Indianapolis Real Estate Blog and Real Estate Investments Resource

http://home-equity.interest.com/home-equity/how_to_rent_home.html

From article:

Step 4. Decide whether you’ll need to hire a property management company.

If you’re moving away you’ll need a dependable relative or management company to monitor and maintain your home.

"Small headaches can become larger headaches pretty darn quick," said Derek Crager, founder of property management company Crager-Bartels in Plainfield, Ind. "A drip that nobody takes care of (can) turn into a rotten floor."

Management companies will handle everything from screening prospective tenants to collecting rents and providing handymen for maintenance.

A standard monthly fee is 10% of the monthly rent, Crager says. You should be sure to find out if companies you’re considering charge extra for billing or special visits to the property. These small extra charges can add up.

The information above is part of how our real estate triple play marketing system works to get you cash for your home!

As your local Zionsville Anson real estate expert, I wanted to share with you some updated photos of the development in Anson. 

First, take a look at this stunning new condo built by Ryland located right in the heart of the new Anson development.  6320 Central Blvd  We rented this out in about 2 weeks, and it cash flows from day one!

Some new photos of Anson Whitestown IN 

Good progress has been made on the new condo’s and upscale apartments that are currently leasing and selling.  Notice the nice landscaping going in throughout. Also, DC’s Pub has finally opened!  This is a hot PUD, every Friday and Saturday night the entire parking lot is packed full of cars.  El Rodeo has also opened up over the past few months.  This is a great place to buy a real estate investment to hold long term.  Royal Run would be the best bet on a development to start investing in, it will get you in lower in price then anywhere else near the Anson development.  I of course put my $$$ where my mouth is, and own and rent out a ranch in the Anson development and Royal Run. 

From the article on CNNmoney.com

Indianapolis

Projected median sales prices for single-family homes:

Q1 2008: $122,940

Q4 2009: $130,630

Growth rate: 6.3 percent

Indianapolis is riding a few trends that are bringing about an early recovery in its real estate market. While Indiana’s capital city did join in the housing boom this decade, prices didn’t reach the stratosphere. Indianapolis still suffered through the downturn, though: Building permits for new homes dropped 30 percent from their peak in 2005. But the housing market hit bottom earlier here than in most parts of the country - during the last quarter of 2006. Now, with the local economy poised to grow faster than the national average over the next two years, house prices are projected to post a respectable gain.
Indianapolis’s low unemployment rate has made it a destination for people fleeing cities like Fort Wayne, Gary, and Terre Haute. It’s also relatively cushioned from slowdowns in the national economy because more than a third of its workforce is employed in stable sectors like professional and business services, health care, education, and government. Those white-collar corps also help boost Indianapolis’s median household income to $50,500 a year. Given that you can buy a four-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot home for less than $200,000, that makes the place the nation’s most affordable major metro.

How to Play The Real Estate Bounce-Back

Wouldn’t You Agree That Knowledge Is Power?

In order to help you avoid costly mistakes that can add up to thousands of dollars lost because of misinformation or non-information; this special package was developed to spell out, in detail, the Indianapolis home-buying process here on the Central Coast.

Many Indianapolis homebuyers today buy a Indianapolis home without considering the ramifications of their decisions. In other words, there are many buyers who rush into purchasing a home…more on a whim or an emotional “high,” rather than making home ownership a planned, orderly and informed decision.

In order to protect you, my client, and to help you avoid Carmel home buying pitfalls I have created this special report. I expect it will grow in time as I find other materials and ideas that buyers should consider before purchasing…or have available once they have purchased. Your input, therefore, would be invaluable to me.

I hope, that as a future Carmel homeowner, this package will serve as a tool to help you become more informed, better educated as a Carmel home purchaser and that, after your purchase ( or each purchase), you will become a satisfied homeowner here and be willing to recommend my services with a written testimonial to be added to my testimonial page (see last page).

There Is More To Purchasing A Home

Than Finding A Piece Of Real Estate To Make An Offer On

There is a need among today’s purchasers (and homeowners) for straight talk and sound advice on buying and selling. Home ownership is a huge decision in most people’s lives. It’s not just a shelter or even another investment.

It’s the place we bring our dreams to life in flower gardens and family rooms, backyard barbecues and home-cooked Sunday dinners. It’s the place we raise our children, the nest we nudge them out of and welcome them back to again and again. For many of us, it’s become our place of business, thanks to computers and fax machines that have made the home office a reality.

So it’s easy to see why buying or selling a home is often an emotionally charged, potentially overwhelming process. And helping people through that process remains the single goal of all the services we provide.

That’s why considerable time and effort have been devoted to staying in touch with the needs and concerns of all clients and potential customers.

Naturally, a great deal has been learned from the hundreds of families who have been helped to move over the years. They have told us about their dreams and fears, their joys and frustrations, their impressions of the positives and negatives of our business.

This package is the result of extensive research to find out what today’s homebuyers expect from a realtor, and what kind of help they really want and need. It’s based upon the questions we hear most frequently - questions that come from people just like you, with concerns and desires much like yours.

And it offers you straight answers, with some inside tips and “plain English” explanations to help you feel more comfortable and confident about your Carmel home buying and selling decisions.

Let’s start by asking a few important questions…

What are the 10 most common buying mistakes Buyers make?

1. Not using a Realtor
2. Not using the right Realtor for you
3. Not being clear with your agent regarding your wants and needs
4. Not getting pre-approved with a Lender
5. Not being clear and up-front with you Lender
6. Not being in escrow with your current home before shopping for a new one
7. Judging a home only from the curb
8. Making an offer lower than the current price differential
9. Not purchasing a Home Inspection
10. Not purchasing a Home Warranty Program

Where do I begin the process of looking for a Carmel home?

The first thing you should do is to begin focusing on what you’re looking for in a home.

You can start by establishing priorities in the following three areas:

Location:

Are you relocating to a new town because of a new job, or to be closer to your current job? Are you coming here to vacation or to retire here permanently?

How will the location of schools, shops, and transportation and medical facilities affect your choice of neighborhood?

Personal Taste:

How large a home do you need? What style of architecture do you prefer?

On what type of lot? Depending on where you want to live, you may have a choice of homes in dozens of styles, sizes, and settings.

Every family’s needs are different. It is helpful to examine what you like or don’t like about your current home or apartment. What don’t you like? What features are missing?

Do you have extra large furniture (i.e. king-size bed or large dining room suite) that you must accommodate? How important is the lot? Do you need a finished family room, garage, special needs room (i.e. office)?

Once you’ve examined all your wants & needs, make a list of the most important features that you absolutely cannot live without. Those go to the top of your list. Everything else is a compromise!

Budget:

How much home is it wise for you to own or how much do you want to spend on a monthly basis without eating popcorn for dinner every evening?

As you consider these things, do a little research of your own. Look through magazines for ideas about home styles and features. Drive through neighborhoods that appeal to you to see what’s available. Read the real estate listings in the newspaper to learn about the features that you are considering. The more knowledgeable you become, the better your final decision is likely to be.

This special report created by Crager-Bartels Real Estate at MyIndianapolisHome.com

They are finally starting to build!  The last article I posted stated Lowes is not moving in until middle of next year, but I don’t see these buildings being empty that long.  Shouldn’t take much time at all to build.

A few months ago I was referred an individual that was wanting to sell her home. At that time, I didn’t know she was behind in her payments.  Two months into the listing contract, she told me she was 6 months behind in payments. 

We had to act quick.  Customer was going to be foreclosed on at any moment.  With the thousands of people on my real estate mailing list, I was able to find someone that not only purchased the home from her, but also caught up her six months of late payments. 

This is just another example of what I do for my clients.  I have the experience and knowledge of creative financing that gets the deals done in circumstances that other agents would be left scratching their heads.

For free Indianapolis foreclosure information, check out my website at MyIndianapolisHome.com

We work with many Indianapolis relocations looking to move to the Indianapolis area.  For more information, check out the Indianapolis relocation resource at http://MyIndianapolisHome.com

(Washington - May 17, 2006) - Indianapolis, Ind. was the nation’s most affordable major housing market for a third consecutive quarter in the beginning of 2006, according to the National Association of Home Builders’/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), released today.

Meanwhile, nationwide housing affordability remained virtually unchanged from the end of 2005, as slightly lower home prices and higher household income helped offset an upward movement in mortgage rates to keep the index almost flat. The HOI rose marginally from its lowest level on record, 41.0 at year-end 2005, to 41.3 in the first quarter of 2006.

“The latest HOI shows that only 41.3 percent of new and existing homes that were sold during this year’s first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income,” said NAHB President David Pressly, a home builder from Statesville, N.C. “This is down from just over 50 percent of all homes sold in the first quarter of 2005 that were affordable to the average family.”

“Compared to the fourth quarter of last year, the median price of all new and existing homes that were sold during the first quarter of 2006 declined 1.5 percent, while the national median income, as calculated by the federal government on an annual basis, was adjusted upward from $58,000 to $59,600,” explained NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “These factors kept housing affordability from sliding further despite the fact that the national weighted interest rate on fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages rose 18 basis points in the period, from 6.21 percent to 6.39 percent.”

In the nation’s most affordable major housing market of Indianapolis, just over 90 percent of homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median household income of $65,100. The median sales price of all homes sold in Indianapolis during that time was $113,000 - down from $120,000 at year-end 2005. Also near the top of the list for affordable major metros was Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., followed by Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y., in that order.

Four smaller housing markets outranked all others in housing affordability this time around, including Lansing-East Lansing, Mich. at the top of the list; Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill.; Lima, Ohio; and Battle Creek, Mich., respectively. Bay City, Mich., was the fifth-most affordable market smaller than 500,000 people.

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. maintained its standing at the very bottom of the affordability chart in the first quarter, with just 1.9 percent of new and existing homes sold in the area being affordable to families earning the median household income of $56,200. The median price of all homes sold in the metro during the first quarter was $500,000, which was unchanged from the previous HOI. Other major metros at the bottom of the housing affordability chart included Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif., followed by San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.; New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.; and Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y.

Among metro areas smaller than 500,000 people, Santa Barbara-Santa Maria, Calif. was the least affordable housing market. Four other small California markets also fell at the bottom of the affordability chart, including Modesto as the second-least affordable small market, followed by Salinas, Merced, and Napa.

Please visit www.nahb.org/hoi for tables, historic data and details.

Would you like to know the value of your home for free? Just go to http://MyIndianapolisHome.com and fill out the simple form. You will receive a free CMA via email, no obligation to you!

Technorati Tags: homes

In the second largest state or federal mortgage consumer protection agreement in history, Ameriquest Mortgage Co. has agreed to a $325 million settlement to be split among 49 states and the District of Columbia.

Only the $484 million accord reached in 2002 between most states and Household Finance Corp. was larger. &#9

The Ameriquest settlement includes a $295 million payment to consumers and $30 million paid to the settling states participating in the agreement.

The settlement was signed last week by officials of 49 states and the District of Columbia. (Virginia is not a party because Ameriquest did not conduct business there.) Each signing state will file the settlement in their respective state courts by March 15, 2006, along with any consumer protection lawsuits resolved by the settlement.

In addition to the monetary settlement, the Orange, CA-based company agreed to make sweeping reforms of practices states alleged were predatory.

Predatory lending is a malignant outgrowth of the otherwise useful subprime residential mortgage sector. Subprime loans are generally more expensive than prime loans, but they are intended for borrowers who pose a greater risk to lenders, typically because of the lack of credit or previous credit problems. Without the subprime segment, some borrowers would be locked out of the American Dream.

Unfortunately, in numerous documented class action suits, state-filed cases and other claims, too many subprime loans became predatory with exorbitantly high costs, penalties and other financially abusive features often directed at specific groups, including minorities, older, low-income borrowers and others who can least afford the added cost.

Nearly six years ago, Ameriquest, pressured by in-your-face activists from ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), agreed to commit $360 million in consumer safeguards and “best practices” for its customers.

At the time, “These new safeguards — the strictest standards in our industry — will help elevate the vision for good corporate citizenship among all subprime mortgage lenders,” said Kirk Langs, then Ameriquest president.

With the new accord, the company’s prepared statements were hauntingly familiar. &#9

“This agreement is good for consumers and fair to the company. It provides a framework for new lending policies that improve and enhance our ability to serve our customers and are a model for the industry,” said Aseem Mital, chief executive officer of ACC Capital Holding Corp., Ameriquest’s holding company.

Ameriquest has never acknowledged wrongdoing and the new court-sanctioned edict did not restrict or limit the company’s licenses.

However, the settlement does come with teeth that were missing from the ACORN accord. It says Ameriquest will: &#9

• Provide the same interest rates and discount points for similarly-qualified consumers. &#9

• Provide full disclosure regarding interest rates, discount points, prepayment penalties, and other loan or refinancing terms. &#9

• Overhaul its appraisal practices by removing branch offices and sales personnel from the appraiser selection process, instituting an automated system to select appraisers from panels created in each state, limiting the company’s ability to get second opinions on appraisals, and prohibiting Ameriquest employees from influencing appraisals.

• Not encourage prospective borrowers to falsify income sources or income levels. &#9

• Provide accurate, good faith estimates. &#9

• Not engage in refinancing solicitations during the first 24 months of a loan, unless the borrower initiates it. &#9

• Use independent loan closers. &#9

• Adopt policies to protect whistle-blowers and facilitate reporting of improper conduct.

&#9

To make sure Ameriquest doesn’t shirk from its promises, the agreement will also appoint an independent monitor to oversee Ameriquest’s compliance with the settlement terms. The monitor will have broad authority to examine Ameriquest’s lending operations, including access to documents and personnel. The monitor will submit periodic compliance reports to the Attorneys General during the next five years at Ameriquest’s cost.

The settlement includes ACC Capital Holding Corporation (the holding company), and its subsidiaries, Ameriquest Mortgage Company, Town & Country Credit Corporation, and AMC Mortgage Services, Inc., formerly known as Bedford Home Loans.

Astronomical growth in the subprime lending market during the last few years made Ameriquest the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lender.

Law enforcement officials and regulators initiated their investigation after hundreds of Ameriquest customers complained about the company’s practices.

Investigations turned up a host of practices including inadequate disclosure of prepayment penalties, discount points and other loan terms; unsolicited refinancing offers that did not adequately disclose prepayment penalties; improperly influenced and inflated appraisals; and borrowers encouraged to lie about income or employment to obtain loans, all considered predatory lending practices.

Technorati Tags: residential

Duke in talks with store that offers groceries and more

By George Piper/The Lebanon Reporter

Lebanon — A large retailer offering groceries and other products may be anchoring Duke’s Marketplace at Anson at Ind. 334 near the Interstate 65 interchange.

Craig Anderson, vice president of Indiana property operations for Duke Realty Co., told the Boone County Commissioners on Monday the client is not Wal-Mart, although he did not identify the potential tenant.

Anderson, who attended Monday’s meeting to ask about engineering for Phase II, said the potential client is bigger than just a grocery store, which was the initial target.

Commissioner Charles Eaton asked if it was a store like Meijer, the Michigan-based superstore, which sells both grocery and department store products. Anderson replied, “It’s one that has everything. It’s not a Wal-Mart.”

The company contacted both Kroger and Marsh about the site, Anderson said. After nine months and completing a demographic study, Kroger declined interest at this time. Marsh, which may be sold, never got back with Duke.

Anderson expects Duke to appear before the Area Plan Commission in February or March to discuss retail shops as part of a 40,000-square-foot retail development. “We’ll have multiple projects to bring forward this year,” he said.

Outside the meeting room, Anderson said the large retail client is someone Duke has worked with before. While the company doesn’t want to sound too confident, Anderson said negotiations were going well. One possibility, he said, is Duke gets a commitment for the site, with a store to follow in late 2007 or early 2008.

On the smaller retail shops, Anderson described the potential tenants as entrepreneurs - including three restaurants - instead of established national clients. With a project like Anson, which is moving just ahead of the growth curve, it’s not uncommon for the major retail stores to wait, he said. That will change, he believes, as infrastructure is in place and construction occurs.

“Then it will go from, ‘Will it happen?’ to ‘It’s a reality. I want to be there,’” Anderson said.

Commissioners President Huck Lewis believes a superstore would be a plus for Boone County. “It all fits into the plan for Anson being a mixed use development,” he said.

On the Phase II development, Duke is offering to pay upfront for engineering fees and be reimbursed for that investment after tax increment financing is established. Duke has moved ahead with design work and is anxious to start Anson’s next phase.

“There are things that can be reviewed now so that we can move on,” Anderson said.

Components of Phase II include construction of 400E from County Road 400S through the development, plus Anson Boulevard and Progress Drive, which are two main streets within Anson.

Anderson has been working with Boone County Economic Development Corp. to attract clients. While interest is there, the main stumbling block is lack of infrastructure, he said.

The county and Duke are “real close” on Phase II TIF negotiations, Lewis said.

The commissioners accepted Duke’s offer, with a stipulation that if TIF funds fail to materialize, Duke - not the county - bears the financial burden.

How the county will choose an engineer is undecided.

Eaton wants the commissioners to get bids for the project, saying the county has a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers. In the past, he has raised the issue that the commissioners employed the Phase I engineering firm - Beam, Longest and Neff - without seeking competitive bids. The decision to award that $700,000-plus contract came before Eaton took office in January 2005.

Lewis said the county followed procedures similar to the Indiana Department of Transportation on awarding contracts.

State statute does not require counties to seek bids for projects that fall under professional services, but a county may request proposals.

Technorati Tags: real

George Piper/Lebanon Reporter

Park space always has been a part Duke Realty Co.’s plans for its Anson development. Just how nice the park will be comes down to money.

The company would like a $1 million federal transportation enhancement grant solves part of that problem. Duke wants to use the money for a bike and pedestrian trail system within Anson.

Duke plans to match $500,000 of the $1.5 million project for North Gateway Park, which comprises about 8 acres of greenspace that stretches north to south. The company’s contribution exceeds the required 20 percent local match.

The Boone County Board of Commissioners endorsed the plan at its meeting Monday, Dec. 5. Last week, the commissioners gave its stamp of approval to similar transportation grant request by the Hoosier Rails-to-Trails Council to purchase land for a trail running from Lebanon to the Clinton County line.

In both cases, the groups submitting the application are not seeking county funds, but needed approval by a local entity as part of the grant process.

The trails could be the beginning for the Anson park. Plans call for an outdoor amphitheater, a civic arts garden with an educational component and a zero-depth pool, a swimming pool with a floor that’s the same level as the water surface on a portion of its perimeter.

“We want it to be the kind of park where a family is willing to drive 20 to 30 miles to use this park,” said David Boncosky of Duke. Making the amenities attractive could help Anson’s retail clients, he added, or attract potential homeowners.

Those amenities won’t come cheaply. The price tag of the fully developed park is about $3.5 million and is not currently in the budget.

Boncosky said Duke wants to develop partnerships to secure funding.

Jim Dunning, a consultant with Thomas P. Miller and Associations, said his firm assisted Duke with the grant process. Applications to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which handles all grants for the Indianapolis area, are due Dec. 13. The deadline to submit to the state is Jan. 31.

While greenspace is typical in some Duke developments, this project is beyond what the company normal undertakes.

“We’re really looking to take this to another level in our development,” said Duke Vice President Craig Anderson.

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