Central Indiana Real Estate News

Everyone who calls Indianapolis home should take a day to visit the Indiana State Museum. The facility is dedicated to showcasing the history, art, and culture of the Hoosier state. The building itself is an exhibit of the natural resources of Indiana, constructed from limestone, sandstone, bricks, steel, and glass. Inside are three floors with rotating exhibits. This year is Indiana’s bicentennial, and the museum is celebrating that anniversary in style. Check out the exhibit entitled “200 Years of Indiana Art: A Cultural Legacy” and see both historic works and those by contemporary artists, working across the state in media ranging from paint, sculpture, textiles, and mixed media. The bicentennial is also celebrated in the exhibit called “Indiana in 200 Objects”. These represent the history and culture of the state, from a piece of bedrock to Chuck Taylor’s own Chuck Taylors. A very special object is displayed at this Indiana real estate location. Lincoln’s mallet, which he used for driving pegs into furniture, is on display until December 31st, 2016.

Celebrate 200 Years of Statehood on Indianapolis Real Estate

The kids in your Indianapolis home can have a blast at the museum, with programs for schools, homeschoolers, and families. The Family Backpack program gives families an enhanced experience of the galleries, including hands-on activities. Budding paleontologists will especially love the Fossils Family Backpack. Kids can have a blast over the summer at museum day camps.

The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit Indiana State Museum to get information about current and upcoming exhibits and purchase tickets online.

People who live in Indianapolis love their city for its thriving cultural scene. Indiana Repertory Theatre has been putting on a variety of plays for the city for the past 40 years. The 2015-2016 season is in full swing. The current play is Bridge and Tunnel, a one-woman show celebrating the many faces of America, which runs until May 1st. Next up is Agatha Christie’s thriller The Mousetrap. This play, which is the longest-running stage play in the world, will open April 26th and run until May 22nd. The 2016-2017 season will open September 20th, with an adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ novel The Three Musketeers. Season tickets are on sale now. Season ticket holders get to enjoy the best of Indianapolis living, with a choice of days and times to see plays, as well as discounts at some of the best restaurants in downtown Indianapolis.

Enjoy Indianapolis Living and Take Theater Classes

Indiana Repertory Theatre is also a strong force for theatre education for people of all ages who live in Indianapolis. Student matinees are performed regularly, with discounted ticket pricing. A full schedule of theater classes is held each season as well. Children can learn the basics of stage acting in the youth theater sessions. Adults and teens 14 and older can get a handle on the finer points of theater design, costumes, props, and more at the new master classes.

Visit Indiana Repertory Theatre to learn more about upcoming plays, purchase tickets, and register for classes.

Looking to buy a home? Here are five essential tips for making the process as smooth as possible.

Get your finances in order.

Start by getting a full picture of your credit. Obtain copies of your credit report. Make sure the facts are correct, and fix any problems you find. Next, find a suitable lender and get pre-approved for a loan. This will put you in a better position to make a serious offer when you do find the right house.

Find a house you can afford.

As with engagement rings, there’s a general rule of thumb when it comes to buying a home: two-and-a-half times your annual salary. There are also a number of tools and calculators online that can help you understand how your income, debt, and expenses affect what you can afford. Don’t forget, too, that there are lots of considerations beyond the sticker price, including property taxes, energy costs, etc.

Hire a professional.

While the Internet gives buyers unprecedented access to home listings and resources, many aspects of the buying process require a level of expertise you can’t pick up from surfing the web. That’s why you’re better off using a professional agent than going it alone. If possible, recruit an exclusive buyer agent, who will have your interests at heart and can help you with strategies during the bidding process.

Do your homework.

Before making a bid, do some research to determine the state of the market at large. Is it more favorable for sellers or buyers? Next, look at sales trends of similar homes in the area or neighborhood. Look at prices for the last few months. Come up with an asking price that’s competitive, but also realistic. Otherwise, you may end up ticking off your seller.

Think long term.

Obviously, you shouldn’t buy unless you’re sure you’ll be staying put for at least a few years. Beyond that, you should buy in a neighborhood with good schools. Whether you have children or not, this will have an impact on your new home’s resale value down the line. When it comes to the house itself, you should hire your own home inspector, who can point out potential problems that could require costly repairs in the future.

Moving from a small town or suburb to downtown can be an intimidating proposition. Here are a few tips to help make your move as painless as possible.

Research before you move. It’s important to understand the culture you’re joining. Do research online and find out about school systems, neighborhoods, parking, weather, public transportation, and laws that are native to that area. If you can, visit a city before moving and connect with someone who’s lived there before.

Have a plan. There are a lot of steps to go through before you start packing the moving truck. Find housing before you leave, or at least know where you’ll stay while you look for a home. Never sign a lease on an apartment that you haven’t seen. If you can’t get there, find a friend or an employer to check for you. Have a job waiting for you, or if that’s not possible, know what you’ll do for money in the first few weeks of living there. Try to line up things like driver’s licenses, car insurance, renter’s insurance, and parking passes ahead of time as well.

Get involved. Meeting people in a big city can be daunting. Don’t expect the neighbors to knock your door down with a casserole when you arrive: city life is often too noisy and hectic. Take the initiative. If there are things you liked to do in your town, find ways to do those things in the city. Try new things. Volunteer. Downtown Indianapolis offers so many opportunities to engage other people, so find what you like.

Mind your wallet. City life is expensive. Everything costs more: food, insurance, clothes, rent. There are also a lot more ways to get ripped off, whether legally or criminally. Be careful how you spend, and know where your money is going.

Selling your home doesn′t just mean hiring a realtor to stick a sign out front. There are a lot of preparations you should make to ensure you get the best offer possible in the shortest time.

Repair. Just because you’ve gotten used to the cracks in the walls and the rattles in the radiators doesn’t mean a buyer will too. If you have hardwood floors that need refinishing, be sure to get it done—hardwood is a huge selling point. Buyers like to snoop around, so be sure to fix any sticky doors or drawers as well. Finally, don’t forget to address any issues with the exterior—fences, shingles, sidewalks, etc. After all, without curb appeal, some buyers may never get to see the inside.

Neutralize. You want buyers to see themselves in your home. If your living room has lime green shag, wood-paneled walls, and all your collectibles and personal photographs, this will be much harder for them to do. Try replacing any bold color choices in your floors and walls with something more neutral—beiges, tans, and whites. Repainting and reflooring will make everything look fresh and new, and help prospective buyers imagine all the possibilities.

Stage. Once your house is clean and updated, it’s time to play dress up. Home stagers can add small details and décor touches that will bring out the possibilities in the various spaces in your home: lamps, mirrors, throw rugs and pillows, flowers, decorative soaps and towels, patio furniture. Home staging can be particularly useful if your home is especially old or if the exterior looks dated. Think of it as a little mascara and rouge—if it’s done right, you notice the beauty, not the makeup.

As the events of the last few years in the real estate industry show, people forget about the tremendous financial responsibility of purchasing a home at their peril. Here are a few tips for dealing with the dollar signs so that you can take down that “for sale” sign on your new home.

Get pre-approved. Sub-primes may be history, but you’ll probably still be shown homes you can’t actually afford. By getting pre-approved as a buyer, you can save yourself the grief of looking at houses you can’t afford. You can also put yourself in a better position to make a serious offer when you do find the right house. Unlike pre-qualification, which is based on a cursory review of your finances, pre-approval from a lender is based on your actual income, debt and credit history. By doing a thorough analysis of your actual spending power, you’ll be less likely to get in over your head.

Choose your mortgage carefully. Used to be the emphasis when it came to mortgages was on paying them off as soon as possible. Today, the debt the average person will accumulate due to credit cards, student loans, etc. means it’s better to opt for the 30-year mortgage instead of the 15-year. This way, you have a lower monthly payment, with the option of paying an additional principal when money is good. Additionally, when picking a mortgage, you usually have the option of paying additional points (a portion of the interest that you pay at closing) in exchange for a lower interest rate. If you plan to stay in the house for a long time—and given the current real estate market, you should—taking the points will save you money.

Do your homework before bidding. Before you make an offer on a home, do some research on the sales trends of similar homes in the neighborhood with sites like Zillow. Consider especially sales of similar homes in the last three months. For instance, if homes have recently sold for 5 percent less than the asking price, your opening bid should probably be about 8 to 10 percent lower than what the seller is asking.