This is the first blog post for Geist Waterfront Real Estate; I currently write for Fishers Real Estate and Carmel Real Estate and one of my team mates writes for Noblesville Real Estate. Geist Reservoir is a 1,900 acre waterway that is located in Marion, Hamilton and Hancock counties.  It was originally built in the early 1940's as an additional source of water.  It is named after Clarence Geist, who was a former owner of the Indianapolis Water Company and instrumental in envisioning Geist Reservoir as a solution to the deficit in the Indianapolis water supply. There are currently 42 active homes for sale in Geist in these three counties that are on the Geist Reservoir.  They range in price from $235,000 for a condo in Shorewalk (where the monthly maintenance fees run nearly $300 month... 04/08/2010

Broad Ripple Village Real Estate Market Report Following is the market report for the area known as Broad Ripple Village as of April 5th 2010. WOW, What a month!  March sales saw a significant increase over last year's sales.  In addition, the average sales price was much higher than last year.  Not only did sales do well, there were six additional properties listed in the month of March which brings the current number of active listings to 74.  All in all, these numbers are very promising.  Not only did we see better numbers than we did last month, but we saw significantly more activity than we did this time last year! REMINDER: The extension of the Tax Credit for New Home Buyers (or those that haven't owned in 3 years) requires a fully executed contract before May 1st.  If you're inte... 04/06/2010

  Keller Williams Realty      Indy Metro SW   2541 Braxton Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46229                         Open House Saturday  April 24th 12: - 3: pm Blc # 21017969 Warren Township Open house Call Listing Agent:  Shannon M Thomas cell:  317-681-4044 Open house this week end! Saturday 12: -3: 4 Bedroom 2 and 1/2 Bath 2 Car garage Keller Willaims Realty  The Stewart Home Group Large open concept living room Dining Combo, Beautiful Kitchen with all stainless steal appliances. Large master suite with garden tub, separate shower, walk in closet.  The House is being sold as is-  possible short sale. If you would like more information call Shannon M Thomas REALTOR® SFR Warren Township Schools Warren Township open house   Cell: 317-681-4044 email: shannonthomas@kw.com   04/06/2010

Brendonwood in Indianapolis is like living in your own private retreat.  This is one unique Lawrence township neighborhood originally planned by Charles Lewis.  Brendonwood Common, Inc. was established in 1917 and encompasses 350 acres with approx 113 homes built anywhere from 1895 to 2008.  Want a home with a large yard?  The home sites in Brendonwood average just over an acre to 3 ½ acres.  Some home sites actually measure in at almost 7 acres!  How often do you see that in neighborhood smack dab in the middle of the city? The architectural styles in this neighborhood vary just as much as the lot shapes and sizes.  As you drive through the neighborhood, you’ll find traditional American homes, Tudors, typical Ranch style homes, even some with a contemporary flare all of which are cust... 03/31/2010

Lake Kesslerwood is an Indianapolis neighborhood where custom homes abound!  When looking for one of Indianapolis’ top rated neighborhoods, Lake Kesslerwood is one of those neighborhoods that come to mind.  Lake Kesslerwood is located on Indianapolis’ Northeast side and is divided by a man-made lake into Lake Kesslerwood East and Lake Kesslerwood West.  Homes here were built during the 80’s and 90’s on spacious lots, the majority of which are on the lake.  Want to live in a neighborhood that isn’t made from your standard cookie cutter mold?  Lake Kesslerwood is a community full of custom built homes.  Here you’ll be hard-pressed to find any two homes that are alike.  The architectural styles range from traditional American to contemporary.  Typical home prices currently range from $295... 03/29/2010

Indianapolis Condos for Sale Are you looking for a home that has an urban lifestyle?  Maybe the Real Silk Lofts, Indianapolis in the Mass Ave. Arts District are for you. Several of these lofts include high ceilings, brick walls, exposed beams and more.  Amenities include a workout room, lap pool and sauna.            The Real Silk Hosiery Mills in Indianapolis was the largest shipper of COD parcel post packages.  It was founded by brothers Jack and Lazure Goodwin in 1922. They were very successful and were one of the three biggest manufacturing units in the industry. The stock market collapse depressed Real Silk's market and the company had extreme loss due to the price of raw silk plummeting and ended up owing a considerable amount to a couple of lenders.  Gustave Efroymson, former pre... 03/26/2010

You have to push on your Short Sales to get things done for your clients!     Well, we survived another Short Sale battle. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that we wouldn't-the issue didn't make any sense.     At the last minute-I.E., day before closing, the negotiator with Chase bank, who mind you, had been on top of communication until this point, received the final settlement statement for closing.  She said that investor would not allow prepaids for the buyer to be paid by the seller/bank on this file. Prepaids??? We have closed dozens and dozens of files where the seller/bank paid prepaids on the buyers behalf on the HUD.  I immediately told our title company that I would handle it.  I called our sellers to let them know the issue, as well as the buyers agent, in case I was still pu... 03/24/2010

      The current Real Estate Market has created many fantastic Investment Opportunties throughout the country.  Prices are down foreclosures/HUD Homes etc. are coming on the market daily, creating many great chances for investors to buy Real Estate at a discount, rehab the properties, and sell for a profit.        We at The Andrew Neal Group at Century 21 Scheetz in the Indianapolis area love to invest and help other investors profit from buying HUD/Foreclosure Properties, help rehab the property, and then we sell it for a substantial profit.  Here is a video below of one of the homes we are working on currently in the South Broad Ripple area on the Northside of Indianapolis, a hot area for investing.   Before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99fmH-CmpWc After: http://www.youtube.com/us... 03/22/2010

I scored tickets to the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis with hopes that my Kansas Jayhawks would join me there.  That dream was dashed Saturday night when said Jayhawks choked on their No. 1 ranking and let Northern Iowa sneak into the Sweet Sixteen. No worries, though! I still have a Daughtry concert to look forward to!  Daughtry and the Goo Goo Dolls headline two days of a free three-day concert series April 2-4 presented as part of the NCAA Tournament's Final Four action. For those wondering Why so excited?, the rock band Daughtry is fronted by former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry from Season 5. Although Daughtry (the man, not the band) was robbed of the American Idol title that year, I'm pretty sure a subsequent No.1 selling album (Daughtry) and several hit singles (It's N... 03/22/2010

Indianapolis, IN Real Estate - Open House in Diamond Ridge on Sunday     We invite everyone to visit our open house at 6642 Trail Ridge Way on  March 21, 2010 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. More details on this beautiful Franklin Township executive home   03/17/2010

Updated: Mar 15, 2010 11:17 AM EDT   Indianapolis - Sales of more expensive homes are on the rise in Indianapolis. The report for February on the Indianapolis area housing market shows sales of homes priced from a quarter of a million to half a million dollars increased 10 percent. Sales of luxury homes from half a million to millions of dollars surged 50 percent. However, sales of homes from $75,000 to $150,000 were down four percent. Homes priced less than $75,000 were also down in sales by 13 percent.         03/16/2010

Do you want your home to sell?   Have you ever wondered why some homes sell a lot faster than others?  I think that most of us have.  Key factors to consider when listing your home for sale are: *Price  *Tidiness of the Home, Interior and Exterior  *Make Minor Repairs  Price-You have to be priced competitively with the other homes in your area. I know firsthand this can be difficult to swallow if you had a lot of equity before the downward spiral that real estate took and now you don't.  You have to figure out if it is truly important for you to sell your home, or if you should ride it out until real estate starts to head on a strong path upwards value wise before you sell.   Tidiness of the Home-Is your home neat, tidy and organized?  It needs to be for you to get maximum $ for your ho... 03/11/2010

We were incredibly fortunate to be able to spend a week on Maui. Talk about LOCATION! I suppose if you lived or worked on Maui there would be places that are more desirable than others. Certainly ocean front would be a contender. Although we were flying there at the same time "the tsunami that wasn't" was churning up 2 foot waves. In case of a real tsunami, I would guess that ocean front wouldn't be nearly as desirable as mountain high. However, no matter how undesirable the Maui location may seem to a local, it is still MAUI! Fast forward to a week later. It's Indiana and location is entirely different. Everything in life must be taken in context and real estate location is no different. I see lots and houses and commerecial or retail property every day that sells at a premium or a dis... 03/10/2010

  Unfortunately, foreclosures are pretty common in the Indianapolis, Indiana area as in most parts of the country. Marion County alone has over 500 properties listed as bank owned. Just mentioning the word foreclosure to home buyers can bring out a series of mixed emotions. Some believe that foreclosures are trashed out money pits, but that is not always the case. Others think that they can steal a home if it’s been through foreclosure and owned by the bank. Neither case is actually true in every situation. It is accurate that when listed bank owned homes are typically listed for less than market value. How much less depends on the home itself and the bank that owns it. Before purchasing a bank owned home it is important to have the home inspected even if the bank states upfront that t... 03/05/2010

Always on the lookout for fun modes of Indianapolis entertainment, my ears perked up recently when a friend mentioned the American Cabaret Theatre. I added it to my Things to Google list, and my search results confirmed the suggestion that The Cabaret is a worthwhile way to spend an evening in downtown Indianapolis! This year, especially, seems like a great time to visit since 2010 is all about new for the acclaimed ensemble. With a new location in the historic Columbia Club on Monument Circle, a new name - now simply The Cabaret - and a new dinner service, the Indianapolis theater group admittedly is seeking to set the stage for a reputation on par with more world-renowned venues in New York and Chicago. What remains the same is the theater's commitment to bringing world-class original... 03/02/2010

 Broad Ripple Village Real Estate Market Info Following is the market report for the area known as Broad Ripple Village as of March 1st 2010. There was a significant increase in the number of sold listings between January (3) and Februrary (8).  Februrary also saw an increase in the number of active listings.  Let's hope that's an indicator of consumer confidence in the local market.  Spring is just around the corner which will also bring a flurry of activity to the market. The extension of the Tax Credit for New Home Buyers (or those that haven't owned in 3 years) in addition to existing homeowners being able to receive a credit will hopefully keep the positive activity flowing. Current Active Listings 68 Min Price: $89,900 Max Price: $489,900 20 Condo, 48 Single Family Pending Listin... 03/01/2010

Indianapolis foreclosures are still accounting for a big portion of total home sales in the city despite a decline in foreclosure activity in 2009 and in January this year, according to interviews with local realtors. According to realtors, bank foreclosures accounted for around 24 percent of all home sales over the past few months, pushing home prices down by about 3 to 4 percent. They also said that about 16 percent of all new real estate listings were foreclosures. The length of time to sell a home, however, improved from nearly 11 months to nine months, as more first time buyers and move-up buyers are taking advantage of the enhanced federal tax credit program. The realtors also said that investors continue to be more aggressive in finding lower-priced foreclosures as homes in India... 02/22/2010

 Credit Repair in Indiana National Credit Fixers: 330 Roberts Street Suite 402 East Hartford CT 06108 phone: 860-282-6181. National Credit Fixers boasts of 14 years experience repairing low FICO scores. Whether your credit has been damaged by a foreclosure, bankruptcy, slow credit, collections, judgments, repossessions, etc. we can help. We are the experts in credit restoration and credit repair. We have helped numerous residents of Indiana. We are experts in Indiana Credit Repair. Many people are confused about how to go about repairing their credit and even more confused about who to go to.  Here at National Credit Fixers each client has a credit repair specialist that assists the client in not only building better, positive items but also help in removing those bad credit items that ... 02/21/2010

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail is an urban bike and pedestrian trail that connects downtown neighborhoods, cultural districts and entertainment venues.  The grant will be used to complete the project which was started in 2007. If you visit downtown for the occasional shopping, dinner, show or sporting event, you've probably noticed signs labeling the five different cultural districts all connected by the Cultural Trail:  Fountain Square, Indiana Avenue, Mass Ave, The Canal& White River State Park, and the Wholesale District. The trail will also connect with the Monon Trail, allowing visitors easy access to Broad Ripple Village from downtown.      In addition to the Cultural Trail enhancing the lives of Indianapolis residents and visitors, the grant will also bring jobs and stimulate d... 02/20/2010

The Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis announced this week that builder permits more than doubled in Indianapolis in January compared to January of 2009.  The document they released shows that permits were up to 290 last month from 131 a year ago.  Hancock county had the biggest percenage change - up 550% to 13 permits compared to a year ago.  Hamilton County gained 111% to 112 permits from 53 in Janauary 2009.  Boone County was up 367% to 42 permits compared to 9 in 2009. Johnson County was up 67% and Hendricks County was up 277%. This is great news for builders and the industry.  Obviously, much of the upside is due to buyers taking advantage of the the tax credit to build a new home. First and second time buyers can still take advantage of the tax credit and must purchase a... 02/19/2010