Exciting Times on the East Side!

 Thursday I was privileged enough to be present for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pennsy Trail, which will eventually run from Hancock Co towards Downtown.  Similar to the Monon Trail, running from Downtown north through Broad Ripple and into Carmel, the Pennsy Trail will fast become a community jewel on the East side.  Mayor Greg Ballard was present to speak to a group of East side and Irvington residents, school children from Irvington Community School and various business and government professionals.

 

I learned some very interesting facts concerning the former Pennsylvania Railroad track that is now known as the Pennsy Trail.  One of the most intriguing is the fact that Abraham Lincoln’s body was transported from Washington DC to Illinois on that railway- right through Historic Irvington!  As a memory gift to the students of Irvington Community School, shiny new Lincoln pennies were give out to them.

 

Walks on the trail, bike rides on the trail, chatting with friends on the trail- these are all memories that I look forward to having on this newest addition to our already beautiful parks and recreation areas on the east side of Indianapolis- including Ellenberger Park and Pleasant Run Parkway.

 

I have been a proud Irvington resident for almost 5 years, a mere pittance compared to those that were born in the area, have raised their children here, and are now enjoying retirement here.  I hope that my life enjoys much of that same path.  And as a local REALTOR, I am pleased to let my clients know about this wonderful community located just minutes from Downtown- and all of the exciting things it has to offer!

Why it IS a Good Time to Buy

Ok buyers, why are you not pulling the trigger??  There may never be a better time to purchase a home than there is TODAY!  Interest rates are still low, inventory is high, prices are competitive- your $ goes farther today than it did 5 years ago, the list goes on. Yes, the stockmarket is a bit crazy at the moment, yes there is tension in the financial and lending world, but one thing remains the same- using real estate as a long term investment tool is a sound practice. Now, there are probably a lot of questions and concerns swirling around in your mind concerning the purchase of a new home such as, “will I (or we) be able to get financed?,” “how much money will I need to purchase a home?” “how much house can I afford?” “there are so many homes for sale that I don’t know where to begin!” etc. etc…

 

There are many ways to answer the questions above, but the simplest of them is CALL AND ASK A PROFESSIONAL!  A mortgage lender will be able to guide you in many ways, most importantly in reviewing your credit score, debts and assets to determine how much money you can be approved for, as well as provide you with a “Good Faith Estimate” that will give you a breakdown of closing costs so you will have a better feel for how much money you will need to get into your own home.  I always recommend that you come up with a monthly housing budget that you are comfortable with, which would include your mortgage payment, property taxes, and homeowners insurance.  You may find that what you can budget a month is different from how much home a lender says you can afford.  Better to err on the side of caution than to overextend yourself in a home purchase.

 

REALTORS often have preferred mortgage lenders that they have formed relationships with, often because they have had a great working relationship with that lender for an extended period of time and place a high deal of trust in that professional.  So ask your REALTOR for a list of the mortgage lenders he/she uses often- and interview them!  A trusted mortgage lender will be a great guide in your search for a home.  After you have reviewed your financials with the lender, and took your monthly budget amount into account, you will be better prepared to know what price-range of homes you will be looking at.  And believe me, there are GREAT homes available in virtually every price range, and your REALTOR can then get to work “scrubbing” the available homes to find those that best meet your criteria.  There are a lot of homes on the market, so choosing a REALTOR that listens to you, understands you and your family’s wants and needs, and assists you in determining what homes and neighborhoods best fit those criteria will be KEY in helping you find your next home!

 

As a trusted real estate agent and advisory, I’d be honored to help you answer any of the questions you might have; and to check out the Indianapolis market and a little more about me, visit www.justcallnate.com.

Open Houses

So, this past Sunday afternoon and I held an open house at my charming Fountain Square listing. I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout on that cold, wintry day- unhappy with the fact that it has started to flurry again; I’m definitely ready for spring! Had good traffic through the open house- approx 6 groups of potential buyers through the front door- 1 20-somethings couple relocating from Wisconsin to our beautiful city, 1 group of 4 adults, a Fountain Square neighbor and 1 family of 3, and another group or 2.

It always amazes me the different types of people that appear interested in certain homes. There are the young professionals, the retirees, the first-time homebuyers, the “right-sizers”, those that are fervent about a neighborhood or area, historic home aficionados, and those that are “just looking”. I definitely understand the “just looking” type of people- I’ve been “just looking” at homes since I was about 12 years old. I used to spend Sunday afternoons with my mom “just looking” at homes in my hometown of Goshen, IN. It was a great way to pass the time while Dad was at the golf course! I guess I was destined to get into real estate. I do find open houses a great way to get some candid feedback on a home. And today, the feedback has been relatively positive. The passers-through seem to like the colors, the hardwood floors and décor (which is good as all of these are relatively new), some noted that the fact there was not a garage was a turnoff- and I accept that. There were also comments about how large the home was, the “walk ability” of Fountain Square, and the proximity to Downtown.

 I like open houses for the fact that they are a fairly non-evasive, leisurely way for potential buyers to come through a house. And I HAVE sold listings as a direct result of an open house; in fact I’ve sold 3 that way. As well as I’ve started working with new buyers as a result of an open house. Open houses are also a good way for buyers to “pre-screen” Realtors and find that certain agent that they just click with. As a licensed Realtor, I want to build and maintain and relationship with my clients, that is hard to do if there are no commonalities among the parties. Now, do I expect to become best friends with everyone of my clients- NO, but I do intend to maintain a good working relationship, and continue in a trusted advisor role throughout many years to come. So, if you are thinking about whether or not it is the time to buy, I’d encourage you to start going to open houses in neighborhoods that you are interested in, interview agents to find a good fit, and start talking with a mortgage lender to get preapproved- you never know when the house you walk into might be the ONE! And in case you haven’t heard- it IS a good time to buy!

Expand your Mind

Brian Tracy. Kevin Eikenberry. Tony Scelzo. CJ McClanahan.  Four of the most expressive, forward-thinking minds all together in one place- The Ritz Charles in Carmel, IN.  I must say that I just finished up an extraordinary evening.  An evening that will stick with me for a lifetime- and hopefully made an impact on all of the people in the room.   I’ve had the honor of listening to, being instructed by, and conversating with Tony Scelzo, Kevin Eickenberry and CJ McClanahan; this was the first opportunity I’d had to hear Brian  Tracy speak- and what an opportunity it was. For the last several months I’d heard`Tony speak about Brian Tracy this, and Brian Tracy that- know I have a better understanding of who Brian Tracy is.  Take a high school drop out, little or no chance for advancement, and a drive to get to a better place- and you get a man who has been known for a long while as the formost speaker in the United States, if not the World.  This is someone worth listening to.

Today’s talk was on self-improvement, looking further into your inner self than most people find comfortable, and understanding that most of how you advance is because of WHAT you do, and HOW you do it.  Looking for opportunities to succeed, rather than reasons why something won’t work; investing in yourself, your education, your skills, to get ahead financially, in relationships, in life.

Those that continually educate themselves are proven to steadily increase their income.  Learn more about your current skills, or learn a new skill, and you will be needed and wanted by someone who is willing to pay you for it.  But, you may ask yourself, how do I have time to learn a new skill, to hone my current skills, when all I do is work, work, work?  Well, in steps iLearningGloabal.tv- a state of the art website designed to help you learn, to hone your skills, to expand your mind.  This incredible website delivers high definition, full screen, non-buffered video directly to your computer screen, allowing you to view the best speakers in the world, at the touch of a button.  These videos relate to a wide variety of business strategies, instructed by the people that KNOW business. 

I am confidant that I will learn more through using this website over the next year, than I ever could have hoped to learn from listening to “CD’s on tape”, going to seminars, or reading a book.  The videos are presented in 7 to 12 minute formats that are strong on content, high in motivation and hugely educational.  This website is taking off at phenomenal rate, so great that Brian Tracy has taken on a role as Chief Learning Officer and came to the Indianapolis area to speak to a room of 600 people about how this website can change their lives- by expanding their minds and building wealth.

Whether or not you see the income potential in this product, you are going to find the educational aspects impossible to beat.  So make a decision now to expand your mind and take a look at iLearningGlobal.tv.

Indiana Association of REALTORS Winter Conference

IAR (Indiana Association of REALTORS) just finished up their winter conference.  Very aptly named since Indianapolis received 5+ inches of snow the second day of the event!  Overall, this was a very well run, and well attended event.  Over 500 REALTORS from throughout the state attended the event, which included classes on technology, short sales, the economy, marketing, the coolest tools available, etc.  There were many great speakers, including Marki Lemons, short sale guru, and Michael Tchong, ubertrends specialist. There was also time for some social interaction at the Inauguration Banquet on Monday night, and the legislative reception and Young Professionals in Real Estate event on Tuesday evening.  This is the 2nd conference that I’ve attended, and I would highly recommend it to the other Indiana REALTORS out there.  It is a great time to learn more about IAR, about the bills at the state house that need our attention, what other REALTORS are doing to keep up with the ever-changing real estate climate, and to network with others that love this profession!  A new website was also unveiled- touting the volunteer spirit that many REALTORS have throughout the state.  A great thing to see that so many REALTORS really do GIVE BACK to their communities!

While I was in the audience as an attendee of the conference, I was also there as an independant consultant with Connective Mobile.  Connective Mobile is an Indianapolis-based technology company with a focus on text-message marketing.  We were able to assist the IAR staff with a texting service that welcomed attendees to the event, reminded them of the schedule of events, and alerted them to changes in times and/or rooms.  In addition to event marketing, Connective Mobile also offers a marketing service for listings which allows a potential buyer to recieve information on a listing sent directly to their cell phone.  Just one more way to add a bit of technology to your marketing plan!

I encourage more REALTORS to join the event this fall, and to become more in tune with the great technology tools available to them and their clients!

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