Watering Tips – In the Heat of the Summer!

For Indiana

1) Summertime heat can really stress a lawn. Sunlight, high temperatures and wind are all to blame. Watering on a regular basis will go a long way in helping your lawn look great and stay healthy. Remember, it’s best to soak the soil deeply 1-2 times per week instead of more frequent, light watering.

2) Always water in the morning hours, preferably before 11am. Watering in the PM during the humid summer months can increase the risk of disease such as dollar spot.

Mowing Tips- In the Heat of the Summer.

Even though the frequency of mowing seems to have subsided, your lawn’s health and vitality relies heavily on your continued efforts during the summer months!

1) During the hot summer months, it is crucial to ALWAYS mow at your mower’s highest level, preferably at 3 INCHES or higher! Mowing shorter doesn’t mean you mow less often; however it can make your lawn more susceptible to weeds and diseases.

2) NEVER mow off more than 1/3 of the grass blade! Mowing off more than 1/3 of the blade can put your lawn into shock causing poor color AND can aggravate summer diseases.

3) Avoid mowing your lawn during the hottest time of day. Mowing in the summer’s heat can cause your lawn to dry out more readily by increasing moisture evaporation.

4) KEEP YOUR MOWER BLADE SHARP! Mowing with a dull blade causes shredding of your grass blades, which causes a very unsightly brown appearance. It can also lead to water loss and increased disease susceptibility.

5) Mow when your lawn needs it, NOT on a predetermined day of the week. This helps to avoid mowing off more than 1/3 of the grass blade.

Thanks Kapp’s for helping take care of my lawn! I R DUM AND NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET!

Fresh Aire Paint Review- No VOC’s in the paint or colorant!

With a 2 year old in the home(well, next week he’ll be two), my wife and I are a bit overprotective of what chemicals we use or have laying around. Sometimes i curse the internet for ruining a “good thing” by informing us as to how bad it really is… hehe

My wife decided she wanted to repaint two bedrooms in our home. She did the research and decided she wanted a paint with NO volatile organic compounds — commonly known as VOCs — harmful chemicals that contribute to poor air quality.

Her research led her to three different paints. Fresh Aire, being the least expensive at $35.00 p/gallon. There was another two she had narrowed it down to, one wasn’t sold locally(within 20 miles), and the other was $55.00 p/gallon.

I grew up in a hardware store, and have mixed more gallons of paint than i care to admit. In the back of my mind I was trying to figure out how this company mixed these colors. I mean, if you add tint with VOC’s to color the paint, aren’t you in fact back to square one with a VOC paint?!? Fresh Aire has a limited number of colors(65 colors available), but luckily we found 3-5 we liked. Surely, they wouldn’t have 4 singular gallons of each color waiting for us to order(Note:Paint is generally sold in a box of 4 single gallons to stores). Well, they didnt have 260 gallons of paint on their shelves, and I wont be calling you Shirley.

When we arrived at Home Depot, we gave the “mixer” our sample of choice and he proceeded to head over to the shelf, pull a gallon of paint and then open a cupboard and pull out an oversized metallic-looking baggie. My wife and I watched in curiosity as he opened the metallic baggie, and pulled out a clear baggie, with what I took to be the tint. He then throws the clear baggie into the paint, seals the paint can up and puts it on the shaker…. I WAS IN AWE!!!! YES, HE PUT THE BAGGIE AND ALL ITS’ CONTENTS IN THE PAINT… He didn’t open the baggie and pour the tint into the paint, he put the baggie and its’ contents into the paint… My wife and I looked at each other in dazed confusion… My wife even snuck around the corner and snuck a baggie out of the cupboard to read, and make sure this guy wasnt a dufus… The description on the baggie wasn’t very clear, so we decided we would just wait and see…. Sure enough, the paint came out the right color, and sure enough my wife made me go home and dip a paint stick into the paint about 9 times to see if i could come up with some fragments of the burst open baggie… NONE WERE FOUND!!!!

okay, enough with the cool mixing techniques…. On to the review… Well, actually, let me remind people that I have rehabbed MANY homes, and have painted more rooms and bedrooms than I CARE to remember… I know how to paint, and know what is good paint… With that said, On To The REVIEW!!!!!

I have to say I am not impressed with the paint.. To be brief: It took multiple coats to cover the walls. There was a smell, and it’s pretty darn expensive($35.00 p/gallon), and I just wasn’t impressed… Also, it may be a coincidence, but one of my dogs’ puked twice over the two days we were painting. That dog rarely, if ever, pukes, and he isn’t the type of dog that would get into the paint… Again, it could be a coincidence, but I digress..

I guess if I wanted to give the paint the benefit of the doubt, I could tell you the walls currently in place haven’t been painted in 10+ years. I could also tell you that we didn’t clean the walls, other than a light dusting to get rid of the minor cobwebs. I could tell you all of that, but then i could also tell you that i didn’t have this trouble in the other rooms of the house we used the “other” paints on….

I could also tell you that we had windows opened, as always when painting, and that the smell cleared up in 2-3 hours, and my “other” paints would have taken longer than that to clear out the smell. I could also say that this paint supposedly won’t have the outgassing that my “other” paint has… I could also say that my wife made my son stay in a totally different part of the house cause she was that offended by the smell of this paint….

Oh well, I digress.. I really didn’t care one way or the other about the idea of using this paint.. Sure i wasn’t happy about paying $35.00 p/gallon, but I didn’t go into this project with ill will towards the product. In the grand scheme of things, what makes my wife happy, makes me happy, so i really didn’t care what we paid. I think if we had it to do over again, my wife would make me buy the $55.00 p/gallon Benjamin Moore paint. So I got that going for me on our next painting project in my house(thank god we only have a bathroom and hallway left to paint). Also, I am going to play the idiot savant on our next rehab and pay someone else to do the work and use the “other” paint…

PS – Speaking of outgassing, and “sick house syndrome”.. It’s my opinion(read: not a fact), A lot of the bad air in a home can be cleared up by opening the windows and doors of your house 2-3 days during each of the 4 seasons… That lets your house get rid of the bad, and take in the good. Note: I heard this little tip from a tree hugging hippy oriental rug restorer. She handles rug restoration for major museums, and is quite boisterous about how bad we are to mother earth… She has the B.O. to prove it too.. /snicker

PPS – When we were getting the paint mixed, my wife asked the “mixer” what he knew about the paint.. His reply “Well, it’s REAL EXPENSIVE!!” hehehe How’s that for a seal of confidence!! My wife was NOT thrilled.. hehe

Ever Thought about Indianapolis Real Estate Investing?

Not sure how many people know this, but I am a real estate investor as well as a Realtor. Well, DUH.. I know most Realtors are investors.. well, they CALL themselves investors, but they dont really do a lot of investing.. I am a numbers guy, and also handy at working on homes… I go into homes that need a lot of work and can visualize the financial outcome of some hard work.

ANYWAYS, I come across so many steals that I can’t deal with them all, so I am going to build a business where I wholesale these properties off to you folks who want them. I work the deal, secure the property, and for a small fee sell the deal to any of you folks. As most of you know, I am a brutally honest person. I don’t want to take advantage of anyone, and I want people to be informed about deals they may be getting into..

I am building a new website for this business, but I’ll open it up to people who regularly read my blog. I plan to secure the properties and then complete an email blast to those people on my list who are qualified buyers.

What kind of deals can you expect? How about homes at 60-70% of ARV(after repaired value). I will also subtract repairs from the price, so for example: 100k ARV home needs 10k in repairs, then I might sell it to the first respondee for $60,000(70% arv – 10k in repairs). You would also pay the closing fees on the transaction just as if you were buying the property(figure 1.5% roughly). Basically I am just assigning my purchase agreement to you.

Why would you want to do this? Why wouldn’t you go out and find the deal yourself? Well, it takes a lot of time to find and work these deals. Time that you could be rehabbing, finding tenants/buyers, etc… I do all the legwork, you reap the benefits.

I’ll post more in the next couple of days.. Still ironing out a lot of facts, etc… If you are interested, shoot me an email, and i can talk more about the whole deal.

PS – if you have a distressed home in or around Indianapolis and are looking for a buyer give me a call at 317-450-3491.

7 Secrets to Successful – and Legal – Landlording.

Lee’s notes: While some things listed below may not be enforceable against a homeowner renting their own home. We live in a litigious society, I would follow the rules no matter who you are.

1) Run renting like a business. Even if your client is planning to lease only until the house sells, or the tenant is your second cousin, keep leasing on a professional basis. Establishing business rules and policies allows you to maintain objectivity if a tenant makes demands or is late with the rent.

2) Treat Everyone Equally. Federal fair housing law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, family status, or handicap, applies when real estate licensees advertise or lease any residential property. Although it’s completely legal to ask questions about a prospective tenant’s rental history, current employment, and financial history, it’s important to ask every applicant the same questions to avoid the appearance of discrimination. If you have a problem renting to anyone in a protected class, then you should not rent the home.

3) Use the right forms. Although there are all-purposes leases available at office supply stores, it makes more sense to use a lease tailored to your specific property type and state laws, including landlord-tenant laws.

4) Make your lease as specific as possible. Spell out exactly what is expected of the tenant and the owner or manager. Who’s going to mow the lawn? How should emergency repairs be handled?

5) Write out a roadmap for defaults. Your lease should spell out all the particulars and penalties of rent payment. It should state when the rent is due, where it must be paid, what late fees and interest you will charge, and at what point late payments will result in an eviction.

6) Don’t treat security deposits as a potential for profit. Security deposits are intended to cover only repairs needed because of excessive damage to the property. They can’t be used to cover routine cleaning of a unit prior to releasing or to add upgrades. Also remember that in many states, security deposits must be kept in a seperate account and you must pay interest to the tenant. Ask for the first and last month’s rent plus a security deposit.

7) Don’t be fooled by appearances. A fancy car and lots of bling do not necessarily a good tenant make. Run a credit check on every prospective tenant. Tenants must sign an authorization to permit you to check their credit, and you can charge them for the cost. Also remember to keep credit information confidential. Don’t disclose what you know to others.

How to water your lawn efficiently..

Lee’s Notes: Found this article interesting, figured I would share.

For many, a lush, green lawn is a symbol of proud homeownership as well as a pleasant place on which to relax or play. Lawns, however, require a lot of water–water which, depending where you live, may be in short supply. This article discusses some strategies you can use right now to reduce your water use and keep your existing grass healthy. To learn about other options to make your lawn more environmentally friendly, or to discover sustainable alternatives to lawns, please explore the related wikiHow articles.

Steps

1. Find out if your community has watering restrictions. Many communities have responded to water shortages by implementing laws that restrict how many times per week residents can water their lawns, or for how long, and/or at what times. If you live in such an area, this article can still help you, but be sure to abide by the restrictions.
2. Water only when your grass needs it. Water conservation isn’t the only reason to limit the amount of water you give your lawn. Overwatering is also bad for your lawn’s health and can contribute to the development of fungus and disease. Many people, however, don’t know that they’re overwatering. Some types of grass require more water than others, and environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and wind, can dramatically affect how frequently you need to water your lawn. Fortunately, the most accurate way to determine whether your lawn needs water is also the easiest: just look at the grass. When grass needs water, it will begin to take on a blue-gray tint, and the older leaf blades on the plant will begin to curl up or wilt. In addition, footprints will remain on the grass for longer than usual, as the grass won’t “bounce back.” When 30-50% of your lawn shows these symptoms, it’s time to water.
3. Water deeply to encourage deep root growth. Frequent shallow waterings encourage weed germination, and they also cause the grass plants’ roots to grow shallow, leaving the plant more susceptible to drought and to certain diseases. Watering only when your grass really needs it encourages the roots to grow deeper, but only if you apply enough water each time to penetrate the root zone. The most accurate way to determine the depth of the root zone is to dig a small hole and measure how far the roots go down. Alternatively, you can follow these general approximations: if you have a bluegrass lawn, each watering should moisten the soil to 6-8 inches, while for most other grasses, the water should penetrate 8-12 inches. You can determine how long to leave the sprinkler(s) on by using one of the following methods.
   • Turn on your sprinkler for 15 minutes. After 18-24 hours, find out how deep the water soaked in by digging a small hole in the watered area or using a probe (a probe will push easily through damp ground). You can also push a shovel into the ground and use it as a lever to spread the soil apart enough so that you can see several inches below the surface. Once you see how deep the water went in 15 minutes, you can calculate how long you need to leave your sprinkler on. For example, if the soil is damp to 4 inches below the surface and your goal is to moisten the soil to a depth of 8 inches, you’ll need to leave the sprinkler on for 30 minutes (2 X 15 minutes) each time you water.
   • Estimate how much water you’ll need based on your soil type. In general, 1″ of water will penetrate sandy soils to 12″, loamy soils to 6-8″, and clay soils to 4-5″. Using these estimates isn’t quite as accurate as digging, but it’s pretty close, especially if you have a good knowledge of your soil composition. To figure out how long you need to keep your sprinkler or sprinkler system on, calibrate your sprinklers.
4. Water early in the morning. When you use sprinklers, some water evaporates before it hits the ground. On a hot, windy day, the amount of water that never reaches your grass can actually be quite substantial. To reduce loss to evaporation, water sometime between 4 A.M. and 9 A.M., when the air is still cool and the wind is usually at its calmest.
5. 

   

   Aim your sprinklers to water the lawn, not the sidewalk or street. Slight adjustments to your sprinklers can save a lot of water. Ideally, you shouldn’t water your sidewalk, patio, street, or driveway at all.

6. Avoid creating runoff. Even with sprinklers correctly targeted at the lawn, many people water until (or even after) water begins to run off the grass and into the street or driveway. This can waste a lot of water, and it isn’t doing your lawn any good. If water starts to run off your lawn before you’ve been able to give it a deep watering, turn off the water for 15-20 minutes to let the ground absorb the water, and then continue watering as needed (rotating a sprinkler between one area and another will also do the trick). Some soil types absorb water more slowly than others, but runoff can also be caused by excessive thatch buildup, which can promote disease–and which is sometimes caused by routine overwatering.
7. Let the rain do your work for you. Nothing looks more wasteful than running your sprinklers while it’s raining. If your sprinkler system is on a timer, get and install a rain sensor that automatically turns the water off when it rains. If possible, also avoid watering if rain is expected later in the day or during the next day. Your grass should be fine, even if it looks stressed. Use a rain gauge to determine how much rain you received, and then water a bit more only if needed.
8. 

   

   Water problem areas by hand. Many lawns have one or two spots that require more water than the rest of the lawn. A south-facing slope (or, in the Southern Hemisphere, a north-facing slope), or an unshaded area in an otherwise shady lawn are two common examples of these “problem areas.” If you water your entire lawn every time you need to water these hot spots, you’ll likely overwater everyplace but these spots. Instead, water them by hand or use a separate sprinkler that’s not attached to the rest of your irrigation system.

Tips

• Concerned about water conservation? Ditch the lawn. Unless you live in an area with enough year-round precipitation to keep your grass healthy without watering, lawns tend to waste a lot more water than other landscaping options. Consider not having a lawn at all. Lawns are high-maintenance and use a great deal of water. Could you replace your lawn with drought-tolerant landscaping or a native or lower water use plant?
• To check if soil in the root zone is adequately watered, squeeze a handful of it into a ball. If the ball is damp and holds its shape, the soil is properly watered. If the soil crumbles or appears dry or dusty, it’s underwatered, and if you can squeeze water out of the ball, the soil is overwatered.
• If you live in a climate with moist, mild winters and dry summers (i.e. a Mediterranean climate), consider letting your lawn go dormant in the summer. You’ll have a beautiful green lawn for most of the year without having to water your lawn at all. The grass will go brown in the heat of the summer, of course, but it will green up again when the weather changes (though some types of grasses may require reseeding in spots). This technique has become somewhat fashionable among environmentally conscious residents in parts of the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
• Grass that is overwatered will often exhibit some of the same symptoms as grass that needs water. If you notice the symptoms but the soil is damp, hold off on watering.
• While deep watering will help your grass become more drought resistant, watering enough to moisten the soil below the root zone is unnecessary and wasteful, as the grass won’t be able to access moisture deeper than its roots.
• Local extension services or water conservation authorities can provide additional information on how to water your lawn and on other techniques to save water while keeping your lawn looking its best.
• Aerating your lawn once a year can increase the soil’s infiltration rate (the rate at which it absorbs water), and reduce runoff problems.

Warnings

• Watering in the evening is not recommended. It reduces evaporation (like watering early in the morning), but because the above-ground portion of the grass plant stays damp all night, it can encourage the development of turf-grass diseases.
• Newly sodded or seeded lawns require more frequent watering than mature lawns. Established lawns with patch diseases may also benefit from more frequent waterings.

5 Foreclosure Laws You Need to Know.

Lee’s Notes: Sorry I haven’t posted lately, been overrun lately folks. The below information should be verified with your attorney. Don’t take my word for it! I like you guys, but I don’t know EVERYTHING!!! hehe

1) Notification of intent to foreclose. Many states require that a lender notify the borrower in advance(30 days, for example) before obtaining a court judgement to foreclose.

2) Nonjudicial foreclosure. Many states permit lenders to add a clause to a mortgage document that permits the lender to foreclose and sell the property without obtaining court approval. This isn’t allowed in Indiana.

3) Deficiency judgement. Some states permit a lender that forecloses on a mortgage to file a judgement against the borrower entitling the lender to collect from the defaulted borrower any amount of the outstanding mortgage not covered by the sale price. This allowed in Indiana.

4) Right of redemption. Some states(Indiana, for example) permit a defaulting borrower to satisfy the loan default and recover the property if done within a specified amount of time after the property is sold. In Indiana, the date the mortgage was signed determines the length of time a lender must wait between filing the suit and proceeding with the foreclosure sale. The wait time is anywhere from three (3) to twelve (12) months, but the owner may file a waiver of the time limit, which allows the sale to proceed without delay. When this occurs, the lender loses the right to pursue a deficiency judgment.

5) Military Service. If the borrower or the borrower’s spouse is on active military duty, the Civil Relief Act of 2003 prohibits a lender from foreclosing on the mortgage. In addition, the borrower may qualify for an interest rate reduction or even a temporary suspension of mortgage payments.

10 Tax Changes for 2008

1) More money for gas. The standard mileage deduction for business increases to 50.5 cents per mile. Note that mileage rates for medical or moving purposes fall to 19 cents per mile.

2) More money for retirement. You can contribute $5,000 to your IRA($6,000 if you are over 50) in 2008.

3) No breaks for sales taxes. The provision permitting taxpayers to deduct state sales taxes – a big plus in states with no income tax – expired at the end of 2007.

4) More tax breaks for retirement savings. Married taxpayers with joint income of up to $85,000 will be able to deduct IRA contributions if they file jointly; Omdovodia;s wotj omcp,e pf i[ tp $53,000 can take the deduction.

5) Higher standard deduction. If you’re one of the two-thirds of taxpayers who don’t itemize, you’ll be able to deduct $10,900 as a married couple filing jointly($5,450 for singles) in 2008.

6) No tax on some capital gains. Joint filers whose taxable income doesn’t exceed $65,100 and single filers with income that doesn’t exceed $32,500 don’t have to pay any tax on capital gains they realize in 2008; the rate for other taxpayers remains the same at 15 percent.

7) More time to sell a house when you lose a spouse. Taxpayers who lose a spouse now have up to two years after that death to take the maximum exclusion of $500,000 in gain on the sale of a principal residence. The other requirements for the exclusion must have been met before the death.

8) Less money back for some hybrid cars. While buying a hybrid car can still save you taxes, the tax credit has been phased out on many popular models such as the Toyota Prius. Check out the 2008 model year hybrid list at www.irs.gov before you buy.

9) Tougher taxes for kids. Children 18 and under or full-time students up to 24 years old will pay taxes at their parents’ tax rate for investment income over $1,700. Note that this rate doesn’t apply to wages a child earns.

10) Higher cutoffs for Social Security. The maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax increases to $102,000 in 2008.

If you like what I write, and know someone looking to buy, sell, and or invest in Indianapolis real estate(or surrounding areas), then give me a call and or send me an email with their contact info.. I promise to take good care of them, and not be high pressure. If you know of someone out of that area, then give me a call or email as well, I can prolly hook them up with a good realtor in another city.

Spring Cleaning Checklist

Let the sun in. Make any room look brighter with clean blinds and windows. Mix a solution of one part white vinegar to eight parts water, plus a drop or two of liquid dishwashing liquid. Spray on and wipe with newspaper to avoid streaks. Washing on a cloudy day also reduces streaking. 

Sniff out smells. Check the drip tray underneath your refrigerator and wash out any standing water from defrosting. Remove inside odors by washing the insaide of the fridge with a baking soda and water solution. Boil lemon juice in your microwave and add it to your dishwasher to eliminate bad smells. Also, put the lemon rings down the disposal. add activated charcoal in the fridge to keep odors at bay.

Make your bed better. Vacuum mattresses and box springs, and then rotate and flip over. Do the same for removable furniture cushions. This is also a great time to wash or dry-clean the dust ruffle and mattress pad.

Clean those coils. Improve energy efficiency by vacuuming grates, coils, and condensers in your furnace, stove, and refrigerator(either underneath or in back). if a vacuum won’t reach, try a rag tied to a yardstick.

Wash the walls. Grease, smoke, and dust can adhere to walls and make even the best decorating look dingy. Wash walls using a general-purpose cleaner with hot water. Start at the top of the wall to avoid drips and in a corner so that you wash one wall at a time. Rinse the mop head frequently in clean water. Don’t press too hard, because flat latex paint won’t absorb much water.

Also, consider completing the following: 

1)     Check all decks, patios, porches, stairs and railings for loose members and deterioration.

2)     Check plumbing shut-off valves. Ensure that they turn off and on freely.

3)     Service kitchen disposal by grinding several cups of ice cubes.

4)     Check vents, louvers and chimneys for bird nests and squirrels.

5)     Check lawn sprinker systems for leaky valves and exposed lines.

6)     Inspect exterior siding for mildew. Scrub off as necessary.

7)     Check septic system drain field for flooding.

8)     Have air conditioning unit serviced for summer. Make sure compressor is free from dirt and debris before turning on the unit. Do not leave plastic covers on compressor while using.

 

Weekly:

1)    Furniture Dust all hard surfaces.

2)    Floors Vacuum or mop. 

3)    Kitchen sink Scrub and disinfect. 

4)    Appliances Wipe down surfaces. 

5)    Shower Clean and scrub down. 

6)    Counters Wipe down and disinfect. 

7)    Bathtub Clean and scrub down. 

8)    Toilet Scrub and disinfect. 

9)    Sheets Change and launder.  

 

 

How is Indianapolis Real Estate Market doing?! – Mibor Stats as of 01May08 YTD.

Okie, I get some flack from people who say I shouldn’t post this info, but the market is what it is, so I will post it…

This is data pulled from the MIBOR BLC. This is Sold homes from Jan 01 to May 01 of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008… These stats let you know where we are at in comparison to other years. These numbers do not show homes that are sold outside of the mibor BLC system(FSBO’s, lease to owns, contract sales, etc). Mibor predominitely covers Central Indiana.

Three basic fields i am charting off of:
# Sold = The total number of homes that closed 01Jan-01May for each year.
Average Price = Average sold price for all of the homes that closed 01Jan-01May for each year.
Days On Market = is the average number of days that it takes to sell a home that closed 01Jan-01May for each year.

Note: There are residential areas in Indianapolis that are doing a lot better than these averages, and areas that are doing worse.. Some of the suberbs cover multiple “areas”, and are hard to pull stats from. This is just the OVERALL Average for all of the MIBOR BLC…

Note2: I also show Aprils data for a comparison. It is the lower section of the spreadsheet.

1-Jan	to	1-May
	# Sold	Avg # Sold	Avg Price	Avg % Price	Days On Market
2005	9425		$143,982.00		86
2006	10375	110.08%	$147,344.00	102.34%	86
2007	10040	96.77%	$143,844.00	97.62%	92
2008	8190	81.57%	$136,340.00	94.78%	105
1-Jan	to	1-Apr
	# Sold	Avg # Sold	Avg Price	Avg % Price	Days on Market
2006	8185		$145,275.00		87
2007	7919	96.75%	$140,954.00	97.03%	93
2008	6387	80.65%	$135,675.00	96.25%	107

Basically, make your own assessments about where we are this year. Overall, we are down a little over 18% in number of units sold, and avg sale price is a little over 5% down. Days on market is up compared to last year, but down compared to April’s figures… It’s pretty confusing…

Let me know if you want to see other figures, and or have any questions,

PS – I just realized something else that might be useful.. There is 22,184 active listings in the mibor system. Active meaning looking for buyers. I’ll add this to future spreadsheets.