My friend Jeff Love and I put this video together to help first time homeowners better understand the financing process and answer some common questions. Watch this video to learn more about the financing process, how long it takes, how debt and bad credit influence your home loan and how much you need for a down payment. If you have more questions after watching the video, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Jeff Love. We’re here to help!
I don’t know about you, but my kids have been home for two days with all activities cancelled due to the cold weather. They are climbing the walls! Open a box of crayons and let them color up some warm thoughts of sunny days ahead! Print the .pdf and take their minds off of their entrapment at home. Cabin fever be gone!
Don’t get cabin fever this year! Put these cold winter days to good use and get a head start on your home improvement list. Here are a few ideas that you can knock off your list over the winter.
Upgrade your thermostat
Add insulation to your attic
Freshen up your interior paint on your ceilings, walls and trim
Add tile backsplash in the kitchen or bathroom
Seal leaks around your doors, windows and electric and light outlets
Replace the hardware on your doors and switch plates
Update your lighting fixtures
None of the aforementioned projects cost a ton of money and you can find all the materials at your local hardware or big box store. If you like the idea of these projects, but aren’t into DIY, give me a call and I can point you in the right direction to a qualified contractor.
Don’t let winter get you down. Get busy inside your house this weekend!
I’m gonna try to keep this story short. Lord knows the process was anything but short, but that’s how it goes in real estate sometimes.
A friend of mine called me in the fall of 2017 about helping him sell a rental property and, of course, I jumped at the chance. On the surface the selling situation seemed easy. He was going to sell the house to the tenant. Perfect!
The five-bedroom house was on a cul-de-sac in a quaint neighborhood on Indy’s northwest side. The tenant and her family lived there for more than five years and had put a lot of sweat equity into the house. Not only did they maintain it like they were the property owners, but they finished the basement with their own hands and money. I was so excited for this family to take ownership of this beautiful home that they loved so much. Unfortunately, the tenant family was financially challenged and it made taking ownership of the house very difficult.
The tenant told me she was pre-approved by a bank in Michigan and she would send me the pre-approval letter. The letter didn’t come quickly, so I took matters into my own hands and reached out to the mortgage banker myself. He was hard to get a hold of and made promises of delivering a pre-approval letter that never came. I grew more and more suspicious after Googling this banking outfit and found nothing. When I looked him up in the NMLS, his license number was registered to a woman in Utah. What?!?! He finally sent me a pre-approval letter and because of all of my suspicion, I shared it with one of my friends who is a reputable mortgage loan officer in Indianapolis. He confirmed that the letter quoted financing programs that didn’t even exist and the fine print stated that the applicant still needed to apply for financing. So the letter was just a notice of possible financing, not actual financing. Every time I turned, there was another red flag. As much as I wanted to sell this house for my own benefit, I couldn’t let this family be taken by a fraudulent outfit in Michigan.
The reality was that the house they lived in and they loved was not affordable for their current financial situation. I talked to them about buying another house in the same school district that would be easier to finance, but they wouldn’t hear of it. I introduced them to Home Partners of America, where they could rent-to-own the house they already lived in. They were also not interested in that option. I was running out of ideas to make this work and they were falling behind in rent. The situation grew more and more dim every day.
The light finally shined on this family when a relative stepped in to buy the house and agreed to lease it back to them. It was a win-win situation for everyone involved. The relative was buying a fantastic investment property with a longterm tenant who loved the property. And, the tenant and her family got to stay in the house that had been their family home for so many years.
After seven months of back and forth, my client finally got to sell his rental property. It didn’t come easy and it took patience and persistence, but we finally got it done!
If you are considering buying a new home, I’d be happy to recommend a reputable mortgage professional who can help you evaluate your financing options. Call me today to get started!
This story started with a dream to find a house on a wooded piece of land that had a barn and water to fish or kayak. This is Indiana. We have lots of barns around here and plenty of creeks, streams and ponds in the area. This search should be easy enough.
This particular client had a healthy budget and they were relatively flexible, as to which area they were willing to live. If we found the right house on the right piece of property, they would consider all options and possibly move their daughter to another school system. Talk about a dream client! I had it.
Our search took months and I lost count of how many homes we saw. Every one of the houses we looked at had the right criteria on the surface, but none of them really had the whole package. We looked at a lot of wonky homes that needed a lot of updates; properties that were beautiful, but didn’t have enough elbow room; and interesting properties that had a detracting property nearby. Our search was exhausting and many days, I felt like we were looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
We finally broadened our search by just a few miles to an area that is a little more rural, but is also experiencing a lot of revitalization and growth in the community. Wouldn’t you know it, we finally found my clients’ dream home!
This wooded property is just about six acres with an old barn near the house and a creek on the southend. The four-bedroom house is a well-appointed tri-level that was originally built by the owner of a well-known residential building company in our area. The house was built for entertaining with a pool, large patio with a screened-in porch, and wet bar in the basement. The back of the house looks out over the wooded ravine and towards the creek. Large trees shade the backyard and provide plenty of habitat for some of Indiana’s native wildlife, including deer, fox, coyote, rabbits, squirrels and every imaginable species of bird. The old barn is picturesque with plenty of room to store my clients’ work equipment and maybe even make a playhouse in the loft for their daughter. My clients quickly fell in love with this exquisite property and couldn’t wait to make it their own.
The sellers of the property were only the second owners and had raised their family there. They were reluctant to sell the property, because they had so many fond memories over the years, but it was time for them to downsize. The sprawling house and property were just too much for them to manage these days. The sellers needed a little more time in the house than usual, as they were waiting on the construction completion of their next home and they were planning an estate auction for most of their personal items.
As soon as my clients made their offer on this property, we immediately put their existing home for sale. We accepted an offer after the first showing and they had to be out of their current home within 30 days. A quick sale is a realtor’s dream come true, but because of the sellers’ unique timeline for the new property, it really put my clients between a rock and a hard place.
My clients had to honor their contract with the buyers of their current home, but also had to wait out the sellers’ long timeline for the new property. My clients looked high and low for very short term apartment or rental house and I tried to find a vacant listing that one of my associates would let them live in short term. We didn’t have any luck, so my clients ended up in a hotel suite for three weeks. It was not an ideal situation with their daughter and three dogs, but they gracefully accepted the circumstance, knowing that the inconvenience was a small price to pay for their dream home.
So it turns out that searching for my clients’ dream home wasn’t that easy. It took hard work, patience, flexibility, and even a little discomfort to make this dream come true, but it was worth the wait. My clients are enjoying their new wooded playground and are busy making the house their own with some cosmetic interior updates. I am grateful for the opportunity to assist them on their journey!
Well, the New Year rang in as scheduled and everyone is wondering what’s going on in real estate. The inventory remains low for the most part, however in the $200,000-$750,000 price points, there was a slight increase of inventory for the same time period year-over-year. Home prices remain above average and the percentage of original list price is constant from the middle of the year. Watch this video to learn more about the 2018 real estate market in the metro Indianapolis area, including Carmel, Indiana. Happy New Year!
This is a story about a family who was working with a realtor that didn’t seem to understand what kind of house they were looking to buy. They were lamenting about their frustrating house hunting experience to a friend of mine who referred them to me. I met them on a Tuesday and by Friday we had written and got accepted an offer on a new house! Bam!
This couple has two small boys and were looking for a house that was close to parks, trails, schools and had a wooded backyard. They also needed a house that had room for guests, as most of their family lives out of state. Apparently the realtor they were originally working with didn’t get it. She was young and had them going on wild goose chases to homes that didn’t fit their criteria.
I made this video below about this family, because I know they are not alone. Realtors are a dime a dozen and some are better than others. It’s maddening that anyone would have to work with a realtor who doesn’t listen to what your house priorities are. If you’re working with someone who isn’t getting it, who is taking you to houses that don’t fit your criteria, who ultimately doesn’t understand what you desire in your next home, find another realtor.
So in only four days we found the perfect house for this young family, because I listened to them and really researched the houses that I presented to them. Look how beautiful this house is and that yard! It’s a corner lot and has a substantial amount of wooded area right around the back patio and a huge side yard for the boys to play. It’s also a great neighborhood in Carmel with it’s own trail system that connects to the elementary school and a nearby park.
After a quick kitchen island renovation and a whole lot of paint, this family is thrilled with their new home. Yea!!
Remember my professional services are free for buyers! Call me directly for a home seller or buyer consultation.
This house was built in 2003 by Centex Homes, but it was way more than your average Centex home. The original owner was a builder by trade and he opted for every building upgrade that Centex offered, including a wrap around porch, high ceilings, bonus rooms, and a side-load garage. Then along came my client who was a skilled interior wood craftsman and he left his mark on the house. He custom built extra storage in every room and every closet, added crown moulding, replaced all the wood trim throughout and added shiplap features in the house. Coupled with his wife’s eye for interior design, this house was not your ordinary Centex home in Carmel.
Not only was the interior upgraded, but so was the exterior. This picturesque house sat on a corner lot and adjacent to the neighborhood walking trail. The family renovated the back deck and expanded it for entertaining. They added fruit-bearing trees and garden boxes. It was a real gem of a home!
This family wanted some more elbow room and to move to a country-setting where they could enjoy nature and have a barn for their business equipment. We had been looking for several months and when we finally found their dream house, we had to move fast. Our offer on the new house was accepted, but it was contingent on us selling this house wicked fast, like in a week, and we hadn’t even put a for sale sign in the yard yet!
The race was on to finish the last-minute interior projects, declutter and organize so we could get this house on the market. This was not going to be an easy feat. The homeowners worked tirelessly over the next few days and I even pitched in for a few hours. We had the photos taken and we were literally moving ladders and pulling tape off the walls ahead of the photographer. In fact, you can even see a piece of painters tape we overlooked in one of the photos. Oops! Despite our hurriedness, the house looked like something in a home and garden tv show and it showed well. We had our first showing and immediately got an offer!
After a bit of negotiation we accepted an offer and it ended up being the highest sales price in the neighborhood. Neighbors, your home value just went up. You’re welcome!
The accepted offer on this house made-whole our offer on the new country house and we were able to proceed with confidence knowing this family could eventually move into their new dream home.
There’s a fine line between upgrading your home to enjoy it and upgrading it beyond market value. This couple make the right decisions and it paid off! This was a fun house to sell. I am grateful for the opportunity.
I had a client that was a rule follower. He followed the rules on home maintenance to a T. He changed his HVAC filters regularly and had annual equipment inspections. He replaced mechanical items near the end of their life span and before they failed. And the same was true for the structure of his home. He replaced the roof and siding and painted the trim regularly. Now that sounds like a house I would want to buy!
The drawback was that as meticulous as he was about following the rules of homeownership, he hadn’t made very many cosmetic updates to the interior of the house. He was a simple guy and keeping up with interior design trends just wasn’t important to him. As long as he had a roof over his head and knew that his mechanicals and structures were in good order, he was happy. He had replaced a few pieces of carpet when it needed it and replaced some wallpaper with more wallpaper when the first application started to peel.
He was pretty confident that his particular lot in the neighborhood, maintenance records and updated tile/carpet would make his house highly desirable to a young family. Unfortunately, this particular owner had not bought or sold a house in 20+ years and no clue to how influential HGTV and DIY Network was on home shoppers. I had a big task at hand to help him understand what today’s buyers are seeking in a new home.
I started by taking him to visit homes for sale in his area that were comparable to his and we also visited new construction model homes in his area so that he can see what his home was going to be competing against. It didn’t take long for him to agree to painting all of the wood doors and trim throughout the house. It was a big emotional and financial investment for the guy who wasn’t into interior design. He just couldn’t understand why today’s buyers don’t like stained wood trim.
After he conceded to the paint, I had to develop each room in the four bedroom house. This owner was an empty nester and a bachelor. He only used a few of the rooms in the house and had a hodge-podge of furniture leftover from a split marriage and kids that had moved out on their own. Hiring a stager was out of the budget, so I rearranged every room to give it a purpose, whether it fit his current lifestyle or not. We ended up with a baby nursery, a young girls room, a home office and a reading/entertainment room in addition to the master bedroom. The nursery furniture was on loan from a neighbor and the other rooms came together with remnants from his children’s rooms long ago. We deep cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms, bought slip covers for his mismatched furniture and put new window treatments in every room. I think we spent about $500 on accessories and window treatments, but the paint was the biggest expense.
We also had a pre-listing inspection, per my standard seller’s protocol, but since he was so good at managing the mechanicals of the home, there was really nothing we had to do.
Things were moving along and we were about a week out from listing the house when one of his neighbors houses went on the market for much more than we were planning to list this house. That changed everything! We went into overdrive finishing up the interior of the house and got it on the market 24 hours later. I took the photos myself and they weren’t great quality (see below), but it was enough to show shoppers that this house was a better deal than the neighboring house for sale. I ran the market comparable data again just before we went live and because the neighbors house was priced so high, it gave us an opportunity to list for a higher price than we originally planned. We accepted an offer slightly under our list price just nine days after we put the house for sale. Timing is everything and being able to respond to changing market conditions is imperative!
[Photos below are my quickie photos; not the professional photos from the BLC listing.]
The moral of this story is that taking care of your house is very important and will benefit you when it’s time to sell, but you also have to be cognizant of current design trends. The cable television shows have increased shoppers desires and aspirations. Most shoppers want a move-in ready house that looks like something off of a cable TV show. If your house does not represent the current trends, it will cost you at the closing table. Bite off those cosmetic renovations in small chunks to make it easier to swallow financially and you will even get to enjoy the fruits of your labor while you still live there.
For more information about preferred renovation contractors or a free home seller consultation, contact me directly.
This is a love story about a house, a family and a realtor. It’s a sad story with a happy ending.
I was contacted by an estate and elder law attorney to assist with the sale of a home in Carmel. You’ve heard the phrase: the house has good bones, and this house did. It was built in 1983 and it must have been exquisite back in the day. It had lots of crown moulding, wallpaper and hardwood floors. The four-bedroom house was in a small and quiet neighborhood close to schools, shopping and recreation.
The house was filled with love over the years. It had been home to a small family: a father, a mother and a daughter. The dad, a great provider for the family, and the mom was epitome of a doting mother. Their only daughter had special needs and had the attention of not only her mother and father, but the whole neighborhood. Everyone knew her and watched out for her as she biked or walked around the neighborhood.
The daughter lived into early adulthood, but died at a relatively early age. In 2018 both the father and mother also passed away. With no next of kin, the attorney needed to sell the home to close the estate.
When I first learned about the house, it’s features and location, I was excited and knew it would sell quickly in Carmel. But you know you cannot judge a book by it’s cover, nor can you judge a house by it’s cover. From the outside it looked perfect, but on the inside the story was dramatically different. The homeowners had been in poor health at the end of their lives and neglected many of the necessary maintenance items. And to top it off, they had both been smokers. The house wreaked of smoke and the walls, ceilings and cabinetry were covered with yellow smoke stains.
So the attorney was left with the million dollar question: to renovate or not. Because of the house’s condition, there was no way we could list it for sale at the going market rate. It would have sold at a very discounted price and negatively impacted the competitive market data for the small neighborhood. The estate attorney was Jennifer Rozelle, Hunter Estate & Elder Law, and she has a big heart. She knew that it would be unfair to the rest of the neighborhood if we sold the house a deeply discounted price. And she also knew that updating the house, making it move-in ready for the next family and selling it at fair market value would impact the financials of the estate in a positive manner.
Per my normal protocol for sellers, we had the house inspected to identify all of the mechanical, structural, health or safety items that need to be addressed before we sell it. Additionally, I made a list of cosmetic items that would need to be replaced to remove the smoke odor. The attorney agreed and gave me the go ahead to get started on our inspection and clean-up lists.
The biggest deficiency on the inspection list was the windows, which had many broken seals and rotted frames. While the homeowners were in good health, they took exceptional care of the house and property. The mechanicals were in really good shape. We had to replace a small amount of rotted cedar siding on the front of the house and repaired the front stoop that had settled and sank over the years.
On the other hand, our list of cosmetic renos to remove the smoke odor was very long. We started with ripping out 100% of the flooring and wallpaper. We sanded, sealed and painted all of the woodwork and cabinetry throughout. We replaced all of the interior hardware, including door knobs, switch plates and lighting fixtures. We replaced the garage door opener and a couple of appliances that were broken. We gave the overgrown landscape a facelift, but kept the footprint the same and we painted the exterior of the home.
Throughout the project, we worked tirelessly to stay on a limited budget and only repaired urgent items or items that had the best chance of increasing our sale price. All of our contractors have a history of providing good workmanship and great value for the price and because we got such great deals, we were able to replace the countertops, backsplash and the kitchen sink & faucet.
Even though I never met the original family that made this house their home, I felt like I got to know them throughout the renovation process. I included a redbud tree in the landscape, which had been one of the husband’s favorite trees, and I painted the walls in the master bedroom the same color as the curtains that once hung there. The wife enjoyed cooking and baking, so we updated her kitchen with a classic subway tile backsplash and a new cooktop and microwave/oven combo wall unit.
The window and paint expenses rivaled each other and were the two biggest financial investments of the project. The wallpaper removal, sanding/sealing/painting all of the woodwork was very labor intensive and took way longer than the painters planned, but it turned out beautifully and was worth the expense and the wait.
In the end our renovation plan came together beautifully. We listed the house for the actual going market rate, preserving the competitive market data for the small neighborhood, and after just seven days on the market, we accepted a full-list offer!
When I walked into the house the first time, I knew it had good bones, but it was in really sad shape. I fell in love with the house more and more every day as the transformation unfolded. I got excited thinking about the next and unknown family that would eventually buy this house and, once again, fill it with love for many years to come. I am so grateful for the opportunity to project manage the renovations and assist with the sale of this home. I absolutely love my job!
You can contact Jennifer Rozelle, Hunter Estate & Elder Law, by emailing her at jenniferrozelle@hunterlawoffice.net. Additional resources and referrals for downsizing and senior movers are listed under the Buying & Selling tab on my website. And please contact me directly for a free buying or selling consultation!
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