Understanding how home equity works can help you make wise home buying decisions! For example, the price you pay for a home, along with the down payment you provide, creates the initial equity position you’ll have in your home. Good equity is important for a number of...
How much is the home you want to buy really worth? The answer to that question is a matter of opinion; several of them, in fact! But it’s the homeowner’s opinion that determines the initial listing price. And because homeowners often have an emotional attachment to...
During this past spring and summer, home buyers were out in force. In many markets throughout the country, homes went under contract quickly, and bidding wars were not uncommon. Now that fall is here, some frustrated buyers will pause their search, and try again next...
Buying a home from a builder is not necessarily easier or harder than buying from an individual home owner, but it is very different! This is because a builder constructs and sells multiple homes for a living, with no emotional attachment to any of them. National home...
Most of the time, home buyers do not need to pay their agent a fee out-of-pocket since normally it is built-in to the price of the home, but that doesn’t mean the fee is unimportant. The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) offers the following...
HGTV’s “House Hunters” makes it look easy. Eager buyers look at three perfect homes for sale and choose one, making a quick decision. In real life, home buying takes time and effort. According to a recent article in Forbes, the average buyer spends about 17...
The inventory of homes for sale, especially entry-level homes, has been lean in many areas of the country. When several home buyers are interested in the same property, the competition can create bidding wars. This drives up the price of a home, and if a buyer isn’t...
As a home buyer, you might reasonably assume that you are a client of your real estate agent, entitled to specific services and guidance. However, unless you are a buyer-client of an�EXCLUSIVE BUYER AGENT�or�EXCLUSIVE BUYER BROKER, this may not be the case! In...
In much of the U.S., the real estate story of 2016 was low home inventory, especially in entry-level price ranges. Based on projections from industry analysts, we may see a similar market during the first half of 2017, and potentially beyond. When there are more...
A 100-year-old, faded, one-armed Santa. Christmas trees in every room of the house. Photos of the current homeowners wearing nothing but their birthday suits and a few Christmas accessories. Aftermath of a New Year’s Eve party including passed out guests complete with...
Buying a home is a complex and expensive process, but having the right guidance makes all the difference! If you are thinking of becoming a homeowner this year, these 7 steps will help you! 1. Educate yourself with home buying information from the National Association...
In our prior blog posts, we discussed contingencies and their place in the home buying process. There is one more buyer contingency worth mentioning that is little-known but very insightful – the C.L.U.E. report! C.L.U.E. stands for the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting...