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Fall home maintenance tips

Whether we like it or not, Fall is here and it is time to make sure that our homes are in the condition to stand up to the weather and save energy also!

Below are some tips compliments of Home Warranty of America

Home Maintenance

Examine Your Roof & Gutters. It is best to inspect and clean the gutters a few times during the fall, especially if there are many leafy trees surrounding your home. Clear away leaves, dirt, and pine needles from your gutters. Read more Drain Your Hot Water Heater. If you live in an area with hard water, extra amounts of sediments could be building up in your tank. Fall is the perfect time to drain and make sure rust is not developing in your tank as well. Read more Clean & Store Outdoor Furniture. Summer is over which means it’s time to wash outdoor furniture and cushions. Once dry, store cushions in a dry area to prevent cracking and fading over the fall and winter months. Read more Check Out Your Chimney. Have your chimney professionally cleaned and inspected before using your fireplace. It’s important to remove built up soot, nests, and other materials that could present a fire hazard. Read more Check for Gaps. To test for gaps, insert a dollar bill in the gaps around your windows and doors. If the dollar bill goes in, then you know your money is going out the window due to energy loss. Read more

Go Green with These Energy Saving Tips

Turn Down Your Thermostat. Heating accounts for approximately 70% of a home’s energy bill. The simple act of turning down your thermostat at night or while you are gone during the day will go a long way to reducing your energy bills. Read more Save On Your Water Bill. Using less water and on the cold water setting will still clean your clothes as well as using warm or hot water, and you’ll save money by not heating water to wash clothes. Read more Compost in the Fall. Compost is a rich, organic soil conditioner for your lawn and garden. Put raked leaves and other yard wastes in a compost bin and keep these materials out of landfills. Read more Buy Recyclable Fall Items. When stocking up on cold-weather gear, buy recycled-content items such as fleece clothing and blankets made from recycled soda bottles and snow shovels made from recycled plastic. Read more Go Green in the Garage. Empty out unused fuel from any gas-powered equipment stored in the garage, such as a lawnmower, because sediment can build up and clog the fuel lines. Read more

Indianapolis Home Idea and Food Festival

Thinking of remodeling your home or adding an outdoor entertaining area?  Then why not visit the Indianapolis Home Idea and Food Festival this weekend, September 23, 24 & 25th at the Indiana State Fair grounds.

Featuring:

Kitchen and Bath expo and seminars

Indiana Winery tastings

Craft beer sampling -Friday 5-8 pm, Saturday 1-4 pm and 5-8 pm, Sunday 1-4pm.  Proceeds benefiting Gleaners Food Bank

Discount coupon attached

 

 

Geist Waterfront Statistics for YTD 2011

Statistics – 1/1/11 – 9/12/11

Geist Waterfront

Current Listings:  44

• Highest priced new Geist waterfront listings:

Fall Creek Township – Confidential Listing$5,500,000 (I think we all know whose home this is, it has been in the news a lot lately)  This price remains the same since it was listed.

Lawrence Township – 9873 N. Hampton Cove Lane $2,790000, previously listed for $3,800,000 a decrease of  approximately 27%

Sales/Pendings:  19 sales/6 pendings

Fall Creek Township – 11647 Fall Creek Road sold for $1,225000 and was listed at $1,295,000

Lawrence Township – 9080 Bay Breeze Ct. sold for $1,225,000 and was originally  listed for $5,500,000, most recently listed for $1,950,000

During the period 1/1/10 – 9/1/10, there were also 19 homes sold on Geist, but only one was over $1,000,000.  During this same period this year, there have been 6 sales over $1,000,000.

If you are interested in the statistics for your neighborhood, contact me and I will be glad to give you that information!!

How to lower your property taxes

Have home prices decreased in your area?  Do you feel your property tax assessment is out of line?

The good news is, you can try to get your property reassessed.

Local governments typically don’t measure values every year which means that your current property taxes might reflect your home’s value when the market was healthier.

1)Fact check the assessor’s work by reviewing your “property record card”.  About half of all successful appeals come from homeowners pointing out an error in the assessor’s description of their home.  You may be inadvertently assessed with a finished basement when yours is in fact unfinished, you may be assessed for a luxurious back yard like your neighbor down the street when your just has a flower garden, your square footage may be incorrect.  Assessors do make mistakes.  Simply come armed with the proof of the mistake.

2)The key to a successful appeal of your property value is comparable sales or “comps”.  Consult a real estate professional in your area who can pull “comps” of sales in your area.  If the sales were “arm’s length” sales or distressed sales, the assessor may not use them to value your home.  You might even consider consulting a professional appraiser to value your home.

Be cautious, it could backfire on you.  If you have made recent updates to your home, like adding granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, added a deck, put on a new roof, these items could drive your value up instead.

Is your home not selling? Try incentives to help it sell….

Are you stuck on the market with no bites from buyers?  Are you finding your home struggling to compete against other similarly priced homes?

Why not offer to the potential buyer?  These incentives actually fill a real need for the home buyer:

1)  Interest rate buy down – You as a seller can offer to pay a point or two to the buyer’s lender to buy down their rate, thus reducing their monthly payment.

2)Closing cost credit -  Many buyers are trying to buy now while the rates are low and may already be scraping the bottom of their savings account to come up with their down payment.  Closing costs can run anywhere from 3-6% of the loan amount, this is on top of their down payment.  A seller can offer to pay a flat amount towards the buyer’s closing costs or a percentage of the loan amount to assist with their closing costs.

3)HOA dues credit – Some homes require homeowners’ association dues (HOA) that are charged monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.  A seller can offer a credit to the buyer for these dues which will lessen the buyers monthly or upfront costs.

4)Broker incentives – A seller can offer a buyers agent a bonus in the form of an extra percentage point or flat amount of commission.

Get creative, you never know what might make that buyer waiting in the wings take the plunge!!

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