Buyers & Sellers

Buyers, Buyers & Sellers, Sellers

WHAT IS EARNEST MONEY?

What is earnest money? Earnest money is a good faith payment which shows the seller that you are serious about buying their home. It’s also part of your down payment. So for instance, if you pay 1% in earnest money (abbreviated as EM) and your total down payment is 20% then that means you’ve already […]
Buyers, Buyers & Sellers, Sellers

SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVACY SETTINGS

Have you ever seen a friend or family member post on social media about their home purchase or sale? I certainly have! Sometimes those posts include information that could benefit one party to the transaction. This is why I strongly recommend changing your privacy settings on social platforms, especially Facebook, so only your friends can […]
Buyers, Buyers & Sellers, Sellers

SECURING YOUR HOME

With all the new home technology available, there are a myriad of ways to secure your home. The more tech savvy are controlling everything from the HVAC system to interior room lights to a crock pot from a phones. Others are still using a wooden rod in the track of a sliding door so […]
Buyers, Buyers & Sellers, Sellers

HOME MAINTENANCE TIPS BY SEASON

Want to keep some preventable maintenance from haunting you during a home inspection? If you purchased a home in the last year, then you probably remember the inspection process and whether or not the home you bought had a slew of issues. Could any of those have been prevented by regular maintenance? I would suspect […]

Buyers WHAT IS EARNEST MONEY? What is earnest money? Earnest money is a good faith payment which shows the seller that you are serious about buying their home. It’s also part of your down payment. So for instance, if you pay 1% in earnest money (abbreviated as EM) and your total down payment is 20% then that means you’ve already […]

Buyers SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVACY SETTINGS Have you ever seen a friend or family member post on social media about their home purchase or sale? I certainly have! Sometimes those posts include information that could benefit one party to the transaction. This is why I strongly recommend changing your privacy settings on social platforms, especially Facebook, so only your friends can […]

Buyers SECURING YOUR HOME With all the new home technology available, there are a myriad of ways to secure your home. The more tech savvy are controlling everything from the HVAC system to interior room lights to a crock pot from a phones. Others are still using a wooden rod in the track of a sliding door so […]

Buyers HOME MAINTENANCE TIPS BY SEASON Want to keep some preventable maintenance from haunting you during a home inspection? If you purchased a home in the last year, then you probably remember the inspection process and whether or not the home you bought had a slew of issues. Could any of those have been prevented by regular maintenance? I would suspect […]

Buyers & Sellers IS THE ZESTIMATE A GUESSTIMATE? If you’ve been home shopping or home stalking in the 21st century, then you’ve heard of the Zestimate. It has been credited for Zillow’s instant popularity and continues to generate buzz today. Is this magical estimate of value generated by algorithm’s the end all be all to your home value? No, it isn’t! Is […]

Buyers SHOULD I TEST FOR RADON? I always recommend a radon test when purchasing a home. Your inspector will ask if you’d like to test for radon. Some homes have radon mitigation systems in place, but many don’t. It doesn’t hurt to test even if a system is in place in order to confirm that it’s doing its job. Homes on […]

Buyers & Sellers WORKING WITH A LENDER So you want to buy a home, but are you really ready to buy in this market? The number one thing that sellers fear is buyers walking away from the sale. Thus, sellers and their savvy realtors know that they need to see a solid letter from a lender OR proof of funds before […]

Buyers & Sellers TOP INSPECTION ISSUES Home inspections are a key part of the buying and selling process in real estate transactions. Every market is unique in terms of the way buyers and sellers approach inspections and then subsequently negotiate inspection items. In our local market, it is customary for the buyer to schedule an inspection after an offer is […]

Buyers & Sellers REAL ESTATE LINGO Have you noticed that realtors use a lot of abbreviations and lingo that you aren’t familiar with? Here are a few terms and their meanings to help you get the gist of what we are talking about. CMA: Comparative Market Analysis. This is a report that shows how a home you are considering compares […]

Buyers & Sellers HOW TO CHOOSE A REALTOR Buying or selling a home is an exciting time and you can help the process go smoothly by selecting the right agent for you. How might you go about doing that? Here are some things to consider. Interview realtors. Yes, you can and should interview realtors to help you with buying or selling! I […]