After the first 20 minutes of the V.U. Crusaders vs IU South Bend Titans game, I sat wondering how was it even remotely possible that the Crusaders came within 11 points of 6th Ranked North Carolina only a few days earlier? They were missing shots, they were sluggish, they were out rebounded, outplayed, & out scored in every area of the game. (Let's give some credit to the Titans).

In my previous years of watching Valpo play, they had times as a slow starting 2nd half team. After a 10-4 spurt,  the Crusaders were down 43-34 and I was thinking  "uh-oh". During a time out, I turned to the friends behind me and my wife and said "McPherson is a 5th Year Senior, he needs to step up & take control of this game and team with leadership" .....and he did!!!

Valpo went on a 21-0 run!  It all started with Howard Little and Eric Buggs defense to start the 2nd half ! This combined with one of the most impressive 3 point shooting bonanza I have ever seen by Brandon McPherson. Having season tickets in the front row, it was an absolute treat to see him right in front of me knocking down 3pointers... 4 in a row! It was as though the basket was 10ft wide:) Whatever he threw-up, WENT IN! Brandon ended the game with a career high of 25pts.

Valpo won the game final score = 78-56.

This is a young team and there are 2 players that, in my opinion, will need to step it up and be the Leaders - McPherson and Little. Both these guys are very solid players and with their leadership and hard play as examples, Valpo may just have a pretty good year !

Editorial By Jeff Safrin

This week some of our Experienced REALTORS of F.C.Tucker 1st Team Real Estate got together for several events!

One was Virtual REBar Camp - some attended online from the comfort of their home, while a few of us went to our local Board of REALTORS in Merrillville, IN ( GNIAR ) and watched the informative break out sessions hosted there!

The information shared at this event was awesome. We all learned much to implement into business building that will benefit our clients!  I am refreshed by the willingness of our TEAM to learn, grow and change with the times and embrace the new social media avenues!

The very next day we held our monthly F.C.Tucker 1st Team Real Estate Round Table Event locally in the conference room @  Evelyn Bay Coffee Co. in Valpo. This is an event we look forward to montly as everyone brings something of value to the table!

If you remember last month - we all got LinkedIn :)     feel free to link to us!

This month beside discussing the many of the latest REal Estate Topics i.e. The Local Market Statistics in Lake, Porter and La Porte Counties in NW Indiana, The Expanded and Extended Home Buyer Tax credits and  local development issues and much more, - we also each wanted to share our Facebook Pages - so feel free to befriend us - just click on the name below to go to their Facebook Page!

pictured here :

Olga Kwolek

Ty Gammon -  Your Neighborhood Matchmaker

Linda Littlejohn

 F.C.Tucker 1st Team Real Estate Serving NW Indiana

Not Pictured

Jeff Safrin

Irene Tron

Jess Tron

 If you follow our Blog, you know we are Local Fans of Valpo Crusader's Basketball.

This week the 1st regular season home game is on Thursday, November 19th at the ARC - tip off  7:05 pm.

With alot of new team members on the Roster, this should be an interesting year! 

It's already off to an exciting start as the Valparaiso University Crusaders men's Basketball Team came within 11 points of the ranked  #6 University of North Carolina@ Chapel Hill Tar -Heels  team yesterday in a pre-season game!!!

so....

Come out and Be BOLD - wear GOLD - support your local college basketball team and bring your family and friends!

Tickets  start @ just $7.00 and children under 2 are free.

With the extension AND expansion of the 1st time Home Buyer tax credit until April 30th of 2010.

NOW may be the time to Buy a Home if you are a 1st  Time Home Buyer with good credit.

or

Sell Your Home if you are an existing Homeowner (for the last  5 consecutive years) and successfully MOVE UP or Downsize and simplify !

Northwest Indiana has plenty of affordable Housing options!

and even Short Sales are getting easier to sell and close thanks to new 2009 Indiana Laws.

So if you've been sitting on the fence ( which can get painful after awhile :)

Give us a call to talk about your options....

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Yesterday, we had our 2nd F.C.Tucker 1st Team Real Estate Round Table Conference.

These informational monthly gatherings at different local spots are for the purpose of our Experienced REALTORS to come together and be updated on the latest Real Estate Market happenings AND share each others business building tips!

We place value on the fact that every individual comes to the table with unique insights and experiences in life and we all can benefit from each others knowledge, backgrounds, or niche's :)

This is a valuable asset in serving our current and future clients-> striving to stay current with continual quality improvement always in mind.

Our discussion included seasonal service tips, real estate lending changes, social media policy, examples of actual in the field issues encountered by others, local MLS board updates, IDX links, and chance for questions and discussion by all.

The last part of our round table was a hands on working / learning opportunity to share what we know.

Here we are gathered around our laptops discussing LinkedIn

We Invite you to Link with us all on linked in  - click names below to  invite us!

Pictured : Ty Gammon, Grace Safrin, Irene Tron, Jessica Tron, Linda Littlejohn

not pictured Olga Kwolek and Jeff Safrin.

As Always we appreciate your business and referrals!

F.C.Tucker 1st Team Real Estate - experienced REALTORS serving Northwest Indiana

It's been several years now since we have taken and sold listings of homes for sale that are 

" Subject to Lenders Approval of a Short Sale" .

The process of getting these to close successfully has been, for the most part, becoming easier.

Perhaps it is from lessons learned along the way & doing the footwork and homework upfront before even agreeing to accept the listing and put a 'short sale' home on the market.

Lately, however,  articles in major publications i.e 'Fewer Short Sales Come Up Short', point out that the part of the short sale process we do not control - the loss mitigation departments of lenders - are being more cooperative and responsive about getting short sales done.

In Indiana this year, a new law...HB1359 has helped bring answers to short sale offers within a 30 day time frame.

Since we've noticed this change in NW Indiana short sales....we are even accepting short sale referrals in our market area now from other Real Estate Brokers as a result. Just last week we closed on a short sale that was a referral from another REALTOR.

The lender complied with the new state law and the home closed 29 days after the offer was accepted by the lender! (59 days total from day of written offer).

Total Market Time on this Home = From For Sale Sign Up to signing the closing documents = 81 days in all.  This is a relatively short market time for any home in NW Indiana, let alone a short sale property (where 3rd party negotiations, communications and many requirements above and beyond the usual and customary offer to purchase can lengthen the process of getting the deal closed :)

With cooperative sellers, saleable property and reasonable lenders, short sales in NW Indiana are closing easier & quicker than in years past :)