Indy Homes - Kristie Smith

I knew when I met Kristie Smith at the Riverview Foundation Event, she was a gem.  Every time I call her or her team they are experts in communication and action.  We turned out making multiple offers before we found the perfect fit for us.  Kristie was always patient with us, and her years of expertise set us up for success in securing our home.  I am so thankful I met her and knew exactly where I would go when I needed a real estate agent.  With Kristie I knew I could have piece of mind because I knew she and her team would be on top of any deadlines or information we needed to know.  I would highly recommend Kristie and her team to everyone! 

I took a job out of state and my company's relocation required I choose from one of their "authorized" realtors.  Two different realtors, one of which was Amy, contacted me to discuss selling my home.  This was the first home I'd sold and she was very thorough and patient explaining the selling process to me.  Selling a house can be an emotional experience, especially as this was my first home and I had put a tremendous amount of work (and money) into it.  It was clear Amy understood this and wanted to make sure I got the most for my home, but she was also helped make sure my expectations were realistic by showing me comps of homes on the market or already sold in my area.  Furthermore, by helping me price my home appropriately, the house sold in less than a month.  By contrast, a similar home to mine down the block went on the market about the same time as my house did, was originally priced way more, took over three months to sell and ended up selling for near the amount my home sold for.
Amy went above and beyond what I imagine are the "normal" responsibilities of a realtor.  I vacated the house before it went on the market and Amy was able to coordinate some final repairs before listing and the care of the yard while it was vacant.  She communicated with me frequently to give me updates about the home.  After it was on the market, Amy e-mailed me daily on the number of showings and any feedback received.  I received a couple of offers on the house and she was able to negotiate an excellent closing price.  I can't imagine selling a home could go any smother than how it did with Amy and the Indy Home Team.  My only regret is that I still don't live in the area to give more of my business to them. 

The ERA Real Estate Links team has been fantastic to work with. They are professional, helpful, and flexible in working with varying circumstances and schedules. Their website and listings provide professional photo shoots and virtual home tours. I would highly recommend them.

I have worked with many real estate firms in the past with fair results. I was not prepared for the very excellent service I received from Kristie Smith and the entire Indy Homes Team. My customer service experience was flawless. I am a demanding customer that likes my service providers to pay attention to detail. I really am not easily impressed. I fully expected details to be lost when other members of the team stepped up to play a role. Again, their execution was perfect. Wherever I left my rambling messages they were always decoded and acted upon without delay and I was kept informed every step of the way. Kristie Smith and the entire Indy Homes Team really do get the job done. Thank you! I plan to recommend you to all my friends.

Don't believe the hype about Kristie.  She cares much more about what other agents think of her than she does advocating on behalf of her clients.  She has NO sense of urgency, which seems strange for a real estate agent since time is of the essence when making offers.
I hired Kristie and her team to help me find a new home.  I was quite clear about my expectations - essentially, I expected them to handle this transaction as if they were buying a home for themselves.  Isn't that what every buyer wants/deserves?
In the introductory meeting at her office, Kristie assured me that she would advocate on my behalf and that she would "spend my money as if it was hers".  I'm paraphrasing slightly - "we don't mind being pitbulls with the sellers agent when we are negotiating on your behalf".  Despite the fact that I made it clear to Kristie that I had just fired a realtor for lying to me in order to close a transaction, Kristie looked me in the eye and assured me should would advocate on my behalf - which, as I learned, was a lie...
We found a home in Fishers and made an offer.  The sellers countered the day before Thanksgiving and gave us 8 hours to respond. No big deal.  But when I countered, Kristie dug her heels in and refused to ask the sellers to respond by Thanksgiving, despite the fact that it was 2 pm the day before, and we were giving them 24 hours.  She "didn't feel that was a nice thing to do...we want win/win..."  And the final straw - "I don't even like to ask sellers to respond on the weekend".  Despite being in a time-sensitive business where an hour can mean the difference between getting the home you want and losing it, SHE DOESN'T THINK SHE SHOULD ASK A SELLER TO RESPOND ON A WEEKEND!!!!!  How exactly is that win-win?  She's willing to let her client lose a deal because she's concerned about "ruining the sellers Thanksgiving" or weekend?????  
It was only when I told Kristie that I would no longer use her services if she was not willing to advocate on my behalf that she reluctantly agreed ask the sellers to respond on Thanksgiving.
You can probably guess the rest - I didn't get the house.  The sellers had another offer.  After I fired Kristie, I reached out to the seller's realtor and asked him if he and his sellers were offended that we asked them to respond on Thanksgiving.  His response?  "Not at all - we knew you wanted to get a deal done, and so did we".  He thought Kristie's position regarding responses on holidays and weekends was ludicrous, as has every realtor I've spoken to since.
I have since purchased a home with the assistance of a more professional buyer's agent.
In the intro meeting, Kristie will tell you that she expects you to review her here on Angie's List.  As I told her when I fired her, "I will be happy to write a review..."

See above.

On the sale of our existing home:
Kristie did an initial walk through of our home, giving us tips and recommendations on how to prepare our home for listing. She had some great suggestions and we could tell she did her homework on the comps in the market. We really appreciated her listing strategy and advice throughout the process. I'm convinced the tips she gave us on how to prepare our house paid off in a quick sale, at a fair price. 
We sold our home fairly quickly and Kristie was extremely responsive and handled the negotiations well. We had minimal back and forth with the buyers and we got a fair price for our home. 
The communication from her and her team was great. They really made the process go smoothly and were very responsive to all of our questions.
On the purchase of our new home:
We worked with one of Kristie's team members on the purchase of a new construction home. Rhonda was great to work with. We weren't sure if we wanted to build or buy an existing home and she showed us lots of options in the Carmel area. We ended up buying a new construction home. Rhonda handled the negotiations with our builder and also offered some great ideas on our floor plan. Rhonda was able to get concessions from the builder that allowed us to get more house than we thought we would be able to get. She was also very helpful throughout the building process and at the final closing. Thankfully we didn't have any issues with the builder (Wedgewood), but I know if we did, Rhonda would have been the first one to help us out.
Overall our experience on both the buying and selling side with the Indy Homes team was great. They were really helpful and focused on making sure our experience went smoothly. I highly recommend them to anyone looking to buy or sell.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I appriciated the number of hours the team spent keeping me totally informed every step of the way-morning, night and weekends.  The team showed extraordinary professionalism and could not have provided better support. The  Indy Homes Team will be the realotor of choice for my clients and future spec homes of J. A. Yancey & Associates Inc.  Thank you again for all great work!

I am a real estate investor who invests in all types of properties from
single-family homes to commercial office buildings.  Whenever I need
additional information and support about a particular residential
property or area, I turn to Kristie Smith and her team.  They are
extensively knowledgeable about the residential market trends and the
greater Indianapolis area.  I have worked with her for over 10 years and
she never disappoints.  She is professional, timely and very thorough
in her research and support.  Has been a vital resource for the success of my real estate business.

The administrative support out of Kristie Smith's office was horrendous. This support was provided by the owner's (Kristie Smith) sister. The owner needs to address this situation. This individual was very unprofessional. Speciifc examples are as follows (some documented in e-mail correspondence).
1) She was very resistant in providing home flyers and signs advertising our home. She was was rude and sent an e-mail asking if we were prepared to pay fines associated with posting signs in the area. There were no restrictions to post signs and she did not due diligently check.
2) We were relunctant to allow third party suppliers to enter our home without someone present. She said we were acting 'paranoid.'
3) On numerous occasions we asked for updates on various activities and she was not only unresponsive, but very rude at times.
Regarding the real estate agent we dealt with, she did a commendable job in handling the sale of our home and the purchase of our new home.
I would hope that this agent looks to find another company to work for. She will damage her reputation as a real estate agent if she continues to work for Kristie Smith.

Amy listed and sold my home quickly and professionally. Due to relocation across the country, I was out of town through the entire listing period and she managed all aspects of the sale, including the closing. She made selling a home from a distance as stress free as possible and I recommend her without reservation.

The buying process happened first and was a pleasure from start to finish. Unlike some Realtors I've heard of, Amy never seemed to tire of showing us homes. She was brimming with enthusiasm, always kept our more unique wants in mind, asking us how what we were looking at would meet our needs. Her most valuable quality (besides her passion for finding people their dream homes) was her keen eye and experience for pointing out things that in our excitement we might have glossed over - such as telling us how to maintain (and how costly to maintain) certain kinds of siding, noting the age (and typical lifespan) of the water heater, knowing what things would be expensive to maintain or repair and what would not, pointing out high quality items used in prior renovations and where something appeared to have been done by amateurs, etc. 
We sometimes took kids (ages 4-13) with us, which didn't bother her at all. She is an excellent communicator (at listening to us as well as initiating information flow) and a pro at closing.
Selling was harder - due in most respects to neighborhood factors outside my control. But we succeeded! In some ways this was more of a team effort. Amy gave great advice on what things I could reasonably do to make the house show better (paint, carpet, neutral colors, updated some 20-year old fixtures) but didn't push me to do upgrades that wouldn't pay off in my neighborhood /price range (like granite counter tops). The professional photos were excellent! Amy provided a very helpful sheet of contractors her agency had worked with, where they felt the quality of the work and the price were a win/win. The lock box and scheduling of appointments worked great (probably pretty standard), but I truly appreciated the communications. After each showing (within a day or two) I got a copy of a form sharing what the potential buyer had felt (overpriced or not, key reason why not choosing to make an offer, etc.) and weekly, I got a report of how many folks had hit my listing on which websites. (This latter was very helpful in deciding when to lower the price - e.g. when the listing wasn't even getting viewed much.)  We had an open house hosted by another member of the team - but acknowledged that these rarely do bring in a buyer. Still, we would try anything!
Even when Amy was unavailable (on vacation out of country), I had full support of the team and got prompt responses/actions to any requests I made. Amy was a terrific asset in negotiating, and closing once again went off without a hitch.
 I'd absolutely recommend Amy and IndyHomes to anyone!

Better than imaginable!

Excellent! I could not be more impressed. Rhonda Hoeft listed my home after a not so great experience with another realtor. I was not in Indy to help with anything. She took her personal time to stage my home, make visits to my home to make sure everything was ok since I couldn't be there, and made every accommodation she could to make selling my home a great experience! From listing to sale it was less than 30 days!

We are frequently faced with situations that require us to place our trust in a person or business with whom we are unfamiliar. We were recently faced with such a situation of placing our trust into the Kristie Smith Indy Homes Team. Her team starts the process with the experience and knowledge of Kristie Smith, then it?s complimented with the support of Amy McIntyre, who smoothly keeps you
on course with the processes, timing and important information in regards to all your ?to do?s? along your journey. She is the voice at the other end of the phone to calm your concerns when you have a question. 
    Kristie also built her team well with Rhonda Hoeft, whom for us was like finding a new best friend that was specifically designed to help us buy our perfect home. In the home buying process you want to be protected from what you don?t know and reassured standing in your new potential home to ensure your choice is right. Rhonda went far beyond our expectations through out the process. When it comes to building relationships and juggling expectations and emotions through the home buying experience Rhonda is the person you want leading you down the path to your perfect place you call home. Selling our home was an equally blessed experience. Kristie came and told us exactly what to do and what to expect. From having an offer within 48 hours of listing I can confidently say that Kristie?s advice sells homes.  When you add her experience complimented by her team, with a bonus of professional referrals that helped along the way from Inspections to Mortgage lending, you can?t go wrong.  When it comes to placing trust in someone to
help you on your journey don?t just pick one person, pick the Kristie Smith Indy Homes Team, as I know they will exceed your expectations.

This realty company is very detailed.  Things in our home were cleaned, painted, and repairs were made.
We followed directions carefully.  And trusted their experience.  The staging process was very impressive.
The changes they made really brought out the best in our house.

 Our house had continual showing appointments with the happy result of getting two offers who then got into a bidding war.
The good news is that we got released from our home and were able to move into a new environment.
Amy tirelessly scheduled us to go and see houses and sent us prospects of homes she thought we would like to see.
We ended up getting a home in a wooded area which we are enjoying, especially the peaceful environment.

As the result of a change in jobs, I needed to relocate out of state.  Rhonda Hoeft from Indy Homes Team was the realtor I selected to help sell my home.  During the walkthrough of my home, Rhonda provided me with actions for me to perform in order to market my house to sell quickly, in my desired price range.  I followed each of Rhonda's suggestions and my home sold in 12 days!  I truly believe the expert advice I received from Rhonda was the catalyst for my quick sale.
Throughout the process, Rhonda and the Indy Homes Team were great to work with.  From helping select contracts to perform home repairs to the closing process, my work was made tons easier because of them.
I would work with Rhonda and the Indy Homes Team again in a heartbeat!!

Our experience with Kristie Smith and her team began when she took us on a tour of the city prior to us deciding to move to Indy.  It was a cold, wet, snowy day, but Kristie didn't let that hinder her.  She was like a beam of sunshine, making the day better!  She drove us around the city, providing tid bits about the city and what we were seeing!  She was very informative and very pleasant to be around. She got us excited about moving to the city! 
Once we decided to move to Indy, Kristie and her team went to work immediately!  Kristie interviewed real estate agents in Kansas City and helped us select the right one to sell our home in Kansas City!! She took the time to learn what we wanted in a home, the type of neighborhood that was most appealing to us, and the price range we wanted to stay within.  She was very knowledable about the different neighborhoods in the city and she kept us on track. She and her teamed worked tirelessly with us until we found the right home for us!  They were always accessible when we had questions, and made themselves available when we came to town to house hunt!  We have bought and sold several homes over the years when relocating, and we found Kristie to one of the best in the business!  We would recommend to her friends or family without hesitation!  She and her team are true professionals, and understand how stressful the home buying process can be and they do everything that they can to make the task easy for their clients.

Kristie Smith and Amber Wilson of the Indy Home's Team did a fantastic
job marketing and selling our home!!  Amber visited our home and made
some fantastic suggestions on small and inexpensive improvements we
could make to our home that would make it more attractive and
marketable.  She has a great eye for detail and was able to fill me in
on what buyers are looking for.  After a little paint, storage of some
unnecessary furniture and some gorgeous professional pictures, we an
offer within 2 weeks of listing our home.  Before we knew it we were
closed and moving on to our new place.  The new home was a new
construction build and if it weren't for Kristie and Amber working with
our builder on the pricing of the home, we probably wouldn't have come
to terms with the builder.  The negotiations with the builder were not
going to plan and just when we were ready to walk away, Kristie was able
to call on some of her connections and get the deal done at a cost we
were very happy with.  Not only did Kristie and Amber negotiate with 1
builder but they were also negotiating with a second builder and already
had a "Plan B" ready for us if our first choice didn't work out. 
Either way, they just wanted to make sure we were getting what we wanted
and at a price we were happy with.  The service didn't end after the
negotiation of the price of the house.  Amber then connected me with
mortgage company options and keep in contact with me regarding the
current mortgage rates.  She also attended all of the home inspections
and meetings we had with the builder, her presence throughout the entire
process was invaluable.  I'm very happy with my choice to work with
Amber, Kristie and Indy Homes Team and I will definitely use them
again.  Thanks for everything ladies!!

Kristie, Amy and the Indy Homes Team did an execellent job.   I had an elderly client looking to downsize from their home to a condo and so I referred him to Kristie.   Kristie was prompt in contacting my client to set up times to go see condos that were on the market in the downtown area.   My client was under the gun from a timing perspective with the sale of his home closing in 60 days, we needed to find, purchase and close prior to him closing on the sale of his home.    They identified a couple of condos after the first tour of condos on the market and then Kristie arranged for a second showing so we could talk pros/cons of each condo/location.  Once my client decided on a condo, Kristie was extremely helpful on the negotiations of the purchase, including price, things to be included/not included.    Once we had an accepted contract, Kristie and Amy had a high level of communication on all the items to be done, a timeline on when they needed to be completed in order to close on time.   They helped coordinate the inspection to reviewing and discussing the results of the inspection.   As we approached closing, the Indy Homes Team was great in making sure we had all the fine details handled (i.e. setting up utilities, to haning pictures, etc.).
Overall, both myself and my client were extremely satisfied with the experience with the entire Indy Homes Team.   Thanks Kristie & Amy for making what would could have been a painful process very sim

Very well.    If I ever had a question, her team was always there. They handled everything which made it nice and easy for us. I felt that whatever needed to be done in negotiating the sale, I could trust the  way that things would be handled. She  gets things  done.

Working with Kristie Smith we were able to sell our home in a tough economic time.  We had very large number of showings.  We received weekly updates on the viewings and interest in our home.  The photos taken were a great insight into what our home had to offer.  A professional sign and unique sales approach distinguished our home from others.  

We used a different realtor to try to sell our home on and off for 3 years prior to using Kristie Smith and her team. We initially meet with Kristie at our home and fell in love with her style! My wife and I took her advice to heart, followed most of her suggestion, and listed our house with her team. They sold our house in 8 days!!! We had showings almost daily...so many in fact that we having to turn some down due to scheduling conflicts.
Amy McIntyre and JoDee Waltz were a constant help throughout the process, too. Kristie is very busy and was hard to get ahold of at times via cell phone; however, every message was responded to by her or one of her teammates promptly via phone, text message, or email.
We had every confidence she would sell our home :)

I was in the market for a condominium in which to live while spending 4 years in grad school.  It was a joint endeavor with my father who lives in New York while I was already  living in Indy.  Out of PURE LUCK, I happened upon one of Kristie's listings while searching online for available listings.  I was gathering research to send back to my father in New York before scheduling any viewings.  After figuring out what was out there in our price range, I knew I had to contact an agent who would actually know what they were doing and show me around.
I just so happened to "eenie meenie minie moe" the right agent and contacted Kristie through email.  She promptly replied and really got to the bottom of what it is I was looking for and got the best sense of my situation.  She took me around to 3 different properties and put up with me video taping each walk through as I had to report back to my father in New York (the actual buyer).  Kristie and I kept in close contact and she was always available to answer any pesky question I had.  I then passed the buck onto my parents and they and Kristie went through negotiations.  It was a little tricky as Kristie was also the listing agent, but she selflessly sacrificed some of her commission in order to close the deal and make both buyer and seller happy with the final outcome.  
Kristie is very personable and made me feel extremely comfortable.  I feel as though I've known her for the past 10 years, when it's only been 3 months since I first emailed her.  I really lucked out on blindly choosing her.  It's the only choice I have not made through Angie's List and I was extremely fortunate.  Most cases don't turn out as well.

As a first time home buyer, I wasn't sure how the process worked so Amy helped me by explaining how the process works, and walking me through the steps.  At one point, when I was a little frustrated by the mortgage process, Kristy even called me and spoke with the mortgage broker to make things easier for me.  I couldn't have done it without them!