Michelle Sells Indy

Your West Side Indianapolis Realtor

GPS HomeSearch Now Available! January 19, 2011

Filed under: Buyers,Hendricks County,House & Home,Real Estate News,Sellers — Michelle Morris @ 9:35 am
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With Carpenter Realtors, you can now use your smartphone to search for homes right where you are!

Let’s say you’re in a neighborhood that you love, and you want to find more homes for sale nearby. At callcarpenter.com, you can search for homes for sale and they will be sorted by the nearest home within a  mile of your location. Drive to a different neighborhood, and your search results will change.

You can be in front of a home and download all of the info about that house right to your phone.

“We’re thrilled to be the first real estate firm in metro Indianapolis to offer a GPS search option on our mobile website,” said David Caveness, Senior VP of Carpenter Realtors®. “Home buyers will find this extremely helpful, convenient and fun when they’re driving a neighborhood looking at homes for sale.”

No need to use any other address, callcarpenter.com will automagically detect that you are on your smartphone and will redirect you to the mobile site. The GPS HomeSearch is completely free to use and will pull up ALL listings, not just Carpenter’s.

 “This reinforces our company’s commitment to offering the most cutting-edge technology to home buyers who want more information and more convenience during their search,” said Caveness. “Everyone at Carpenter Realtors® is excited to take the next step in offering a very cool feature to our “techie” customers.”

Once you find a home that you would like to tour, all you need to do is call me (317-450-4527), and I will be happy to show it to you!!

 

Hilbert Mansion Buyer Found!! October 6, 2010

Filed under: Indianapolis,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 9:27 am
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  • **UPDATE** 5pm, I am hearing word that Mr. Lucas’s winning bid was just $3 million!!!
  • **UPDATE** 1:11pm, WTHR Channel 13 is reporting that Forrest Lucas, the owner of Lucas Oil is the buyer! According to their news article, Lucas is planning to use the estate for community and corporate needs.

The Hilbert Mansion officially has a buyer! The estate was once priced at $21 million, and eventually dropped all the way down to $9.9 million before finally going to auction. My friend, Greg Cooper, one of the agents in charge of handling the marketing and sale of the Hilbert Mansion told me that they had many offers on the property, but none were able to make it to closing. One thing we know in real estate is that is isn’t finished until it is CLOSED!

A news conference is scheduled for 3pm today. Word is that the buyer will be announced and questions will be answered. I am assuming that if they are going public with this, it has actually closed– we will find out for sure when the press conference airs. Greg Cooper says that it has been over 5 years and 3 months that the Hilbert has been for sale.

To “tour” the property, click here: http://tours.tourfactory.com/tours/tour.asp?t=347580

 

REALTOR® Magazine–Fannie Mae Offers a Break to Service People September 29, 2010

Filed under: Financing,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 10:44 am

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Fannie Mae Offers a Break to Service People.

Thank you to my friend Kyle, who tells me that the correct terminology is “Military Service Personnel”.

 

The Great Pink Paper Panic May 5, 2010

Filed under: Homeowners,House & Home,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 12:32 pm
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OK, Hoosiers, in your property tax bill, there was a pink form that you need to fill out and return to be sure you do NOT lose your Homestead Property Tax Exemption!!! Sounds ominous, right?

Well, yes, it is true, you need to get that paper turned in to verify that you still qualify for the exemption. It IS a big deal, and losing that exemption WILL cost you money.

HOWEVER, you have until January 1, 2013 to get that paper filed. While it is certainly best to get it done now, you don’t have to panic if the paper has already been lost, shredded, thrown away or whatever. Just whatever you do, don’t forget about it over the next few years, saying you’ll do it later and then never actually getting it taken care of!

I’ll remind you.

Here’s more info for you!

 

End of Tax Credit? “SO WHAT?” Say Buyers! April 29, 2010

Filed under: Buyers,Economy,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 12:04 pm
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According to a survey done by our friends over at Prudential, buyers do not really care that the tax credit is going to end. Sure, it would be great to get the $8,000 in their pocket, but the end of the tax credit does NOT mean that they will change their mind about buying:

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!

 

4 Days Left to get Buyer’s Tax Credits! April 26, 2010

Filed under: Buyers,Economy,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 12:19 pm
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Attention buyers, you only have 4 days and about 10 hours left to get an offer accepted to take advantage of the tax credits!

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.

 

TAG– You’re it!! March 4, 2010

Filed under: Buyers,Events,Real Estate News,Sellers — Michelle Morris @ 9:43 am
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Carpenter Realtors is taking a big, bold step into the world of tech this week. We have a few cool new tools, including a new website (rolling out very soon!), some great new agent website designs, a fabulous contact management system for the agents, and best of all, a brand new marketing tool that YOU will love!

TAG IT!

Carpenter has partnered with Microsoft to be the ONLY Real Estate company East of the Mississippi to use this new technology company-wide. We are only the SECOND in the United States to use this. You will soon be seeing our TAG IT! program on our flyers, yard signs, business cards, brochures, TV show and pretty much everything Carpenter does.

So what the heck is that thing?? What you see to the left is a tag. We can use tags to direct people to a website, a virtual tour, a video, or to give them our vCard info, or tell their phone to call us! This particular tag will bring you to this blog.

HOW?? All you need to do is go to http://gettag.mobi on your smartphone (this will work on MOST phones, but not all…yet. My friend Michael is still waiting for it to work on his Palm Prē). The site will direct you to download the app. Once you have it loaded and set up on your phone, open the app and point your phone at the tag. Click “Snap” and the phone will take a picture of the tag. Microsoft’s Tag Reader will decode the tag and open up my blog right on your phone, automagically!

Read about our new TAG IT! program on the Indiana Business Journal website: http://www.ibj.com/newstalk/2010/03/02/tag-readers-come-to-real-estate/PARAMS/post/18426

When I list your house, I will create a tag for your home’s virtual tour or website and put it on the Take-One flyers we use, and probably on the yard sign too. The Mircosoft site will allow me to view reports that track how many people click the tag and when. Go ahead and try it out!

Comments? Questions? I want them!! I would also love to hear your crazy, creative ideas on how I can use this!

 

Hendricks County January 2010 Statistics February 27, 2010

Filed under: Avon,Brownsburg,Danville,Economy,Hendricks County,House & Home,Plainfield,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 11:03 am
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Curious about what the market is doing in Hendricks County? Here you go!

Hendricks County Jan 10 Stats

 

How to lose your real estate license! February 11, 2010

Filed under: Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 12:42 pm
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I just found this on YouTube, and I am in shock that this happens.

 

When is the best time to sell?? February 10, 2010

Filed under: Homeowners,Real Estate News,Sellers — Michelle Morris @ 11:38 am
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Austin Says: February 10, 2010 at 8:26 am 

Hi Michelle,

I’m most likely going to put my house up for sale sometime this year. How does weather (winter vs spring or summer) play a role in selling homes? I think it’s a safe assumption that more people shop for homes in the warmer months so you increase your buyer pool, but there’s also probably going to be more homes for sale which leads to more competition. Do you recommend particular times of the year for sellers to list their homes? Thanks!

Hi Austin!

I’m sure it just sounds like I’m trying to get you to list, but right now really is a good time to get your house on the market. Spring is generally the time when the most houses are sold. This year we have the added incentive of the tax credits to help us. You have to have an offer accepted by April 30th to take advantage of the tax credits. For people to see the house in time for that, and to decide that it really is a great house for them, we need some time to advertise it.

I would say that getting your house listed by the end of February, or early in March is wise, IF YOU ARE READY. Remember, the decision is totally up to you and you must decide what is right for your family.

Conversely, the “holiday” season in November and December tends to be a little slower for real estate. Buyers during that time are more focused, and you will see fewer showings, but they are more serious. In the Spring and Summer you are more likely to get people who are just out looking with no real intent to buy.

 

 
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