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...

First, let's recap. You've made an offer and negotiated a deal.  You're now under contract to purchase a house. You've submitted earnest money to your Realtor and she has deposited the check. You're watching your spending and not doing anything to  jeopardize your mortgage . You've gotten insurance quotes and provided the information to your lender. You've completed your inspection and negotiated repairs with your Realtor's help. You've contacted your landlord or put your current home on the market. You've started packing and scheduled movers or a moving truck and friends. You've started mentally preparing and making lists of what needs done in the future. Now you're in the home stretch, and it's just down to the nitty gritty. 1. Your lender will schedule an appraisal.   An appraiser assesses the value of the house to make sure it's a good investment for your lender.  Odds are your Realtor had a pretty good handl...

I try to feature restaurants that I believe are #worththedrive no matter where in the Greater Cincinnati area you're from but with the current social distancing and more people cooking and eating at home, I thought now was the time to go a different direction. Who among us hasn't watched Cheers (oops, my age is showing!) and wanted that special place where everyone knows your name?  Would you believe I have that at a butcher's shop?  I grew up going to Stehlin's with my parents and to this day I think it's the best around. There are some very good meat markets closer to home, including a really good one right here in Batesville, but no one's smoked meats and sauerkraut compare to Stehlin's Meat Market on Colerain Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio.  I know I'm a bit biased because of my experience, but everyone I have sent to Stehlin's says the same thing, so I'm thinking I may be right on this one. Stehlin's Meat Market started as a meat wa...

House hunting is so much fun, but let's be honest - the real thrill is when you make an offer and we're all waiting with baited breath to see how the seller responds.  Today, you got that response and your offer was accepted!  Congratulations, you're going to be a homeowner! And now you're terrified because you're going to be a homeowner.  So now what?  I'm glad you asked. First, get your earnest money to your Realtor.  You will have already agreed on an amount and a timeline, so make sure you stick to that.  The sooner you get it to your agent the better, because she may need time to then get it to her office or the listing agent. Your Realtor should deliver your contract to your lender and your closing agent, who is most likely an attorney.  Check with your lender to make sure she received it.  Then watch for communications from both of them with instructions on next steps.  They'll be reminding you to obtain insurance quotes, sche...

I know what you're thinking.  Really, Karen?  Girl Scouts?  What does this have to do with Real Estate? But something you are probably considering in your home search is what the area has to offer to you, your family and your guests.  You may be looking for a school with high ratings (Batesville has great schools, by the way), restaurants (we've got those too!) or a good gym (I've never been but I hear good things), but are you thinking about community involvement?  About ways for your kids to meet new friends outside of school?  About ways for YOU to meet new friends outside of work? Wow, I just threw a lot of questions at you!  So here's the thing - in my humble opinion, there are two important things to make an out of town move, even just to the next town over, go smoothly.  One is a good Realtor and the other is having an activity or organization that provides some consistency in the transition. In some moves, you stay at the same job ...

It occurs to me that I kind of jumped into blogging with both feet and never really introduced myself.  I did a  Meet My Team  post but even then I didn't share anything about myself.  So here it is, all about me.  Enjoy! As a Southeast Indiana Realtor, I Make Home A Reality for both home buyers and sellers.   Having grown up in Dearborn County and lived in Southeast Indiana all my life, I have strong connections to the community and love helping others develop the same.   My communication skills, negotiation skills and ties to our community help me connect with clients and provide them with the best service possible. My knowledge of and enthusiasm for this region give me a desire to not only get you in a home, but the right home.   I am passionate about giving back to our community both through my career and volunteer work.   When I'm not assisting clients you’ll find me volunteering for Girl Scouts, cooking, blogging and taki...

So you want to buy a house.  You know what you need to do.  Make sure your credit is up to snuff.  Consult with a Mortgage Broker and figure out your budget.  Determine your criteria for your new home and prioritize them.  Find a Realtor (me, obviously!).  And start house hunting! What you may not think about is what NOT to do.  Many buyers don't realize their lender will recheck credit scores just a few days before closing, so even after you're approved and headed toward the closing table, it's important to watch anything that could affect the closing.  Here are a few things to keep in mind to keep your credit at its best and get you all the way to home ownership. 1. Don't change jobs Something even I didn't realize when buying our last house is that commission, bonuses and overtime can't be included in your salary figures unless you have two years of records showing you consistently earn those extras.  So don't quit your job, change jo...

Disclaimer: Originally posted December 30, 2019 on a site that has since become unusable for my purposes. Real estate is a referral based business.  Every (good) agent's goal is to make sure their client wants to tell all their friends about them!  So having a deal fall through isn't just a bummer for the clients, the agents are upset too.  The buyer is losing what they thought was their new home.  The seller thought they were getting out from under a mortgage payment.  Worse yet, they may have lost the downpayment on their new home and now can't move to their dream home.  The buyer's agent is looking at many more home showings.  The seller's agent will have more open houses, more work and more marketing expense on a house they thought they'd sold.  Not to mention, both agents lost a paycheck!  Unfortunately, contracts are broken, and so are hearts. I had a contract come together about a week before Christmas.  We all thought it was ...