I was doing a little research on my own, both here in Active Rain and in the outside world.  Figured I could post some links to the sites I found that actually made sense to me:Using the Competition to Boost your SEO Performance A step by step, short article on using your competitions keywords to begin really improving your own keywords, links, and SEO.  Looking a little closer at our local real estate site for Porter County (Northwest Indiana region) Synergy Thoughts, I don't think we have competitors as much as possible collaborators.How to protect your search engine rankings  This article is a little less useful than the first, but has a couple ideas for making sure you don't get in trouble with search engines.  I particularly found the "page rank" idea very useful."The Fifth Estate ... 03/18/2007

Unless the buyer who makes an offer on your home has the resources to qualify for a mortgage, you may not really have a sale. If possible, try to determine a buyer's financial status before signing the contract. Ask:1. If the buyer has been prequalified or preapproved (better) for a mortgage. Such buyers will be in a much better position to obtain a mortgage promptly. 2. Does the buyer have enough money to make a downpayment and cover closing costs? Ideally, a buyer should have 20 percent of the home's price as a downpayment and between 2 and 7 percent of the price to cover closing costs.3. Is the buyer's income sufficient to afford your home? Ideally, buyers should spend no more than 28 percent of total income to cover PITI (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance).4. Does your buyer... 03/06/2007

How High Tech Is Your Home?If the latest technology or entertainment options are important in your new home, add the following questions to your buyer's checklist.1. Are there enough jacks in every room for cable TV and high-speed Internet hookups? 2. Are there enough telephone extensions or jacks? 3. Is the home prewired for home theater or multi-room audio and video?4. Does the home have a local area network for linking computers?5. Does the home already have wiring for DSL or other high-speed Internet connection?6. Does the home have multizoning heating and cooling controls with programmable thermostats?7. Does the homes have multiroom lighting controls, window-covering controls, or other home automation features?8. Is the home wired with multipurpose in-wall wiring that allows for r... 03/04/2007

THE BOTTOM LINE Sellers: Free Bottom Line Analysis of Net Profit To find out how much money you'll net from your house, add up your closing costs and subtract them from the sale price of the house. Closing Costs for Sellers Mortgage payoff and outstanding interest. Prorations for real estate taxes. Prorations for utility bills, condo dues, and other items paid in arrears. Closing fees charged by closing specialist. Title policy fees. Home inspections. Attorney's fees. Survey charge. Transfer tax or other government registration fees. Brokerage commission. Selling Price - Total = Net Proceeds to Seller For Buyers: Free Analysis of Out-of-Pocket Costs Downpayment. Loan origination fees. Points, or loan discount fees you pay to receive a lower interest rate. Appraisal fee. Credit report. P... 02/25/2007

1. Get estimates from a reliable repairperson on items that need to be replaced soon, a roof or worn carpeting, for example. In this way, buyers will have a better sense of how much these needed repairs will affect their costs.2. Have a termite inspection to prove to buyers that the property is not infested.3. Get a pre-sale home inspection so you'll be able to make repairs before buyers become concerned and cancel a contract. 4. Gather together warranties and guarantees on the furnace, appliances, and other items that will remain with the house. 5. Fill out a disclosure form provided by your sales associate. Take the time to be sure that you don't forget problems, however minor, that might create liability for you after the sale. http://www.willemsrealtors.com/ 02/25/2007

HOUSE HUNTING without a REALTOR?: First of all, the sellers pay our commissions, not the buyers. Think you can save money by house-hunting on your own, and asking the seller for a discount since you're not represented by a Realtor? Guess what? You'll just do the listing agent a favor by doubling her commission! Now she'll get both the buyer's and seller's commissions. You still will not get a discount. Consider this... How do you know you are getting the best price from the seller? OK, you got the house for $250K. The seller's original asking price is $280K. How do you know that's a good price? We may have gotten it for you for $235K! What are your negotiating factors? If the seller refuse to lower the price, what do you do? Are you sure the window treatments, fans, water softener, etc.... 02/25/2007

Questions to Ask When Choosing a REALTOR®1. How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate, like many other professions, is mostly learned on the job. 2. What designations do you hold? Designations such as GRI and CRS, which require that agents take additional, specialized real estate training, are held by only about one-quarter of real estate practitioners.3. How many homes did you and your company sell last year? 4. How many days did it take you to sell the average home? How did that compare to the overall market?5. How close to the initial asking prices of the homes you sold were the final sale prices?6. What types of specific marketing systems and approaches will you use to sell my home? Look ... 02/25/2007

Tax Benefits of Home OwnershipThe tax deductions you can take for mortgage interest and property taxes greatly increase the financial benefits of home ownership. Here's how it works. Assume: $9,877 = Mortgage interest paid (a loan of $150,000 for 30 years, at 7 percent, using year-five interest) $2,700 = Property taxes (at 1.5 percent on $180,000 assessed value______$12,577 = Total deduction $3,521.56 = Amount you have lowered your federal income tax (at 28 percent tax rate) (12,577 X .28 = $3,521.56) Note that mortgage interest may not be deductible on loans over $1.1 million. In addition, deductions are decreased when total income reaches a certain level. 02/25/2007

1. Get rid of clutter. Throw out or file stacks of newspapers and magazines. Pack away most of your small decorative items. Store out-of-season clothing to make closets seem roomier. Clean out the garage.2. Wash your windows and screens to let more light into the interior.3. Keep everything extra clean. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates. Mop and wax floors. Clean the stove and refrigerator. A clean house makes a better first impression and convinces buyers that the home has been well cared for. 4. Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Open the windows. 5. Put higher wattage bulbs in light sockets to make rooms seem brighter, especially basements and other dark rooms. Replace any burnt-out bulbs. 6. Make minor repairs th... 02/24/2007

10 Things a Lender Needs From You1. W-2 forms or business tax return forms if you're self-employed for the last two or three years for every person signing the loan.2. Copies of at least one pay stub for every person signing the loan.3. Copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements for both checking and savings accounts.4. Copies of personal tax forms for the last two to three years. 5. Copies of brokerage account statements for two to four months, as well as a list of any other major assets of value, e.g., a boat, RV, or stocks or bonds not held in a brokerage account. 6. Copies of your most recent 401(k) or other retirement account statement.7. Documentation to verify additional income, such as child support or a pension. 8. Account numbers of all your credit cards a... 02/16/2007

5 Common First-Time Homebuyer MistakesThey don't ask enough questions of their lender and miss out on the best deal. They don't act quickly enough to make a decision and someone else buys the house. They don't find the right agent whose willing to help them through the homebuying process.They don't do enough to make their offer look good to a seller. They don't think about resale before they buy. The average first-time buyer only stays in a home for four years.http://www.willemsrealtors.com/ 02/16/2007

1. Decide how much home you can afford. Generally, you can afford a home equal in value to between 2 and 3 times your gross income. 2. Determine if you have enough downpayment to qualify for a mortgage. Ideally, you should have 20 percent of the purchase price as a downpayment 3. Consider other sources of help with a downpayment. For example, if you have an IRA account, you can use money you've saved for buying your first home without paying a penalty for early withdrawal. Also check with your state and local government on downpayment assistance programs for first-time buyers. 4. Get your credit in order. Obtain a copy of your credit report. 5. Determine how large a mortgage you can qualify for. Also explore different loans options and decide what's best for you. 6. Organize all the doc... 02/16/2007

1. Tax breaks. The U.S. Tax Code lets you deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage, property taxes you pay, as well as some of the costs involved in buying your home.2. Gains. Over last five years (1998-2002) national home prices have increased at an average of 5.4 percent annually. And while there's no guarantee of appreciation, a 2001 study by the National Association of REALTORS® found that the typical homeowner has approximately $50,000 of unrealized gain in a home. 3. Equity. Money paid for rent is money that you'll never see again, but mortgage payments let you build equity ownership interest in your home. 4. Savings. Building equity in your home is a ready-made savings plan. And when you sell, you can generally take up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) as gain witho... 02/16/2007

Valparaiso, IndianaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Valparaiso (IPA: [ˌvɑl.pə.ˈɹeɪ.zoʊ]) is a city in Porter County, Indiana, USA, and is part of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. It is the county seat of Porter CountyGR6. The city's nickname is Valpo.HistoryEstablished in 1836 as the county seat of Portersville, it was renamed to Valparaiso in 1837 after Valparaíso, Chile, near which the county's namesake David Porter battled in the War of 1812.[1] Until 1991 it was the terminal of Amtrak's Calumet commuter service.GeographyIt is situated at the critical junctions of U.S. Route 30, State Road 2, and State Road 49. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.5 km² (11.0 mi²). 28.2 km² (10.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.73%) is wat... 01/22/2007

Why is this the only franchise I will ever review? I'm not a big fan franchises, so I try to not to eat at them.  I love the uniqueness of independent restaurants and make it a rule to not eat at a place I can find at home when I am out of town. Example - why ,when I am in downtown Chicago, would I go for pizza at Uno's when I can eat at Lou Malnatti's instead? But, I digress...Most Franchises are available everywhere and to everyone, so a review is not really necessary, but this is a brand new concept and is just starting to grow.  As a matter of fact, if you visit http://www.desertmooncafe.com/, you can see how new it is.  Valparaiso hosts the only outlet in Indiana and locations are primarily on the east cost.  California doesn't even have one!  What I love about this restaurant (bes... 01/16/2007

This is totally a post about our local area.  I'm not much of a statistician, so I'll leave the Days on Market and Number of Pends and Average Listing Price type numbers to your favorite REALTOR, and there are some great ones right here on http://www.activerain.com/ for Porter County.  I can comment though on my speciality.  New Homes.  There is a definite change in New Homes activity since the beginning of December.  We've had more traffic through our sales center since December 1st than we had all of October and November combined.  Now, the big reason for my surprise is that normally we don't see a whole lot of traffic until after the Superbowl.  So let me offer a few pointers to those of you out looking at home and new homes in the winter months:Buying a spec in January is a terrific... 01/14/2007

City of Valparaiso Website "History of the City"The State of Indiana was known as Indian territory because it was a rendezvous point for many Indian Tribes. The first pioneers ventured through this area about 1670. The first settler in the area was a French-Canadian named Joseph Bailley, who in 1822 established a thriving fur post on the shore of Lake Michigan about 12 miles north of now Valparaiso. The site of the present City of Valparaiso was included in purchase of the land from the Potawatomi Indians by the U.S. Government in October 1832. Located on a glacial moraine (now known as the Valparaiso Moraine) and the ancient Sauk Indian Trail from Rock Island (Illinois) to Detroit, the town had its first log cabin in 1834. In 1836, the state general assembly separated the county from L... 01/03/2007

The Porter County Builders Association will feature its annual Parade of Homes in June of 2007 at Aberdeen.  Aberdeen was the home of the 200 Parade of Homes, one of the most successful Parades in region history.  Last night was the first night of builder sign-ups, with only 8 sites available this year. Two builders confirmed and signed and 7 additional builders were "kicking tires" trying to figure out which lots they wanted.I'll update more later today and Monday as we fill the slots.  If you are working with a builder, don't delay get them the info by calling the Porter County Builders Association today.  http://www.pcbaonline.com/ 12/08/2006

I regularly blog on http://daltonsbriefs.blogspot.com/ on issues of international or political intrigue.  We here at Synergy Homes have had a pretty wild year .... frankly with everyone complaining about the housing market in general, we were surprised to have so much traffic and activity.   Did you know that interest rates didn't really go up this year on mortgages?  That's the truth.Go to our website at http://www.synergyhomes.com/ and find your house or your homesite.  I just read this morning that mortgage rates are at a 14 month low!  Yes, that's what I said, a low. 12/07/2006