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.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Update 2009

A few things to note:
* It's $8,000 not $15,000 that was almost passed.
* No longer has to be repaid like the previous tax credit.
* It's still only for first time homebuyers.
* Must buy between 01-01-2009 and 12-01-2009

HardinHomes.com new building sign style decision

We're almost finished deciding on the sign for our new RE/MAX real estate office in Vine Grove Kentucky.

We want it to be easy to read but not too boring either. I'm leaning toward the first sign over the last.

Mortgage Rates lowest in 37 years

Freddie Mac started its interest rate survey in 1971 and the current rate of 5.17% (national average) is the lowest ever. Coupled with many motivated sellers and today's rate, it's a great time to buy.

Source WSJ

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