Happy Holidays! While this time of year isn't the best for putting your home on the market, it IS a great time to prepare your home to go on the market in the spring. And when exactly is "spring"? Generally speaking, in Indianapolis, the spring market starts right after Superbowl, barring significant snow fall and other inclement weather.
During this holiday season, it would be good to donate or store off-site any clothes or items you don't use anymore. If you have any wallpaper, this is a good time to remove it and give your entire house a fresh coat of paint.
Remove pictures, religious items, and anything very personal. These can be proudly displayed once again in your new home. Begin to pre-pack and box up many items you don't use much. Rent a storage facility to store these items until you are ready to move. Invite your real estate agent or staging professional over to give you objective advice as to what needs to go and what can stay.
Lastly, have your home inspected with a pre-listing inspection and work through the "punch-list" during this "off season" time. You will have to repair many of these items anyway, so why not do them on your own time and you may be able to do many of them yourself saving you lots of money. Then, once repaired, you can market your home as being inspected and repaired. That is a huge advantage over your competition. :-)
For more tips, visit our website at www.Welcome2Indy.com. Good luck with your home preparation!! Merry Christmas!!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
We want to wish all of our friends and clients a very happy Thanksgiving holiday. Even though the real estate market has been challenging for most people, we feel very thankful we have been given the opportunity to help so many people this year. For us, this year has been one of the best ever for us and that is solely due to our amazing clients and friends who have worked with us and referred clients to us. THANK YOU!!!
It is truly a blessing to work in a field you love where you have an opportunity every day to changes people's lives. That is a responsibility we don't take lightly and we feel it is an incredible honor as well.
While real estate is certainly not where it was in 2005, and we do still have our challenges, it is much better here in Indy than in many other areas of the country. In fact, Indianapolis recently was ranked 2nd behind Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX as being the fastest recovering real estate market. We are already seeing signs of recovery. So, if you are thinking about buying or selling a home, please give us a call or send us an e-mail. We'd love to consult with you and share options you have to make the most out of this opportunity. Visit us on the web at www.Welcome2Indy.com.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and remember the "true" purpose of this season.
It is truly a blessing to work in a field you love where you have an opportunity every day to changes people's lives. That is a responsibility we don't take lightly and we feel it is an incredible honor as well.
While real estate is certainly not where it was in 2005, and we do still have our challenges, it is much better here in Indy than in many other areas of the country. In fact, Indianapolis recently was ranked 2nd behind Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX as being the fastest recovering real estate market. We are already seeing signs of recovery. So, if you are thinking about buying or selling a home, please give us a call or send us an e-mail. We'd love to consult with you and share options you have to make the most out of this opportunity. Visit us on the web at www.Welcome2Indy.com.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and remember the "true" purpose of this season.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Tax Crisis Averted...for Now
Okay, we dodged a bullet, for now. Governor Mitch Daniels has frozen Marion County taxes back to 2006 levels until approximately mid-2008. During this period a new re-assessment has been ordered, including businesses, which were admitted by the assessors as not be properly assessed. If businesses ARE properly reassessed, it would stand to reason that residential property taxes will go down, however most experts believe that they will only drop by about 25%, still leaving some big increases in property taxes.
If you are selling your house now, there are a lot of questions educated buyers have, which are keeping them on the sidelines until some finality is announced and for good reason. Many buyers, however are still in the market to buy new homes in Marion County and are taking a big risk at having to pay significantly higher taxes.
The real estate market in Indy is still far from 2005 booming standards with 22.6 months worth of inventory on the market and sluggish showing activity, however Indy has been selected by several industry experts as being the 2nd fastest major metro market to recover from this correction, second only to Austin, TX. This is excellent news!!
With a tightening in the lending industry to keep buyers out of the market who shouldn't be buying a house at this time. If you have good credit and at least 3-5% down payment, the tightening of the lending industry will not affect you at all.
Experts predict that our market will notice a positive change in the real estate market sometime next year and that is good news for everyone!
For more real estate resources, visit our website at: www.Welcome2Indy.com
If you are selling your house now, there are a lot of questions educated buyers have, which are keeping them on the sidelines until some finality is announced and for good reason. Many buyers, however are still in the market to buy new homes in Marion County and are taking a big risk at having to pay significantly higher taxes.
The real estate market in Indy is still far from 2005 booming standards with 22.6 months worth of inventory on the market and sluggish showing activity, however Indy has been selected by several industry experts as being the 2nd fastest major metro market to recover from this correction, second only to Austin, TX. This is excellent news!!
With a tightening in the lending industry to keep buyers out of the market who shouldn't be buying a house at this time. If you have good credit and at least 3-5% down payment, the tightening of the lending industry will not affect you at all.
Experts predict that our market will notice a positive change in the real estate market sometime next year and that is good news for everyone!
For more real estate resources, visit our website at: www.Welcome2Indy.com
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Property Tax Crisis
If you live in Marion County, you are well aware by now of the property tax crisis so many of us are in right now. Because we are in this "perfect storm" property owners are biting the bullet and some are seeing their taxes increase over 100%! Why is this happening and what can you do?
There are many reasons why our taxes are rising. First, this is a "trending" year, which means every two years property owners' home values will be increased due to trending or appreciation. Second, our property taxes are now based on market valuation instead of component valuation, which means taxes SHOULD be more uniform and less subject to interpretation, which is good, in theory. Third, due to rising city costs, increased revenue is needed and property taxes were considered by our legislature as the best place to find it. Fourth, inventory taxes have slowly been phased out since 2003 and that revenue needs to be replaced somehow. The inventory tax was considered to be unfair to many people and businesses paid approximately 60% of the tax burden. This leads to the fifth reason taxes have gone up and that is due to the fact that the legislature decided to balance that more by increasing property taxes.
There are more reasons why taxes have gone up, but time and space prevent me from discussing further. However, what to do now? Have your taxes gone up significantly? First, what was the gross assessed value the assessor states on your reassessment card? Does it seem reasonable? If it does, you are stuck paying those taxes. Do you have all of your exemptions filed? The two most common are homestead (you can have one of these only on only one property in the state) and mortgage (if you have more than 11 payments remaining on your mortgage or if you have a home equity line of credit you have have one of these). If you don't have these or others filed--file them!!
If you feel the assessor has your home valued too high then get a couple of broker price opinions (BPOs) to support your belief complete with comparables and a letter explaining the reason for the valuation. This valuation should be based on 2005 values as that is the last year for which the assessor has sold data on which to base your assessment. You have 45 days to go to your local assessor's office and file a protest letter. Attach your BPOs as evidence and, in many cases the assessor will change your assessed valuation right on the spot, if he/she agrees with your reasoning. If he/she doesn't agree, you can appeal to the next level and you will need to get that information from the assessor.
Should you have any further questions, visit our website at www.Welcome2Indy.com or call us at 317-558-6817. Good luck!!!!
There are many reasons why our taxes are rising. First, this is a "trending" year, which means every two years property owners' home values will be increased due to trending or appreciation. Second, our property taxes are now based on market valuation instead of component valuation, which means taxes SHOULD be more uniform and less subject to interpretation, which is good, in theory. Third, due to rising city costs, increased revenue is needed and property taxes were considered by our legislature as the best place to find it. Fourth, inventory taxes have slowly been phased out since 2003 and that revenue needs to be replaced somehow. The inventory tax was considered to be unfair to many people and businesses paid approximately 60% of the tax burden. This leads to the fifth reason taxes have gone up and that is due to the fact that the legislature decided to balance that more by increasing property taxes.
There are more reasons why taxes have gone up, but time and space prevent me from discussing further. However, what to do now? Have your taxes gone up significantly? First, what was the gross assessed value the assessor states on your reassessment card? Does it seem reasonable? If it does, you are stuck paying those taxes. Do you have all of your exemptions filed? The two most common are homestead (you can have one of these only on only one property in the state) and mortgage (if you have more than 11 payments remaining on your mortgage or if you have a home equity line of credit you have have one of these). If you don't have these or others filed--file them!!
If you feel the assessor has your home valued too high then get a couple of broker price opinions (BPOs) to support your belief complete with comparables and a letter explaining the reason for the valuation. This valuation should be based on 2005 values as that is the last year for which the assessor has sold data on which to base your assessment. You have 45 days to go to your local assessor's office and file a protest letter. Attach your BPOs as evidence and, in many cases the assessor will change your assessed valuation right on the spot, if he/she agrees with your reasoning. If he/she doesn't agree, you can appeal to the next level and you will need to get that information from the assessor.
Should you have any further questions, visit our website at www.Welcome2Indy.com or call us at 317-558-6817. Good luck!!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Buyer Market in Indy?
Summer is here, but where are the buyers? Indianapolis is not unlike many other cities right now, which is in the dead-center of a buyer's market. There are approximately 26,000 homes for sale in central Indiana. Builders have experienced a 36% decline in sales this year and are offering some huge incentives to buyers as a result.
Sellers are struggling as inventory continues to soar and buyers can afford to be picky. Houses, which are selling right now are ones that are well-staged, in good locations, with good floor plans, and most importantly, are priced very competitively. Quite frankly, buyers don't care what you paid for your home, how much you put into it, or how much you "need" to get out of it. Buyers will pay you what the current market will support and that may not be very kind to you financially. Your option is not to sell.
If you must sell in today's market, be ever vigilant of your competition and price and stage your home accordingly and you will eventually be successful. Some sellers are fortunate and sell their home in a couple of days, but they are the exception, not the rule. The absorption rate for homes in Indianapolis right now is 8.2 months, which means if no other homes went on the market it would take 8.2 months to exhaust the current supply. The average is 6 months for a balanced market, believe it or not.
Feel free to contact us for more information or visit our website at www.Welcome2Indy.com for more resources.
Sellers are struggling as inventory continues to soar and buyers can afford to be picky. Houses, which are selling right now are ones that are well-staged, in good locations, with good floor plans, and most importantly, are priced very competitively. Quite frankly, buyers don't care what you paid for your home, how much you put into it, or how much you "need" to get out of it. Buyers will pay you what the current market will support and that may not be very kind to you financially. Your option is not to sell.
If you must sell in today's market, be ever vigilant of your competition and price and stage your home accordingly and you will eventually be successful. Some sellers are fortunate and sell their home in a couple of days, but they are the exception, not the rule. The absorption rate for homes in Indianapolis right now is 8.2 months, which means if no other homes went on the market it would take 8.2 months to exhaust the current supply. The average is 6 months for a balanced market, believe it or not.
Feel free to contact us for more information or visit our website at www.Welcome2Indy.com for more resources.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Spring is Here!
Spring is here in Indianapolis, but we aren't home free yet. There are still 7.2 months of inventory currently on the market and builders aren't moving their inventory nearly as quickly as they would like. Most are down 20% in sales last year alone! A balanced market is 6 months of inventory. So...we are still in a buyer's market, which is great for people in the market for a home without one to sell.
For the first time since 1980-81, real estate in Indianapolis experienced a 5.2% DEPRECIATION in 2006. We expect to see us come out of our "correction" by the end of 2007 and builders should see their inventory shrink back to "normal" levels by mid-2008.
If you are in the market for a home, this is the time to buy. Interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are around 6.125%, which is excellent!! If you have been waiting for the right time to buy, this is it!!
For the first time since 1980-81, real estate in Indianapolis experienced a 5.2% DEPRECIATION in 2006. We expect to see us come out of our "correction" by the end of 2007 and builders should see their inventory shrink back to "normal" levels by mid-2008.
If you are in the market for a home, this is the time to buy. Interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are around 6.125%, which is excellent!! If you have been waiting for the right time to buy, this is it!!
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