Scott Hickinbotham's (scotthickinbotham) Blog

Do you want to be a smart St. Clair buyer or seller? I'm sure you do. No one wants to make dumb buyer or seller mistakes. Here are a few mistakes that sellers and buyers should try their best to avoid, thus also avoiding being a not-so-smart-and-savvy buyer or seller. Dumb Buyer Mistakes: This is...

You've just closed on the sale of your home, but your new house in St. Clair isn't quite ready for you to move into yet. What to do? You might consider getting a POD or two! A POD is a movable storage unit that will be brought to your front door by truck, where it will be unloaded onto your drive...

Want to sell your St. Clair home for the best price possible and in a timely manner? Of course you do, or you wouldn't have listed it in the first place. Here are 10 great tips for today's home sellers: 1. Hire a Realtor® - Especially in today's market, you need someone who can help you set the b...

During the month of March 2012, several local businesses, including Hickinbotham Real Estate, participated in a book give-away at the St. Clair Elementary School. This is an annual program wherein students are given a book which they get to keep. This year's book was Eight Keys to a Better Me, by...

I am so proud to announce the recent establishment of The Gladine and Clarence Laubinger, Sr. Memorial Scholarship by my mother, Letha Hickinbotham, Emeritus Director of the ECC Foundation.The $500 endowed scholarship was established through the East Central College Foundation to honor Letha's pa...

When you finally find the St. Clair home of your dreams, make an offer and get an acceptance, it's just the beginning of paying for your new house. Closing costs are generally paid during the time of getting the mortgage for your home or on that final day when you sign all the paperwork to make t...

Are you hoping to sell your St. Clair home in a hurry? Well, then you need to know a few staging tricks and how to get the most positive staging affect for your St. Clair home with the least money. Here are a few tips to get you started:1.  First, you'll want to take your own personality out of t...

Homeownership, also known as "the great American dream", probably got that name because it does have lots of great things that most people would love to have. Such as:Equity:  While homeownership in St. Clair does have certain big initial costs accompanying it–closing costs, the down payment, ins...

So your St. Clair house is on the market. Prospective buyers have started coming by to take a look, and you're thinking, "Make me an offer I can't refuse!" Then, lo and behold, your wish comes true, and you get an offer!Now you have to decide what to do with that offer. Do you take the offer, mak...

So you've decided to buy a St. Clair house! How exciting. Just one thing--you don't really have a lot of money saved up for your down payment. Nowadays, most lenders are asking for at least 20 percent down. And don't forget, the more you put down, the less you have to borrow and pay back, so in t...