Whether you’re an Indiana property owner looking to sell or lease your home, you can’t ignore the importance of curb appeal. Curb appeal is the first impression of home buying—that immediate gut reaction you get when you look at a building. Because so many prospective buyers or renters drive by homes they’re considering before they ever call to book a showing, you could be losing out on solid prospects who can’t get past your home’s ugly exterior enough to see its lovable interior. Just like you make important judgments about people based on first impressions, they’re judging your home by your lawn, your walkways, even your driveway.

The first step to improving curb appeal is making sure the home looks well-cared for. This can be as simple as pruning back overgrown trees and giving those scraggly shrubs some shape. Make sure your street number is visible, not hidden by overgrowth, to make it easier for people to literally find your house. Make sure your lawn is neatly trimmed and free of trash, debris or excessive children’s toys. Remember, people want to imagine themselves living in your house. Consider adding a pot of flowers to the front step to add a welcoming, inviting touch.

Next, look at the exterior of your house itself. Is the paint in good repair, or is it flaking and peeling? Is the color something that most people would like, or is it a bright or just plain ugly color? How does it fit in with the houses around it—does it blend or stick out like a sore thumb? Make sure any interior lights are illuminated at night, without any broken or burned-out bulbs.

Finally, don’t neglect the driveway. Assuming prospects do book a showing, chances are good that the first thing they’ll see when they step out of the car is your driveway. Is it free from cracks, potholes and oil stains? You may want to consider a fresh seal coat for the asphalt, to give the driveway a shiny, cared-for appearance. If you have multiple cars that you keep in the driveway, consider moving them to a nearby street-parking location, if possible.

What the inside of your house looks like doesn’t matter if people never walk through the door. Whether you’re selling or leasing your Indiana home, let the experts at Polaris Real Estate make sure prospects are seeing the true beauty of your home.

First, before it ever gets to the eviction stage, a good property management company will do everything possible to fix the problem. That might mean sitting down and figuring out an alternative payment plan, finding out why a tenant is breaking lease terms and just generally understanding what the problem is. Eviction should only be a last resort. Besides the emotional toll it can take on all parties involved, evictions are also time-consuming and means your property will sit empty while a new tenant is found, meaning a loss of income for you.

If no agreement can be reached, then it might be time to start considering eviction proceedings. In the state of Indiana, evictions can start only after rent is at least ten days late, or there has been a breech in the leasing agreement. From there, the eviction process becomes regulated by law, and a property management company will help by handling all the legal headaches of dealing with an eviction so you don’t have to, making sure you’re in compliance with the law and handling the difficult matter with the respect and sensitivity it deserves.

Evictions and difficult tenants are an inevitable part of the leasing process, but one of the hardest, especially if you’re trying to manage a property on your own. Let the experienced property management agents at Polaris Property Management help guide you through every step of the rental process, even the hardest ones. Call us today.

What is a residential screening report?

A residential screening report is more than a credit report. It provides you with powerful, comprehensive information about your applicant’s rental history, including the most up-to-date eviction filings, which are obtained daily from local court records, tenant performance/lease violations as reported by other landlords, social security number misuse, current and previous landlord identification, and a terrorist search. It also screens for additional alias names and states where the individual has lived.

How do I obtain a residential screening report?

You have a variety of ways to obtain a residential screening report online, including running it through one of the three credit reporting services; however, the most comprehensive tool can be found on National Tenant Network (NTN), because it has a local office that helps its clients interpret the reports and the NTN staff can cross reference information between reports for you. Also, be sure to check your potential tenant’s retail credit history and conduct a criminal background check. This may seem like a lot of work; however, if you avoid doing your homework, you’ll either miss out on an outstanding tenant or find yourself going to court and filing eviction papers sooner than later.

Prevent high risk. Protect your asset. Minimize daily management problems. You can’t put a price on the time and grief you’ll save by running a residential screening report. It’s priceless.

John Spafford owns the Indianapolis regional National Tenant Network (NTN) office, which focuses on helping property owners and managers make the best leasing decisions possible. For more information, contact John at 317 579-3520 or email him at ntn-indiana@ntnonline.com.

First, there’s the basics: credit and background checks. A clean credit check gives you peace of mind that the tenant will pay on time and in full every month. A background check helps you discover any unsavory pasts—both criminals, sex offenders or those who commit white collar crimes like fraud that might keep you from getting paid.

Then, of course, you want to make sure that these people will treat your property with respect. While a property management company will take care of many of the major maintenance tasks, you want to make sure your tenants will keep the lawn mowed, the hedges trimmed, the yard free from trash and clutter and generally take pride in the property. When your tenants love the property, it also helps you: They’re more likely to report a minor maintenance problem, like a leaking pipe, before it turns into a giant maintenance nightmare, like a burst pipe or a flooded basement.

Finally, you want people you trust in your property. People who will leave your home as good or better than they found it, people who will be good neighbors, and people who just love living in your house. Ultimately, that all makes for a better owner-tenant relationship, and smoother sailing.

How do you find such elusive tenants? Hire an experienced property management company like Polaris Property Management. We work with property owners like you to find tenants you can trust. Give us a call and find out how we can help you find your dream tenants today.

Another busy week at Polaris! There’s no better feeling than helping a client find just the right buyer or tenant for their property. We recently did just that with this beautiful Brownsburg property. We’ve put a great family into this three bedroom, two bath home. We can’t wait to keep working them and create a positive situation for the property owners and the tenants.

If you’re in the market yourself, we have a fantastic four bedroom, three bath home in Fishers just waiting for you. Located on a quiet cul-de-sac, this house features an open floor plan that’s ideal for entertaining, and a screened porch just begging you to spend a hot summer night relaxing.

Let us help you find your dream home, or sell or lease your existing home today. Give us a call!

Specific counties actually saw tremendous growth, including Boone County (9.57% increase in units sold), Hendricks County (8.41% increase) and Hamilton County (1.42% increase). Marion County saw a 5.4% decrease in 2011 homes sold.

So what does this mean if you’re looking to buy or sell a home? If you’re looking to buy, this is still one of the best times in American history to own a home. With rock bottom home prices and low interest rates, the dream of home ownership is more attainable than ever before. However, if you’re looking to sell, the picture becomes more muddied. Homes are selling—it’s just taking longer. This underscores the importance of having an experienced real estate agent by your side who understands the Indianapolis area real estate market.

Some people will continue to struggle to find the right buyer in 2012, and these homeowners may want to consider leasing their homes. The steady cash flow allows you to move into a new home or otherwise get on with your life, and you’re still able to put your home back up for sale when the timing’s right.

If you need an experienced Indianapolis real estate agent, let Polaris Real Estate help you find the house of your dreams, or find the buyer you’ve been looking for.

• Add a new entry door. Spruce up your curb appeal and save energy by upgrading your exterior door. Steel doors, which can mimic many types of wood, typically run for $400 at big-box stores and offer the strongest barrier against intruders.
• Get organized. Decluttering and maximizing storage space are inexpensive ways to transform a home. Add space to kids’ rooms by installing platform or bunk beds ($400-$600); neaten piles of shoes with shoe organizers ($20), which can do double duty as catch-all organizers in family room closets and kitchen pantries; extend bookshelves to the ceiling, creating storage in otherwise dead space. Especially if you’re considering selling or renting, extra storage space is a huge plus with buyers and renters. Also, by stashing your stuff, you’re making it easier for your potential buyers or tenants to imagine themselves living there.
• Save with a programmable thermostat. Switching from a manual to a programmable thermostat (less than $500) can save you up to $180 a year in energy costs.  Programmable thermostats allow you a variety of options, including changing the temperature automatically while you’re out of the house or while you’re sleeping. The latest models offer remote programming via the Internet.
• Replace cabinet hardware. If you’ve got traditional knobs and pulls, try contemporary; change from staid to whimsical. Big-box retailers often have huge selections for budget prices. (10-pack for $20).
• Update bathroom flooring. Give bathrooms a quick facelift by replacing old tile with vinyl flooring or ceramic tile, which can cost as little as $3 per square foot for material and installation.

Take on little renovation projects to give your home a whole new look, whether for you or for potential buyers and tenants.

• Getting your property ready to rent. Just because you want to rent doesn’t mean your property’s ready for a tenant to move in. Is it clean? Have you removed most of your belongings? Have you made necessary repairs? Will it photograph well? Do your zoning laws or HOA covenants allow you to rent your property? How much should you charge for rent? An experienced property management agent can help make sure everything is ready for your new tenants.
• Finding tenants. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But think of all the steps involved in finding a good tenant: photographing the property, publicizing it online, in print and with a yard sign, speaking to all prospective tenants, doing background checks, renter history checks, credit checks and signing a final contract, to name only a few. It’s a big job to take on if you don’t intimately understand the ins and outs of tenant acquisition.
• Staying legally compliant. Renting your home isn’t as simple as just putting out a yard sign. There’s a whole host of federal, state and local regulations that take a professional to unravel. Additionally, a property management company can help you create strong, binding contracts, collect security deposits and deal with rent collection and eviction.
• Maintenance. A good property manager will either have an in-house maintenance team or good relationships with local handymen and contractors. They’re the ones your tenants will call when that pipe bursts at 3 a.m.

Having a good property manager can make your life immeasurably easier when renting your home or investment property. If you’re looking for an Indianapolis property management company, we’d love to talk to you about how we can help. 

1. Start with a plan. When you just start going into your kitchen and tearing fixtures out willy-nilly, you might find yourself running dangerously over budget and over schedule. So take the extra time and money to create a good plan from the start, including a demolition plan, to save on headaches further down the road. Your plan should be comprehensive and detailed — everything from the location of the refrigerator to which direction the cabinet doors will open to whether you need a spice drawer.
2. Ordering. Cabinets and appliances are the biggest investments in your kitchen remodeling project. If you're remodeling in stages, you can order them any time after the plans are complete and store them in a garage (away from moisture) or in a spare room until you're ready to pull the trigger on the installation. Remember that it may take 4-6 weeks from the day you order them for your cabinets to be delivered. Keep old flooring for cost savings. This works if your new cabinets match your old layout, so that the new cabinets fit exactly into the old flooring configuration. If the existing flooring runs underneath your cabinets and covers all flooring area, then any new cabinet configuration will be fine.
3. Demolition. Here's where the remodel gets messy. Old cabinetry and appliances are removed, and walls may have to be opened up for new electrical circuits. Keep in close contact with your contractor during this stage so you can answer questions and clear up any problems quickly. A major kitchen remodel can take 6 to 10 weeks, depending on how extensive the project is. During this stage, haul your refrigerator, microwave, and toaster oven to another room — near the laundry or the garage, for example — so you've got the means to cook meals. Consider tackling a big remodel in the summer, so you can use an outdoor grill for meals.
4. Installation. If you’ve done your homework and bought key components in advance, you should roll through this phase. You've now got a (mostly) finished kitchen. A high-end countertop and backsplash can be a sizable sum of money. If you can't quite swing it, put down a temporary top, such as painted marine plywood or inexpensive laminate. Later, you can upgrade to granite, tile, solid surface, or marble.

Kitchen remodels can be a great way to improve your family’s quality of life and your home’s long-term resale value. Just be smart about it, and you’ll be in a gorgeous new kitchen in no time. More questions about how remodels can change your home’s value? Call Polaris Real Estate, an Indianapolis real estate company with your questions.

A good property manager is probably also a REALTOR®, but a REALTOR® may not be a great property manager. Why? Many of the same skills that make for a good real estate agent also make for a good property manager: a strong knowledge of the real estate market, an understanding of comparables and marketing. However, a property manager needs a much more specialized subset of knowledge besides general real estate know-how: an understanding of applicable rental laws, a strong network of maintenance contractors, processes in place for rent collection and eviction and a dozen other subsets that someone who specializes exclusively in home sales and purchases might not know.

When it comes to choosing a property manager for your home, make sure you’re asking the right questions: does the agent have experience as a property manager, or are they just jumping on the bandwagon? How do they handle emergency maintenance requests, eviction, new tenant acquisition, rental contracts? Make sure they have experience you need to price, rent and maintain your rental property. 

	10287 Lakeland Dr, Fishers. Sold!
	206 Ironwood Cl, Noblesville. Sold!
	10853 Kllington Cl, Fishers. Sold!
	13898 Charleswood Ct, Fishers. Sold!

It hasn’t all been sales though—we have another new property on the market. Check out this beauty in the Eagle Creek area of Indianapolis:

4755 Bridgefield Dr, Indianapolis. Maintenance-free condo living! Includes great room with gas fire place, open floor plan, split-level bedrooms for privacy and a home office. Great community amenities, including gym, heated pool, and putting green!

You’re probably familiar with renter’s insurance and homeowner’s insurance, and landlord’s insurance is very similar. It protects your property from a variety of financial losses that are particular to leasing a property. For instance, many landlord insurance policies cover the standard risks of owning a property: fire, lightning and general property damage. But many go considerably beyond that to cover malicious damage by a tenant and theft. Other policies might offer the option of rent guarantee insurance to make sure you get paid even if your tenant can’t make rent for whatever reason. Every policy can vary, so make sure you find one that meets your needs. An experienced property manager can help you assess your risk and guide you in the right direction of the policy that best fits your needs. But you might find that you sleep a little more easily knowing you have landlord insurance backing you up, just in case.

For more information or to learn how you can lease your Indianapolis-area property, contact us today.

• Location: The exact same house will sell or rent for very different prices if it’s located in Carmel vs. being located in Broad Ripple. When using comparables, the closer the comp is to your house the better, but don’t just use any comparable sale within a mile radius. A good comparable sale is a house in your neighborhood, your subdivision, on the same type of street as your house, and in your school district.
• Home type: Try to find comparable sales that are like your home in style, construction material, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, basement (having one and whether it’s finished), finishes, and yard size.
• Amenities and upgrades: Is the kitchen new? Does the comparable sale house have full A/C? Is there crown molding, a deck, or a pool? Does your community have the same amenities (pool, workout room, walking trails, etc.) and homeowners association fees?
• Sales sweeteners: Did the comparable-sale sellers give the buyers downpayment assistance, closing costs, or a free television? You have to reduce the value of any comparable sale to account for any deal sweeteners.

These are all good starting points, but whether you’re selling or renting, make sure you’re working with an experienced real estate agent or property management agent to make sure you’re setting your price just right. Want more information? Call us today.

• Start with the inspection report you received when you bought the house.  Did the inspector indicate that you would need a new roof in five years? A new furnace in 10? Keep a log of your major appliances’ age so you can estimate when they’ll need replacing. Some estimated life spans:
  • Roof: 20-25 years
  • Heating systems: 15-20 years
  • Range/ovens: 11-15 years
  • Water heaters: 8- 13 years

Then get estimates on what replacements will cost and start saving.

• Consider ongoing non-emergency maintenance, too. Do you live in New England? Price a snow blower and get bids from plow services.
• Resist the siren call of the home equity loan to take care of everything. That just defeats your efforts to pay off the mortgage early.
• Separate out what you want from what you need. A $50,000 kitchen remodel is nice, but you’ll recoup only 76% of the project cost your home’s resale, according to Remodeling magazine.
• If you can afford to redo, go for it. Just don’t confuse your necessary repairs (new oil furnace—about $4,000) with your discretionary upgrades (Viking range—$6,000 and up).

Home repairs and updates are a necessary part of homeownership, but be smart about it.

Ignore contingencies

If your contract requires you to do something before the sale, do it. If the buyers make the sale contingent on certain repairs, don’t do cheap patch-jobs and expect the buyers not to notice the fixes weren’t done properly.

Don’t bother to fix things that break

The last thing any seller needs is for the buyers to notice on the pre-closing walk-through that the home isn’t in the same condition as when they made their offer. When things fall apart in a home about to be purchased, sellers must make the repairs. If the furnace fails, get a professional to fix it, and inform the buyers that the work was done. When you fail to maintain the home, the buyers may lose confidence in your integrity and the condition of the home and back out of the sale.

Get lax about deadlines

Treat deadlines as sacrosanct. If you have three days to accept or reject the home inspection, make your decision within three days. If you’re selling, move out a few days early, so you can turn over the keys at closing.

Refuse to negotiate any further

Once you’ve negotiated a price, it’s natural to calculate how much you’ll walk away with from the closing table. However, problems uncovered during inspections will have to be fixed. The appraisal may come in at a price below what the buyers offered to pay. Be prepared to negotiate with the buyers over these bottom-line-influencing issues.

The best way to make sure you don’t let a sale slip through your fingers is to make sure you’re working with an experienced Indianapolis real estate agent like Dan Baldini and the Polaris Real Estate team. To see how we can help you sell your house, give us a call today.

Why are so many more people turning to renting? It offers certainty and stability in an unpredictable housing market. People enjoy the flexibility of being able to move on after a few months or a year’s lease instead of being tied into a 20-30 year mortgage on a home they may or may not be able to sell. Many people also appreciate being free from the burdens of home maintenance: when a pipe bursts or the roof leaks, all they have to do is make a phone call and someone else will take care of it at no expense to them. Especially as baby boomers age, the prospect of a maintenance-free lifestyle will continue to appeal to more and more potential customers.

That’s why there’s never been a better time to consider leasing a property. Whether you’re interested in leasing a property as an investment or you can’t sell your house but need to move on with your life, renting can be a profitable, stable source of income. If you’re interested in exploring the possibilities of renting your home or property with an experienced Indianapolis property management firm, call us today. 

“Working with Polaris Real Estate and The Dan Baldini Team, the application process was very quick and easy! We scheduled a showing of the unit and within a few hours of deciding we were interested we were approved and had a signed lease.  Everything is electronic, simple and straight-forward.”

Later, Abby returned to Polaris Real Estate for help in renting her own condo. She’d originally worked with another company to lease her property, but she learned a valuable lesson in the process:

“Originally, we had hired another local company to manage our rental and quickly learned you get what you pay for.  Their fees were low but they had extremely slow response time and a highly unqualified staff. “

Her condo sat on the rental market for two months without any interested tenants. After her experience as a tenant with Polaris Real Estate, Abby decided to see if Polaris could help her find a renter for her home.

“The Polaris team communicates proactively and responds quickly. They’re very knowledgeable on price and have great recommendations to ensure the property is ready to rent.”

In just two weeks, we were able to rent Abby’s home for full-price and Polaris Property Management is taking care of the new tenants. It was a pleasure working with a client on both sides of the property management coin. Call us today and let us show you how we can help you find either the perfect rental or the perfect tenant!

1. How long have you been selling homes?

Mastering real estate requires on-the-job experience. The more experience agents have, the more likely they’ll be able to handle any curveballs thrown during your home sale.

2. What designations do you hold?

Designations like GRI (Graduate REALTOR® Institute) and CRS® (Certified Residential Specialist), which require that agents complete additional real estate training, show they’re constantly learning. Ask if agents have designations and, if not, why not?

3. How many homes did you sell last year?

Agents may tout their company’s success. An equally important question is how many homes they’ve personally sold in the past year; it’s an indicator of how active and aggressive they are.

4. How long on average did it take you to sell homes?

Ask agents to show you this data along with stats from their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so you can see how many days, on average, their listings were on the market compared to the average for all properties in the MLS.

5. How close were the asking and sales prices of the homes you sold?

Sometimes sellers choose their agent because the agent’s suggested listing price is higher than those suggested by other agents. A better factor is the difference between listing prices and the amount homes actually sold for. That can help you judge agents’ skill at accurately pricing homes and marketing to the right buyers. It can also help you weed out agents trying to dazzle you with a lofty sales price just to get your listing.

6. How will you market my home?

The days of agents putting a For Sale sign in the yard and hoping for the best are long gone. Look for an agent who does aggressive and innovative marketing, especially on the Internet.

Make sure you have an agent with the experience, drive and knowledge needed to sell your home. Call us today to find out how Polaris Real Estate and Dan Baldini can help sell your home.

1. Verify, verify, verify. Sure, your tenant may say they’re employed, but not everyone can be trusted to tell the truth. Take the time to call their employer and make sure they’re gainfully employed. Save yourself the time and cost of an eviction—make sure they’re telling the truth on the front end!
2. Background check.  When it comes to choosing a tenant, you need to make sure these are people you’d feel comfortable living in your home. Do they have a criminal past? Are they a registered sex offender? Do they have a poor credit score and history of skipping out on rent? A thorough background check can shed considerable light on any prospective tenants.
3. References. You can learn a lot simply by talking to people who know your prospect best. Maybe you’ll want to talk to one of their previous landlords and make sure there were no complaints or late payments, or you’ll want to talk to their employer and make sure they’re trustworthy. Take the time to get other people’s perspectives on your renter before singing on the dotted line.
4. Talk to them. Yes, it’s old fashioned, but take some time to get to know your clients. Not only will you get a better picture about what kind of people they are, you might find information they wouldn’t tell you otherwise. Maybe they’ll mention their dog and you can remind them it’s a no-pet property, or you’ll find other useful information that makes your decision easier.

The best way to choose a tenant is to have a trusted partner in the process. When you work with an experienced property manager like Polaris Property Management, you’ll have our years of experience behind every tenant decision. Call us today to help us how we can help attract the best renters to your property.