Buying a home can be an expensive process, however, if you are smart, you can often negate some of the costs involved. The only way to negate costs is to understand what those costs are, who charges you for them, and how much they are. Before you even reach settlement day, you may have to [...]
A series of articles on InmanNews related to the dangers that real estate agents face raises a number of issues that home owners should be considering. Real estate agents have had to face some unusual situations over the years, and these situations are on increase. They range from finding animals living in empty homes to [...]
Home buyers have three separate opportunities to look at your home, and each needs to be looked at carefully if you want a quicker sale. The first are the photos you have placed alongside your MLS listing. The second is what a potential buyer can see in a drive by, while the third is what [...]
Real estate agents are often faced with home buyers looking to buy in a hurry. In most cases, these are the buyers who have sold and settled their home, often at a low price, and are faced with limited funds. Having moved out of their former home, the last thing they want is to use [...]
If you are considering selling your home, you may be wondering about the state of the market in your neighborhood. The information is available although it can be hard to collate to give an accurate snapshot. Another problem with collecting that data yourself is knowing how to actually interpret it. There is a service available [...]
The housing market is considered to be a ‘buyers market’ at present and that generally means buyers get to dictate the shots. One contingency that is often found in a home buyers offer is the contract being executed once the contract has been signed. With home sales down, that could be months away from now. [...]
The Internet has become a great tool for home buyers. You can sit at home and wade your way through the MLS looking for that ‘perfect’ home. You can use Google maps to check out the neighborhood, you can even zoom in for a close up of the house, street, and neighbors (although it’s not [...]
It had to come at some stage – a real estate agent taking advantage of the group buying power that Groupon and others provide. A report in Inman News highlights a Chicago real estate broker that has used Groupon to offer $1000 cash to sellers and buyers at settlement. Of course, you have to have bought [...]
Finding a home and negotiating a price is a stressful period for most people. However, that isn’t the end of the stress by a long way. Before you settle, there are a number of contingencies that need to be meet, the most important two being an appraisal and a home inspection. If you are entering [...]
There is one aspect of selling a home that most home owners forget – competition. You are in a competitive market. It doesn’t matter how much you love your home, or how good you feel it looks in comparison to others. What is important is what potential buyers think of your home. There are several [...]
We are reaching an interesting point in the Virginia real estate market with little pockets appearing of what is known as a sellers market. These pockets are slowly growing, too slowly for some people, but growth is growth. What is interesting is that many of these pockets are very niche oriented. For example, in one [...]
If you are looking to buy a home, then you may want to consider the housing fairs that pop up from time to time. Howard County in Maryland is holding their annual housing fair in early April and they provide potential buyers the opportunity to meet with lenders, builders and real estate professionals. This is [...]
If you have a mortgage on your home and you’re planning to sell, then plan to closely examine your mortgage contract first. You’ll be surprised at what you may find hidden. Doug Francis (on his blog) has an interesting take on FHA mortgages and some of the fine print attached to them – and it [...]
An interesting article in a recent edition of the Spokesman-Review discusses the use of smart phones and QR Codes. What’s a QR Code? While you’ll read a lot of hype about these codes, they are not new having been invented back in 1994 and used in manufacturing to track parts. The code is about the [...]
One of the worst things a home buyer can do is rush the task. This happens a lot in today’s environment. They put their home on the market expecting it to take months to sell so they are very casual about finding their new home. Time is an important issue in today’s world as well [...]
The Multi Listing Service or MLS is a real estate search engine that services both home buyers and home sellers. This is a factor that both groups need to seriously consider when using the service. There are times when you have to wonder if either group really considers the other. For sellers, the MLS is one [...]
Negotiating to buy a home can be a frustrating experience. You put together what you feel is a very fair offer and yet the seller immediately rejects it. This leaves you wondering why it was so readily rejected. There are many reasons why a seller may reject an offer, and it can sometimes help if [...]
When is a sale not a sale? When it comes to homes, almost any time up until the keys change hands. Finding a home and making an offer is only the first step to buying a home. If the seller accepts your offer, then you’re headed in the right direction. However, for both the buyer [...]
In the United States, there are more than 2 million people with real estate licenses. However, real estate is a tough business with a steep dropout rate, and the result is that only a small percentage of those with licenses actually become paid real estate agents. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) includes 1 million [...]
You could always sell your home on your own. For sale by owner is still very popular. However, as the expression goes, “20% of the agents do 80% of the business.” The question is how can you find a good real estate agent? The best agent for you doesn’t necessarily work at the largest brokerage, [...]
When searching for a house in Falls Church, VA, you can do it all on your own, but it is better to get professional real estate help. Real estate agents will have the low-down on the type of house you are looking for as well as the neighborhood you are searching in. But before you [...]
Whether you’re new to real estate, planning to become a real estate professional, or you’re experienced in the business, your ultimate long term success will depend on several factors. Success will come from getting new business, performing in a quality manner, and generating referrals. Performing in a quality manner includes making your customers happy, but [...]
There are several different types of listing contracts, but very few of them are used. The “Exclusive Right to Sell” is the most common, but there is the “open listing,” the “exclusive agency listing,” and the “one-time show.” The “open listing” is mostly used by people trying to sell their home ‘by owner’ who are [...]
Despite the bad economy and the poor condition of the real estate market – houses selling so cheaply and many foreclosures, etc. – the number of new applicants for real estate licensing is actually moving higher in some states. Interesting, as it’s a pretty challenging time to be in real estate or the mortgage business [...]
There is certainly a great deal of pressure on the real estate industry. It’s not just the changes brought on by the Internet. Consumers are becoming more demanding, and there is continual pressure to lower real estate commissions. Of course, the Internet is spurring many changes in how agents deliver their core services as well. [...]
Need some inspiration to help your real estate business? Here are some tips that can help. You’re running a business – treat it that way. Are you investing in training, new technology and innovation? If not, allocate between 9 percent and 15 percent of your gross commission income to these activities – it’s the best [...]
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), there are over 2 million real estate agents working in the USA. With so much competition, sucess can’t be a shot in the dark. The first year drop out range estimated to be from 40% to 80% demonstrates that many real estate agents are not as successful [...]
Real estate in Washington DC is no different to any other part of the country. There are high priced homes, low priced homes, homes in high demand areas and homes in low demand areas. You can get a feel for what is happening real estate wise by searching through the MLS. You can get an [...]
Buying a home is one of those areas in modern society where you can almost do everything online. If not online then by cell phone. Now we have the addition of the iPad and I’m sure it won’t be long before that becomes a popular tool as well. Despite all this technology, the human touch [...]
We all lead busy lives and if both parties in a couple are working, finding time together to view properties can be a real lesson in coordination. Often, couples make it far too hard on themselves by not really thinking the home buying process through. There are a number of factors involved in buying a [...]
