Living In Pike.com

There are four 2009 triathlons scheduled in Eagle Creek Park: 6/20, 7/18, 8/22, 8/29. On these four Saturday mornings, around 8.15am, the police plan to close westbound West 56th Street between I-465 and the Eagle Creek Park entrance for up to an hour for the bicycle portion of the race.

I am just about half way done. I figure it will take about one more month. By that time I will have 6 months of 2009 in and should be able to forecast what this year will be in foreclosures.

I am also coming up with some very interesting changes of over past years. We are starting to see high end foreclosures.

Traders Hollow is one of my favorite communities in Pike Township. I have a hard time comparing it to any other community. Very unique homes in a very unique setting. Most homes are worth between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and in my opinion well worth it. I had a buyer for one 2 years ago. The house sat on the side of a hill in a very wooded area and had the biggest deck on the back that I had ever seen. During that sale my interest in Traders Hollow peaked. I vowed to myself to see every home that I could. Since that time the market has not been kind to Traders Hollow. There was a 1.4 millon dollar sale where mortgage fraud was involved. It was back on the maket and just recently sold for $550,000. Someone got a true bargin with that house. There was a brand new house that got built in 2007. Nobody ever lived in it before it got listed as a short sale and was headed on it’s way to foreclosure. The list price was $995,000. I saw the house last year with Laura Heigl. It is what I call a “one breath house”. The finished basement had flooded and men were there pumping it out. The smell was so bad that you needed to step outside, take a deep breath, hold it and run inside the house to look and run back outside to exhale. Apparently the house was put back into shape because it recently sold for $445,000. A third house, also involved with mortgage fraud, which has been off the market for about 2 years was just listed in March this year and went pending in 30 days. I had vowed to see this house when it went on the market but missed my chance. When it went pending 4/1 it was priced at $315,000. I would say during it’s hay day it was probably worth something closer to $500,000. It has great curb appeal and the pictures on the listing look interesting. The listing sheet says it was suppose to close on 4/30/2009 and it has not. Maybe the transaction is falling apart and I will get a 2nd chance to see it.

Last year my dear Realtor friend Jean Long had a listing in Traders Hollow. I had seen the house before she got the listing. Jean had it for 98 days and it sold for $500,000. This was not a foreclosed on home. It was a regular sale. The house was very unique and well suited for a big family. When it sold, I got my faith back about Traders Hollow and what the houses were really worth. You go girl!

This year, because of foreclosures, it has been a wonderful time to buy higher end housing. Most people think foreclosed housing is in the $100,000 range. For the most part in the past, that has been true. Now because of the economy, many high end houses are going or have gone through foreclosure. As you can see above, there are deals to be had.

I am not picking on Traders Hollow. I could pick just about any community in Pike Township and tell you stories. As I said before, Traders Hollow is one of my favorite communities in Pike and it is just going through the economy cycle just like all other communities.

Here we go again…71st Street and Westlane Road and Michigan Road.

You are cordially invited to attend a pre-construction public information
meeting for project # TS-10-008 regarding the intersection improvements
on Michigan Road and Westlane Road/71st Street.

This public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2009 from
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. and will be held at the Greater New Hope Church
located at 3444 West 71st Street.

Public comments are welcome and encouraged.

Click here for Info Flyer.

Looks like we are starting out pretty rocky this year. My guess is that when the $8000 tax credits for new home buyers were announced in Feb. this year, sales increased for March and April.

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the tax credit, click here.

For more information register for a seminar here.

The Bass property at 8150 Michigan Road sold for $130,000. Apparently a Doctor bought it and is going to have his office there according to the Auction Company. It will require extensive work but won’t be torn down.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to see the old Bass home at 8150 Michigan. It has been sitting empty ever since Ryland started building Northpoint around it. The property is so overgrown it appears to be a jungle. You can hardly see the house and out buildings from the street. The house and property is going to auction on July 26th. The auction will be held at the property.

In 2003 it had been listed as commercial property and the price was $375,000. In 2006 it was listed as residential property at $299,900. The price was reduced several times during that 16 month listing until it reach $199,000 without any takers. The last listing was done this month and started out at $130,000. Currently the listing has a $1 list price which is typical of an auction listing. The unofficial word is that the starting bid will be $130,000.

What do you get for $130,000? First off, the Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana Landmarks Foundation (to my knowledge) is not going to let this house be torn down. It will have to be rehabbed and used as a residence or a very low end commercial business. Is this possible? I think yes. For a 1930 house, it is in very good condition. It does need extensive updating, a lot of cosmetics and some repairs. Originally it was built closer to Michigan Road. Several years ago it was moved to the center of the 1.7 acre lot on a much better foundation. Because of this you don’t see any stress cracks or slanted floors in the house. The house is very solid. Actually a new roof and gutters have just been installed. The worst problem I found was some water in the basement. I believe this was caused because at the time there were no gutters and rain water would fall off the roof and hit the foundation wall, seeping into the basement. With gutters and downspout control, this problem could possibly be fixed.

A commercial business? It is possible. It would have to be something like an attorneys office or a insurance office, etc. Something low key with very little traffic. Something that would have very little effect/impact on the surrounding Northpoint neighbors. A few years ago a developer wanted to tear down the house and build two new buildings. One was going to be a dentist office and the other a dental lab. This proposal got stopped dead in it tracks.

Auctions are interesting and I am going to try an be there for the fun. The first job for the new owner will be clearing the jungle.

Tremendous Deals!!!

Lakeside Manor West - Ranch, 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1196 square feet and 2 car garage. Needs paint and carpet and general cleanup. Bank Owned - Sold As Is. $69,900 Went pending in 3 days. Personally toured.

Lake Forest in College Park - 2 story condo with 4 bedrooms and large loft, 2.5 baths. 2608 square feet and 2 car garage. Bank Owned - Sold As Is. $111,900 Went pending in 9 days.

Eagle Trace Village - 2 story, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and loft, 1739 square feet and 2 car garage. HUD Owned - Sold As Is. $75,000 Went pending in 46 days.

Stratford Glen - 2 story, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1714 square feet and 2 car garage. Bank Owned - Sold As Is. $69,900 Went pending in 59 days.

Crooked Creek Villages - Ranch, 3 bedrooms (split), 2 full baths, 1494 square feet with 2 car garage and FULL unfinished basement (another 1494 square feet). Built in 1996. Good condition. Just needs cosmetics. Corporate controlled - Sold As Is. $80,000 Still available at this posting. Personally toured.

These are just some of the low prices I have seen in the past 2 weeks. It appears that HUD/Banks are clearing out their inventories probably due to the huge supply.

Would you like to know when houses like these hit the market? Email me at tim@LivingInPike.com with the subject “I want to know” and I will send you every day the HUD/Bank owned houses that went on the market the day before. I will even send you the ones where the price has been dropped. (Please allow two business days to be added to emial list)

From time to time I will tour and review the homes (here at LivingInPike.com) that I think are the best bargins and tell you why. If you are interested in seeing any of the homes, call me at 319-9012 and I will arrange it.

Dunkin’ Donuts in Indianapolis wants to open the first 24 hour shop in Pike Township. The only thing stopping it at this point is the Metropolitan Development Commission. PTRA (Pike Township Residents Association) has already signed off and supported it at the last meeting, after some commitment changes. The original commitments required no 24 hour stores in the Eagle Creek Shops at 4930 Lafayette Road center and trash pick up only on Monday through Wednesday. PTRA agreed to allow this store to be open 24 hours and trash pick-up could be Monday through Friday.

The strip center was developed and built in the past 2 years and has had a hard time getting retailers to move in. Having a Dunkin’ Donuts there should help out. Another influence on the shopping center is the new WalMart, Garden Ridge and other developing retail just south of Eagle Creek Shops. These should draw new business to Eagle Creek Shops.

The Metropolitian Development Commission should vote on it next month.