Indianapolis Real Estate Blog and Real Estate Investments Resource

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

Wanted to share a new website I am putting together for Plainfield, IN.  

This will be the one stop resource for home buyers and sellers looking to relocate to Plainfield, buy a home in Plainfield, or Plainfield home selling.

Free Plainfield buyer and seller reports including “10 Questions You Must Ask Before Interviewing Your Agent”, FREE CMA’s of your home in Plainfield, as well as free Plainfield home listings for for people relocating to Plainfield or just looking to buy another home in Plainfield.

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

I have ran across  people that have been advertising purchasing propeties with negative cash flow, mainly because they will appreciate in value, you are paying down the mortgage, raising rents, etc. 

It’s one thing to own 2-3 properties that are negative $200-$300/month, but when you end up with 20-25 properties negative each month, it’s not a good thing!  I have seen this happen to many investors.  In fact, I recently met someone that purchased a “package” deal of properties from another investor.  Not in great areas, and not much cash flow at all.  In fact, no cash flow when you include vacancy allowance and repair allowance.    They have tried to sell properties, but found out that they purcased the properties for 25% markup to what they were really worth.

I learned earlier in my career to make sure you have cash flow.    I originally purchased my properties on 15 year notes.  I thought it made sense to pay off everything as quickly as I could. That is great, but no cash flow.  And lenders like cash flow more then they like the logic of paying things off quickly.  My philosophy now is to pay as little as I can and spread it out for as long as I can.  This allows you the cash flow to proceed with future investments.

Looking to purchase a home in the Indianapolis area?   We help buyers and sellers with Indianapolis real estate, Plainfield real estate, Zionsville real estate, and Carmel real estate.
Hundreds of free buyer and seller reports  online at  Indianapolis Homes for Sale
Looking to invest in Indianapolis real estate?  Take a look at my Indianapolis Real Estate Blog at http://Blog.IndianapolisHomePricing.com
The brand new blog about Zionsville Real Estate, Anson Real Estate, and the Anson homes in Zionsville is here:  Zionsville Real Estate Blog

A new feature from the Crager-Bartels Real Estate team.

Search the entire MLS directly on our webpage.   Free email alerts, view homes view Google maps.

Search Zionsville Homes For Sale, Search Indianapolis Homes For Sale

As with any industry with few requirements for entry, being a mortgage loan officer often times simply means just showing up for work. Okay, there’s usually a state-issued license required and probably a fingerprint taken but really there’s not a lot to it.

Over the past 5+ years, the mortgage industry had been in an unprecedented and not likely to occur again gold rush. Rates began to fall in 2001 and had been on a steady decline since our “correction” which began earlier this year.

Of course the papers read that rates are now at 4 year highs but really, so what? Rates are still under 7.00 percent and consumer advocates would scream bloody murder if rates shot up into the 8.00 percent range where they hovered in the mid-90s.

Mortgage loan officers enjoyed a double-dip. Home sales were brisk, new home construction was white hot as home ownership levels hit record numbers. That means people needed mortgages, folks.

At the very same time, rates were dropping … gradually. For a long time. A loan officer typically had to open his window for a couple of minutes to let new loan applications fly in. Then close the window when he got too busy.

The result was an influx of new, wet-behind-the-ears Loan Officers. Still no problem there, everybody starts somewhere right? The problem is that Loan Officers who have only been in the business for a couple of years may have never truly learned how loans are approved, declined or saved from certain disaster.

Automated Underwriting Systems have replaced “loan-savvy.” Instead of a loan applicant providing a loan application to a Loan Officer to help determine the type and size of loan she can qualify for, the Loan Officer instead inputs the information into the AUS, waits a few seconds, then “Ding!,” Loan Approval.

Often without the Loan Officer knowing why. Or “why not” in the case of not receiving a loan approval.

I bring this up because I was listening to a conversation at a Mortgage Bankers luncheon a couple of weeks ago. I was in a circle of Loan Officers and they were all talking about how “they” were getting loan approvals for borrowers with abnormally high debt ratios.

The conversation went something like this;

“Yeah, well I got my client approved with a 54 debt ratio.”

“Oh yeah, that’s nothing, I got my client approved at 60. Full doc!”

And so on. In fact, these Loan Officers didn’t have anything to do with the approval other than data input. So I asked them a question,

“How did you get that guy approved with a 60 ratio?” Answer?

“I don’t know, I just sent his information in and I got an approval.”

Which led to another Loan Officer saying, “I think there’s something wrong with that system, I submitted a loan and my clients debt ratios were in the 50s and I couldn’t get an approval. And these people had great credit.”

I then began suggesting various scenarios such as increasing liquid assets, finding some additional down payment, hybrid loans, buying down the rate and so on. Not one of the loan officers had considered these other factors when one of their loans weren’t approved.

AUS applications are designed to streamline the approval process, not replace brains. Now those same loan officers are going to have to compete not just in being able to take a loan application but to figure out how to get tough deals through closing. And they can’t do that because they really didn’t have to.

All they had to do was open the window.

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!

First time home buyers face many challenges in understanding the process of purchasing a home, obtaining a mortgage, and knowing which type of loan will best suit their needs. Advice from well meaning loved ones can be helpful, but buying a home is a major financial commitment and you would be wise to educate yourself on the home buying process before taking the first step.

When you make the decision to purchase a home, talk with a real estate agent who can give you expert advice and valuable information. The purpose of this initial meeting is not to sign a representation agreement with the real estate agent, but instead to make yourself aware of local real estate customs in your particular area. If the agent has no time to discuss the home buying process with you, then keep looking until you find one who will. A good real estate agent will offer you information on the local real estate market and give you an idea of the types of mortgage products that are available to you. A mortgage broker or lender can also give you valuable information when you decide to buy a home.

The questions you should ask the real estate agent or mortgage broker include how to make an offer on a home you wish to purchase and the specifics involved in between making your initial offer and the final acceptance of the offer from the seller. Ask about the settlement costs, the down payment amount that you may need, and the length of time involved between the acceptance of your offer and the final closing date.

Make sure you understand your credit situation and what it means to you as far as applying for a mortgage. Down payment requirements and the interest rate you will receive are directly related to your credit score. You should be aware of exactly what is on your credit report before beginning the home buying process.

These tips will give you a good start in making wise decisions when you purchase your first home. Keep in mind that buying a home can be stressful at times and that a calm attitude and the ability to cope with any issues that may arise calmly will make the purchase of your first home a more pleasant experience. Buying your first home is one of the most exciting events in your life. Give yourself the information you need and take the advice of experts when you begin the home buying process. The experience will be less stressful and you will benefit from the knowledge you have gained.

Technorati Tags: real, estate, agent, buying