Northern Indiana Real Estate

Not too long ago going to Plymouth or even Merrillville might have been considered a “quick trip” to the store. At times we made almost daily trips to Wal-Mart. Things have changed. We had a crisis in the Shepherd Realty office the other day, our coffee pot stopped making coffee. Don’t worry, were all ok now! So obviously we needed a new coffee pot. Normally this would “require” a quick trip to Plymouth. This time however, a decision was made to look locally for what we needed. Now I’m not sure exactly if it was lack of time or gas prices that caused me to make the decision but I had certainly made that choice to stay in town. My search for a new coffee pot led me to Alco. Now it needs to be said that I had not been in Alco in some time and quite frankly, the last time I was there I was not too terribly impressed with their store. This time was different. The store seemed bright and new. Shelves were stocked and the merchandise was fresher and of better quality than I remember. It really felt like Alco was worth staying in town for!

The movement back to local merchants has begun. The question now is how the current local merchants handle that movement. Will they sit back and try to reap the benefits or will they step up to the plate and offer better and higher quality services and products?

We are pleased to announce that we have opened a new office in Knox. We purchased the building located at 4 North Pearl Street in Knox. This building was formerly Myron’s Barbershop.

I am extremely excited about investing in Starke county, especially in downtown Knox. We spent some time remodeling the front half of the interior and have moved in the desks and phones. We will be painting the exterior soon and hanging the signs that our new neighbor Gary with Knox Signs made for us.

Feel free to stop by to say hi and take a look at the new office. However, if you’re looking for a haircut, you may want to try Myron’s new place on Heaton!

Five things you need to know on election Day:

Plan ahead: visit www.Indianavoters.com or call 866-461-8683 to check your voter registration and polling place location.  You may also call the Starke County clerk’s office or county board of voter registration for more information.  Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. prevailing local time.

ID don’t leave home without it: A voter must provide government issued photo ID before casting a ballot.  The ID must fit the following criteria:

1. Display the voter’s photo
2. Display the voter’s name, and the name must conform to the voter’s registration record.
3. Display an expiration date and either must be current or have expired sometime after the date of the last general election
4. be issued by the State of Indiana or the US government.  In most cases, an Indiana driver’s license, Indiana photo ID card, US passport, or military ID is sufficient.

Your ballot, your vote: Don’t panic if you register to vote what your name is not on the list.  Get help from a poll worker to make sure your vote is counted.  You may be directed to another polling place were given a provisional ballot.  Remember, poll workers are there to help you.

Writing on the wall: Look at the signs at the polling place for directions on how to use the voting machines, a list of your voting rights, and instructions for filing a complaint if your rights have been violated.

Accessibility: every polling place is required to have facilities in voting machines accessible to elderly voters and voters with disabilities.  For more information on your counties accessible voting equipment and polling locations, call the Starke County clerk’s office.

Information provided by the Indiana Secretary of State and the Indiana Election Division.

We all got an early start to the day this morning when a earthquake rolled through the area. It appears to have been centered in southern Illinois however there was no doubt that it was felt all the way up here in Knox. The only injury so far seems to be Tom Belcher’s sore elbow from answering the phone at WKVI! I guess it’s time to check the home-owner’s policy to make sure we are covered for earthquake damage.

We’ve received such a great response from people interested in our free advertising for home owners trying to sell their home “for sale by owner” that we’ve decided to expand what we offer in the program. Now not only can you advertise your home on our site for free, we will also loan you a professional “for sale by owner sign” and a flyer box for your front yard for FREE. We’ll even help you design a flyer that you can print for the flyer box. We expect a strong demand for the signs and flyer boxes, supplies may be limited at times. Due to the demand we will be requiring a small deposit for the flyer box which will be refunded once the box is returned in good condition. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

The staff of Shepherd Realty would like to send our condolences to the family of Pete Stanojevic. A person who was well liked and worked hard for Starke County for many years. He will be missed. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy to the family at this sad time.

The new Knox city planning commission administrator started on 2/11/2008. Former city council member Greg Matt was appointed to the position by the commission. The administrator is responsible for assisting the residents of the city with building permits, zoning issues, and other planning commission related duties.

If you’re thinking of an addition or any other major structural changes to your house and you live in the city limits be sure to check with Greg to see what your requirements are.

You can contact the planning commission office at (574) 772-5445

Hello and thanks for visiting!

Here we plan on discussing Northern Indiana Real Estate, feel free to participate.

Thanks again,

Shawn Shepherd

Shepherd Realty Services