Check out this site:

http://www.homeclosing101.org/

Stop by the open house in Nappanee on March 5, 6 & 12, 13 (Fri & Sat) from 1 pm -8 pm to see it for yourself!

806 E. Market St., Nappanee, IN

You can learn more about this project by visiting this website.

According to a real estate interview Jan. 5 on NBC-TV's Today Show, South Bend is the best city in the nation to find value, stability and rising prices in a home while living in a community with anticipated job growth.

Barbara Corcoran, a real-estate contributor to the Today Show and CNBC, ranked South Bend first among the “Top 10 Cities for Bargain Homes.”

In South Bend, Corcoran told interviewer Ann Curry, the median “price is just $89,000, and prices have been rising steadily for almost a full year now.

“Still, the median price is only half of what it is in the rest of the nation,” she said. “That’s an enormous difference -- a lot of house for the dollars.” 

If the availability of housing values weren’t enough to put South Bend atop her list, “the cost of living is a whopping 29 percent lower than anywhere else.”

Here is Corcoran’s ranking of cities as appeared on the Today Show:

1)      South Bend, Ind.

2)      Akron, Ohio

3)      Topeka, Kan.

4)      New Haven, Conn.

5)      Tucson, Ariz.

6)      Minneapolis

7)      Portland, Maine

8)      Miami

9)      Kingston, N.Y.

10)    Trenton, N.J.

To see the whole story, click here.

The price was just reduced to $185,000. That's just under $55,000 LESS than it was listed for back in February '09. And, almost $42,000 LESS than it was listed for in September '06. Talk about instant equity!

For more information click here, call Stacy at 574-210-9595 or email stacygrove@cressyeverett.com.

If you're a patient buyer, or would like to work on this aspect of your character, a short sale is a wonderful thing! Along with saving a seller from the embarrasment and pain of foreclosure or further collection activity, you can oftentimes buy a home with "instant equity." That is, you can buy at or below current market value. 

The issue: They're very, very time consuming... sold as-is... and many Realtors (unfortunately) don't want to "deal" with them.

In an ideal world, short sales would take 30-60 days (similar to a traditional transaction.) Truthfully, many are taking 90-120 days, if not longer. I'm still waiting to hear back from the bank on a contract one of my sellers accepted October 30th. (Did someone say less than 2 weeks until Christmas?)

Rumor has it that the federal government is working on something to seriously expedite these transactions. As the next wave of foreclosures stares us in the eyes, short sales can help to save the day.

There's a lot more to these beasts we call "short sales." But, I'll leave you to chew on this for a bit.

Again, click here to review it.

Enjoy. And, thanks Steve Harney, for bringing it to my attention!

My mother-in-law happened to be on the phone with my sister-in-law and her hubby who were on their way from Plymouth, and they decided to see if they find some. (We just COULDN'T have Pumpkin Pie without whipped cream!) First stop: Meijer- all out of stock; 2nd attempt: Gas station- didn't have any. On a last-ditch-effort, they decided to swing into Starbucks. Surely THEY have whipped cream, right?

Starbucks employee: "Welcome to Starbucks. Would you like to try a triple venti Peppermint Mocha with whip?"

Bro-in-law: "Actually, I'd just like two venti cups full of whipped cream."

SE: "Umm... okay... I think I can do that. However, I'm not really sure how to ring it up?"

BIL: "Just charge me for two venti coffees. We need whipped cream for our Pumpkin Pie and you're our last resort."

SE: "That's so awesome you thought of us. I'm not even going to charge you."

I'm sure that no-where in the Starbucks Employee Handbook does it say what to do when asked to fill two venti cups with whipped cream, but I'm positive it says (something along the lines of) serve the customer graciously. Would every employee at Starbucks respond the way that guy did? Probably not. But, because one guy was willing to be creative and enjoy a good laugh, 11 people around one dinner table talked about how Starbucks came to the rescue... and admired the two large famous-looking cups as a centerpiece.

And, we're thankful that he did. The Pumpkin Pie was delish.

Then came Facebook. What? An even easier way to keep in touch with everyone I know? How awesome!

Slowly, I've started to see how blogging can really impact ones Real Estate career, and I'm ready to take it to the next level. I actually started a Real Estate blog on Active Rain a few years ago, but it's just... well... boring. (http://activerain.com/blogs/stacygrove)

And so it begins...

I make no promises on how often... what sort of content... or ease of readibility in general. But, I do promise to stick with it, because that's the only way to see results... in any aspect of our lives. It might be about Real Estate, family stuff, crafting or vacation. My hope is that it will be mildly entertaining, and that you'll look forward to seeing that I've written when you check your RSS feed.

And, by the way, Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. We certainly have a lot to be grateful for!