Got Too Busy Doing Things ...

to blog about doing things in Central Indiana!  What have you missed?  Santana and The Lilith Fair at Verizon Center in Noblesville, IN.  $10 lawn tickets made these concerts so affordable.  Seeing really great artists like these in an outdoor setting was beyond awesome!  Lilith Fair had The Courtyard Hounds (two of the Dixie Chicks spin-off band), Miranda Lambert (loove her!), Mary J Blige ( no one sat down the entire set!), Sarah Mclaughlin and more.
You missed the Indiana State Fair-bigger, better and more fattening thant ever!  Deep fried butter, hamburgers with doughnut buns, deep fried twinkies, snickers etc  I did not partake but many,many did!  My "have -to-have" at the fair is a Lemon Shake up and an ear of corn-so good. I also favor the home arts building-I like to look at the quilts, cross stitch & needlepoint. Hubby favors the livestock, always has to see the biggest pig and the little piglets which is fine but his "have-to-have" fair food is the pork tent which is really kind of sick, don't you think? :)
Also, saw a concert at the State Fair Grandstand for the 1st time, Little Big Town & Sugarland.  Sugarland was absolutely the best concert I've seen a long time. Music was great and they really interact with the crowd. I can't believe Labor Day is almost upon us.  Despite the dire headlines, our real estate business is keeping us busy.  Residential buyers and sellers, investors as well as commercial properties, we've got a little of everything going on right now.  Don't forget us for your real estate needs! ( had to put a little plug in there, right?! :)

Things to do in Central Indiana-Indianapolis Indians

We are fortunate to have one of the most beautiful ball parks in the country right here in Indianapolis.  If you've never been to an Indianapolis Indians game you don't know what you are missing! Situated downtown with an incredible view of the skyline, there is no better way to spend a summer evening or afternoon.  It is also one of the last family affordable professional sports options left in town.  Families can still buy admission tickets and sit on the grass beyond the outfield and bring their own refreshments, which is a huge $$$ saver!  It's also great for the little ones because they can jump up and run around a little rather than having to sit still for a whole game. The Indians are the triple A farm team for the Pittsburgh Pirates, currently ranked 2nd in the INT West with 48 wins.
Tickets range from $9 for lawn, $10 for reserved, $14 for box with kids a dollar less for each.  Or kids can join the Knot Hole league for just $15 and get a ticket to all games plus a t-shirt  opportunities for all kinds of prizes-they can upgrade to a box seat for any game for only $4.
We were invited to a suite recently (Thanks, Bill & Beckie), and experienced a great game, awesome sunset and never get tired of the views!

Here is a link to their website for more info:Indianapolis Indians

Things to do in Central Indiana- Art Museum Pt 2

The Virginia B Fairbanks Art & Nature Park is opening soon (June 20th-Grand Opening). This 100 acre park is adjacent to the museum grounds, it has wetlands, woods, and a 35 acre lake. It will feature art installations and exhibitions in a family friendly enviorment. We were back there hiking around the lake last fall and saw the beginnings of the park forming. It should be awesome and free, a perfect way to spend a day.

http://www.imamuseum.org/special-event/100-acres-grand-opening

Things to do in Central Indiana-Indianapolis Art Museum

There is so much to see and do at the Art Museum , I'm going to split it up on several posts. Today let's concentrate on the grounds & gardens. They are incredible and FREE! You can go in walk, picnic, etc . They have guided garden walks which are really informative-they tell you about the creation of the gardens by the original owners of what was called "Oldfields", Hugh & Jessie Walker Landon. Later the estate was sold to the Lilly family who eventually deeded it to the city for use as a museum. You can tour Oldfields too. We went at Christmas when they had it decorated for the holidays and they had luminaries in the gardens-so beautiful!

Here is a link to information on the gardens:

http://www.imamuseum.org/gardens-grounds

Things to do in Central Indiana-Holiday Park

I just recently rediscovered this park (thanks to my wonderful husband) and it is such a great park. Holiday Park is located at 64th and Springmill on the north side of Indy. It has a Nature/Resource Center with a small outdoor amphitheatre where free concerts are held during the summer. A fabulous playground for kids with a rock climbing wall, 10-20' slides as well as a "spiderweb" to climb. A picnic area is located adjacent to the playground making it a perfect place for family get-togethers. We just made use of it on Memorial day weekend and everyone enjoyed it. There were trees for shade, plenty of picnic tables and all the kids loved the play ground but to us the best part of the park are the trails. There are 3.5 miles of trails that run right along the White River. We've been a couple of times now with our dog, Mac and we've all loved it. It is beautiful, shady, there are little areas where the river comes in that you can wade in if you feel like cooling off (Mac's favorite thing!) They have some cool classes during the summer too. My husband is hoping to do the fly fishing class. Check out Holiday Park, I think you'll really like it!

http://www.hollidaypark.org/about-hp.html

Things to do in Central Indiana-St Simon Festival

If you have never attended the St. Simon Festival on the far NE side of Indy, this is your chance. It starts tonight and goes through Saturday night. There are rides, carnival games, elephant ears, corn dogs and other "fair" food for the kids and games of chance, adult beverages (beer & wine) for the adults. Free music all three nights. The band tonight is Loo Abbey from 9-11 pm and Flying Toasters, Friday and Saturday nights from 9-12. They are a great band, lots of fun. I've attached a link to the info page. Hope to see you there!
http://www.saintsimon.org/festival10.html

Things to do in Central Indiana-Canal Walk

I'm going to start posting some of the great (and inexpensive, if not free) things to do in Indianapolis and surrounding areas. It amazes me how much fun you can have if you just get out and explore! So today's is walking or biking around the canal downtown. Near Military Park and the IUPUI campus, the canal is part of the White River State Park. Walking along the canal you will come to the Indiana State Museum with the steam clock playing "Back Home Again in Indiana" every 1/2 an hour and across from the museum is the Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial. The canal is scenic and a great place to people watch. In the summer, there are gondolas and paddle boats for rent and bicycles and buggy's. I talked to a lady visiting Indy last summer and she commented on how great the canal was, she wished her city had something like it, yet I talk to people who have lived here for years and never walked around it! Go check it out and let me know what you think. Here's some video of the clock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUo2iWZ7Zc

Indy Most Affordable Major Housing Market-Again!

Indianapolis, once again, was the most affordable major housing market in the country during the second quarter. Almost 95 percent of all homes sold were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $68,100. Indianapolis has now topped the affordability list 16 consecutive quarters.
This is according to the National Association of Homebuilders.

The most affordable market in the country plus the $8000 tax credit make buying a home a smart decision. Are you aware you can purchase HUD foreclosures in Indiana for $100.00 down? Or that if you would like to own a brand new home, many builders have drastically slashed their prices on their market ready homes in order to meet their end of the fiscal year goals?
As it stands now the $8000 tax credit program will end December 1, 2009. this means you must close by November 30th in order to qualify. If you have considered buying a home, please don't let this opportunity pass you by! Ask yourself, "how long would it take me to save $8000?" or "how long would it take me to pay down the equity on a home by $8000?"
Please call or email me today if you have any questions or would like to start looking for a home!
317-513-0141 or stacey@HRrealtygroup.com

Or you can start your search on our website:
http://tinyurl.com/HRrealty-Search

Distressed Properties

There has been so much in the news about foreclosed properties and I received a good question about how purchasing them worked which I answered in another post but I thought it might be good having it in the main blog area. So if you already read this I apologize! One thing I wanted to add was that surprisingly some of the foreclosed homes out there are not only good deals, they are also in surprisingly good shape. I've seen homes in move-in condition as well as some that just need carpet & paint and were 20-30K below list price.
"Bank owned homes – you make an offer on the property just like any other home but it may take longer to get them to respond to the offer. You can make the offer whatever you wish, it does not have to be list price and they may or may not accept it, may or may not counter the offer. Generally, they will not participate in any type of seller financing, zero down programs and they will not pay closing costs. These properties are also sold “as is” and the banks usually are not willing to make any repairs. However, if a major issue shows up on inspection that would make it difficult for them to sell it to any buyer, they may be more flexible. If not, you can back out of the deal and usually get your earnest money back. Many of the bank owned, distressed homes out there are in surprisingly good shape and need little work.
HUD homes are also a good value in many cases, they are usually listed on your local MLS and you bid on them through a HUD approved broker. (Home Run Realty is a HUD approved broker BTW!) They give 1st dibs to consumers wanting a home vs. investors. In the central Indiana area, HUD is currently offering a $100 down payment program to any owner occupied buyers. This is an awesome deal!
If you qualify for an FHA loan, the down payment has to be a minimum of 3% of sales price (3.5% beginning Oct. 1st, 2008). FHA is generally the best way to go for a 1st time home buyer or anyone without a long and stellar credit history as they are a little more flexible on qualifying guidelines.
Closing costs will vary depending upon the area you are in and the type of loan program you get. A lender will need to provide you with a good faith estimate so you can get a good idea of the expenses there.
Zero down programs are still available until Oct. 1st. Some lenders are saying you must be under contract and approved for the loan by October 1st, others are saying the transaction must be closed by Oct. 1st. That is why there is no time to delay in talking to a lender and looking at properties if you have decent credit but no down payment money saved up!
Short sales can be the most difficult transactions for buyers. Banks will tell sellers they will do a short sale with them and to market the home but then not actually be looking at offers for months. Currently, I have a short sale listing where the offer has been in since July 1st and the bank has not responded to the offer. We have called, emailed, left messages and even in rare instances talked to live human beings but have not been able to get them to even give us a timeline. If you make an offer on a short sale, have a firm idea of your timeframe, how long you are willing to wait before you move on to another property.
If you live in the Central Indiana area, The Home Run Realty Team is ready to help you through the buying maze and remember for BUYERS, our services are FREE. If you do not live in our area, call us and we will still help you find a good agent in your area! You can reach us at 1-866-HOMERUN (866-466-3786) X240.

Downtown Indy Pics

These are some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago after attending a seminar at the Etiljorg Museum. Downtown Indianapolis offers so many great views. I am admittedly a rank amatuer when it comes to photography but I'm going to try to keep taking pics and posting them. If you have never been to Indianapolis, maybe you will see something that will inspire a visit! (or even a move!)

Locality

There is a saying in real estate that all markets are local. This is brought home to me frequently these days as we deal with the unrelenting media coverage of the "housing crisis" and all other things dire. I am working with a great couple that were interested in buying a ranch home on the NW side of Indianapolis. We looked at acoupld the first day we went out, and while both were nice, one of the homes had an outstandingly landscaped back yard. My clients wanted to digest what they had seen and meet with their lender again before making any decisions.We talked and I told them that since the home showed really well, I didn't think it would stay on the market long but since the media has drilled it into everyones that it is a "buyer's market" and nothing is selling, I think my clients thought I was exaggerating. We called a couple of days later to schedule a second showing and surprise, the home was under contract. We scheduled showings on six more homes a couple of days later and made an offer on one. It got two other offers the same weekend! We made an offer on their next choice and they got it, for 97% of list.
There are many great properties available now and there are motivated sellers as well as REO and distressed properties but buyers should be aware that depending on the neighborhood and the condition of the home, they are selling.

Why No One Should be Bored in Indy!

I have lived in Indianapolis since 1978 when I moved from my childhood home in Muncie, IN. I loved it from the beginning but there have been so many positive changes that have made it a home to be proud of. Here are just a few of the things I love about Indianapolis :
• The new library addition downtown. It is so open and filled with light, and offers one of the best views of the downtown skyline as well as an impressive mix of new and old architecture. It is a fitting representative of Indianapolis, an appreciation of the old and embracing the best of the new!
• Fall Creek Place- the revitalization of this neighborhood has been a joy to watch. Public and private money and tax incentives have brought a run down, crime ridden neighborhood back to its former glory. Older homes were rehabbed and new homes were built with their exterior architecture designed to blend in with the old.
• Downtown-so much to do! The new Colts stadium, Conseco Fieldhouse, Victory Field, Circle center Mall, White River state Park, The Zoo, The Indiana State Museum, The Eiteljorg Museum. Walking along the canal, enjoying the many festivals at Military Park, walking or riding bikes around the Circle. Visiting one of the great restaurants, walking the War Memorial Plaza.
• Mass Ave.-the theatres, the art galleries, the restaurants and the cool new condos
• The Monon Trail, the new Cultural Trail , the tow path and all the great biking and hiking trails that will take you from one end of the county (and beyond) to the other.
• The Children’s Museum, sometimes more fun for adults without their children! After all, kids tend to have a short attention span and there is so much to see and read and do!
• The Indianapolis Art Museum, with its new addition and fabulous grounds it is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon any time of the year but you can’t miss the Penrod Art Festival in September. Great art, music, food and a perfect Fall Day-what could be better?
• Broadripple Village-long the home of the young and hip and the Baby Boomers who are or were once young and hip too! Stopping in at one of the bars or restaurants with outdoor seating after a run or walk with the pooch on the Monon Trail. Visit one of the unique shops, stop in at the health food store that has been there since the 70”s, feed the ducks along the Canal.
• Meridian Street-driving along the street that divides the East and West sides of the city is a treat. True mansions dating from the early 1900’s including the past and present governors mansions.
• Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis-wow, how this campus has changed since I graduated from there in 1980! I transferred from Ball State University in Muncie to finish my last two years at IUPUI. This was before the Natatorium, the Track and Field Stadium and the rest of the incredible expansion which has made it a full fledged urban campus!
• Concerts at White River State Park and Verizon Music Center, not to mention smaller venues like The Murat & Egyptian Room, The Vogue, The Music Mill and others.
These are just some of the reasons to love living in the Indianapolis area, come visit or come and stay!