Greater Indianapolis Real Estate Podcast with Shawna Brooks

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been noticing a little bit of a stillness in our real estate market. We also noticed this little hiccup wasn’t just happening to our local market—it was happening nationwide.

Industry experts are calling this a “blip on the radar,” and it will be interesting to see if it carries into July. If it happens for two months in a row, we’re experiencing a trend, but for now it’s just a blip on the radar.
 

When looking at the numbers for the first half of this year in the 46143 zip code, I noticed a low number of showings in January, but that number climbed in February and March. For example, in January, for homes priced between $200,000 and $300,000, there were 318 showings. In February, that number rose to 412. In March, it went up to 592. In April, that momentum caused it to climb all the way up to 671. In May, that number plateaued around 670. In June, it dropped to 650.

For now, this stillness is just a blip on the radar.

This is nothing to be alarmed about, but like I said above, this decline was something the whole market felt from coast to coast. In any case, we will stay on top of this development. At Shawna’s Home Team, our average days on market is still just 22 days, and our homes are selling for 98.6% of our asking price.

If you have any questions or you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone or email. We’d be glad to help you.
 

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.

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!

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!
 

We just wanted to take a second to introduce our newest team member, Killian, and wish you a happy Valentine’s Day. We appreciate everything your business and want to send you much love in 2017.

Thank you so much for your business.

As always if you have any real estate related questions, please feel free to give us a call or send us email! We look forward to hearing from you!

 Selling your home? Get a free home valuation.

How do changing interest rates affect you as a buyer? I’ll go over the answer to that and give you a quick market recap today.

For December, overall sales were up 4.2% from November, and as we ended 2016, the fourth quarter ended 10.2% higher than the third quarter. That was interesting to see, as the fourth quarter is usually not as strong for sales.

Now, let’s talk about how changes in interest rates are affecting buying power. Right now, interest rates are at about 4%, but that may not be your specific interest rate. The interest rate you get depends on your credit score, your income, and your debt ratio.

Now is the time to buy your dream home.

However, let’s say your interest rate was 4% and your lender had approved you for a loan of $250,000. For every 0.5% increase in your interest rate, your buying power is reduced by 10%. So, if your rate went up to 4.5% and you lost 10% of your buying power, you’d now only be approved for a $225,000 loan.

That is a significant difference. As a buyer you really need to grasp how substantially that affects your buying power. If your goal is to buy your dream home, I promise you the time is now. Every time interest rates go up, your buying power goes down. Now really is the time to take action and I am here to help!

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

Today, I wanted to talk about painting, carpeting, and decorating allowances when selling a house in the Indianapolis market.

We often see sellers who realize that their carpet or kitchen flooring, for example, is outdated or needs to be replaced. Many times, these sellers will opt to give a flooring allowance. However, I would advise you not to allow any sort of flooring allowance or decorating allowance up front.

Why? When you make an offer like that, it's like making an up-front offer to your kids—they just don't appreciate it. Secondly, when a buyer walks through your home and sees 2,000 square feet that needs new flooring, the amount of money they will think it takes to replace all of it will be much larger than the actual number it will cost.

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Buyers will always assume flooring replacement will cost more than it actually would.

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Instead, have your Realtor call a flooring person to come out and replace the flooring up front. If you replace it up front, it will not only cost you less than the amount a buyer would have asked for, but it will also help your home sell faster and for more money.

When we sell a home and say there's a carpeting allowance, people tend to automatically assume the house has filthy orange shag carpet when in reality, it might not be that bad to begin with.

If you have any other questions about selling your house, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help!

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.
 

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

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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.

With the holidays fast approaching, we wanted to take a second to say thank you to all of you who have worked with us in the past.
 

We look forward to working with you, your family, and your friends in the near future.
 

We often associate the term ‘closing costs’ with buying a home. While buyers will always have closing costs, many people aren’t aware that the sellers will always have them too. These costs are there for you as a seller whether you use a Realtor or not.
 

Closing costs for sellers include, but are not limited to: title insurance, prorated taxes, deed and affidavit recording fees, and a home warranty. Taxes are prorated in Indiana because the state thinks it’s a great idea to pay our taxes one full year late. That’s a big chunk of the costs. You will also have to pay your final sewer bill as part of your closing costs as a seller.

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Sellers have closing costs, too.

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We have found lately that most of our offers come in in the evenings or on the weekends. It’s always a pain to try and contact title companies during that time to get sellers a more accurate idea of what their closing costs will be, so I suggest abiding by this rule of thumb: seller closing costs typically come out to about 3% of the sale price of the home. Budget for that amount and you won’t be left hanging out to dry in the end.
 

If you are thinking about selling and want to know exactly how much money you are going to walk away with, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help out and answer any questions you may have.