montgomery county: What is "The Resale Package"?
- 09/08/25 08:14 AM
You own a home in Pennsylvania that has an Home Owners Association or a Condo with a Condo Association. If so, when you sell your property and it is under agreement you or your agent or whoever handles the conveyancing for the sale will need to order a "Resale Package" from the association/management company to give to the buyer. This is paid for by the seller usually at settlement, each management company sets the price for the resale package and it contains important information for the buyer to look over and gives them 5 days to review from receipt and decide … (27 comments)
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montgomery county: Why have a home inspection on the Main Line and in Chester County?
- 03/20/25 12:01 PM
People often think home inspections are for reopening negotiations on the price. But this is far from the truth. Check out my quick video for the real reason for a home inspection.
Buying a home on the Main Line or in Chester County, contact Nick Vandekar for guidance and representation, Selling the Main Line and Chester County with Realty ONE Group Advocates, office 484-237-2055, cell or text 610-203-4543, email Nick@VandekarTeam.com to set up a complimentary consultation to discuss your needs and find out the process for buying a home in Pennsylvania on the Main Line or in Chester County and surrounding areas.
… (10 comments)
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montgomery county: Main Line Market Reports, Lower Merion, Radnor and Tredyffrin Easttown
- 03/19/25 09:07 AM
February 2025
Main Line School Districts Market Report
This report includes Lower Merion, Radnor and Tredyffrin Easttown.
Inventory has risen a little with the months of inventory showing about 2.5 for all the three school districts, this is still well below the 6 month level for a totally balanced market. So demand is still higher than supply, but there is choice for buyers as they survey the market.
Prices are strong in all three school districts, Lower Merion has a wider selection of housing accounting for the disparity between Median Sold Price and Median Listed Price.
Buyers still need to be prepared in advance to make … (8 comments)
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montgomery county: Can Your Credit Score Help You Buy a Home? Absolutely!
- 03/18/25 10:42 AM
Buying a house can be a long and winding road of ups and downs. But being prepared and knowing the steps can help you weather the emotional storms that invariably come along.
Knowing how your credit score is calculated can be helpful to establishing a good strong score which will help you obtain a mortgage for the best rate.
The riskier you are to lend money to, the higher the rate of interest will be on that mortgage which can make the cost of the loan prohibitive.
1) Payment history, paying your bills on time makes up 35% of your score. Set an alarm … (18 comments)
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montgomery county: Springing Forward and Selling your home!
- 03/10/25 01:23 PM
As Spring rapidly approaches you may be considering is now the right time to sell your home?
Kenny Chesney said:“Sunshine and spring bring out the best in everyone.”
There are many things that go into deciding if now is the right time to sell your home. What are you trying to achieve? Is it to downsize or buy a larger home due to changes in family circumstances? Are you dealing with a death or divorce situation?
Sometimes a time just comes when you know you need or want to move for a variety of reasons. When it is time, that is the time to … (21 comments)
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montgomery county: How to negotiate the best deal when buying a home
- 03/10/25 11:35 AM
Who doesn't love a deal? I know I do. Having grown up as the son of an antique dealer I heard my father for many years negotiating when purchasing items for stock and when he was selling as well. It made me a better negotiator when I followed him into the business many years later. When every penny counts and it is your business you tend to study how to be a good negotiator.
Main Line and Chester County buyers and sellers of real estate want a good deal and using an agent with excellent negotiation skills is a good beginning. But … (20 comments)
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montgomery county: Using video to attract serious buyers
- 03/10/25 07:51 AM
Professional photography catches the eyes of potential buyers on line, but video can seal the deal. Today more people watch video short and long form than might read the description of a house.
Whilst photos can show the rooms, a real video, not one of those tours of stitched together photos, can tell the story. When showing a house for sale, clients walk through the rooms, see the natural light, get a feel for the size and flow of the house. Well video can do the same thing. It can show a Main Line or Chester County buyer if this house might … (5 comments)
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montgomery county: Tips for touring homes like a Pro!
- 03/05/25 08:43 AM
Buying a home can be stressful, but Main Line and Chester County buyers guided by Nick Vandekar, Selling the Main Line and Chester County with Realty ONE Group Advocates have an advantage, and often they have fun as well.
Touring homes with the intention of buying one is different to just visiting someone's home. As a Realtor I have toured many, many homes over the 20 plus years I have been selling homes. I used to sell antiques, and when i was out hunting for inventory I often thought about what clients wanted. I found touring homes a similar experience, I walk … (22 comments)
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montgomery county: Really! You want what?
- 02/28/25 11:22 AM
Main Line and Chester County Home sellers ask what is reasonable for a buyer to ask for following a home inspection?
Dealing with Inspection Requests is an art, not a science. Like any negotiation it requires knowledge of what each party is trying to achieve and a willingness to listen actively and ascertain what is possible and what is not.
A home purchase is a multi stepped journey. First there is finding the right home, then a matter of negotiating a contract with price and terms acceptable to both parties. And then multiple other steps to closing.
Then it is a matter of completing … (18 comments)
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montgomery county: How much money do you really need?
- 02/27/25 07:55 AM
Main Line and Chester County buyers often get confused about how much money they need to buy a house. Many people get confused by the down payment and the amount of money they need to close on a house. Some people get confused between the down payment and the earnest money deposit.
The down payment is the equity in the house you are paying for with cash you have in savings or another type of account. The balance of the purchase price if you are not paying cash is paid for with the mortgage.
The earnest money deposit is the money you offer … (17 comments)
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montgomery county: Is an adjustable rate mortgage right for you?
- 02/21/25 10:38 AM
There are many things to consider for buyers of Main Line and Chester County Homes and with the rise in interest rates one of the big questions being asked "Is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage Right for You?"
So let's examine this and give you the information so you can feel confident about the decision you will make on what type of mortgage to use.
Firstly the fixed rate mortgage is exactly that, the rate is fixed for the duration of the loan. You basically know what you will be paying for the term of the loan, the only part that might adjust is … (22 comments)
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montgomery county: Is the Main Line and Chester County real estate market shifting
- 02/19/25 01:54 PM
A quick video I put together today about the changing real estate market. Let me know what you think and if your local markets are also seeing changes?
Not much to add here, other than inventory is still at historically low levels, but showings are down, contracts are down, days on market are rising, and sales price to list price ratio is dropping.
… (7 comments)
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montgomery county: "Is it a buyer's or seller's market? Why it Matters"
- 02/19/25 12:52 PM
Main Line and Chester County Residents know the market has been hot for the last few years. With little to no inventory and multiple offers many buyers have been making several offers before either putting their house hunt on hold or being successful.
Here we are in 2025, interest rates have risen over the last few months to hover between 6 and 7%, house prices have been rising every year and in some cases from month to month, so is that changing the market?
For the past few years it has definitely been a seller's market. Sellers have sat back seeing their equity … (16 comments)
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montgomery county: Contingencies explained - What they mean for sellers
- 02/18/25 07:19 AM
Selling a home can be a grueling process, even in a market with low inventory and what has seemed like rising prices for the past couple of years. There are just so many facets to a transaction. Well Main Line and Chester County Residents relax, I am here to explain and help give you confidence to make the right decisions throughout the transaction.
When you receive an offer it is made up of many parts, whilst most sellers look to the price first, there are many elements. These are called the terms of the offer. They may include the settlement date, whether … (11 comments)
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montgomery county: What sellers need to know - The risks of overpricing your home!
- 02/17/25 09:03 AM
Overpricing your home can result in it not selling! Then you need to keep reducing the price and you end up in a spiral following the market down.
For many years it has been a strong sellers market, with low interest rates and strong demand, sellers have seen multiple offers over asking. But while there is still a problem with low inventory, buyers are being hampered by strong interest rates compared to the last few years.
Interest rates are now hovering between 6.5 and 7% and with inflation rising again they may not be dropping for sometime. High interest rates affect what buyers … (13 comments)
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montgomery county: Why it matters where you live!
- 01/30/25 12:56 PM
There are many things to consider when buying a home and deciding on your "Must Haves and Deal Breakers". But before you consider these it is important to consider where you want to live and this post is going to consider why that is important.
Most buyers have their list and they know in the current low inventory market they need to be flexible. And while there may be certain things driving where they want to live there are also a host of intangibles which they may not have considered deeply enough.
A young family looking for a home may want to live … (17 comments)
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montgomery county: Why is an appraiser coming to my house?
- 01/29/25 12:12 PM
Many sellers are unaware of the process of selling a home completely as they do it just a few times in their lives with long times in between each sale. And things are not always the same depending on what state you live in. I wrote a post about appraisals from the buyer's perspective and you can read "Why do I need an appraisal?" here. This post is from the seller's perspective.
When your home goes under contract there are many different steps that take place. As part of the agreement between buyer and seller in Pennsylvania, there is an understanding that … (24 comments)
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montgomery county: Video Market Report for the Main Line and Surrounding Counties
- 01/17/25 07:35 AM
The Main Line outside Philadelphia lies within the boundaries of three counties, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester County. Each county is much larger than just the Main Line parts, so the market reports refer to the actual county, not just the Main Line area. The video below shares the statistics with the numbers below the video for those who prefer to see things in black and white.
Montgomery County is closest to the city, there are currently 975 listings in the county that is up from 860 in January 2024. Median list price has fallen from $524,945 to $515,000, the average list price … (14 comments)
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montgomery county: What, that wasn't included in the sale of the home?
- 01/06/25 09:21 AM
Things vary from state to state, and it is never good to presume something is included if it is not in writing. You do not suddenly want to have to find the money for something you thought was included. As you can see in this photo below from a Pennsylvania agreement of sale, a lot of things are included, but some things are not. In the agreement below we added the refrigerator.
In some countries, especially in Europe, kitchens are not included and owners remove all the cabinets and reuse them in the next home. Can you imagine turning up to find … (20 comments)
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montgomery county: How do I choose a neighborhood?
- 12/18/24 07:33 AM
One of the questions many buyers have when moving from one area of the country to another is how do I choose a neighborhood? Having moved to the Philadelphia area from London, England I can totally understand this quandary.
There are lots of different things that go into this decision, most of them personal to you. When I meet with clients for the first time I always ask them to tell me about their lives and the way they live them. What do they like doing? Depending on their answers we can formulate a plan for finding them a house.
So, let's consider … (15 comments)
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You own a home in Pennsylvania that has an Home Owners Association or a Condo with a Condo Association. If so, when you sell your property and it is under agreement you or your agent or whoever handles the conveyancing for the sale will need to order a "Resale Package" from the association/management company to give to the buyer. This is paid for by the seller usually at settlement, each management company sets the price for the resale package and it contains important information for the buyer to look over and gives them 5 days to review from receipt and decide … (27 comments)
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