December 2013 Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

At this time of the year, we always reflect back on our year both personally & professionally. Like many of us, it is easy to always look for and see the negative things in our lives. After all, the media certainly focuses on those things, don't they? If it bleeds, it leads. We are grateful for a strong and healthy family and many, many friends who support us in good times and bad. We also are extremely grateful to our loyal clients. Without you, we wouldn't be able to do what we do every day. It is our passion and what we love to do. Thank you for enabling us to continue to help you and those you care about with your real estate needs. We are humbled and grateful.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? We are spending time at Jack & Mary Anne's enjoying a delicious dinner with all of the traditional fixings. Brigid's parents are leaving tonight to spend a couple of weeks in Italy. They have never been and are really looking forward to experiencing the Italian culture. We can't wait to see photos and hear about their trip!

We are extremely proud of Michelle's husband Steve who is the head athletic trainer for Carmel high school. You may have heard about the horrific series of health events that happened during the semi-state football game (Carmel won and is going to State). The head referee collapsed due to a heart attack. The team doctor & Steve resuscitated him and kept him alive until he could be rushed to the hospital. He survived and owes being alive to Steve & the team doctor. Also, during the game, a parent who was cheering for his son who just scored a TD, died of a heart attack and another fan suffered a stroke! Talk about a terrible game!

On a happy note, we would like to officially welcome our new Director of Marketing & Client Service Bob Clidinst. He has been helping us part-time for most of this year and just joined us full-time on November 15th. Bob has a background in real estate marketing and has his real estate license. He will be specializing in marketing the heck out of our listings as well as answer any client questions/needs. His e-mail is Bob@Welcome2Indy.com. Feel free to drop him an e-mail to welcome him to our real estate family. We are fortunate to have him helping us and serving our clients.

Finally, we are overwhelmed at the amazing response for our Client Appreciation Event on December 7th. We have just a few more seats left, so if you haven't reserved your tickets, please RSVP TODAY to Kari Kuper at KKuper@AccessNational.com. She needs your name and number of tickets requested and whether they are adult or child. We have rented out the entire Hamilton Towne Center movie theater and are showing a private screening of the brand new Disney movie Frozen. A coffee, juice, & donut bar starts at 9AM and the movie begins at 10AM sharp. It is our small way of having fun and saying thank you to all of our friends and clients who have supported us over the past 50-years. Please RSVP TODAY and share in the fun with us!!

We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving spent with friends and family and a time to relax and reflect on the many blessings we all have in our lives. Thank YOU for being a blessing in OUR lives!

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Steve & Jack Rupp

November 2013 Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy Halloween!!!

Even though Trick-or-Treating has been moved by most municipalities around Indy to tomorrow night, we hope you enjoy this extended holiday. Ana & Tali are excited to go around with neighbors tomorrow in their costumes. Ana is Princess Leia, and Tali is Rapunzel. They both look so cute in their costumes! We hope you enjoy either tagging along your kids or grandkids or enjoying seeing all of the kids in their costumes come to your door.

We enjoyed Fall Break with Jack & Mary Anne in their timeshare in Gatlinburg, TN. Although the leaves hadn't changed as much as we had hoped, we had a great and relaxing time and enjoyed hiking in the park, walking downtown Gatlinburg, attending a craft fair, and going through a really cool science museum. We also enjoyed earlier this month the Hauntless Halloween at Holiday Park and Pumpkin Fest in Zionsville-great Fall traditions our family has embraced for years!

As for the market, we have had a strange fall. With the government shut-down, things really slowed down. As soon as it was over, things picked back up again. Activity is still very strong and houses are selling. Interest rates are also lower again hovering around 4%. Closed sales are UP 21% over this time last year, median sales price is UP 6.5% and inventory is DOWN again 9.9%, making for an inventory of just 5.5 months, which is a seller's market. Hamilton County is down to just 3.9 months of inventory, which is bordering on an unhealthy supply of inventory and creating a very strong seller's market. So, if you have a house to sell in Hamilton County, give us a call!

Our annual Client Appreciation Event is just around the corner (see attached invite). Invitations were mailed out yesterday, so look for yours in the mail, and please RSVP to Kari Kuper prior to the event with the number of adult and child tickets you would like. We are showing a private screening of the brand new Disney movie Frozen, which is being release Thanksgiving weekend. This is open to parents, grandparents, and children. We will have a donut, juice, and coffee bar starting at 9AM and then the movie will begin promptly at 10AM. We will be holding our event this year on Saturday, December 7th at Hamilton Towne Center Theater. We hope you can join us and please don't forget to RSVP, so we have enough refreshments and tickets available.

See you there!!!

Finally, I have included an article from a friend and client of ours who is a Professional Home Stager. Her name is Monya Visor with Pretty M-Pressive. Her phone number is 309-310-3521 and e-mail is PrettyMpressive@aol.com. She does a fantastic job and is very talented. Please feel comfortable calling her with any questions on Staging, decluttering, etc. I think you will be impressed with the results!


WHY DO I NEED A STAGER?
The purpose of an Accredited Staging Professional, ASP®, is to help homeowners and Realtors® sell their homes/listings quickly and for the most money possible. A stager does 3 things: Depersonalize, Declutter, and Organize. When personal items and clutter are removed, buyers get a chance to see the home for the jewel it really is.
Stagers are also a great resource if you’re selling a vacant home. It’s difficult to visualize furniture placement in a vacant home. Stagers own or have access to furniture and accessories that can turn a cold, plain room into a warm, spacious home.
It is imperative that sellers are educated on how to sell their homes. They have to look at the house in terms of a product because the way you live in a home and the way you sell it are two different things!
Speaking of purchase, do not be afraid of the cost. If your home is listed at the right price, the fee for staging will be less than your first price reduction. Why not stage and keep the price as is? Staged homes sell faster and for the most money. Average homes in America are on the market 130 days before being sold. On average, 95% of Staged homes sell within 11 days or fewer and for 17% more!
Now that you understand why you need a stager, call an ASP. The first meeting is usually FREE!

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Steve & Jack Rupp