home buyer: Helping First Time Buyers Buy Homes
- 08/11/20 01:23 PM
A couple of years ago, I made a deliberate pivot in my marketing to focus on young people making their fist home purchase. My thought process was this: I have my own young people and I understand their thoughts and challenges when buying a home. I have a lot of experience and am excited to share it. For many of us, selling a home and purchasing another is just part of series of such transactions. Laws and rules vary by state, but we have lived the emotions already. We know what to expect. Working with a first time buyer is completely different. Not … (0 comments)
home buyer: Wait! Is THAT Personal Property?
- 06/19/19 07:16 AM
Keep in mind that I practice in Virginia. Your state rules about Personal Property, as it relates to home sales, may vary. I recently sold a townhouse. The day before closing, I got a note from the buyer's agent saying that the powder room mirror had been removed and they hoped it was moved for cleaning but they wanted confirmation that it would be replaced before settlement. I contacted my sellers, who had already moved out of state and they said they brought it with them because it was personal property that belonged to them and would work in their new house. … (3 comments)
home buyer: The Listing Agent Showed Me The Property...Now What?
- 02/20/19 09:06 AM
Before you read too far in this post, let me just say that I am writing from Virginia. Each state handles Dual Agency differently. If you are in a state other than Virginia, I am happy to try to help you find the resources to get clarity on your state guidelines. You are standing in front of a home in a neighborhood that you really like. There is a sign in front of the house with a phone number. You call the number, you set up a showing time and the listing agent shows you the property. You really (really) like … (0 comments)
home buyer: Do you need a REALTOR® to buy a New Construction Home??
- 09/17/18 06:46 AM
Are you ready to buy a home and considering going in the route of new construction? It may seem like an easy enough process, where you get to call the shots of how you want your dream home to be, but there is a lot of risk when it comes to new construction if you are going in blindly. It's unfortunately not as trouble free as we'd like to hope, if you don't have the right representative by your side to help with the things that need to be looked out for from a professional's eye. Below, we'll dive into … (2 comments)
home buyer: The Myth of the Millennial Home Buyer
- 04/12/18 09:53 AM
I was at an event last week and one of the speakers, very profoundly, said that statistics bear out that Millennial home buyers are behaving much as their predecessors did when it comes to home purchases and other life decisions. They might be making these decisions a little bit later, due to social norms and student debt, but they are, nonetheless making predictable choices. The negative/antecdotal info about the way they behave can really be attributed to a small percentage of the group. My thought is that the same was true of every other group in history. Wasn't there a group … (1 comments)
home buyer: Don't Judge a House By Its Exterior
- 11/29/17 11:18 AM
I love symmetry. There is something about it that makes me feel like all is right. The picture below shows great symmetry! Alas, my home is NOT symmetrical. Despite the fact that my home is not as visually appealing to me as it could be, I am glad that I came inside on that fateful day. When I did, I saw that the inside of the house was nearly perfect and exactly what I was looking for. We have all heard,' Don't judge a book by its cover,' and I would suggest that you also look beyond the exterior of a home. Through … (2 comments)
home buyer: 'Thanks for your help, we used a different Agent...'
- 09/20/17 08:08 AM
I belong to a lot of Realtor Forums and I feel like lately, they have been inundated with stories of friends or family who said they would use a Realtor and then at the last minute used someone else to buy or sell a house. This, unfortunately, is part of the fabric of real estate. There is no single reason that this happens, but over the years, I have assembled a list of reasons that I believe contribute: We work odd hours, including nights and weekends, and often from home, so our friends and family don't necessarily see us in a 'professional' setting. … (1 comments)
When you are preparing to buy a new home, a lot of time and effort goes in to putting together your 'must have,' 'should have,' and 'can't have' lists. What if you turned those ideas upside down and, instead, started thinking about what is the single most important thing you must get in your new home? Often, when I work with couples, the husband's and wife's lists look very different. Trying to get two people to have the same list, with the same priorities, can be a challenge. We always end up finding the right place, but I wonder … (2 comments)
home buyer: Buyers: Should you call the Listing Agent to see that house?
- 01/22/17 03:15 PM
Last night I got an email from a family member saying that they had found a property that interested them and they wanted to see it. They were not sure what the next step was...should they set up a showing with the listing agent? I told them, not if you want to be represented in the purchase! It is a common misconception among buyers that the listing agent must show you a property. In fact, unless you know what you are doing (and I mean you have years of experience as a purchaser), you should not go directly to the listing agent. … (5 comments)
home buyer: Buyer Advice: 4 Steps to Searching for a New Home
- 11/11/16 04:59 AM
While many clients start out thinking they can find a home without the help of a Realtor, they often discover there there is great value in working with one. Once you have gotten past searching on your own using websites that are often outdated, and you decide to hire someone to help and to represent your interests, 1) you can work with your Realtor to set up some automated searches and get some tools from them that will give you real time listing information. It only takes a couple times of finding the 'perfect' house, just to be told it is already sold (even … (1 comments)
home buyer: Home Buyer Advice: Why should contacting a Lender be your first step?
- 11/02/16 04:51 AM
Everyone I meet is a potential home buyer. Some are home buying veterans, having purchased several homes already, and some are novices, considering their first home purchase. I give everyone the same advice when they ask me what the first step in the process should be--contact a mortgage lender. We all love those home buying shows. The buyer and their agent look at three homes, the buyer and listing agents chat and the buyer ends up with the house that best suits them. In reality, this could not be further from the truth. If you want to buy a home, your first … (1 comments)
home buyer: What Every Buyer Should Know!
- 07/19/13 05:36 AM
I got one of those wonderful emails a couple of nights ago...'I got your name from so-and-so and I would like to buy a place.' If you are passionate about selling real estate, this is one of those moments that gets your blood racing and your heart beating faster (ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but it is still exciting!). What are the first things a buyer needs to do after contacting a Realtor? Here are some of the things that I immediately ask of any new client: Have you spoken to a lender? This is number one. The theoretical … (2 comments)
home buyer: What are you looking for in a new home?
- 07/18/13 08:50 AM
I got one of those wonderful emails a couple of nights ago...'I got your name from so-and-so and I would like to buy a place.' If you are passionate about selling real estate, this is one of those moments that gets your blood racing and your heart beating faster (ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but it is still exciting!). What are the first things a buyer needs to do after contacting a Realtor? Here are some of the things that I immediately ask of any new client: Have you spoken to a lender? This is number one. The theoretical … (0 comments)
A couple of years ago, I made a deliberate pivot in my marketing to focus on young people making their fist home purchase. My thought process was this: I have my own young people and I understand their thoughts and challenges when buying a home. I have a lot of experience and am excited to share it. For many of us, selling a home and purchasing another is just part of series of such transactions. Laws and rules vary by state, but we have lived the emotions already. We know what to expect. Working with a first time buyer is completely different. Not … (0 comments)
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