Indy Home Book

Home Buying Strategy

Richard — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:03:30 +0000

Diligence, patience, thoroughness…these are all qualities you need to have when shopping for a home. It all begins with a vision. When I start working with a Buyer, I ask them to take some time to envision their next home and then write down the qualities and features they are looking for in a home. These include the things they absolutely must have. These might be an area or neighborhood, price, minimum number of bedrooms, baths, 3-car garage, etc. Another list would be the things they’d like to have if possible. These should realistic, not things they would like if they won the lottery. The last is a list of things they absolutely do NOT want the home to have. These could be things like; they absolutely do not want a home that’s on a busy street, or one that is older than 10 years, etc. With these three lists, a basic description of the home emerges. It’s a starting point. It helps me understand what’s important so I can begin searching for properties that match that description using my Realtor search tools and knowledge of the market. Most Buyers now-days like to search too using one of the public home-search sites. The combined effort produces some possible homes that generally match. Whether they encounter the home on paper or online, or actually viewing the home inside up-close, it all adds to their perspective. The original vision typically changes somewhat as they learn what’s out there on the market, but mainly along the way they learn about themselves, what they really like or don’t like. The important thing is to be very patient until they know without a doubt that a particular home is “the one”. They know because after encountering so many others, that home “speaks to them”. It’s almost magical the way it feels. And when that happens, the time to be patient is over. It’s time to make an offer. I’ve seen people after months of work loose a home they wanted because they were too late. The seller already accepted another offer 10 minutes earlier.

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Hibiscus

Richard — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:54:53 +0000

I couldn’t resist taking this closeup photo of these hibiscus blooms. The entire northern perimeter of the walled pool area in a home I was viewing was planted with these magenta red and other colored hibiscus bushes, as well as other flowering plants and trees.

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Market Watch – May 2012 edition

Richard — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:55:51 +0000

The local residential real estate market is continuing it’s slow but steady evolution with changes in both the amount inventory and number of sales. Slower markets of recent years had a huge number of sellers trying to sell their homes to a dwindling number of buyers. Supply and demand basics…too much inventory for the number of buyers leads to lower prices. But those numbers have been heading in the other direction for quite some time now, and they are continuing in that direction. Less homes for sale, more buyers. Take a look at my latest Market Watch Newsletter, with detailed analyisis, including real sales numbers by county, charts and graphs.

The market is really active these days. Lots of Buyers out looking. It’s not unusual to see a home that is priced accurately, in good condition and in a good area sell very quickly…and in some cases multiple offers. Just like always though, over-priced homes and/or in poor condition have little success.

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Letting the Outside In

Richard — Sat, 12 May 2012 01:53:22 +0000

Sunrooms come in all shapes, sizes and designs. Some are more like an enclosed porch, while others are as well designed and feature-rich as a room can be. But the idea is the same, lots of window space to let the light in as well as the outside views. Letting the outside in.

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Blocking the Light

Updating Photos on Listings

Richard — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:53:23 +0000

I was doing one of my personal periodic checks on a home I’m marketing currently, just to give things a visual look-over inside and out to see if anything could be improved. One thing I knew I would be doing there is updating any exterior photos or any interior photos that have a partial view outside. Whenever there are substantial seasonal changes, this is important to keep things looking fresh and current. In the last few weeks the trees and foliage have filled out and greened up quite a bit. I thought some updated photos of the golf course the home is on would be good too. With buyers ability to search for homes everywhere on the internet, photos have become arguably the most important facet of any marketing effort. I have buyers who pass on a home if the photos are poor even if it’s a good match for them. That’s the power of photos these days. Here’s a look down one of the fairways at Winding Ridge. It’s a golf course community located near 56th and German Church Road.

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Connecting the Dots

Richard — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:34:48 +0000

A rare moment with no one else on the Skyway that spans Illinois Street, joining the mid-section of Circle Centre Mall to the Parking Garage just south of Maryland Street. With all the other pedestrian bridges that connect nearby buildings including the Convention Center and several hotels, one could literally hike for miles without going outside…if you wanted to.

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Marina in the Morning

Richard — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:20:48 +0000

I was putting out signs really early in the morning for an Open House this Sunday for a home hear Geist, and thought since it was so close, I’d see what was happening at the Marina. As it turns out, not much that time of the morning, except for a seagull or two, a few fish breaking the surface of the water here and there, and this duck couple, out for a morning swim together. It was fun trying to track their moving target with the lens as they paddled along.

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Drive-by Shooting

Richard — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:25:35 +0000

Another of my photos from the now infamous collection of drive-by shootings. This time a part of a commercial section near City Center in Carmel as I was sitting at the traffic light. Hey, at least I wasn’t taking photos this time while going 40mph! I love the look of these buildings…they’re already classics. Just think what they will look like in a generation or two. Better and better the older they get. Classic architecture never goes out of style.

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EcoLab at Marian University

Richard — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:00:55 +0000

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Here’s some photos I shot while exploring the EcoLab area at Marian University today. It had rained buckets the night before so the trails today were wet in some places, and the water in the wetland area looked a little muddy…but this place is shockingly beautiful. I had heard about the EcoLab but had no idea that it was something like this…and it’s right here. The Marian University campus is located between 30th and 38th Streets on Cold Springs Road.

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Walking Crooked Creek

Lilacs

Richard — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:06:10 +0000

The sweet scent from this lilac bush engulfed the entire patio area and drifted inside the sunroom doors of a home I was at yesterday while hosting an Open House. I could see them out the breakfast nook windows too. I waited until all the guests had left to snap this closeup photo of some of the blossoms. It won’t be long now before all of these are gone. It might be the only reason this one is still going strong is it is a shaded area on the north side, away from more heat and sun.