Tag Archives: real estate

Ready to List your home FOR SALE???? NOW is the time…

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Are you someone who believes Spring is the “buying season”?  Many homeowners wait until Spring to list their homes for sale. Here are five reasons why NOW is the time:

1.) Demand Is High

Homes are selling at a pace not seen since 2007. The most recent Existing Home Sales Report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that annual sales in 2012 increased 9.2% over 2011. There are buyers out there right now and they are ready to BUY your home!

2.) Supply Is Low

The monthly supply of houses for sale is at its lowest point (4.4 months) since May of 2005. The current month’s supply is down 21.6% from the same time last year. Historically, inventory increases dramatically in the spring, increasing your competition. Selling now when demand is high and supply is low may help you get your best price.

3.) New Construction Neighborhoods are popping up EVERYWHERE!

For the last several years, homeowners selling their home did not have to compete with a new construction projects in their area. As the market is recovering, more and more builders are jumping back in. These ‘shiny’ new homes will again become competition as they are an attractive alternative to many BUYERS.

4.) Interest Rates Are Projected to Increase Slightly

The Mortgage Bankers’ Association has projected mortgage interest rates will inch up approximately one full point in 2013. Whether you are moving up or moving down, your housing expense will be more a year from now if a mortgage is necessary to purchase your next home.

5.) Timelines Will Be Shorter

The dramatic increase in transactions caused many challenges to the process of buying or selling a home in 2012. We waited for inspections, dealt with last minute appraisals and prayed that the bank didn’t ask for ‘just one more piece of paper’ before issuing the mortgage. There are fewer transactions this time of year. That means that timetables on each component of the home buying process will be friendlier for those involved over the next 90 days.

NOW is the time to contact me to list your home!  It is a great time to make the move!  Not sure you can get another mortgage?  Visit my website and complete a FREE, NO OBLIGATION Pre-Qualification from The Shanley Team at Inlanta Mortgage.  Not in the Indy area?  I can help you with that too!  We have great Keller Williams Realtors EVERYWHERE, let me make an introduction for you!

Home-Sales

Vicki Reed

We found the home of your dreams…what’s next?

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We’ve found your new home, negotiated the deal, now the real work begins!

As your Realtor, I will deliver the Earnest Money check to the Seller’s Agent – remember, this check will be cashed!  The funds you put down varies with the price of the home – good rule of thumb is 1% of the purchase price…$175,000 home = $1,750.00 Earnest Money.  Earnest Money is a deposit made to a seller showing the buyer’s good faith in a transaction.

I will notify your lender and provide them a copy of your Purchase Agreement. You will work with them to complete your loan process.  It is important that you respond to all of their requests as quickly as possible!  We cannot close on the purchase of your new home until they say we can!

It is important that you schedule a Home Inspection as soon as possible! The clock starts ticking immediately on our time to schedule, complete and request any inspection repairs, 12 – 15 days is standard for most Purchase Agreements.  I recommend Iron Gate Inspection Services, it is not necessary for you to be present for the entire inspection, but you should be there for the last hour so that the inspector can review the report and home with you, and as your Agent, I will stop by the Inspection as well just to make sure everything is going well.  We will work together to review the Inspection Report and formulate an Inspection Response. This is the second round of negotiations.  The key to Inspection Response negotiations is that we share the entire report with the Seller’s Agent and be reasonable in our repair requests.

Closing…finally! Again, until your lender provides “clear to close”, we are at their mercy!  We generally have an idea about when it will be, I will keep and eye process to make certain we are always in compliance with the Purchase Agreement.  I will notify you of when and where the closing will be scheduled and as we near the date…how much money you may need to bring to closing.

The most frequent questions I get about Closing are:

How long will it take to sign all the paperwork?
The closing itself generally takes from 30 to 60 minutes – sometimes longer depending on wire transfers and paperwork.

What do I need to bring to closing?
Buyers and Sellers both need a form of photo ID and any money you owe should be in the form of a cashier’s check – if over $10,000, funds are required to be wired.

As your Agent, it is my job to protect you, fight for you and navigate the process of purchasing a new home…and I am great at my job.  Contact me today and let’s get you a new home!

House shopping

Vicki Reed

Something to think about BEFORE you put your home on the market…

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Whether you are thinking of up-sizing or down-sizing, have you thought about how you are going to pay for your next home?  For most of us, financing is necessary, but will you qualify for that next home?  BEFORE you decide to list your home, please, please get pre-qualified for your next one!

Lesson Learned…

Home was listed for sale at the beginning of September, Buyer made an offer on December 2, a little back and forth and they were under contract on December 5 with a close date of February 1.  As part of the Buyer due diligence, they had a home inspection by Iron Gate Inspection Services, Buyer’s Agent provided Inspection Response to the Seller‘s Agent and Seller quickly agreed to fix everything on inspection response.

Fast forward to January 18, 2 weeks before closing, Buyer receives a letter from an Attorney retained by Seller, that Seller is unable to secure a mortgage and Seller no longer wishes to sell their home and asked that Buyer give them “good title” and walk away.

Buyer retained an Attorney and by January 22, Seller was told they must close on the sale of their home on February 1 as agreed to in the contract.

What would you have done?  In this case, the Buyer was my client and we won and she will be moving into her new home this weekend, BUT, I also represent Sellers and this has changed MY listing presentation and I will be asking my Sellers to pre-qualify PRIOR to their home going on the market.  My goal is to Turn your Dreams into an Address…but I can’t do that without your due diligence, know your status before making a decision to sell, you don’t want to go from owning to renting.  The Shanley Team at Inlanta Mortgage is ready and willing to work through this with you and I’ve made it easy for you with a link on my home page (as well as in the right hand column of this blog post) directly to their application.  Also check out my post “Power of the Pre-Qual“…it’s not just for Buyer’s anymore!

Not sure of the current value of your home?  Visit my website and request a Current Market Analysis of your home’s value and let’s talk!

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Vicki Reed

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!

HoldThatDoor

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?

networking2

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.

Buy-a-Home-in-Dayton-or-Sell-a-Home-or-Condo-in-Dayton

Vicki Reed

Wish # 9

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My ninth wish is that we open ourselves to receiving help from others when we need it and not being shy about asking for help from our family and friends.

How many times have you said to your family and friends “what can I do to help?”  Most of the time the response is “thank you so much, but I’ll/we’ll be fine”…but the reality is that you could really use the help!  Why are we so willing to offer help to others but not accept help for ourselves?

As a Realtor, my schedule is more flexible than most, I can help my friends by meeting repair or delivery people at their homes for them – they all have wi-fi, so I can work there as easily as my own home or office.  But when they have offered to help me, I tend to try to handle it all myself.

So my wish is that we all be more open to accepting help when offered, times are tough and we all need our friends.

helping-handsVicki Reed

Wish # 2

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My second wish is that everyone feel loved and valued.  I am very blessed in my life…I have family who is supportive and encouraging in everything I do, and friends (The Group) who listen to frustrations and celebrate the victories as they come.  As an adult, I was fortunate to have known all of my Grandparents, the last to pass only a month ago and just before her 98th birthday, despite her diminished capacity, we made certain she knew she was loved and valued by those whose lives were touched by her generous and giving spirit over the years.

I believe one should feel this way in their career as well, I have been a Realtor for 2 1/2 years and moved to Keller Williams Realty (Indy Metro) this year and have truly found a home, I have never worked with a more genuine group of people, received encouragement for ideas that are a little out of the box for Realtors (MAX T Agents!), and the care and support of other agents.  We are all working toward the same goal to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning, and lives worth living.  Click here (Wi4C2TS_poster) to view the Keller Williams Belief System.  If you are thinking about a career change (or Company change if you are a Realtor), contact me, let’s talk.

As I said, I’m blessed with great family, great friends and career I love…tell me your wish…email, call or text me!

Vicki Reed

Where are home prices going?

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I am often asked where I think home prices are headed over the next year.  Reality is that we don’t know, with the election behind us, we can only hope it continues to improve!

Recently, several groups have stepped forward and given their projections as to what level of appreciation we can expect by the end of 2013. Here is what they said:

Demand Institute Study: 1.75% appreciation

Urban Land Institute: 2%

Home Price Expectation Survey: 2.44%

National Assoc of Business Economists: 2.8%

Wall Street Journal’s Survey of Economists: 3.25%

All five groups are calling for home values to rise through the end of next year. However, none are projecting that we will hit historic annual appreciation levels (3.6%) that existed prior to the housing bubble.

Think it might be time for you to make a move?  Call, text or email me – click here to visit my website for contact information!

MIBOR Releases 3rd Quarter Numbers…

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And September sales increased 11.3% over 2011!  Read below for full article…
Local housing performance in the third quarter of 2012 played out much like the first half of the year with impressive amounts of consumer interest and slow, steady price gains. The September Monthly Indicators Report of BLC® listing service data released by MIBOR today reveals that pending sales were up 14.9 percent and closed sales increased by 13.1 percent for the three months ending in September. Closed sales for September alone increase 11.3 percent over last September and pendeds jumped 11.8 percent. Prices were stable but not dramatically higher, reinforcing the slow and steady gains seen throughout 2012. In the third quarter, the median sales price increased 2.0 percent to $131,500. Average sales price inched by 1.2 percent to $166,211. The balance of housing stock continue to stabilize with the months supply of inventory figure down 23.1 percent to 7.6 months.

Along with the Monthly Indicators Report, a one-page report of each county within the service area is also provided. In total, these data sets are intended to be a snapshot of the market, providing historical comparisons whenever possible. The data was pulled from the BLC® listing service on October 17. To download the Monthly Indicators report, click here. To view the one-page county reports, click here. Please note, due to the length of the reports, it may take a few minutes to download. If you have questions regarding the data, please click here.

Want to talk about what this means to you?  want to receive monthly emails regarding the market?  Click here to sign up on my website!