Category: Articles of Interest

Today’s real estate market provides an excellent opportunity for renters to turn their monthly payments into equity.  While rising slightly, interest rates now are still much lower than in the past ten to twenty years, and home prices in many areas are adjusting back down to reflect reasonable levels of appreciation.  It’s critical to begin…

Sellers are competing for buyers these days.  Actually, sellers are always competing against each other, trying to offer the best value in hopes of securing a full-price offer.  Such offers usually come to sellers whose homes are in model condition and priced at, or below, fair market value.  While it’s critical to get your home…

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Are you among the college graduates who have moved back home this year?  Don’t sweat it, because you’re not alone.  About 48% of the class of 2006 is estimated to have returned home, and with good reasons.  It’s safe, it’s secure, and it’s convenient, especially when there are car payments and job searching to worry…

Getting ready to place your home on the market?  If it is in anything less than “like new” condition, you’ll need a little reality check before you can determine a fair asking price.  Since buyers will order one anyway, you should strongly consider having an inspection performed by a licensed professional before you market your…

“Buyers market.”  “Sellers market.”  What does it all mean when you find yourself ready to buy or sell a home?  The basic concept behind a “buyers market” is that there are more houses or residential properties for sale in your community than there are buyers qualified to make a purchase.  This creates increased competition among…

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble! There’s no doubt that the real estate marketplace is settling down from its breakneck pace of the last few years. There’s also speculation that the real estate “bubble” is going to burst, but it’s nearer the truth to say that the most overheated markets are losing steam, while other markets…

Although the “real estate bubble” has yet to burst, a lot of markets are finally experiencing an “adjustment” of sorts, especially as interest rates slowly creep up and buyers are fewer and farther between. Any smart seller will ask their listing agent for a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to properly gauge their asking price in…

Like the question of the chicken and the egg, homeowners planning to buy a new home must ask, “Which comes first?”  Do you sell first, and then look frantically for the new home, or buy first and risk maintaining and financing two properties? There’s more risk than just two mortgages.  If you’re rushed to sell…

Regardless of conditions in the real estate market, first-time buyers will always be a driving force for home sales. As a seller, there are a few steps you can take to make your home (especially an older one) more appealing to this demographic. First understand that most young consumers have been turned off to carpeting.…

You might assume that the fewer credit cards you have, the higher your credit score could be.  Because of that assumption, some buyers preparing to apply for a home loan mistakenly cancel one or more credit cards.  Why would this be a bad idea?  It has to do with the ratio of your debt to…

You would expect that a successful real estate agent serves many clients, and offers a wide variety of listings to interest a wide variety of buyers.  However, when you list your home, you also expect that yours is the most important of all those listings.  After all, in your eyes, your home is the hottest…