Monthly Archives: January 2013

Chivalry isn’t dead…but sometimes it’s snoozing…

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Remember when men would open and hold doors for women?  Heck, just when anyone would?  I had a great experience this morning that shows me that my Wish # 3 is working!  Just to refresh, Wish # 3 was that everyone remember to be human, not just during the holiday season, but all year long.

Our office building has an exterior door, a vestibule and open stairs coming from the second floor and then another door to enter the first floor of the building and elevators.  As is usual, I’m coming in from the parking lot with a rolling computer bag, another bag on top of that for my BOLD (Business Objective Life by Design) class, and my purse and coffee (yes, I know, too much stuff!  At least with the rolling bag I no longer feel like a pack mule!) and a very nice man had just come down the stairs to leave the building, held the door for me THEN came around me and held the door into the lobby for me as well before he left the building!  He didn’t have to do that, went out of his way to assist me in entering the building…THANK YOU!  This small kindness helped get my day off to a great start.

What have you done for someone else today?  Me?  Well, today I fought for my client and won!  It really wasn’t  huge, we had the final walk-through today before closing on Friday and discovered that the homeowner had removed the chandelier that was in the property when we made the purchase and replaced it with a “builder’s brass” one…they are re-installing the light they removed and my client is happy.  Want a Realtor who will fight for you?  Call, email or text me!

Now…go out and do something nice for someone!

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Vicki Reed

Do you know about Meetup.com?

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As a Realtor, I’m always looking for networking opportunities and struggle because a lot of them cost significant dollars to join and only allow one of each profession among their ranks.  Several years ago…before my move to the Real Estate biz…I found Meetup.com because I was bored with my life and looking for things to do that would shake things up a bit!

Meetup.com has groups for anything you can imagine and if you can’t find something that interests you, you are encouraged start a Meetup of your own.  Founded in NYC following 9/11 (click here to read a message from the Founder), Meetup was created to use the internet to get off the internet and actually meet and interact with others who have similar interests but that you might never have met.  There are groups for Moms, Singles over 40, Live Theater Lovers, Movie Buffs, Bikers, Hikers, Christian Women in Business, and even groups who like Beer!  I encourage you to see what is there that might interest you!

I have used it for several things over different times in my life over the last few years, now I use it to find networking opportunities and master mind groups for small business.  At Keller Williams Indy Metro NE, I created a group of Independent Agents, MAX T Agents (Maximizing Independent Agents Extreme Talents), we support each other, back each other up, share business ideas and best practices and more and more lately we’ve been talking about networking opportunities and where to find them.  I always suggest Meetup.com and am surprised how few people know about it!  Business networking is defined as “a socioeconomic activity by which groups of like-minded business people recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities.”  These are generally small groups who meet for a specific purpose, some weekly, some monthly, but always worthwhile.

So for all of you out there complaining that you do don’t have anyone to do anything with…check out the groups on Meetup.com…WordPress (the host of this blog) even has one in Indy!  I’m thinking of starting one for First Time Home Buyers…what do you think?

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Vicki Reed

Remember “It was a dark and stormy night…” from Peanuts?

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Well, it is a gray and snowy day in the Indy area…” and dozens of Indy drivers are driving around without their headlights on!  Makes you folks in the gray and white cars especially difficult to see and really difficult to avoid hitting or pulling out in front of!  I have made my trek from Beech Grove to Greenwood and back to Southport for a quick coffee break before meeting clients, fairly interesting.  Please, please, please use your headlights, especially on days like today, if we can see each other maybe we won’t hit each other!

Now…let’s talk about snowy/icy road tailgating!  Really folks?  Do you think riding my bumper is going to make me drive any faster on roads that are snow covered?  I can tell you right now…just makes me want to slow down even more!  I’m sorry you are late for whatever you are racing too, but my life is too valuable to me to drive unsafely on days like today.

Okay, so I’m off my soapbox, I’m not expecting anyone to change their habits because of my rant, but if it makes 1 person turn on their headlights and possibly avoid an accident then I’m happy!

One of the advantages of  being a Realtor is that I control my schedule, wish I had scheduled today working in my home office, not out in this beautiful (sarcasm doesn’t really translate well in a blog post does it?) Indiana weather!  My next stop is visiting potential investment properties with my clients, this means no one has shoveled the walks and in a lot of cases, there isn’t any heat on in the home…that’s why I needed this coffee  break, just to prepare myself.  Hope you all have a great and safe day!

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Vicki Reed

Downtown Winter Dining on a Budget!

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It’s that time again…Devour Downtown!  Held semi-annually, Winterfest is January 21 – February 3, this event encourages us to savor fare from more than 50 downtown restaurants and get special deals from entertainment venues and attractions including the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indiana Ice and many more! For more information and a list of participating restaurants and their special menus, visit http://devourdowntown.org.

How about topping the evening off with a carriage ride?  Yellow Rose Carriages are at your disposal to take you on a horse drawn carriage tour of Indianapolis.

Rather stay indoors?  Retreat to one of the many live music venues in downtown…Blues?  Slippery Noodle Inn is Indiana‘s oldest bar, and home of the Blues in Indiana features live local, regional and national Blues seven nights a week.  Prefer Jazz?  Check out the Chatterbox Jazz Club in the heart of the Mass Ave Arts District hosts live, local jazz seven nights a week!  Sing-a-long?  Try Howl at the Moon for a night of dueling pianos and high energy singing.  The list goes on and on…

Want to live downtown in the midst of all this energy?  Let’s talk!  Downtown has a variety of properties, starting as low as $60,000 all the way to $2,790,000…what’s your budget?  Check out my website to search for available properties!

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Vicki Reed

Instead of “State of the Union”, how about the state of Indiana Real Estate?

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The Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR) announced yesterday that Indianapolis home sales in 2012 are up 18.5% over 2011!  Fellow agents in my Keller Williams Realty office are complaining that homes are moving so fast that their appointments are being cancelled before they can see the properties because the home sellers have accepted an offer!  Click here for the full Indianapolis Star article and here for the MIBOR press release…NOW IS THE TIME!!!!

Are you interested in Buying a new home?  Inventory is lower, prices are heading higher, and interest rates are still really low…NOW IS THE TIME to get pre-qualified (click here to start the process with a lender I trust) and let’s start shopping!

Are you interested in Selling then Buying a new home?  Get the best of both markets by selling and up-sizing or down sizing NOW!  Not sure what today’s market value is for your home?  Contact me for a FREE Comparative Market Analysis and let’s discuss your options…just because we meet doesn’t mean you have to sell, it is part of weighing your options to make sure we do exactly what you need done.  Have plenty of equity in your current home?  I work with Don Allen at US Savings Bank who offers “bridge” loans to help you get into your next home.

I am here to help you reach whatever your home dreams are…buying, selling or both.  Your priorities are mine, I work very hard to get the absolute best deal for you and to Turn your Dream into an Address…visit my website VLR Real Estate for more information on who I am and what I can do for you.

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Vicki Reed

Home Inventory??? Why?

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The Richmond Hills tragedy (click here if you want to know more about this senseless act) and a recent home invasion robbery in my own neighborhood reminds me why it is important to know exactly what you own.  I know, we’ve always been told…take pictures, keep your receipts, yada, yada, yada…do you have all of those things?  What about the new IPad you just got for Christmas?  The engagement ring when he proposed at New Year‘s?  The family silver you inherited from your Grandmother when she passed last year?

I have a solution for you!  Please let me introduce you to The Inventory Lady – Jo Soard.  Jo is a bonded, insured and certified third party Inventory Professional who will document your home and business assets, provide you written and digital documentation as well as secure a copy off site for future needs and will update your inventory annually at minimal cost.  A member of American Home Inventory Professionals (not in the Indianapolis area?  Click here to find someone in you area!), Jo is professional, efficient and one of the nicest people I know!  Use The Inventory Lady to help you know just what you own!

Now…how about a new home for all of those things to live?

Home Sellers, now is the time to put your home on the market!  Prices are edging higher, inventory is down and days on market decreasing, check out my website to see what’s happening on your side of town, sign up and let’s talk about the value of your home!

Ready to buy your first home?  Let’s pre-qualify you for your mortgage and talk about what your needs are in a new home.  Why should you pre-qualify?  Check out this earlier blog post, then click this link to complete a preliminary application to see exactly where you stand then let’s go shopping!  Rates are still historically low and prices are edging up….let’s do this!

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Vicki Reed

What do you do for fun in the Winter?

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The major winter holidays are behind us…what do we do for the rest of the winter???  Besides my job as a Realtor (yes, I consider it a lot of fun…even in winter!) my favorite pastime is watching Men’s College Basketball!  The problem is that Indy isn’t hosting a major men’s college basketball event until the Midwest Regional of the Men’s Basketball 2013 NCAA Tournament the last weekend in March!

Okay, so we have Butler Basketball here in the city, always a great time and if you can get tickets, Bloomington isn’t that far away to see my FAV and …okay, we also have…well…Purdue.

So what else is there to do, and if you are like me, not spend a lot of money!  Indianapolis is such a great city with tons of things to do ALL seasons, but for Winter, how about…

Ice Skating – My youngest nieces (ages 10 and 11) love to go ice skating!  When they visit we go to the Indiana/World Skating Academy at the Pan Am Plaza – for under $15, they can skate for 2 hours and have a great time.  I generally follow that up with a treat like Chocolate Nachos at Cheeseburger in Paradise – great way to spend an afternoon.

Museums – One of my favorite things is to simply visit and enjoy the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  It is $5 to park and unless you are going to a special exhibit, it’s free to walk through and enjoy.  I spend a lot of time in the textile exhibits, right now they have An American Legacy: Norell, Blass, Halston & Sprouse spanning more than 50 years of fashion history, the exhibition presents the work of four innovative designers, their individual styles and lasting influence on American fashion.  We also have the world class Indianapolis Children’s Museum, The Indiana State Museum and the Eitlejorg, all a great adventure and all priced well for a great, relaxed visit.

Check back next week for more ideas!  While you are waiting…click here to sign up on my website for all the Indianapolis Real Estate Market News!

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Vicki Reed

Power in the Pre-Qual…

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Is 2013 the year you make the leap to homeownership?  Before you start looking, it is important that you consult with a mortgage professional as soon as possible!  Check out this video by Don Shanley with the Shanley Team at Inlanta Mortgage “What to Expect if you are a First Time Homebuyer” and visit my website to complete the application (click here)…it’s that simple!

Why do I recommend working with Don Shanley and his team of experts?  Simple…they are as Client Service driven as I am.  I had a previous client interested in purchasing a home, they emailed me on SUNDAY morning that they had completed the application, by 2:00 p.m. SUNDAY afternoon, they had been contacted and their situation discussed and they knew exactly what they needed to do to qualify to purchase a home by 2014…that is CLIENT SERVICE.  Click here to be introduced to the team at Inlanta Mortgage.

So back to Pre-Qualifying…this will tell you how much of a loan you can qualify for and the monthly payment amount you are able to afford, this gives you the first number, the second number is how much you want to spend.   Why are these numbers different?  They aren’t for everyone, but reality is that when I bought my home 6 years ago, I qualified for a mortgage of $190,000!  As a single woman, the idea of spending that much on a home meant no vacations, no dinners out, well you get the idea…I decided that I wanted to spend $125,000 and ended up purchasing at $123,000.  The pre-qualification process outlines your finances – your debt, income, employment, and cash available for down payment, among other things. It’s quick and basic.

Working with a Realtor (that would be me!) and with your pre-qualification letter in hand, the advantages are yours once you find the house you want to make your next home.  Your pre-qualification will make your offer look even better to the seller, they don’t have to worry that they are wasting their time, they will know that you are ready to buy their home!

Are you ready?  Just want to see what properties are available?  You can search on my website for homes, just click here to get started!

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Vicki Reed

Let’s get organized!

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Does the idea of organizing your home overwhelm you?  What if you could break down what you need to do over the next 12 months…would you be able to do it then?  MSN Living has broken it down to a great month-by-month plan of simple tips to rid clutter from all aspects of your home, click here to see the entire plan!

January starts off simply enough, clean out your fridge and pantry…something we should do regularly, but often don’t.  As a single woman who spends much of my time on the road, I don’t think about checking the expiration dates on most of my condiments…just today noticed that I have some very out of date pickles in the fridge from a cookout 2 summers ago!  So after all the holiday guests have gone home and you’re through entertaining, throw out half-eaten leftovers, check expiration dates, and if you have foods you don’t plan on enjoying, donate it to a local food pantry.

Want more?  MSN Living also has a link to a Redbook piece, 23 Easy Organizing Ideas for your Entire Life that has a lot of great ideas! Also check out this Worthington Court blog post from last year:  How to Make the Most out of your Small Closet for more ideas.

Considering selling your home in the next 12 – 18 months?  Well organized, clean homes sell faster and for more money than cluttered homes.  Storage is a “top 5” item on Home Buyers “must have” lists, to buyers, a cluttered home doesn’t mean you have too much stuff, it means the home doesn’t have enough storage.  

Not sure what you really need to do to get ready to sell?  Contact me for a free market analysis and home visit to discuss what you need to do to get your home ready.

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Vicki Reed

Do you Entertain?

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As a Realtor, many of my clients talk about having an open concept home, looking for a great “entertainment” space, but how many of us really entertain?  I have a great home for entertaining, very open concept with great room and kitchen/dinning to each other, with a fireplace and plenty of room to move around and a large deck facing a wooded area – great for indoor/outdoor parties – but I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a party or just friends over for a casual dinner!

Do you entertain?  I believe we all “intend” to entertain, but most of us find it easier to meet at restaurants, let someone else do the cooking and cleaning!

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Each January, Kate Marvel and her husband, Connie Martin host a party at their home for their clients and friends.  I’ve been going for at least 6 years, it’s a lot of fun!  Kate owns Advantage Financial Group in Indianapolis and this is her “thank you” to her clients and they know how to throw a party!  The food and drink are abundant, much of which Kate prepares herself.  One thing…they do not have an “open concept” home, but the home works for this party!  It’s a lovely, older home with is a kitchen, dining room, living room, den, and sun porch on the main floor as well as a finished basement – there are groups of people in each room and Kate and Connie make the rounds.

So my friends, when you are looking for a new home, do not rule out older homes with a “choppier” floor plan, make sure you are being true to how you really live, not how you think you should live because of HGTV!  Want to start looking for that new home?  Click here to search for properties on my website!

Vicki Reed