The Schottenstein Real Estate Group’s Live Your Dream contest is underway. Contestants told us how they would use one of our great prizes to help them live out their dream, and we will be selecting one winner each month… starting NOW!

This month, we’ll be giving away our first of two $100 Visa gift cards. As a local company ourselves, we of course want you to Live Your Dream with this first great prize, but we also always encourage people to shop locally.

So, what would you buy with your $100 Visa gift card? Maybe a gourmet meal for your family from The North Market, which offers everything from homemade pasta to gourmet desserts to the freshest seafood in town; Maybe date night at awesome Zagat rated Short North Italian restaurant, Martini; Maybe even your summer membership to Cosi, the dynamic center of science and industry or The Columbus Zoo, one of the nation’s best rated zoo’s. The options are really endless!

Whatever you decide to spend your gift card on, just remember to keep living your dream with The Schottenstein Real Estate Group! Stay tuned to our Facebook page to see if you’re the lucky winner of a $100 Visa gift card this month, or of one of our other fabulous prizes in the months to come, all leading up to our grand prize, a $1,000 gift card to Value City Furniture.

To enter the “Live Your Dream” contest and to learn about all of our other great prizes, click HERE!

Lancaster, Ohio Becomes Irish on March, 17

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday known for it’s green food, green costumes, and possibly most importantly, green beer. But, not many people of Lancaster, Ohio know the actual story of St. Patty’s Day or how it became one of the biggest drinking holidays in the United States.

St. Patrick’s Day is actually a religious holiday named after Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day was made an official feast day in the early seventeenth century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. For Christians, the day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival in Christianity in Ireland.

Originally, blue was the color that was associated with St. Patrick’s Day, but over the years, green became the main color of the holiday. Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity to the pagan Irish, which is how this symbol became synonymous with the holiday.

St. Patrick’s Day is not a legal holiday in the United States, however, it’s celebrated all throughout the country. Parades and drinking were always part of the holiday, though Americans have taken it to another level. The St. Patrick’s Day parade is something that originated not in Ireland, but in America. New York, to be exact, on March 17, 1762. In Lancaster, there are Irish Bars around the city that celebrate the St. Patty’s Day.

At Lancaster Midtown, we want to know how you’re planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Whether in your apaartment, or out on the town with friends, have fun and BE SAFE!

The thought of moving into a new home or apartment is very exciting. It is great to imagine the day that family and friends will be spending an abundance of time at your new home. Convenient living is an important motto the Schottenstein Real Estate Group believes in. Below are 3 design tips that can turn you’re apartment or townhome into an exciting living space with a lot more room.

You'll notice the walls at our apartments are a neutral color.

1)    Use neutral colors & ghost furniture: By using neutral colors, you can make your place look bigger because more light will reflect off these colors. In terms of “ghost furniture”, it simply means using clear surfaces. These items can be glass tables or lamps etc. But it will give the illusion that there isn’t as much bulky stuff in a small area.

2)    Downsize your furniture: Instead of a large sectional, buy two small recliners or a love-seat  If you plan on having people over buy some bar stools for guest to sit on so you don’t have to rely on a couch for seating. If you downsize to a full size bed, you will not only save money but you can be more creative with the extra space in the room where you sleep every night.

3)    Embrace multifunctional spaces: You can create boundaries in your small apartment

You can certainly use the table pictured or the bar in the background to do some work!

with cubicle shelve units and placement of your furniture. By doing this you can make your one bedroom flat, look like a multifaceted setup. Ask yourself, is this table only being used to eat on, or can it also be a desk?  By doing this, you can really maximize the look of your apartment.

Hopefully you find these tips helpful and you can turn your apartment into a more spacious living environment for you and your guests. If you have any questions regarding the size and layouts of any of our SRE Group apartments, feel free to contact us today!

Moving into a new rental community is an extremely exciting moment in one’s life. Whether you’re moving into your own place for the first time or relieving yourself of home ownership responsibilities, having a haven of rest with outstanding amenities is always rewarding for a renter.

The notion exists that in order to make changes to your home, you must own it. This couldn’t be any further from the truth! When you arrive at your apartment each and every day, you should not only feel that it’s the one place you’d chose to be over anywhere else, you should also feel like it is your own. Below we’ve included five tips to spruce up your apartment and give you the feeling of “home” every time you walk in the door:

• Purchasing (or making) artwork is a fantastic way to add character to your apartment. Whether the artwork will go in your living room, bedroom or kitchen, the only thing that really matters is that the pieces give your place some personality and make it feel like it’s yours. Target and Wal-Mart are great places to start searching for artwork at an affordable price and Michael’s is the go-to spot if you’re looking to create something on your own.
• Merge your junk into storage space. Whether you throw unnecessary items away, store them elsewhere or consolidate them into bins, the saved space will provide you with more room and make your apartment feel homier. With the added space, you’ll be able to be creative as to what pieces of furniture you can move around your apartment.
• Change the color of your apartment and the look and feel will be completely different! Many landlords allow the tenant to make these types of changes, so just be sure to check with yours and assure them that you’ll paint it back if they would like before you move out. Having a color you love on the walls will make a huge difference in how you feel about your apartment!
• Focus on the outside of your home. Whether the patio in the back or the walkway and driveway leading to the front door, decorating the outside of your apartment will make a huge difference. Flower pots, welcome signs and patio furniture all great ideas to make your apartment more welcoming from the outside.
• Add Uniqueness in visible areas. If you are a wine drinker, place a custom wine rack in the kitchen showing off your favorite chardonnay. If you are into sports, have a wooden magazine rack with the latest Sports Illustrated. This will add personality to your home, help you stay organized, and ensure that you have the things you love at your disposal all the time.

There are many other tips and tricks to sprucing up your rental community. Keep in mind that your apartment should reflect your personality and if that’s the mentality you have while decorating, visitors are sure to be raving about your home!  

Tiffany and her husband Josh are ecstatic to have won the SRE Group “Live Your Dream” contest!

Tiffany Thompson had to pinch herself after she received the phone call from theSchottenstein Real Estate Group that she was the “Live Your Dream” winner. Over 100 entries were submitted into the contest that lasted throughout the 2012 calendar year and Thompson’s touching story resonated with the entire SRE Group staff.

The “Live Your Dream” campaign allowed Central Ohio residents to inform the SRE Group about their dream on Facebook, and the Schottenstein Real Estate Group would make one lucky winner’s wish come true. For Thompson, her husband Jeff served in the military in Iraq up until 2010 and had surgery around the same time. Her dream was for the entire family to go to take a trip Disney World.

“Having the entire family back together and my husband helping out with our four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son has been amazing,” said Thompson. “I want both of my kids to remember the trip and we have a lot of bills to catch up on at the moment so the Schottenstein Real Estate Group came up with another idea.” 

“The three months free rent will allow our family to save up money and by the time we do that, our son will be old enough to remember the trip to Disney!” stated Thompson. “From the moment we moved into Lancaster Midtown, the Schottenstein Real Estate Group has gone above and beyond with their exceptional customer service. Winning this contest is just icing on the cake and I never could have imagined being selected the winner!”

As if a new rental community in Lancaster, Ohio weren’t news enough, the four-way stop at the intersection of Ety Road and River Way Drive is now controlled by traffic lights as well. This is great news for residents of the Schottenstein Real Estate Group’s newest community, Lancaster Midtown (and all residents of Lancaster, for that matter) as it means a safer intersection.

Talks about the installation of the new light began several years ago, and it was decided that once that area started to get more built up, the light would go in. Well, now that Lancaster Midtown is up and running, The Schottenstein Real Estate Group decided that the timing was right to pay to have the traffic light installed. “We’re excited about the new traffic light that recently went up in Lancaster, Ohio,” exclaims Brian Schottenstein, Vice President of the Schottenstein Real Estate Group. “Not only does it show us that Lancaster is beginning to get more and more built up, it also means that our residents will be safer when driving in and out of our newest community.

Lancaster Midtown will feature one and two-bedroom garden apartments and two and three-bedroom townhouse units with garages. The clubhouse will have a state-of-the-art fitness center, a Wi-Fi business center, meeting rooms, a swimming pool, terrace areas, and other amenities. For more information about Lancaster’s newest community, visit www.LancasterMitown.com

Lancaster Midtown is officially open and we have begun renting out units in our newest apartment community. Join us on Wednesday, November 28th from 3-5 pm for our official Grand Opening!

Join us for food and drinks and take a tour of our new Lancaster rental community. One lucky winner will win a $120 rent coupon and we will be presenting the winner of the “Live Your Dream” contest with their prize.

Don’t miss out on this great event!

By now, all the leaves in Lancaster have changed colors and are starting to fall from the trees. Autumn is beginning to give way to winter, but before we get out the heavy coats and await the first snowfall, it’s time to think about Thanksgiving.

Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving at your home for the first time or have been for years, whether your guest list is big or small, whether you’re planning a fancy affair or request that guests don sweatpants (elastic is never a bad idea for Thanksgiving), here are five steps you can take to ensure success in your home!

1. Write It Out Make a list of everyone who’s coming, a menu and a shopping list for the grocery, and a to-do list. Take this step and come time for the big day, you won’t forget anything (or anyone).

2. Serve the Staples Everyone expects to eat turkey, stuffing, and some pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving day. So even if you want to test out a new recipe or two, make sure you also whip up the staple Thanksgiving dishes and your guests are sure to be happy (and, of course, leave full).

3. Plan Ahead Sure, you can cook the turkey the day of. But there are plenty of Thanksgiving dishes you can prepare in advance and store in your freezer until the big day. Doing that will spread out your cooking, ensure you have plenty of room in your oven, guarantee that the supermarket won’t be out of any necessary ingredients, and allow you to enjoy the day just as much as your guests!

4. Give Yourself Room to Breathe “If you are anything like me, and too many bodies in the kitchen [while you're cooking] makes you want to scream, set up a separate drink station −maybe with a couple appetizers on it− away from the kitchen,” said Adrienne Hasty, cooking expert at Positively Cooking. “This way, while your guests are arriving and you are simultaneously tying up loose ends for your feast, your guests can congregate and chit-chat separately to keep additional stress off you.”

5. Kick Back No matter how many times you’ve hosted a Thanksgiving celebration, we know that entertaining a big group of people can be stressful. Just remember that Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, and good food. Some of the day’s events will be out of your control and even if you do something crazy, like forget the cranberry sauce, it’s likely your loved ones will forgive you. So kick back, relax, and make sure you get to enjoy the day as well.

Bonus Tip “If you drop your turkey, the five-second rule definitely applies!” according to Hasty.

Lancaster Midtown is the city's newest (and only) upscale community

The city of Lancaster is excited about Lancaster Midtown, the city’s newest (and only) upscale community. In addition to new residents coming moving to the city of Lancaster, there has also been tremendous print and television publicity from news outlets throughout Central Ohio regarding Lancaster Midtown.

People who have been informed about the newest Schottenstein Real Estate Group community have certainly been impressed.  For those who haven’t been clued in yet, we’ve created a list of five reasons you should consider the convenient living option at LM.

• Amazing Amenities  – Imagine having a swimming pool, fitness center, fire pit and Wi-Fi lounge in your backyard. The Schottenstein Real Estate Group, two time Central Ohio developer of the year, offers all of these amenities (and more) at their newest community.
• Convenient Location – Location is a key element when deciding where to live. Lancaster Midtown is situated within close proximity of shopping, food and entertainment. No wonder the slogan for LM is “Convenient Living.”
• Up and Coming City – Lancaster, Ohio continues to grow and the Schottenstein Real Estate Group jumped at the opportunity to have one of their communities located in this part of town. Lancaster Midtown is a modern apartment complex unlike any other rental community in Lancaster.
• Various Living Options – With seven different floor plans to choose from, regardless of the size of your family, Lancaster Midtown offers a living situation that will perfectly fit your needs.
• Warranty Guarantee – We are extremely confident in our ability to satisfy residents. That’s why we offer a warranty guarantee, which is aimed to please all residents!

For more information about Lancaster Midtown, visit www.lancastermidtown.com.