because having a Tudor was apparently kind of a status symbol back in the day. They were unique, asymmetrical (which always adds to construction cost), and often times extremely large. Although you can still find Tudor elements into construction much later, Tudors lost a lot of their popularity after World War 2, when affordable housing became more important than blowing the budget just to show off to your friends.
For reference, there are looots of Tudors in Oakwood and west Kettering, largely because that’s when a lot of those areas were developed.
Exterior features:
-Asymmetrical facades
-Steeply pitched roofs with strong lines
-Usually at least brick or stone first floors
-Lots of gables and dormers
-Half-timbering (this is probably what you immediately visualize when you hear “Tudor”, and refers to the exterior horizontal and vertical mock frame boards with stucco or stone in between, see the picture above)
-Tall, narrow, multi-paned windows
-Often times have arched doorways and heavy wood doors
-Elaborate chimneys
-Cantilevered second floors (second floor overhangs)
-Lots of blacks, browns, and creams
-If a house has a slate roof, there’s a good chance that it’s a Tudor. *There’s also a good chance that you should ask the owner of said slate roof to borrow some cash, because those puppies are not exactly cheap.
Interior features:
-Dark wood trim and paneling
-Central (usually stone) fireplace
-Plaster, plaster, and more plaster everywhere
-Faux beam ceilings
-Arched doorways
-Lots of smaller, cozy rooms
If I’m being honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of Tudors, but I can certainly appreciate the style and craftsmanship. What say you?
We’ve partnered with Centerville-Washington Park District for an evening of entertainment! The evening will start with bounce houses, games, crafts and fun on the playground. Claim a spot in the grass with a picnic blanket dinner, or have the professionals from a local food truck cook for you. Then as the sun sets over the park, settle in for a movie under the stars with popcorn & snow cones. More info here
First step, get a degree in exercise physiology. It’s a seamless transition, believe me, and the overlap is just about perfect…or not. Truth is I kind of fell into real estate halfway by accident, and halfway because it provided the quickest path to something that I had always wanted to do, own a business. While over time it’s come to be something great that I love, it’s certainly not for everyone.
Well, since I have a little bit of experience in the industry (10 years this year!) and since I’m also rarely short on opinions, I figured this might be as good a place as any to share just a few points to consider if you’re thinking about clicking the “enroll” button on your real estate classes.
#1 – You call the shots
Pro: Being in charge is great, if you’re into that kind of thing. Although you work at, or with, a brokerage, you really get to call all of the shots on how you want your business to operate. Want to only work weekdays? Good luck with that, but sure, you can. Want to focus on working with part-time yoga teachers that have a super grounded chi and a $900k budget (thanks for the realism, HGTV)? Also good luck, but yep, that’s an option. Whatever you want. The real estate world is your proverbial oyster.
Con: You’re. Your. Own. Boss. There’s a flip side to that coin too though, because guess who’s responsible when the $%#@ hits the fan?
#2 – Say goodbye to clocking in
Pro: There’s no one that’s going to track you down if you don’t show up for work, and no one’s going to complain if you roll in a little late.
Con: Say goodbye to paychecks. Again, there’s a downside to breaking free from the traditional business model. You’ll get out however much you put in, so be prepared to work at times when other people aren’t. For instance, it’s currently midnight as I’m writing this. Also, health insurance. That’s a much longer (and depressing) conversation though.
#3 – Each day is different
Pro: Often times you don’t know what you’ll be doing in 15 minutes, or what challenges you’re going to tackle next. It’s great if you’re high energy or easily distracted…SQUIRREL!
Con: Depending on the day, hour, or minute, you could be anything from a financial advisor, mathematician, marriage counselor, marketing consultant, cheerleader, or shoulder to cry on. Sometimes it’s confusing and sometimes it’s exhausting.
#4 – It can be an emotional rollercoaster
Pro: *Pardon the sappiness* Buying or selling a house often times really is the biggest transaction that people will have in their lifetimes, and walking clients through that process in a way that truly makes a difference is undeniably satisfying. Can people buy/sell property without agents? Yes, of course, but if you’re doing this job well (ie: a lot of agents aren’t) I genuinely feel like what we add to the experience is irreplaceable. It can also be a great spike of adrenaline getting a tough deal put together.
Con: A real estate transaction is an inherently fragile thing, and sometimes a ton of work and energy ends up falling apart because Sally Seller looked at Billy Buyer the wrong way (names have been changed to protect the innocent), or because an inspector decided that one blade of grass was too long, obviously indicating major structural damage that could cause the house to collapse aaany minute, or because the wind blew the wrong direction one day, or any number of other scenarios that get overblown because tensions and the perceived stakes are elevated. You’ve got to learn to—or try to—roll with the punches.
So there you have it. Real estate provides truly endless opportunities in a way that most careers can’t, but it’s also a volatile, chaotic, and stressful work environment that not everyone is best suited for. If that doesn’t scare you off though and you’re still interested in testing the waters, give me a call. I’d love to discuss more!
How would you determine the value of your personal possessions if disaster strikes? The losses of the recent storms in the Miami Valley is estimated to reach $900 million to $1.1 billion. Of those affected, the National Institute of Insurance Commissioners estimates that greater than 60% will not have adequate inventory of their personal belongings and many will be under insured. All homeowners should conduct an annual home inventory. An easy way to get started is by taking photos of each room and the contents of cabinets and closets. In addition, creating an inventory checklist of your personal property can assist in determining quickly what is missing or destroyed. Save your pictures and inventory to a digital cloud service so it won’t be lost if tragedy strikes. Another important step in protecting your family is having your insurance agent perform an annual protection review to ensure your policy is adequately covering you and your property.
Info Provided by: Rob Riddell, Shelter Insurance [email protected]
It was hot, it was humid, but that didn’t stop the good times at our client appreciation “night at the ballpark”. Food??, drinks??, baseball⚾️, sunshine☀️ and great company?, what’s better than that? Thanks to all who came out, we really appreciate your support and friendship!
*Shout out to Mike Kamper of Happy Kamper Films for capturing the night for us and the awesome video and also to the Dayton Dragons Professional Baseball Team for having us!
Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, our kids are finally able to GET. OUT. SIDE…and the real estate market is going absolutely crazy with activity. New listings are getting locked up in hours, not days or weeks, and if you’re not one of the first buyers in the door on something new there’s a good chance that someone else is going to make your buying decision for you. Properties have never been worth more, and it’s a great time to be selling your house, no question about it. Making an in-absolutely-no-way-sensationalized analogy, it’s the wild west of real estate right now, and sellers are cleaning up. No matter what market you’re in though, selling a home still has challenges, they just may be a little less obvious in a great market rather than a bad one because there’s enough money flying around that it’s easy to lose track of the most important thing: MAXIMIZING your bottom line.
It’s certainly easy to put a house on the market and have it sell right now. As long as it’s not literally falling down, getting to the closing table is almost a virtual lock. This is why we’ve seen growth in companies such as Redfin and ibuyer platforms like Opendoor (and now Zillow), because when there’s an abundance of low hanging fruit—equity/eager buyers for sellers, and eager sellers for corporations—there’s always going to be someone there to pick it. Instead of going too far down a rabbit hole though, let’s switch gears and discuss how YOU, intrepid home seller, can make sure that you’re not just showing up to pick that low hanging fruit, but that you’re really ready to take advantage of what this market is offering and take your bottom line from good to great. We call that, the lowest-hangingest-bestest fruit…or something like that.
So, since you’re almost definitely going to sell your house for more than you thought possible a couple years ago, and that’s not in question, what is in question? Well, as I see it, four basic things:
Take your time and do it right
Don’t rush getting a house on the market just because you want that closing check in your hands a few days sooner. If you rush the pre-listing prep you don’t get a redo after putting the house on the market, and by the time you figured out that something is wrong you’ve already blown through your most impactful time on market right after listing. Too many sellers do this and ultimately they just end up hurting themselves by limiting their ceiling and not maximizing their value, even if their house sells quickly. Do it right, get it staged, and make sure that all the little odds and ends are buttoned up. After all, you’d pay more for a house that’s all dressed up for the ball, and so will your buyers.
Be strategic about pricing
If you price it reasonably (for the market, which may still seem high), and let the market determine your ceiling you’ll create an environment where there’s more interest, more competition, and more leverage for you. No one wins by doing “price high and pray” method, you just dilute competition and thin out your potential buyer pool. This also opens you up to potentially a long listing where your negotiating leverage dwindles. In short, just don’t do it.
Bring in the traffic and capitalize on competition
Simple. Get as many people in the property as possible, as quickly as possible. You’ve got a great product and you’ve priced it well, so now it’s just a matter of showing it off to the world. How do we do that? A mix of sources and methods, but the key is saturating the marketplace with exposure. Each offer increases your leverage and improves your chances at dictating terms significantly.
Negotiate hard
Negotiations are all about leverage. Who has it, who doesn’t, and how well each party understands their position. Remember, you’re in a SELLERS MARKET. If you’ve executed the first three items on this list well then hopefully you’re able to be a little stingy and use the leverage of the market to your advantage. If you find yourself with multiple offers then be strategic and figure out if there’s one buyer that you can push to squeak out a little bit better price, better timelines, or whatever else that matters to you. That little bit extra can be the difference between good and great, just know where the line is and don’t push too hard.
So there you go, that’s selling your place in a nutshell. If you execute each of these points at a high level then you’ll put yourself in the best possible position to not just sell in a good market, but to take advantage of a great market. Let us know if you want to take a deeper dive into what this looks like!
It’s everyone’s (least) favorite time of year again…PROPERTY TAX TIME! When all of us homeowners happily hand Uncle Sam a big chunk of money in exchange for the distinguished privilege of owning a small patch of grass with four walls and a roof on it…or not. Obviously that’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but property taxes are something that seems to get people fired up, especially when they’re just a bit too high for their liking.
So for those of you who wonder just exactly how those taxes are calculated, let’s go straight to the source and get our answer directly from the Montgomery county website:
“In the State of Ohio, real estate taxes are based upon the appraised value of property. Counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, and special districts each raise money through real estate taxes. Governments have the ability to levy taxes upon land located within their jurisdiction. The money collected from taxes funds schools, pays for police and fire protection, maintains roads, and supports community services such as libraries and parks.”
See, totally explains things and makes you feel a whole lot better about that seemingly arbitrary number that you’re supposed to pay, right? Oh wait, no it doesn’t. Not even a little bit.
Instead, let’s break things down into the two components that play a part in determining exactly what your bill is going to be. Your municipal millage rate and your county appraised value.
Millage Rate
The other piece of the puzzle is your millage rate, which accounts for any municipal levies applied to your property based on location, and is multiplied by a portion of your county appraised value. This is what accounts for one area being more or less expensive than another, even though the appraised values may be exactly the same. Unfortunately, this you’re not going to change outside of the ballot box, so it’s worth knowing, but isn’t going to be something that you can contest.
County Appraised Value
This is what the county you live in has determined that your property is worth, based on a number of different criteria (size, age, neighborhood, etc) and any broad market changes that have occurred in your area since the last revaluation. Typically, a full revaluation is done every six years (get ready for 2020 Montgomery county residents!), with an update done in the third year of that six year cycle.
Realize though that this number typically lags behind market value a bit for a few reasons:
With all of those variables muddying the water, if you’re looking for the leeway to challenge your property taxes then the appraised value is what you’re going to focus on. So, if you’d like some advice on whether or not a valuation challenge is a worth your time or not let us know! We’d be happy to provide you with some data ammunition for your appeal.
© 2026 The Jeff Probst Group.
All Rights Reserved. | Made by Jetpack