If you are like me and you have stepped outside in the past month you have probably been thinking a lot lately about how much sunshine and heat we always get at this time of year. It looks like the solar industry is too. With the demand for solar technology consistently growing as it becomes cheaper it is easy to see why this is a win win for our area. Of all of the green technologies out there solar seems to have the most going for it.

Photovoltaic cells (light collectors) are constantly becoming more effective and at the same time cheaper making for a technology that can only get larger as it becomes more affordable. Central Ohio has the framework in place to capitalize in a big way on this growth.

Businesses who want to grow in this developing industry need a perfect location where innovation is backed by generations of hands-on manufacturing expertise combined with extensive resources that also support profitable commercial success. Resources like R&D, academic institutions, a skilled workforce, strong industry partnerships and a supply chain to efficiently and cost-effectively bring a product to market.

Check.

Ohio offers a complete advanced energy supply chain infrastructure for businesses in the solar energy. The state’s manufacturing strengths, skilled workforce, and central location make Ohio a preferred location for advanced energy manufacturing businesses.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

The Swings at The Ohio State Fair

The heart of Americana will be illuminating the Columbus area in the next few weeks. With the Franklin County Fair in full swing through Saturday, and The Ohio State Fair coming in just 5 days there is plenty for fair goers of all ages to see and do.

The Franklin County Fair features contests galore including a pie eating contest, bread juggling, and a duct tape contest (whatever that is?)  as well as a tractor pull, car derby, and bull riding this weekend.

With all of its authenticity the Franklin County Fair is a sight, yet it is just the opening act. The Ohio State Fair is the main event. If it happened in Ohio in the past year you can see it here.

To just give a taste of whats to see here is a mini list of some of the hits.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

• Budweiser Clydesdales, 10 am – 9 pm
• Fireworks presented by Team Realtree Outdoor Energy, the Sportsman’s Drink at the Fair,  9:45 pm
• Giant Slide, 10 am – 11 pm
• Live Shark Encounter presented by WWHO, 10 am – 9 pm with shows daily at 1 pm, 3 pm, 7 pm
• Petting Zoo, 10 am – 10 pm
• Sand Sculpture, 11 am – 6 pm
• Pig Races presented by Classic Hits 103.9, 12:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 6:30 pm
• Pony Rides, 10 am – 10 pm
• Daily Parade presented by WINK 107.1, 4 pm

Thursday, July 28

• Wood B Creations Chainsaw Carving, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, 7 pm
• Central Ohio Model Railroad Club Exhibit, 10 am – 9 pm
• Monster Mural, 11 am – 7 pm

Like I said, this is just for starters. To get the FULL LIST go here.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

Hayden Falls Park, Dublin

Midsummer is a great time to get out of the city. Central Ohio has a lot of metro parks to help you with that. The bountiful trees all around filtering and cooling the air are reason enough to go, here are a few more if you need them.

Hayden Falls Park has a gorgeous waterfall and stream tucked into a cove that is easily accessible and open to anyone who is interested in getting wet as well. And its just up the road in Dublin.

Take a trip down the Scioto at the Scioto Canoe Livery, called Columbus’s best kept secret, where you can rent canoes, kayaks, and tubes.

Did you know that 12 Metro parks have trails where you can walk your dog? Prairie Oaks and Battelle Darby Creek even offer places where you can let your dog go for a swim and Scioto Audubon has dog parks with agility courses at their park.

Below is a list of links to local Metro Parks, you’re sure to find one that draws you in.

METRO PARKS

BATTELLE DARBY CREEK
1775 Darby Creek Drive, Galloway, OH 43119

BLACKLICK WOODS & GOLF COURSES
6975 & 7309 E. Livingston Ave, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

BLENDON WOODS
4265 E. Dublin-Granville Rd, Westerville, OH 43081

CHESTNUT RIDGE
8445 Winchester Rd N.W. Carroll, OH 43112

CLEAR CREEK
185 Clear Creek Rd, Rockbridge, OH 43149

GLACIER RIDGE
9801 Hyland Croy Rd, Plain City, OH 43064

HAYDEN FALLS PARK 4335 Hayden Run Rd., Dublin

HERITAGE PARK and TRAIL
7262 Hayden Run Rd, Hilliard, OH 43026

HIGHBANKS
9466 U.S. 23 N., Lewis Center, OH 43035

INNISWOOD
940 S. Hempstead Rd, Westerville, OH 43081

PICKERINGTON PONDS
7680 Wright Rd, Canal Winchester, OH 43110

PRAIRIE OAKS
3225 Plain City-Georgesville Rd, West Jefferson, OH

SCIOTO AUDUBON
395 W. Whittier St, Columbus, OH 43215

SHARON WOODS
6911 Cleveland Ave, Westerville, OH 43081

SLATE RUN and LIVING HISTORICAL FARM
1375 S.R. 674 North, Canal Winchester, OH 43110

THREE CREEKS
3860 Bixby Rd, Groveport, OH 43125

WALNUT WOODS
6833 Richardson Rd, Groveport, OH  43125

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

On September 22nd Ken Burns, director of documentaries on topics of Americana from Baseball, to Jazz, to The Civil War, will be in Westerville to give a talk before the debut of his documentary, “Prohibition”. The visit comes as a result of his research team’s extensive fact checking information for the documentary at the Westerville Public Library’s Local History Center. As Westerville city law director Bruce Bailey points out,   “This all began in our town 102 years ago,” “He wouldn’t have a show without us. We are the home of the Anti-Saloon League.”

While in central Ohio, Burns will attend a luncheon at the Westerville Public Library then teach a master class at Otterbein University before going to WOSU for an appearance on a local news show.

Local history coordinator Beth Weinhardt said the library will conduct a public lottery for tickets to the luncheon.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

Our little college town has gotten a shout out in MSN Money for, well, being a college town. Yes it has some major perks. Aside from having the stability of The Ohio State University and the jobs that come with it, there is also the rental market that comes as a side dish. Many of the people who are putting off buying a home are going back to school and renting – a great time to own rental property in Columbus! HER Property Management is a great source for tenants and buyers/ owners to help navigate the leasing environment. They are also ready to help connect rental owners with prospective tenants throughout the central Ohio area.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

Doo Dah Parade, Short North

Columbus is rich with festivals and cultural events; in the last month, Comfest, Pride, and the gallery hop attracted thousands of visitors. This weekend, July 4th celebrations are guaranteed to be star-spangled fun–but it might be worthwhile to travel for small-town festivals ripe with Americana.

Granville, an Ohio community thirty-five miles northeast of downtown Columbus, celebrates Independence Day with a four-day extravaganza, running July 1-4 (Friday-Monday). Live music, games, square dancing, fair food, and amusement park rides will entertain your whole family. A parade, 5k run, and talent show will also be featured. See the complete calendar here.

Granville is a quaint and historic town, home to the renowned liberal arts college, Denison University. Want to escape the July 4th madness? Visit the downtown strip for unique shopping and tasty meals–as well as to enjoy the classical architecture and gardens.

If you’d rather stay in Columbus, the annual Doo Dah Parade begins at 1pm on Buttles Avenue between High Street and Park Street. The parade, celebrating its 28th year, aims to exercise the first amendment right through humor, and has been branded as “the craziest parade in history.” All-day entertainment is provided in the Short North, including live music, games, beer, food, and prizes.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

This year’s Red, White and Boom! downtown will take place on Friday July 1st and is expected to be a big event. Workers have been preparing all week for the over 100,000 expected to flock downtown to see the fireworks. This year’s event will include Civic Center Drive peppered from Broad to Main St. with concession stands. Taste of BOOM!, in the Arena District – a street party that kicks off at 3pm and lasts until midnight. The party will feature food from Columbus’s top restaurants, music from local bands, and interactive games from the Columbus Crew.

Participating Restaurants

• Max & Erma’s
• W.g. Grinders
• bd’s Mongolian Barbeque
• Gordon Biersch
• Arena Grand Movie Theatre
• Boston’s Gourmet Pizza
• Sunny Street Cafe
• Hyatt Market Stand
• Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

Staging is not hard or costly, but in reality many homeowners find it difficult because it is hard to see objectively when you love something. Staging does pay off however, as Sue Fitzgerald of New Albany, a recent successful seller with The Raines Group, can attest.

A few rules to live by when staging your home.

#1  Clean

To achieve the level of clean your potential buyers expect may require hiring a cleaning crew, consider this an investment. Get your windows cleaned inside and out as well.

#2 Fix

Anything you have put off getting fixed? You cannot put that off any longer. Cracked tile? Leaky faucets? Get them fixed.

#3 Kill the Clutter

Eliminate the clutter in your home by at least half. This is very difficult but cannot be underestimated, people buy homes they can see themselves in not the owners before them. Expensive stores have a very tidy and clean layout while cheap stores have stuff everywhere, keep that in mind.

• This is a place where a professional stager can come in very handy.

#4 Blank Canvas

Neutral colors allow buyers to envision themselves as the owners easier. Again, you are selling them their house, not yours.

#5 De-personalize

Remove personal items that buyers won’t be able to identify with. For example, political and religious items may turn off whole groups of buyers because they cannot imagine your home as their home.

A few extra pointers:

The Entrance

Make your entryway as light and as bright as possible. You don’t get a second chance at a first impression.

The Kitchen

Kitchens sell homes. The importance of making your kitchen appealing cannot be underestimated. Clean and de-clutter! If your cabinets are old consider resurfacing them. Facelifts can do wonders to a kitchen.

The Bathroom

Your bathroom should look like it is out of a catalog. Do not display any personal items. Get a set of new fluffy neutral towels and display them.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

Permeable sidewalk surrounding New Albany's branch of The Columbus Metropolitan Library

New Albany’s forward-thinking approach to development isn’t limited to high tech infrastructure and fiber optics. In fact, one of the latest examples employs an old world tool – brick.
The city recently launched an innovative storm water mitigation initiative. The project is designed to protect existing natural features and restore native habitats while ultimately supporting over 340,000 square feet of commercial development, 800 multi-family residential units and 700 single-family homes surrounding Market Square, the community’s urban core.
The effort encompasses a variety of the best practices  developed that address the issue holistically. The project spawned the transformation of Third Street into a ‘green street’ where the historic brick pavement not only complements the community’s timeless Greorgian architectural style but also serves as a permeable surface that filters and stores storm water prior to release into the Rose Run stream corridor.

It’s another example of how New Albany continues to grow in a way that protects its architectural integrity and natural setting while encouraging the development of a progressive 21st century infrastructure.

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.

Comfest (Goodale Park, Victorian Viliage)

ComFest
June 24-26; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Satruday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
Goodale Park, Victorian Village
Annual all-volunteer celebration featuring food and craft vendors and many local bands performing of numerous stages.
comfest.com

Powell Festival
June 24-25; 5-11 p.m. Friday, 12-11 p.m. Saturday
Village Green Park, Powell
Two days of live music, food and family fun capped by fireworks display.
cityofpowell.us

North Market Food & Ohio Wine Festival
July 8-10; 7-10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 12-6 p.m. Sunday
North Market, Arena District
Ohio wineries and local cuisine vendors and live music.
northmarket.com

Westerville Music & Arts Festival
July 9-10; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Heritage Park, Westerville
Local artists and musicians in downtown Westerville.
westervillechamber.com

Bike Columbus Festival
July 15; begins at 6 p.m.
City Hall, Downtown
Two bikes tours, 12 and 25 miles, through Columbus ending at an after party on Gay St.
bikecolumbusfestival.com

Franklin County Fair
July 16-23; 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday-Saturday
4H displays, contests, live entertainment, games, fair concessions, rodeo, moto cross and tractor pulls.
fcfair.org

Shadwobox Live Sketch Comedy Festival
July 19-20; show times TBD
Shadowbox Live, Easton
Comedy troupes from around the country go head-to-head in a two-day competition.
shadowboxlive.org

Jazz & Rib Festival
July 22-24; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday
McFerson Commons and North Bank Park, Arena District
Award-winning barbecue competition and live music by national and local acts throughout three days.
hotribscooljazz.org

Serbian Festival
12-10 p.m. Saturday, July 23
St. Stevan of Dechani Serbian Church, East Side
Annual summer picnic featuring live Serbian music, dancing, full bar, and a buffet of authentic cuisine.
ststevanofdechani.org

Ohio State Fair
July 27-Aug. 7; 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, July 27-Saturday Aug. 6, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6
Ohio State Fairgrounds
Rides, concessions, livestock displays and competitions and nightly concerts featuring Ke$ha, Journey, Brad Paisley and more.
ohiostatefair.com

If you are looking to buy or sell a property in New Albany, Gahanna, Blacklick, Westerville, or another Central Ohio community, please contact The Raines Group. We offer professional real estate advice and are happy to help you achieve your real estate goals. Please contact us today via our online contact form or by calling The Raines Group at 614-418-7417.