Lot Lines: they can really freak people out in Cincinnati’s greater Hyde Park real estate market.

A Columbia Tusculum home we recently sold had to suffer through the lot line drama most recently. (It happens more than you think - we had a shared driveway scare in Hyde Park just a few months ago.) Following is a recipe in managing lot line drama:

In a nutshell, an opportunist  neighbor’s backyard abutted our home selling client’s backyard. There was a retaining wall on the neighbor’s yard that was failing. In a hilly neighborhood, that’s not exactly chump change to fix. So the neighbor started serving notices first to the Seller - and then when he saw the home go Pending, directly to yours truly - in an effort to spook the Buyer and gain leverage over the Seller by putting the transaction at risk until the issue was resolved.

The Neighbor cited historic precedent (stating that a previous owner of our client’s home had fixed it once 20+ years ago), intimated a law suit, and even told us he had a report from a Geotechnical Engineer citing previous evidence that the wall was part of our client’s property. (We asked for a copy of the report, which he failed to procure. And a geotechnical engineer’s job is to study the movement of earth et al, not identify where a lot line is. Silly neighbor!)

And when this kind of thing happens, there is nothing like a survey to settle the score. Surveys trump shenanigans every day of the week. So we had a survey done and sent the results to the neighbor, along with a friendly little love letter from an attorney, and the neighbor disappeared. We CC’d the prospective Buyer who felt confident moving forward with the legal opinion and the survey, and we closed 2 weeks later.

Don’t be bullied by lot line claims. Get the information from a professional surveyor and coordinate with your Realtor and attorney. Lot lines are no joke but are also not overwhelming to resolve.

Actually, there are a LOT of things that I love about Columbia Tusculum real estate, but to keep things short and sweet, here is my Top 5:

1. I love them Painted Ladies!
2. Location (8 minutes to downtown, 4 minutes to Hyde Park)
3. VALUE
4. Appreciation
5. My office is in Columbia Tusculum, and I love selling in my backyard!

Let’s talk about value. People love Hyde Park for many reasons, but two of the most popular reasons are its proximity to downtown and its charming homes. I love Hyde Park for those reasons, too, but think Columbia Tusculum fits the bill as well.

Downtown is only 8 minutes away (less, if you happen to have a lead foot) and its inventory of painted lady victorian architecture is unmatched in all of the Cincinnati real estate market. Yet a starter home in Columbia Tusculum will run you roughly 25% less than one in Hyde Park.

(Data Mongers: I averaged the sales of all 3 bedroom homes under $350k in each neighborhood from the past 6 months. Hyde Park was ~$245k, Columbia Tusculum was ~$175k).

Now let’s talk about appreciation. Hyde Park and Mt. Lookout have always seen consistently great appreciation rates, and Oakley has seen a major uptick in the past few years as well. That means that for people that want to live in greater Hyde Park, Columbia Tusculum homes are more often than not the best value. That means that they should appreciate.

Moreover, Columbia Tusculum is finally getting what it never had on its peers: its own town square.

With the addition of Columbia Square, Columbia Tusculum will gain that walkable neighborhood feel that it has never had on its peers in greater Hyde Park.

I can’t guarantee appreciation anywhere, but I’m pretty bullish on Columbia Tusculum, and in a down market, that’s saying something!