2013 BAH rates for Fort Knox Kentucky are out and overall they are better than 2012 but the change is not as great. Soldiers with dependents saw an average increase of 2.965%. while those without dependents saw 2.877%. E4 and below got a nice increase last year and saw the largest increase (6.3%) on the enlisted side this year.

Many soldiers realize the important financial benefits BAH offers. They choose to put that money to work by letting it pay their mortgage and build valuable equity. With mortgage interest rates around 3%, it's not difficult to see that buying, for example, one of the homes for sale in Elizabethtown KY is a wise investment. Many people are also discovering that buying is cheaper than renting.

Military home buyers always find it interesting to see how BAH rates have changed over the years at Fort Knox. We have BAH rate history for every rank since 1998. For example, an E8 with dependents receives $1,446 for housing in 2013 but only received $625 in 1998.

Home for sale with acreage near Fort Knox KY

UPDATE: This home is sold

Are you searching for Fort Knox KY homes for sale with acreage? Do you like those older, historical style houses? When you hear people say "they just don't make 'em like they used to", they're referring to a home like this one.


It's unbelievable that you can get 12 acres in Hardin County less than 10 minutes to post.

Social feature added to real estate website

Now you can share Fort Knox Kentucky real estate listings with your social networks a little easier:
http://www.HardinHomes.com/real-estate-for-sale

Give it a try (click any listing), we hope you find it useful.

List Your Home With Caution, Pictures Are Important

If you're selling a home near Fort Knox Kentucky (or anywhere really), make sure the agent you choose knows that pictures are extremely important. This is a military relocation market and many buyers are making decisions based on pictures. Usually they are coming to visit Ft. Knox and have already picked out the homes they would like to see. In some cases they buy the home solely based off the pictures.

Quick Checklist:
All pictures need to be entered the same day the listing is entered into the system.
Pictures shouldn't be small (at least 800x600) when uploaded to the system.
No blurry ones and no crooked ones (no one likes a sinking house).
If you can avoid a dark cloudy day, do it.
Examples of bad pictures

You never get a second chance to make a first impression
Every single day we see new listings that are entered in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service a.k.a. the homes for sale database) with just one picture or no pictures at all. This is a major mistake and can hurt your chances of a quick sale. Buyers are entered into the system and get emailed when a new listing matches their criteria. You are in front of many buyers for the first time and if there's no picture, buyers will most likely move on to the next listing.

No buyer wants to look at small pictures
I think there used to be a requirement that pictures had to be small (320x240) to be entered into the system. That's no longer the case. Make sure your agent uploads bigger pictures, if they're too big then the system re-sizes them anyway.

Is that home sinking?
No, we hope not, but that's the impression some bad pictures give if they aren't straight. Also don't allow pictures to be taken on a super cloudy day if it can be avoided.
Believe it or not there's a home for sale in the high $300k range that has one photo, that's it. To make it worse it's a photo taken at dusk.

Remember how important pictures are when interviewing agents.

Fort Knox Kentucky Infrastructure Growth

Ft Knox KY is getting $100 million to improve the infrastructure in Hardin County and Meade County

Saving Time and Gas when Shopping Fort Knox Kentucky Homes

Are you about to hit the pavement looking for a new Kentucky home? The search for a home can involve many trips in the car as you drive around to find potential properties. Here are some strategies that will help you to save time and gas during the home search.

1. The Internet. Using an Internet search engine like Google to find a Hardin County house for sale is without a doubt the most efficient way to proceed. Unlike the real estate section of the local newspaper, good real estate websites help you narrow your selection. You're able to filter the results then browse the listings that are automatically returned.

2. Consult a real estate agent. One trip to the office of a real estate agent or broker will provide you with a free session to obtain listings that meet your buying requirements and give you valuable advice. You are not charged to access this information or to follow up with questions later. A good real estate agent, but especially a Realtor licensed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), will provide as much information as requested with the anticipation that you will return later for Realtor assistance when buying the home.
Again, searching online for a Fort Knox Kentucky Realtor is the best option because you're more likely to find a good agent who is web savvy. Roughly 85% of buyers use the internet during the home buying process (probably higher in our market due to military relocation), it's highly likely that a web savvy agent will have vast experience from completing many transactions.

3. Use email, text messaging, or phone to contact your agent about specific properties. Real estate professionals can consult the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to find out if a property is still available and read through the listing to see if it really meets your needs.

Because real estate professionals provide free advice, they are best prepared to deliver valuable information that streamlines your property search. Wasting gas looking at homes that don’t meet your needs is not necessary in a high-priced energy market (it's not really green either). Take advantage of the real estate advice and online search sites at your disposal to make your Fort Knox KY military home search as convenient as possible.

2009 BAH Rates Fort Knox Kentucky are available

The Fort Knox BAH Rates for 2009 did not increase across the board. Enlisted soldiers, E1-E5, took a slight reduction (about $30/month) while the E6-E9 soldiers and officers got a large increase of approximately $180 per month. Except for the O1 who gets $1 more.

Mortgage interest rates are amazing right now (around 5.17%), you can get a pretty nice home without going over your BAH.

Overall the change is pretty good but not as good as the 2008 BAH increases for Knox.

We have posted the 2009 rates along with the history for each pay grade. The history is for Fort Knox Kentucky off base housing and covers 1998 through 2009. It's interesting to see how they have changed.
i.e. An E6 (with dependents) received $536 in 1998 and currently receives $1,161

Selling your Kentucky House? New commission plans are here

HardinHomes has revised its full service RE/MAX home selling commission pricing plans to make it easier on you the home seller. We are offering the full package and the house seller gets to choose which real estate commission plan works best for his/her situation.

1) The first option is to pay 4% of the selling price when the deal is done (at closing/settlement) and pay nothing upfront.

2) The second option is for the serious seller and saver. The home seller only pays 3% at closing and pays $695 upfront.

Let's assume your Fort Knox Kentucky area home sells for $200,000. Traditionally you might pay 6% which would be $12,000. With our 4% plan, the commission is $8,000 which is paid using the proceeds from the house. With the 3% plan you can save an additional $1,305 by paying the $695 upfront (1% - $695 = $1,305).

Don't pay 6%
  6% = $12,000
  4% = $8,000 (save $4,000)
  3% = $6,695 (save $5,305 even after paying the $695 upfront fee)

We're excited about these new options to save Fort Knox KY home sellers money, we hope you like them. Tell us what you think and what other options you would like to see.

Things that will sell your Hardin County house

As complicated as real estate is, there are really only two things that will sell your Hardin County Kentucky house, price and exposure.
"Two things, but what about everything else? Aren't condition, location, and supply/demand important?". They are important but those should be factored into the price. For the amenities (beds/bath, finished basement, etc), square footage, supply/demand, and location, your house has a selling (value) range. The condition is what will determine where your house will sell within that range. If you have deferred maintenance, poor curb appeal, and/or a cluttered home then you could be at the bottom of your home's value range. If you want to sell in the shortest time and receive the most money for your home near Fort Knox Kentucky then you should hire an appraiser. An appraiser will cost roughly $250 but will save you time and money.

Exposure is the other thing that will get your house sold. Even if your house is priced way too low, it still won't sell if no one knows about it. On the other hand your home could have the best exposure available and if it's priced too high it won't sell either. The MLS is the most important exposure tool available, the internet is a close second. 84% of home buyers use the internet during their home search.

So if you're asking yourself "Why isn't my home selling?" take a look at your price and evaluate your exposure.

New Options for Hardin County Home Sellers

HardinHomes.com launches two new plans for Kentucky home sellers in Hardin County Kentucky. The two new plans offer a fresh alternative to our normal 6% listing fee.

Our first plan is the basic option and we will list your house for 3% ($295 setup) while we offer our full RE/MAX package for just an additional fee of $400. These new plans are offered for a limited time.

RE/MAX Executive Group is Hardin County's real estate leader.

Importance of Real Estate Appraisals for Hardin County Home Sellers

Are you planning to sell your Hardin County Kentucky home? Do you think you know how much it's worth on the open market? Many sellers make the mistake of trying to estimate the value of their homes themselves. This is almost always a bad decision, because homeowners tend to be very emotionally invested in their homes. They almost always assume their dwellings are worth top dollar in their current condition, and this is rarely the case. Your real estate agent will be able to estimate the selling price of your home. However many factors impact Fort Knox Kentucky real estate value, and a professional opinion from an appraiser is likely to yield the most accurate picture of fair market value for any piece of real estate.

Of course you know how much you paid for your Kentucky home. You also know how much money, time, and energy you have invested in improving the property over the years. You probably also have a good idea about the asking price and sales prices of other homes in your neighborhood and the Fort Knox area. However, this type of information doesn't tell the whole story about the value of your home. While these details are useful and interesting, they really can't replace the benefits of a professional real estate appraisal when you're trying to decide on the best listing price for your home. Local appraisers are looking at Hardin County property on a daily basis and they are the experts.

As soon as you decide to put your home up for sale, you should seek professional guidance regarding the true market value of your home. Not only can getting an appraisal help you decide how much to ask for your home in its current condition, the information you learn may help you determine if you should spend some money improving the condition of the property in order to be able to sell it for a higher price. Conversely, you may learn that investing in additional improvements would not be likely to help you sell the home for a greater amount.

It is common for sellers to avoid getting appraisals before listing their homes for sale because they don't want to spend the money (around $250) to have a professional appraiser assess the value of their property. While frugality can be an admirable trait, failing to spend a few hundred dollars on a professional appraisal can result in the loss of thousands of dollars on the sale of your home. If you are listing your Fort Knox home with HardinHomes of RE/MAX Executive Group you will already be saving a ton of money by not paying a huge commission.

If you price your home too high, it isn't likely to sell. If you price your home too low, you won't realize the highest possible return on your real estate investment. Can you can afford to have your home sit on the market for an extended period of time? Do you want watch your home sell for less than it is really worth? If not, it is in your best interest to get a professional appraisal as soon as you decide to sell the property.

Fort Knox Kentucky BAH/BAQ skyrockets!

Fort Knox enlisted soldiers are getting a well deserved and much needed increase in their BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing). The 2008 BAH increase averages 23.3% for enlisted soldiers and averages 20% for all Fort Knox Kentucky military members. View the BAH/BAQ rates for Fort Knox.

The increase couldn't have come at a better time. The Fort Knox area's population is going to explode thanks to BRAC so this BAH/BAQ increase is an extremely important way to reward and thank our Knox soldiers so they can afford adequate off-post housing.

Newspaper or Internet? Radcliff KY Home Selling

According to NAR, more than 80% of home buyers are starting their home search on the web.

The internet has changed many industries by allowing them to be more efficient. Because the real estate industry has been one that's changed dramatically, savvy home sellers can be more profitable by paying a lower commission. It's less expensive for today's agent to conduct business. By cutting newspaper advertising costs, HardinHomes.com is able to charge dramatically less to sell a Radcliff KY house (4% rather than 5%, 6%, or 7%).

In the past a Radcliff home seller would decide to list with a Realtor but the marketing was different then; the most important public marketing tool was the local paper. A lot has changed and the internet is now the "big dog" and the paper has taken a back seat. It's so much easier for military personal who are relocating to search the internet than try to get their hands on the local paper. With a newspaper it's impossible to search by specifics, there's usually only one picture and not enough information. With the internet you can filter the types of homes you don't want and see a limitless number of pictures.

Print advertising has still been effective using the Central Kentucky Homes Magazine (CK Homes) because ad prices are low and it's a niche book.

(Radcliff is used as an example but this information applies to any home in the Fort Knox KY area). Not intended to solicit properties already listed for sale with an agent.

Elizabethtown Kentucky takes on 'Black Friday'

Here's the Best Buy scene in E-town at 8pm, I was surprised to see the line that long already. It's going to be about 30 degrees, so I know there's some cold people waiting to shop.

Fort Knox Ky Housing market ending strong for 2007

The Fort Knox Kentucky real estate market was a bit slower this summer than it usually is, but it has taken a surprising upturn for the fourth quarter. The HardinHomes Group has increased profits while lowering the cost for Hardin County home sellers to put their homes on the market. HardinHomes is only charging 4% while the typical commission is 5% to 7%. Because the 4th quarter has been so profitable, HardinHomes is rewarding its real estate agents with quarterly bonuses.

Even though some sales people may say "now is the right time to buy or sell" no matter when it is, turns out that the fourth quarter actually is a good time to make a move. It also helps that interest rates are still low.