Don’t Be Afraid of This Seller’s Market

Your current home will sell quickly, but how can you possibly find your next home in our competitive market? We have a plan.

Selling your home? Get a free home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

These days, a lot of sellers are worried about finding their next home. They say, “We know our home will sell quickly, but we just can’t find the perfect home on the market. What should we do about that?”

On our team, we work to make up for that challenge every single day. We have a team of five agents who are dedicated to getting on the phone for two hours every morning to call homeowners in the neighborhoods our buyers are looking in.

This happens every single day from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. You can even stop by our office and see our team in action!

We call these homeowners to let them know that we have a pre-approved buyer interested in their neighborhoods. We tell them, “Our buyer has seen everything currently on the market. I’m calling to see if you know of anyone in your area who wants to sell their home.”

Our agents are proactively finding homes before they even hit the market!

Neighbors are giving us the inside scoop on who wants to sell in their area. Sometimes, the homeowner that we call ends up selling their home. It’s been a lot of fun to take our buyers out to these neighborhoods and show them a home that doesn’t even have a sign in the yard yet. 

So, if you’re scared of this market, just know that you don’t have to be. There are proactive agents out there doing whatever it takes to find you a home. I can tell you right now that we have not let any of our clients go without a home in this market.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. My team and I would be happy to help you!

3 Things Every First-Time Homebuyer Should Know

Buying your first home can be an incredibly exciting time. However, it requires a huge commitment and a sizable investment.

Selling your home? Get a free home valuation

Buying a home? Search all homes for sale on the MLS

I want to share my three top tips to help first-time homebuyers protect themselves during this crucial period:

1. Know what you can afford

Your mortgage is only a part of what you will need to pay when you buy a home. Homeownership comes with plenty of other expenses, including closing costs, taxes, property insurance, maintenance costs, and homeowner association fees.

Once you have a clear idea of how much all of these items will cost, you can compare it to your current monthly expenses. Then you can figure out the kind of home you can honestly afford without getting carried away and without getting bogged down in debt.

2. Choose your lender wisely

Choosing a lender is not something you should base only on the lowest rate. A competent and trustworthy lender will offer you advice on how to improve your credit and also help you take advantage of special homebuyer programs that might benefit you.

But how do you find the right lender specifically for you? It's often best to get recommendations from friends who have already worked with a lender or from a real estate agent you trust.

An inspection will cost about $300, but it can save you thousands.

3. Don't overlook the details

There are many details that go into buying a home, and missing any of them can be a costly mistake. I always advise buyers to get a professional inspection done on their home, separate from the appraisal. An inspection will set you back about $300, but it can save you thousands of dollars down the line, and it can even prevent you from making a decision to buy a home that you would later regret.

A second example is understanding the fine print in the various contracts you will be signing. If there's anything that isn't clear to you, talk to your real estate agent and have it spelled out.

The process of buying a home can be intimidating, and that's why professional real estate agents are there to help. These three quick tips are only the start of the things you need to watch out for when buying your first home.

If you need more advice or you are ready to start looking for a home, give me a call or send me an email. I love working with first-time homebuyers, and I can help you get your perfect new home with minimum hassle.

FHA Loans Aren't Just for First-Time Homebuyers

FHA mortgages are becoming increasingly popular in our market. These are the important facts you should know about this type of home loan if you're looking to buy a home in our market.

Selling your home? Get a free home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

Do you know if you qualify for an FHA mortgage?

You may already know that the Indianapolis market is a super hot seller's market right now. Inventory is low and buyers are scrambling for properties, and the largest majority of buyers today are FHA buyers. However, FHA mortgages aren't just for first-time homebuyers. That's a common misconception.

FHA mortgages are government loans, not just first-time buyer loans. So how do you qualify?

For starters, you can't have more than one FHA loan at a time. If you currently own a property with an FHA mortgage, you'll need to refinance it to a conventional mortgage or sell the property if you want to buy another home with an FHA loan.

There are a few rare exceptions, however. For example, you might be able to get a second if you got one as a single buyer and then got married, had kids, and no longer fit in the home anymore but wanted to rent it out instead of selling it.

FHA loan amounts are now all the way up to $308,200.

For the most part, anyone can get an FHA mortgage as long as you have a credit score of 580 or higher and can make a down payment of 3.5%. That low down payment is one of the reasons FHA loans are so attractive right now; with interest rates so low, it doesn't cost buyers hardly anything to borrow money. It's smarter to possibly have your money earning more for you in other places rather than dumping it into your down payment.

Here's the kicker: FHA loan amounts are all the way up to $308,200.

We're seeing a lot of our sellers pleasantly surprised to find out that even though they're not first-time buyers, they can still qualify for an FHA mortgage for their next home. In fact, we recently helped a couple meet with a builder about a beautiful new $200,000 home that they're buying with an FHA loan.

If you have any questions about buying a home with an FHA loan or you're thinking about selling your house in the Indianapolis area, give me a call or send me an email soon. I'd love to help you out!

We Have 5 Amazing New Listings Coming on the Market

There are five amazing new listings that are about to hit our market, and I want you to have a head start. 

Selling your home? Get a free home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

As you all know, housing inventory is incredibly low right now. Today, I want to share five amazing new listings that you won’t be able to find anywhere on the web or on the MLS. These listings aren’t even on the market yet; I just wanted to share them with you and give you a head start.

First, if you are interested in the Lawrence Township, then check out this three-bedroom, one-bath midcentury ranch home with its original hardwood floors. This is a very cute property and it will hit the market listed at $100,000.

We have two new listings coming up in Center Grove, and both will be listed at $185,000. The first is a three-bed, 2 ½ bath home with 1 ½ stories. The kitchen has been completely gutted and the home features a gorgeous screened-in porch and fantastic laminate, hardwood floors. This property sits on a corner lot in the Pebble Run subdivision.

Learn more about these homes before they hit the market!

The other property is a stone ranch with a walkout basement in the El Dorado subdivision. This home is right on the golf course, and it’s also on a nice cul-de-sac.

In Greenwood, there is a beautiful property available in the Clark-Pleasant School District. This ranch home is getting fresh paint and all new carpeting. The listing price is $135,000.

Finally, our fifth listing is in Center Grove. This home sits on four acres with a huge, 50-by-50 pole barn and has an attached three-car garage. It is a beautiful, historic home and will be listed at $400,000.

No one else knows about these homes yet, which is why I have not included their addresses today. If you are interested in any of these listings and would like more details, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!
 

Why Do You Need a Buyer Consultation?

If you’re in the market to buy a home, a buyer consultation would be very beneficial for you. Here’s how.

Selling your home? Get a free home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

We are very excited to be joined today by Libby Sanders, our lead buyer’s agent, who is going to talk a little bit about buyer consultations and the role that they play in preparing those who are in the market to purchase a home.
 
A buyer consultation is where a buyer meets with their buyer’s agent for the first time. This is where your agent will go through the entire process with you, detailing the ins and outs of the whole process. It’s also an opportunity for you to ask any questions you have and get to know an agent to determine if they are a good fit.
 

“

You want to have this meeting while the stakes are low.

”

It would make sense to have this meeting in a setting where the emotions are low-key. The ideal time is before you begin the search process. You don’t want to just be meeting an agent when you’re under the gun and emotions are high.
 
If you’re someone who thinks they will just call the agent on whatever sign they come across to help them buy, you might want to think again. Those agents work for the seller, not you, and they have the seller’s best interests at heart. Hiring a buyer’s agent will give you someone on your side who will have your best interests in mind.
 
If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

How to Get Your Offer Accepted

There are many things you can do to help your offer stand out. Increasing your price or earnest money deposit is just one strategy.

Selling your home? Get a free home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

We have some really helpful tips to share with you today about how to get your offer accepted in a multiple offer situation.

First off, I encourage you to make a decent earnest money deposit. We recommend an amount that is about 1% of the purchase price If you know you’re competing, you might want to offer a little bit more earnest money. It will go toward your down payment and closing costs anyway, and by offering more earnest money, you help your home stand out.

Secondly, you should have your agent call the listing agent to find out what’s important to the seller in an offer. We are looking for something that would cater to the seller’s needs. For some sellers, price isn’t the most important thing. Some sellers need to have a specific closing date or possession date so they don’t have to make two moves. You can use that information to write in a rent-back into your offer. There are a lot of ways to help position your offer better other than just the price.

“

Increasing your earnest money deposit is a good idea.

”

On the topic of price, remember that if you’re asking for closing costs in an offer, the seller only cares about their bottom line. If you want to make a full-price offer and still ask for closing costs, make an offer that’s above list price and ask the seller to pay those closing costs. A full-price offer that asks for closing costs is not a true full-price offer.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

How to Win in a Multiple Offer Situation

There are two very simple keys to making sure your offer wins out in a multiple offer situation.

Selling your home? Get a free home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

If you’re a buyer and you find yourself in a multiple offer situation, I have two key tactics for you to follow that will help you win that home:
 
The first is to get pre-approved by a local lender before making your offer. This act will add a lot of credibility to your offer, not only because you got pre-approved, but also because you worked with somebody local. A local lender will have a lot more skin in the game to get your deal to the closing table.

The second tactic is to give a very small window of opportunity for your seller to respond. If you make an offer on a home today, whether you know you’re competing or not, do not give the seller 48 hours to respond. Don’t even give them 24 hours. A sharp listing agent will take your offer, show it to all the other listing agents who have seen the home, and use that as leverage to get more offers for their seller. By giving a small window of opportunity to respond, you can prevent this from happening and increase your chances of getting your offer accepted.
 

“

Give a very small window of opportunity for your seller to respond.

”

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you!