However the Buck Stops Here

The holidays always try my patience. The respect for the almighty dollar really deminishes during that time. True, there are a lot people who seem to think they are getting good deals during this time. The worst thing about the Holiday Season is that 99% of all my transactions always contained one of three words..."However", "But", or the worst of all "BUCKS"!

Why you may ask...does that bother me? Good deals always seem to be tied to some other "thing". You may have to open up a new credit card. You need to buy two of the same item. You may need to come back tomorrow to use the coupon.. My latest experience was from a Disney Representative who said, "You can get a cheap hotel room, however you have to book it 14 days out. But, without an Disney Visa card you wont be able to save the $50 bucks."

That made me think - when someone refers to my money as "BUCKS" does that mean they are belittling my money? No, it may mean that it is not worth much...or...does it mean it is worth a lot? I don't know... I just feel it is disrespectful. It makes me think that there are a bunch of them (bucks) running around somewhere and I need to just lean out the window and grab one. I guess this is silly but why don't we call it a "dollar" or "dollars". I know it's old school, YET, when I am selling a property I respect my client's money - every last cent - enough to call it what it is.

Home sales are littered with contingencies(Buts), counter offers (Howevers), and obvious fiscal negotiations/responsibilities (BUCKS). I've learnedthat the dollar's value is different to each person. I have also learned that you can never go wrong with respect.

Summer Slow Down

The State Fair is a wonderful event that my family and I look forward to each year. It signals the end of summer and the excitement of the new school year. I typically don't have a lot of business this time of year. After years in the business I certainly have come to recognize the Indianapolis Metro housing cycles. Obviously 2008 and 2009 have been 'recession' years which have to be analysed mostly on their own merit. However, year-in-year-out I have found that the cycle is similar.

Starting usually in Mid-February (the spring warm up time frame) the big surge begins and it usually ends around late May to early June. The dog days (slower sales) of summer kick-in from June through Mid September. Then something weird happens. In Mid-September there is usually a bit of a surge through October. December and January are great months for anything but real estate!

So, my quick advice for when to place your home for sale is to begin staging your home after the holidays and be ready for the "For Sale" sign come Valentines Day. This year things did not kick off until around April. But we have just went through a crazy time that cannot be compared to. Who knows, maybe the housing recession is over?! My crystal ball said that we have hit the bottom of a very long pool. Meaning it may be 2011 until values pick up locally. But I don't think they will fall much more either!