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The Day After

Posted on February 8th, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Sports & Recreation

sunrise

Yeah, it wasn’t the conclusion to the season that we wanted…and I know there is a lot of  disappointment about the outcome of the game. But I checked myself, and sure enough, the sun DID come up again this morning, just like it has done for millions of years. The Earth is still rotating on it’s axis and orbiting the Sun, and all the REAL important things are OK. It would have been nice to have won the Superbowl, but thankfully, it’s just a football game.

Congratulations to the Saints who played an EXCELLENT game…and to the Colts for another MARVELOUS season.

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We’ll See

Posted on February 7th, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Just for Fun, Sports & Recreation

go_colts

So the Superbowl is today and everyone has their angle figured by now. They are rooting for the Saints because of this… Or they are for the Colts because of that. Of course some are even making predictions about the outcome…and even point spreads! Yeah, Uh Huh. Like they can actually see into the future? Some people have been die-hard Colts or Saints fans for years and there is no question about who they are pulling for. That I can understand. What is really funny to me though are the people that are rooting not so much FOR one team, but against the other one. Nice! And what’s really odd to me are people that choose their allegiance based on reasons that don’t have anything to do with being a sports fan. Their choice being based on what is more fair or politically correct. That just kills me. Most of it is good natured fun though and makes it more interesting I guess.

With all the noise going, and all the predictions especially, it reminds me of this great exchange in the movie, Charlie Wilsons War. The character named Gust in the movie is talking to Charlie about a old Chinese tale. Gust says “There’s a little boy, and on his 14th birthday he gets a horse… and everybody in the village says, “How wonderful. The boy got a horse”. And the Zen Master says, “We’ll see”. Two years later, the boy falls off the horse, breaks his leg, and everyone in the village says, “How terrible”. And the Zen Master says, “We’ll see”. Then, a war breaks out and all the young men have to go off and fight… except the boy who can’t because his leg’s all messed up, and everybody in the village says, “How wonderful”. And then Charlie who now gets where this is going says, “Now the Zen Master says, We’ll see”.

So here’s a prediction I’ve been hearing a lot…”The Colts Are Going to Win the Superbowl!!”

I’m definitely not a Zen Master… Uh, not even an Zen Apprentice. But just like Charlie, I think you understand where I’m going with this.

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Driving the Business

Posted on February 6th, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Market Conditions, Real Estate Perspective

driving_detailSometimes you drive the business…and other times it drives you. That’s just the way it seems that the real estate business works, at least for me. Probably much like any business, the object is to get the phone to ring. I can visit, call, write or email people to contact them or stay in touch. I can host Open Houses, advertise in magazines or on websites, send out mass-mailing campaigns or walk around and pass out business cards all day long. All of that is what I call “Driving the Business”. But the only thing that really counts is when someone calls me. That’s when I know they are truly interested in something. Sign of the times though…sometimes now instead of calling, I’ll get an email or a text message!

Some days the phone will be dead…and I mean D-E-A-D. And then other days…it’s a good idea to have extra batteries charged and ready to swap-out. Today was one of those days when the business decided to drive me. You just have to hang on. But I’m not complaining. Being busy is a good problem to have. Either way though, busy or slow, I’ve learned to keep my emotions right in the middle. I just work…without expectations. I guess that comes with doing this 27 years.

The funny thing is though, today should have been slow. Didn’t people look out the window and see all the snow and ice everywhere? Instead agents were scheduling showings to look at listings. Sellers wanted to talk about selling. And Buyers wanted to look at homes. It’s not a coincidence that this all happened though. I can feel the market heating up. Despite it being the beginning of February with ice and snow…it’s heating up. Despite all the Gloom-and-Doomers, and Glass-Half-Emptys best efforts…it’s heating up.

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Quick Change Artistry

Posted on February 5th, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Nature, Photo Flash

snow_branches

At times the wind drove the flakes nearly sideways today and everything was quickly blanketed with a coating of heavy, wet snow. To me it was a great gift for us all, especially for the eyes. Gazing through the woods, the trees were transformed into a fast-frozen winter wonderland. One thing that was unusual…sometimes the wind caused unique patterns to be created…like one side of a pine tree could be matted and laden with a thick white cover, pulling the branches to the ground, while the opposite side displayed only a modest coating.

In Indiana, this never lasts long. A little sun tomorrow or the next, and it will disappear, like it never happened.

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Enduring Words

Posted on February 4th, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Community Feature

ism_lincoln

I had to get a plug in for some special exhibits coming to the Indiana State Museum soon. After all, it’s about one of my favorite characters of all time, Abraham Lincoln. How could anyone invent a better American success story? Born and raised in a log cabin in the wilderness…and eventually becoming the President of the United States. What a story line. Abe was a Hoosier too, just like us, for part of his life anyway. And that always made the story just that much more special for me.

We live in different times but in the end, it’s the words…his words that have endured. They give a window into the mans soul. The thought behind the words. Simple eloquence, integrity and truth that is timeless. “With malice toward none…With charity for all” A part of Lincolns 2nd innagural address is also the titles of the two exhibits. They open February 12th at the Indiana State Museum, on his birthday.

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John’s Famous Stew

Posted on February 3rd, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Cuisine & Restaurants

johns

A few days ago I got together with some old friends of mine for lunch and they had suggested going to John’s Famous Stew in the near SW side of town near downtown and Eli Lilly’s. We live in three different corners of the Indy area so a near downtown location is a happy medium for us. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had been there. Many years. As a matter of fact I think that it moved and is now in a different location since the last time I saw it?…and for some reason I remember it being called John’s Hot Stew? I’m not sure, but if so, obviously that was before they became more famous!

johns 2Now this place doesn’t look like much from the outside…which is kind of an understatement. But after the first peek inside the front door you know you have arrived at a real restaurant with real people and real food. Of course they serve stew, but they have a large menu with quite a variety. Since the stew is famous though, I figure you have to order that. The stew comes in three varieties…mild, medium or hot. Guess which one I chose? The place was was almost filled to capacity at 11:00 when we got there and was jam packed, overflowing soon. One way, maybe the best way, to tell if someplace is a good restaurant is if it is full of people.

Don’t come here if you want to schmooze with the in-crowd or have a power lunch surrounded by high-rollers in Armani suits. Blue collar is the correct fashion statement and just good ‘ol All-American cuisine. John’s Famous Stew is located at 1146 Kentucky Avenue.

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First-time Home Buyer Mistakes

Posted on February 2nd, 2010 by Richard. Categories: For Home Buyers

home_1st_timeI saw a list recently on a National Association of Realtors website stating what real estate experts consider to be the most common mistakes that first-time home buyers make. According to this list they are: (1) They don’t act quickly enough to make a decision and someone else buys the house. (2) They don’t do enough to make their offer look appealing to a seller. (3) They don’t think about resale before they buy. (4) They don’t ask enough questions of their lender and end up missing out on the best deal. (5) They don’t find the right agent who’s willing to help them through the home buying process.

Well, that’s a pretty accurate list although I don’t know if the order is arranged in terms of importance. But what struck me is that most of these same “mistakes” are made by a lot of experienced home buyers too.

Re: Offers. Because of over-generalized and inaccurate reporting by the media, in the last year or so especially, a lot of buyers believe that the market is so slow, and so tilted in their favor that no other buyers are out there looking, and therefore they can take their time about making an offer. That’s just not true. They also seem to think all sellers are desperate and should be willing to take a huge reduction on price. It does happen…but is rarely the case. For instance, I just attended a closing this morning where the Seller I represented got very close to their asking price and there were two other buyers waiting to purchase the home if the sale were to fall through for some reason. Here in Indianapolis, the 2009-2010 market is a good solid market…not on a record pace obviously like 2006…but still very good like the 2003-2004 market. So what I’m saying is that in most cases, slow or low-ball offers don’t work, unless it’s an inferior listing that is way over-priced.

Re: Resale Value. The fact is, the average first-time buyer stays in their first home for only four years. And on average, all home owners stay about seven years. So everyone should always, always, always consider resale value before one makes an offer on a home.

Re: Lenders. Financing is the key component to any transaction. I had a customer once who insisted on using an online mortgage source because their rate looked attractive. The only trouble was, the loan didn’t fund on time for the closing which caused a huge problem, and there were some “surprises” in the fine print in the terms of the loan that they were unhappy with. There are local lenders that will match or beat any rate out there, as well as closing costs, plus are a lot more accessible to answer questions and provide customer service. Local is always better for a number of reasons. I usually recommend a lender when someone is ready to buy. I know which lender will have the best product to fit their situation and I simply want my customers to get the best deal out there.

If a buyer chooses the right agent to assist them, the whole process should go smoothly from start to finish. Knowledge and experience is crucial, but someone with a pleasant demeanor and a positive attitude is important too. If an agent has all of those qualities, then the process should be comfortable all the way through. No surprises…and actually fun.