Indy Home Marketing - September 2010 Newsletter

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September, 2010 Newsletter

Volume 4, Number 9

	A Great Lawn in the Spring Requires Proper Fall Care... Now that fall is near, you're probably ready to take a break from lawn care and relax by watching a football game on television. But, don't pick up the remote yet. Fall is the most important
	time of the year for lawn care. Fertilization, weed and thatch con- trol, establishment of new lawns, and renovation of poor quality lawns need to be done over the next few weeks to guarantee a great spring lawn. Continued


			Price it Right when Selling in Today's Market High inventory lets home buyers be pickier and demand more. Although we're in the midst of a challenging home-sale market, soft sales can provide opportunities for some home sellers. The trick is to price your home right for today's market. The most difficult reality for most sellers to
	face is that prices in their neighborhood may have dropped during the last year or two. Some sellers will find that it may not make sense to sell if the probable sale price is too low. If you have the luxury of waiting for a better market, stay put for now and let us help you determine the best time to sell your home. It is an advantageous time for move-up buyers, who may have to sell for less than they would have a few years ago. But, they may also pay a lot less for the home they buy. Continued

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Eggplant & Tomato Stacks

This oven-baked side dish is a
delicious use of late-summer
vegetables from the garden or
the farmers' market. Topped
with a crust of melted Parmi-
giano-Reggiano cheese, its
luscious layers of eggplant,

tomato and zucchini are perfect for a light vegetarian meal
option or companion to grilled steak or chicken. Recipe
courtesy of: Albertsons

INGREDIENTS:

•	4 garlic cloves, minced	•	1 tbs. chopped oregano
•	5 tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick	•	4 yellow onions, diced
•	1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
•	1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
•	1 eggplant, 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, sliced 1/8 inch thick
•	4 zucchini, halved crosswise and sliced lengthwise 1/8 inch thick
•	1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. olive oil, plus more as needed
•	10 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
•	Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

To create this summery side dish, thinly sliced eggplant and
zucchini are layered with tomato slices and cooked onions.
Then the stacks are baked in the oven and topped with
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Continued


			MIBOR Releases Disappointing Home Sale Statistics for July The latest sale statistics of pre-owned homes released by the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors indicate closed sales were DOWN in July by a staggering 30.4% compared to July figures in 2009...and a whopping 35% below July 2008 home sale numbers!

A Great Lawn in the Spring
Requires Proper Fall Care... (continued)

Mowing Your Lawn
It’s important to keep your grass 2 to 2-1/2 inches tall through-
out the fall. If your grass gets much longer (more than 3 inches)
it will mat, leading to winter lawn disease problems such as snow
mold. If you cut it shorter than 2 inches, you’ll severely limit its
ability to make and store food for growth in the spring.

Raking Leaves
Lawn raking in the fall removes excess organic debris, and can
help maintain water quality. In winter, freezing and thawing can
cause leaves, dead grass plants, and other organic debris to re-
lease soluble forms of phosphate (and nitrates). If these chem-
icals run off frozen ground during spring snow melt and early
spring rains, they can end up in surface water. Keep grass
clippings, leaf litter, and other organic debris off driveways,
sidewalks and streets.

Recycling Leaves
You have several options when it comes to disposing of fallen
leaves. The preferred way is to compost them, because com-
posting keeps leaves out of streets and storm sewers. You can
also use fallen leaves, whole or chipped by a power mower, as
winter mulch around rose bushes and landscape plants. Leave
fallen leaves on your lawn and make several passes over
them with a power mower, chopping them into a thin layer
fine enough to stay on the lawn without causing damage while
providing nutrients for the grass. You can also bag leaves for
disposal by municipal authorities.

Watering Your Lawn
Even though temperatures might be cooler than in summer,
your lawn still needs water. Since lawn grasses continue to
grow throughout the fall, watering is still important to sustain
growth. Go ahead and water as needed until the ground is cold
and beginning to freeze. If you have an automatic irrigation
system, avoid damage by having it blown out with compressed
air before water freezes in the pipes and sprinkler heads.

Fertilizing Your Lawn
Apply a final dose of fertilizer in mid to late October. You’ll
provide your grass with nutrients that will be absorbed and
stored until needed for spring growth. Lawns that have re-
ceived late-season fertilizing are often the first to begin
growing in the spring.“Winterizing” types of fertilizers con-
taining high amounts of phosphorus are only necessary if a
reliable soil test indicates a shortage of phosphorus. Other-
wise, a standard lawn fertilizer will be sufficient.

Dethatch
Most grasses develop thatch, a sponge-like layer of roots,
runners, and grass blades just above the soil surface. Thatch
interferes with the downward flow of fertilizer and water, de-
priving plant roots; thin it now, if you haven't already done
so (use a dethatcher from a rental yard). The lawn will re-
cover quickly and will perform better next spring.

Broadleaf Weed Control
Fall is a good time to control perennial broadleaf weeds such
as dandelions, plantain, clover, and creeping charlie. Limited
numbers of weeds can be removed by hand. If your weeds
are few and scattered, or confined to a few small areas,
spot treating them with herbicide is usually sufficient. Weed-
control products sold in ready-to-use spray containers make
spot treatment easy. Be sure to complete treatments when
temperatures are above 50 degrees—your herbicide needs
time to do its job before winter cold sets in. Don’t choose
your weed-control strategy without a careful evaluation of
the number and types of weeds in your lawn. Remember,
you don’t need to apply herbicides over your entire lawn
unless there’s extensive weed infestation. And don’t worry
about controlling crab-grass, which is done more effectively
in spring. The first hard frost will kill annual weedy
grasses (like crabgrass).

Seeding and Sodding Your Lawn
Fall is the best time of year to establish or repair lawns by
seeding or sodding. Seeding should be completed by mid-
October. Cool temperatures usually make fall seeding or
sodding successful. Be sure to complete your sodding be-
fore very cold weather sets in.

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Price it Right When Selling...
(continued)

Today's home buyers are extremely price-conscious. If there is
a lot to choose from, price will certainly be a big factor. A price
that's too high for the market won't bring the desired result.

Homes don't necessarily lose value at the same rate in a soft
market. In the current environment, buyers are more cautious
about what they buy because they know that the property they
buy might drop in value before it starts appreciating. They buy
for the long term and are less prone to make compromises.

The homes that have what most buyers want tend to hold their
value better in a down market than do homes that have an in-
curable defect. Here a few examples of defects that can't be
cured: an awkward floor plan that can't be fixed, a location
next to a noisy road or a house that is either up or down
a lot of stairs.

Homes with defects that can't be corrected are easier to sell if
there's low inventory, and it's a seller's market. We are now in
a buyer's market. This doesn't mean you can't sell your home if
it has an incurable defect. However, you will need to account for
the deficiency in the price. Keep this in mind when you compare
your home with one that sold recently that had level-in access,
a livable floor plan, and wasn't on a busy street or next to a
freeway.

The condition of your property will also be scrutinized more care-
fully in the current market than it would have been a few years
ago. You can sell a property that has deferred maintenance. But,
you will sell it more quickly and for a better price if you can re-
pair defects and have the property looking great when it hits the
market. If this is not possible, take this into consideration in
your list price.

It's difficult to hit the market price for a property if there haven't
been many recent sales in the neighborhood. If you miss the
target and find that you're home is priced too high, lower it as
soon as possible. A price reduction is no longer a stigma in this
market.

Letting a listing sit on the market too long at a high price sends
the wrong message to buyers and could result in a lower sale
price if market prices in your area continue to decline.

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RECIPE OF THE MONTH (Continued)

Start by preheating your oven to 425°F.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 6 tbs of
olive oil. Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring
occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic,
basil, oregano and parsley and cook for 2 minutes more.
Remove the pan from the heat.

Rub the bottom and sides of a 12-inch cast-iron fry pan with
olive oil. Place 8 eggplant slices in a single layer in the pan
and season with salt. Top each with 1 tsp. onions and 1
tomato slice and season with salt. Top each with 1 tsp.
onions and 2 zucchini slices and season with salt. Top each
with 1 tsp. onions. Repeat the layering 2 more times, end-
ing with the zucchini. Drizzle each vegetable stack with
1 tsp. olive oil.

Bake until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
Sprinkle each stack with 1 tbs. cheese and bake for 7 to 10
minutes more. Let the vegetables rest for 5 minutes before
serving. Serves 8.

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