Short sales 101

One of the greatest myths in the world of real estate is that buying a home that’s in a pre-foreclosure state, or one that has already been foreclosed upon, will get you the very best deal possible. This is inaccurate for a number of reasons, though if you know what you’re looking at you can sometimes snag a bargain. There are a few things you need to know before making that leap the first time.

What is a Short Sale?

Short sales happen because a homeowner is in big trouble financially and needs to unload their house. They may be in a negative equity position (underwater) or simply lack the equity to sell their home. There was a time when homeowners had to miss a few payments before lenders would consider a short sale, but today there are conditions, like a sudden loss of income, that can make a short sale possible faster.

Short sales save the homeowner from a long and potentially credit damaging foreclosure. They save the bank from having to get lawyers involved to collect the home that’s collateral for the mortgage that’s in default. They don’t do anything for a buyer by design (that’s not to say that you can’t benefit from them, they just didn’t really consider buyers when creating this out for homeowners in trouble).

Buying a Short Sale Home: The Basics

To successfully navigate a short sale, you’re going to need a few things:

An experienced real estate agent. Writing a contract for a short sale is not like writing a contract for a standard home. There are usually a variety of clauses that must be included, as well as knowledge of what will and won’t be accepted in said contract to consider. Your interests have to be protected, which can really bloat a standard purchase agreement with a lot of extra verbiage.

A really good home inspector. When people ask their banks for permission to sell short, they’re not doing it because they’ve been spending all their extra money fixing up the place. Often, these homes are in some amount of disrepair due to neglect. When finances are tight enough to get a short sale approved, you can bet home improvements are far from the current owner’s mind.

Patience. It can take a very long time to get a short sale approved. If you’re looking to buy one as an investment, that wait might not matter, but if you want a place to call home, it’s going to be frustratingly long. This is because not only does the homeowner approve the contract, the bank has to, as well. If there are two or more banks involved, so much more the trouble. Buckle in, because it can take six weeks – six months — to close.

Liquid or liquidatable assets. Depending on the state of the home, you will likely have to put some money into it right away. A leaky roof and HVAC with issues aren’t cheap to fix.

It is highly recommended that you use a real estate agent to purchase a short sale. This point cannot be stressed enough. Short sales are not always deals, as stated above, because banks know what their property is worth — they’re not going to let you steal that house for a song. The banks involved are also unlikely to make repairs or give you any sort of concessions.

How Can Banks Afford to Do This?

The next time someone tells you that mortgage insurance is a waste and does nothing for anyone but the bank, remind them that MI is what makes short sales possible and often prevent long-term credit damage during a foreclosure. When a home qualifies to be a short sale, the bank is using proceeds from a claim against the mortgage insurance to make up the difference between what the sellers owe and what a buyer is giving.

MI can help prevent something known as a “bleeding foreclosure.” This is a foreclosure (or short sale) that has sold, but has a balance remaining that cannot be forgiven. Not all homes sold short will “bleed,” but it’s a potential in many states, especially if you’re not carrying MI on your mortgage. So, rather than pay extra every month for MI, you’ll be paying monthly for the outstanding balance on a house you no longer own.

Ready to Shop for Short Sale Homes?

Check out your local service providers in the HomeKeepr community. Not only can you find the best home inspectors, but you can be connected to electricians, HVAC installers, roofers, even bankers. You’ll know they’re good by the recommendations that your and other real estate agents have provided. Get your short sale team ready today at HomeKeepr!

June Steve & Jack's Home News

Dear Steve & Brigid,

Happy summer!!! With the temperatures outside finally feeling like summer weather and many schools have begun summer break, we hope this month's newsletter finds you enjoying some summer fun on this holiday weekend, which may include the race.

We also take this holiday weekend to remember the brave men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in protecting us and our freedom. We hope that you will take some time to reflect on the sacrifices these brave men and women as well as their families made for us. That is the true purpose of this holiday.

It does bring full-circle the amazing trip Jack and Steve had for the Indy Honor Flight last month. It was an incredible (and long) day and does bring home the true meaning of this holiday.

Ana and Tali officially finished their last day of school on Friday and have started their summer vacation. They are excited for some much-deserved time off. Tali leaves with Brigid's parents for a week at a Dude Ranch in Arizona and can't wait to ride the horses. She will have an amazing time as this is the trip her grandparents offer to each grandchild-a trip anywhere in the world for a week with just them. What an experience!

Ana will be headed to Germany for a Danube River cruise with the Indianapolis Children's Choir for a week next month. She is extremely excited and they will be making several stops to sing at cathedrals along the river. We will meet her in Salzburg with Tali and spend a few days there and then head off to Greece and will pick up a cruise to see the Greek Isles. It is a bucket-list trip, to be sure!

Ana and the Indianapolis Children's Choir was honored to sing at Senator Richard Lugar's funeral last week. They had less than a week to learn and memorize 4 songs to perform to an international audience. If you saw any of the broadcast, you undoubtedly saw and heard just how professional they were. We couldn't be any more proud of all of them!!! Click here to see the service.

Ana is also the lead singer of a rock band they just put together. They will be singing at several local venues in Westfield and Carmel over the summer. If you would like to know where she is performing next, send Steve an e-mail. It is an all-youth band and they sound really good!!!

In other news, we regret to report that our buyers' specialist Julia Hayes is no longer part of our team. We wish her all the best as she embarks on a new journey. If you were working with Julia, you should have been notified by now, but if not, give Steve a call (317-573-1880).

We do have a new buyer specialist on our team effective last week. Her name is Thea Charnas and we are so excited to have her join the team. Thea will be picking up the clients Julia was helping, unless Steve has already contacted you. Thea is from Cleveland and graduated from the University of Toledo. She is excited to be helping our clients and we are excited for you to meet her! Stop by our next Happy Hour from 5-6:30PM at Matt The Miller's in Carmel on June 20th.

Thank you to everyone who braved our last Happy Hour during the torrential downpour and braved the loss of power. We had an interesting and intimate gathering!

We are also excited to announce our other new team member who starts on June 12th. Her name is Patti Sircy. Patti is a navy veteran and has a ton of experience with customer service and retail as well as systems and planning. Patti will be getting her license later this year. She will be the Director of Marketing for our team and will be taking quite a bit of a load off of Kylie's shoulders. Patti and Thea will enable us to even better serve our clients and we look forward to you meeting them and experience their incredibly high level of service and experience they bring to our team!!!

The real estate market is still insane right now, although it is showing some initial signs of starting to soften. It may take some time to really see the effects, but with the still-incredibly now interest rates and inventory, nothing is going to change overnight. Check out the latest stats from MIBOR comparing April 2019 to April 2018

Median Sales Price-UP 5.6% to $180,000
Closed Sales-DOWN 3.8% to 9,249 units
New Listings-DOWN 2.7% to 12, 498 units
Pending Sales-DOWN 2.9% to 11,807 units
Days on Market-DOWN 13.1% to 53 days
Price per Square Foot-UP 5.9% to $107
Percent of Asking Price Received-DOWN 0.2% to 97.3%
Active Inventory-DOWN 0.9% to 4,767 units
Absorption Rate-No change-1.6 months

We hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend. Thank you for your trust, support, and confidence as you continue to introduce people you care about who can use our help in buying, selling, or building their home. We are truly grateful!

Click here to read our June newsletter

Click here to read what our clients are saying about us

Click here to get coupons at places your shop every day

Click here to get the most powerful real estate app available

Click here to watch a 1-minute video on this month in real estate

Click here to read about our Senior Advantage Program

Your friends in real estate,

Steve, Jack, Kylie, Thea, & Patti

P.S. Don't keep us a secret!

Garage sale tips

Awww, springtime. It’s a great time to go through the closets and find anything you’re not using. But what do you do with all that junk that’s no longer in your trunk? For lots of homeowners, the choice is clear: it’s garage sale time. Or it’s yard sale time. A garage is not a prerequisite for the sale part.

Running a Successful Garage Sale is Simple

There are so many things in life that people will remark, “if it was easy, everybody would be doing it….” when presented with a related struggle. This is not the case with a yard sale. They’re a lot of work, but they’re not all that tricky to pull off. If this is your first yard sale or you simply want to be sure you’re doing all you can to make it a success, these are tips just for you:

Check your insurance policy. Hey, it seems innocent enough until someone slips and falls and breaks a bone. Suddenly you’re on the hook for their medical expenses. Do you have enough coverage for this? Check with your agent before you start that big sale.

Label everything. It can be tempting to simply put things in bins that are labeled with prices, but it’s much better to label everything so no one is confused. Your kids can be great helpers here, it’s a low risk job that will keep them busy for hours.

Group like items. When you set things out, group them by use or some other common theme. After all, if you sell someone a bucket, they might also want to buy that hose.

Pretend you have an outside store. Everything in a store is for sale for the right price, so make sure that you clear the area of anything you’d rather not sell (or at least put a sign on it). Also, keep your money in a safe place like a money box, keep records on sales, and while you’re at it, get a credit card reader that will work with your phone (many companies offer these for low or no cost swipe fee).

Line up plenty of help. Buying stuff at a yard sale can be fun, but running said yard sale is generally pretty boring. Make sure you’ve got plenty of help so that you’re not forced to spend the whole weekend sitting all alone at the check-out table.

Advertise liberally. If you want to sell something, you have to tell people it’s for sale. Advertise liberally, using social media, local media like newspapers and signs that you’ll post a day or two before the big day.

Donating to Charity

Many people make arrangements with a local charity to collect the items that did not sell. You can do this, too, just keep in mind that most charities will not allow their volunteers inside your home. In these cases, you’ll have to be present in order to donate stuff. It might be just as easy to box up the remains and toss them in the back of your vehicle for a ride to the Goodwill.

Not Sure If You’re Insured Enough for Yard Sales?

Don’t worry, your HomeKeepr family has you covered. The insurance agents that are part of this exclusive network can quickly assess your needs and write you the policy required to ensure that if someone is injured on your property, you’ll be covered. Just log in and ask your real estate agent to recommend the professional that’s best for you. It couldn’t be easier!

Smart windows

Everything’s getting smarter these days. Everything. Not only are smart appliances, smart outlets, smart light bulbs and smart TVs gaining traction, smart windows are all the rage among the techy types. They can also be a really useful part of your home automation setup.

They’re not for everybody and there are differences in what various types can do, though, so pay attention and research the windows of your dreams well before you choose one for your home.

How Do You Make a Window Smart?

There are actually several different types of windows currently using the moniker “smart.” Some, like those produced by Marvin, are simply regular windows fitted with smart locks at the factory. There’s little else that they do than a traditional window doesn’t besides let you know that you left the kitchen window unlocked.

If this is a concern because you have a child that might climb out a window or a teenager known to slip out of the house that way, this might be a solution for you, but it’s hardly touching what other smart windows can do.

Some of them can generate their own electricity. Who’s smart now?

Smart Homes Made Smarter With Smarter Windows?

There are many of the mindset that we’ve all gone a little wild with the “smart” stuff in our homes. Who really needs a smart toaster? Or a microwave that you can turn on with Alexa? What’s the point of smart switches when you have a smart light bulb?

There are so many questions. But the truth is that smart windows can have a big impact on your living space and your happiness. The smart windows with lock sensors can make it easier to sleep at night, which is always great, but other smart windows can literally change the feel of the room, no matter what time of day.

Before you run out to buy yourself some fancy smart windows, keep these items in mind:

Energy efficiency is a big part of many designs. Lots of smart windows are designed to help you get the most out of your utility dollars. Many can change color based on different environmental factors, like bright sunlight or especially dark days. This way, your home stays reasonably easy to heat and cool and you can have lots of big windows without lots of big curtains.

Smart Windows can do lots of different things. The fact that a smart window can simply be a window with a smart lock or a window that changes tint to help keep your utility bills low is only the beginning. Smart windows can also double as solar panels. It’s true!

They’re not cheap, but that’s not the point. The smartest of the smart windows may come in at around $1,000, making a whole home window refit unbelievably expensive, but that’s not really the point at this time. Right now, the “cool” factor and their ability to save energy are really what buyers are getting out of these advanced windows with their connected features. Early adopters make it possible for these kinds of technologies to fall in price over time, opening up the market even wider.

For homeowners interested in smart windows that have responsive glass but terrified of their price tags, it might make sense to put the windows in rooms that get extra hot or cold (just be sure to match the style of the windows in the rest of your house), rather than doing a whole home install that can become hugely cost-prohibitive.

Looking for the Smartest Window Installers Around?

There might be smarter installers, but no one installs a smart window better than the smart window experts in the HomeKeepr community. You get all the advice you need to make the right decision and support from purchase through install and often even for the lifetime of the window. Just ask your Realtor to recommend a smart window installer for you, then give them a call. Tell ‘em HomeKeepr sent you!

Do you have one or two layers of shingles on your roof?

A house is more than just four walls and a roof (it has way more than four walls, for starters), but when your roof springs a leak, shingles start to blow away or age has just gotten the best of it, all you’re thinking about is that roof. You may ask yourself a few very serious questions, like “how am I going to pay for this?” and “what are my least expensive options?”

Pros and Cons of Re-roofing Your Home

First, a few terms to clarify any confusion. “Re-roofing” is a term that specifically applies to homes that have one or more layers of existing shingles and then have another one added to the pile. A roofing job that starts by removing all the old shingles is a “tear off.”

Homes are re-roofed every single day. There are plenty out there with several layers of shingles and the roof still functions more or less just fine. The houses underneath aren’t buckling, so it’s all good, right? Depends on the situation. This is a short list of pros and cons for choosing a re-roofing job:

Pro: Easier than a tear off. Re-roofing literally consists of climbing on the roof and putting new shingles on top of whatever is there. Instead of the ripping, tearing and banging lasting days, a re-roof is done in a fraction of the time because it’s so much less complicated.

Con: Re-roofing can cover up major roofing defects. Tear offs are more involved, it’s true, but by removing all the old shingles, your roofer can more easily locate defects and replace decking that’s been water damaged. This is also a good time to correct problems like incorrectly installed drip edge and to flash chimneys, exhaust vents and other vulnerable areas.

Pro: You can save a lot of money. Less labor generally means less cost, and it certainly applies to a re-roofing job. You won’t need to pay for removal and disposal of your old shingles because they’re not going anywhere and the lower number of man hours keeps cost way down.

Con: Your new shingles will likely not last as long as promised. Although some people claim that your roof will be just fine with an extra layer, the truth is that the only time that really applies is when the shingles below are perfectly flat, and even then they will likely have a shorter lifespan than shingles that are part of a tear off job. The extra layers of asphalt (that stuff they fill potholes with is also what the majority of shingles are made of) cause the roof to get hotter than it would with just one layer, breaking down both old and new shingles faster. Some roofers assert that layered shingles have life spans shortened by as much as 40 percent.

Subtle Issues to Complicate Things

When you need shingles for your roof, it’s best to get several quotes from different roofers. They’re going to give you the best idea about what is possible with the budget that you have. Because you can often lay other roof types over an intact asphalt shingle layer (for example, a metal roof over an asphalt one) without issue, it could be cheaper to go that route and avoid a tear-off entirely. But, this is only something your expert can tell you for sure.

Other things to consider when pondering the re-roofing issue include:

Resale potential. A house that has a lumpy roof is going to catch a lot of attention, even if that lumpy roof is brand new. It’s also going to show up on the inspection report, causing jittery buyers to run the other way. You might then be forced to settle for less for your home to simply be able to move on.

Local building codes. Many municipalities have building and fire codes that address shingles and the layers allowed. Generally two are permitted before a tear off is required. This isn’t because your local government is evil, it’s a safety issue for you and your home. Houses aren’t really built to support thousands upon thousands of pounds of shingles. Oh, and extra shingle layers can pose a serious hazard should a fire break out.

Glossing over serious damage. Re-roofing can sometimes turn into a bandage on an infected wound. There’s damage under the surface, but you can’t tell from all indicators. Even when roofers walk the roof looking for soft spots, they’re not stepping on each square inch, nor are they going to be able to tell that an area that still has some amount of integrity is badly damaged and will rot through in the near future. What you end up doing is covering up decking that could be bad or tar paper that’s shot (it helps protect your roof decking from water).
So Where Do You Find a Roofer?

If you’re looking for the best roofers in your area, there’s no better stop than HomeKeepr. The community will happily recommend their favorite roofers, now you can be confident in their work, too. At HomeKeepr, recommendations mean a lot more than reviews. Come check out all it has to offer for free!

Let's talk garbage disposals...

The modern world has so much to offer, from microwaves that can talk to your favorite smart home assistant to refrigerators that can remind you you’re out of milk. It’s amazing that something as innocuous as the garbage disposal remains relatively unchanged since its inception.

Time marches ever on, leaving the garbage disposal essentially untouched and easily ignored. This is why it’s so important to take proper care of the indispensable kitchen appliance that spends most of its time being wholly overlooked.

Garbage Disposals: Safety First

Before you begin to do anything with your garbage disposal, it’s important to understand how much potential for disaster it represents. You can grind bone, ice and other hard objects with this appliance, don’t think for a second that it will somehow spare your fingers and hands should you stick them inside.

Instead of risking digits, always use tongs or other long grabbing tools to retrieve things that have fallen inside. It doesn’t matter if it’s your wedding band or your keys, your garbage disposal can become a very seriously dangerous machine if you just go poking around in there.

Caring for Your Garbage Disposal

After that cautionary section, you may be wondering if your garbage disposal deserves to be maintained, especially if it’s just going to turn on you. Garbage disposal accidents are generally the result of a lack of care and improper use. So, go on, check out these tips for keeping it in prime shape:

A clean disposal is a happy disposal. When you’ve run your disposal, put a little dish soap inside and run the cold water. This will help keep smells down and also flush out any remaining food particles. Dropping citrus peels inside and grinding can also improve the situation.

Only put food in it. Only biodegradable items should go inside the disposal. Really, only food and not even every type of food. Lots of fats, for example, will clog the disposal faster than anything. Pasta, rice and other expanding foods can also be a problem for your disposal and plumbing.

Grind some hard things to keep the blade sharp. Bones and ice are hard enough to sharpen the blades, so don’t forget to toss a few in from time to time. Do not feed your disposal fibrous foods like celery, even though they are sometimes thought of as hard food items. The fibers can tangle around the moving parts and interfere with function.

Always use cold water. Flushing with hot water will melt fats inside, making it hard for your disposal to do much with them. Instead, always use cold water, which will cause those fats to solidify, so they can be broken up and flushed away. A little fat in the disposal is ok, don’t pour lots of fat into the plumbing, though, unless you want to call a plumber.

Avoid harsh chemicals. Although a degreaser can help your disposal stay clean and live longer, other harsh chemicals should be avoided. Drain cleaners in particular are very hard on disposals, They can and will damage your disposal. Best to use a plunger or hand crank the disposal to break up jams. If that won’t do it, call in a pro.

Need More Garbage Disposal Help?

Whether you need a new garbage disposal because your old one has given up the ghost or you just need help with a unit that won’t do its job quite right, the home pros in the HomeKeepr community have your back. Just login and ask your real estate agent to recommend a plumber who can help you get your disposal game back on track.

Popcorn Ceilings

Popcorn is great for lots of stuff. You can enjoy a big bucket with family and friends while at the movies, string it on a thread to give Christmas that old-fashioned touch and even turn it into questionable “treats” for Halloween. One place that it’s a lot less welcome is on the ceiling.

Unfortunately, too many homes still have popcorn ceilings. They often create a lot more questions than they answer.

What Is a Popcorn Ceiling?

Back in the day, someone had a brilliant idea.

What would happen if there was a cheaper alternative to meticulously applied plaster ceiling coating and decoration for homes? This person asked themselves. Well, that would be just lovely!

And that person wasn’t wrong in concept. It was practice that turned out to really be the killer.

Popcorn ceilings, the solution to the problem, are still around, largely haunting homes built between the 1930s and 1990s. The ceiling texture that oddly resembles cottage cheese far more than it does popcorn, was popular for its ease of application and, at the time, low maintenance requirement.

Popcorn Ceilings: The Kicker

Even if you don’t object to the generally dated appearance of a popcorn ceiling (hey, maybe retro’s your thing, we’re not judging), think twice before going all in because that house you’re looking at has one that’s still intact.

So many popcorn ceilings contain some amount of friable asbestos that they are generally not a great idea to keep around. Even though popcorn ceiling mixtures containing asbestos were banned under the Clean Air Act in 1979, the remaining mixes that hadn’t been purchased were still allowed to be sold. In some areas, this means that new installations of potentially hazardous popcorn ceilings lingered well into the 1980s.

If the asbestos wasn’t enough, many popcorn ceilings have been painted since they were installed, or were installed using paint as part of the initial mix. Lead-based paint was the norm until it was banned in 1978. It’s kind of a double-whammy.

Friable Versus Non-Friable Asbestos

There are two kinds of asbestos: friable and non-friable. Friable asbestos is the most dangerous kind, since any amount of disturbance can result in particles floating around in the air and being inhaled. This is not good news. Risks of free-floating asbestos can range from lung scarring to mesothelioma, an insidious and heartbreaking form of cancer. This is the kind in popcorn ceilings.

While non-friable asbestos isn’t a picnic, it’s a lot safer because the asbestos is encapsulated within another material. For example, older homes often have siding made of cement fiber-board tiles. These often contain asbestos, but unless you’re cutting the tiles, it’s safely contained.

There are very specific laws about dealing with both types of asbestos, but those surrounding friable asbestos are as much about protecting humans around the material as the environment. In most areas, homeowners are legally allowed to remove popcorn ceilings from their own homes, but it’s still a really good idea to at least have a test for asbestos before you try it.

Before You Even Think About Scraping That Ceiling

There are few things easier than removing a popcorn ceiling. A scraper and a lot of time will do the job, but the hazard to someone who goes in blindly cannot be understated. So, before you even think about scraping that ceiling, take some samples. Carefully.

Send one to a lab for testing for asbestos. Send another for testing for lead based paint (or use a high-quality at-home test kit). Wait until you have results to move forward.

If you test positive for either or both, consider calling in a pro. They have all the right equipment to ensure that asbestos doesn’t get loose in your home, where you, your family and your pets will be at risk of exposure. If you DIY this one, do not skimp on ventilators and other filters to keep any friable asbestos contained.

This is Definitely One for Your HomeKeepr Community

Usually, easy jobs are a slam dunk for DIY, but when it comes to one that can create such a significant risk to health and home, it’s really best to call on a home pro with the right kind of equipment to keep everyone safe.

Your HomeKeepr community is full of people who can help you with your popcorn ceiling woes. They can even recommend someone who can refinish that ceiling if your removal contractor doesn’t handle both. Just log in and your real estate agent will be more than happy to point you in the right direction with a recommendation from their extensive network of home pros.

Thinking about buying a home at auction? Read this first...

What’s two stories tall, covered in long green fur and smells like old, wet dogs? For a lot of people, that would be their mental image of an investment house. The truth of the matter, though, is much more complicated. Certainly, there are investment properties so dilapidated that it’s hard to imagine anyone living in them, but many, many more are in fairly decent shape.

You can use a real estate agent to help scope the good ones out, but frankly, you’ll get first dibs at a lot of the best units if you spend some time haunting the post-foreclosure auctions held both online and off. No more green shag for you!

How a Home Ends Up On the Auction Block

When it comes to a foreclosure auction, there’s really just one way that a property ends up on the block: someone doesn’t make their payments and the bank seizes the real estate securing their mortgage. For most mortgages, this means the former owners were more than 90 days past due. This could be because they couldn’t afford the house anymore due to some major life change, or maybe they just sent their bank “jingle mail”.

Jingle mail was really common during the Great Recession and the steep decline in real estate values that resulted. Homeowners would realize they couldn’t afford their adjustable rate mortgage when its interest rate reset and since they couldn’t refinance, they’d end up there sooner or later. Others just knew how far underwater they were and weren’t willing or able to hang on until they were righted.

The point of all of that was to demonstrate that just because a house goes to foreclosure auction doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a total nightmare. There are lots of nice properties that have been thoughtfully and strategically abandoned. The trick is figuring out how to tell them apart from those that are basically ready to be pushed over with a bulldozer (and a real estate or appraisal expert can help you with this in a big way).

Getting the Most Out of a Foreclosure Auction

There’s a lot to learn about buying houses at post-foreclosure auctions, but if there were just three pieces of advice to offer, these are probably the most important:

Bring cash or a cash equivalent. You can’t walk into an auction like this and expect to be able to spend a month arranging financing. Most will require at least five percent down on the day of the sale with the balance due soon after. Anywhere from a day to a week is pretty normal. This is why investors are generally the only people at these auctions. They often have credit lines that make it easy to buy on the fly.

Base your top bid on the value of the home minus any repairs you anticipate. If this is your first home auction, find out long ahead of time if you will be allowed to inspect the property prior to the big day. If no, keep that bid low because you never know what may crop up. If yes, take a licensed home inspector with you and let them do their job on the day the house will be open. They’ll be able to estimate what the visible, necessary repairs will cost so you’re not going into the auction blind.

Remember that the owner can still redeem that home within a set period. It’s a common misconception that when you buy a home at a county auction, either for non-payment of taxes or foreclosure, that it’s yours. Said and done. It’s not. Most states allow a redemption period for the former owner. Should they be able to get enough money together to solve the financial issue that landed their home in this state to begin with, within the provided window, your rights to the property will be terminated. So, whatever you do, hold off on any work or spending on the property until that window has expired.

Don’t Go Unprepared, Let Your HomeKeepr Family Get You Ready for Auction Day

When you’re walking into a new venture, like buying homes at auction, it’s important to surround yourself with experts who can help guide your first few transactions. After all, learning the hard way is a lot more expensive than learning from people who deal with homes for a living. Where would you find someone like this? Look no further than your HomeKeepr community. All the experts you could ever need are there, housed together, under the same digital roof. Just ask your real estate agent for their recommendations. Happy bidding!

5 Ways to Make Your A/C Dollars Go Further

The aqua jeweled waters of the Caribbean pared with lush, jungle-like vegetation that seems to stretch along the beach forever greet you every single summer. It’s amazing, really, and you hope that one of these days you’ll be able to turn off the Travel Channel and see them in person. But your air conditioning bill is such a killer — and ruiner of vacation plans.

There has to be a way to knock those electricity bills down while staying cool this summer. After all, the islands are calling you. Will you fill up your travel penny jar this year?

How Air Conditioners Work (The Abridged Explanation)

Air conditioners are very simple devices. They were actually invented to remove the humidity from rooms where paper was stored. It was only after they’d been in use in industry a while that anyone thought to use them for cooling.

There’s not much to these devices. Essentially you’ve got an outdoor condenser unit that works like a giant heat sink to carry heat collected from indoor air to the outside. Ultimately, the cooler that outside unit is, the more heat it can remove and the more efficiently the whole system works.

Reduce the Strain on Your A/C, Stretch Those A/C Dollars

There are plenty of ways to help your air conditioner work more efficiently short of replacing the whole system. That will increase your efficiency, but you’re going to put a lot of money into a system upgrade that may not be needed just yet.

Before you do anything rash, give these a try:

Change your filter when it’s dirty. Dirty air filters are a huge drag on efficiency. After all, the more air that can be pulled into the system at once, the faster the air in your house will cool and the less time your A/C will spend running. You’ll know your paper air filters are dirty when they change color from white to gray or brown. That’s dust and other tiny particles clogging the pores.

Another way to tackle this would be to buy an electrostatic filter. These are reusable and washable, saving lots of money on filters, as well as energy (if you keep them pretty clean).

Clean your air conditioner condenser. That outside unit is too often neglected to the point that it can affect your energy efficiency. The fins get clogged with dirt, vegetation grows around the bottom of the unit and things like blowing leaves or plastic bags get caught in and around the unit.

Throw away any trash that’s clinging to the condenser, even if it’s inside. Just make sure the unit’s off before you stick your arm in. Next, remove vegetation that’s threatening to grow into the unit, treat it with weed killer if it’s particularly aggressive. Last, get your garden hose and spray the whole condenser down using minimal pressure. Crank up the water pressure and go over it again, slowly, working from the top to the bottom. Work in sections, moving to the next one when the water coming off the condenser runs clear. You may be surprised how much dirt was hiding in those fins.

Shade your unit. Plant a tree or install a solar shade over your A/C condenser to help keep it cool on those hot summer days. The less heat already being carried by the system, the easier to expel heat from your home. Blocking direct sunlight can make a huge difference, just be sure to allow at least two feet around the unit on all sides so your condenser has plenty of air circulating around it.

Install ceiling fans. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, using properly sized ceiling fans in conjunction with your air conditioner can make 78 degrees feel just as cool as 74 degrees. Those four degrees can add up to serious cash, too. The reason this works is that ceiling fans cool people using a wind chill effect. It doesn’t change the actual temperature in the room, but it does change how it feels to you.

Hang heavy drapes. If your house has any windows that get particularly hot during the summer, you need to insulate them right away. The easiest way to do this is with heavy drapes, and the heavier the better. Make sure those curtains are closed during the hottest part of the day to prevent heat radiating into the rest of the house. To further help those windows stay cool, you can add Low-E film into the equation. When used together, heavy drapes and Low-E film will make a noticeable impact on your indoor temperatures.

Need Help Keeping Your Cool This Summer?

Saving money on your cooling bills can be serious work. Don’t worry, your HomeKeepr community is ready to help! Just log in and ask your Realtor for a recommendation. They’ll set you up with the right people to get your home ready for the summer, whether that means adding insulation, sealing all those air gaps or giving your condenser a well-deserved bath.

What is a Reverse Mortgage?

“What goes up must come down,” so goes the saying. And, to that end, what goes forward must also go in reverse. Turns out the same also applies to mortgages, sort of. Except, instead of being a direct inverse from a “forward” mortgage, reverse mortgages are kind of their own special thing.

If you don’t read beyond this opening section, just remember that the big takeaway here is going to be that some reverse mortgages are good, some are bad and you need to always, always read the paperwork before signing on the dotted line. This goes doubly if your parents are considering a reverse mortgage and you’re going to be helping them deal with their finances as they age.

Reverse Mortgages and Their Bad Reputation

When reverse mortgages were first becoming fairly popular, banks willing to make the loans proliferated. And so did con artists who took advantage of an aging population made of people who were often desperate to hold on to their homes or simply were medically incapable of understanding the consequences of the monthly payment they’d receive.

This was good for no one but the scammers.

That’s why a whole lot of legislation has been written to remedy these kinds of situations. Now, if you or your parents are worried that a reverse mortgage offer might be a scam, you can opt for an FHA reverse mortgage. It’s easy to verify that an FHA lender is legit, where it may be less clear if certain brokers are on the up and up. You may get a better deal with a non-FHA reverse mortgage, but they provide confidence that you’re on the right path and that’s worth something, too.

How Do Reverse Mortgages Work?

Reverse mortgages are designed to help people who are retirement age afford to stay in their homes longer. Generally, this means that mortgage payments stop and there might even be some form of payment to the homeowner. So, if your grandmother shows up to the next family gathering in a brand new convertible roadster, it might be a good idea to ask her about the terms of her reverse mortgage. Some are genuinely helpful and decent; others are not so much.

The good part is that reverse mortgages are now heavily regulated by the government, so it’s much harder for scammers to take advantage of older people who may be having money problems already.

They don’t require a credit pull or even decent credit. You just need a home that’s free and clear, or has a significant amount of equity, and be 62 or older. You’ll pay some fees upfront and be required to complete HUD-approved counseling (you will pay a fee for this, too) that will help you determine if you’re really a good fit for a reverse mortgage.

If you happen to die while you still own the house, your heirs have the option to redeem it from the reverse mortgage lender by paying off the borrowed amount in full. Usually this is achieved with another “forward” mortgage.

Reverse Mortgage Payment Options

One of the best things about a reverse mortgage is the money that comes back into the pocket of the borrower. You or your parents can choose how that money is distributed, too. Essentially, you have three options: taking a lump sum, taking a monthly payment or using it as a line of credit. There are also ways to mix and match these, so you might take a percentage as a lump sum for that flashy convertible and the rest as a line of credit to use as you need to fill up on gas.

For a lot of seniors, a reverse mortgage will allow them to age in place without fear of losing their home (provided they keep up with the taxes and insurance). This can be a great option as long as the source of the funds is fully vetted, all the paperwork is in order and read from top to bottom and they have a plan to make the money last as long as possible.

Looking for a Reverse Mortgage Lender? Look no further!

HomeKeepr is home to many different types of home pros, including lenders that provide reverse mortgages. Since your Realtor has already recommended the top pros in the area, you’ll know at a glance who is going to treat you or your parents with respect and ensure that their interests are put above everything else. They might be able to hook you up with a pretty good car dealership, too, in case you need to pick up a shiny new convertible (note: we do not actually support irresponsible spending of limited funds like reverse mortgage proceeds).
MORTGAGE

MORTGAGE

Water Filters & You

There’s something you should know about your water: it’s not as clean as you might think.

In fact, depending on where it comes from, you could be having that skinny half-caf latte with extra primordial soup. Lots of little living things are in your drinking water right now, right in this moment. There are also plenty of minerals and more complicated compounds floating around in it, maybe even agricultural waste, if you get the drift.

It’s a pretty unpleasant picture, there’s no doubt about it. But without water, we mere mortals won’t last long. Just how do you keep from drinking a slurry that would potentially give you superpowers if you were in a comic book?

Water Filters for the Masses

Anyone who has a well should understand the need for regular testing and heavy filtration to protect their families from the things that can concentrate in the water supply, but most people who are on municipal water don’t give it a second thought. And why should they? Water goes to a treatment plant and it comes back as pure and glistening as new fallen snow.

Except that’s not really true. There are always contaminates that can’t be filtered out, no matter how hard you try. The technology is getting better all the time, but until it’s perfect, you may want to take some of the work of cleaning your drinking water into your own hands.

What Can a Water Filter Do?

There are plenty of water filters on the market today, mostly because many can only cover a portion of the contamination spectrum. It’s a lot to ask of one filter, though. The way you capture protozoa and eliminate them is completely different from how you’d get rid of excess calcium.

Unfortunately, this isn’t made very clear by those filter manufacturers. What ends up happening in many cases is that homeowners buy a single filter and are disappointed that their water is still kind of dirty.

For most whole-home filtration systems, using more than one type of filter will get you the best results possible. You will not get water that is perfectly free of anything but a couple of Hs and an O, but it will be much better overall.

Types of Filters

As mentioned above, there are several types of filters out there, most of which only cover a limited range of impurities. Some remove biological contamination from your water, but will not remove chemicals. These include:

Ceramic
Mechanical
Ozone
Ultraviolet
Others are really good at getting the chemicals, but don’t do much for things like cysts and bacteria. A few popular filters and techniques on that list are:

Activated Carbon
Deionization
Distillation
Ion exchange
Then, you have reverse osmosis.

Reverse Osmosis for Household Water Filtration

This particular filter technology as it’s regularly deployed to homeowners is a multipart system that not only includes a semipermeable membrane that prevents water contaminants like arsenic, hexavalent chromium, nitrates and perchlorate from entering your faucets, a carbon filter comes along with most standard systems to catch chlorine and other materials.

Part of what makes a reverse osmosis system so effective at cleaning your water are the multiple filtration stages. Of course water’s going to be cleaner with several polishes rather than the single pass your Brita pitcher gets.

The typical reverse osmosis filtration system uses pre-filtration to eliminate sand, dirt, silt and other sediments, carbon filters to remove chlorine and organic compounds, as well as the reverse osmosis membrane. By installing a reverse osmosis system, you are really installing multiple water filters that work together to create very clean water.

The Flip Side of Reverse Osmosis

Mostly, reverse osmosis systems are really pretty amazing. They do a lot of work without complaining much and need minimal maintenance if they’re installed properly. However, nothing in this world is perfect and the reverse osmosis filtration systems do have a few drawbacks to consider:

Not all systems are the same. Just because many reverse osmosis systems include multiple pre-filters, it should not be assumed that the one you’re looking at on Amazon does. The quality of reverse osmosis systems varies dramatically, make sure you read the reviews and invest in a good system that will last.

You need decent water pressure. Because the water has to be forced through what is essentially a super fine mesh, you need decent water pressure for a reverse osmosis system to work. If you’ve had water pressure issues in the shower, it’s a good bet you need a plumber out to take a look before you spend the money on a reverse osmosis filtration system.

They use a lot of water. Many homeowners are surprised to see how much waste water their reverse osmosis system produces. How much discharge water is collected will vary based on local water conditions and the number and types of filters you use, but you can expect something like three to five gallons of discharge water per gallon of reverse osmosis purified water. The waste water, however, is totally useable for anything you’d use the purified water for, aside from consumption by humans or animals. Hook it up to your gray water discharge system and water your trees with it — it’s not wasted anymore!

Ready for Reverse Osmosis? Not Sure Where to Start?

Sure, you can buy that system from Amazon and hope that you know enough about your plumbing to set it up properly, but wouldn’t you rather be in the pool or kicking back on the sofa watching the game?

You don’t have to do it all yourself. Your HomeKeepr community is home to the best plumbers in your area. They’re happy to help you with that reverse osmosis system. Your real estate agent has probably already recommended a plumber, why not log in right now and see who it is? Not only will your recommended expert help you choose a level of filtration that works for your family, they’ll install it in no time.

May 2019 Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy Spring!

It is finally here and, boy it couldn't have come any too soon! We hope you are enjoying the spring weather and are able to get out and enjoy the warmer temperatures. If you celebrate Easter, we hope you had a wonder weekend and enjoyed time with family.

Thank you for those of you who came out to our shred day a couple of weeks ago. We will have another one soon and will be sure and let you know so you can prepare accordingly. Also, thank you to those of you who came out to donate blood in our parking lot today. We collected quite a few pints. If you weren't able to make it today, please consider donating soon as there is a critical shortage of life-saving blood currently. We need you!

Steve, Brigid, Ana, & Tali spent spring break touring some national parks last month in Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, putting almost 1,200 miles on a rental car in a week! They saw Zion, Bryce Canyon, Moab, Arches, Rainbow, and Canyonlands. We had an amazing time and loved all of the parks. We really enjoyed a couple Extreme 4x4 tours in Moab along with zip lining and a New Zealand jet boat tour up and down the Colorado River. Highly recommend going!!

Last weekend, Jack participated in an Indy Honor Flight for WWII, Korea, & Vietnam-era veterans and he chose Steve to be his Guardian. We had the day of a lifetime! Jack was pampered all day from the police escort to and from the airport, to the decorated chartered flight to DC and fire truck water gun salute, and skipping all of the TSA lines entirely, to visiting the WWII, Korean, Vietnam, and Air Force Memorials, to watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, to a private concert by Carmel High Schools' Select Sound at the amphitheater at The Tomb, to crowds cheering us at both airports along with a glee club singing, all while being escorted by police through DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival. When we arrived home, we were greeted by literally thousands of cheering fans as each veteran was introduced to the crowd. The mail call on the flight home was overwhelming as Jack received over 1,000 letters. If you wrote one, THANK YOU! It meant the world to him.

If you or someone you know is a veteran who served during WWI, Korean, or Vietnam, please put your name on the list for the Indy Honor Flight. It is completely FREE to the veteran and there are about 400 volunteers who organize it each flight. The cost of each flight is over $100,000 and is funded entirely by donations. It is an experience you will never forget. Trust me. At the end, Jack said he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who volunteered as well as thanked him for his service. There were literally hundreds of people. Very, very cool and moving experience. If you have any questions, feel comfortable talking with Jack or Steve as they would be happy to share more of their experience. Check out some of the photos here: Indy Honor Flight 29.

This time of year always brings out eager buyers and sellers and 2019 is no different. The real estate broken record is still playing the same tune, although it is showing signs of waning. It is still a sellers' market, however it is slowing and becoming less of one. The indications of a shift are upon us, so be prepared so see the advantage shift back to that of buyers in the foreseeable future.

Check out the March 2019 vs. March 2018 market stats below courtesy of MIBOR:

New listings: DOWN 4.7% to 3,747 units
Pending sales: DOWN 14.7% to 3,653 units
Closed sales: DOWN 3.6% to 2,859 units
Median sales price: UP 4.9% to $182,000
Average sales price: UP 5.2% to $220,158
Percent of original list price received at sale: DOWN 0.4% to 95.5%
Total active listings available at month end: UP 8.8% to 6,212 units
Months supply of inventory: UP 5.3% to 2.0 months
THANK YOU to all of our clients and referral partners for attending our April Happy Hour last week! We had a great time and hope to see you next month on Thursday, May 16th from 5-6:30PM at Matt The Miller's in Carmel. Come join us for FREE drinks and appetizers along with fun conversation.

Steve's mastermind group The Info Connection 2 is hosting a great speaker on Friday, May 17th from 8:15-9:30AM at the Delaware Township Assessor's office in Fishers. Our featured speaker is Drew Klacik from IUPUI speaking about the Amazon Effect and how Indy win or lose by not landing their HQ2. He will also be talking about trends and forecasts for our area. Drews is frequently interviewed on TV, newspapers, and magazines and speaks all over the city. Steve has heard him several times at the OneZone (Carmel/Fishers Chamber of Commerce) and he is always one of their most well-attended speakers. The cost is FREE, but you must sign up to attend. We would love to see you there!

Finally, come join us at Sundown Gardens in Westfield THIS Saturday from 10-12 for free demonstrations on spring planting, discounts throughout the store and a free gift just for attending. We have over 200 people coming so far, so please drop by and say hello and learn some tips and tricks and save some $$$ on your spring plantings. Hope to see you there!

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Your friends in real estate,

Steve, Jack, Kylie, & Julia

Smart Plugs & Outlets

“Siri, how much water did I drink today?”

“Alexa, what’s on TV tonight?”

“Google, turn off the lights!”

You know the drill. We’re all starting to talk to ourselves under the guise of speaking to our smart speakers and voice assistants. There’s nothing at all wrong with this, but it’s a future no one could have conceived even a decade ago. Smart speakers were cool for creating grocery lists, but that’s just a fraction of what they’re capable of now.

Your computer friends can control your lights and outlets from anywhere now. How cool is that?

The Power of Smart Switches and Plugs

Smart switches and plugs are among the most underrated components of a smart home. In fact, they’re a cheap way to get into the smart home world if your home wasn’t built with this type of equipment in mind.

They’re simple to install and essentially disappear after a few days. After all, they’re just boring plugs and switches, right?

Well… that’s one way to look at it. But, then again, how long do you go in a day without interacting with an outlet or a switch? Are you using either right now?

Behold the Handy, Hidden Household Helpers

If you really think about it, you use outlets and switches all the time for a wide range of reasons. Smart switches and smart plugs are no different, they’re a frequent touch item in your home. But they’re so much more than power regulators. Smart switches and plugs can do things for your household like:

Making mornings tolerable. Most people have heard of the coffee pot that’s powered using a smart outlet. You fill it up at night, then your programmed smart outlet switches on in the morning and starts the coffee cycle. It’s a popular trope, but it’s also a real thing… so you have that to look forward to.

Proving peace of mind. Whether you’re across town or across the state, it’s not a great idea to advertise that you’re not home at night. Your smart switches and plugs can be programmed to flip on and off at different times to make it appear that you’re just hanging around the house.
Conserving resources. Believe it or not, a lot of homeowners find that they save a lot of energy with smart plugs. The better units have use reporting built in, all you have to do is check your app to see which ones are using up the most juice. Create a schedule for those plugs, then check your usage again in a few months. Adjust the whole thing as necessary.

Creating a safer indoor environment. Are you the kind of person who doesn’t like to walk into a dark house, even when it’s yours? Then smart switches and outlets should definitely be on your shopping list. You can turn all the lights in the house on when you pull into your subdivision or driveway, making it clear that you’re home, in case any ghouls (or burglars) happen to be lurking.

Assisting people with handicaps. You may not need the help now, but even a debilitating sports injury can be enough to make you want to scream when you forget to turn a light on or off and are already across the room. For people who are permanently disabled, that’s an every day event. Today with the help of Siri, Alexa and Google Home Assistant, all anyone needs to do is shout, “Siri, turn off the kitchen lights!” and it’s a done deal.

Those little almost-invisible switches and outlets are pretty busy, looks like. They’re also an inexpensive way to jumpstart your smart home transformation. For example, if you wanted a way to turn your bedroom’s ceiling fan light off at night, you would save a bundle to install a smart switch versus using smart light bulbs and the switch won’t burn out any time soon, so bonus!

Ready to Make a Move Toward a Smarter Home?

Even if you have an older home, you can start transforming it into a smart home with switches and outlets. Every home and family will have different needs that a smart home can service, but due to the dizzying array of equipment out there, it can help to speak to a home pro about your plans. Not sure where to find one? Start in your own backyard with HomeKeepr. Your real estate agent can recommend a smart home consultant or installer to help you pick the right bits and pieces to build the perfect, smartest home on the block.

Thinking about installing a pool? Read this first...

With the sunny days of summer just around the corner, it’s hard to not let your thoughts turn to the cool, refreshing blue waters of a backyard pool. Maybe you’ve been considering putting a pool in for years or maybe it was just how hot it was last summer that has prompted your interest in being a pool owner. Either way there are likely aspects you’ve not considered.

A pool is hard to undo, which is why we’re going to address the top five need-to-know things about pool installation and ownership right now.

Pool Installation is Awful

Pools are cool. They are. But only when you go into the whole process and future ownership with open eyes. A pool build is not for the faint of heart, for starters. In urban and suburban neighborhoods with yards that are measured in square feet instead of acres, the process may literally destroy your entire back yard while the mess is being made. Grass will grow again, but in the meantime, it can seriously be the worst.

Taking the dog out means getting the leash and pants, he’s not going to be able to go out into the back yard. You may also have to take part of the fence down to allow the trucks and other equipment access, depending on the size of the pool and your yard’s configuration. If you’ve ever had to replace a sewer line, think about that and then multiply it by about a hundred. That’s the mess you’ll have until your pool is done.

If you can handle the stress, great. If not, your local gym or YMCA might have a pool you can use. They’ll take care of everything and it’ll spare your grass. For homebuyers thinking they can save money by building their own pool rather than buying a house with one, this may be true. But this is a big project requiring a lot of dirt work, you may be happier to buy a house with a pool already installed.

A Few Less Obvious Points to Ponder

That digging a giant hole in your yard is going to be a serious pain may be a no-brainer, but there are other things that aren’t as obvious. That’s what this is really about, after all. We want to be sure you’ve considered all the angles before taking the plunge.

Splish, Splash, You Don’t Want to Take a Bath

Real estate agents and appraisers get the same question about pools over and over again: “How much will this increase my home’s value?”

The Devil, with this question at least, is in the details.

What kind of pool?
Is it inground or above ground?
What kind of neighborhood are you living in?
Do a lot of homes in your market have pools?
How long will you live in your home?
What kind of equipment are you installing?
Of course you don’t want to take a bath on your pool, but it’s one of those items that you should consider to be a luxury purchase and not give a lot of care to whether or not it’ll pay for itself. Unfortunately, whether or not your pool can increase the value of your home is such a loaded question that it’s really impossible to answer.

A pool can simultaneously attract and terrify buyers, especially in the middle to low upper buying ranges. For a family with no small children, a pool might seem like a needed asset due to physical therapy that’s on-going or just to shake the frustration of swimming in a club pool without interruption. But for a family with small children, it might be the single thing about your house that’s so wrong it can’t be made right.

Ask Permission, Not Forgiveness from the HOA

A lot of people go through life asking forgiveness for something they did that they knew was questionable to begin with. We’re not saying that’s you, just that this is a common practice among humans. The problem with this approach to pool building in a neighborhood with an HOA (which is most neighborhoods these days) is that if the HOA doesn’t like what you’re doing, you’ve spent a lot of money for a big muddy hole in the backyard.

Find out if your HOA allows pools. Do it even if your next door neighbor has one because the HOA rules can be changed by the membership. If enough people voted for a “no new pools” rule, well, the ayes have it. If they are allowed, there may still be rules about how and where they must be installed in your yard. Learn the rules now before you end up learning a costly lesson.

Pools Change Your Homebuyer Profile

This was already touched on in the section about taking a bath, but it bears repeating. Installing a pool, unlike building a garage or putting in a fence, changes the kind of buyer who will be looking at your place. If your neighborhood is largely made up of the kind of people who like pools and aren’t worried about the safety aspects involved for children and pets, then when you go to sell, you may not notice a lot of difference in buyer traffic.

But, if your neighborhood is full of starter homes or just a lot of small children because you happen to be a half mile from the local elementary school, adding a pool will do you no favors if you want to sell your home. Other families with young children will be the ones looking at your house, more likely than not. Unless you get lucky and find some retirees who want to be around elementary kids, that pool might make it really hard to sell your home.

Budget Pool Buying is Worse Than No Pool

A lot goes into the decision to install a pool, including the cost of that cement pond. While you should be budget-aware, if budget is your driving factor you will not be happy with your pool. If you’re not happy with a purchase that can start around $20k and go up from there indefinitely, you might as well have not put it in.

Pools are needy and have ongoing care and maintenance. They require you to constantly interact with them to keep them working properly, as well as input from the pros now and again. If budget is your first concern, the yearly costs may not figure in, either. Plus, there’s the bump in your insurance rates to consider.

Having a pool is like having a sports car. Some people buy them and love them and can’t get enough. Some people want them, but realistically understand they can’t keep them in tip-top shape, so postpone the purchase. Some people buy the cheapest Porsche 911 they can find and then get frustrated that it’s constantly in the shop.

Your pool priorities should begin with the purpose for the pool, the site location and appropriate equipment. Then you can start price comparing. There’s no reason to miss out on a deal, but buying the cheapest pool because it’s the only one you can fit in the budget is only going to end in disappointment.

Need More Help Deciding if a Pool is Right For You?

Look no further than your HomeKeepr community. Your real estate agent can recommend pool professionals and landscaping artists that will make your pool project unlike anything else. You don’t have to wade through tons of reviews that might be biased or bought when you can get real life recommendations for home pros from people you actually know and trust. Recommendations beat reviews every time. Log in today to see what companies are the favorites for pools in your area.

Spring cleaning...your A/C?

Spring is a time of beginnings. You get a chance to start over, to try something new and to get your air conditioner ready for the hot summer to come. It might not be as romantic as the budding of trees and blooming of flowers, but having your air conditioner in tip-top shape is arguably far more useful.

When you start your spring clean, don’t forget your air conditioner. In just a few minutes, you can improve its efficiency while helping it continue to run well for years to come.

First, A Basic Explanation of Air Conditioning Technology

Your air conditioner isn’t magic, but it’s pretty close. These devices were actually invented in the early 1900s as a way to reduce indoor humidity in paper plants. It just so happened they have a side effect that we rely on even today.

Air conditioning systems depend on the expansion and contraction of gasses to pull moisture out of the air by cooling it down. This is basic physics at work — warm air holds more water, cool air holds less.

When air is pulled into your air handler (for many, this is a furnace) through your warm air return, it’s forced over a tent-shaped coil that uses refrigerant to cool the air as it passes. A blower then blows that cooled air back into the house.

So What Does the Outside Condenser Do?

The air conditioning condenser that most people consider to be “the air conditioner” is actually a giant heatsink. See, when the air is cooled inside your air handler, the refrigerant is what’s absorbing most of the heat. It then gets pumped to the condenser, where the heat collected inside your house is released to the environment.

It’s really a pretty simple idea that has made a huge change to how we live, play and work.

Your Air Conditioner Spring Cleaning Checklist

There’s no time like spring to do a little air conditioner tune-up. A lot of the heavy lifting will have to be performed by HVAC professionals, but there are things you can do to keep your system running longer as a homeowner. Generally, these items should be done at least once in the spring before you start using the A/C and again in the fall when you’re ready to put it away for the year.

Change your furnace filter. Whether it’s on the ceiling, on the floor or inside your furnace or air handler, a clean filter is a filter that can let the most air through for cooling. And the easier it is for the system to pull air in and cool it, the more comfortable you’ll be with the least amount of cost. Investing in an electrostatic filter that you can wash and reuse is a smart move for the long term.

Flush your condensation line. There’s a pipe or tube that comes out of your furnace or air handler and runs to a drain somewhere. This is the condensation line. All the moisture your system is pulling out of that warm air has to go somewhere, you know? That somewhere is a pan that empties via this tube. Just open it up from the top (which tube it is should be obvious, but if you can’t find it, ask your HVAC professional), slowly pour in about a cup of vinegar or bleach. If the liquid moves, you’re gold. If not, you may need to spend some time investigating the issue. More often than not, it’s algae growth in the tube or mineral deposits, both things you can flush out, but require some patience to remove.

Clean your a-coil. That tent shaped coil mentioned above is called the “evaporator coil” or the “a-coil.” It can get dirty, which makes it a lot less efficient at removing moisture and cooling the air. If you feel brave, and you’re careful, you can wipe the coils clean or use a shop vac. They’re very similar to the coils on the back of your refrigerator, treat them the exact same way.

Comb the fins on the condenser. If you look closely at your outside condenser, you’ll notice that the part that’s inside the cage is made up of a whole bunch of teeny fins. These little guys can get damaged by accident, causing them to be less efficient because they’re not really in an optimal configuration anymore. All you need to fix this is a fin comb. This simple device lets you straighten bent fins, restoring your unit to its former glory.

Spray the condenser down. Last, but far from least, you’ll want to spray your air conditioner’s condenser down with a hose. Start by wetting all the fins with a garden sprayer, then go back around and spend some time slowly flushing out the dirt, one section at a time, working top to bottom.

Ready For An A/C Tune-Up?

If spring cleaning your air conditioner isn’t getting the results you’re looking for, it may be time to get an HVAC pro out to give it a once-over. But where can you find one that you can really trust, though? Look no further than your HomeKeepr community. Your real estate agent has already recommended their favorite home pros, all you need to do is long in and learn who makes the grade.

Creating a family photo wall

One of the best parts of owning your own home is that you can do pretty much whatever you want when it comes to hanging things on the wall. No landlord will charge you $5 per hole you poke through the sheetrock. It’s kind of nice. You can let your creative side have a heyday with a hammer and a bunch of nails.

For a lot of families, putting a family picture wall together is a high priority in their new homes. It can be a fun project that can be the very first of many happy memories in the new place.

Planning Your Picture Wall

If you hop on Pinterest and search for “family picture wall,” you’re going to find an overwhelming number of ways to put one of these together. There’s no one way to do a family picture wall, since every family is different. There are lots of things to consider while you’re planning your wall, though.

Don’t just start hanging pictures willy-nilly. Do some real prep work to ensure that your wall turns out as special as what you have envisioned rather than yet another #PinterestFail. These tips should help:

Pick a theme. You need something concrete to get you started in the planning stage. Choosing a theme can be a good place to start, since it’ll inform your image choices as you go through your Google Drive. A theme could be anything from “vacation photos” to “photos with the color blue in them.” The best photo walls have some kind of unifying theme, choose one before you get started.

Use technology to simulate your photo wall. Art.com’s iOS app gives you the capability to not just imagine what an image or set of images will look like on your wall, it actually can virtually add those photos to the wall using augmented reality. The same technology that powers Pokemon Go can help you get great results with your family picture wall.

Choosy kids choose cool frames. The frames you choose are just as important as the images. If you’re looking for something pretty unusual, scour flea markets and antique shops for old frames with unique designs. If you can’t find anything that tickles your fancy, your home improvement store’s trimwork aisle will have some really fancy trim that you can use to build your own frames!

Incorporate more than photos. Sure, it’s called a “family picture wall,” but who says you have to stop there? Memorabilia from favorite spots, items that reflect interests and hobbies, even accolades like medals have a place on a wall like this. Just make sure that you’re using sturdy materials and secure shelves tightly to the wall to avoid long term issues.

Sometimes, fewer is better. Family picture walls can get pretty overwhelming fast. Instead of hanging every photo you’ve ever taken of your kids, pick the two best from now and the two best from their early childhood. Capture those moments that really meant something and remember that sometimes less is way more. Besides, you’ll want to save some of those embarrassing pictures for leverage later.

When It’s Time to Start Decorating…

Some people love the process and others love the results when it comes to redecorating their homes. If you’re more of a looker than a doer, you’re in luck. Your HomeKeepr community can help you meet interior designers who will put together a killer family photo wall that you’ll love to look at every day. Just ask your real estate agent to introduce you and you’ll be on your way to a wall full of memories in no time!

Spring cleaning tips

It’s officially spring again, everybody and their great aunt Erma are abuzz with cleaning and organizing advice. We’re not sheep at HomeKeepr, but we figured it was important to throw our voice into the ether, just in case you needed a different perspective. After all, we’re a little less Good Housekeeping and a little more Family Handyman.

The Three Vital Goals of a Spring Cleaning

Before we get into the tips, it’s a good idea to set some goals for your spring cleaning. A lot of people get into trouble because they fail to actually establish what it is that they hope to accomplish with their cleaning efforts. They aren’t going to be able to clean their home top to bottom over the course of the next month, contrary to the claims of some magazine (no, not the Weekly World News).

What ends up happening is that one room gets really clean, the next one is pretty clean, and diminishing returns follow until they give up and take a nap. Establishing goals gives you a way to know you’ve achieved something and those goals can tell you pretty precisely how much further you have to go.

Your vital goals may be slightly different, but odds are that these are in the ballpark:

Increase the feeling of openness in your home.
Make it easier to find things that disappeared last year.
Declutter. All. The. Things.
Before we proceed with these three goals, please understand that nothing in this article is meant as a judgement on you or anyone else. Everybody has their challenges and blind spots. Maybe you’re not very good at organizing, but you’re great at chess. We can’t all be great chess players.

Attacking Your Vital Spring Cleaning Goals

Whether you’re going to sort of just jump in the middle of your goals and attack them from all angles or you want a more organized approach, you need a plan of action that works for you. Don’t even start without one. If you have something working well for you, go with it, but if not, we’ve got a short attack plan for each goal above down below.

Keep in mind that some of these lists can be done simultaneously if you really want to be efficient. If not, that’s ok, too. This is your spring cleaning. Own it.

Goal: Increasing the Feeling of Openness In Your Home

Increasing the feeling of openness in your home comes down to one thing: light. The more light in your home, the bigger and more open it feels. Achieving this seemingly impossible goal is actually really easy and you can do it without replacing a single window or tearing down walls. See, it’s all about that glass. It’s about the paint on your walls, too, but for the amended spring cleaning, focus on the glass. That includes:

Windows. Scrub these things like they’ve never been washed. They probably haven’t. Wash the insides and then go outside and wash the outside. Just washing the windows will brighten up your space enough that you may end up stopping at this point.
Mirrors. Those mirrors are bouncing light around the room. Just because your windows are letting more light in doesn’t mean that it’s going to survive long once it hits that dirty mirror. Clean, clean away.
Light fixtures. By light fixtures, we mean those light kits on your ceiling fan, the bulb enclosures on chandeliers and the shades on ceiling huggers. Anything glass, take it down and clean it. Most of these items can go into the dishwasher, but put anything thin or fragile in the top rack.
Light bulbs. Oh, the lowly lightbulb. How we forget you all the time when doing almost anything. You’re just a magic tube that gives us light… unfortunately, bulbs also get dirty, so grab your Swiffer duster and give all your bulbs a good once-over.
Goal: Make It Easier to Find Things

This one has a single, simple solution: The Container Store. Or any other sort of place where you can get every kind of organizer you could dream up. The reason homes get cluttered too often is because there’s simply not any kind of proper storage to begin with. Of course you’re going to struggle to find things when those things don’t have a permanent home!

You really don’t even need a list here. It’s all in the organization. Go room by room and take stock of what lays out a lot of the day. Do the kids throw their coats on the couch and wander off? Coat rack by the door should fix that. Does your closet look like it exploded? Check out some of the super impressive closet systems they make these days.

Sure, it’s going to take a little bit of an investment to make this goal manageable, but ultimately you’ll find that it’s worth it when you don’t end up buying three of the same top because you couldn’t find the one you needed the day you were going to give that big presentation.

Goal: Declutter

You can and should probably work on this while you’re working on organizing stuff. Decluttering has become a meme, you know what it’s all about. You take all the stuff that you own and then you subject it to your hardest judgement. Will you use that spork set again? Is that pair of duck shoes really necessary in the desert? So many questions and decisions to make.

Getting stuck trying to decide what gets to go? Ask these questions:

Am I using it regularly?
When I am using it, do I enjoy using it?
Have I effectively replaced this item and simply keep it around for nostalgia?
Am I really going to “fit back into these jeans?” Be honest. Cake is delicious.
Do I really want to finish this project?
Do I have too many of this item? (belts, shoes, microwave bacon cookers)
Am I keeping this item out of some sense of guilt? (gifts, mainly)
Once you’ve done this, grab the boxes and bags. Sort the items you don’t need into “useable and worth donating” and “garbage, only good for trashing.” If any of the trash is recyclable, you know, a third recycle bin is probably warranted

Achieve Your Spring Cleaning Goals This Year or Go Down Fighting!

With defined goals and plans in place to tackle each one, spring cleaning should be so much easier this year than it was in the past. Doing some regular cleaning might not be a bad idea, either, but you can always leave the basic stuff like doing the floors and washing the walls to home pros from your HomeKeepr network. People who make it their business to clean and organize your stuff are among the elite ranks of home pros that belong to the community. Just ask your real estate agent for a recommendation and you’ll be well on your way..

Saying goodbye to the family home...

It’s easy to tell yourself that your house is just a building made of walls and ceilings and light fixtures and flooring, but when it comes time to sell, you may start to feel the sting of grief.

After all, you don’t know if the new owners will take care of the rows and rows of brilliant iris that line the fence in the spring or if they’ll cut down the crepe myrtle because they don’t realize it waits for the first kiss of summer heat to spring back to life.

Will they paint your son’s former bedroom and cover up the mural he spent so much time creating? Will they take out the built-in desk and bookcases you made for your daughter?

Maybe saying goodbye isn’t the easy process you thought it would be.

Selling Your Family Home is a Type of Loss

When you’re selling your family home, it’s not just a building that you’re saying goodbye to. It’s all the memories you made there, the familiariarity and, maybe most importantly, the security of that one place you could always fall back to if life started kicking you too hard. This goes for the house that you raised your kids in as well as the house where you were raised — both are genuine losses.

“You’re dismantling something that was once precious, and you have to go through grief and mourning when this happens.” psychologist Dr. Arthur Kovacs explained in an interview with the Chicago Times.

Of course, that’s only part of the story. Another element that makes it so hard to quit a family home is the link between memory and physical space. When your memories are tangled in with your home, it can be hard to let go.

“We have memories and associations that are connected to all of those things that make houses so heavily connected to ourselves,” Duke University’s department of psychology and neuroscience chair, Dr. Scott Huettel, goes on to explain the phenomenon to the New York Times.

Easing Into Selling Your Family Home

Much of the time when you’re looking to sell a family home, it’s due to a big change in life. Maybe your kids have all left home and you’re planning to downsize or maybe your parents have died and you’re having to liquidate their estate. No matter the reason, it’s one of the hardest things you can do, even if you think you’re totally prepared.

How do you get ready for such a big sacrifice? It’s all about your mindset. Start to detach from the house by taking down and packing anything that’s personal. This includes photos, crafted decorations, paintings and so forth. As you take these things off the walls, the space starts to become more generic, less personal and it gets easier to consider selling the house.

If you’re still feeling the pain at this point, work on other parts of the house. Remember that crack in the wall from four years ago when the game controller flew from your daughter’s hand and hit the drywall at full force? Patch that up. Your buyer probably won’t even notice it, but you will. Sterilize your home until you can bear to sign the papers

When the Offer Comes Through

The day will come that you get an offer. Resist the urge to flat out reject it, no matter the price. This is where the rubber meets the road — it’s now grossly apparent that you’re selling the house you poured so much of yourself into rather than just thinking about it.

It’s time for a wake.

Maybe you’d be better to call it a “remembrance party” or something a little cheerier, but the whole point is to say goodbye in a big way so you can get the closure you need. Some people go room by room to have one last good walk down memory lane, others celebrate by doing something they hadn’t gotten around to doing, like hosting a luau.

Your goodbye will be best if you do it in a way that’s meaningful to you and your family. There aren’t really any shortcuts when it comes to grief, unfortunately. Don’t beat yourself up, it’s not “just a house.” That’s the building that sheltered and protected you year after year. That’s the stuff that attachment is made of.

When You’re Ready to List…

The market’s heating up even as you’re reading this blog. If you’ve been thinking about downsizing, this is a great time to sell that big home and move into something more energy efficient and easier to care for. You’re not alone in your efforts, your HomeKeepr community has your back all the way. With the best real estate agents, movers, handymen, painters and other home pros at your disposal, your sale will go smoothly so that all you have to focus on is your last hurrah in your home.

Appealing Your Property Taxes...

Spring is here and that means it’s time to… well, it’s time to appeal your property taxes. Not everyone needs to do this, obviously, but there are plenty of people who should. Do you feel like your most recent tax assessment was pretty high? Alternatively, is your tax record (you can usually find these online through your county assessor’s office) stuffed with wrong information that could be affecting your tax bill?

We’ll help you get it figured out. Welcome to your introduction to appealing your property taxes.

Is it Worth the Effort to Appeal My Taxes?

Everyone has their own idea as to what their labor is worth, so jumping through all the hoops to appeal your property tax is a decision that only you can make. But if you live in a high tax state like New Jersey, Illinois or Texas, the new tax laws may be really hurting you with deductible property tax now capped at just $10,000.

The process can be very time consuming, so a few hundred dollars might not be worth the fight, but a few thousand almost certainly are. You should ask a similar question before you hire a lawyer to handle a tax battle for you — will it be worth it in the end?

If you’re certain that you’re ready to dig in for a fight, then read on so we can help you lay the groundwork.

Challenging Small, But Significant Errors

One of the most common reasons that homes are improperly taxed is because their tax record is incorrect in some way. Common problems stem from the house being listed with more square footage, more bedrooms or more land than is actually there.

Older homes, especially, suffer from these problems because so many people have had their hands on these records over the years. Every time the government caught up to the latest tech, someone had to transfer all that information over again by hand. That makes it too easy to swap a three for a two, or transpose 2300 square feet into 3200 square feet.

To successfully fight your property taxes, no matter how you choose to do it, you’ll need to know what the tax assessor thinks about your place. If the assessor’s office believes you have an additional 900 square feet or an acre that you definitely don’t have, you should have very little trouble appealing your taxes.

Mind the Window, It’s Not Open Long

A really important item to keep in mind when you’re exploring this tax appeal is that the window for said effort isn’t open for very long. You can’t just appeal on a whim, so have everything ready as soon as you can or resolve to try next year. You’ll have to contact your county assessor’s office to find out just when the appeals window is because they can vary pretty wildly.

Just taking a quick stroll around the Internet reveals a huge range of deadlines to file those appeals, here are a few examples:

Cook County, Illinois — Rogers Park Township: March 18
Cook County, Illinois — Oak Park Township: April 19
Washtenaw County, Michigan : July 31
New Jersey: Apri 1, May 1, Dec 1, Jan 1 (depending on your situation)
Make sure you make real contact with your tax assessor because they can keep you informed about any and all changes to the way they’re handling taxes this year, as well as the deadlines that you have to abide by to stand a shot at reducing your tax bill.

Exemptions to Keep in Mind

Certain people, through service or simple longevity, have earned the right to reduced property taxes. That doesn’t mean they’ll get them right out of the gate, though — sometimes you still have to take it to the tax man.

Here are a few ways that you may get a break in your county:

Homesteading. In many states, simply living in your own home is reason enough for an exemption. You may find that only part of your property’s value is taxed under a homesteading exemption, but check the rules carefully because some areas only allow this exemption if you meet specific criteria related to age and income.

Seniors and Disabled People. Many high tax areas have rules in place to help protect the property of people who are older or have become disabled. If either of these statuses apply to you, call your tax assessor’s office and ask for details. Typically you have to income qualify.
Military Vets. Vets who have served during wartime will often qualify for property tax exemptions, provided they were honorably discharged. Different states may tack on additional requirements, but many go the other way and will allow any military vet to receive the property tax exemption.

Remodeling. Plenty of areas are willing to let you work your way to a tax exemption. For example, you might fix up a property that’s at least 25 years old and has fallen into disrepair. In Bismarck, North Dakota, you can get a five year exemption from paying on the value you added to the property just by bringing it back to life.

Green Housing. Some states are greener than others, but the really green ones will happily exclude the value of your green improvements from your tax assessment. It makes it easier to go green when you know you don’t have to worry about paying taxes on those improvements right away, plus you may be able to claim additional tax credits on your tax return.

This is far from an exhaustive list of the property tax exemptions you may be able to claim in your county. Take a stroll down to your county assessor’s office or check them out online to see what exemptions are available in your county.

Supporting Documents for Tax Assessment Appeals

Beyond your exemptions and corrections due to incorrectly entered data about your home, you can further attempt to reduce your tax bill if you think it’s still unfair. You’ll need to come armed, though, because now the county will be putting up a fight.

The most important tools you can have in this war are an up-to-date appraisal, a comparative market analysis and documentation of any damage to the home since the last tax assessment (for example if the roof now leaks because a tree fell on it, that would certainly reduce its value).

Up-to-Date Appraisal

An appraisal is a time-sensitive document, since it only describes your home during a set point in time. Don’t rely on an old appraisal to get a tax assessment reduction, instead hire an appraiser to perform one that’s all brand new.

The catch is that you may spend more on the appraiser than you will save this year, but if you plan on staying in your home for a while, even the smallest dent in your taxes makes an appraisal a good long-term investment.

Comparative Market Analysis

When you can’t have an appraisal done, either because it’s not cost-effective or because you’re cutting your county’s submission deadline close, a CMA could save the day. Real estate agents are not appraisers, but they can provide a great deal of insight of their own. Since they have access to information on homes around yours that have sold, they can help you figure out what values are right now.

Unlike appraisers, who are generally deemed competent to judge the value of a property, real estate agents aren’t always given the same benefit of the doubt, even though comps (comparable properties) are pulled using very similar criteria. Ultimately, a CMA that helps establish your home’s value is an iffy approach, but it’s still an informed one.

Documentation of Damage

Serious damage to your home can reduce its value. So, for example, say you had a major storm and now half the siding is gone and the brick on the front sheared clear off below the windows. This is no small thing.

Photographs, letters from the neighborhood association, copies of fines your HOA is threatening to impose can help. The downside? Well, your house is broken and devaluing further every time it rains. Also, too much documented loss of value could make your lender nervous, to the point that they call in your note.

Presentation and Waiting… and Waiting…. and Waiting…..

Your supporting documentation is vital to the fight against your higher tax assessment, so make sure you have copies to spare. Once you’ve submitted or presented your case for a reduced tax burden, it could be several months before you get an answer. Keep those copies at least through the end of the appeals process because if any documents have gone missing, you’ll need to be able to replace them quickly.

If you end up still owing as much tax as you did at the beginning of the process, you can generally appeal one more time. You’ll want to bring more ammo with you, so if your first attempt at appealing your tax assessment included a CMA and not an appraisal, go the distance and have that appraisal performed, too.

Keep in mind that what you’re appealing isn’t your tax rate, but the assessed value of your home. The same tax rate applies, just to a much less valuable piece of property. This is both good and bad for you. It’s good because, hey, less tax. It’s bad because you could literally be undermining your efforts to sell or refinance your property.

You’ll have a much easier time appealing your tax bill if you have a legitimate exemption that you can claim or there are errors in your tax records. This is the easy road, compared to the harder route of trying to convince the assessor’s office that they overvalued your home by mistake..

If You Need Property Tax Help…

Take a gander in your HomeKeepr community. You’ll find lawyers, real estate experts and even remodelers who can help with various aspects of your property tax appeal. Don’t give up if you meet some resistance at first, just call on your HomeKeepr crew to help you with the right documentation to prove that you deserve a break on your taxes.