Annette Sievert's Real Estate Blog

Imagine you are a buyer, living on the east coast and looking for a new home on the west coast. Surfing online you are narrowing it down to 4 homes you want to see. You take the plunge aka flight, arrive, and go on tour with your broker. The main feeling you develop after three home tours is - di...

Momentum - that is the one thing that keeps a deal going. Swift actions to consolidate, to move, to finish tasks. You found a home you want to buy. You make an offer - and there is no reaction for two days. Ok, you gave the seller 3 days to answer but hey!, can't they act a bit faster. There is s...

Most people are hesitant to talk about this but it is one of the most important issues when you are buying your first home and start a family, especially if you are the bread winner,one parent decides to stay at home or the keeping of the home is dependent on two incomes. Term life insurance is n...

In Greek Mythology, Skylla and Charybdis are two see monsters, Charybdis being a gigantic whirlpool, sucking in everything that comes remotely close to it. It is ironic that of all countries Greece with this kind of analogy in its history is the one that is first in line of endangering so many ot...

It sounds to wonderful: a few acres, seclusion, a pond, maybe a creek, a large garden, no direct neighbors, wildlife..... Just to make sure: I am a fan. We live 5 miles out of Corvallis and I LOVE it, we have chicken, even a rooster or two or three (depending what those chicks that hatched 2 mont...

Ever thought that it is funny that we are cutting out most fat and people still grow horizontally? Here is a video that will a) answer why that is taht way and b) will test whether you have more than the average American attention span of 3 minutes or the time between to commercial breaks on TV. ...

Popcorn ceilings, those ceiling surfaces thatlook like tiny pebbles (or shredded popcorn) have a very high likelihood of containing asbestos. Most homes that feature them were built in the early 70s. As long as the ceilings are painted (and with sealing the asbestos) asbestos should not be able t...

This just came out and is very helpful in order to understand the difference between even close by markets, supporting the notion that all markets are (so) local: http://www.coldwellbanker.com/home_listing_report_infographic Play with it and it will help you to make decisions! 

My father was a developer. He was a true entrepreneur. He lost everything, literally everything, in World War II, after which he was dirt poor. He was a self made man who rose back to significance by enormously hard work, determination and engagement. He never whined, never complained, never scal...

When my husband and I decided that where we lived in NY was not where we would grow old we started to explore where to move to. As this is a life altering and consequential decision and since we are Germans (;-)) we put a lot of serious effort into finding the right place to settle. Since our cho...