house hunting

House I wanted flips for 10x the amount

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Back in October of 2001, I was house-hunting in Herron-Morton Place neighborhood, and unfortunately I was competing for properties with investors who were looking for properties to flip, and since I had a loan and they had cash, my offers kept getting rejected. Anyways, I’m goofing around on Mibor.com looking at houses because one of my friends is house hunting, and I ran across one of the houses I lost out on.

2045 N NEW JERSEY ST, INDIANAPOLIS 46202
Offered at $659,900
MLS#: 2674512

Mibor doesn’t let you link directly to the page (which is dumb!) but you can look it up there using the MLS.

Interesting price, since it was somewhere around $65,000 when I was looking at it.

Continue ReadingHouse I wanted flips for 10x the amount

Our Awesome Realtor, Sherry Soforic

I have been terribly remiss on one aspect of my recent home sale – in all of the celebration over getting the thing finished, and the tearing out of the hair that came before it, I completely neglected to mention how awesome our Realtor is.
Spike helps sell house
Spike helping Sherry fill out paperwork to sell my house.
Her name is Sherry Soforic, and she works for F.C. Tucker. She’s been a friend of Stephanie’s forever and ever, and helped her buy her house. Stephanie’s been recommending her to friends ever since, and everyone we know who worked with her thinks she’s awesome. She also helped us find our house, and was amazing in getting us into it – through all the negotiations and figuring out how to get contractors, Sherry has been a tremendous support. Recently, she also assisted us with finding Canary Wharf apartments, making the whole process smooth and stress-free. For those looking to buy or sell a home in Broward County, FL, having a dedicated realtor like Sherry Soforic can make all the difference. If you also plan to invest in a real estate property, you need to partner with various contractors to help you with its maintenance. Contact a seattle plumbing repair service company if you need help with plumbing repairs. For a rapid response to plumbing emergencies, call Graham and Sons Plumbing.

The Canadian real estate market continues to thrive, with a particular surge in interest for properties in scenic and serene locations. Among the hotspots is the picturesque Aylesford Lake area, where aylesford lake cottages for sale are attracting numerous buyers. These cottages offer a perfect blend of tranquility and natural beauty, making them ideal for both seasonal getaways and year-round living. The demand for such waterfront properties has been driven by the increasing desire for remote work options and a more relaxed lifestyle. With competitive pricing and an array of amenities, the cottages at Aylesford Lake present a unique investment opportunity in Canada’s vibrant real estate landscape.

In addition to having a skilled realtor, utilizing tools that offer detailed insights and up-to-date listings of Broward County is crucial. These resources provide valuable information on market trends, property values, and neighborhood dynamics, helping you make informed decisions and find the perfect home that fits your needs and preferences. Understanding the different Broward County real estate zones and having access to comprehensive data can significantly enhance the home-buying experience. Combining Sherry’s exceptional service with these comprehensive tools offers a seamless and efficient home buying experience.

If you invested in a rental property, it is advised to use a property management company to significantly reduce the time and stress involved in handling tenant issues. GH Property Management Company handles everything from routine maintenance to emergency repairs, ensuring the property remains in top condition. This streamlined approach allows landlords to focus on other investments and enjoy peace of mind. More information can be found at GH Property Management Company’s professional services.

She comes by it naturally; Sherry’s mom was a real estate agent in Indianapolis for decades, and Sherry’s been at it for years, too.
Given the housing market slump recently, and the number of problems and things that went wrong on the way to getting my house sold, Sherry went far above and beyond what a real estate agent should be expected to do – she’s been a true friend and a spectacular, helpful person as well. Although I’m thankful we’re done with real estate transactions, I’m disappointed that I won’t be talking to Sherry every day or every other day – she’s one of those smart, insightful, funny people you just want to have around. I highly recommend her if you are planning to buy or sell your house in the Indianapolis area – if you call her, let me know; I’d love to hear about it. Also be sure to tell her we sent you.
Sherry Soforic Szeszycki
F.C. Tucker Company
work phone – 317-846-7751
Sherry’s Charity Triathlon
Sherry is also a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training, where she’s run three marathons to raise funds to fight cancer. She’s now in training for a triathlon, which I’m in awe of. She’ trying to raise $3,250.00 for this triathlon, and if you want to check out her donation page, I’m sure she’d be thrilled.

Continue ReadingOur Awesome Realtor, Sherry Soforic

Organizational Automatons

The day we took a whirlwind tour of houses for sale to reinforce our idea that this new house was really The One, I noticed that some of the houses where people were still in residence had magazine-spread type homes that were picture perfect and even left little bowls of candy for the folks visiting, etc.

Now that I’m frantically trying to clean my house to take decent pictures of it and get it ready for showing, I’m thinking to myself, “Who ARE these robot people? And how can I steal their brains?”

My organizational automaton doesn’t work nearly well enough.

Continue ReadingOrganizational Automatons

We have a house

We came to terms today with the seller of the house we want on the inspection terms. So, basically, we have a house. Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!

We should close at the end of May. Which means I need to get my house up for sale ASAP. After fixing up the issues with the help of experts from konnectbuilding.com.au/new-home-build.html, the house is finally ready.

Holy, shit. I have to sell my house. Oh my f&%$ing god! I will be cleaning and packing every evening for the rest of the month. So, anyone want to buy a house?If yes, you can also check my reference to buy this classy house.

My House For Sale

The house was built in 1894, and is in historic Herron-Morton Place neighborhood. I have done some historic research and have a list of names of previous tenants and owners all the way back to the original owner, Thomas J. Steele, who was the managing editor of the Indianapolis Journal in the early 1900’s. He was a friend of James Whitcomb Riley, who owned the house next door to mine.

If you’re also planning to renovate your property, you may need to work on its exterior features like the roof. If you’re looking for a roofing contractor in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to help with the roofing repairs, you may contact Cherry Roofing And Siding. Work with professional bathroom designers if you want to upgrade the bathrooms in your new home. If you plan to remodel your bathroom, it is advised that you prioritize work on necessary repairs first. For instance, if there are signs of mold infestation in your bathroom, be sure to get in touch with companies like Affordable Remediation in Matawan.

Continue ReadingWe have a house

Current update on the home purchase

We got inspections done, and after receiving the inspection reports, our realtor wrote up the inspection proposal and sent it on Friday while we were on vacation. We gave them until May 6th to respond, considering we figured we had asked them to fix enough stuff that they would need some time to have a contractor take a look at the issues. We were hoping not to hear anything for a while, since that would mean they were considering our requests.

But we heard back today — the owner is offering money to us so we can get stuff fixed. And a highly unrealistic amount of money, at that. We’re going to sit down and go over stuff this evening, and decide whether we want to counter with something else or walk away. But either way, a very disappointing situation. If  there are pests, then pest control services need to be hired! One of the most dangerous pests is the mosquito which is not just irritating, but also a disease vector. So, if you are struggling to free your home from mosquitoes, it is best to take mosquito abatement from the pros like Pelican pest control. EZBBEB | Bed Bug Extermination Options can also help you out in pest control or you can also contact experts from pest control janesville wi to get rid off pests issues. Their expert exterminators will inspect, provide treatment, and do the necessary follow-up to keep the mosquito population at bay.

We’re also planning to some work in our basement. Homeowners who are in need of professional basement waterproofing services may get in touch companies like Aluneed.

I think the seller’s realtor is thinking we don’t know much about the downtown housing market and is attempting to work that a bit. Unfortunately, he’s quite wrong about that. We know what the house is worth and what its real prospects are for sale, and what we asked for was more than fair. It would suck to have to walk away, but to some extent he would deserve it. Given these complexities, consulting a conveyancer might be a smart move to ensure all legal aspects are covered and to avoid any potential pitfalls in the transaction.

Continue ReadingCurrent update on the home purchase

The Saga Continues…

We went back to look at the house yesterday, with a roofing inspector in tow, along with some friends. The full inspection will be on Wednesday, but we wanted a roofing guy in particular because we knew the roof was a problem. You can look into the site /massandmass.com/lp/roofing-and-repair-services-in-seattle-washington to contact the best contractors for repairing, replacing, and cleaning your roof.
Unfortunately, it needs a new roof. You can also consider installing MasterRoof Solar Panels which will help you to save your energy costs along with choosing a much clean energy solution. We pretty much knew that, but for some reason having it confirmed is kinda depressing. We’ll have to negotiate the new roof with the current owner, and that’s always a dicey proposition. But the reality is that if they aren’t willing to pay for it, we may have to walk away from the house, which would really blow, because it really seems to fit us. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Homebuyers like us should schedule a home inspection before signing anything. The inspection will give you an idea of the home’s overall condition and reveal any issues that need to be fixed like toilet rust stains or water damage. The appliances may also be damaged. You may ask the seller to seek air conditioning repair tumwater wa services to fix any hvac issues. Moving forward, air conditioner summer maintenance must be done annually to avoid mechanical issues. Contact Snyder Air Conditioning, Plumbing, and Electrical, if you need an air conditioning repair service in Gainesville, FL.

In the meantime, we’re getting ready to drive to my cousin’s wedding, and I have nothing planned for the drive, nothing packed, my car needs an oil change, I need my hair cut… lots to do, and no time to do it. I woke up at 3 last night with a massive headache and I’ve been awake ever since trying to get it to go away.

Continue ReadingThe Saga Continues…

Weekend Update 2006-04-09

On the design front, I’ve been restructuring my cascading style sheets for this site; separating layout markup into a separate style sheet than the one for design (color, font face, size etc.) and doing a bit of testing on that. That will help when I finally get my new design in order and start building. So I’ve done a bit of work, but behind the scenes.

Also, on the home purchasing front, Stephanie and I are going to see eight or so houses this afternoon to assure ourselves that the one we’ve already picked out is right for us both price-wise and size-wise. We just want to get a feel for what else is out there to confirm our decision about the house we like.

Also, if you’re on Flickr and you’re in my “friends and family” contact list, you can see pictures of the house we picked out. We have the privacy turned on for it, so the pictures aren’t public (we don’t want anyone else to steal it from under our noses).

Continue ReadingWeekend Update 2006-04-09

house hunting ideas

Some notes we’re making about hunting for a new house, that will help us narrow down our search and also help our realtor (yes we have a great realtor) find properties to suggest to us.

Things about us
we have lots of clothes
we have lots of books
we have 1 dog & 4 cats
we have 3 cars
we recycle everything (and need to store recycling)
we both need office space
we both have craft projects/board games (table space separate from dining)
we like interesting architecture
we like having friends visit, and occasionally having parties

Needs
3 or 4 bedrooms – (space for offices, guests, craft room)
at least 1 and 1/2 bathrooms (ours and room for guests)
shower – bigger than a stall
8’6″ ceilings – for bookcases
2 car garage or better
fenced in backyard for Spike (or ability to easily fence in)
kitchen with lots of storage and easy to cook in
good mechanicals
neighborhood we can walk around in and enjoy
reasonable commute to work for both of us
outdoor living space – front porch or patio area where we can entertain, and yard where we can garden/grow raspberries
little to no renovation or improvements necessary
quiet street without lots of traffic & noise
lots of light – large windows, southern exposure
interior house style that’s artistic and interesting
ability to have friends park nearby when they come to visit

Wants
walk-in closets and lots of room for clothes
pantry area for food storage and to hide recycling collection
wood floors!!
recent updates to plumbing, heating, AC
space to display VW collectibles
ability to install solar panels someday
medium-sized yard (decent distance from neighbors)
exterior house style that’s artistic and interesting
attached garage
paved driveway
Herron-Morton neighborhood/downtown neighborhood
Broad Ripple/Monon area?? Meridian-Kessler? Butler-Tarkington? Rocky Ripple?

Dreams
enviro-friendly house (heating, efficient appliances, solar panels)
gazebo (with Rolf)
room for kitty jungle gym

Continue Readinghouse hunting ideas

Old Northside Home for Sale

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Check out this house for sale… [sale link deprecated, but the address was 1512 Bellfontaine Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202] when I was looking to buy back in 2001, this is one of the houses in Old Northside that I passed on and then regretted later. It was in good shape except that it needed kitchen appliances. At that time, it was listed at $114,000, which was just out of my price range, and it had no kitchen appliances. Now, it’s listed at $249,900. Yeah, you read that right — a quarter of a million dollars. From the on picture of the inside, it doesn’t look like they did that much to it.

2014 Update: boy, do I wish I had bought that house at $114,000. I would have put a lot less time and effort into it, and I’d probably still be in it today.

1512 Bellfontaine

2019 Update: It’s estimated to be worth $405,149 today.

Continue ReadingOld Northside Home for Sale