Newsletter - Bettina Settles Realty, LLC - The Premier Real Estate Website for Central Indiana

January/February/March 2008

What Buyers are looking for

in a home.

SEARCHING

FOR A HOME

Did you know that ..................

.............Nearly four out of five home buyers worked with a real estate agent to purchase their home.

.............When searching for a home, the most desired features were central air conditioning, an oversized garage, a walk-in closet, and a backyard or play area.

..............The most desired rooms/spaces were garages, living rooms and laundry rooms.

.............Repeat buyers placed more importance than first-time buyers on almost all home features.

..............Home buyers that purchased a home without a desired feature or room would be willing to pay extra for central air conditioning (typically $1,880), two or more full bathrooms (typically $2,040) and hardwood floors (typically $1,900).

.............Over 90 percent of recent home buyers thought energy efficiency was an important consideration when searching for a home to purchase.

...............When comparing the home they recently purchased to their ideal or preferred home, most home buyers were satisfied with regard to their home’s age, overall size, size of the kitchen, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and closet and storage space.

This information came from NAR® study called Profile of Buyers Home Feature preferences 2007

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What are the characteristics of a home purchased by a Buyer in 2007

The typical home purchased during the survey period was 12 years old, 1,840 square feet in size, and had three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

First-time buyers typically purchased smaller and older homes than repeat buyers and were more likely to purchase a home in an urban/central city area.

More than 80 percent of homes purchased had central air conditioning and garages, and less than half had basements.

More than 90 percent of home buyers were satisfied with the home they purchased, and nearly two-thirds of all buyers were very satisfied.

This information came from NAR® study called Profile of Buyers Home Feature preferences 2007

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When is a bedroom

not a bedroom?!?

......even so you use it as such...

DISCLAIMER: This only applies only to the State of Indiana and then you still need to check your local codes with in the City and County you are residing in

Talking to sellers, buyer sand REALTORS alike I thought I am going to take this topic and try to unravel the mystery when a bedroom is not a bedroom. I run in to this issue a lot in either older homes or homes with basements.

Looking at homes I am finding people calling a bedroom that should not be called a bedroom for several reasons and Housing rules. When you would like to use it as a bedroom it will be up to you but when I look at a home that is advertised as a 3 bedroom and I look at it and find out it is not I will inform my clients about this deficiency and options they might have or not have to turn the home from a 2 bedroom with bonus room in to a true 3 bedroom.

This information was not taken out of thin air it was taken out of State Building codes and HUD rental rulings. For more information of this you can either go to www.HUD.gov or call you appropriated State agency, or local Builders association.

For a bedroom to be a bedroom you need to be able to provide some of the following things.

1. you need to have a door and one window that can be closed and opened for privacy.

2. you DO NOT walk through this room to get into another room as it's only way in or out

3. It needs to have a closet (in some areas)

When you have a walled off room in the basement you only can call it a bedroom when you provide the following items:

1. needs to be close to a stair case or hallway

2. needs to have an emergency entrance that can be accessed from the outside with a certain square footage in size.

3. needs to have a door that can be closed for privacy.

4 It needs to have a closet (in some areas)

When you just put a bed in the basement and the basement is a walk out basement or had larger windows for emergency exits you then can call the basement a bedroom but as soon you start section it off it falls under different rulings.....

When you have questions about your bedrooms or any rooms in the house and how to classify them please feel free to call the office.

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Keep Safe when you go Home Shopping

Many buyers are still out looking for homes to move in to. Maybe they are being transferred or just want to move during the Children's' Winter Break.

The one downfall in looking for a home in the winter is that it will get a lot sooner dark then in the summer.

Here are some very practical tips, I use myself, for you to keep safe when you have to go look at homes after work and it is dark.

Never go by yourself; bring a friend or family member

When you are working with a REALTOR meet them in their office.

When you are working with the seller directly have them meet you at a public place.

Drive your own car to the property.

Let others, who are not going with you, know where you are going and how long you will be gone.

Have a security word agreed on with the person who will not with you, then when you call you can just integrate the word in to a message you are will give to the person and they know to call 911. For instance:" I am still busy, can you pick up my cat/dog up from the "VET" for me?

When you can avoid it, never look at any house in the dark.

When you look at a vacant home never look at the home after dark.

When you pull up to a House observe your surroundings and when you do not feel comfortable do not get out of the car.

Be safe and happy Home hunting

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SOME LOCAL LINKS FROM OUR LOCAL GREENWOOD IN CHAMBER

be so kind and mention this Websites name when you contact the companies below

Air Duct Cleaning

Air Cleaning Experts, Inc.

Blind Cleaning and Sales

Indy Shades, Inc.

Carpet / Upholstery Cleaning

http://www.americancarpets.net

Cleaning and Janitorial Services

Merry Maids

Painting

Jahnke Painting Co.

CertaPro Painters of Indianapolis

Moving and Storage

Greenwood Moving & Storage

Two men and a Truck

1-800-PACK-RAT Portable Storage

Heating and Air Conditioning

Carls Heating Cooling

Johnson Heating & Cooling

Peterman Heating & Cooling, Inc.

Brewer Mechanical Services - Heating & Cooling

Recycling / Trash Removal

1-800-Got Junk

Ray's Trash Service

Johnson County Solid Waste District

Quick word from Bettina,

(I could not resist to put my two cents in)

It is now 2008 and I still see that the market is a perfect buyers market. There are a lot of very nice homes on the market priced very well. Gone for this year are the times where a seller can dictate a price and sit on their hands and do nothing.

In matter for a home to sell it will need to be cleaned up, painted and staged.

Let me give you an example that had happened to me just recently. I was called by a seller who was referred to me by an Auction Company to look at their home and to help them possible help to swell their home.

Sure I checked in to the house looked at the listing history and did my Market analysis after a short phone interview to find out about the property and came up with my Pricing for the home.

I walked into the home and I immediately knew why it was not selling. The entire home was painted in very bright bold colors!

During my presentation I did mentioned to the seller that they might think about muting down the colors of they home to a neutral pallet to appeal to buyers and to give buyers a chance to place their furniture in their mind in this home.

Both of the sellers told me that the one feedback they received was that they liked the color scheme of the house and they will not change the colors and paint the house to put the house back on the market.

My only and last question to the sellers was right before I left the sellers home( knowing I will not going list this home even when they asked me to) was: “When the buyers liked the room colors of your home this much why do you think you have had not received an offer on your home?”

…….Sellers I am sorry but you need to everything in your power at this time to sell your home and this includes muting down bright, bold painted rooms and de-clutter your space. Less is more at this time…….

Let me quote a favorite quote from someone I admire and have read most of his book, Zig Zigglar

It cam out of one of his books, and now I can not remember which one, but it referred to him asking his Mother about the flat bisque's she was serving.

"They squatted to raise but they got cooked in the squat".

So Sellers....Do not get cooked in the squat.......!!

Bettina Settles

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Buying Your Home:
Settlement Costs and Information

.....you as a seller do you know what HUD is telling buyers about the home buying process in this booklet?

When you answered NO you are not alone. Most Sellers and even buyers don not know this booklet exists.

When you answered YES, GREAT!!!! you are in the minority and I consider you a very informed consumer or you have been working with our company and we either gave you a copy or we sent you a link via email.

Even so when you are only selling your current home I will assume that in the future you will buy another home, I would recommend for you to read the HUD buyers guide prior to either listing or buying your home.

You can find a copy of the Booklet at the www.HUD.gov website or just go to this link (you need to have a pdf reader like Acrobat Reader to read this form)

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What will be hot in Exterior Home Trends?

Most of us are really don't want to spend a lot of time maintaining the Yard or the home we rather just take our weekends and relax on the porch or in the garden. One of the raising trends of the exterior of the home will be the focus on relaxation with the environment in mind.

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Did you know that there is now Exterior paint available that possible will conserve energy and you don't even have to change the color of your painted house, because it comes in clear? Yes, Industrial Nanotech's Nansulate Home Protect Paint possible can decrease the energy usage between 20 and 40 percent. For more information on the paint and a local retailer go to http://www.nansulate.com/ or call 800-767-3998

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You really don't like to mow your lawn every weekend, have you ever heard of Synthetic Grass? It goes on just like a carpet over the prepared yard and all you have to do is rake the leaves or other debris. To my understanding it fades only minimally over time and it is UV-protected. For more information and a local retailer you need to go to
http://www.foreverlawninc.com/ or call 866-992-7876

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A more reasonable alternative to a Sun room could be a Fixed or retractable awning. In the summer when it is hot the awning can stay out and in the winter when you would like for the sun to shine in to you room you can retract the awning. Many of the awnings are either acrylic or vinyl coated, are easy to clean and take care off and water resistant and can stay outdoors all year long. Shop around you can find awnings as reasonable priced as $400 and as high as $4000. The best time to go shopping for an awning is at the seasons end when most manufactures put their "last season" models on clearance to make room for the new seasons models.

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You can use for your hard scape or driveway recycles pavers they now cone in every color size and style and you now can find them in almost every Garden Center.

You also can find recycled building materials for your garden in building recycling centers or when you hear of a home that is older and it is being demolished you might can contact the contractor and ask them if you can remove pieces from their old building.

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You think you do not have a room for a Balcony?!?!?

Guess again a new product from the Netherlands is suppose to be brought tot he US. I call it a balcony in a box!

When you are wanting to use the balcony you unfold the balcony and when you are done using the balcony you just fold it back up and you only see a window.

The balcony is a retrofit and can be customizes to any look.

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Bettina Settles Realty LLC

Office Phone: 317-508-0627,

Fax: 317-883-0830

E-Mail +

Website: www.BettinaSettlesRealty.com

Disclaimer: Any of the links mentioned on this page are just for informational purposes only. Bettina Settles Realty LLC is in no way shape or form responsible for any claims made by a third party service provider and we are not receiving any moneys from the below mentioned Service providers, this is just for informational purposes' only!!!

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