The Passing of Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned, but overbearing, regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teenagers suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. 

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they had themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer paracetamol, sun lotion or plaster to a pupil, but could not inform the parents when a pupil became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims. 

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home, but the burglar could sue you for assault because you protected yourself and your own.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized that he was gone. ……………Author Unknown

Rudeness or Honesty?

Question:  A real estate agent cane to my home recently to evaluate my home and give me an estimate of value. He told me my home needed to be decluttered & made to look sparkling clean. He was a nice person, but I was insulted by his insinuation that my home needed more cleaning. My home may not be updated but my house is clean. Are all you real estate agents this rude?

Answer:   You called a Realtor for advice and a selling price for your home. So, let’s make sense of what you are saying. You said he was a nice person, so obviously he wasn’t rude.                                                                                                                                                                                             Your home is cluttered & not updated. He told you to declutter & to make your home Sparkling clean for showings and you are upset with his advice?

Any good Realtor would give you this advice. Our job is to sell your home for the best possible price, at the least expense to you & in the shortest possible amount of time. By telling you to declutter, your home will look larger, which will help you in obtaining a higher selling price and it will look nicer and more appealing to a buyer.                                                                                                                                         By making your home sparkling clean, your home will look refreshed & more attractive to buyers. Sparkling clean will make your home look and feel newer, which will make up for some of that updating you chose not to do. All this “rudeness” creates a bigger demand for your home and basic economics dictates that demand increases prices.

The alternative would be for him to say your home looks wonderful and it needs nothing.               The result would be a home that sits on the market longer and begs for a low offer. 

My advice would be to listen to your Realtor. He is a professional who works for you and only wants the best for you. Stop being so sensitive and spend your energy decluttering and making your home Sparkling clean. Sounds like excellent, inexpensive & sparkling advice to me.

New Listing 1504 Doral in Schererville

One Level Living In The Greens of Scherwood

This is an absolutely Beautiful Ranch Style Home nestled in a Collection of Charming & Prestigious Townhomes called the Greens of Scherwood. Large Great room with Soaring ceilings, Skylights & Corner Fireplace. Formal Dining room. Nicely updated eat in Kitchen w/ Granite Countertops & Sink, Breakfast Bar, Pantry closet, Ceramic Backsplash & Stainless Steel Appliances. Attractive blend of Wood look Vinyl flooring & Carpet. Main level laundry room. Vaulted ceilings throughout. Master bedroom w/ a walk in closet, private luxury Bath w/ double sink vanity, Whirlpool tub, Heat lamps & Separate Shower. Bedrooms 2 & 3 have walk in closets. Private patio w/ a live privacy fence. Electric, retractable Patio Awning. 2 car attached garage w/

 professionally applied epoxy floor paint. Custom Window treatments. Andersen Windows. Elegant Masonry exterior. In-ground Sprinkling system. HOA fee Includes: Snow removal, Grass & Bush cutting, exterior maintenance including window washing & gutter cleaning.

Did We List our Home too low?

Question:   We received a full price offer on our home the 2^nd day we had it listed. We now think we may have listed it too low. Your thoughts?

Answer:   Versions of this column have appeared before. It is still true. And for many, still relevant. Perhaps nowhere is this phenomenon more clearly illustrated than in the case where a seller receives a good offer right away.

The annals of real estate are well stocked with stories of sellers who refused to take a good, but not perfect, first offer, and who then waited a long time before finally accepting something else at a considerably lower price. The Sellers first thought is almost inevitable. "Did we list it too low?" "If someone will offer this much so soon, maybe we should wait a while and see if we can get more." As an antidote to the ill effects of the "curse of the first offer", this observation might be kept in mind.

The fact that an offer is received early in the listing period -- even in the first few days -- doesn't mean that the property has been listed too low.

Today, a good buyer's agent will have electronically entered a "profile" of his client's needs and price range into the system. Then, whenever he logs on to the MLS, he will be notified if a listing has been entered that matches that profile.

We all know that there is typically a bit of a dance in the pricing and negotiating for a property. Sellers, with the concurrence of their agents, will usually list their property for an amount that is both higher than what they believe its value to be and higher than what they would be satisfied to receive. Why? Because they know that buyers almost always want and expect to pay less than the listed price

The final point is that potential buyers learn quickly of the existence of an appropriate new listing. Thus, a flurry of activity at the outset of the listing does not necessarily imply a too-low price; rather, it reflects the efficiency of the system. Don’t be greedy, take your good offer and run to the bank with the profits.

Munster Little League State Championships

State Championship !

Watching our Grandson Tyler in Indianapolis for the Munster Little league State Championships for 10-11 Year Olds. They finished 5th. Very proud of him and his team.

Great Time to Sell

The Indiana Real Estate Market is back in full force. If you have have done some updating over the past years, you will be rewarded. Demand for NW Indiana homes is high (for now anyway).

Updated, Sharp homes with any kind of WOW factor are selling well for great prices, and the appraisers are going with it!
This is true despite the large amount of new construction out there. This new construction is a sellers competition, but many buyers do not want to deal with the new construction costs, the wait and the hassle of building a home.

If you have been thinking about selling,  NOW is the time.
Give us a call and we will help you all the way!

Jim & Cathy Higgins
219-865-4361

Selling Real Estate without a License?

Question: A friend of mine -- honest, I'm not talking about my house -- asked me to put her house up for sale on the Internet, twice, and I got a few interested people but nothing serious. She has asked me again to do the same. She lives in a gated resort community and wants $350,000.

I just thought you might have some creative ideals for selling this house. She's going to give me $10,000 if I can sell it and I need the money. I'm also thinking of advertising in a magazine. What do you think?

Answer: I think you're doing a terrible disservice to your friend, and I think you should also look at the real estate laws in your jurisdiction. They will no doubt say that without a real estate broker's license you have no ability to sue for a real estate commission -- thus if you sell the property your friend is not obligated to pay you a dime.

Your friend may well be trying to help you, or may honestly think that you have a skill which would allow you to sell the property. But what do you know about real estate contracts? Seller disclosures? Complete Internet exposure? Fair housing requirements? Financing? Pricing? Seller contributions?

The list goes on, but the point is this: There's a lot more to selling real estate than advertising. Without a broker's license you do not have the right to collect a fee from another for the sale of a property. Worse, you might sell the property for less than it's worth or you may create unintended liabilities that cost your friend huge amounts of money. Go no further with this until you have spoken with a local -- and licensed -- attorney.