Apple Valley Ohio Lake Community by Sam Miller

I have been working on a 1984 Corvette project car for a while now and the car now looks like a Corvette again.  The 1984 is the first year of the C4 generation and the lightest weight car of this generation.  When you want to go fast lighter weight means faster performance and lightweight cars are much easier on parts.  I also selected the C4 Vette because the engine is set REALLY far back in the front suspension which makes for a very quick weight transfer when you launch the car. 

Here is the run down on what I have done:

Removed the 350 crossfire engine and replaced it with a solid 406 Small Block Chevy with roughly 500 horsepower on pump gas and it has a nitrous system that will easily put the engine over 700 horsepower with a mild set up.  We removed roughly 300 more lbs from the car and I have another 200 lbs to go...and the goal is to make the weight reduction not obvious to keep with the street sleeper look.  I installed Aerospace brakes, fabricated coilovers for the front suspension, bought an ultra lightweight cowl hood, twin fuel cells with twin pumps, replaced the old bumpers with the 1996 style front and rear bumpers, I lowered the car about 2 inches on all 4 corners.  Final interior is in the works and a new Lamborghini orange paint color is soon to be applied.  The car should be on the street in 2 months or less if all goes well.  I will post some photos when I get it done except for the paint.

I ran across this Best Buy section and immediately thought I should share some information on property that truly fits the "Best Buy" criteria.  Here are some details that will surprise many of you especially when you see the features, amenities and then the pricing for these lots.  When you see the price you are going to think I have a price typo...seriously.

Apple Valley Lake is an Ohio lake community nestled in Knox County in the rural central part of Ohio between Columbus and Cleveland.  Apple Valley offers boating, fishing, water skiing, jet skiing, swimming, 3 beaches, outdoor pool, indoor pool, a club house, 3 boat launches, a marina, recreation, community clubs and more.  There are home sites (building lots) that are priced between $5,000 and $10,000 with public water, public sewer, natural gas and other amenities.  In most parts of the country you can't buy a building lot with public utilites for less than $25,000 so when you compare the Apple Valley building lots...they are an amazing value.

Home prices for a basic weekend cabin start at less than $100,000 and go up from there.  The average home price for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch with a 2 car garage is around $125,000 with larger homes with custom features and golf course fronted homes starting at $150,000 to $300,000.  Waterfront homes starter homes and cabins can still be found in the mid $200,000 range with custom built waterfront homes on wooded/treed lots in the $400,000 price range and above. 

You can view available Apple Valley lots by clicking here:  http://www.sammiller.com/avplots.htm

Apple Valley homes can be viewed by clicking here:  http://www.sammiller.com/avplist.htm

I am curious how many on this forum are doing video podcasting with a Mac and using Garageband?  I have been doing some research and it seems to be the easiest way to go from idea to a completed project.  Does anyone have an issue with the screen size format using Mac's built in podcast format which is essentially a square screen that will fit the IPOD video screen format?  Most of the other screen viewing formats I have seen are using a different screen format.

Sam Miller

Another one of my Hot Rods that are nearing completion.  This is a 1978 Chevy Malibu that I have owned for about 10 years.  This is a street car I built and it sits on a custom 2x3 tubular chassis,  In order to drive the car on the street I just remove the parachute and screw on the rear plate and I am ready to roll. 

The car has a 572 big block Chevy with Pontiac pro stock head, Jesel shaft rockers, titainium valves, Jesel belt drive, Ross nitrous pistons, 6.8 long rods, 4.625 bore, 4.25 inch stroke crank, stefs aluminum pan, MSD crank trigger, sheet metal intake with dual 1150 dominators.  If you look really close you will see a belt driven ignition system.  (normally a Chevy has a rear mounted distributor).  There is an adjustable NOS pro shot fogger nitrous system that will add an additionl 300 to 500 horsepower.

Here is a better view of the nitrous system and how it is plumbed into the sheet metal intake.

The car has a Lenco CS1 transmission.  This car is a kick in the pants to drive and I hope it will see a bunch of street driving in the Spring on 2007.  I promise when I am driving this I will never be late for an appointment.

Selling real estate in smaller real estate communities like Mount Vernon, Ohio and Apple Valley, Ohio can be very rewarding if you understand your market.  There are some unique key factors you will want to consider before you launch your marketing plan into high speed.  The benefits of a smaller market can make you a market leader quickly if you do the right things and if you are not likeable and approachable in a smaller market you can end your chances for success very quickly.

If you are in a market where you are selling homes ultra affordable homes or you are working in a market where the average income is modest it is not smart to show up at the listing appointment driving a new Mercedes,  BMW or Lexus (even if it is a cheaper model).  Sure some people will think you are successful but often you will create a barrier between you and your client because that car may cost twice what that household family may earn in a year.  If your smaller market has any American automotive suppliers or manufactures it is generally not wise to drive a foreign car even if it is a Honda because many from smaller markets frown on this.  You may find this strange that an agent can get away driving a $60,000 Caddy or Lincoln but are frowned on for driving a $30,000 Honday.  It is not about the money...it is about small town values.

Your professional image in a small town can make or break your business and the swing can happen very quickly.  In a smaller market people notice your success if you have any marketing skill at all.  One mistake many agents make in a small market is they preach they are number #1 instead of focusing on their client.  In a small town being number certainly has it's advantages but unless you can help the market understand that by you being the best in your market actually adds value to their transaction.  If they think you are bragging you can quickly chase away more business than you will attract. 

Saying you are the #1 Realtor in Mount Vernon, Ohio with more than $30 million in home sales in 2006 doesn't work nearly as well in a small market as saying "I would like to thank all my Mount Vernon clients and  customers who helped me become the areas top home seller in 2006".  Even though they sound similar the second one will attract far more consumers in a small market.

Feel free to share your small market successes here.

Referrals can be one of the best ways to grow your real estate business.  Each year it is a good idea to evaluate what percentage of your business was generated from Referrals.  Every year it is very wise to compare that years percentage to your prior years.  The longer you are active in the real estate industry the higher your percentage of referral business should become.  As your reputation with your clients develops your past clients and customers will become more willing to refer you business.  If you stay in touch with your past clients on a regular basis and you continually provide value to them as their agent it will become more natural for them to recommend you.

One of the most overlooked ways to grow your business is agent to agent referrals.  There are so many reasons why this is a part of our business that we should all really focus more on.  First, this type of business is usually far less expensive to create or generate.  Secondly, if you are referring the a buyer or seller to a top agent you will have less time and energy invested into a transaction yet your rate of return will generally exceed your hourly rate if you were personally working with the client.  Thirdly, when you get another agent to refer a client to you the other agent has helped open doors for you that would generally take longer to open which allows you to focus your time and effort on actually helping the client instead of using that together to sell them on working with you.  When you are presold you can be far more effective and this makes referral business very effecient.

Referrals can be a wonderful thing for you especially if you have a buyer or seller relocating to or from Knox County, Ohio from areas such as Mount Vernon, Apple Valley, Gambier, Fredericktown, Centerburg, Danville and Howard, Ohio.  If you have a clients who work for Rolls Royce, TRW, Owens Corning, Dana, Weyerhaeuser, Jeld Wen, Kenyon College, or The Nazarene University please keep me in mind.  These employers are constantly relocating employees in and out of Knox County and I would love to work with you.  Referrals are GOOD!