The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909.  In 1911 the first Indy 500 race took place. This weekend the Brickyard will be filled with race fans as well as well known NASCAR drivers.  "The term "Brickyard" is in reference to the nickname historically used for the Indianapolis Motor Speedwaybrick in 1909, and a one-yard strip of brick remains exposed the start/finish line" since 1910.  "Since the inaugural race, the Brickyard 400 has become NASCAR's most–attended event, drawing an estimated crowd of more than 250,000 fans annually. It also has become NASCAR's second highest paying race in dollars (behind the Daytona 500)."  - source wikipedia Some Familiar Faces will Be Participating at the Brickyard 400! Mark Martin Kasey Kahne Bobby Labonte  Denny Hamlin Tony Stewart Kyle Busch  B... 07/21/2010

Who doesn't love some Stephen Covey to get their business week started??   “Don't argue for other people's weaknesses. Don't argue for your own. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it / immediately.”   Stephen Covey   This next quote makes me stop in my track every time I read it, hear it, come across it.  Check out some of Stephen Covey's CD's (number 2 or 3) or his his books and you will understand this more completely.  “We may be very busy, we may be very efficient, but we will also be truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind.” Stephen Covey If you stop and think about how your want your life to be at the end, envisioning say your 90th birthday and you look out at your friends and family and think back to what you have accomplished, what will... 07/19/2010

A reminder to Indiana home buyers regarding the Tax Credit Extension For those of you frustrated with the delay in getting your transactions closed who actually had a fully executed purchase agreement on or before April 30th, don't fret.  This year's tax credit has been extended to September 30th. After much debate and other efforts to extend the incentive, congress approved the extension in the Home Buyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623) on June 30th.  It was signed by the President on July 2nd. For those of you who were not able to find an Indianapolis home before the deadline, it's still an opportune time to buy.  Interest rates are still very low.  In many cases you can own for less than you can rent here in Indianapolis. 07/18/2010

If waterfront properties were the barometer of the housing market, we'd have a pretty impressive story to tell.  In the first six months of 2009, only three homes on Geist Reservoir were sold, compared with 22 in the first six months of 2010!  The most expensive waterfront property sold was on 113th street for $2,000,000 with over 11,000 total square feet and four fireplaces and five full baths.  It had been on the market for several years and started at $3,500,000. Feather Cove and the Intracoastal at Geist saw the most activity with three sales each so far in 2010.  Bridgewater, Admirals Pointe and Feather Bay also saw two sales each.  While most of these homes took more than 200 days to sell; there were a few that sold in less than a week!  Having the right Geist Realtor will make a ... 07/17/2010

Broad Ripple Village Real Estate Market Report Following is the market report for the area known as Broad Ripple Village as of July 15th 2010. First, I'd like to apologize for getting this data out so late in the month! June was an interesting month in that the number of closed transactions saw a dramatic decrease from the previous month and even the same month, previous year.  In May 23 transactions were closed. Even June 2009 closed 18 transactions, while only 9 were closed in June of this year.  This was a bit surprising considering the tax credit expiration (although the date to close was recently extended).  Another interesting trend is that the number of active listings jumped up by 25% to 80 listings currently on the market... UPDATED REMINDER: The extension of the Tax Credit fo... 07/15/2010

Don’t wait until the Sheriff is knocking on the door of your Indianapolis Real Estate.     There are many ways to lose your home but having the Sheriff show up at your door is the hardest. For owners who can’t afford to keep mortgage payments current any longer or are behind already on their mortgage, there are alternatives to bankruptcy or foreclosure. One of those options is called a "short sale." More than half of our listing inventory are Short Sales and Foreclosures. When lenders agree to do a short sale property on your home, it means the lender is accepting less than the total amount that is owing. It is at your lender/s discretion whether they accept to approve your home for an Indianapolis Short Sale listing, but it is worth a try! If you are considering buying or selling India... 07/13/2010

This is an old blog that I am reposting with some updates. With the decline in the housing markets, I felt it prudent to add to the list of items to watch for... Building a home can be a great experience...or a nightmare. As a local real estate agent I often see the long term effects of decisions made by people choosing to build a home. My past also includes 10 years as a new home sales consultant with both local and national builders. With this experience many of my clients build new homes with great success. With that in mind here are a few tips to help you should you decide to build:Have Representation: Hire an agent to represent you during the building process who has experience with builders. I know what you're thinking, of course I'll say that as an agent. However with 10 years ex... 07/12/2010

07/12/2010

As an Indianapolis Realtor, homeowner and HGTV enthusiast, I like to to know as much as I can about design trends. I was excited to learn recently that when it comes to kitchen flooring trends, wood is good. So is bamboo, cork, brick, and even cement! Updated flooring is usually a worthwhile and popular investment for homeowners, who should always know which trends are hot and which are not (vinyl!) before embarking on a home improvement project! A Timeless Classic Wood floors, for a time considered too high maintenance for the heavy traffic of a kitchen, are making a comeback. Actually, wood flooring has never really been out of style. That's because wood adds charm, value and comfort like few other surfaces can. It complements any décor and, if you go with solid wood flooring, it can ... 07/07/2010

    My business partner Pam and I work on numerous Indianapolis IN Short Sales.  If there is a tough Short Sale, my office comes to me to ask my thoughts or what would I do.  I help my broker out when one of his assistants occasionally gets stuck on a Short Sale. There is a lot to Indianapolis Short Sales and it changes constantly, and we have to roll with it and push forward on behalf of our clients. Last week one of my broker's Short Sales got hung up again.  It had been hung up once because the file kept being reassigned to negotiators.  In short, the file fell thru the cracks.  My broker's assistant Lisa and I pushed and pushed and finally got an approval. Now, we are a couple of days before closing and it turns out that the buyers agent forgot to turn in to us a name change in the ... 07/05/2010

We hear every day that you get what you pay for. Consumers apply this logic to many facets of their lives. If you need legal counsel or need to see a doctor, you are going to select based on their expertise, not on their hourly rate. We hire them because they can help us. We understand that the experts may charge more but in the long run will cost us less. We apply this logic to most things. So why don't we apply that same knowledge when selecting a realtor? Too often one of the first questions a seller asks is "What do you charge" or "what is your rate?". I think sellers ask the wrong questions because they don't know which questions to ask. So here they are...The list of interview questions you should be asking your agent: Why should we select you as our Realtor? What areas do you spe... 06/30/2010

  Life goes on. Despite the difficult economy, Americans are changing jobs, relocating, or moving to homes that better suit their current needs. For some Indianapolis homeowners faced with the prospect of a mandatory move and real estate that just won’t sell, becoming a landlord becomes the only option. Not the preferred option, in most cases, but an option nonetheless.  If you’re planning to rent out your home, consider the following tips and advice. Be Realistic Just because your mortgage payment is X amount, doesn’t mean you’ll cover all that in rent. A local Realtor can give you a good idea of how much your home should rent for by providing you with a list of comparable rentals in your area. Or, you can research newspaper advertisements and online resources yourself.  If you want to... 06/30/2010

Homes for Sale in Perry Township - SOLD by the Hoagland Group: 7207 Rose DriveListed 4/15/2010 $129,900              Sold 4/21/2010 $128,500   Lovely New Kitchen! This was a lovely, hard to find 4 bedroom 2 bath ranch home on a quiet street in Perry Township. It was well cared for and included many updates including a recent kitchen remodel featuring beautiful custom maple cabinetry. With both a living room and spacious family room, there was plenty of room to stretch out! The dry, unfinished basement was a perfect play area, workshop, exercise room or ready to be finished as additional living space. Other amenities included hardwood floors, 2 car oversized garage, new energy efficient furnace with air cleaner & humidifier(2009), new water softener(2008), city water, .35 acre lot, fence... 06/29/2010

Family fun outings can stimulate some great intellectual conversations. Here's an example from a recent outing to the Indianapolis Zoo: Family Fun Planner: Baboons are really ugly.Insightful Teen:  The babies are cute, though.Family Fun Planner: I guess.Insightful Teen:  All babies are cute. Try to think of one that isn't cute.Family Fun Planner: Thinking....Insightful Teen:  Well, except human babies. They're not cute at all. She has a point. Most animal babies are adorable. (At risk of offending anyone, I won't comment on the human babies situation.) And the Indianapolis Zoo on a Friday evening was the perfect place and time to view cute animal babies as well as their adult counterparts. We pulled into the zoo parking lot at about 4:30 pm, just as everyone else was heading home. It wa... 06/28/2010

Surrounding Geist Reservoir are the Admirals neighborhoods including Admirals Bay, Admirals Pointe, Admirals Sound, Admirals Woods, and Admirals Landing. There are currently 51 homes for sale in the Admirals today.  The most expensive home is in the Admirals Sound at $2,500,000 located at 9080 Bay Breeze Court with over 10,000 sq ft, 6 bedrooms and 8 full baths!  It also has an inground 50 x 20 Gunnite pool and a five car garage. Today I am highlighting just Admirals Sound in Geist located on the west side of Oaklandon Road from Fox Road.  There are 333 homes in the Admirals Sound neighborhood built in the early 1990s.  Many of them are water front homes with access to a deeded boat dock and the lake. Currently there are 19 listed actively for sale in Admirals Sound ranging from $350,00... 06/25/2010

If you are interested in obtaining a VA Home Loan, Here are 4 key steps to obtaining VA Home Loans in Indianapolis, IN If you are a member of the military, it's important to know you can obtain a Veterans Affairs (VA) guaranteed home loan. Obtaining this type of loan offers a few advantages: Your interest rate is typically lower than the rate you would obtain without the VA guaranty You can obtain a loan with little or no down payment The amount required for closing costs will be less than if you obtain a loan without a VA guaranty Following is a brief overview of the steps involved in applying for a VA backed loan Step 1: Find out if you qualify.  Obviously you must be a member of the military or have a certain relationship with military personnel to qualify.  You'll need to complete V... 06/22/2010

Not too long ago I was contacted by a client who was in desperate need of help organizing some spaces in her home. She explained to me that the clutter and stuff had gotten so bad that she hated coming home. That she didn't feel comfortable inviting her family and friends over for dinner. It had come to the point where she was completely overwhelmed. Clutter brings chaos to our lives. It has a way of piling up and piling up until we feel it closing in on us. The tough part is once it gets so bad most people don't know how to begin the process of purging. I set off to help my client organize her family room, dining room and her daughter's bedroom. When I arrived at my client's home, I had no clue how bad it really was. As I started to look around her home it came to me that there was an ... 06/19/2010

    Helpful Tips for Staging the Bathroom When you decide to put your home on the market you have to change the way that you view your home. You see your home is no longer a home at all; it is now a product for sell. Knowing that you are now selling a product you must put your home on display in sort of the same way that a department store displays their items for sell. Your focus should be on making sure that your home is clutter free, painted the right colors that all necessary repairs have been made and that the home is q-tip clean. Buyers have many choices and options in today's market that means that you have to make sure that you set yourself apart for all of the other homes for sale in your area. You also want to have a fair chance against your Staged competition. When buyers tou... 06/18/2010

Geist is hosting the Blast from the Bridge again this year; fireworks over Geist Reservoir.  There probably isn't a better place to see the fireworks this year; assuming the weather cooperates.  If you are unfamiliar with this part of town, I have linked to a Geist Map. The bridge will close to "car" traffic at 5:30 and open to "pedestrians at 6:00.  It will reopen to "car" traffic at 11:00 p.m. on the 4th.  Fireworks will begin at dusk (approximately 10:00 p.m.) and will last for 30 minutes.  There is free parking at Holy Spirit, but not until about 6:15 due to Mass. In addition to the fireworks there will also be a boat parade.  The theme this year is a Patriotic Salute to the 70's.  It will make the whole event very festive! Tom Britt is very active in the Geist Community with the At... 06/17/2010

The Hoagland Group just SOLD 421 Narcissus Drive, Indianapolis IN  46227 Beautiful home in the popular Perry Township neighborhood of Hill Valley. If you happen to live in Hill Valley, stop by and say "hi" to your new neighbor!  This one is sold, but there are may other lovely Hill Valley homes for sale.  Click on the slide show below to see similar Perry Township properties.   Originally posted by Steve & Tonda Hoagland on Active Rain Blog, www.Indychats.com 06/17/2010