A Happy Anniversary Letter to my wife of 25 years, from your local realtor Andy Eckert

Stephanie D. Eckert, formally known as Ness, my wife, my friend and my children’s best gift.

             I met Steph in High School Chemistry class, which at the time, we  didn’t have any Chemistry. I followed her gymnastics   accomplishments because she was successful early on, as was I, on with my Wrestling. I always felt she was stuck up because she   wasn’t outspoken, but quiet. I later found out that she was just shy and insecure, which surprised me after watching her be so successful with her many accomplishments.

Steph and I started dating for a short time when she was a Senior in High School. Of course the relationship was more about me, than us, so I screwed that up. At the time I personally had no idea what I wanted out of life, and girls and golf, were a past time. A few years had passed after our Graduation and I began dating different women, but soon became tired of that life style. Then for some unknown reason I was pulled to go downtown for a drink late one night. I walked in and there she was. All the bad feelings either of us had towards each other washed away, and a new life for us began at that moment. I told her that night that she was stuck with me and we never looked back.

We have Loved hard, fought often, and forgave daily over the past 25 years. I couldn’t image my life without her or our  children. Over the years we’ve grown to deal with each other’s quirks. I kid her on a daily basis, which she has gotten used to, and now she tries to give some of that back once in awhile. I feel we complement each other with my take action personality and her no job is impossible attitude.  Our home isn’t the most organized or clean but it’s always open for friends, family and strangers to visit. We love people and spending time with our family which is small on Steph’s side, but large on mine. We have learned to support each other even when we don’t agree and we both want the same things for our children; Happiness, Success and a desire to keep family close and God closer.

I am blessed to have her and my children, I love my life.

I always have time for you or your referrals.

Rentals make great investments and the Top 8 Fastest growing housing Markets, from local Realtor, Andy Eckert

Rentals gain popularity for investments

Buy land. They're not making it anymore." - Mark Twain

Property is valuable and mostly becomes more valuable as time goes on.

This idea is not lost on today's legion of real estate investors or the average person. According to the Financial Security Index Survey released in July, 54 million Americans consider real estate to be the preferred cash investment for funds not needed for more than 10 years.

It is a great time to invest in real estate with interest rates are historically low. Owning rental property is one way to invest and immediately get return on your money. The key before you start is to ask yourself what you need to make on a rental.

Enlist a real estate agent to help you analyze rental rates and apartment prices in the neighborhood. Scour the classifieds to get an idea of what rents are in the area you would like to buy. Also, learn what properties are selling for.

Before you buy, know what your costs will be for taxes, maintenance, and profit. Can you be competitive at this location and still make a profit? One landlord writing in ConsumerismCommentary.com said she must make $500 profit on each rental per month.

Pick the right neighborhood. High crime areas will cost you money, according to Consumerism Commentary.  High rent areas probably will resist rentals. Sturdy middle-class neighborhoods are often best.

One useful talent is a flair for DIY. If you like doing general repairs, you can usually save on expected expenses. If you don't have such a flair, develop ties to handy-people who are skilled and available. You might be able to hire someone on demand for a low hourly rate.

Finally, once you have done the math and purchased your rental, find the right renter with a strict application. You must make your money back on a property so your three questions have to be: Can they afford the apartment? Will they pay the rent? Will they keep the property nice? To find out, check previous landlords. Verify income. After that, run a civil and criminal background check. 

One landlord even calls the mother or father of younger people who want to rent.

The 8 Fastest Growing Housing Markets, according to NAR

   City, State                       Up     Median Price

1. Boulder, Colorado         18.5%       $ 549,600

2. Elmira, N. Y.                 17.6 %      $ 115,600

3. Springfield, Il.               17.1 %      $ 143,100

4. Port St. Lucie, Fl.          16.1 %      $ 209,000

5. Cumberland, W.Va.      15.2 %      $   94,900

6. Rockford, Il                   15.1 %      $ 109,000

7. Daytona Beach, Fl.        14.7 %     $ 172,000

8. Tampa-Clearwater, Fl.  14.2 %      $ 199,900

3 Tips for Selling a Small Kitchen & Realtors Donate to local Boys & Girls Clubs, from your local Huntington County Realtor

3 Tips for Selling a Small Kitchen

Many buyers are in search of great kitchen space. But the kitchen can be one of the trickiest rooms to stage, especially when the space is small.

If your house is lacking in kitchen space, it's important to make it look as appealing as possible.

1. Remove all clutter and appliances from the counter-tops, leaving only one or two decorative items. This will make the space appear cleaner and larger, she says.

2. Make sure the kitchen is getting plenty of light. Dark spaces appear smaller, so to open up the space make sure any windows are allowing maximum light through. If that's not possible, add appealing forms of artificial lighting to do the trick.

3. If the cabinets have seen better days, consider painting them white. White reflects light and helps make a space feel much bigger and open.

Realtors® Donate Thousands of Hours, Dollars to Local Boys & Girls Clubs

WASHINGTON (August 16, 2016) — The National Association of Realtors® joined forces last year with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to enrich the lives of Club kids and teens in communities across the U.S.

Since December 2015, a total of 188 local Clubs and 18,200 Club youth have been positively impacted by Realtors® and more than $100,000 has been donated to local Clubs by associations, members and real estate firms.

"Today's kids are our future, so when I began my NAR presidential term, I knew I wanted to involve Boys & Girls Club. I am so proud of all the passion, time and effort put forward by the Realtor® family to better the lives of the children in the communities in which we live and work," said NAR President Tom Salomone, broker-owner of Real Estate II, Inc. in Coral Springs, Florida. "Realtors® work every day to build and improve communities, so it comes as no surprise to me that our members jumped at the opportunity to get involved with their local Boys & Girls Club and volunteer their time and energy to support Club kids."   

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It's 4H Fair Time! Which includes, horse ppop, dust and elephant ears, from your Local Huntington County Realtor, Andy Eckert

This month will be full of horse poop, dust, Elephant ears and milkshakes. That’s right is 4H fair time….

We finished the horse show part and Aleah and Michael had a good fair showing. Aleah won some classes and a Grand Champion and Michael won 2 classes and a Reserve Champion. Aleah rode 3 different animals and excelled at all 3. Western Pleasure is her best events, English is her least Favorite and Contesting seems to be a lot of fun for her. Michael showed some halter and riding classes, which he did well in. I was really afraid because he doesn’t take failure well and riding isn’t easy. He came along so far in the past 45 days and I can’t thank Stephanie, Sebastian, Olivia and Aleah enough for all the instruction and support you gave him.

We now will be moving in the goats, rabbits and chickens and showing them for the next week or so. This is always a very busy time for our family with all the maintenance for animals during the fair. We will be running kids in the morning to feed and then again in the afternoon. I think we can allow them to stay during the day for part of the fair but Aleah has Volleyball practice also. It’s a good thing they learn a lot from raising and training these animals because it’s eating into my golf game.

Aleah starts her Freshman year at HNHS this Fall and she is a little nervous and so are we. I’m sure she will handle it all just fine and I just hope all the upper class boys don’t start hounding her.

Michael starts at Crestview MS this Fall and he is also excited and nervous but eager to get the show on the road. He is also excited that his sister Cassy will be coming home this Fall, it’s been way too long since she’s been at home.

Michaels Grandma and Sister Ashley spent the entire day watching him at the 4H horse show and really were proud of him and how far his riding skill has come. I kept his Mom up to date during the day while she was at work. He has a great support system.

I keep hoping Olivia lands a full time job in her field of work, maybe she will be closer to home. Sebastian just set up his apartment for next school year in Ft Wayne and will be moving at the end of the month. Jenny Hinen will be his roomy, good luck Jen.

Have a great Summer and always remember I always have time for your referrals.

God Bless

Andy

6 Steps to choosing a First Home, from your local Huntington County Realtor, Andy Eckert

6 steps to choosing a first home

First-time home buyers get a lot of good advice on finances before they buy their first home: They should be pre-approved for a mortgage, have cash on hand, and take a look a property taxes.

But before that, buyers should consider what they will look for in a home. 

Here are 6 considerations that will help you make the decision.

1 Take the long-term view. 

Young buyers should remember that their first home probably won't be their last. In fact, one way to financial success is to buy a starter home that will appreciate and then sell it later for a profit.  Use the profit to buy your next home; one suited to your needs at the moment.

2 Choose substance over style.

Granite counter tops should never be the make-it-or-break-it feature of a first home. That is just style. The best home is one that suits lifestyle needs. Put substance ahead of style every time.

3 Find the right size home.

Big is not necessarily better. In fact, a big home can be a burden for two working people. Consider the time you will spend cleaning, furnishing and decorating a home for a party of 20. 

In the same way, tiny is not necessarily better. Since a first home is rarely the last home, consider how much the home will be worth at resale. Will a tiny home be difficult to sell? Making an investment work over the long-term is a better idea than going with a trendy choice.     

4 Shun fashion.

A graceful Victorian home or the mid-century modern with potential might be the ultimate dream of a young person fascinated with architecture, but it probably isn't the best first-time buy. Think about the investment in maintenance and unforeseen problems that can crop up in an older home.

Fixer-upper shows can mislead buyers into thinking that a home that needs a lot of work is a great buy. Even for the handy-man, a fixer-upper may not be the right choice, even if the price is right. Consider how long the improvements will take, then double the estimate in time and dollars. Will that be acceptable?

5 Buy location not just bricks.

It doesn't matter how great the house, if it is located in an area with bad schools, high crime, and a run-down house next door, the house won't be worth as much at resale. Even if you don't have children, consider the school district.  A great school district increases the number of interested buyers at sale. At the same time, be open to a good location outside your preferred neighborhood.

6 Choose an expert then listen.

Find a real estate agent, then listen to his/her advice. The agent will advise you on price, negotiation, value, and possible pitfalls. There is no substitute for having a good agent on your side.

Can FHA help you buy your first home? and the Downside to Smart Homes, from your Local Huntington County Realtor, Andy Eckert

Can the FHA help us buy our first home

this year?

Maybe it can. 

The FHA has reduced its Mortgage Insurance (MI) rate, resulting in a monthly payment reduction of $80 on average, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

"Buying a home is about more than owning a roof and four walls. It's about investing in savings and building a family and planting roots in a community."

That was the message that President Obama relayed in his January 7 speech on housing and homeownership in Phoenix, AR. His speech announced significant improvements to mortgage loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration.

"We're going to start this week laying out some of the agenda for the next year. And here in Phoenix, I want to talk about helping more families afford their piece of the American dream, and that is owning their own home."

Obama announced that FHA Mortgage insurance premiums would be reduced from 1.35 to .85 percent on both purchase and refinance loans. The upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) will however, remain at 1.75 percent.

The White House estimates more than 800,000 homeowners stand to save on their monthly mortgage costs from the reduced MI premiums. They also predicted that 250,000 potential buyers will enter into homeownership over the next three years as a result of the changes.

CoreLogic estimates the change will benefit FHA borrowers with an average of $80 per month, or $900 per year, in savings.

The President's measures are designed to address homeownership numbers r adiating from the flagging first-time buyer market.

First-time buyer participation limped into 2015 accounting for a meager 33 percent of the overall homes sold, the lowest market share since 1987 and down from 50 percent in 2010.

Downside to smart homes

 Smart homes are now a reality wit Amazon Echo and Google home. Appliances, heat, air conditioning, power, lights, security cameras -- everything can link to your smartphone. Turn on your pool heat from 50 miles away. Turn up your AC at the same time.

Of course, there are still some downsides to smart homes that are worth considering.

According to Christopher Harper at maketecheasier.com, security issues are serious. Breaches are inevitable, and security strategies must keep changing to keep up with the hackers. Your  system quickly could become outdated.  Even if it is not outdated, a hacker could send the air conditioning system into Antarctic mode at any time. You take your chances.

Smart homes also add to big data. You are letting big companies that already know a lot about you know more about you.  Afraid of big business? Afraid of big government? 

Finally, smart homes still cost a lot of money to do things like turn up the heat and turn on a light. Is it worth it now?  

Land cruisers in the outback

You think your cell phone has blackout spots. Imagine the Australian outback.  We are talking 2 million square miles of blazing heat, unpleasant snakes, and no cell service.

According to gizmag.com, what the Outback does have is Toyota LandCruisers.  Toyota has joined with other corporations and universities to set up a LandCruiser Emergency Network.

Using a mix of technology, the plan is to supply LandCruisers in the area with plug-and-play wifi devices. Every Cruiser will be a little wifi hotspot with a 15-mile range. People will connect their phones to a nearby LandCruiser that will forward the message along a chain of other LandCruisers until the message gets to a base station.  Consider how important this would be if the message were FIRE.

Hope you had a great 4th of July Holiday, from your Huntington County Local Realtor Andy Eckert

These past 30 days have proven to be busy and full of travel. My family which included all 3 kids and Steph made a trip to St Louis for 5 days. We filled the trip with a lot of walking, eating, swimming and sightseeing. I think since we all made it back still talking to each other it was a success. This was the 1^st vacation all of us have taken together since Olivia was a senior in HS (5 years ago). As our kids grow up and become young adults the environment seems altered in a way. I miss when they were small and we all went together and meandered around at a much slower pace. I think the only way it could have been better is if we would have left our cell phones in the hotel room.

We explored the Arch and went on a river tour; we also went to a St Louis Cards game, man what a stadium. We visited the City Museum which would be any kids dream come true, it offered tunnels and cages to climb for 10 stories and if that wasn’t enough they had a Ferris wheel on the top floor. There were slides from level to level and a 10 story slide which Steph and I road. We enjoyed watching our kids climb around like they were 10 years old again, Sebastian said he was going back and Olivia had red face for about an hour after we left, not sure she has done anything that exhausting for awhile. Aleah took it all in stride and just enjoyed hanging with her Big Sis and Bro.

We also walked through the Zoo which was free and enjoyed seeing what animals would come out into the blazing hot sun so we could see them; I think we all enjoyed the Penguins area the most since it was 45 degrees in there. After we finished at the zoo Olivia talked us into taking the Budweiser tour which thrilled Aleah to no end, which if you follow my posts on Facebook you would have seen. That place was amazing if you like beer which 4 of 5 of us don’t. Olivia was happy to drink our samples.

What I figured out about taking a family vacation when your kids are no longer kids is, it’s really expensive to feed them. I also found that they all have different opinions as to what we should do, it was much easier when Steph and I made all the decisions.

I enjoyed the time together and the time away from home. I hope all of you also get a chance to get away this summer. We spend too much time watching everyone’s life happen on social media vs living ourselves.

Put down your cell phones and take a walk and breath some air. You deserve it!!!!!!!!

God Bless All