September Steve & Jack's Home News

It is August, right?? As I write this month’s article, I am watching the Indy 500 live! What? While I am glad to be able to watch it live on TV, it certainly is weird, especially since this is the first time in history to be run in August…and with no fans in the stands. Very strange indeed.

We did it!!! Welcome to the end of summer and our kiddos are still alive!!! This has seemed like both the longest and shortest summers ever. Both of our girls are back at school. Ana who is a sophomore at Guerin High School is back live full-time. Tali who is in 5th grade at Westfield Intermediate is back utilizing a hybrid model, where she is live two days a week and virtual 3 days a week. So far, both girls are enjoying being back with their friends and back into a routine, although it means earlier mornings. Ana is playing on the soccer team and they won their first game of the season. This is the hardest she has ever worked, and we are proud of her for sticking it out. Tali is still having a great time with competitive cheer. Last weekend, she practiced for 21 out of 48-hours! She was tired, but loved every minute of it. We are anxious to see how the competition season goes this fall/winter. If you have kiddos in sports, how have they adjusted to being back?

Brigid is still stuck at home with her work. Merck will not let her do live sales calls still and it is driving her nuts! Stuck in conference and Zoom call purgatory is not fun and she is itching to get outside. Last Sunday, we celebrated our 17-year wedding anniversary and went to Ruth’s Chris at The Ironworks building. Although quite pricey, it was a lovely dinner with a great atmosphere and excellent service. Highly recommend…but be prepared to pay for it!

Steve completed a couple of more designations and certifications this month. One is the Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA), which provided specialized training in home valuations and working with appraisers. This is crucial in this crazy market right now to get the price right the first time. The second is the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS) designation. This is the most exclusive designation for marketing luxury property. It teaches agents how luxury property is different from other properties and how to work with luxury sellers and market their homes differently to an affluent buyer. Both were excellent courses and a lot of new information was learned and we are ready to implement it. These mark the 12th and 13th designations/certifications Steve has earned continuing to make him the most formally educated residential real estate agent in the world. This unparalleled training and expertise is used to empower and educate their clients while buying and selling.

Thea has been super-busy lately working with a lot of buyers and successfully negotiating accepted offers during a highly competitive market. She consistently receives top marks and praise from her buyers she helps through the toughest market in history for them. If you or someone you know are thinking about buying or selling right now, give us a call and we will put our unparalleled experience and tactics to work for you to ensure the absolute best experience possible.

Patti officially received her real estate license after passing her exam last month! We are excited to have all members of our team fully licensed to provide an even higher level of service to our clients and referral partners.

Kylie has continued to work hard to be so efficient in tracking everything so we know where we stand during this very strange year. She also processes all paperwork so quickly, she draws high praise not only from our office staff, but also other agents with whom we work. She is the absolute best at what she does and we are lucky to have her on our team.

Jack and Mary Anne were in Branson a few weeks ago and really enjoyed getting away. Social distancing practices were in full force while they took in a few shows. Currently, they are in their timeshare in Fairfield Glade in Tennessee for the week.

A huge thank you to all of our clients and referral partners who attended our first live Happy Hour since March!!! We had a great group (bigger than expected) and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather on the patio at Matt The Miller’s. It was so good to see everyone again. If you feel comfortable, please join us for our next Happy Hour on Thursday, September 17th from 5-6:30pm at Matt The Miller’s. We will return to the patio assuming weather is cooperating since it was so well-received. September will be sponsored by our referral partner Bill Maki with Kaveri Group. Bill specializes in video marketing and testimonials. You can see some of his work on our website (www.Welcome2Indy.com). The videos and testimonials are his work. Bill will have a few minutes to share what he does and how he can help someone you care about looking for some exposure on-line.

SHRED Day is back!!! Our 3rd Shred Day is going to be on September 11th from 10AM-12PM in our office parking lot. The past two have seen over 400 cars participate!!! We have contracted TWO trucks this month to make it more efficient and faster. We will also still have our electronics recycling truck there. So, come on by and safely have your documents destroyed and electronics recycled. This is absolutely FREE to you as our valued clients/referral partners.

Our real estate market is as hot as the temperature!!! Inventory went down again to 0.8 months, which is equivalent to about 3 weeks. Never before in history have we seen inventory this low. Prices have appreciated 11.9% from last year. Bottom line, if you or someone you care about are thinking about selling, NOW is the time. If you are concerned about not being able to find a home because you know your current home will sell too fast, we have a strategy to help. Call us today and we can share with you strategies that work-317-573-1880. Check out the latest stats from MIBOR comparing July 2020 to June 2020:

Median Sales Price-UP 2.3% to $225,000
Closed Sales-UP 9.9% to 3,969 units
New Listings-UP 7.4% to 4,161 units
Pending Sales-UP 2.7% to 4,155 units
Days on Market-DOWN 8.6% to 32 days
Price/s.f.-UP 2.4% to $128
% of Ask Received-UP 0.4% to 98.8%
Active Inventory-UP 1.3% to 3,246 units
Absorption Rate-DOWN 11.1% to 0.8 months

Check out Steve’s September intro video here

Read our September newsletter here

Want to read what other clients have to say about us? Watch some videos here

Want to download the most powerful real estate app available? Download it here

Click here for instant access to coupons and discounts at places you shop every day

Watch a 1-minute market update video here

Thank you for all of your support and trust over the years! We couldn’t do what we love without you!!!

Your friends in real estate,

Steve, Kylie, Thea, & Patti

P.S. Please don’t keep us a secret!

August 2020 Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy end of summer!! For many of us, it means back-to-school for our kiddos, but that looks a little different this year than past years. Also, for many parents with school-aged children, we have been with our kiddos since mid-March. Yikes! If you are fortunate enough to be able to send your kiddos back to school, congratulations! If not, we commiserate with you.

This year has been tough on all of us, but especially parents with school-aged children who are forced to play full-time, all-day, all-week caregiver, teacher, nurse, entertainer, and food service worker. If you also work, good luck! We hope you navigate the back-to-school storm (whatever that looks like for you) as smoothly as possible and stay happy and healthy.

Steve and his family just returned from their first vacation since last October. They went to the Poconos and stayed in a condo and had an adjoining unit for Brigid’s brother and his family, his wife’s sister and husband and her mom. They also each brought their dogs. It turned out to be a great week, very relaxing with amazing weather, swimming, a white water rafting trip, 26-mile bike ride, kayaking, hiking, tennis, soccer games, and for the adults late-night Euchre games (Steve and his partner waxed everyone else!) :-) It was so nice (and needed) to get away and get a change of scenery. We hope that you have been able to take a trip this summer to just get a break as well. Those are so needed right now.

Jack and Mary Anne continue to do well and stay healthy. They are doing a reasonably good job at social distancing, but they did just return from Branson and saw some shows. Some were good at social distancing and some not so much, but they had a good time and enjoyed getting away.

Steve’s sister Michelle had a delayed graduation party for her oldest Caleb and it was nice to see some people we haven’t seen in many years. We wish Caleb good luck next Fall at IUPUI.

On our team, Patti had a HUGE accomplishment in passing her real estate exam and is applying for her license. This is especially big since she had to drive to Cincinnati to take the exam and finished her class in March. That gap made it really difficult, but she made it and we are so happy for her. Every member of our team will be licensed by next week.

Kylie was able to take some time off and spend with her family going to the zoo, pool, Wolf Park and relaxing at home. She needed a bit of a break since we have been working so much lately.

Speaking of working a lot, Thea has been rocking it lately helping 6 clients just in the past few weeks secure a home. This market has been brutal for buyers and buyer agents and she is has been doing such a great job working so hard for our clients winning multiple offer situations repeatedly.

Thank you to the over 400 of you who came for our FREE Shred Day a few weeks ago. We filled an entire truck as well as electronic recycling truck. We are planning another one for September, so stay tuned for the date.

Happy Hours are attempting to be re-started this month. We have August 20th on the books. Please come if you feel comfortable. Matt The Miller’s from 5-7pm. We would LOVE to see you again!!!!!

The market is the hottest on record. We are down below 1-month of inventory right now, which is insane and down over 30% from last month alone! Mortgage rates have hit all-time lows as well with rates for many of our clients in the low to mid-2%! Home prices are going up faster than ever and inventory keeps shrinking. If you or someone you care about is remotely thinking of buying, selling, or building, please call us. We would be happy to share all of the facts and data that are relevant to your specific situation so you can make an informed decision. If you are not as worried about selling your house as you are with finding a new one, we have a program designed specifically for you to address that very concern. Our 3-day, Free Look Marketing Program has netted sellers more money in a faster time with fewer hassles than any other marketing program out there. Give Steve a call at 317-573-1880 to learn about both of these programs and how we are addressing our clients’ concerns during this challenging market.

Here are some MIBOR stats showing the changes from May 2020 to June 2020. They are remarkable:

Median Sales Price-$219,000-UP 1.9%

Closed Sales-3,518 units-UP 28.2%

New Listings-3,848 units-UP 2.2%

Pending Sales-4,269 units-UP 10.5%

Days on Market-35-DOWN 7.9%

Price per s.f.-$125-UP 3.3%

% of Ask Received-98.4%-UP 0.5%

Active Inventory-3,210 units-DOWN 10.2%

Absorption Rate-0.9 months-DOWN 30.8%

Look at the how the pending sales is more than new listings. This is an indicator of what to expect next month-even lower inventory levels. Sellers are getting over 98% of asking price! That is crazy! Active inventory is down over 10% and the absorption rate (how long it will take all of the current listings to sell with the current buyer demand) is down over 30% to less than one month. Are you kidding me?? These numbers are nuts and we have never seen anything like it before. The election MAY cause a real estate contraction. We don’t know for sure, but every economist I have heard lately has been warning of that, so if you are thinking of selling, NOW is the time!

Thank you for reading and for your continued trust and loyalty. We couldn’t do what we do without you.

Enjoy this month’s newsletter!

Read the August newsletter here

Download the most powerful real estate app here

Watch a quick video discussing the real estate market in 1-minute here

Read what our clients have to say about us here

Watch an intro video of our team here

Your friends in real estate, Steve, Kylie, Thea, Patti

July Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy Independence Day weekend!

Welcome to the July edition of Steve & Jack’s Home News!

We truly hope this video message finds you staying safe and healthy and enjoying the summer weather. We hope you stay safe this weekend and enjoy the holiday.

The biggest news is our Team Buyer Specialist Thea Charnas got married on July 20th in Cleveland followed by a honeymoon to Charleston, SC. Her married name is Thea Snelly. She and her husband Michael are excited to start the next chapter of their lives as husband and wife. Please join me in congratulating Thea!

Our Team Marketing Director Patti Bruns is in final preparations to take her real estate exam in a few weeks in Cincinnati after having to reschedule her test in March due to the pandemic. This test is not easy and comes after 120-hours in the classroom. Patti would appreciate your positive thoughts as she prepares for this test. We know she will do great!

Kylie, after being bitten badly by her puppy is all recovered and we are happy she has healed and is back to 100%.

Our entire team is finally back together in the office after 2.5 months working from our homes.

Steve’s family is excited to drive to The Poconos at the end of this month to spend the week with Brigid’s brother and his family. This will be the first trip we take our dog Duke with us, so we are anxious to see how he does with a 10-hour car ride! This trip is the ‘consolation trip’ for our missed trips for spring break to Universal Studios and our summer trip to Italy. We hope to get back to both next year.

Steve’s 10-year old daughter Natalia has made the decision to quit competitive gymnastics after 4 years and transfer her skills to competitive cheer with her ICE cheer team. She will be traveling around the country competing and is so excited! She also completed a 2-week horse camp in Zionsville a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it!

Steve’s 14-year old daughter Anastasia graduated from The Indianapolis Children’s Choir last month after 6-years and will be moving up to their Master Chorale for 10-12 graders. She also will be playing soccer for Guerin High School and has already started practicing with the team. She has quickly learned that high school sports are much harder than grade school! Ana continues to amaze us with her cooking skills with an entirely scratch-made dinner every Sunday. Sometimes her sister helps as her Sous Chef. We have been so very impressed with her skill and dedication. Our favorite so far has been Bavarian pretzels and a marinated steak with grilled peaches smothered in melted butter and brown sugar finished with home made peppermint patties. Yum!

We have been asked about the real estate market a LOT lately. Bottom line: we are in the strongest sellers’ market in history. There is only 1.3 months of inventory right now, which is almost like saying our unemployment rate is 1/2%. A balanced market is 6-months of inventory. We need more listings…badly. There are TONS of buyers begging for houses to buy. Interest rates are at historic lows of 2.875% for a 30-year fixed conventional mortgage. Homes are selling faster than ever before for more than ever before. There has NEVER been a better time to sell your house than right now. Period. If you are staying put for awhile and you have a mortgage and you haven’t recently looked into refinancing, please call or e-mail me for some names of some great local lenders who will tell you if refinancing makes sense for you or not. We have seen client save hundreds of dollars/month by doing so.

Here are some stats from MIBOR comparing May 2020 to April 2020:
Median Sales Price-$215,000-UP 2.4%
Closed Sales-2,703 units-UP 5.1%
New Listings-3,744 units-UP 32.7%
Pending Sales-4,054 units-UP 46.2%
Days on Market-38 days-UP 2.7%
Price/s.f.-$121-UP 0.8%
% of Ask Received-97.9%-DOWN 0.4%
Active Inventory-3,563 units-DOWN 10.8%
Absorption Rate-1.3 months-DOWN 18.8%

Look at the new listings and pending numbers. Those are HUGE!! You can see we are recovering from the pandemic VERY fast and we expect this to continue into the fall months. Please call us at 317-573-1880 or e-mail at Steve@Welcome2Indy.com to see what your house is worth today. We will be happy to provide you with a market valuation specific to your house and help you navigate this crazy market to craft a personalized plan to get you from where you are to where you want to go.

We are so excited to go back to live Happy Hours in July!!! Please join us on Thursday, July 16th from 5-6:30pm at Matt The Miller’s in Carmel. As always, drinks and appetizers are on us. You bring the conversation and fun!!! Bring a friend or significant other!

Also on Thursday, July 16th, we are bringing back our FREE Shred Day. Our last one was more successful than we ever dreamed with over 400 cars coming through!!! Come by our office from 10AM-noon. Bring any documents you want safely and securely shredded or electronics you want recycled. Trucks will be there to safely handle those items on-site. You don’t even have to get out of your car. We come to you and take what you have from your car and you drive off. This is a small way for us to say thank you to our valued clients and referral partners.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading!! Know we are grateful to you for your trust and loyalty. Please continue to introduce us to the next person you know who is thinking about buying, selling, or building a new home. We would love to help them!

Happy Independence Day weekend!!!

Click here to watch a video message from Steve
Click here to read our July newsletter
Click here to download our brand new real estate app...the most powerful on the market
Click here to access coupons and discount at places you shop and eat every day
Click here to watch a 1-minute video market update
Click here to see what our clients are saying about us

Your Friends in Real Estate,

Steve, Kylie, Thea, & Patti

P.S. Please don't keep us a secret...

Tools homeowners need for basic repairs

When you own your own home, there are a lot of small repairs and similar tasks that you’ll have to do at some point. You may also want to tackle some DIY projects or make some changes around the house from time to time. Regardless of what’s going on, you’re going to need some tools to get things done.

Which tools should you get, though? A lot of homeowners opt for basic premade tool kits but find that they don’t always contain everything that they’ll need for various home repair and improvement tasks. Whether you’re thinking of getting a kit or wanting to build your own tool collection from scratch, here are some of the basics that you should make sure that you have.

Measuring Tools

One big thing that you should always have around the house is a few tools for measuring things. The most obvious tool for this is a tape measure, but there are a few others to consider as well. Pick up a level (or two, in different sizes) and a carpenter’s square so that you can always tell when something is level and when corners are actually squared off. A stud finder and a plumb bob should also be in your collection.

Hammers

When it comes to hammers, most of the time you can get by with just a standard claw hammer. Picking up a rubber mallet to supplement your tool collection isn’t a bad idea, though, especially if you plan on working outside or want to go camping. There are a few other specialty hammers that you might have specific need for, but you should only pick one of those up if you actually need it.

Screwdrivers (Plural)

Despite what most people think, screwdrivers aren’t a one-size-fits-all tool. You should have both flathead and Phillips head screwdrivers (and star and square head screwdrivers wouldn’t hurt), and ideally you should have at least two or three different head sizes to accommodate different screws. While the wrong size driver head will often work, you can damage both the head and the screw by not matching the tool to the job. Picking up a screwdriver with interchangeable head bits is a great way to make sure your needs are met.

Wrenches and Sockets

You’ll almost certainly run into bolts at one point or another, and having a wrench and socket set will ensure that you have what you need to handle them. Get a decent wrench set and a decent socket set, making sure that you have both metric and imperial options. In most cases you can find a tool set that includes both, along with Allen wrenches (which are sometimes called hex keys); get that set, since it’ll cover you on all three fronts.

Pliers and Channel-Locks

There are a few different types of pliers and adjustable wrenches out there, and it’s hard to say exactly what you’ll need from the beginning. Having a set of channel-lock pliers, a good adjustable wrench or two and both basic and needle-nose pliers will meet your needs most of the time. You may run into a few instances where you need more specific tools such as a pipe wrench as well, but that’s not a must-have when you’re still building a tool collection.

Clamps

Locking clamps or adjustable clamps are great to have; even if you don’t use them very often, they’ll be more than worth it in those instances where you actually need one. Other fasteners such as zip ties are also good to have on hand. If you’re planning on getting into woodworking or similar DIY projects, then you might want to pick up some extras.

Other Tools

There are a many other tools that you might consider, though whether you need them will depend on you and the sort of work you plan to do. A drill with a basic assortment of bits is good to have, and an electric sander can be useful on some jobs. Utility knives, wire cutters and other cutting tools can be handy as well. You may even find a need for a table saw or other larger power tools. Just make sure that you have a good reason for bigger purchases to keep from buying things you won’t actually use.

Is the Job Too Big?

Having the right tool for the job is important, but so is realizing when the job you’re facing is a bit too much for you to handle alone. If you hit that point, HomeKeepr can help. Sign up for a free account today to find the professional you need to get the job done quickly.

Are you ready for storm season?

As spring turns to summer, more and more focus is shifting to outdoor activities and enjoying the wonderful summer weather. Unfortunately, not all of the weather is going to be so wonderful. Depending on where you live, you may face several severe storms during the summer as well as the usual summer storms and rain. Now is the time to prepare for storm season to make sure that you aren’t taken by surprise when bad weather hits.

Clean Your Gutters

One big thing that you can do to get ready for storm season is to make sure that your gutters are clean and free of debris. This is the time of year when everything is in bloom, and that can produce seeds that have blown off trees and plants, ending up in a nice wet gutter environment. Add in dust, decaying leaves and other items that may have collected over the winter then washed into your gutters, and you’ve got a lot of potential blockages to deal with. Clear them out to help your gutters work properly, diverting water away from your roof and home to prevent leaks and flooding during storms.

Trim the Trees

Falling limbs and trees are one of the big causes of property damage associated with storms. A lot of this can be prevented with some forethought, however. Trim back or remove heavy or dying limbs that hang over your house, vehicles or power lines. Diseased, damaged or dead trees should also be removed to prevent them from falling as a result of heavy winds.

Inspect the Roof

A roof is easy to ignore until it starts leaking, but at that point a significant amount of damage may have already been done. To help you get ready for storm season, take some time to walk around your home and see if you notice any visible damage such as missing shingles or notable divots in the roof material. You might also consider bringing in a roofing crew that offers roof inspections as part of your storm preparations. The more potential damage you find now, the easier it will be to avoid leaks and other damage when storms hit.

Secure Everything

Wind can do a lot of damage during storms. Double check any shutters, downspouts or other wall fixtures to make sure that they’re well secured, tightening screws or replacing securing straps as needed. If you have items in your yard that could be moved by the wind, such as a trampoline, consider getting straps and pegs to secure it to the ground as well. The more secure everything is, the less chance that there is for property damage to occur in strong winds.

Mind Your Electricity

Between high winds and lightning, storms can spell bad news for your electrical power. Installing a lightning rod or a full-home surge protector can help protect you in the event of lightning strikes or power surges, and hooking critical electronics up to an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) can keep them running for a little while even if your power drops out. If it’s in your budget, you might also consider getting a home generator that you can switch on if the power goes out.

Check Your Insurance

If you have homeowner’s insurance, it’s worth double checking to see what is and isn’t covered by your policy. While insurance might cover several common forms of storm damage, a lot of policies don’t cover flood damage unless you take out additional coverage. By understanding what is covered, you can get a better feel for what additional coverage you might need to be secure even in the worst of storms.

Get Storm Ready

If you need to do some work around the house to really get it ready for storm season, HomeKeepr is here to help. Sign up for a free account today to find roofers, electricians and other home pros who can hook you up with everything you need to protect yourself from the storms.

June Steve & Jack's Home News

Welcome to June and the official start to summer. This has been more than a strange spring. From a global pandemic, to protests and riots, to killer hornets, locusts in Africa, and the 7-year cycle for some species of Cicadas, it can seem rather biblical. We certainly hope this e-mail finds you and your loved ones safe, healthy and happy. Those can seem rather elusive right now. If there is something you need that we can help support you or your business, please let us know. We are absolutely happy to help however we can to support you.

On the health front, as of right now COVID-19 has significantly subsided with most hospitals reporting very few, if any COVID-19 patients. We certainly hope that the numbers continue to drop and that we are at the predicted zero cases by July 1st and by July 4th we are able to safely get back to our 'new' normal, which may even include a parade and fireworks, if we are lucky.

As for our family, Tali has been out of school for 3-weeks now and Ana just finished a week ago. Tali will be a 5th grader and Ana a sophomore at Guerin. It is hard to believe! Ana has to take PE and health this summer since she started Guerin in the 2nd trimester and missed the first trimester of it. While she isn't looking forward to it, it will be good to get her moving in the mornings as she is like a typical teenager and can sleep until noon, if you let her. She is going to play soccer for Guerin this fall and will be practicing all summer as well and will also sing in one of Guerin's choirs and will be going back to Indianapolis Children's Choir Master Chorale since she graduated from the youth program this year. She has also been doing such a great job as Chef Ana cooking Sunday dinners all from scratch. They are so absolutely delicious and we love enjoying her cooking.

Tali is going to horse camp in Zionsville for a few weeks and absolutely loves it! On top of that, she decided to quit competitive gymnastics after four years and is instead doing competitive cheer at ICE and has already started practices, which are kicking her butt!

Brigid is still at home as Merck will not allow any reps to go out for a few more weeks. The good news is that she still has a job, full pay and benefits, so we are extremely grateful there.

Steve's parents Jack and Mary Anne are getting back out again, but did cancel their trip to Branson last week, per the urging of Steve and Michelle. They are enjoying seeing some of their friends and family again and we enjoyed having them over last week for a belated Mother's Day celebration.

Kylie's big news is that Carmel finally took them off of well water and hooked them up to city water. She has been waiting for this for over a year as their well was going out. Her dog ripped a big gash in her hands and she is recovering from that now.

Patti is enjoying getting jobs done around the house and now that Ron is retired, he is able to do work during the week.

Thea is in final preparations for her wedding to Michael on June 20th in Cleveland. Her plans for a wedding here in Indy have been cancelled due to COVID-19 and will instead have a small wedding with family and then have a delayed reception next summer here in Indy. We can't wait!

As for the real estate market, we are getting asked daily how it is doing right now. Fortunately, it is recovering very nicely. We have been ranked as a Top 10 city to recover fastest from the pandemic and we are seeing that. Activity has picked up a lot and is getting close to where it usually is for the spring. We are hoping the spring market will shift into the summer and fall. We are in dire need of inventory right now. We are near an all-time low of 1.6 months right now. A balanced market is around 6 months. We have lots of buyers, but no homes to show them. If you know of someone thinking of selling, please give us a call. We would love to consult with them about their options, which include selling at the highest prices in history in the shortest amount of time.

Here are some numbers from MIBOR for April 2020 vs. April 2019. May numbers will come out in a week.
Median Sales Price-$210,000-UP 0.7%
Closed Sales-2,522 units-DOWN 14.9%
New Listings-2,782 units-DOWN 23.9%
Pending Sales-2,866 units-DOWN 9.1%
Days on Market-38 days-No change
Price per s.f.-$120-UP 1.7%
% of Ask Received-98.3%-UP 0.4%
Active Inventory-3,967 units-DOWN 1.7%
Absorption Rate-1.6 months-UP 14.3%

It will be interesting to see where May's numbers come in, but these could have been MUCH worse, as you can imagine.

We truly hope that you stay safe and healthy, especially now. We also hope that you will take time to celebrate all of the wonderful dads out there for Father's Day this month. We wouldn't be who we are without you!

A few updates and reminders:
Thank you to everyone who attended our May virtual Happy Hour! We had a great time and gave out some fun prizes for best dressed (Rhoda Israelov) and winner of our May trivia challenge on our call (Gene Ziobron). Please join us next week for our June virtual Happy Hour on Thursday, June 18th from 5-6:30pm. Bring your favorite drink and come ready for some fun trivia questions and your chance to win some prizes. Here is the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9756645504. We hope this is the last virtual Happy Hour and we can go back to seeing you all in-person in July. Stay tuned for updates.

Wow!!!! We had over 400 cars for our Shred Day a couple of weeks ago!!! This was an all-time record...by a LOT! We filled up one entire truck and had to call a second one! The recycling truck was also full. This was so popular that we are going to do another one in July. Mark your calendars for Thursday, July 16th from 10AM-12pm at our office again. Anything you want shredded or electronics to be recycled can be disposed of. This is absolutely FREE for our clients and referral partners.

A lot of people have asked us for our preferred contractors as so many people are getting house projects completed. Please call or e-mail us any time and we are happy to get you some names of great contractors you can trust to handle all of your projects...big or small.
If you have a mortgage and you haven't checked to see if you should re-finance, you may want to take some time to look into it. Rates are at or near all-time lows and if you have a 30-year fixed conventional mortgage, for example the rate is around 3.25%. Call or e-mail us today for our preferred loan partner who will be happy to help you figure out if it makes sense to refinance or not.
So, what did you think of our video intro last month? Did you like it? We would love your feedback on how we can improve. Let us know.

Click here for our June video

Click here for our June newsletter

Click here to visit our website full of real estate resources

Click here to access coupons and discount at places you shop every day

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

Click here to read reviews of what other people are saying about us and our service

Click here to download the BRAND NEW and most powerful real estate app available

Enjoy summer!!!

Your Friends in Real Estate,

Steve, Kylie, Thea, & Patti

P.S. Please don't keep us a secret.

Virtual Staging questions answered

Virtual home tours and showings are increasingly popular in real estate. They allow prospective home buyers to view the property on their own time, reducing unnecessary contact and helping them to avoid homes that they aren’t really interested in. A greater focus on virtual viewings can be a double-edged sword, however; still photos and walkthrough videos don’t always capture the heart of a property the way that being there in person can.

Proper staging can go a long way toward fixing this problem. The rules of staging are a bit different when planning for virtual visitors than they would be if you were prepping for an open house or other in-person tour, though. Here are a few things to keep in mind when staging your home for a virtual tour to help ensure that online home shoppers are suitably wowed by your property.

Start at the Door

When a potential buyer comes to your property for a tour or an open house, the first thing they’ll see is the door and front of the home. Start your virtual tour the same way. Touch up the paint on your door, make sure that any flowers or other decorations are well cared for, and clean up any messes that might be in the front yard. Starting at the front provides a bit of familiarity and gives viewers the same first impression that they and their visitors will see if they do decide to buy the house.

Accent With Art

For the most part, you want to remove as many personal effects as possible when staging a home so that potential home buyers can see the potential of the space as something they can make over. With virtual tours and online showings, though, this just comes across as bare walls. You should still remove family photos and personal effects so that viewers don’t feel like they’re peeking in on someone else’s life. Replace them with pieces of art or other items that break up the monotony of bare walls or empty floors. A wall-mounted TV, modular fireplace or other accents can also work well for this purpose.

Cut the Clutter

Decluttering is important when showing a house. When viewing in person, potential buyers tend to overlook if your home is still being lived in. But because things come across differently in still photos and video tours, clutter usually makes a home look less appealing online. Even if you have to rearrange things between photos and move certain items off camera, do everything you can to provide a clean, clutter-free view of your home.

Use Positioning to Your Advantage

Angles are important when taking photos or making videos for online showings. Showcase the space available in your home by placing tables or other large pieces of furniture in one corner of the shot, letting the photo show off how open the dining room is or how much area there really is in the living room. You can also show off your favorite views from within the house by taking pictures from the same angle you’d be sitting at, letting viewers see the home in the same ways that you enjoy.

Let Viewers in on the Secret

Do you have any hidden, obscure or otherwise “secret” areas in your home? If so, be sure to include them in your virtual staging plans. You might provide just a peek at a hidden closet or a special play-space in your flower garden, or you could choose to elaborate on the secret and give viewers a great view of everything it has to offer. Regardless of how you do it, showing off the secrets in your home will help to give it more personality and get potential buyers that much more interested.

Ask for Help

Staging a home can be a big job. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. HomeKeepr can connect you with seasoned pros who can help you in staging your home perfectly for both online and in-person showings. Sign up for a free account today to get a jump start on your staging.

How will a recession affect my purchase?

It’s well known that the housing market is heavily influenced by the economy — especially local economies. When the economy is strong, people have more money for large purchases and investments in real estate. When things are tighter, though, a lot of prospective homeowners may start to ask whether they’re really ready to take on such a potentially large debt.

If you’ve been thinking of buying a home, you might be wondering about this yourself. How will economic problems, or even a recession, affect your home purchase? Will the local housing market all but grind to a halt? While it’s good to keep questions in mind so that you aren’t taken by surprise, the chance of a recession or other economic downturn having a profound effect on your home purchase is relatively low.

What Is a Recession?

First things first: just what is a recession? It’s a term that’s been tossed around a lot in the last decade or so, but there usually isn’t a whole lot of explanation provided with it. Essentially, a recession is a downturn in the economy that lasts for at least six months. Typically during a recession you’ll see both trade and industry take a hit, and the gross domestic product (the value of the goods and services produced over a period of time, usually called the GDP) fall for at least two quarters in a row.

A recession can last for quite a while and can result in a significant slump in the economy that takes months or even years to recover from. An example of this would be the Great Recession which lasted from 2007 to 2009; its fallout lasted for years in some places and caused a number of significant problems for several sectors of the economy.

The Economy and the Housing Market

The economy and the housing market are pretty strongly connected. When the economy is in a slump, this can drive the housing market down. While this generally applies at the national level, this is especially true at the local level. When business is booming and the economy is doing well, the housing market usually gets a boost as well. This can run the other way, too; problems in the housing market can drag the economy down with it, while a strong housing market can help to lift up an otherwise shaky economy. Issues with the housing market contributed to the Great Recession and led to economic problems in other countries around the world.

Will the Housing Market Collapse?

Just because there is a link between the housing market and the economy at large doesn’t mean that a recession will bring the housing market down, however. A downturn in the economy might slow housing sales in some areas, especially early on as both buyers and sellers wait to see whether the economic turmoil is going to last long-term. In most cases, though, this slowdown will only be temporary and will not affect all parts of the country equally. In some cases, it can even result in unmatched opportunities for buyers who are willing to act.

Inform Your Decisions

Any time there’s economic uncertainty, it’s always a good idea to consult professionals who will help you find options to protect your investment and avoid paying more than you have to for a home. Fortunately, HomeKeepr is here to help. Sign up for a free account today to connect with the pros that can help you achieve your dreams of home ownership even in uncertain economic times.

Lawn mowing best practices

Whether you love mowing the lawn or hate it, it’s a job that needs to be done. As with most things, though, there’s a difference between doing it and doing it well. If you find yourself wondering why your neighbors have an amazing lawn while yours looks all the worse for wear, it could be more than just a matter of perspective; it’s possible that the grass really is greener on the other side.

This doesn’t have to be the case, though. Part of the problem might be how you’re caring for your lawn. If you haven’t put much thought into the specifics of yard care, here are a few things to think about. Changing how you think about mowing the lawn can have a big impact on the lawn itself, and your grass will thank you for it.

Prep Your Mower

Too many people approach the beginning of the mowing season the same way that they do the entire rest of the season: they put some gas in the mower and go. This is a good way to damage your lawn and wear out your mower at the same time. Start each season with an oil change and fresh gas, and check your mower blades for cracks, dullness or other signs that they need to be sharpened or replaced. Keep an eye on your grass as you mow; if it’s becoming ragged, this is a sign that your blades are getting dull again. Even a little bit of mower maintenance will make the cut easier on your lawn and keep your mower running in tip-top condition.

Learn Your Lawn

A lot of people think that grass is grass, but there are actually a lot of differences between grass species. Take a little time to find out what sort of grass you have growing in your lawn. If necessary, you can take a sample to your local agricultural extension office to get the job done. Once you know what kind of grass you have, you can learn the seasons when it actively grows, what sort of water and fertilizer needs it has, and even details about how it should be cut. If you need to reseed part of your lawn, knowing the existing grass type will also ensure that you get the right type of seed so that everything matches.

Cut to the Right Height

If your lawn is going to flourish, the grass needs to have enough blade area to absorb sunlight to meet its growing needs. Cutting it too short can damage it, causing the grass to wilt or brown, in some cases even killing off patches. As a general rule you’ll often hear that you should leave around 3 inches of grass when you cut, but this can vary depending on the type of grass you have. If in doubt, you can set the blade height between the 3-inch to 3 ½-inch mark to be safe, but you’ll have much more control over your lawn if you learn the grass type and find the optimal cutting height based on that.

Mind Those Clippings

It’s usually best to leave your clippings on the ground, as they provide much-needed nutrients to the lawn as they decompose. If you don’t like the look of them, consider a mulching blade and guard for your mower to ensure that they get cut into smaller pieces, or make multiple passes over the same area. The main exceptions to this are the first and last cuts of the year; in those instances, your lawn will do better if you bag the clippings instead.

Adapt Throughout the Year

One important thing to keep in mind is that grass is a living thing and grows differently depending on the time of the year and the local weather conditions. During the heat of the summer, make your lawn more drought resistant by adjust your cut height up a little; this gives the grass more blade area to collect dew on. In early spring and into the fall, cut less often to avoid shocking the grass. Even the direction of your cuts is important, especially if it’s been raining a lot; to prevent damaging the grass or compacting the soil too much, change direction every two or three cuts, switching to a cutting pattern around 90 degrees off from what you’ve been doing.

Keep It Under Control

A well-manicured lawn can be a big job. Fortunately, there are professionals out there who can take that burden off your shoulders. If you need to find a lawn service that comes highly recommended, sign up for a free HomeKeepr account today. You’ll be able to find a service based on real recommendations for mowers and landscapers that best match your specific needs.

Construction design trends

Throughout the years, the construction industry, and the trends that it follows, have changed significantly. While some key elements in construction tend to stay more or less the same, in other areas the industry needs to be adaptable to keep up with the changing wants and needs of consumers and other clients. So if you’re considering a change, but aren’t really sure what you want in your home, here are a few of the recent and upcoming construction trends to keep in mind.

Children’s Playrooms

A lot of homeowners with children have come to feel that their kids need a place to play when at home. While children can and will play anywhere, giving them free reign of the house can be nerve-wracking, especially when you have to clean it all up every day. Establishing a dedicated playroom helps to contain the chaos, confining the clutter to a single area within the house. It’s possible to use an existing room as-is for a playroom, but a lot of parents would prefer to do at least a little bit of remodeling to ensure that the room both meets their kids’ needs, and is optimized for safety and storage.

Ditching the Dining Room

Big formal dining rooms have been popular for a long time, though that popularity has waxed and waned over the years. These days, many households aren’t using their dining rooms nearly as much as they did in past decades. As a result, more homeowners are looking for other things to do with that space other than using it to hold a table and chairs. This has led to surge in remodeling to make better use of that dining room area, with homeowners opting instead to create nooks or other smaller dining spaces that can be used much more efficiently at mealtime.

Smart Home Construction

Once a thing of science fiction, smart home technology and home automation are increasingly popular options for homeowners. A lot of smart home automation tech is designed to be plug-and-play, with smart lights, smart thermostats and various sensors being available as aftermarket purchases. For new construction, though, more people are opting for integrated technology. Built-in smart sensors to track things like water leaks, open windows and various aspects of security are all popular. Other construction options such as built-in Ethernet and design that avoids Wi-Fi dead spots are also being requested more and more frequently.

Home Office Spaces

As people work from home more often, they need a dedicated area to do their work in. In some cases, this is as simple as moving a computer into a spare bedroom, but many home workers require more customization for their home office space. This can come in the form of additional storage or custom work areas, improved soundproofing or electrical work such as improved lighting and added outlets. Other home workers may want a custom outbuilding to serve as a “shedquarters” so that they have a work area that’s at home but separate from the house itself.

Smaller Room Designs

While open room designs have been popular for years, there has been a shift recently to smaller and more distinct rooms within the home. This doesn’t apply to every room, of course; for living rooms and some other spaces within the house, bigger and more open continues to be popular. And having other rooms with a more compact design can make these seem bigger by comparison, even when you don’t have a huge amount of floor space to spend on big open areas.

Keeping Up with the Trends

Trends change over time… if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be trends. HomeKeepr can help you keep up with the Joneses and stay on top of the latest trends. Sign up for a free account today and see just how well it can connect you with the pros you need to stay on top.

Things to consider before you add on to your house

Even if you absolutely love your house and the area you live in, sometimes you’ll find that you just don’t have enough room for your family and all your stuff. This can be a major inconvenience, especially if you need some extra room for things like a new addition to the family or an office so you can work from home. Regardless of why you need the extra room, adding a new story to your home is one way to get it.

Is adding a new story a good idea, though? In some cases, it can be exactly what you need. Other times, though, the process of adding a new story is more trouble than it’s worth. Is a new story right for you and your home? Here are a few things to consider to help you make up your mind.

Calculating the Cost

It goes without saying that adding a new story to your house isn’t going to be cheap, but there are costs that you might not have considered. You’ll need to consult a structural engineer, add at least one staircase, get additional inspections to ensure that the property complies with code, and more. That’s not even getting into the actual costs of materials and labor, or any upgrades you might need such as ensuring your HVAC system can service the new story. Make sure that you cover all your bases when calculating a budget, then add a little bit of extra padding for unexpected costs.

Will There Be Enough Space?

When adding a new story, your options are limited by what the house beneath the new story can support. Depending on the home you live in, this may mean that your new addition can only cover a portion of the structure’s total square footage. Make sure that the amount of available space is enough to meet your needs, or you might find yourself adding a new story and still not having enough room.

The Realities of Construction

Adding a new story isn’t like adding on a new room to your ground floor. Some or all of the roof will have to be torn off, and utilities like electricity and gas will need to be shut off to tie in the new story to the existing system. The entire process can take several months just to get started. Once construction is a go, you’ll very likely need to move out until the new story is complete, and you might even have to move a lot of your belongings out of the house to protect them from accidental weather damage. The end result might be worth it, but you definitely need to consider everything you’ll have to go through to get there.

Is Moving an Option?

There are a lot of good reasons for wanting to stay where you are. Maybe you like the school district, or perhaps your home has a lot of sentimental value to your family. It might be conveniently located near an area that you frequent. It could even be that you simply like the house. You don’t need to justify wanting to stay in your home, but it’s at least worth considering whether moving would better meet your needs. This is especially worth considering if your primary reason for adding on is simply the need for more space; moving could easily fill this need without some of the other costs and inconveniences associated with building upward.

Adding a New Story

If you’ve thought it over and still think a new story is what you need, you’ll need a contractor who can get the job done quickly and at a reasonable cost. HomeKeepr is just what you need to find the right contractor for the job. Sign up for free today and see just how easy HomeKeepr can make your expansion project!

Tips for bringing a contractor into your home

While everyone is home trying to stay healthy, there are a lot of people who have taken to trying to do things around the house on their own. This has helped homeowners keep busy when they have little else to do. Unfortunately, there are some jobs that are just too big for a DIY; for these jobs, you’ll need to bring someone in to tackle the issue.
This can be anxiety-inducing if you’re still trying to practice proper social distancing and avoiding contact with others. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce your risks when bringing someone into your home. Not only will these steps keep you safe, but they will also protect the worker who has to come in to do the job.

Schedule and Screen

When scheduling a service call, don’t be afraid to ask whether anyone at the company has been sick recently. While it won’t guarantee that the service person isn’t ill, knowing whether there have been sick employees in recent weeks can give you at least an idea of how well the company is managing social distancing and keeping its employees safe. There’s a good chance that you’ll have to answer similar questions, so the company shouldn’t have any problems with the questions that you ask.

Open Everything

Before the service call arrives, open any doors, cabinets or other barriers between the worker and what they’ll be working on. If there’s a wall panel or other basic covering that needs to be removed, go ahead and take that off too, provided that you can do so safely. The goal is to eliminate as many possible points of contact that the service person would otherwise have to touch or open. Once they arrive, explain what you’ve done and ask them to let you close everything back up. This will let them come in, do the job and leave without touching every door, panel or similar objects in your house.

Keep Your Distance

Social distancing is very important when someone new is coming into the home. Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet between yourself and the worker, and try to avoid being in the same room once they’ve started their work. Greet them and see if they have any questions once they arrive, then find ways to busy yourself elsewhere. You can check in periodically to make sure that they don’t need anything, but be sure to do so from a distance. It may be helpful to wear a mask while they’re in the home as well, which they should be doing already.

No-Contact Payment

If possible, opt for a no-contact payment option or request that an invoice be mailed to you. If you’re able to pay online, this is likely your best option; you can make a payment from your computer or smart device without having to hand anyone your credit or debit card. If online payments aren’t an option, you may be able to pay over the phone or through some other no-contact method.

If you aren’t able to use a card for your payment, there are still no-contact options available. If you’re paying with cash, put the money in an envelope and place it somewhere that the person making the service call can easily pick it up. The ideal way to do this is to have part of the envelope hanging over the edge of a table or other piece of furniture so that they can pick it up without actually touching your furniture. This is also a situation where writing a check can come in handy, as you can simply fill it out and then leave it to be collected without having to bother with an envelope.

Clean Before and After

Before the service worker arrives, take the time to wipe down the area they’ll be working in with sanitizing wipes. This will present a clean, safe environment for them to work in that they will surely appreciate. Once the work is finished and they’re gone, go over everything again and clean up to remove any germs that might have traveled in with them.

Stay Calm

While this is a stressful time, it’s important to reassure yourself that it’s possible to have a service call while also staying safe. Keeping your distance and reducing possible points of contact will go a long way toward keeping yourself and your family healthy. You wouldn’t be calling in someone if it weren’t necessary right now, so treat the situation with the respect that it deserves, and you should be fine.

May Steve & Jack's Home News

Dear Steve & Brigid,

Happy May! All of us sincerely hope that you and your family and friends are staying safe, healthy, & happy during this unusual time. We hope that you have found some positive things that have come out of all of this, such as spending more time with family and hobbies that were put to the side for far too long. By now, you should have received the May newsletter via USPS, if you are on our mailing list. If you didn't and you would like to receive a paper copy, please e-mail me and we will happily add you to the list.

We have been asked many times, 'How is real estate?' and 'How are you doing during all of this?' To be honest, it hasn't been easy. The number of real estate transactions has plummeted, however it is important to note that every day new listings are coming on the market, offers are being accepted and transactions are closing. At the lowest, showing activity was down 38% from a year ago and now it is only down 8% from a year ago. With fewer people feeling comfortable listing and buying houses, we have had to work harder and longer hours. This is to be expected in a down market. However, we have been very fortunate with clients still listing and buying and we have sold ALL of our listing inventory!

The inventory is at an all-time low and is unhealthy. There isn't enough out there to satisfy demand. This has pushed home prices to an all-time high, appreciation is also at an all-time high of 12.8%/year and houses are selling in a record 6 days for 100% of asking price as recently as May 13th! So, if you or someone you know is thinking about selling, NOW is the time to do it! The market is begging for your house right now and will reward you handsomely. Call us today (317-573-1880) to schedule an appointment (in-person or Zoom) to learn more about your specific situation and how you can take advantage of these historic home prices...and interest rates, which are currently ~3.23% for a 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage!

Our families and our team are all staying safe and healthy and we continue to work remote as so many of you do as well. Daily team meetings keep us connected and updated so that we don't miss a beat. Indeed, we are fortunate.

Speaking of fortunate, we are so honored and grateful to be featured on the cover of Indy Real Producers Magazine for the month of May. We were chosen out of over 8,500 agents in Indianapolis to be their featured story focused on our guiding principles of 'Guide, Lead, and Protect'. You can see the cover here. Thank you to all of our clients, friends, and referral partners for making this happen!! We are extremely grateful!

We hope you had a wonderful, albeit different Mother's Day this year. Hopefully, all of the moms were spoiled and shown just how much they are loved and cherished by family and friends. As many of you know, our daughters Ana and Tali have been making us Sunday dinners for the past several weeks. Everything is scratch-made and is absolutely delicious! Here is a photo of a recent main course. They wanted a break last Sunday, so we ordered burgers from Bub's in Carmel, which were sinfully delicious. This was at Brigid's request and we were happy to support a local business. This was only the second time we ordered out since quarantine, so it was especially welcomed!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our spring client appreciation contest! Steve's Chatard High School classmate and client Brian Allen was this year's Grand Prize winner!! You can see his certificate here as well as his prize package, which was valued at over $500 from Sundown Gardens in Westfield. Congratulations, Brian!!! Thank you to everyone for entering!

Don't forget our FREE Shred Day coming up on Thursday, May 28th from 10-12 at our office. See the full flyer here for what is accepted and what isn't. You don't even have to get out of your car! We will remove all items for you. This is absolutely FREE and another way for us to say thank you for everything you do for us. Hope to see you on May 28th!

We had a great time at our inaugural virtual Happy Hour last month! Congratulations to Bill Maki for winning best dressed/best background and to Rachel Bristow for winning best drink. Both won a $25 Amazon gift card. We will be doing the same giveaway in May so plan now for your best drink and best outfit/background and win a $25 Amazon gift card. Our next Happy Hour is this Thursday, May 21st from 5-6:30pm. You should have received an Evite already with log-in details. If you didn't receive one, please e-mail me and we will get it out to you. Hope to see you there!

During this uncertain time, we find it optimal to analyze every single expense and scrutinize its necessity. We have found hundreds of dollars of savings! If you would like a guide to walk you through how to do this exercise yourself, please e-mail me at Steve@Welcome2Indy.com and I will gladly send you a worksheet to help you through this process. It is amazing to see how many expenses are no longer necessary or even duplicative. See how much money you can actually save each month and then let me know your monthly savings. We will give a prize to the person to has the highest monthly savings! You must respond with your monthly amount by June 1st to be entered.

Have you downloaded our NEW and IMPROVED real estate app?? If not, download it here. It is the most powerful real estate app in the country. Try it for yourself and let us know what you think. It is super-easy and intuitive.

As mentioned above, our real estate market, while not grinding to a halt, has slowed considerably. In the past two weeks, we have seen increased activity again, which is welcomed. Experts have placed Indy in the Top 10 Cities nationwide to come back the fastest from the pandemic for real estate. This is due, in part to our record-low inventory, strong state financial condition, being the most affordable housing market relative to income in the nation, and strong buyer demand. Here are the latest MIBOR stats comparing April 2020 to March 2020:

Median Sales Price-$210,000-UP 0.7%
Closed Sales-2,522-DOWN 14.9%
New Listings-2,782-DOWN 23.9%
Pending Sales-2,866-DOWN 9.1%
Days on Market-38 days-No change
Price/s.f.-$120-UP 1.7%
Percent of Ask Received-98.3%-UP 0.4%
Active Inventory-3,967 units-DOWN 1.7%
Absorption Rate-1.6 months-UP 14.3%

Keep in mind, these numbers are comparing April 2020 to March 2020. Usually, we show numbers comparing April 2020 to April 2019, but to show the impact COVID-19 has had in our market recently, we chose to use month over month numbers. Note that daily numbers are changing and will result in different numbers, such as the 6-days on market average on 5/13/20.

We hope you continue to stay safe, healthy, and happy. Please let us know if there is anything extra we can do to help support you. As the saying goes, 'We are all in this together'. Let's pray for more positive progress over the next month.

Click here for the May newsletter
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Click here to watch an intro video about our team

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Your Friends in Real Estate,

Steve, Kylie, Thea, & Patti

P.S. Please don't keep us a secret!

Supporting 'non-essential' businesses

There has been a lot of focus in recent weeks on “essential” workers in our economy. In most places, this includes at least portions of the construction industry as well as a few other types of home pros. Unfortunately, this can leave some of our favorite professionals temporarily shut down due to local restrictions. This is a scary time for some of these pros, as the extended shutdown puts significant strain on both their personal livelihoods and their businesses.

Fortunately, there are ways that you can help support those home pros who don’t meet the criteria for being “essential” service providers. Bear in mind that these are just a few suggestions, and there may be other options available depending on where you live. Additional options may become available as well as areas begin rolling out their reopening plans.

Remote and Limited Services

While it’s not applicable for all professionals, some non-essential pros may still be able to offer remote or no-contact limited services. This typically won’t include all the services that those professionals offered, but it does give customers a way to continue supporting the business even during the shutdown. Even professionals who do not currently offer remote or limited services may begin offering such options as states move toward reopening, so if your favorite pros don’t offer these services yet they may soon.

Advanced Scheduling

Even if your favorite non-essential pros aren’t open for business yet, you can still make plans for reopening. Contact your favorite pros and see if they have advanced scheduling options available. This can let you beat the rush and set a date to start or resume using their services as soon as possible after reopening. Even if you can’t schedule a date just yet, you may be able to find out when scheduling will resume so that you can get a jump start on booking them.

Gift Certificates and Prepayments

An option to support your favorite pros that provides them with much-needed funding during the shutdown while letting you prepare for reopening is gift certificates or other prepayments. By buying gift certificates now, you can use them at your leisure once things are reopened. And since you can give gift certificates to others, this also makes a great way to offer your favorite services to friends, family and others. If your favorite pros don’t offer gift certificates, they may be able to provide you with options to prepay for specific services.

Word of Mouth

Even if you aren’t able to schedule services in advance or buy gift certificates, there are still ways for you to help your favorite professionals. Follow them on social media and share their updates about their reopening, tell others about the services that they offer, and otherwise work to provide important word-of-mouth advertising. This will help to ensure that the pros have plenty of business waiting for them once they are able to reopen. If they begin providing limited or other services as part of a gradual rollout, your word of mouth can help to spread the word about this rollout plan so that their reopening goes smoothly.

Support Local Professionals

As you can see, there are a number of options available when it comes to supporting professionals in your community who aren’t able to open up just yet. This sort of support is essential not only for the professionals themselves but also for your community in general. Supporting local businesses is an important part of helping your local economy recover after the shutdown. Do your best to keep up with the options that are available to you for supporting various professionals, helping the pros in your community prepare for reopening and rebuild their business. This will help to ensure that they are able to recover and thrive in the days and months ahead.

DIY Painting Tips

There are a lot of people tackling DIY projects at the moment. Some of these are necessary projects that people are doing themselves to avoid bringing strangers into their homes. Others are simply a way to pass the time and shake off some boredom. Regardless of the reason, you might find yourself considering some interior painting.
This can be a great idea, especially if you find yourself going a bit stir-crazy while you wait for everything to reopen. That said, it’s important that you don’t rush into a DIY painting project since that can lead to results that are less than optimal. Here are a few things to think about to help ensure that your painting project turns out well.

Measure First

A can of paint only goes so far, so it’s important to know just how much paint you need before you buy it. Since most paint colors are mixed, there’s no guarantee that paint mixed at different times will look exactly the same even if it’s all supposed to be the same color. A can of paint covers an average of 400 square feet, though this can differ based on the paint type and other factors. To begin, measure the width and height of each wall and multiply to get their area. Be sure add the area of any ceilings if you’re painting them as well. Once you know exactly how much surface area you need to cover, you can check the coverage of the specific paint you’re getting and buy accordingly.

Make a Single Trip

Even though some areas are opening things up again, that doesn’t mean you can stop respecting social distancing rules. Figure out exactly what you need and make a list so that you can buy it in a single trip. Wear a mask, avoid getting too close to anyone else and go get your supplies at a time when the store isn’t crowded.

Prep Your Rooms

Don’t underestimate the importance of prepping your rooms. Fill any holes, sand rough surfaces and take the time to clean everything. If possible, wash the surfaces you’re going to paint with soap and water a day or two before you plan to start painting. Even if you aren’t painting them, you should also clean the ceiling, baseboards and any other surfaces so that any cobwebs, dust and dirt on them doesn’t mess up your freshly painted surfaces. Remove any outlet covers, light switch panels and anything else that’s attached to the walls. Once the room is ready, be sure and use an appropriate primer to coat everything you’re going to paint before you start painting.

Paint in the Proper Order

You might be tempted to jump right in and start working on the walls. Doing so can actually make things more difficult in the long run, though. If you’re painting your baseboards, start with them first. Move on to window and door frames, then the ceiling. Once these are all painted, give them plenty of time to dry, then put easy-release painter’s tape over the painted surfaces. After everything is taped up, you can then paint the walls and not have to worry about getting paint on those areas you’ve already painted. Any paint that got on the walls while you were painting your trim and ceilings will be painted over with your wall paint.

Working With Tape

Putting down painter’s tape is easy but pulling it up can be very frustrating. A lot of people don’t think about the fact that paint from the walls will overlap onto the tape, so pulling the tape off can take paint with it, leaving an uneven edge on the paint. Before pulling, take a utility knife and cut the paint right at the edge of your trim or taped surface. Pull the tape at a 45-degree angle behind where you’re cutting, ensuring a nice crisp edge to your painting. Just make sure that the paint has dried for at least a day so that it’s not still soft or gummy.

Give Yourself Time

When you start painting, allow yourself at least a few days per room. You’ll need time to prep the surfaces you’re going to paint, time for the primer to dry and then additional time for the paint itself to dry. If you’re doing multiple coats, that time will be even longer. It will all pay off in the end, though, with the extra time resulting in a more professional look with even coverage and nice clean edges. Once everything’s dried you can start replacing anything you removed, but give yourself at least a few more days before trying to clean the newly-painted surfaces.

Social distancing in public spaces

It goes without saying that no one expected 2020 to turn out the way that it has. The last several weeks have been especially difficult, with businesses shutting down and people needing to stay at home. Though the measures seemed extreme, they were necessary as a way for people to protect both themselves and others in their community.

This isolation is finally starting to wind down, with many areas either reopening businesses or releasing a roadmap for reopening. This doesn’t mean that everything is immediately going back to normal, however. There are still some risks associated with going out in public, especially in certain parts of the country. Here are some things to keep in mind to help you stay safe even as restrictions are lifted.

Social Distancing Is Still a Thing

One big thing to be aware of is that just because more places are opening doesn’t mean you can ignore social distancing guidelines. When out in public areas, you still want at least six feet between you and those around you. To help you navigate this, many stores and other places open to the public are placing tape, stickers or signs out to show you how far six feet is. Even if those indicators are not present, you can estimate six feet by picturing how much room you take up holding your arms out to your sides; if you’re close enough that you could touch another person’s hand or arm if you both had your arms stretched out, then you’re a bit too close.

Avoid Crowded Public Spaces

Just because a place is open for business doesn’t mean that you have to visit it right now. Many businesses or other public venues that were previously closed will have a sudden rush of people who have been waiting to visit. This can be bad, as crowds make it difficult to maintain proper social distancing. Wait for things to clear out a bit or choose a time early in the morning to avoid the crowds and keep yourself and others safe.

Use Curbside Purchasing

You may have already used some curbside pickup options while buying supplies during the lockdown period. As more stores open, many of them will offer curbside options as well. Most will use curbside pickup for online purchases, but some places such as pharmacies, vets and specialty stores may let you call in orders directly from the parking lot. The rules for curbside pickup vary based on the specific store you’re visiting, but for the most part you simply pull into a specially marked space and give the store a call. Let them know that you’re there to pick up an order and give both the identifier for the space you’re parked in and your name or order number. They’ll deliver the order to you with minimal contact.

Real Estate Concerns

The real estate market has been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, with many buyers and sellers being hesitant to physically interact with each other. As things open back up and the economy starts to improve, we’ll likely see more open houses and showings. Care should still be taken to ensure that social distancing guidelines are followed at all times. Doors, windows and any other barriers should be opened by the homeowner beforehand to reduce or eliminate the need for contact with surfaces inside of the home.

Home Improvement Options

While everything was in lockdown, a lot of people put off home improvements and other non-essential activities that might bring new people into the home. Many turned instead to DIY projects, and they’re still a great idea even as things start to return to something closer to normal. With that said, you might be ready to bring in a contractor for your home improvement project. Just make sure to maintain distance away from any workers and check with the contractor to make sure that everyone will wear a mask or other facial covering while in your home.

Getting Out of the House

While we may not be out of the woods yet, this doesn’t mean that you can’t get out of the house if you do so safely. To help prevent the spread of disease while outside, wear a mask and maintain your distance from others. It’s ok if things still feel a bit weird, and you’re more than welcome to ease back into things at a pace that you’re comfortable with. Just remember that there are a lot of outdoor activities in parks and other public areas that let you stay away from crowds while still getting out of the house. Even if it’s just a brief trip, you might be amazed at how much good getting out can do after weeks of seeing the same four walls.

Is not a good time to buy a home?

With social distancing being an important part of life at the moment and so many parts of the economy suffering the effects of state lockdowns, some are worried about how all of this will affect the housing market. This is especially a concern for those who were hoping to buy a new home and have seen their plans potentially derailed by the pandemic. Is this a good time to consider buying a new home, assuming that it’s even safe to do so?

The answer may be surprising.

It’s a Buyer’s Market

With the current state of the world, the demand for real estate has dropped significantly. This has left those who have already listed homes for sale or who were planning to list over the summer in a position where there are far fewer people looking at their properties. For some sellers, this isn’t much of an issue; they can simply wait it out and stick to their previous plans. A lot of sellers don’t have that luxury, though. This creates a buyer’s market where a lot of sellers are willing to consider offers that they wouldn’t have in the past, giving potential buyers a lot more control in the home-buying process.

As the name suggests, it’s always good to buy in a buyer’s market. It isn’t necessarily a great time to list a home for sale, of course, since you’d likely have to settle for a lower offer than you were expecting if you want to move the property. This usually helps to balance out the market, with listing rates slowing down to meet demand until things pick back up again. This particular buyer’s market is a bit different than a lot of past ones, though.

Demand Is Staying Low

Most of the time, a buyer’s market is caused by shifts in the economy that have people trying to save money; an example of this would be a recession. These economic shifts temporarily reduce the number of people who are willing to take on large debts, creating a glut of sellers trying to entice a smaller pool of buyers. The buyer’s market typically fizzles out once the number of sellers shrinks or the economy stabilizes.

In the current buyer’s market, the economy certainly plays a factor. There is an external factor at play here as well, however: The physical distancing that COVID-19 requires has added additional worry about open houses and other forms of interpersonal contact that are traditional when buying or selling a house. There’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, including how long it will last, so with this external factor and the currently stunted economy we could see demand stay low for longer than you would expect in a buyer’s market situation.

Market Recovery

This isn’t to say that the market won’t recover, of course. Some states have already started reopening non-essential businesses and other parts of the economy, and other states have plans to start reopening soon. The economy will likely stay sluggish for a while, but reopening is the first part of recovery. Even the pandemic is becoming something less of a factor as people continue to practice social caution and science continues to work toward treatment and vaccine options. While market recovery may take longer than in the past, a recovery will happen, and the good deals that buyers can find now will become less common as things move forward.

Buying Safe

If you do decide to shop for a home in the current market, make sure that you’re smart about it and stay safe. Maintain all physical distancing practices while looking at homes, even if there is only a seller or agent present. Ask whether no-contact options such as virtual tours or virtual closing with digital signage are options, and if touring the property request that any doors or other barriers be opened before you arrive to reduce contact. Wear a mask, bring hand sanitizer and take the same precautions that you would in any other social situation. This may seem excessive for viewing a home, but keep in mind that these practices not only protect you, but also protect the seller and agent as well.

DIY Shopping Lists/Tips

DIY projects are a great way to keep yourself busy during social distancing while also giving you a chance to hone certain skills or take care of a few things around the house. With some DIY projects you’ll already have everything you need at home, making it a simple matter of getting everything together and actually doing it. With other projects, though, you’ll have to venture out to pick up a few things. This can be stressful during a period of social distancing. You need to be conscious of both exposing yourself or others to the virus, so it’s important that you follow CDC guidelines and guidance from your local government for your community. You’re also going to want to make sure you’re ready with a list of everything you need before you head out the door.

The goal here is to make sure that you can get everything you need in as few trips as possible. After all, the fewer times you have to go out, the less chance there is for you to accidentally expose yourself or others to sickness. To that end, here are a few suggestions that can help you make your DIY shopping list and get everything you need in a single trip.

Build Your Project List

The first thing that you’ll need to do is figure out exactly what it is that you’re hoping to get accomplished. Think about more than just the project that you’re currently working on and look at your overall DIY slate. Not only can taking all of your projects into account help you cut back on trips for supplies, but it can also make it easier to see where supplies can be used for more than one project. You don’t have to list every single project that you might conceivably do, but at least create a list of the next few projects that you hope to tackle.

What Do You Have on Hand?

Figure out everything that you’ll need for the projects on your list, then start looking at what you already have available. Maybe you already have some lumber, wires or fasteners on hand; do you have enough to get through all of your projects? If you don’t have the exact materials that you’d planned on using for a project, do you have anything similar that could be substituted? Be sure and take things like paint, sealer and similar materials into account as well. Knowing what you already have will help you narrow down exactly what you do need, which will keep your costs down and make your shopping trip go faster as well.

What Do You Still Need?

Take into account everything that you’ll need to finish your projects, including any additional tools you’ll need to pick up and anything you’ll need for maintenance or decoration. Organize your list as best you can by items that should be located in the same area, reducing your back-and-forth time and keeping your contact with others in the store at a minimum. Be sure to check this list twice, as anything you miss will mean another trip to the store at some point.

Planning for Multiple Stops

One other thing to consider is that you may not be able to get everything that you need in a single stop. If this is the case, organize your list so that you group everything at each stop together. This means that if you need to hit the hardware store, all of your hardware purchases are in that part of the list. Any big-box specific purchases would be in another part of the list. Once you have these divisions in place, you can use the same tactic from above in regard to sub-grouping items that are in the same part of each store.

You should also use this time to plan other necessities for your trip as well. Make sure that you have a mask or other protection gear, hand sanitizer and anything else you might need and that you’ve made preparations for each stop. It’s also a good idea to come up with a timetable for your trip, figuring out what time everything opens so you can go as early as your schedule allows to avoid crowds. It’s important to be conscious of how social contact can potentially expose you to illness, as well as how you might inadvertently spread it to others; proper social distancing, protective gear and other preparations are as much a part of your preparations to shop as your list is.

Making Your Shopping List

One last thing to consider: While you may be used to keeping shopping lists on your phone or through a digital assistant, if you’re in an area where you really want to minimize potential contact with germs or other contagions then individual paper lists could be a better option. This reduces the possibility of your phone getting contaminated while you look at it or touch it, and the lists themselves can be disposed of once you’re done with them. It can also help with your organization since you’ll just have a single list to work from with each stop that you make.

New Social Distancing Guidelines for Showing Houses

Buying or selling a home can be stressful even under ordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, the current state of the world is far from ordinary. The housing market is feeling the crunch, as fewer buyers want to get out and shop for a home, and fewer sellers want to take a risk with selling. This isn’t to say that nobody’s buying and selling, of course; the market is just going through some changes.

One of the biggest changes revolves around how buyers and sellers are handling social isolation and social distancing. If you’re thinking of selling, or are in the market to buy, here are a few new “rules” to keep in mind when entering the real estate fray in the era of self-isolation.

Increasing Online Presence

One of the big changes to the real estate process is an increased dependence on online resources instead of in-person shopping. This includes lots of pictures and videos of properties being posted online, but many sellers are taking things even further than this. Recorded virtual tours, online conferences to allow buyers to ask questions about the property, and even livestream walkthroughs with a seller or agent showing the property are all increasingly popular options to supplement or even replace in-person showings and conferences.

Fewer Open Houses

Open houses are a popular way to show off a property to many potential buyers, but in the current crisis these events are a big no-no. In many locales, open houses aren’t even allowed under state and federal guidance. In states where they haven’t been specifically banned, many sellers are still hesitant to hold an event that would bring multiple people into close contact with each other. Online “virtual open house” conferences are popping up as one option to adapt to this, letting multiple potential buyers come together on Zoom or a similar video conference service at the same time to get a better feel for the property that’s being sold.

More One-on-One Time

As convenient as online access and virtual tours are during the current isolation period, few if any buyers would sign on the dotted line without getting a chance to see a property in person. To accommodate this, many sellers and agents are meeting with potential buyers by appointment only. This lets a potential buyer get a good look at the property in question while also restricting the size of the meeting as much as possible. Many of these appointments are made with the understanding that if any participant feels the least bit under the weather on the day of the meet-up, then it will need to be rescheduled for another time.

Respecting Social Distancing

Even when buyers and sellers do meet up, the process is usually a little different than it used to be. Social distancing rules are usually respected, meaning that everyone involved should stay at least six feet apart at all times to prevent potential infection. Discussions about the property and general Q&As are more likely to occur outdoors in the open air, and any greetings or introductions skip out on traditional handshakes. Masks, gloves, shoe covers and hand sanitizer are commonly available on site, and many sellers go through and open all of the doors and windows to both maximize airflow and to allow interested buyers access to the entire house without having to touch doorknobs or other surfaces in order to see inside.

Closing Remotely

Remote closing negotiations are becoming much more common, taking advantage of video conferencing to bring everyone together without actually having to be in the same room. There may be some instances where people have to meet up to actually sign paperwork, but digital signing is more common because it removes that point of contact. Even when people do come together for closing and signing, it’s much more likely that everyone will utilize social distancing and that both parties will use their own pens instead of sharing.