Michelle Sells Indy

Your West Side Indianapolis Realtor

Tis the Season to put your house on the market. January 21, 2011

Filed under: Buyers,Real Estate News,Sellers — Michelle Morris @ 1:16 pm
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You’ve surely heard that interest rates are still great for buyers, and everyone knows that Spring is the best time of year to try to sell your house. But I still have people telling me that they are going to wait a bit before they try to sell. Well, waiting is a bad idea!

Every year, as we look at the home sales from month to month, we talk about the Seasonal Weighting Factors. We use these to make projections on how the year will progress. Based on previous years, we can see that January typically accounts for about 7.4% of the PENDING SALES IN MIBOR. That is, homes with accepted offers.

Here’s a chart (thanks to my husband who understands Excel) that shows what percentage of houses typically pend in each month…

weightingfactors (Click please! I can’t make it appear as a picture for some reason)

It is clear that March is the busiest time of year for pending sales. Many people think they can just wait until March and put their house on the market, and it will sell right away. What they forget is that buyers usually take at least 2 months to find the right house, and start looking online even before that. It takes a little bit of time to get all the advertising into the hands of the buyers and for them to set up an appointment to see your house and then to make the decision to move forward.

So, RIGHT NOW is the perfect time of year to get your house listed, because in the real estate world, it is already Spring!!

 

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!!

 

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.

 

Code to Require Fire Sprinkler Systems October 29, 2008

Filed under: Building,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 2:46 pm
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Beginning in 2011, fire sprinklers will be required in all single and double family homes and townhomes under a rule approved recently by the International Code Council. Supporters of the code cite fire safety issues, and say that the sprinklers will help people have more time to escape a fire. Others worry about the cost of these systems and how that will effect the total cost of new housing and maintenence costs.

 

1 in 6 Homeowners Upside Down October 9, 2008

Filed under: Financing,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 1:31 pm
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Realtor magazine is reporting that about 16% of homeowners (or 1 out of every 6) owe more on their mortgage than they would be able to sell the home for. The situation is even worse for people who bought their homes within the past 5 years and haven’t had a chance to build up equity. Last year, only about 6% of homeowners were upside down in their mortgages, and the year before, it was only about 4%.

Really, I wouldn’t worry too much about this if you have no plans for moving in the near future. The market will stabilize and prices will begin to rise again and as time goes by, you will be paying your mortgage down which will help build equity. The problem comes when people who are upside down (or close) need to move. Sometimes, you think you have no plans to move and then something in your life suddenly changes. When that happens, I often see people who have to find a way to bring money to the closing table to sell their home.

Are you curious?? If you would like to know what the market is doing in your Indy-area neighborhood, I can do a quick (read: not as accurate as it could be, but still useful) Comparative Market Analysis for your property and just e-mail you the results. All I need to know is your address, number of bedrooms & bathrooms, amenities, and things like that. I can give you a ballpark figure with no cost or obligation. Just send me an e-mail (mmorris@callcarpenter.com) with the info and I can help you figure out if you are upside down in your mortgage.

 

This Fall is a Particularly GREAT time to buy! September 12, 2008

Filed under: Buyers,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 2:29 pm
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With everything the real estate industry has been through, this fall may be the best time to buy we have seen in years. I really think the market is beginning to shake loose from it’s standstill and there are many reasons that you should buy now if you are thinking about buying a home.

* The market is beginning to stabilize. With the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, things are beginning to calm down, and home prices are beginning to rise again. Home prices are about as low as they are going to get.

* Interest rates are LOW and going down. Loans are very affordable right now.

* FHA has upped it’s Jumbo Loan limits to $729,750 in expensive areas. It’s going to take some of that back come Jan. 1, when the loan limit will shrink to $625,500.

* The $7,500 tax credit won’t be around forever!

The only drawback is that the popular Down Payment Assistance is going away. Previously, buyers could literally get into a home with no money down by asking the seller to pay their closing costs and down payment. This could have been a contributing factor to some of the foreclosure problems that got us all into this mess in the first place. People who really couldn’t afford a home were buying them. Now, the government is saying that, yes, you DO need to have some money saved up to buy a house.

Overall, I am very excited to be a REALTOR® in this market! Leave your comments below, and let me know what you think about the current real estate market.

 

Do you Qualify for a $7,500 tax credit? September 4, 2008

Filed under: Buyers,Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 3:24 pm
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The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 provides a $7,500 tax credit for qualified first-time home buyers who purchased homes between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009. Do you qualify for the tax credit? Call me to find out for sure!

First-time home buyer– any buyer who has not owned a principal residence within the past 3 years prior to the purchase. For married couples, neither person can have owned a home in the past 3 years. Ownership of a vacation home or a rental property not used as a principal residence does not disqualify you from being a “first-time buyer”.

How do I claim the credit? When you file your federal income taxe return, you will claim the credit. No other forms or applications are necessary.

Income dependant– The credit received depends on your income. Partial credits may be available for people who earn more than the Adjusted Gross Income limits. Credit will be phased out until it reaches the limit where it becomes completely unavailable ($95,000 for single filers, $170,000 for joint returns).

Home purchased is under $75,000– Generally, the credit is equal to 10% of the qualified home’s purchase price, capped at $7,500. Most people will get the whole $7,500 credit, unless they exceed the income limits OR purchase a home under $75,000, in which case they will get 10% of the purchase price.

Credit is refundable– even if you do not have a tax liability, or your liability is less than $7,500 they will send you a check for the credit (a refund).

Repayment– This tax credit DOES need to be repaid to the government. Home buyers who receive the credit will need to repay the credit over 15 years (or when the home is sold, if there is sufficient capital gain) with NO interest. The credit will be repaid at $500 per year, starting 2 years after it is claimed. Basically, this is a zero interest LOAN from the government.

Some people are wondering if they should take this credit at all. That is a question for your tax accountant or financial planner. I think that if you do not need it for any specific reason, then you might not want to take it. However, if you have credit cards or other debts with interest, it might make sense to use this money to pay off those higher-interest debts.

 

Hip-Hop fan? Buy a Hip-Hop House! August 22, 2008

Filed under: Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 1:19 pm
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OK, that title is a little silly, but it’s true, you can be the new owner of a famous rapper’s home. Actually, there are 5 that were reported…

Suge Knight. After he filed for bankruptcy and lost control of his record company, Death Row Records founder Suge Knight’s $6.2 million mansion went up for sale last year.

Kanye West. The Grammy-winning rapper’s six-bedroom, 35,000-square-foot Beverly Hills, Calif., mansion went up for sale six months ago for $8.7 million.

Russell Simmons. The Saddle River, N.J., manse of producer Russell Simmons is for sale for $20 million.

50 Cent. Rapper 50 Cent’s Farmington, Conn., 19-bedroom, 50,000-square foot mansion went on the market last year for $18.5 million.

Scott Storch. The hip-hop producer’s $10 million mansion is located on Miami Beach’s exclusive, manmade Palm Island. Storch, recently hitless and two years delinquent on property taxes, is facing foreclosure.

Now, I’m not big into rap, but even I know who most of these guys are. I think it would be pretty cool to own one of their homes. Hey, maybe you’ve even seen these homes on “Cribs”, MTV’s show where they feature the homes of famous artists. You can actually say you have a home on “Cribs”! Holla!

Source: Forbes, Peter Hoy (08/18/2008 )

 

Living with your Ex August 14, 2008

Filed under: Economy,Financing,Homeowners — Michelle Morris @ 3:56 pm
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We know that the housing market isn’t especially wonderful right now. Selling a home is taking longer than it used to, and some are having a hard time selling at all. Some people are finding that it is so difficult to get their home sold that they are staying put, even if it means living with their ex! Jenifer Goodwin at the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on this.

Divorce is hard enough, but when there is property in the mix, it is even rougher. Imagine that what stands between you and an amiable split is a home that won’t sell. “They used to fight over who was going to keep the house,” says Marc Angelucci, a family law attorney with the Men’s Legal Center in downtown San Diego. “Now they’re fighting to get away from the house.”

Read the full story here, at RealtorMagazine

 

Yesterday’s Compliance deadline spelled trouble for some mortgage brokers August 6, 2008

Filed under: Real Estate News — Michelle Morris @ 3:31 pm
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New changes in Indiana law now require mortgage brokerages to have a principal manager who has passed a competency exam, and some area brokerages have missed the compliance dealine set for this requirement. This took effect in July 2007 so lenders have had plenty of time to get this done, and it was last month that they were told they had until yesterday to comply or lose their license. The law also requires loan officers to pass background checks and register with the state.

360 Indiana mortgage companies have failed to meet the compliance deadline and will face the consequences. It will be a long process, so be sure to check before you talk with any mortgage company to be sure they are licensed and have complied with competency laws.

Read the IndyStar.com article here

Check the Secretary of State’s site to see which companies have missed the deadline.

 

 
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