Archive for Indianapolis
What Hail Damage Looks Like on Gutters
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Hail damage to a gutter is typically from the inside out.
Here is a quick photo that I snapped of a home in Washington Township in Indianapolis on July 5, 2010.
Do you see the hail damage that has dented the gutters from the inside out? It almost appears as if it was dented with a hammer. Hail from this storm came in from the northwest. This view is from the southeast corner of the home.
Most hail damage to gutters is from the inside out. Another tell-tall contact point for hail is on top of the roof on the box vents. The same type of dents will be visible there in a heavy hail downpour.
Video Introduction from David Meek
Posted by: | CommentsPlease visit our YouTube channel for a home buying tip labeled “Home Buying Tip – The Good Faith Estimate (GFE)” that is referenced at the beginning of this video.
The Best And Worst Cities For Commuters (2010 Edition)
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According to the Census Bureau, 2.8 million people commute to work 90 minutes or more each day, in each direction.
Now, your daily commute may not be as long, but time spent in cars and buses is time away from work and from family. Drive-time can affect a person’s Quality of Life and it’s one reason why Forbes Magazine’s Best and Worst Commutes is worth reviewing.
Measuring travel time, road congestion and travel delays in the 60 largest metropolitan areas, Forbes ranks city commutes from best-to-worst with Salt Lake City topping the list and Tampa-St. Petersburg finishing it.
So where does Indianapolis place on the list? We are 47th out of 60. In terms of travel time, our fair city is ranked a little better at 17th out of 60. There is definitely room for improvement.
How do we address this? Let’s reign in urban sprawl and incentify development inside the I-465 loop. Let’s make plans for a light rail and commuter rail system. Thanks to a recent push by IndyConnect, the topic has been widespread in the local news recently. I will talk about the costs for this proposal in an upcoming blog post.
Currently, the Top 5 Commutes, as compiled by Forbes:
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York
- Rochester, New York
- Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York
The bottom 5 are Tampa-St. Petersburg, Detroit, Atlanta, Orlando, and Dallas-Forth Worth.
Long commutes shouldn’t deter you from moving to a particular area, but the potential commute should be consideration. Before making an offer on your next home, make a rush-hour commute to work from your potential new neighborhood. Then imagine doing it every day.
You can read the complete Forbes list of Best and Worst Cities for Commuters on its website.
Giddy Up: Last Chance to Refinance Below 5%
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are an Indianapolis homeowner and have been sitting on the fence about when to refinance your loan, do it. Now.
I check mortgage rates with different lenders everyday when I first sit down at my desk in the morning. I am not an expert, but I have noticed gradual trends.
I’ve seen rates dip many times in the last year just under that 5.00% psychological threshold. But now I am confidently asserting that this is the last time that rates like this will be seen on the radar for 30-yr fixed rate mortgages for the foreseeable future. There are a couple of reasons:
- The expiration date of the Fed’s MBS (Mortgage Backed Securities) purchase program is March 31st, 2010. The Federal Reserve starting buying mortgage-backed securities 14 months ago that had been backed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in order to give buoyancy and liquidity to the secondary mortgage market and keep money moving… $1.25 trillion worth of purchases. After the DJIA had fallen 3,000 points in a short time in 2008, investors had lost their appetites for the mortgage market. This program is ending in 45 days and a the government is leaving the MBS market. Fewer buyers of MBS means that the sellers of those bonds will need to offer a higher rate of return in order to sell them to the remaining buyers. That cost is passed on to mortgage consumers. Rates are pushed upward.
- According to my back-of-the napkin calculation, the average annual 30-yr fixed rate was 6.29% for the years 2000-2009. I found this data on Freddie Mac’s website under the Primary Mortgage Market Survey (that dates back to 1971). The artificially low rates that we have seen recently have been a result of government stimulus. Now rates will slowly seek equilibrium at higher levels over time as the economy inches toward lower unemployment and higher production.
Set your expectation level for doing a little work to get the lowest rate. Getting a mortgage rate under 5% will take a credit score above 720, at least a 20% down payment or equivalent equity position, a consistent job history and a loan amount exceeding $125,000.
Record-Setting Marion County Tax Sale Auction Starts March 18th
Posted by: | CommentsProperties in Marion County with delinquent taxes, sewer liens, special assessment liens and other uncollected penalties will be auctioned off in Indianapolis beginning on Thursday, March 18, 2010. The public auction will be held in the Public Assembly Room (room 230) on the second floor of the City-County building in downtown Indianapolis.
Properties in Marion County with delinquent tax bills, liens and unpaid special assessments will be auctioned in Indianapolis beginning March 18, 2010.
This year’s inventory sets a record for the Marion County Treasurer’s office at over 10,500 properties. The real estate on the list accounts for more than $61 million in uncollected taxes and fees.
The sale starts at 9:00 am on March 18th and runs for several days until the inventory is exhausted. In the event that the sale is not concluded on the first day, properties will continue to be auctioned on March 19th, March 25th and March 26th of 2010. Parcels not sold on these dates during the tax auction will not be offered again for sale this year.
The tax sale buyer’s interest is limited to a lien on the property for the first year after the tax sale (or 120 in the cases of properties on the C list). The current owner of the property has that amount of time to settle debts, penalties and interest on the property in order to “redeem” the property before legal ownership is given to the high bidder. If not redeemed within the statutory period, the tax sale buyer may pay all accrued taxes, liens and assessments current and then exchange his Tax Certificate for a Tax Deed.
In the event the property is “paid up” and redeemed by the current owner, tax sale buyers can be reimbursed. They are given back the amount that they paid at the auction for the delinquent taxes, penalties and/or special assessments plus interest at a 10% annual rate. It is important to note that it is the tax sale buyer’s responsibility to record any such payment in the office of the Marion County Auditor if the buyer expects to be reimbursed when the property is redeemed.
If you are going to bid on property at the tax sale auction, remember:
- to research liens with the Marion County Recorder
- to review plat maps in the County Assessor’s office
- all sales are final and no refunds or exchanges will be made.
For a complete list of bidding and redemption procedures, see the Treasurer’s website.
In Pictures: The Severity Of The Foreclosure Crisis Depends On Where You Live
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Foreclosures stories dominate the national housing news. It seems at least one foreclosure-related story makes its way to the front page or the nightly news in Indianapolis every week.
But for as much as the foreclosure filing statistics can be astounding — over 300,000 homes were served last month alone — the prevalence of foreclosures depends on where you live.
As reported by RealtyTrac, just 4 states accounted for more than half of the country’s foreclosure-related activity last month.
- California : 22.7 percent of all activity
- Florida : 14.9 percent of all activity
- Arizona : 6.7 percent of all activity
- Illinois : 5.7 percent of all activity
The other 46 states (and Washington D.C.) claimed the remaining 49.9%.
However, just because foreclosures are concentrated geographically, that doesn’t make them less important to homebuyers in Fishers and around the country. There’s been more than 1.4 million foreclosure filings in the last 12 months and that’s a figure that can’t be ignored.
Distressed properties now play a role in one-third of all home resales.
Therefore, if you’re in the market for a foreclosed home, here’s a few things to keep in mind.
- Properties are usually sold “as-is” and may not be up to living standards. Be sure to physically inspect the home before buying it.
- Buying a home from a bank is rarely as streamlined as buying from an individual homeowner. Be prepared for delays and long closings.
- Foreclosures aren’t always listed for sale publicly. Ask your real estate agent how to access the complete foreclosure inventory.
In order to use the federal homebuyer tax credit, you must be under contract for a home by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010. That doesn’t leave much time to find a bank-owned home and make it to closing. If you’re serious about buying foreclosures, it’s probably best to start your search soon.
Indianapolis Foreclosure List: Updated Daily
Posted by: | CommentsBelow is the current inventory of all Realtor-listed bank foreclosures, HUD homes, VA foreclosures and REO properties in the metro Indianapolis area. The list is automatically refreshed every 24 hours with the most current listings at the top of the list.
The newest listings will not have photos uploaded yet. Check back for updated photos.
For information or to schedule a showing on any of these foreclosures, contact The Dream Home Company at 317-802-1299.
Showing properties
1 – 5 of 500+.
See more
Foreclosures.
(all data current as of
7/30/2010)
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$81,000 : 1019 Paul Dr, Indianapolis3 beds, 2 full bathsSize: 1,427 sq ftListed with American Wholesale Properties,
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$89,000 : 7172 Harbour Isle, Indianapolis2 beds, 1 full, 1 part bathsSize: 978 sq ftListed with American Wholesale Properties,
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$65,000 : 2130 Summer Breeze, Greenwood4 beds, 2 full, 1 part bathsSize: 1,325 sq ftListed with Atlantis Realty Group, INC
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$99,000 : 12627 Teacup Wa, Indianapolis3 beds, 2 full bathsSize: 1,811 sq ftListed with American Wholesale Properties,
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$65,000 : 1501 Woodpointe Dr, Indianapolis3 beds, 2 full bathsSize: 1,132 sq ftListed with American Wholesale Properties,
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
Simple Real Estate Definitions: Shadow Inventory
Posted by: | Comments“Shadow inventory” is created when the seller of a set of items wants to control the entry of those items on to the marketplace in order to maximize the price. The seller sacrifices time (i.e. stretching sales out into the future) in order to receive a higher amount upfront. The bulk of the items being sold are held back for future sale.
Sometimes the technique is used to create urgency, as in the release of residential lots through multiple phases in a builder’s subdivison.
In the current real estate environment, it is being used to hold the line on property values. Banks that have taken back properties through foreclosure have an excessive amount of vacant homes on their books. Advertising these for sale all at once would dramatically increase supply and drive the prices down; leading to further foreclosure activity due to depressed prices. Even non-foreclosure sales would be negatively effected.
Banks and their REO departments (stands for Real Estate Owned which is bank-speak for “foreclosure inventory”) realize that driving prices down is not a good thing when you are trying to sell your assets to recoup your losses.
I have heard the term shadow inventory used recently in two contexts: bank foreclosure inventory and sellers who are waiting to put their homes on the market until conditions are more favorable.
In the Indianapolis, Marion County market in 2009, just over one-third of a Realtor transactions were sales of foreclosed homes. That number is likely to remain high as banks slowly divest themselves of the shadow inventory.
Reminder: Marion County Property Tax Bills Due February 10
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The next installment of Marion County property taxes is due February 10, 2010.
This upcoming Wednesday is the deadline for the next installment of property taxes due in Marion County. The installment covers the time period from July 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008.
The bill was originally scheduled to be due on November 10, 2009, but the date was bumped to this Wednesday. Governor Daniels ordered an examination and reassessment for the 2006 pay 2007 tax cycle that resulted in a delay in the payment schedule for Marion County properties.
The tax cycle for Marion County will be back on track this year. The next payment due date is May 10, 2010 and covers the first half of 2009. The payment due November 10, 2010 covers the last half of 2009.
A 5% late fee will be assessed on the unpaid balance for that tax bill if the amount is paid after Wednesday but within 30 days of the due date. After 30 days, the tax bill will receive a 10% late fee on the unpaid balance.
Follow this link to see the gross assessed value for 2009 for your Marion County property.
This deadline does not apply to the other contiguous metro Indianapolis counties like Hamilton, Johnson, Hendricks, Boone, Johnson and Morgan.
