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We recently had a prospect who got furious with us because we wouldn’t answer all of his questions.  He threatened to leave bad reviews on the internet and went on to call us names, and even went as far as contacting the property owner to report us.  Unfortunately, this young prospect was completely in the wrong and I’m sure our tenants will appreciate our stance. So I wanted to share his questions and explain why we couldn’t answer all of them. 

Does the current tenant live alone or is there a family living here?

What is the neighbors like and what do they do?

What is the neighborhood like?

Is there crime in the area?

Questions like these are actually illegal for Realtors to answer.  Outside of legal positions, we would NEVER disclose who our current tenants are for basic safety reasons. Not understanding or accepting the privacy of tenants is just disrespectful!  We did refer the prospect to the local police department who could provide reports on crime but this didn’t seem to satisfy him. He felt like we should answer the question directly but we don’t have that data as we, too, turn to the police department for information.  

Due to local, state and federal laws, agents cannot legally profile what ‘type’ of person lives in a building or offer to stereotype a neighborhood. This can be considered discrimination and/or  steering, both of which are illegal! Besides, we don’t make it a habit to drive around neighborhoods looking at people – we have plenty of other work and other things to care about! But, if a tenant or buyer cares about that, then they can spend time in the area to form their own conclusion.  

If questions like these are important to you, then please know that you need to do your own due diligence because agents will not violate laws, discriminate or stray from our Code of Ethics. 

Many sellers pull their homes off the market if not sold by December. That isn’t always the best decision. And, here’s why….

There is generally less inventory in December, January & February. That means for any buyer who is house-hunting during this time frame has less to choose from and if it is necessary for them to buy, they are willing to settle for less features and pay a higher price.

Also, in December, many people decorate for the holidays. Although a decorated house can feel a little cluttered, it also can feel full of warmth and love, another selling feature to capture buyers!

If you want to avoid the moving period during the holidays, that can easily be a negotiated term during the offer to purchase period. But, if you still want to pull the house off the market to avoid showings during Christmas, you should be prompt and prepared to get the house back on the market right after the New Year’s holiday. If the weather is mild, the Spring market starts in January, not in May so don’t miss the opportunity to sell during peak market conditions!

If asked which room would you want to remodel/update, most people will answer one of two rooms….. Kitchen or Bath. It just so happens that these two rooms also earn the highest return on investment and can provide the best impact on pricing a home for sale.

Avoid making remodeling mistakes if you plan to sell. By choosing traditional and neutral products, it’s best to stay away from trendy patterns that may become outdated too quickly. You should also think like the general buyer rather than personalize to your own taste if you tend to have unique preferences. Painting and choosing the right paint colors are important tasks to complete a remodel by giving a fresh, clean and crisp finish.

Rooms that have not been updated in the last 10 years are overdue! It may not sound like very long, but decorating and designs typically last no more than a decade.

The quick answer is YES. Houses DO sell after Labor Day. In fact, we usually see a surge in activity in October & November. Buyers are able to make an offer and close on a mortgage in a month so having a goal of being in a new home for the holidays is realistic.

Unfortunately, we are seeing the continued challenge of low inventory so the statistics look like sales have fallen but that’s just because there are less transactions due to few houses being for sale.

Meet Kaili Frye! Kaili Frye is a lifelong resident of Bloomington. She graduated from Bloomington High School South in 2013 and continued her education at Indiana University, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in 2017.  She is a third generation real estate agent and watched her family as they owned a Real Estate Firm working with sales and rentals. She decided to follow in the family’s footsteps and became a licensed real estate agent in January 2018.  She received extensive training with a large real estate franchise during an 18-month period but knew she wanted to grow her real estate career with a locally owned and operated company.  Kaili is driven to help her clients succeed and will be using her skills along with tools from Choice Realty and Management to better serve buyers and sellers with their real estate needs.

If you’re like me, you don’t have much free time to work outside in landscaping. And, when you do have free time, it rains! With 97% humidity and temperatures in the high 90’s, it doesn’t take long for weeds to take over and create a mess.

Spraying weed killer might be quick and easy and it does kill the weed but it’s still there, looking brown and wilted. For the best appearance, the weeds still need to be physically removed. And, sometimes it’s best to hire a crew to take care of the work that you don’t have time to do.

Planning ahead and taking preventative steps is even better. When you are creating landscape areas, be sure to use black plastic to help prevent weeds. Use a landscape border to help create an edge for weed-eating and keeping grass clippings out of the landscape beds.

Do you start with picking out a new counter top? Or, do you start with picking out a new wall paint color? Or, what about painting cabinets or the backsplash? I had this conversation recently and I think the answer is: whichever item is most important to you! There is no right or wrong way to go about updating materials. If you start with the counter top then you can match paint color. Or, if you start with a wall paint color then you can match the counter top or backsplash.

If you plan to stay long-term, updating to please yourself is most important. However, if you plan to sell and move, then thinking of the general buyer would be an important factor to consider. The general consumer likes neutral and traditional. The general consumer is typically a medium-grade buyer; not too fancy and not too cheap.

When remodeling, it’s also important to match the value of the home. For example, if you have a basic, affordable ranch, you most likely would avoid spending thousands of dollars on a solid surface counter top. However, if you have a high-end priced home, you most like would not pick out the cheapest laminate top.

With the low inventory challenges still lingering, we have been experiencing high price increases and contracts within hours. It sounds great for sellers to maximize their home value but buyers are pushing limits on market value. Will the demand for paying top dollar cause a slowdown in the market or jeopardize the health of the economy? Some would argue that it cannot be sustained while others are searching for ways to create more inventory which would lessen the pressures on pricing.

We have noticed an increase of price reductions. It’s hard to say if the market is slowing down or if sellers were wrongly confident on pricing. In most market conditions, a home priced right and in good condition will sell.

With Spring upon us, many people think about freshening their homes with new paint colors and adding new decor. Before picking a favorite color, one should decide the purpose of the room and what type of mood is desired when spending time in the room. Paint colors are a lot like aromatherapy. Colors can create a specific feel or mood so it’s more than buying a bucket and brush.

Blue tones can be productive but also calming and can be soothing which helps lower blood pressure. Purple and Lavendar tones are also relaxing and calms nerves. Pink is consider happy and calming. Reds and Oranges are typically aggressive colors which increases adrenaline and one’s appetite. Yellow paint is happy and energetic which increases metabolism and alertness. Green tones are tranquil and represents good health. Overall, dark colors tend to be warm and sophisticated.

A Happy You is a Happy Home. A Happy Home is a Happy You. Make sure you take time to decorate your home to create a place to enjoy and use each room to create peace and productivity.

You may not want to spend money doing maintenance, but being proactive rather than reactive usually costs less money and much less stress! When I teach a home buyer class, I talk about budgeting and planning for maintenance after closing on their new house.

People don’t like to spend money on things that aren’t much fun, but do you want to spend $75 cleaning gutters or $1000 fixing water damage? Or, how about spending a couple hundred dollars on caulking and painting rather than a couple of thousand dollars replacing damaged and rotted wood? There are many suggestions on the internet of what kind of home maintenance is needed. Making an annual schedule can be helpful, breaking it down monthly so that your expenses and time can be spread out to make it more manageable without neglecting.

Our Maintenance Department is for hire and has affordable pricing. If you don’t have the time or if you’re not handy with house maintenance, consider Choice Maintenance to help with your general maintenance chores.