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

Following is an article from Bankrate.com with some helpful tips for homeowners who may be facing foreclosure or the threat of foreclosure: Homeowners have several options for saving money, their credit rating or their home -- but should beware of scams. By Bankrate.com In the beginning of the foreclosure process, homeowners can still save money, their credit or their house if they act quickly. Even when declaring bankruptcy, avoiding a foreclosure on your credit report can salvage your ability to rebuild credit and buy another house, which makes the struggle against a possible foreclosure well worthwhile. 6 possible dos when foreclosure looms: 1. Sell the property : If you can find a buyer before the house is auctioned, you can sell it and keep whatever equity still exists. 2. Work out a deal : Your lender may be willing to work with you, rather than lose money at a foreclosure sale. 3. File Chapter 7 bankruptcy : If you can't get caught up in time, you will not be able to keep th...

Following is a copy of an article that was in the Nov. 15 issue of the Indy Star Zionsville edition regarding Boone County and how it's dealing with the housing slump: Boone County thriving during housing slump Realtor credits it to great schools, location to I-65, Anson development By Robert Annis robert.annis@indystar.com While most of Central Indiana is caught in the nationwide housing slump, Boone County was one of two counties to actually show improvement, according to data compiled by F.C. Tucker Company. Boone County's pending home sales in October rose 27.9 percent, while pending home sales throughout Central Indiana were 12.1 percent less than the same month last year. Boone County reported 78 newly signed purchase agreements in October, as opposed to 61 during the same month last year. The homes are considered pending until the sales are closed. Landa Matthews, the Zionsville manager of F.C. Tucker Co., said she isn't surprised by the statistic. She said...

More good news for our great city! Indinapolis was recently named to the top 10 most affordable places to live well. Realtor Magazine Online featured a story on Forbes Magazine's top 10 most affordable cities to live well. Taken into consideration were factors like access to arts, leisure and entertainment offerings--plus a low cost of housing. Forbes used the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index to find housing affordability, 2006 Census figures, and Sperling's Best Places to find the best arts and leisure destinations. Based on the NAHB /Wells Fargo housing affordability index, Indy has a higher percentage of homes available to the median-earning household than any other city. Plus, it has a wide range of arts, leisure and sports activities. The other cities that made the list: Minneapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Houston, Milwaukee, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Columbus (OH), and Atlanta.