What's My Home Worth? Free Real Estate Reports Why Select Me To Help You Sell Real Estate? Home Improvement Neighborhood HOA covenants and restrictions

Our exclusive Home Marketing System

Carpenter Realtors®' exclusive Home Marketing System is designed to help you sell your central Indiana home at the best possible price, for the most favorable terms, in the shortest period of time and with the least inconvenience to you.

No one else has a comprehensive a program as Carpenter. Not only do we help develop an effective pricing strategy for your home's sale, but we advertise and market your home more aggressively than anyone. Your home will be visible and seen by more prospective buyers. Here are some examples:

Yard Signs - You'll get strategic placement of our Carpenter Realtors® uniquely shaped and colored yard sign. Our sign stands out among the clutter and is arguably the most recognized in Indiana. Your home will be more visible to more potential buyers.
Take-home Flyers and Boxes - In front of every home we place our exclusive Take-One Boxes. Every buyer wants information on your home for sale and we provide it! These flyers contain property information featuring full-color photos and highlights of all of your home's features and benefits. Even better, we ensure that the boxes remain filled with flyers.
Carpenter's exclusive 64-page Homes Magazine - Carpenter's exclusive "Call Carpenter for Homes" 64 page full-color magazine is distributed throughout Central Indiana. Your home will be seen in over 50,000 copies along with over 1,750 current listings.
callcarpenter.com - Our callcarpenter.com interactive website offers buyers 24/7 access to your listing.
"Guided Tour" - Our unique Guided Tour takes internet shoppers on a visual tour of each listing with narration describing the property room-by-room, inside and out.
Additional local and national internet exposure - Your home receives additional website exposure, as does every Carpenter listing, through national websites such as Realtor.com and ReloHomeSearch.com. In addition, local websites like IndyStar.com, TheIndyChannel.com, MIBOR.com and propertylinx.com feature Carpenter Realtors' homes for sale in central Indiana.
Our weekly TV Showcase of Homes - Our exclusive TV Showcase of Homes features 60 current listings every Saturday morning on WNDY, channel 23, at 10:00 am. Another way that your home is exposed to more potential buyers!
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) - Information and photography placement offers a competitive presence for each listing on the computerized multiple listing services (MLS).
Mass media advertising - Local Carpenter Realtors® mass media advertising campaign builds awareness of the Carpenter name, creating a greater ability to sell your home faster. We drive more visitors to our web site and more calls to our offices with our investments in local TV, newspaper, radio and billboard outdoor advertising.
RELO®, Relocation Network - Member of the national Relo® Network with representation in every major metropolitan market. What does that mean? It means more potential buyers for your home.
Weekly newspaper listings - Classified real estate section newspaper advertising. Your home or Open House will be listed in our total market coverage newspaper advertising plan:
- The Indianapolis Star - with 350,000+ circulation weekly
- Local community newspapers - with 200,000+ circulation weekly
Industry exposure - Industry magazine exposure throughout Central Indiana.
Yellow Pages directories - Local Yellow Pages telephone directory advertising.
Home Tour Caravans - Weekly home tour caravans mobilize Central Indiana Carpenter associates to see your home and better explain its features to potential buyers.
Exclusive Carpenter Realtors® Home Merchandising System - Only Carpenter has the tools to assist in preparing your home for a quick sale at the best possible price. It's proven and it's complete.
Direct Mail exposure - Through Carpenter Realtors® exclusive C.A.P.S. Program, tens of thousands of full color targeted direct mail marketing and promotions pieces are mailed to potential prospects every month.
Custom marketing materials - Our agents can produce, or have produced, custom materials to help expedite your home's sale using the latest real estate specific software.
Home Warranty - Plans are available to make your home more attractive to home buyers throughout central Indiana.
We're the largest in Indiana - With thirty (30) branch offices and sales associates located throughout Central Indiana, we have more agents helping to market and sell your home than anyone in the state.

Greenwood, Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Whiteland, and Franklin Real Estate

Welcome to the home sellers section for Greenwood, Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Whiteland, Franklin and all Johnson County, IN areas. Please use the following valuable sellers resources.

What's My Home Worth?
Would you like to find out what your home is worth from a professional GreenwoodRealtor? Click here to receive a free home valuation.
Free real Estate Reports
Click here to receive free sellers real estate reports.
Why Select me to Help You Sell Real Estate
Find out how I can help you sell your home for top dollar in as little time as possible.
Home Improvement
Improving your home can be a key to selling it in a timely fashion. Click here to access links to help you improve the quality of your home.
Neighborhood Homeowners Association Covenants and Restrictions
Homeowners Association covenants and restrictions

Joe Huberts 317-679-1094

Navigating Short Sales: What to Do When the Sale Price Leaves You Short

If you're thinking of selling your home, and you expect that the total amount you owe on your mortgage will be greater than the selling price of your home, you may be facing a short sale. A short sale is one where the net proceeds from the sale won't cover your total mortgage obligation and closing costs, and you don't have other sources of money to cover the deficiency. A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when your lender takes title of your home through a lengthy legal process and then sells it.

1. Consider loan modification first. If you are thinking of selling your home because of financial difficulties and you anticipate a short sale, first contact your lender to see if it has any programs to help you stay in your home. Your lender may agree to a modification such as:

· Refinancing your loan at a lower interest rate

· Providing a different payment plan to help you get caught up

· Providing a forbearance period if your situation is temporary

When a loan modification still isn’t enough to relieve your financial problems, a short sale could be your best option if

· Your property is worth less than the total mortgage you owe on it.

· You have a financial hardship, such as a job loss or major medical bills.

· You have contacted your lender and it is willing to entertain a short sale.

2. Hire a qualified team. The first step to a short sale is to hire a qualified real estate professional* and a real estate attorney who specialize in short sales. Interview at least three candidates for each and look for prior short-sale experience. Short sales have proliferated only in the last few years, so it may be hard to find practitioners who have closed a lot of short sales. You want to work with those who demonstrate a thorough working knowledge of the short-sale process and who won't try to take advantage of your situation or pressure you to do something that isn't in your best interest.

A qualified real estate professional can:

· Provide you with a comparative market analysis (CMA) or broker price opinion (BPO).

· Help you set an appropriate listing price for your home, market the home, and get it sold.

· Put special language in the MLS that indicates your home is a short sale and that lender approval is needed (all MLSs permit, and some now require, that the short-sale status be disclosed to potential buyers).

· Ease the process of working with your lender or lenders.

· Negotiate the contract with the buyers.

· Help you put together the short-sale package to send to your lender (or lenders, if you have more than one mortgage) for approval. You can’t sell your home without your lender and any other lien holders agreeing to the sale and releasing the lien so that the buyers can get clear title.

3. Begin gathering documentation before any offers come in. Your lender will give you a list of documents it requires to consider a short sale. The short-sale “package” that accompanies any offer typically must include

· A hardship letter detailing your financial situation and why you need the short sale

· A copy of the purchase contract and listing agreement

· Proof of your income and assets

· Copies of your federal income tax returns for the past two years

4. Prepare buyers for a lengthy waiting period. Even if you're well organized and have all the documents in place, be prepared for a long process. Waiting for your lender’s review of the short-sale package can take several weeks to months. Some experts say:

· If you have only one mortgage, the review can take about two months.

· With a first and second mortgage with the same lender, the review can take about three months.

· With two or more mortgages with different lenders, it can take four months or longer.

When the bank does respond, it can approve the short sale, make a counteroffer, or deny the short sale. The last two actions can lengthen the process or put you back at square one. (Your real estate attorney and real estate professional, with your authorization, can work your lender’s loss mitigation department on your behalf to prepare the proper documentation and speed the process along.)

5. Don't expect a short sale to solve your financial problems. Even if your lender does approve the short sale, it may not be the end of all your financial woes. Here are some things to keep in mind:

· You may be asked by your lender to sign a promissory note agreeing to pay back the amount of your loan not paid off by the short sale. If your financial hardship is permanent and you can’t pay back the balance, talk with your real estate attorney about your options.

· Any amount of your mortgage that is forgiven by your lender is typically considered income, and you may have to pay taxes on that amount. Under a temporary measure passed in 2007, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation Act, homeowners can exclude debt forgiveness on their federal tax returns from income for loans discharged in calendar years 2007 through 2012. Be sure to consult your real estate attorney and your accountant to see whether you qualify.

· Having a portion of your debt forgiven may have an adverse effect on your credit score. However, a short sale will impact your credit score less than foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Note: This article provides general information only. Information is not provided as advice for a specific matter. Laws vary from state to state. For advice on a specific matter, consult your attorney or CPA.

-Joe Huberts

joehuberts.com