Posted on November 10th, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Market Conditions, Market Watch
The market in Central Indiana has a couple interesting things happening to report this month, both of which are positive news for home owners. Inventory continues to decline vs the number of buyers. This means that the ratio of homes on the market per the number of buyers purchasing is becoming smaller, resulting in more competition for homes on the market.
Also, it should be noted that the F. C. Tucker Company, with whom I am associated, had it’s second best October in company history for the number of listed homes sold and number of buyers represented…just barely missing the record set in October 2003. This shows the gathering strength of the market and is a strong indicator of just what is happening now in central Indiana.
For more in-depth analysis, charts and graphs, with real market statistics, take a look at my latest Market Watch Newsletter for this month.
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Posted on November 6th, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Photo Flash
Nothing dramatic about this shot. But still, when I came across this, something about it hooked me. The sun was out and the sky was about as blue as you could get. Another beautiful Fall day. I was cruising in the outer reaches of Marion County and spotted this immense corn field with row after row after row of dried, brown corn stalks. Among other things, I’m drawn to images that create a repeating texture.
If you grew up in Indiana, then this scene seems quite familiar. After growing all summer, the corn is allowed to dry on the stalks and then the whole field will be harvested, I imagine in the not too distant future…and the stalks will be cut to the ground. The corn will probably become food for livestock or something else about as exotic. Very Indiana don’t you think?
Posted on November 2nd, 2009 by Richard. Categories: For Home Buyers, For Home Sellers
One of the things that I almost always recommend that Buyer ask for when they make an offer on a home is for the Seller to provide a Home Warranty. Unless the home is just newly built and therefore covered by the builder or manufacturers warranties for major components, then it makes sense to have a home warranty policy to provide peace of mind and protection against a costly repair. A Home Warranty doesn’t cover everything about the home. It typically covers the furnace/AC, water heater, plumbing, electrical system and appliances. The cost is about $375 for a one year policy and there is a deductible amount for each repair or service call. Typically the deductible is $100 but that amount as well as the cost of the policy itself and what specifically is covered varies between warranty companies.
A sellers offer to provide a warranty is useful tool to help sell the home too and may help to bring a higher price for the home. Or it will just help to effect the sale in general because Buyers feel less skittish about the condition of the home and components there. Also, the Seller can ask for the policy to begin at the start of the listing term with no cost to them so that if anything that is covered breaks, the only thing they pay is a deductible amount. They don’t need to pay for the policy until final closing. So it’s a win-win situation for the Seller. The home is covered during the marketing period and afterwards too for the Buyer.
Posted on October 31st, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Holidays, Just for Fun
Witches, Goblins, Vampires, Demons and Ghosts? They all come alive tonight! The door-to-door Trick-or-Treat ritual will literally bring these spirits out on the streets along with Pixies, Football players, Batmans, Princesses, Cowboys, Iron Mans, Gypsies and everything else you can think of. My approach to Halloween treats is…always buy too much so you don’t run out…and purchase the kind of candy that you like so that you can have whatever is left over. That seems to work well every year for me.
Werewolves will be happy that the moon will almost be full tonight.
Posted on October 19th, 2009 by Richard. Categories: Downtown
There are several locations that afford a great view of the Indy skyline. This one might possibly be the best of them all. This shot is taken from a small bridge that spans the canal near the Indiana State Museum, Military Park and the IUPUI campus. The funny thing is this is taken in prime time in the middle of the afternoon when there are lots of people out walking, jogging and enjoying the canal area. I had to wait a long time until there was no one in sight, which lasted only for few seconds. Just moments before, two paddleboats churned underneath the bridge and a couple joggers rounded the corner down the sidewalk and out of view. It’s interesting how a photo is just a moment frozen in time and what happened just before or afterwards is out of view, like it never happened.
I just take shots on impulse, so I’m not really sure how they will look as a photo. But when I saw the result later, I thought I had something special…so I’ve saved it for a couple weeks trying to decide when to use it. The leaves have undoubtedly changed colors somewhat since then. So it might even look better.
I was out cruising looking at a couple homes and found myself on Fall Creek Road crossing the causeway that spans Geist near the marina…so of course I stopped for a photo-op. I had to…the lake looked just beautiful with the sun shimmering on the water. Another gorgeous Fall day. Although it’s late October, there are still a huge number of boats docked there. In fact the marina still looks like it’s as full now as in the summer. I noticed a few boats in the boat yard that have been pulled out and shrink-wrapped for winter storage, but the vast majority are still there in the water. There are definitely some days with fabulous weather in October that are great for boating, but I imagine the exodus will happen pretty soon.
