short sale: 6 Surefire Ways To Get Your House Sold
- 05/23/19 02:20 AM
We're coming to the end of summer, and that means that families seeking to buy a new home before school starts have likely already done their thing. But that doesn't mean you're out of luck if you're looking to sell. Whether you're just getting ready to list your home or haven't had any bites on your existing home for sale, these tips will get it - and you - moving.
Price it right
This is the most obvious, but also the most contentious, tip when it comes to selling a home. Everyone wants top dollar. But rule No. 1 about a house that … (1 comments)
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short sale: What Kinds Of Mortgages Are Available?
- 12/19/18 09:01 PM
Once you have signed a contract for the purchase of your new home (or condominium or cooperative apartment), and assuming you do not have all of the cash in your bank account, you will need to obtain a mortgage loan.
There are many different loans on the market - and many different loan programs from which to choose. You should contact at least three different lenders, and ask them to give you a list of the loans which they can offer you. Take careful notes, and remember one important thing: do not give any lender any money until you are absolutely certain … (0 comments)
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short sale: The First Offer May Be The Best Offer
- 04/17/17 05:32 AM
Versions of this column have appeared before. It is still true. And for many, still relevant.
Sometimes when everything goes right we have trouble accepting that fact. Perhaps nowhere is this phenomenon more clearly illustrated than in the case where a seller receives a good offer right away.
The annals of real estate are well stocked with stories of sellers who refused to take a good, but not perfect, first offer, and who then waited a long, long time before finally accepting something else at a considerably lower price. And most agents who have been around for a while know to shudder when … (5 comments)
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short sale: Tips For Moving Into Your New Home
- 04/13/17 10:01 AM
Congratulations, you've bought your home and it's move-in time. Wait! Before you move in, read on to get some practical and important tips.
Change the locks. You've closed escrow and the keys to your new home are yours.
The first thing you should do is change the locks. It's hard to say who may have access to your home. Anyone from real estate agents to the sellers or maintenance people: all could still have a set of keys to your home. Be safe and change the locks first thing.
If the home doesn't have deadbolts on the doors, install them. If the door has … (0 comments)
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short sale: 8 Essentials For Cooling Your Home
- 09/20/16 08:19 AM
When the temperatures spike, most families crank up the air conditioning to keep their homes cool. While blasting the AC is often viewed as the first step in cooling a home, there are a number of other ways to keep your home comfortable in the summer.
#1 Open Windows at Night
If you live in a region of the country where nighttime temperatures tend to dip into the lower 70s and upper 60s, open your windows at night and turn off the AC. Once the sun is down, that cool air can flow into your home overnight and help maintain a cooler starting … (0 comments)
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short sale: How To Make Your Offer On Your Next Home Stand Out
- 09/15/16 11:44 PM
It may seem hard to imagine but, yes, the cycle has spun around and in some markets there are bidding wars leaving buyers wondering, "What can I do to make my offer stand out?"
The real estate market is again heating up and many buyers are trying to get into the market now after taking a long break. For some, it's a chance to become first-time homeowners. For others, it's a chance to make a move up to a larger home or to buy a second home. Still others may have owned in previous years and are now getting back into homeownership. … (1 comments)
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short sale: Why Get Involved In Your Community Association?
- 07/20/16 11:49 PM
Question. I have lived in my community association for a number of years. Unlike the horror stories we occasionally read about regarding bad Boards or illogical enforcement of covenants, our community seems to be working fine. We have a good board of directors and a competent manager. One of our long time board members plans to resign for personal reasons, and a number of residents have encouraged me to "throw my hat into the ring." I am seriously considering this possibility, but seek your guidance.
Answer. You have lived in your community for a long time, and are pleased with the way … (2 comments)
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short sale: 9 Reasons To Visit A Home At Night Before Buying
- 06/26/16 12:35 PM
Everyone knows someone who knows someone who moved into what seemed like a perfectly great house on a perfectly nice street only to have a complete nightmare unfold. But the truth is that your neighbor doesn't have to be practicing Santeria on the front lawn for you to hate where you live. So many things can turn what seems like your dream home into a disaster. You may not be able to avoid every one of them, but doing your due diligence can help.
Step #1: Visit the homes you are considering at night. You may get a completely different perspective on … (1 comments)
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short sale: DIY or Expert Edition: 4 Home Reno Projects and Who Should Handle Them
- 06/26/16 11:28 AM
As summer rolls around and the days grow longer and hotter, the kids are finally out of school and the pool water should be approaching an ideal temperature. Right now, home improvement projects are probably the last thing on your mind. But as it turns out, the warmest months are actually the perfect time to take a good look around your property and get to tackling some of those plans you have been putting off.
Many projects are even less costly in the summer, considering that labor is more readily available and many folks won't schedule renovations with children home from school, … (0 comments)
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short sale: Ditch The Makeup-Free Selfie When It Comes To Selling Your Home
- 06/14/16 07:56 AM
Makeup-free selfies are all the rage, with celebrities and starlets snapping shots of their fresh, cosmetic-free faces. It's a bold move for many whose fame (and bank accounts) depend on putting forth a perfect image, and it's a trend that has garnered a lot of attention in an age when extreme photoshopping is the norm and body images issues are affecting younger and younger kids.
Everyone from Cameron Diaz to Sharon Stone to Sofia Vergara to Beyonce, and, most recently, Gwen Stefani, have shown their stuff - their real stuff - without any help from concealer and contour, and have been embraced … (1 comments)
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short sale: Three Important Responsibilities Home Buyers Have
- 06/10/16 11:52 AM
The American dream of owning a home is something everyone should have if they want it. You should be able to live where you want and enjoy the features of your environment that help you relax, entertain, play, and do more of the things you enjoy without the restrictions imposed by a landlord.
You can own a pet, build a treehouse, paint the walls your favorite color, and play music and videos as loud as you like without disturbing your neighbors. That's the essence of the dream -- independence.
For most first-time buyers, it's better to accept that for dreams to come true, … (1 comments)
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short sale: How Safe Is Your Bathroom? A Guide to Bath Safety
- 06/07/16 01:55 AM
The bathroom is one of the most-used rooms in the house. Not only is it essential to modern living, it is also wide open when it comes to design choices. But did you know it's also an opportunity to make your home safer?
When it comes to designing a bathroom, there is a lot more than just color schemes and sink models to consider. Did you know there are almost 200,000 bathroom accidents per year in the United States, and many of them are preventable?
For instance, glass doors can be dangerous for older individuals if they try to use them for support … (2 comments)
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short sale: Dual Agency Can Be A Good Thing
- 05/17/16 09:11 AM
A man can't serve two masters, the Good Book says; but neither the law nor common practice precludes the possibility of both buyer and seller being represented by the same real estate agent. When this happens a "dual agency" situation is created; and dual agency is a subject about which both confusion and controversy abound.
First of all, how does dual agency come about? In what sorts of contexts does it occur? No doubt the example that most readily comes to mind is when an individual agent shows his or her own listing to someone who then decides to buy it (or … (1 comments)
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short sale: Mortgage Payments When You Are In Financial Trouble
- 05/17/16 08:10 AM
None of us can appreciate -- nor anticipate -- the future. Although we always believe it will never happen to us, once in a while, calamity strikes, and then we have to address these very hard and difficult questions.
You own a house, with a sizable mortgage. Suddenly, you (or your spouse) lost their job, and you cannot make the monthly mortgage payments.
There are a number of options you should immediately consider. However, the very first thing you should do is to talk with your lender. Don't just discuss your issues with a low-level employee. Try to go as high up the … (0 comments)
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short sale: A Seller's Guide To A Winning Open House
- 05/16/16 02:31 AM
Holding an open house for your soon-to-be-listed or newly on the market home is a lot like being on a game show where edging out the other contestants in a short period of time is key. In TV game shows, such as "Jeopardy," the contestants don’t automatically know answers to so many trivia questions; they study and they plan and they make it appear to viewers like they walk around with that body of knowledge every day. Open houses need to be thought of similarly. Once your home is on the market, an open house is your opportunity to plan and … (1 comments)
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short sale: So You Want To Purchase A Condominium Unit?
- 04/25/16 11:11 AM
Condominium sales are hot throughout most of the country. People want the advantages which a condominium can offer -- such as not having to shovel snow, cut the grass or worry about making arrangements for maintenance and repairs.
But before you buy, you must do your homework. It is not the same as buying a single family home. All condominium associations have rules and regulations which must be honored by all owners; all associations have budgets which may or may not be adequate.
State laws differ as to whether potential buyers are entitled to receive certain information -- before they go to closing … (2 comments)
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short sale: Taking Care Of The Termites
- 04/25/16 11:07 AM
Amidst the complexities and potentials for misunderstanding in a residential real estate transaction, the subject of termite work is surely a standout. Not only do buyers and sellers often have mistaken beliefs about what is and isn't required, but also agents are liable to be unclear about various options that may be open to them and their clients. (To be clear: we are not just talking about termites here, but also other wood-destroying pests such as dry rot or some kinds of beetles).
We should begin, then, by noting the most common misperception: that a termite clearance is required by law before … (0 comments)
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short sale: Mold Officially A Bad Thing
- 04/22/16 11:40 AM
Effective January 1 of this year, the presence of mold in a California building containing dwelling units is a condition sufficient to declare the building to be substandard. This, in turn, enables a code enforcement officer to issue the landlord or property owner a "notice to repair." That is the result of Senate Bill 655 (Mitchell) which was signed into law by the Governor on Oct. 9, 2015.
According to reporting by the California Senate's legislative analyst, "indoor mold growth in homes is one of the most common housing complaints received by tenants' rights groups, legal aid organizations, and code enforcement agencies … (0 comments)
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short sale: 4 Incentives to Close Deals With Homebuyers
- 03/27/16 09:47 PM
Almost a third of sales representatives say the hardest part of closing a deal is competing against lower-priced competitors, a Richardson survey found. Home sellers and real estate agents expect to face this challenge over the next few years, especially if Bank of America's predictions about falling home prices starting in 2017 happen. Analyst Chris Flanagan, who correctly predicted bleak conditions in the subprime mortgage market in 2007, projects that the rise in housing prices will slow to 0.8 percent in 2016 before sliding into a modest decline of 1.7 percent in 2017, 2.1 percent in 2018 and 0.8 percent in … (1 comments)
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short sale: 8 Tips For Getting The New Home You Want In a Competitive Market
- 03/27/16 09:04 PM
Late last year, eager homebuyers lined up overnight at a new-home community in the Dallas suburb of McKinney, TX to get first crack at a new phase release. Shades of pre-recession days when campouts for new homes were common? In the mid 2000s, we bought a new home in a popular California suburb that became so in-demand, the builder started splitting phases in half to accommodate larger price increases per phase. The homes that sold at the tail end of the community were $150,000 more than those purchased in the first phase.
Are we headed there? Maybe not. There have been a … (1 comments)
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We're coming to the end of summer, and that means that families seeking to buy a new home before school starts have likely already done their thing. But that doesn't mean you're out of luck if you're looking to sell. Whether you're just getting ready to list your home or haven't had any bites on your existing home for sale, these tips will get it - and you - moving.
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