As foreclosed property sales continue to increase in Hamilton County there is one piece of advice that we have to give. Get new locks! We recommend this to all of our buyers but stress it even further with foreclosed and bank owned property.

When so many people have access to the home keys over the course of the numerous transaction it is important for the new home owner’s security. Moreover, some institutions have been known to key all of their properties the same to simplify their property manager’s job. One key - many homes.

So if you are planning on buying a bank owned or foreclosed house use some of the money you save buy new locks. We have done business in Cincinnati with Larry’s Lock and Acme Lock.

A Senate bill in Washington aimed at helping Americans through the sub prime mortgage crisis may include funding of up to $4 billion dollars to support a temporary $7,000 tax credit for people buying new homes or properties in foreclosure.

Ohio Senators Sherod Brown and Sen. George Voinovich each have their own questions and concerns about the bill and its impacts on both Ohio residents and lending institutions reports the Dayton Daily News.

If you could claim a $7,000 tax credit for buying a foreclosed house would you? Is it enough to get you to look exclusively at foreclosed properties? Our thoughts are that after the credit crisis and the lending practices get resolved these proactive measures will bolster the Cincinnati real estate market by removing some of the excess inventory.

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There is a new trend in real estate marketing in Ohio in the form of the Cleveland foreclosure bus tour. A real estate agent books a tour bus and charges $15 per person for home buyers to go to three different suburbs with homes that have been foreclosed.

In Phoenix, AZ, has the Phoenix foreclosure Bus Tours that brings together real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and rehab specialists with potential home buyers and investors to try to get the foreclosed homes moved off the market .

These tours may help move foreclosed homes off of the market faster. The real question is, are these tours taking potential buyers away from the rest of the inventory in the city? In price-stable Cincinnati there are specific areas with more foreclosures, and the agent-listed inventory in those areas may suffer more from activities like this in the short term, but getting foreclosed homes occupied quickly is good for the community in the long term..

For many Cincinnati residents, foreclosure is a reality.

Due to many factors affecting the economy as well as deceptive lending practices by some banks, uninformed customers have applied for and were granted loans that they simply can’t afford.

Many people don’t realize that when they are having financial problems the best thing to do is to inform their lender to work out a resolution. Most people are inclined to hide the fact that they are struggling financially because they feel helpless and that they have no options and their fate is sealed; they will certainly lose their home.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has launched a program to assist people who are facing potential foreclosure.

The program is called “Save the Dream” and it is an educational tool that provides information for homeowners.

The complete URL of the Save the Dream Web site is http://savethedream.ohio.gov/.