Tag Archives: United States

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Great Post by IndyKW on the strength of our market! NOW IS THE TIME!!!

IndyKW's avatarindykw

REALTORS®: 2012 A STRONG TURNAROUND YEAR FOR INDIANA HOUSING MARKETS
Statewide, market activity and home prices better each month of 2012 than the year before

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – The monthly Indiana Real Estate Markets Report today released by the state’s REALTORS® also provides year-end data which shows that 2012 was a strong turnaround year for Indiana housing markets.

Statewide, there were 8,531 more homes sold in 2012 than in 2011 – a 14.7 percent increase year-over-year. The median price of all 66,516 homes sold in Indiana last year was $118,000, which is 4.5 percent more than the median price of all homes sold in 2011 ($112,900). The average price of all homes sold last year was $140,043, which is a 3.6 percent increase over 2011 ($135,183).

“Housing markets in Indiana have decidedly turned the corner away from the worst of the recession,” said Karl Berron, Chief Executive Officer of the…

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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

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

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

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

Discover the IFD Museum

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Did you even know we had one?  I discovered it in November and had the honor to visit it again yesterday.  Located at 748 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204 and is housed in the oldest standing firehouse in Marion County.  The Indianapolis Fire Department Museum is a historical treasure trove for those interested in Indianapolis history as well as a great place to take those little boys and girls interested in dedicating their lives in service.

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In addition to the museum, the IFD Memorial stands on the grounds and consists of five descending columns that spiral out from the front of the firehouse to the centerpiece column. Each column is inscribed with the names of fallen heroes and atop the center column sits a Phoenix, the mythical bird of fire..”Just as it rises from its ashes, so too do the souls of our heroes, drawn upward to heaven.”

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You might be wondering why I’ve had occasion to visit this great museum twice in as many months…well, Keller Williams hosted it’s city wide agent Thanksgiving event there and yesterday…was BOLD!!!!  Business Objective:  Life by Design!  Over seven weeks, BOLD conditions agents with powerful mindset exercises, language techniques, business-building strategies and live lead generation activities.  Click here to learn more about this amazing class and the KW culture!

Vicki Reed

Wish # 12

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Wish twelve…my final wish!  So for my twelfth wish…I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and my wish is that all your wishes for positive change come true.

This exercise has been eye-opening for me, I hadn’t really thought about my wishes other than how my wishes affect my life, thank you all for taking this journey with me, I hope it opened your hearts as well.  Continue to pray for those affected by the tragedies of 2012 and pray for a brighter 2013.

Merry Christmas

Christmas-Decorations-Gift-Thread-Needles-New-Year  Vicki Reed

Wish # 10

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My tenth wish is that we curb our excess eating and drinking and work toward a healthier lifestyle.  As a nation, we live life large – from the portion sizes in restaurants to fast food “super sizes” and even the way we cook in our own homes.  Heart disease and diabetes have become more common in our lifetimes than those of past generations.

I don’t believe that there is a be all end all answer to the issue, some say “eat organic”, but that can be expensive because organically grown foods cost more and budgets are tight!  I Googled “curbing your excesses for food and drink” and got over 10 million results – the information is available, a lot is written about it, but not everything works for everyone.  I believe if we simply eat and drink in moderation that will put us on the right path.

I am an overweight 48 year old woman, and as a Realtor, I am on the road constantly, networking tends to happen over meals so that just adds to it.  I know that I could eat better, but it takes work and it much easier just to grab something on the run!  I am committing to eating healthier and exercising more in 2013, will you join me?

Heart-Healthy-FoodsVicki 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