Q & A with Anne Pond, Vice President of Home Restart

This month we interviewed Anne Pond, vice president of Home Restart. Home Restart specializes in acquiring properties that are distressed and undervalued and restores them to their highest and best use and maximum potential. To date, Home Restart has purchased and renovated seven houses. Pond turns to Neyer Properties for their assistance in approving the purchase and helps manage Home Restart’s financials.

You have experience in real estate, is majority of that with residential properties?
All of my real estate experience centers around residential property. I began investing in real estate on a personal level, and the lessons I learned on my own prepared me to take on this new venture at Home Restart.

What purpose does Neyer Properties serve to Home Restart?

The people at Neyer Properties are a valuable resource to Home Restart. Neyer takes care of the accounting and marketing for Home Restart, and Charlie Pond lends his expertise in construction to assist in the remodeling process.

How far is your area range for homes?

Although I look at properties in the entire Greater Cincinnati Area, we typically stick to certain core, desirable areas, which in the past have included Hyde Park, Oakley and Madeira in Ohio, and Fort Thomas and Edgewood in Kentucky.

How many houses are you currently working on? Optimally, how many would you like to work on at once?

Right now, all of our completed homes have sold, except for one that we recently put on the market in Edgewood, Kentucky. Ideally, I would like to have 3-4 houses in some part of the acquisition/remodeling/selling process.

How have the neighbors responded to your work in their neighborhoods?

I work very hard to make sure I introduce myself to the neighbors and make sure they understand exactly what we are doing to the house. I let them know that we will do a quality job and that we are not just a "paint and carpet" rehabber. I explain to them that what we are doing will bring value to their homes and neighborhood. Ninety-nine percent of the neighbors are thrilled with what we are doing and love watching the house transform from the eyesore of the neighborhood, to the best looking house on the block! They really enjoy touring the house before, during and after the rehabilitation process.

Has anything changed with your approach to buying and selling homes over the course of time you’ve been in business?

Not necessarily, but I discovered very quickly, that, despite the number of foreclosures on the market, it is much more difficult to find a house at the right price than I thought it would be. We follow the philosophy of creating our value, by buying at the right price.

Has it been more difficult to find buyers than you thought it would be?

We have had a lot of success in finding buyers for our houses quickly, relative to the average time that properties are sitting on the market during this real estate "slump" that we are experiencing now.

If an agent is interested in working with you, how should they go about contacting you? What do you need to know?

The agents I love to work with, are ones that are very in tune with a specific community, and aren't necessarily just pulling houses off the MLS for me. They know the ins and outs of the community, and are connected enough to know what's going to hit the market before it hits MLS. Agents interested in working with Home Restart can contact me via email, apond@HomeRestart.com, or call me at 859-816-8424.

What is your hope for the future with regards to Home Restart?

I hope that Home Restart continues to grow and that each year we can do a few more houses than the year before. We have taken our time and have been very selective with houses thus far, to make sure that we have our processes down, and we turn over a quality product. We are equipped to handle even more in 2011, and I'm excited about Home Restart's future.

Specific positive experiences thus far with Home Restart?

My two favorite things in this business are watching the transformation of the house, and meeting the people that will be moving into the house after it is completed. There is always a point during the project, where I think, "Oh my goodness….I sure hope this turns out the way I thought it would…." And it always does! I also love to meet and watch the excitement on the new owners’ faces on closing day. After I pour my heart and soul into a house, I love to watch the new owners make it into their home.

Read more about Home Restart here: http://bit.ly/f8xHRj and visit the Home Restart website here: www.homerestart.com