Real Estate Articles Worth Reading

When selling a home, accurate data is critical for buyers and sellers. The information provided can influence a buyer's decision on purchasing a property and, ultimately, what they are willing to pay.

One of the key data points of any property is the size. It is critical for home sellers and real estate agents to get the square footage of a home nailed down correctly.

It is such a crucial information point, you could be sued for misrepresentation if it is way off. See what you need to know about selling a house and measuring the property accurately in the helpful article at Realty Times.

Most people have no idea that there is a significant difference between a Realtor and a real estate agent.

These terms are used interchangeably from consumers and even those in the real estate industry.

A Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors. A real estate agent is not. The most significant difference is Realtors agree to follow a strict code of ethics.

There business practices are held to a much higher standard. See everything you need to know about all the differences at Active Rain. You will be surprised by some of the information.

When you are going to be selling a home, your showings will be the most essential aspects of the sale. Your home showings can make or break whether a buyer becomes interested or not.

In the article at Active Rain, you will see some of the best home showing tips to increase your chances of home sale success. See what you need to know and follow the advice.

When you are selling a home one of your greatest enemies is time. If your home languishes on the market unsold, buyers will question why.

While that is unlikely to happen in strong seller's real estate markets like the one going on now, it certainly happens in more balanced markets.

The days on the market can have a direct impact on what you'll sell your home for. You don't want you home to be sitting on the market with a time frame that is out of whack with the rest of the market.

You should be striving to sell your home for under the days on market average. In real estate listings you will often see an abbreviation of DOM which is short for days on market.

Make sure you are in contact with your real estate agent for a potential price drop if need be. The longer you go without selling your home, the greater chance of a disparity between the list price and sale price.

Homes that sell quickly out of the gate often profit pricing accurately based on market stats. Your real estate agent hopefully provided an accurate competitive market analysis to nail your list price.

Imagine finally finding your dream home but you were a little late to make a decision and move forward with an offer. Unfortunately, you were beaten to the punch by another buyer.

All hope is not lost when it comes to purchasing homes. Quite often home sales fall through. See what you need to know about contingent home sales falling through at Snapzu. Contingent home sales means there are contingencies that need to be satisfied. Given this you may still find yourself buying the home you really want.

Are you going to be purchasing your first home? If you have never gone through the process of buying a house, you'll probably have some questions regarding the various procedures.

Lots of homebuyers ask real estate agents what the steps are for getting to the closing. When you have never gone through the process it is a perfectly legitimate question. The article at Realty Times will take you through the various steps from making an offer all the way through sitting at the closing table.

Take a look and see what you can expect when it comes to closing on a house.

One of the options available, when you start looking at homes, could potentially be new construction. In fact, you may have your heart set on buying a new home.

Buying new construction, however, is very different from purchasing a resale home. Maximum Real Estate Exposure has one of the most in-depth articles on what you need to know when buying new construction.

There are actually two types of new properties you can purchase with each bringing its own set of things to think about. The first is building a custom home from scratch and the second is buying a spec home.

Take a look at the resource and you will be giving tips and advice with both scenarios. In each case, you will want to ensure you spend the proper amount of time researching the builder.

It will be important to spend the time speaking with some of their past customers. Were they satisfied? Was the builder on time with their projected delivery date?

Getting stuck with the wrong builder can be a terrible situation to deal with.

When you are buying a home for the first time there will be numerous questions you don't have the answers to. Asking questions is a normal part of the home buying process.

As a real estate agent working in the business for the past thirty-five years, one of the most common questions I get from buyers is how long will it take to close on a house. The answer is pretty straightforward although there can be some variations in time frames based on both the seller's and buyer's desired time frames.

Maximum Real Estate Exposure has put together a comprehensive article explaining everything you need to know about the time frame for closing on a home. Take a look at this helpful resource to get an idea of what you can expect before you'll be able to move into your new home.

If you have any questions about the time it takes to close please feel free to reach out for help.

When you are going to be buying or selling a house one of the more important considerations will be to know how to locate the property boundary lines. In order to have good relations with the neighbors, it will be essential to have a decent understanding.

When you don't know where property lines are located issues can present themselves very easily. Putting things in the wrong location such as a fence or other structure can really cause problems.

In the article reference at Maximum Real Estate Exposure, you will learn a significant amount of information pertaining to lot lines. There is helpful guidance on the best ways of going about getting an accurate location for the property borders.

Take a look and share the information if you find it useful.

Are you thinking about purchasing your first home? You must be pumped because owning your first house is a great feeling. In no time you will be out looking at homes with a real estate agent.

Without a doubt you'll find some properties, you will really love to own! Before you start the process of looking at homes, however, you should be in tune to getting some other things squared away first.

In the article at the Harvard Blog, get some excellent first-time home buyer tips. By following the sound advice, you'll put yourself in much better position to have great success.

Take your time, do your due diligence and you will likely find yourself in a great spot owning your first house.

When selling a home, presentation is one of the most crucial aspects. You want your property to WOW potential buyers. Both the inside and outside should show as well as possible.

Many homeowners will focus on making the inside look great and forget about the outside. We will examine some of the exterior home staging tips to make your property look exceptional. Head over the the article at Realty Times to sell all the advice that will put your home at the head of the line for selling.

When most people sell a home they want a real estate expert in their corner fighting hard for their best interests. The same can be said for a buyer - they want a trusted advisor to ensure they don't make mistakes.

Unfortunately, in many states there is what's called dual agency. Single agent dual agency is when a buyer goes directly to the listing agent and they choose to function as a dual agent.

The only party who benefits in this arrangement is the real estate agent who makes double the commission. Neither the buyer or seller receive get anything good out of dual agency.

With dual agency the agent becomes a neutral party and by law is not allowed to give either party any advice. Doing so would be a conflict of interest.

Take a look at the article found at Active Rain on why dual agency is so bad for consumers. When you interview with a real estate agent is will be essential to make sure they will ALWAYS represent your best interests.

To do so, you'll want to reject dual agency.

Do you know the primary differences between a fixed and adjustable rate mortgage? When interest rates are on the rise an adjustable rate becomes far more popular.

While interest rates tend to be lower with an adjustable mortgage, they can move up quickly when the adjustment period comes up.

See everything you need to know including the pros and cons about these mortgages at Active Rain.

One of the more frequently asked questions in real estate is whether or not you can buy a home that is pending or contingent. In the article at Active Rain see exactly what you need to know about different contract statuses and how it affects a buyer's ability to purchase.

It should be noted that a pending sale is usually much further along than a contingent sale. You might have a better chance of buying a home in the contingent status.

When you are selling a home, there are few things more important than pricing the properly accurately. If you get that wrong, your home will languish on the market.

Increasing days on the market are one of the things that can cut into a seller's profits. The way to overcome incorrect pricing is to get a competitive market analysis from a top agent in the local market.

The CMA will look closely at the most recent sales that are similar to the subject property. There will also be some analysis given to pending sales and properties that are currently listed. The most significant information will be what's sold. It will receive the highest weight in determining proper pricing.

Look at the analysis through the eyes of the buyer. Take your emotions out of the pricing process.

You don't want just any agent but someone who has a track record of success at pricing homes. The agent should rarely ever have to reduce the price of their properties. A price reduction is a pricing mistake!

Never take for granted what different agents do to get their clients the most money. Just like other industries, some shine and some don't.

One of the most vital parts of buying a home is proper due diligence. You should never buy a property without taking a look at multiple things about the house and it's surroundings.

Without proper research, you could make a significant financial mistake. Your do diligence should include a detailed home inspection among other things.

It will also be wise to check out everything surrounding the neighborhood to make sure there is nothing that could hurt the value either now or in the future.

In the article at Realty Times see all of the aspects of researching a house. Finding a red flag could save you from years of misery. Nobody wants to make a purchase mistake but they happen all the time.

If you find the article is helpful, pass it along to others it may help.

Are you going to be making a local move at some point in the near future? When moving locally there are some ways you can save some pretty decent money.

One of the most common is renting a moving truck yourself rather than hiring a professional moving company. You can in fact save quite a bit of money with a DIY move. Two of the better companies where you can rent your own truck are The Home Depot and U-Haul. Both are excellent for do it yourselfers.

The article at Realty Times also provides additional moving tips on how you can save money. Take a look and give it a share if you find the information to be helpful.

Do you plan on buying a house in the near future? If so, you're probably thrilled at the prospect of becoming a homeowner. Most first time buyers are excited about their purchase but also fearful at the same time.

Let's face it - taking on a mortgage is a significant financial responsibility. When buying a home there are a lot of hidden costs that some buyers don't properly plan for. One of these types of expenses are closing costs.

The amount of money it takes to close on a house can be substantial for cash strapped buyers. You may have plenty to cover the down payment and enough to get by to cover the closing costs but there won't be much left in reserve.

Fortunately, there is a way to have some of your closing costs covered by the seller. The process is known as getting seller concessions. With a seller concession the owner of the house you are purchasing will help pay your closing costs.

Even in hot markets that favor sellers offers can be written such that the seller is not really paying out of pocket for the seller concessions.

For example, let's say you want to purchase a home that is listed for $350,000 and the seller expects a full price offer. What you would do is offer $360,000 with the seller paying 10,000 of your closing costs.

Writing the contract this way ends up being a win-win for both buyer and seller. The buyer gets the house they want without paying for their closing costs and the seller gets their asking price.

Of course, if it were a buyers market the same offer could be written such that the seller just pays for the closing costs.

Buying your first home can be both scary and exciting at the same time. There is so much to know as a first-time home buyer. Those who put together an exceptional team to help them usually get through the process without a hitch.

The key to having home buying success is to plan in advance of your purchase. Over at Maximum Real Estate Exposure, you will find one of the most in-depth articles on the steps to take when purchasing a house.

The article lays out in detail what you should be doing from start to finish when buying a house. By following the tips you will ensure you have a smooth ride to closing.

If you need help buying your first home, please feel free to reach out for assistance. Either myself or someone on my team will be able to help you reach your goals of owning your first house.

When it comes to housing rentals there are many options to choose fun. What makes sense for you, especially when it is a long term rental can come down to lifestyle choices.

One of the things that comes up quite a bit is comparing a condo rental to an apartment rental. Do you know the difference? If you are going to be renting one of the other in the near future, it may be helpful to have a careful review of the pros and cons of each.

In the article at Maximum Real Estate Exposure, see a comprehensive breakdown explaining the differences of each one of the rental options.

The most glaring difference will be the ownership that is found with condos. There are however, other smaller differences as well.

When you are selling a home one of the most essential factors will no doubt be getting a handle on the value. Of course, you can get a ton of differing opinions on value, but the one that will be the most crucial is the one that is accurate.

So, how do you go about getting the right home value? It is all about understanding how real estate comps work. You need to have the right comparable sales and then once you have them interpret the data properly.

Understanding comps is easier said than done. It can take years of practice. Market value can also be a bit subjective. In the article at Maximum Real Estate Exposure, you'll learn everything you need to know about "comps" and "comparables".

Take a look and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out for help on analyzing the value of your property.

Lots of consumers ask real estate agents about the value of land. Some folks really know little about land. One of the more frequent questions they will ask is how many acres is the property.

Surprisingly some do not know the size of an acre which is 43,560 square feet. Of course, these are almost always first-time buyers who have never bought a home before.

In terms of actual size, some will ask how much is an acre. They may even ask real estate agents where the lot lines are so they can have a better handle of what the size of an acre looks like. In real estate sales, pointing out lot lines is taboo.

It really is an easy way to end up getting sued. Smart real estate agents never represent where lot lines are located. Instead a lot diagram should be given and let the buyer figure it out on their own.

To give you an understanding of what an acre looks like a football field is equal to 1.32 acres when you include the end zone areas.

In the article at Maximum Real Estate Exposure, learn some of the key things you need to know when buying land.