I have relatively consistent set of closing gifts I plan for my clients but when I received notice on Thursday that a house was closing on Tuesday I didn't have time for my standard personalized seller's gift.  I took to the internet for inspiration and ended up coming across the coolest lists of gift ideas! One thing I saw that I had never considered - people buy closing gifts for their Realtor?  Is this really a thing?  Sure, who wouldn't love a personalized coffee mug or an engraved business card case?  But to be completely frank... As a Realtor, I'm here to tell you: a referral or a positive (and honest!) review is the absolute best gift you can give your Realtor!   Some friends of mine are buying a home that is for sale by owner.  Yes, they wanted to use me as their Realtor and we had even looked at a few houses.  But they came across this house through an old friend and the seller specifically doesn't want to work with a Realtor.  I ful...

I have wonderful childhood memories of camping every summer with my extended family.  We all met in the middle of nowhere at my mom's cousin's farm.  They had a lake with zip lines, paddle boats, a floating dock, a water slide and the biggest firepit I'd ever seen.  It was truly a magical place.  After a long weekend of late nights under the stars and bathing in the lake, we'd all pack up our tents and campers and head back home.  The drive was so long, the whole family - aunts, uncles, cousins and friends alike - would stop at this wonderful fried chicken place for one last dinner together before we parted ways. Of course, when I grew up and realized this otherworldly gathering place was just on the other side of Oldenburg, Indiana, the drive didn't seem so long.  It lost a little bit of its magic, but that fried chicken place no longer has to be just a summer stop! Wagner's Village Inn opened their doors in 1968  and as of January, they are now...

I see so many people looking for ways to fill the time during the quarantine, so I've created a virtual scavenger hunt! The first three people to complete the scavenger hunt will get a free Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) of your home once the threat of COVID-19 has passed. If you're interested in listing your home in the future, this will help you know where your home stands and what you can do to add value. If you're not interested in listing, it's still fun to know. Plus, I've done these for people who ended up using it to get a BIG cut in their property taxes! If you're not local, I can still do a virtual CMA, but it's less likely to hold up in a tax dispute. If you're interested in that service, I can connect you with an agent who's local to you, so still play along! And if you're not currently a home owner and a CMA can't help you, there are plenty of other services I provide, so still play and we'll find a great ...