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The Hidden Gems Of Real Estate
Recently, Active Rain surveyed Realtors to find out what “hidden gems” home buyers should be looking for that will be included in the price of the home, but not always be evident at a quick glance. The top two, as you will see in the infographic below, are 1) Amazing Views and 2) Neighborhood Quality.
While here in Central Indiana, amazing views will most likely bring a premium in pricing… unless corn fields count as amazing views, the quality of a neighborhood may not always be immediately evident. A neighborhood’s quality also may be subjective. Some buyers will be very concerned about schools, while others will consider how many cars are parked on the street or if yards are well manicured. In turn some won’t care about these issues if it means that there is no intrusive home owners association.
Whatever your preference, when you are shopping for a home, you may want to keep an eye out for some of these “hidden gems” that might be factored into the home price and even enhance resale value in the years to come.
Data provided by ActiveRain.com.
ActiveRain is an online community of real estate professionals who exchange best practices, write real estate blogs, and get free education from the industry and their peers.
Thinking of buying a new home? Give us a call at 317-572-5033 and we’ll help you find a home that sparkles.
Indiana Housing Continues To Gain Momentum
Accepted offer! Last week we had the opportunity to help a wonderful couple start the process of buying a home! The market in Indiana continues to gain momentum.
Indiana, along with a lot of the country, had a slower housing start in 2014. Right now there are 479 residential homes on the market in Fishers and 418 homes on the market in Carmel. Year to date there have been 258 homes to sell in Fishers and 203 homes to sell in Carmel (year to date).
What does it take to sell your home? The easy answer is – a buyer. The long answer is a good marketing plan and strategy. Whether your homes sells in the first week or it follows the national averages of 3 to 4 months (90 – 120 days), you need a good marketing plan and strategy and a Realtor who can guide you through the entire process or selling and buying you home. A good real estate professional is worth their salt.
What I notice is if a person can come into a home and see themselves living there, an offer is made. If both parties are reasonable and fair, an agreement is reached and the 30 – 45 day window of negotiating the inspection, obtaining homeowner insurance, and the necessary steps of transferring ownership are completed.
The best way to allow someone to see themselves living in your home is to know your competition and know the designs and amenities of new homes on the market. This is what your home is up against. You have a much better chance of selling your home if it has fresh paint and carpet and is nicely decorated throughout. Take a walk through new construction model homes and see how they have decorated their model home. The hardest thing is to give out your name and number. Yet, if you are working with a Realtor, just give the sales consultant your Realtors card along with your name and you can easily walk through the model home. By walking through a model home you’ll know whether you want to build or buy a pre-existing home.
Yesterday, I went into two similar homes with oak trim. One home had started the process of painting the oak trim white and it was amazing to see the transformation. It’s hard to visual a home that is complete with oak trim painted white. So, if you can help your potential buyer see the difference, it may help with the sale of your home. In this home only the entry trim had been painted white yet it allowed my clients to visualize what it would look like if all trim was painted white and the home went on their maybe list. The ultimate goal is to sell your home. If you don’t keep up with current trends while living in your home, you may have to make that financial investment when you go to sell. You may want to place your home on the market without the updates and see what happens and within 10 days you will know how potential buyers are reacting.
If you have encouragement to make changes or have only 1 or 2 showings you will know the market is telling you to make updates or lower your price. Then you decide – Do I want to sell my home? At the end of the day you’ll need to work with your Realtor to make those changes, adjust your price, or wait to adjust your price.
Keep your home updated and remember you don’t live in your home the same way you sell your home. You will make moderate changes to how you live and clean during the sales process.
We are here to help you . If you are looking to buy or sell around Fishers, Geist Area, Carmel, Zionsville or Westfield give us a call.
Jack and Elisabeth Lugar, The Lugar Team at Century 21 Scheetz, 317-572-5033
Spring ‘S Super Seven
Spring is only a week away. The weather may not agree, but before we know it, the temperatures will start rising and flowers will begin to peek from beneath the ground. This is also a great time of year to open up the windows and start letting in the fresh air. And as we do that, it’s also time to do a little deep cleaning and decluttering.
As if you don’t already have a few items on your list, here are some ideas of what to do to start the clean-up. I call them my Super Seven Spring Cleaning Tips.
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- Wash the windows inside and out.
- Wipe down walls and baseboards.
- Steam clean the carpet.
- Remove the cobwebs from the corners of your ceiling.
- Power wash the exterior of your home.
- Dust/wipe down the blades on your ceiling fans.
- Clean out the garage.
Taking on a deep cleaning can be a bit of a daunting task, but doing it in small bits will make it more manageable. Also, don’t do it alone. Make each project a family event with a fun reward upon completion. Not only will you have a clean home, but you’ll have spent quality family time together as a result.
So, go ahead, and make it a Super Spring. After the winter we’ve had, you deserve it.
Just Listed! 12564 Old Pond Rd. Noblesville, IN 46060 Spacious 3 Bedroom Home Overlooking A Pond In HSE School District
Just Listed! 12564 Old Pond Rd. Noblesville, IN 46060
Spacious 3 Bedroom Home overlooking a Pond in HSE School District
We have just listed a wonderful 2 story home with an open floor plan that looks over a pond in Noblesville, IN/HSE Schools. The dining room flows into a spacious great room, breakfast room and kitchen that overlooks the pond. The downstairs has ample storage, a half bath and a 2 car attached garage. Upstairs the master bedroom has a private master bath and 2 walk in closets along with 2 additional bedrooms that are adjacent to a spacious loft. Featuring great living space, lots of storage, a wonderful play area, and a neighborhood pool this home is nicely appointed and ready to move in. Close to Hamilton Town Center this home is located at 12564 Old Pond Rd. Noblesville, IN 46060 and in the Hamilton Southeastern School District a part of Fishers, IN.
Please call Jack or Elisabeth Lugar at 317-572-5033 for a private showing at The Lugar Real Estate Team at Century 21 Scheetz
Click here for home information and additional pictures.
BLC# 21278299 $167,900
To find out the value of your home please give us a call at 317-572-5033 or to set up your online home search visit www.lugarrealestate.com
(c) photos by jack lugar
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Inventory Is At A 10 Year Low And Prices Are At A 10 Year High
Check out this amazing graphic about real estate in Central Indiana. Inventory is at a 10 year low and prices are at a 10 year high. With continued low interest rates, now is the time to put your house on the market if you’ve been considering it. Please give us a call for a market analysis for your home.
We are on the relocation team at C21 Scheetz and serve buyers and sellers in Carmel, Fishers, the Geist area, Westfield, and Zionsville. If you need a real estate professional outside of Indianapolis, we can recommend someone.
To start your home search, go to www.LugarRealEstate.com. Your information will not be shared, it goes directly to Elisabeth. We are here to represent you in the purchase of your next home! Call 317-572-5033 to get started.
Fishers And Carmel Housing Update 2/27/2014
Home inventory is at a 10 year low in Central Indiana and home prices are at a 10 year high. Elisabeth Lugar of The Lugar Team at Century 21 Scheetz gives a housing update for Fishers and Carmel, Indiana. To find out the value of your home call The Lugar Team at 317-572-5033 or start your search at www.LugarRealEstate.com.
41 Active Homes In Carmel And Fishers 2/25/2014
There are 41 active homes in Carmel and Fishers from $225,000 – $275,000 with a basement and garage that currently do not have offers. The home pictured is located in Fishers. Out of these homes 3 have 3 car garages.
When building a home it’s difficult to decide whether or not to build a 3 car garage because of the extra cost. If you are unable to build a 3 car garage consider a 2 car garage with a bump out. The bump out allows for storage of a lawn mower, snow blower, or workshop. There are times when it is not possible to elect for the upgrades. It’s okay. There is a buyer for every home and a home for every buyer.
The main key to home selling is to make the upgrades throughout the time you own a home. You will be able to enjoy the upgrades and when you get ready to sell the out of pocket costs for the competitive upgrades will not be as expensive or painful.
Enjoy your home while you live there. The features that you enjoy will be what sells your home. And, remember you don’t live in your home the way you sell your home. We will guide you through the process of selling and buying. Just give us a call at 317-572-5033 or 317-448-3785. We want to help you and are never too busy for your referrals.
If you’d like to find out the value of your home or set up a real time search send us an email at elugar@c21scheetz.com to get started. To get started with your own search go to www.lugarrealestate.com (your information will not be shared. it goes directly to elisabeth.)
Should You Be Alarmed?
No! The Lugar Team Has Your Back.
While some neighborhoods have a reputation for being safer than others, no home is immune from potential criminal activity. Often times, the homes that are expected to be safer, are the most vulnerable, which is why protecting your home with a security system may be a wise investment. What’s important to know about these systems is that they are a great deterrent and warning system, but they are not foolproof.
A few years ago, I was showing houses to a client. Two of these houses were right next door to each other. As Realtors, most of us hate alarm systems when we have to show a home. There’s always that fear that we won’t be able to get it turned off in time. In this situation, I was not even told there would be an alarm, so I was caught off guard when I opened the door and the alarm system began beeping.
Now I was on the clock. I grabbed my phone and called the showing service to get the code. Of course they had no code. The siren started screaming. I called the listing agent and she too had no code. At that moment, I looked at my clients, shrugged with a smile, and said, “let’s take a look at the house.”
We entered the home and toured it fairly quickly because of the unpleasant siren. In all we left the home in less than five minutes. Next we went to view the home next door, where we spent another five minutes. After about ten minutes of viewing both homes we came back out to the street just as the police arrived in response to the alarm.
While there are probably plenty of occasions where the police have shown up faster than ten minutes, in this case, a professional thief could have cleaned out several jewelry boxes, collected other valuables, and been long gone. On the other hand, I’m sure the presence of an alarm system may be enough to encourage most thieves to choose a different target from the beginning. And if someone does break in, you, the homeowner, and the authorities will know about it no matter whether you’re five or 500 miles away. What it comes down to with alarm systems is weighing the cost of maintaining the system against the added protection they provide.
Here are some other great ways to protect your home either for less money or just as an added precaution.
- Get a dog – I’ve had police tell me that a dog is the best way to keep criminals out. Of course, if you’re on vacation, so is your dog. And between the vet bills and dog food, an alarm system may be less expensive.
- Good lighting – Adding floodlights, carriage lights, or even decorative accent lights will make your home more inviting to guests and less desirable to thieves.
- Trimmed shrubbery – While you’re kids will miss the extra hiding places, so will the bad guys.
- Avoid regular routines – Variety is the spice of life, so spice it up a little and try to avoid doing the same thing at the same time everyday. The less predictable you are, the less welcoming your home will be to burglars.
Ultimately, you want to be cautious and aware of your surroundings. You want to work with you neighbors to keep an eye out for each other. And most of all, don’t do what they do in TV shows and movies and explore the situation when you discover a break in. If you think your home has been broken into, leave the house immediately and call the police. Nothing in your home is more valuable than you and your family.
Carmel And Fishers Indiana Housing Update 2/20/2014
Currently there are 411 homes on the market in Carmel and 458 homes on the market in Fishers. Elisabeth Lugar of The Lugar Team at Century 21 Scheetz gives a housing update for Fishers and Carmel, Indiana. To find out the value of your home call The Lugar Team at 317-572-5033 or start your search at www.LugarRealEstate.com. If you would like to know the value of your home please call us at 317-572-5033
