Realty Insights for Home Buying, Home Selling, and Indy Info

What's In, What's Out with Homebuyers in 2007 by Mark Nash The housing correction. My prediction in the 2006 "What's In, What's Out" I forecasted a soft decline in home prices in most markets. In 2007 I project a 5-8% decline in prices on average between single-family and condominium homes. Homes that are priced right. It isn't the boom market of 2005, look at only the sold comparable's from the last six months. Forget the cocktail party chit-chat when all you heard was record prices in the shortest market times in U.S. real estate history. Online home valuation sites ( Zillow.com). Mainly those that utilize up-to-date and reliable home sale data. Technology is great when it works, but tread carefully with online valuation web sites. Ask yourself how long does it take your recorder of deeds and real estate transactions to record them? If up-to-the-minute, okay, otherwise plan the lead time into the online valuation to spew out accurate information. Mar...

No matter how many floors you may be traveling, almost everyone dreads that ride in the elevator and all the social awkwardness that comes with standing in silence with perfect strangers. So, a funny friend of mine came up with some fun things to do in an elevator to break that silence and maybe some unwritten social rules :) Enjoy reading but try them at your own risk! Things to Do in an Elevator 1) Make race car noises when anyone gets on or off. 2) Whistle the first seven notes of "It's a Small World" incessantly. 3) Bring a chair along. 4) Take a bite of a sandwich and ask another passenger: "Wanna see wha in muh mouf?" 5) On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it stay open until you hear the penny you dropped down the shaft go "plink" at the bottom. 6) Do Tai Chi exercises. 7) Meow occasionally. 8) Sing "Mary had a little lamb" while continually pushing buttons. 9) Say "Ding!" at each floor. 10) Lean against t...

Nothing lasts forever. But just how long can you use that mascara? When should you give in and throw away that block of cheese? Real Simple magazine recently published a guide for consumers on how long some popular foods, beauty products and household goods will last. (These dates are offered as a rough guideline. The shelf lives of most products depend upon how you treat them. Edibles, unless otherwise indicated, should be stored in a cool, dry place. (With any food, of course, use common sense.) Household cleaners also do best in a dry place with a stable temperature. After the dates shown, beauty and cleaning products are probably still safe but may be less effective.) Food Beer: Unopened: 4 months. Brown sugar: Indefinite shelf life, stored in a moistureproof container in a cool, dry place. Chocolate (Hershey bar): 1 year from production date. Coffee, canned ground: Unopened: 2 years. Opened: 1 month refrigerated. Coffee, gourmet: Beans: 3 weeks in paper bag, longer in vacuum...