Yours truly was asked to help serve on the committee and I enjoyed meeting with the Town manager, local builders, the Head of the Avon Parks Department, and other community leaders to discuss the idea. It is always great to be able to be a part of the community.

What is an Impact fee? An Impact fee is often charged to builders as a way to help pay for the “impact” that a new neighborhood will have on a community. For every new neighborhood that gets built in Avon, there is an influx of new residents as well. New people who will be using our roads, our utilities and our parks. Impact fees are common and can be used for any number of things to help the community. Most of the towns surrounding Avon have already adopted these fees.

In Avon, the impact fee will be used towards recreation. We do have wonderful parks, and when you add in the facilities provided by Washington Township, there is a lot to offer in our community. We are proud of our parks, and want to be sure that we are able to keep up with future demand. The Town will focus on using the fees collected to purchase more land, install more walking trails and a  destination playground. In the future we will be able to take another look and decide what else we would like to use the fees for.

I think this is a great step towards helping our community keep up with the growth we are experiencing. I know that it will cause an additional burden on builders, and that they might decide to pass the additional cost to the buyers. On the other hand, I feel that keeping our community moving in the right direction will help Avon be even more desirable to new buyers.

I would love to hear your thoughts on impact fees. What would you like to see the fees used for? What improvements do you think Avon needs most?

Here is a video made by the Town of Avon in 2010

Foreclosures Post Big Drop, Reaching 2007 Levels.

There are currently 4 homes listed in Indy for $5000 or less. This isn’t including auctions, which are normally listed for $1 with the knowledge that the price will go up.

• 3601 E MICHIGAN ST is priced at $4,700
• 9103 BRENTWOOD CT is listed at $5,000
• 1026 N MEDFORD AV for only $5,000
• 4015 E 30TH ST is also just $5,000

When I looked for properties priced UP TO $10,000, there were 66 properties available!

Why do you care about that? Fewer homes on the market means fewer homes for buyers to choose from. This could help create a sense of urgency and get some buyers off the fence. It could also possibly create a shift in demand (remember supply vs demand?). Hopefully we will see this trend continue!

“I had a quick question for you. We recently received something in the mail that our property has been assessed..I guess now because the houses in our addition are finally complete. The total amount our property and house was assessed at was significantly less than what we paid for the house. Should we be concerned about this? the form says we can appeal but I’m not sure how any of this works. Any info you have would be appreciated!!!”

I told her that no, it should not be a big concern to her, because if her house is assessed for less than what they paid, that means that they are paying less in property taxes, so that was a good thing. Her next question was:

Here’s the issue–

An Operating Fund Referendum was created by the Indiana Legislature to allow local school districts to request permission through a direct vote to assess property taxes above the property tax cap (1% for residential property) for the purpose of allowing a community to support its schools through additional revenue or to help replenish monies lost from recent state funding cuts.

The school district will add a referendum question to the May 3 ballot asking the community to support a property tax. The question will read: “For the seven (7) calendar years immediately following the holding of the referendum, shall the Avon Community School Corporation impose a property tax rate that does not exceed 17.05 cents ($0.1705) on each One Hundred Dollars ($100) of assessed valuation and that is in addition to all other property tax levies imposed by the School Corporation?”

Why are they asking for this referendum? With recent property tax caps, reduced state funding, and loss of investment income, the school budget has already been cut drastically. We are fortunate that our community is growing, and we are adding schools to fit the population, but it takes money to do that. This referendum is asking the community to pay additional property taxes that would go directly to help the schools operate. Voting will take place on May 3.

There has been a lot of discussion among the residents of Avon about this referendum, obviously, some support it and some do not.

MY OPINION? Avon has a reputation for great schools in the Indianapolis area, which is certainly an important factor when people are considering moving to the community. Having great schools benefits us all, whether you have kids that attend those schools (like me) or not. I want this to pass both for my own children, and for the benefit of the entire community. I think it is important to help support the schools in the community, and I am willing to pay for that through my property taxes.

I would love to hear your thoughts, I am sure that some readers will not agree with my opinion, and I”m ok with that as long as the discussion is polite. 

For a lot more info, you can go to www.SupportAvonChildren.org or www.NoMoreAvonTaxes.org

Image via Wikipedia

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-5 Most Affordable Housing Markets.

Guess which city is ranked at the TOP of the list… yet again.

More than 90% of consumers believe that the home buyer tax credits have helped both first-time home buyers and the U.S. housing market overall. Among consumers actually shopping for homes, 65% believe that the end of the tax credits will have little or no effect on their interest in purchasing a home.

Nobody really knows what this market will do, but many feel that things are improving, and many more feel that the next 5 years will hold positive news for the real estate industry. I personally feel like we are on the edge of a much better market. I just think everyone is a little scared to say anything, lest we upset the balance.

Here’s a link for you!

If you get your offer accepted on Saturday, it is too late!

Also, just a word, if your REALTOR backdates a contract for you to get your offer accepted “on time”, that is FRAUD! Do not attempt to talk your agent into committing fraud, and don’t bother asking me.