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 in a good school district, now that phrase is very subjective to begin with as only they know what they exactly mean by it. What is good for one child may not work for another. Likewise with demanding a safe area, for those coming from a rura... 02/10/2025

Pricing a home for sale is a science and an art.Finding the right price for a home when listing it is important, overprice it and you may not get any showings. It is very true, buyers look at homes online first and most buyers are savvy enough to know when a home is overpriced as in this low inventory market they may have looked at and made offers on several homes already. Price it too low and buyers may wonder what is wrong with the house.As a seller, you may be thinking I want to use the agent who gives me the highest price to list my home. But, what you really want is to get the highest price and the best terms to match your plans for moving.I had a home for sale and we had multiple offers, my sellers did not accept the highest price offered, but took a lower offer with better terms.... 02/07/2025

Did you know a well staged home can sell faster and for more money? Here's how to make your home irresistible to buyers!Staging a home for sale is not about creating a theatre set, but to allow the buyers to see themselves living in the home. If there is too much personal clutter buyers cannot see past that and get distracted by photos, kids toys, etc. Here are some home staging tips for selling your home fast.Here are some key statistics on how home staging helps properties sell faster and for more money: Homes that are staged sell 3x faster – According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), staged homes typically spend 73% less time on the market compared to non-staged homes. Higher selling price – On average, staged homes sell for 5% to 10% more than homes which are not stage... 02/05/2025

Curb appeal is that magic component when a buyer or anyone views your home and says to themselves that is cute, gorgeous, lovely or words similar. It is what that first impression generates in their mind and everything else flows from there. If it is a positive vibe then they will be more positive about the house, but, if it is negative then they generally will be looking for things to confirm that first impression.However, good curb appeal can add thousands to the value of your home and Spring is the perfect time to refresh a home's exterior.For example, I was showing a home to buyers and as we walked up to the front door we could all see the flower beds were filled with weeds and the mulch was old and decaying. As we entered the house, the buyers saw how dirty the wainscoting was and ... 02/03/2025

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 the buyer will make a full mortgage application if using one within the number of days stated in the contract. Once that application is made the mortgage lender will arrange for an appraiser to visit the house to verify the value of t... 01/31/2025

There are currently only 20 homes for sale in East Goshen Township.  Often called the suburbs of Havertown, which is in Delaware County.  It's the furthest east part of the West Chester area school district.Homes range from $212,000 for a one-bedroom townhome in Summit House development to $4,150,000 for a large single-family home in Applebrook.6 of the 20 homes are for sale in the over 55 Golf Club community of Hershey's Mill.  Would you be interested in East Goshen Township?Reach out!  I'm happy to talk to you about my favorite West Chester Area School District township! I live there! 01/30/2025

If you are buying a home with a  mortgage the bank will want an appraisal carried out. The buyer pays for this and since the 2008 housing crash these are arranged through a third party management company that finds the appraiser and orders the appraisal so that the appraisal is unbiased and independent.It is usually ordered after the buyer and seller have signed an agreement of sale and the buyer has finalized applying for a mortgage. The mortgage provider will place the order for the appraisal.An appraisal is a snapshot of value on a certain day, using past sales created by a licensed appraiser. It gives an unbiased estimate of a property's value and the lender want to make sure the home's value covers the loan amount. Whilst they are supposed to be accurate, two different appraisers m... 01/29/2025

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 has also fallen from $755,014 to $732,569.Delaware County in January 2025 has 759 listings, up compared to 2024 when it had 653. The Median list price also rose from $299,900 to $319,000, with the average lis... 01/18/2025

What does 2025 hold for the real estate market?As we start 2025, we look back on 2024 and see sales of about 4.15 million homes as of November 2024. December home sales are released towards the end of January. This is still massively down from 2021 when sales were 6.12 million homes. Estimates for 2025 are for sales of about 4.4 million homes as home buyers adjust and begin accepting that rates are not returning to the 2-3% range and will most likely remain in the 6-7% range for the foreseeable future.Locally, we have seen a lack of inventory of homes for sale, although towards the end of 2024 homes for sale rose giving buyers more choice, days on market also rose slightly. However there are plenty of buyers looking for homes often competing with cash buyers like builders along the Main... 01/17/2025

There are lots of things to consider when buying a home, for the first time or if this is a resale and move up or down.  Market Conditions Interest Rates Buyer's market or Seller's Market Family dynamics Job demand People often ask me, is this the right time to buy? My answer is usually along the following lines:Why are you thinking of moving?The answer to that question is really the answer to whether this is the right time to buy or move. If you have situations that require a move then this is the right time. Maybe a divorce, or a marriage, an addition to your family, an aging relative needing care, a new job in a new area, there are so many reasons.You are the one who decides if now is the right time to move. All the external things like interest rates vary all the time. They go up an... 01/14/2025

In a recent survey, December 2024, our local MLS, Bright MLS found the following results regarding what buyers are looking for in a home.More than half (56.1%) said that it was “very important” to buy a home that was move-in ready, with no repairs or major improvements needed. Another 37.8% said that buying a home that was in move-in-ready condition was “somewhat important” to them.As many home buyers know you may have to compromise on what you are looking for with the extremely low inventory of homes for sale. The survey found the following results when asked about what buyers would compromise on.More than half of the survey respondents said that they could see themselves compromising and buying a fixer-upper if that was what was available. However, they were more likely to compromise ... 01/10/2025

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 the kitchen gone? I know with some short sales we discovered owners had removed appliances and copper piping.Generally, in Pennsylvania, anything viewed as a fixture, attached to the wall is included. However this includes curtain rods and blinds... 01/06/2025

Many people want to buy a home, but the thought that they have bad credit or when younger or new to the country no credit makes them believe they cannot purchase a home. The answer is that there are many options for low credit score buyers, and secondly that it may take some time, but it is not hard to improve or create a credit score.You also should know the score you find online, via Credit Karma or your credit card company or bank is not the score used to offer you a loan. There are multiple different scoring models, so do not be surprised if the model used by the lender gives a lower score than what you see online.One of the important things to know when buying a home is that your credit score when using a mortgage is very important. The score will determine if you can get a loan an... 01/04/2025

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 the different things that can affect your choices. Do you have school age children? If so a neighborhood with sidewalks and access to local parks may be important along with obviously good schools. Maybe you want a development that has other ... 12/18/2024

Buying a home is a great step to building wealth. Homeowners build wealth much more quickly, a recent report, November 2024 from the Aspen Institute's Financial Security Program said it was huge. A renters median net worth was $10,000, a homeowner's is $400,000.But, when buying a home there are some hidden costs of ownership to take into account so you are prepared.1) Buying a home with a home owners or condo association will have a monthly fee towards maintenance costs and often these have an equity requirement of an up front fee, sometimes as much as six times the monthly cost paid at closing. Some also have move in fees as well.2) Maintenance, even if you are within a development with a home owners association there will be ongoing maintenance that many renters neglect to think about... 12/17/2024

It is always exciting to reach closing day, especially when everything has gone smoothly throughout a transaction. I met Hannah and Tom not that long ago when we met to discuss working together and they mentioned they wanted to buy a house before next May. After going over all the details of how the real estate process works in PA, getting approved for a mortgage etc they decided to work with me.They quickly got approved from a local lender, and we went to look at homes. At the very last minute Hannah texted me one more address to add to our tour, promising me she would never do this to me again. Well that one last house was the one. As soon as they walked in they knew. Funnily enough it was the first house we toured as well. We did go and see several other houses that day, but at the e... 11/22/2024

After all the searching, loan applications, seeing homes, visiting Open Houses the moment arrives when you know this is the home you want to buy. It is an exciting time and it can also be a stressful time.But, that is where working with an experienced Realtor brings a multitude of benefits. From price to terms, contingencies, settlement date a Realtor can give you advice. We do not make the decision for you, that is your job, but we can give you the confidence to make the right decision for you.So, let's explain the process of making an offer. In Pennsylvania we use a standard Agreement of Sale form, this is pre-printed with spaces for certain information. The agreement will include the parties to the transaction, the sellers, the buyers and their mailing addresses, the details about th... 11/21/2024

This is a common question from first time buyers and repeat buyers as well depending on how long it has been since they bought a home. Well the answer is, it depends. As you can see in the image above a seesaw which is balanced. Well the housing market is rarely in such equilibrium, it is usually one thing or another, a seller market or a buyers market and this can impact the length of the process.So, let's start at the beginning, many buyers start looking on line before they actually want or need to move. They look to see what homes are available, what are prices like in the areas where they might want to live. And then, once they have an angle on this, they approach an agent or Realtor to help them. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is a first step, a good agent can help you find a ... 11/20/2024

First time buyers starting out on the road to home ownership have many questions. One of the common ones is What should I look for in a home?Whilst the number of bedrooms and baths is important it may not be the most important thing when looking for a home. This is why I always like to sit down and have a conversation with new clients about their lifestyle, what is important to them, and how they live their lives.Looking at houses is an art, as a Realtor we look at houses multiple times a week, we notice things other people do not. Often, we know when previewing a home if it will work or not for a client before they even see it.Some houses have great natural light, some are dark and need electric light all the time. Some houses have great flow, important if you like entertaining, no one... 11/07/2024

For a long time when buying a home people needed and put down about 20% of the cost of the home as a down payment. But, as prices rose lenders came up with different products and means to avoid having to put 20% down.Today, there are still some programs that require no down payment, especially for Veterans and those using a USDA loan. Then there are FHA loans and even conventional loans that require as little as 3.5% as a down payment. These lower limits make it far more manageable for buyers to afford a home. Plus for first time buyers there are also often local programs that might provide assistance in the form of grants or no interest loans that are forgiven that can be used toward down payments. These vary from State to State and even County to County.This is where using a strong lo... 11/06/2024