November Garden Calendar

Time to tuck your garden into bed for winter!

By Veronica Lorson Fowler from Midwest Living

Plant bulbs and mums

— Put in bulbs. Envision your yard filled with colorful crocuses, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips in a few months, and you’ll be glad to know you can still plant spring-blooming bulbs until the ground starts to freeze. Just be sure to purchase firm, large, healthy-looking bulbs, even if they’re on clearance!

— Add mums to your deck, patio or garden. Florist’s mums aren’t winter-hardy but are tidy-looking with large flowers; they’re perfect for pots. Garden mums are more wild-looking and will come back again next year; plant them in the ground as perennials.

How to plant spring-flowering bulbs

To-Dos: Your November Home Checklist

Start preparing your house for the holidays now, and you’ll be thankful later that you did

Laura Gaskell November 1, 2016 from Houzz

Houzz Contributor. I cover topics ranging from decorating ideas, product picks, Houzz…

With Thanksgiving approaching and the winter holidays just around the corner, there is a lot to look forward to (and prepare for) at this time of year. Batten down the hatches for winter weather and get a jump on holiday hosting prep, so you can relax and savor the many simple pleasures of the season, from big family dinners to walks in the crisp air outdoors.

Cummings Architects

Get a jump on holiday prep. If you plan to host this holiday season, take a bit of time now to prepare a few things in advance. Launder and iron the fancy linens (roll up freshly ironed linens on old wrapping paper tubes to prevent wrinkles), drop off the kitchen knives for a professional sharpening or polish some silver — you’ll thank yourself later.
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Posted on November 13, 2016 by Amy E. Jones

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12 Things That Make A Neighborhood Truly Great

By Michael Corbett | August 22, 2016 from Trulia’s Blog

Find out what will make you fall even deeper in love with your neighborhood.

When you’re in the market for a new place to live, it helps to remember the golden rule of real estate: You’re not just buying or renting a home — you are also becoming part of a neighborhood.

All neighborhoods are not created equal and there’s no such thing as the perfect neighborhood; everyone has different needs and desires.

However, there are components common to all great neighborhoods. As you evaluate the best aspects of a prospective neighborhood, you’ll want to match them to your daily needs.

1. Lifestyle match

Is the neighborhood in sync with your current lifestyle? Both renters and homebuyers tend to gravitate to areas with similar demographics. Just as a fantastic suburban neighborhood in a gated community may not be right for a young single professional, a family with three small children might not find a small condo in a hip downtown neighborhood to be the best fit for their lifestyle.

2. Pride in ownership

Pride in ownership is obvious when the residents maintain their homes and care about their neighborhood. Neighbors connect and create local groups that bring the residents together for the betterment of the area.
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Posted on September 20, 2016 by Amy E. Jones

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broker, Meridian Hills, Real Estate, realtor, Sam Hawkins, Sold by Sam

Vogue Magazine’s:

Don’t Call Them Flyover Cities: Why You Should Visit Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Oklahoma City

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 3:05 PM by KATE DONNELLY

Photo: Courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art / @imamuseum

The vast, middle of our country, known as “America’s Heartland,” appears as an endless patchwork of farmland and snaking rivers, punctuated by the occasional city that often seems so small and inconsequential—especially from an airplane window. To coastal dwellers, these “flyover cities,” a slightly disparaging term, refer mostly to the swath of land making up states like Illinois, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Missouri. Beyond the well-traversed Windy City of Chicago, a few smaller Midwestern cities are luring travelers with their creative cuisine, live tunes, new museums, and serious laid-back charm. Here, a guide to three cities worth landing, and lingering, in.
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Posted on September 14, 2016 by Amy E. Jones

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broker, Meridian Hills, Real Estate, realtor, Sam Hawkins, Sold by Sam

As seen in IndyStar

551 Forest Boulevard, Williams Creek

In the 1920s, architects Edward Pierre and George Wright set out to develop a swatch of farmland in Marion County, building five distinctive homes in an area they called “the Switzerland of Marion County,” also known as Williams Creek. Each home was designed in a different style.

For the past two decades, Bruce and Stefany Mitlak have resided in the house built in the Italianate English Tudor style, retaining many of the original features of the home, but modernizing when necessary…

To read complete article, please click here.

You can also visit our website for complete property information on this listing by clicking here.

About the home:
• Location: 551 Forest Boulevard, Williams Creek.
• Details: Four bedrooms, five bathrooms, finished basement, dual staircase, four fireplaces, two-car garage, 6,211 square feet.
• Asking price: $1.55 million.
• Listing: 21436959.
• Contact: Sam Hawkins, F.C. Tucker Company, sam@talktotucker.com, (317) 580-7854.

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Amy E. Jones

Blog, Featured Articles, Our Featured Articles

meridian hills realtor, Real Estate, realtor, Sam Hawkins, Sold by Sam

9 Ingredients of a Great Neighborhood, Ranked

Sam Hawkins is the #1 Realtor in Meridian Hills and Williams Creek. He knows what makes these areas among the best neighborhoods in Indianapolis…

Article written by:
Angela Colley from Realtor.com

kid playing soccer in nice neighborhood — Imgorthand/iStock

You’ve checked out the schools and researched the crime rates. You’ve driven by your would-be future home three times to make sure the neighbors take care of their properties, there isn’t a profusion of weirdos wandering around at all hours, and there are no Pokemon Go “gyms” in the immediate vicinity.

So, you know this is a good neighborhood. But will you like it?

Truth be told, there’s way more to a neighborhood than just good schools and conscientious neighbors. To really love where you live, you need amenities. But which ones?

Since we can’t all have all the things, we asked real estate pros to break it down by ranking a variety of neighborhood amenities on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being “gotta have it” and 1 being “seriously, this is what you’re obsessing about?” We averaged those results to come up with a definitive list of what you need for perfect neighborhood bliss. Let’s take a look.

9 Tips for Living a (Semi-) Normal Life While Your Home Is Being Shown

Preparation, routine and treats help you make the house you’re selling presentable at a moment’s notice…

Laura Gaskill July 24, 2016, Houzz Contributor

Selling your house? Those frequent showings can be a real hassle. You know it’s worth it to do your best to accommodate them, but that doesn’t make it any easier! Here are tips to make keeping your house ready to show to prospective buyers more doable, plus a handy checklist of what to remember before you clear out each time — from someone who’s been through the process (and lived to tell the tale).

Precision Cabinetry and Design

1. Treat yourself to fresh flowers and other goodies. A bouquet of flowers, a bowl of fresh fruit, the “fancy” soap: These things make your home look extra lovely for potential buyers, but (here’s the secret) they make your daily life a bit better as well. So go ahead and splurge a little — you (and your house) deserve it.

Budget tip: Make a grocery store bouquet go further by snipping a few blooms short and plunking them in bud vases for the bathroom vanity and bedside tables. Or, for a longer-lasting alternative, consider setting out a few small potted succulents and a bowl of bright lemons.
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Posted on August 9, 2016 by Amy E. Jones

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A Beginner’s Guide to Managing a Remodel

How do you make your design dreams a reality? Here’s some project management know-how to help you

Jennifer Chong May 22, 2016

Houzz contributor, interior design project manager and blogger. I have a passion…

Browsing photos and ideas on Houzz can be a fun part of creating your dream room. But making your designs a reality also takes smart planning and organization. Project management is an essential part of remodeling, and there’s nothing like the feeling of implementing a plan to create something new and beautiful. These tips can help you achieve your desired results.

YourSpace Contractors

Become a list writer. Making lists is key when it comes to project management. It’s the only way to properly organize your thoughts and prevent any details from being forgotten.

The most important list is your scope of work, or specifications, document. This is basically a detailed list of everything to be done, from start to finish. If you’re dealing with one main builder who’s organizing all the work, then you’ll need to make sure he or she gets a copy, so the goals are clear and all the information is provided.

Also, having detailed specifications makes it easier if you want to obtain multiple quotes, and you’ll know it’s a fair comparison since all the builders will be quoting using the same criteria.
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Posted on July 7, 2016 by Amy E. Jones

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Underhouse Yourself to Live More Life

by: Peter Dunn | December 12, 2011

I’m with you. I have no idea what in the hell this blog title actually means. But it’s exactly what I’m talking about. If you don’t push the limits on your budget allocation towards housing, then you will have the freedom to have more interesting life experiences.

Want to experience life? Then you need to get out of your house. Want to get out of your house? Then make sure that your house isn’t holding you as a financial prisoner.

Paging Dr. Hypothetical. Dr Hypothetical, you have a call on line 1:

Let’s say that your household income is $75,000. After taxes, healthcare, and other paycheck deductions, you bring in about $4300 per month. Pete the Planner’s ideal household budget tells you that you can spend up to 25% of your net income on housing. And in this example that would equal a maximum housing expense of $1075. What most of us do (and yes, me included) is try to spend as much on housing as we can up to the point of restless nights. Not only does this manufacture undue stress, but it precludes us from spending money on other things. This is true whether you are buying or renting.
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Posted on February 23, 2016 by Amy E. Jones

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broker, Meridian Hills, meridian hills realtor, Real Estate, realtor, Sam Hawkins, Sold by Sam

Click here for the latest issue: Volume 05 | Issue No. 02

Luxury Portfolio International® is the luxury face of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® the largest global network of premier locally branded companies dominated by many of the world’s most powerful independent luxury brokerages. Our award-winning website was launched in 2005 and in its first year featured more $1 million-plus residences than other luxury real estate organizations. The network continues to grow and now markets over 25,000 of the world’s most remarkable homes annually and attracts over 3 million high-net-worth visitors a year by presenting a gallery of the finest luxury properties and brokerage worldwide, our brand is recognized throughout the world as the luxury standard of excellence. In addition, we are unmatched in the global arena, with properties in over 47 states in the US and 30 countries, website visitors from over 200 countries/territories every month, site translation in nine languages, conversion to multiple currencies and a total inventory of available properties totaling over $44 billion with an average price over $2.6 million dollars.
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Posted on January 9, 2016 by Amy E. Jones

Blog, Featured Articles, Our Featured Articles

meridian hills realtor, realtor, Sam Hawkins, Sold by Sam

Hawkins Agency - Your Real Estate Specialist

Your Real Estate Specialist

November Garden Calendar

November Garden Calendar

Plant bulbs and mums