About 25 miles south of Indianapolis lies the Johnson County city of Franklin, Indiana.  

With a current estimated population of 26,414, Franklin is the 39th largest city in Indiana. Since 2010, the population has grown 11.40%.

Franklin offers a sparse suburban feel, with a revitalizing Downtown area. 

The median age is 37.9 with an average household income of $72,640 according to World Population Review. 

Caucasians make up 95.38% of the population.

The average rental amount is $880 and the median home value is $129,200.

According to Niche, it's ranked #51 out of 115 for best suburbs to live in Indiana, #46 for best suburbs for young professionals, and #44 for suburbs with the lowest cost of living in Indiana. 

A majority 67% of residents own their homes compared to 33% that rent, also reported by Niche. 

Below is some additional information that will hopefully help you determine if Avon is a good place to invest for your goals. 

Rents are on the rise.

While that's not exactly breaking news, the second quarter rental statistics for the Central Indiana accentuate the points that 1) A lack of supply and 2) A huge demand equals 3) An increase in rents. 

In fact, two key records were set during the quarter for the Indianapolis rental market. See below for the details. 

We If you're a current Client, or have spent much time on our website, you know what we have a fully functioning brokerage.

It's something we're proud of and something our Clients benefit from -- whether we're helping them add to their Portfolios or, when the time comes, sell their property.

While we have a very capable brokerage, we realize some of our Clients have their own Agent.

And we certainly respect that.

However, we've had some nightmare situations over the past several years with Agents who simply did not know the best way to represent their investor Client.

Representing a buyer for a personal residence is VERY different than representing a buyer who intends to use the property as an investment.  

So, if you are an investor, or if you are an Agent representing an investor, please, please, please, take a few minutes to read some best practices when writing that offer.

As one of the Agents here at T&H Realty, I speak with numerous investors on a weekly basis. 

Most of those conversations go something like this:

“HI, I’m Joe Investor and I’m looking to purchase properties in Indianapolis. I’ve heard it’s a great area to invest, and real estate is much more affordable than where I live. I’m looking for cash flowing properties in good areas that meet or exceed the 1% rule.”

Then, I typically have to be the one to burst their bubble a bit. 

Now don’t get me wrong, Indianapolis certainly is a great place to invest. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, our economy has held strong and the housing market even stronger it seems. 

When you decide to invest in real estate, you have to have the proper expectations, and I’m finding that some investors just don’t, and that creates a very frustrating experience all around. 

So, as an Indianapolis investor, here’s what you can expect in 2021.

Truth be told, we're a little surprised.

As you know, we've written a rental market update for many years now. In most cases, when we compile the quarterly numbers, there's nothing surprising with the numbers.

The numbers we compile are, in fact, almost always what we expect and, to a more specific extent, what we "felt" as a company.

Meaning, the overall market for a given quarter is a direct reflection of our leasing operations. If the market is hot, our leasing is hot. If the market cooled, our leasing typically cooled, too.

But, this quarter was definitely different. 

The temptation is there.

We see it all the time.

Your Tenant vacates your rental home and your Property Manager provides bids for the turnover work.

You review the bid and that nagging voice in your head takes over… “This bid seems too high. I JUST KNOW I could do the work for less money.” 

And so, you do. 

Some of you may live close to your property, have contractors at your disposal and have time to invest in managing the work.

But, most of you live hundreds of miles away, don’t know any contractors and really don’t have the time to devote to herding those contractors. 

You still do it though, because you think you can save money.

In some cases, maybe you can. 

But, in a significant number of cases - cases that we’ll provide in this blog -  you’ll end up losing money in the long run.

We’ve said it over and over… vacancy is a cash flow killer.

Vacancy comes with zero income and a lot of expenses.

Sure, some of those expenses relate to the actual material and labor required to prepare the property for the next Tenants, but the biggest “expense” is the lost revenue from rents.

So, the faster the property is turned, the faster your new Tenant can begin adding to your income.

Time, clearly, is off the essence.

Below are some real-life examples of properties within our management and Owners who chose to do their own work.

Special thanks to our Senior Property Manager, Don Castelluccio, for providing these case studies.