Legislation affecting homeowners

Owning a home can be expensive, though the benefits of home ownership typically outweigh the cost. Occasionally, changes to the law at either the state or national level can affect how these benefits and costs affect you. This is especially true if you’re still considering whether or not to buy a house, since knowing how the law stands can have a big impact on your final decision.

Some legislation affecting homeowners is enacted at the federal level, while other bits of legislation come from the state. Because of the significant differences in the reach of these different types of legislation, it can be hard to cover all of the changes in law that affect homeowners from year to year. To help keep you informed, though, here are some fairly recent legislation trends that may be worth looking into.

Tax Break Changes

One big change that’s hitting a lot of homeowners hard is the elimination of some tax breaks that were formerly offered for home ownership. While this doesn’t directly affect the cost of owning a home, it can have a significant impact on your tax return if you were expecting to qualify for one of these expired breaks. Tax law is complex and can change from one year to the next, so it’s possible that these breaks (or others like them) will see a return in future years. However, it’s important to check each year before filing your taxes to make sure that you haven’t gotten mixed up by tax break changes or missed a break that you could have qualified for.

Roof Replacement Costs

In some areas, the law allowed homeowners to replace their roof without all of the costs normally associated with such a big job. This was due to contractors being allowed to waive a portion of their fees equal to the deductible on the customer’s homeowner’s insurance. Unfortunately, changes in the law are starting to shut this down. States like Texas are changing the law so that contractors caught waiving the deductible could face fines or even jail time. Homeowners obviously aren’t big fans of such changes, since they result in more out-of-pocket expenses when having to use their homeowner’s insurance.

Solar and Alt Energy Incentives

There were a number of solar and alternative energy incentives available to homeowners at both the state and federal level, but some of these have been altered, were negated or simply expired without renewal in the last year or two. In some cases, federal programs have been replaced by state programs that provide similar incentives. In other cases, the incentives have been revamped and renewed later. Not all tax breaks and other incentives have been renewed, though, so it’s important for homeowners to confirm that specific programs still exist before depending upon them to add alternative energy solutions to their homes.

Home Loan Changes

It seems like there are significant changes to home loans every few years – and recent years have been no exception. Fortunately for those wanting to buy a new home or refinance an existing loan, some recent bits of legislation have expanded on borrowing limits for certain types of loans without adding new restrictions. Unfortunately, many of these laws affect lending through state-level programs instead of making adjustments to loans at the federal level. Some also only affect certain types of homes or houses that are built for specific uses. If you’re waiting for changes to federal loan programs, you may have to wait a bit longer before those programs see major updates.

Consult the Experts

It’s hard to stay on top of the changes in laws from one year to the next. Having a lawyer or real estate expert to help you sort through all of it can be a great way to keep from being caught unprepared by these new laws. Fortunately, HomeKeepr can match you with just the pros that you need. Sign up today for free to get started.

Mischief Night

If you haven’t heard of Mischief Night, it’s possible that you’ve lived in an area where it’s not really celebrated. It’s also possible that you lived in a city such as Detroit, Baltimore or New Jersey where it might have been known by a different name like Devil’s Night, Goosey Night or even Moving Night (which is supposedly a reference to stolen porch furniture). Assuming that you’ve never heard of it because it isn’t a big deal where you’re from, you might think that you don’t need to know anything about it. Watch out, though – that line of thinking could be ill-advised.

With more details about Mischief Night pranks being shared online, more and more young people participate in the festivities every year. This includes some areas that had never experienced Mischief Night pranks before. You also might need to know about it if you’re considering moving to a new area, since just because they don’t celebrate it where you’re from doesn’t mean they won’t celebrate it where you’re making your new home. Either way, this is what you should know about this unofficial holiday.

What Is Mischief Night?

Though it’s gained more popularity in recent years, Mischief Night as a holiday dates back at least to the late 1700s. The holiday consists of children and teenagers engaging in a variety of pranks and other activities, up to and including theft and vandalism in some cases. Common activities on Mischief Night include tossing toilet paper into trees, throwing eggs at houses and cars, setting off fireworks, ringing doorbells and running away, and smashing pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns. More destructive practices sometimes include spray paint vandalism, breaking car or house windows and other acts of vandalism, though these are much less common.

In New Orleans and some other communities, in recent years, Mischief Night has also involved walking parades with floats and people in costume. These parades are typically unorganized and not officially sponsored as part of any holiday’s festivities, however. Fortunately, these more violent parades and demonstrations are not common in most areas where Mischief Night is regularly observed.

When Is Mischief Night?

In most places, Mischief Night is celebrated on October 30th as something of a pre-Halloween celebration. There are some areas, especially in the United Kingdom, where Mischief Night is celebrated on November 4th instead as a precursor to Bonfire Night; for those who aren’t familiar with this celebration, it is also known as Guy Fawkes Day and is a day of remembrance and thanksgiving for the failure of the Gunpowder Treason Plot perpetrated by Guy Fawkes and others. The holiday is celebrated much the same as it would be on October 30th, however.

Interestingly, there are some areas (primarily in Germany) where Mischief Night is celebrated on May 1st instead of falling in either October or November. This is because of an old connection with May Day which was part of the holiday’s origin; no one is really sure why Mischief Night moved from May to October or November, but the change appears to have occurred sometime in the 19th century. The fall dates seem a much better fit for the holiday, however – and that’s when Mischief Night takes place for nearly every observing community these days.

What Can You Expect on Mischief Night?

In most cases, Mischief Night is a night of largely harmless pranks and practical jokes. Egging and toilet papering properties are the most common pranks, along with smashing pumpkins and ringing doorbells. Most of the perpetrators are children and young teenagers, as older teens and adults might face legal penalties for actions that younger children would only get a warning for, if caught. For the most part, the worst you’ll likely see on Mischief Night is a mess to clean up the next day.

It’s important to be aware of occasional larger problems such as vandalism and destruction of property, however. Mischief Night is a good night to park your car in the garage and bring in loose porch furniture, just in case. Even though you’re unlikely to experience any major problems, it never hurts to be prepared.

Recovering from Mischief Night

If you do wake up to a mess after Mischief Night, you don’t have to clean it up yourself. From causal cleanups to paint removal, you can find pros who are willing to help on HomeKeepr. Sign up for free to make sure you’re ready for whatever Mischief Night might throw your way.

How to prevent missing packages...

In our modern always-connected world, it seems like we’re always having packages dropped off from one re-tailer or another. If you receive packages regularly while you’re not home, though, you may be setting yourself up for problems. Packages left alone on your porch invite thieves to come up and take them, and if there are regularly people coming to your property to drop deliveries off then your neighbors might not think that it’s strange when one more person walks up with a box… even if it turns out to be a burglar with the foresight to throw on a brown shirt and carry a package.

So how can you make sure that your package deliveries aren’t creating a big risk for you? There are a few ways.

Establish a Delivery Area

When placing orders online, you often have the option to provide instructions to delivery drivers to make sure that your packages are delivered correctly. If you’re concerned about how frequent deliveries affect your home security, you can use these instructions as a powerful tool to thwart would-be thieves. Set up a delivery area around your home that’s covered or otherwise protected but not directly adjacent to your home and leave instructions for drivers to place any packages there. If possible, place the delivery space in an area that is clearly visible from neighboring houses as well. Because this designated area stands on its own, anyone entering it to try and steal packages will be very visible. It also foils would-be burglars because they now have no convenient excuse to approach your house.

Set Up Security Cameras

One thing that you can do to keep both your home and your packages safe is to install security cameras around your front door. This will allow you to see who’s coming to your house and will also provide evidence in case a burglar or thief approaches. If someone comes on your porch and steals your packages, you’ll have video of the thief and you’ll have proof that a theft took place so you can file a claim with the shipping company or retailer. You can even put cameras in an external delivery area if you’ve set one up! Make sure that you purchase a high-quality camera, though; cheap security cameras provide grainy and washed out footage that makes it very difficult to identify a perpetrator.

Invest in Smart Monitors

If you’re worried that a burglar might dress as a delivery person to gain access to your property, consider installing smart monitors on your windows and doors. These monitors may or may not be part of an alarm system – but setting off an alarm isn’t all that they can do. When triggered, the devices can notify you not only that a window or door was opened but also which one was triggered. This allows you to call a neighbor or notify the police and provide very specific details as to where a potential burglar entered. In some cases, the monitors may even be integrated into locks so that you can lock windows or doors remotely if you realize that you left them unlocked, taking care of a mistake that might have given a burglar easy access to your home.

Install a Security System

If these solutions don’t do enough to keep your packages and your home safe, consider getting a full home security system installed. These systems are more than just alarms; they contain several components that work together, along with active monitoring to contact the authorities or take other action if something suspicious occurs. Best of all, they can protect your home from other problems such as fires and even water leaks.

Keep Your Home Secure

Regardless of how you choose to close security holes related to package deliveries, you can find a security expert on HomeKeepr who can help you get the job done right. Sign up for free today so you can have a safer and more secure tomorrow!

Do you really need new cabinets?

Are you in the market for some new cabinets? While it might seem like a good idea at first, replacing your cabinets might end up being more of a hassle than you expect. Take heart, though! You may be able to give your cabinets a refresh for a lot less money (and stress!) than getting full replacement cabinets. If you’re not happy with your cabinets, here are a few options to consider before you rip them out completely.

Adding a Coat of Paint

One of the simplest fixes you can make when it comes to your cabinets is simply adding a new coat of paint. So long as the cabinets themselves are still in decent shape, painting them can completely renew your kitchen and turn drab or ugly cabinets into virtual works of art. This can help you to match your cabinets to new appliances or a new decorating style and is also a huge help if your cabinets are a bit old and have simply faded or peeled with time. Just make sure that you take the time to do this job right; slapping new paint on top of a peeling finish without sanding or trying to cover stains and discolorations without a coat or two of primer is just asking for trouble.

New Doors and Fixtures

If your cabinets need a little more than just a coat of paint, consider upgrading their hardware as well. Handles, hinges and other fixtures are easy to replace and can completely change the look of your cabinets with relatively little work. You can also replace latches or cabinet locks while you’re at it, helping those cabinets that always seem to hang open to finally stay shut when you close them. If your problems are a bit more severe and you have damaged, warped or otherwise bad-looking cabinet doors, you can change them as well! New doors will completely revitalize your old cabinets and can be a great solution if the cabinet body and shelving is still in good shape. Best of all, if you still want to add a coat of paint you can easily paint the new doors before mounting them – much easier than doing it after they’ve been hung.

Refacing Your Cabinets

Ok, so maybe your cabinets need a little more work than just new doors but the shelves and interiors are still in good shape. This is where refacing comes in. When you reface your cabinets, you’ll not only replace the doors and fixtures but you’ll also add veneer or other coverings to the outside of the cabinet body as well. This will cover up any cracks or other damage as well as unsightly stains, giving you the look of a fresh install at a fraction of the work. You won’t have to actually remove the cabinets but everyone who enters your kitchen will think that you did!

Do You Need New Cabinets?

If the interiors or the shelves in your cabinets are warped, damaged or otherwise in rough shape, you might have to go ahead and replace the full cabinets. The process is fairly straightforward, insofar as it just involves removing the old cabinets and putting new ones in. It may cost more than you expect, though, and the process is often a little more involved than that basic description makes it sound. If the cabinets need to go, though, don’t settle for substandard cabinetry just because you don’t want to do a full replacement. The solutions above are great when they work, but if your problems are too severe for them then by all means get some new cabinets in there.

Getting the Help You Need

Regardless of whether you need some paint, some new doors or even completely new cabinets, HomeKeepr can help you find the pros you need to get the job done. Sign up for a free account today so you can match with the cabinet pros who will give you the best price and do the best work to meet your specific cabinet needs.

Pest control options

It can’t be overstated just how beneficial bees are to our ecosystem. Bees pollinate an astonishing 80 percent of the world’s plants, including fruits and vegetables that feed up to 90 percent of the world’s population. Certain nuts and beans would likely go completely extinct, as well as fruits like blueberries and cherries which are almost entirely pollinated by bees. Meat scarcity could arise as cattle feed on pollinated plants, and some common medicines may become difficult if not impossible to manufacture. Life as we know it would become a lot harder to maintain without our friend the humble bee.

Given the importance of bees, then, how do you take care of other pests around your home without putting bees in danger? And what happens if the bees themselves are acting like pests? Here are a few ways to keep your home safe and pest-free while ensuring that you don’t put bees in harm’s way.

Maintain Your Yard

One great way to get rid of pests without running the risk of hurting the bees is to keep your yard maintained. Keep flower beds free of weeds, mow the grass as needed to keep it from getting overgrown and fill in any rodent or snake holes that you find. This helps eliminate cover and potential nesting places for unwanted pests including wasps and yellow jackets. It will also keep weeds under control which might otherwise provide both food and shelter for these pests.

Remove or Contain Attractants

Trash cans, outdoor pet food, spilled sugary drinks and other food sources can attract a lot of pests to your property. As much as possible, try to cover or remove these attractants so the pests don’t arrive in the first place. If you can’t completely remove the items (such as in cases where you have pets who live outside and need food and water), try creating an enclosure for the items or elevating them on stands so they don’t make direct contact with the ground.

Study Pesticide Options

There are some pesticides which aren’t toxic to bees but are still effective when used against other pests. Substances such as gibberellic acid pesticides, corn gluten and pesticides made using bacillus thuringiensis (BT) are not toxic or agents of disease for honeybees, provided they aren’t used in excessive doses. If you need to use a pesticide, research bee-friendly options and apply them late in the evening when bees are most likely to be back in their hives so that you don’t accidentally spray pollinating bees with large doses of the chemicals.

Avoid Catch-All Traps or Baits

It may be tempting to use items such as wasp traps or baits designed to attract certain insects, but these are indiscriminate and can kill bees as well. Traps are especially harmful as the attractants they use to draw in wasps and flies may also attract bees who think that they are detecting flowers in bloom.

Find a Local Beekeeper

If bees themselves are the problem, don’t try to get rid of them yourself. Find a local beekeeper or honey producer and let them know that you’ve found a beehive or have a number of bees on your property. They’ll come and locate the hive, capturing the bees and their queen safely so that they can be moved to a safe hive away from your home. This will not only keep you and your family safe from bee stings, but it will keep the bees safe, healthy and happy as well.

Get Some Help Saving the Bees!

Whether you need to find someone to relocate bees near your home or just want advice on how to avoid hurting the bees, you can find a number of resources on HomeKeepr. Sign up today for free to find bee-friendly pest-control experts, beekeepers and others who can help you in your quest to be pest-free without putting those lovely little bees in danger.

What color do I paint my walls?

Painting your home is a great way to express yourself and let your personality shine through in your living space. The colors you choose for your rooms can really bring them to life in ways that few other changes can. However, a fresh coat of paint can do more than just give your rooms some personality. With the right colors, the paint you choose can even increase the likelihood that your house will sell at a good price when you put it on the market. To maximize this effect, there are a few colors you should consider (and a few you should avoid.)

Picking the Right Color

If you’re looking for a good color to apply throughout the house, consider a light shade of gray or beige. Both of these colors help to liven up rooms by adding just a bit of color but are neutral enough to let each room’s other accents take command. If you want something a bit different, taupe or so-called “greige” colors (mixes of gray and beige) can also work well. Some off-white colors, especially those with hints of brown or other warm shades, can also brighten up your rooms. Many of these colors pair well with white or beige baseboards and trim.

Good Kitchen Colors

If you’re going room by room, the kitchen is a good place to add a bit of darker color. Darker grays and grays mixed with darker blue shades do well in the kitchen; in fact, some reports have shown that homes with a gray-blue shade in the kitchen sell for an average of $1800 more than similar homes with other kitchen shades. Depending on the size of your kitchen and the amount of wall that’s actually visible behind the cabinets and appliances, you may be able to get away with hotter colors such as deep red or dark orange. Just avoid going too bright with whatever color you choose.

Living Room and Bath Colors

The living area and bathroom both benefit from more neutral shades such as beige and gray, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change things up in some cases. Consider the flooring and other fixtures as well as the amount of natural light that comes into the room and look at colors that take advantage of what’s already there. Light green, blue or brown can sometimes work wonderfully, especially if they include hints of gray to keep them from being too bright. You can even choose a bit stronger blues in the bathroom as homebuyers tend to respond well to blue there, just so long as you don’t go for too bright of a shade.

Bedroom Colors

Blue is a popular bedroom color, especially in shades such as cerulean. There are several bold color choices that you can get away with in the bedroom, though. Don’t go crazy with the bedroom colors and avoid anything that’s too bright – but giving the bedroom a splash of color in blue, green or even red or brown can work well so long as it’s not too much of a departure from the rest of the house.

Colors to Avoid

There are, of course, a few colors that you should avoid when painting your walls. Anything too bright or garish should obviously be avoided since it could turn off potential buyers. Black is another color to avoid; not only do many people find it depressing, but it will also be difficult for future homeowners to cover up. Also on the list of colors to avoid? Bright white. You might think that this would give your home a clean look or make it ready for a new homeowner to customize, but bright whites (especially when paired with white trim) often create a clinical look that actually makes buyers less interested in the space.

Making the Choice

If you’re not sure which colors will work best in your home, consider bringing in an interior designer or painter to help you pick the perfect hue. Sign up for a free HomeKeepr account today and you can find the perfect helper for your budget and your sense of style.

Fall decorating ideas

Decorating for Halloween is a tradition that many families take part in year after year. As with most traditions, though, the decorating trends that dominate Halloween change from time to time. Giant inflatables and laser light shows were all the rage just a few years ago, but now things are starting to shift a bit more toward subtle. The over-the-top Halloween decorating style will likely never fully go away, of course; there’s at least one house in every town that goes all out with its display and people always love it. If you’re looking for something simpler (and easier on the power bill), here are a few trendy options to keep in mind.

Candles

With the right candleholders, basic white candles can add a spooky ambiance that hearkens back to older Halloween traditions. Specialty candles are available that are carved to look like bones or horns as well. No need to go overboard with effects-candles, such as those that “bleed” when lit; just a few tapers burned to different lengths and then extinguished serve as the perfect subtle candle accent to your other decorations.

Pumpkins

What would Halloween be without pumpkins? While the traditional jack-o-lantern is still great, there’s an increasingly common trend to display uncarved pumpkins as well. White pumpkins are also seeing an upswing in popularity to really help set your decorations apart from the norm.

Halloween Wreaths

Also seeing an increased popularity are Halloween wreaths. Coming in a variety of styles, these wreaths have a lot more room to experiment than more traditional Christmas wreaths because of the generally spooky nature of the holiday. You can DIY a wreath yourself or buy one of multiple pre-made varieties to give your home a really unique Halloween look.

Lighting and Signs

Halloween lights have been growing in popularity in recent years, providing a decorative option that can be enjoyed even once the sun goes down. Signs, both lighted and non-lighted, are also firmly establishing themselves as Halloween must-haves. Combining the two can give your home a unique look that neighbors can enjoy both during the day and after the night descends.

Window Décor

Instead of going all-out with inflatables, animatronics and big clunky pieces made of plastic and rubber, an up-and-coming trend is to make use of silhouettes in front of plain curtains to give your decorations a more subtle flair. Some homes even take this a step beyond, using white sheets or similar coverings on the interior windows and then using creative lighting and figure placement to actually cast shadows onto the waiting windows. The shadow puppet feel gives the effect an extra layer of spookiness.

Black and White and Purple Trappings

While black and orange are the dominant colors of Halloween, a big trend in recent years has been to move away from the orange and embrace the holiday’s darker tones. White is used for contrast, with the predominant colors in decorations being black and dark purple. Splashes of other colors may be added as well, but the black, white and purple theme is definitely striking.

Zombie Flamingos

While there has been a move away from some of the cheesier parts of the holiday, the kitsch of putting zombie flamingos on your lawn is a bit too fun to ignore. There are a variety of styles of flamingoes available ranging from silly to gory, giving you plenty of room to find birds that match both your personal tastes and decorating style. Best of all, they can be mixed with a few traditional pink flamingos to give everything a splash of color while totally buying into the Halloween fun.

Need Some Halloween Style?

If you’re not sure what sort of decorations would look best with your home, consider consulting a decorator who has experience with Halloween trappings. Not only will they help you pick the best décor options, but they’ll aid you in choosing accents that go perfectly with both your home style and the decorations you choose. Sign up for a free HomeKeepr account and get matched with the decorator you’re searching for today!

Home warranties

By now, you’ve likely seen the ads, gotten the emails and maybe even hung up on a few robocalls going on and on about the benefits of a home warranty. Are they actually worth getting, though? Let’s take a closer look at home warranties and what they really have to offer. This will help you to decide if a home warranty is right for you or if it would just be a waste of your money.

What Is a Home Warranty?

First of all, just what is a home warranty? This is an important question, because many people don’t actually know what a home warranty is for. A common assumption is that a home warranty is like some version of homeowners’ insurance, perhaps offering short-term coverage after closing on a home. While the timing aspect is pretty close, a home warranty is actually significantly different than a homeowners’ insurance policy. Instead, a home warranty covers certain things within the home to allow for their replacement in case they break soon after buying the property.

What Does a Home Warranty Include?

The specifics of what a home warranty covers can vary a bit depending on the specific home warranty plan you purchase. In general, though, home warranties are designed to cover major systems and appliances within the home. When you’re buying a home, your home warranty will have you covered if something like the refrigerator or water heater breaks down a few months after you move in. In most cases, major systems such as plumbing and HVAC are covered as well. The policy functions like most standard warranties, allowing you to get needed repairs or replacements while the warranty is still in effect.

What’s Not Covered?

Unless it’s specifically mentioned in your home warranty, general home repairs or other maintenance are not included in the warranty. This means that something like a broken window, a weak spot in the floor or peeling paint would have to be repaired as an out-of-pocket expense if they aren’t covered under your homeowners’ insurance. The home warranty is designed to cover only your new home’s appliances and major systems.

How Long Do Home Warranties Last?

Again, the term of a home warranty depends on the specific warranty policy you take out. One of the most common warranty periods is one year, giving you a full year’s worth of peace of mind after you take out the policy. Depending on your needs, however, you may be able to get a home warranty for shorter or longer periods as well.

Can You Add Extra Services?

Depending on the home warranty provider you choose, there may be add-ons that you can include with your warranty service for an additional cost. These can include things like swimming pool maintenance and repair, well maintenance and expanded services such as maintenance tune-ups for your HVAC system. Some providers even use add-ons to create customizable warranty plans, offering up a basic general plan and then expanding it to meet your needs by letting you add only the features you want.

Do You Need a Home Warranty?

Whether you actually need a home warranty or not is kind of a big question. The answer depends on a lot of factors including the age of the home that you’re buying, the amount of coverage you get from your homeowners’ insurance and even what you have in the house that would be covered by the home warranty. The price of the warranty plan should also be a consideration, since this can vary by several hundred dollars depending on the provider and the amount of coverage included. The right home warranty can be a good buy, but it’s worth looking at the cost and coverage to make sure the plan is actually what you need.

Solid Home Warranty Advice

Whether you’re in the market for a home warranty or still on the fence, HomeKeepr can hook you up with someone who can answer all of your questions. Sign up for a free HomeKeepr account to get connected today!

October 2019 newsletter

Welcome to Fall!!! We hope your summer was fun and that you were able to take a little time away maybe for a vacation or at least some downtime and are now looking forward to some fun Fall activities. From apple stores, to hot apple cider, to corn mazes and apple donuts and hayrides with bonfires, and haunted houses, we hope that you will take advantage of some fun Fall activities.

As I write this letter, I am sitting in the San Francisco airport awaiting my flight back home after spending several days with 11 other top agents from across North America in a small-group training program designed to teach us how to provide an even higher level of service to our clients. In a world of technology and automation, which are good and which we use heavily, the role your real estate consultant plays continues to be more important than ever, providing a highly localized, specialized and hyper-sensitive personalized level of service that just can't be touched by a computer or website. We know our clients have many choices when you choose to buy, sell, or build a new home and we want to reassure you that you will never receive a higher level of service or knowledge anywhere else. We are grateful to you, our tribe, and will always be here for you and those you care about when you need us most and will always guide, lead, and protect you during one of the most important times and decisions of your lives. Thank you for continuing to place your trust in us. We will continue to work hard at deserving it!

Brigid, Ana, Tali, & I are excited to go to Boston over Fall Break to see our new niece Elsie Monaghan! She is the second daughter of Brigid's brother Jim and we couldn't be any happier for them! Ana and Tali cannot wait to see their new cousin and love all over her! Ana is enjoying her Freshman year and is helping with the Dance Marathon to be held in the spring. She continues to sing in the school choir and is entering 'busy season' for Indianapolis Children's Choir with a concert Saturday and Sunday night and then she starts practicing for my favorite concert of the year, which is Angel's Sing, which you can see on WTHR Channel 13 around Christmas. She is also singing around Hamilton County with her rock band. If you would like to know where her next concert is, let me know. They sound really good!!!!

Tali is preparing for the start of her competition season in gymnastics. She is excited and will be competing at a higher level than last year, so things will be much more competitive. She is up for the challenge!!

Brigid is is still doing well at Merck and enjoying a little less responsibility this year with special assignments and trainings and is able to focus on just her job.

Jack and Mary Anne are home for the foreseeable future with no big vacations planned the rest of the year. After extensive traveling this year, they are looking forward to staying at home for a while.

The real estate market has been very strange the past few months. Usually, July 4th brings a lull in the market as people take vacations and prepare for school. The market usually picks back up again mid-August, but due to many factors, including the up and down market, it wasn't until mid-September that it picked back up again...and boy, did it ever. If you are thinking about selling yet this year, please give us a call. We would welcome the opportunity to share details about this market and how you can benefit from its resurgence from the summer lull.

Here are some market stats comparing September 2019 to September 2018:
Number of Units Sold-DOWN 0.9% to 2,967 units
Number of New Listings-FLAT at 3,551 units
Average Days on Market-DOWN 0.6% to 40 days
Inventory-DOWN 7.6% to 6,328 units
Median Sales Price-UP 5.6% to $190,000
Average Price/s.f.-UP 5.5% to $113
Percent of Asking Price Received-DOWN 0.2% to 97.4%
Months Supply of Inventory-DOWN 6.8% to 2.1 months
Now, these numbers look pretty strong, however the month over month numbers show a softening of the market, so keep this in mind as you consider buying/selling in the upcoming months. Call us to learn how this will affect you specifically and your situation.

**Please join us for our October Happy Hour which is pushed back one week due to Fall Break. We will meet on October 24th from 5-6:30pm at Matt The Miller's in Carmel. Come join us!! We had a fun time and a great group last month!

**Hope you received your 'Save The Date' postcard in the mail a few weeks ago for our 7th annual Client Appreciation Event on December 7th at 8:30AM at Hamilton Town Center where we will be showing Frozen 2. We will have food, photo opps and a caricature artist again. Look for your official invite very soon and we hope you will make time to join us again!!!

Thank you for being part of our tribe!! Please let us know what else we can do to help you or someone you care about. Happy Fall!!!

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Your Friends in Real Estate,

Steve, Jack, Kylie, Thea, & Patti

Fall clean-up tricks and tips

Periodic home maintenance is essential, both to keep your house looking its best and to prevent problems that could worsen over time. One of the best times to clean up and maintain your home is during the fall, when temperatures start to drop but winter freezes are still a little way off. Fall cleaning can be a big job, so here are a few tips on how to tackle it in ways that you might not have considered.

Watch Your Flower Beds

A lot of people let leaves and other plant material build up over flower beds in the fall, working under the assumption that doing so will get the beds off to a good start in the spring. After all, won’t the leaves break down over the winter and give the soil a natural boost of fertilizer? The problem with this is that the piled leaves can also give insects and other pests a place to bed down in the winter and possibly gain access to your home. If you have rose beds, diseases and fungal infections may also stick around on those leaves, only to resurface in the spring.

Start Garden Prep Early

What can you do with those unwanted leaves, then? Drag them over to your garden! Spread fallen leaves, compost and any other material that will break down over the winter and cover your garden soil with it. Run a tiller over the whole area, breaking up the soil and driving that compostable material into the soil. This will take care of your leaves and other material AND make starting your garden easier in the spring!

Wash, Then Dry

It’s fairly common practice to unhook and stow your hoses in the fall before cold temperatures set in. Before you do that, though, give them a workout! Give your house a good wash before you unhook the hoses, removing as much dirt and other debris from the siding or bricks as possible. Once you’re done, unhook the hoses and allow them to dry thoroughly before storing them for winter.

Make Leaf Cleanup a Breeze

If you have a lot of leaves to deal with, get a few tarps and spread them out under your trees before the leaves start to fall. Let them get a good coverage of leaves, then drag the tarps over to your leaf pile or other area that you’ve set aside for them. You’ll probably still have a few leaves to rake, but this will take care of the lion’s share of the work!

Aerate for Winter

If you have drainage problems in the winter, fall is a good time to aerate your yard. While you can do this using hand tools, a lot of outdoor and hardware stores have machine aerators that you can rent at a decent price. The aerator will break through the packed-down topsoil, giving water an easier route to drain in the event of a wet autumn or winter season. Best of all, grass will grow better in the spring so you can easily cover up any thin or bald patches in the yard.

Break Out the Mower

Even though the grass stops growing in the fall, there’s still a good case for giving your yard one final mow. Wait until a lot of your yard tasks are finished, then run over the yard with the blade set low. Use a mulching guard and/or mulching blade for even better effect. This will not only nab any stray leaves that might have fallen after your clean-up but it will also ensure that your grass has a nice even cut before it starts growing again in the spring.

Call In the Cavalry

If you don’t have the time or equipment to properly take care of all of these tips, consider calling in a house cleaner or landscaping professional to get your home in tip-top shape this fall. HomeKeepr can help you find the pro that best meets your needs. Sign up for free to find your perfect match!