Realty Check

Tips for Finding the Perfect Neighborhood The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle—safety, available amenities, and convenience all play their part. 1.    Make a list of the activities—movies, health club, church—you engage in regularly and stores you visit frequently. See how far you would have to travel from each neighborhood [...]

1.    Be picky, but don’t be unrealistic. There is no perfect home. (Every home has it’s buyer) 2.    Do your homework before you start looking. Decide specifically what features you want in a home and which are most important to you. (Consider the kids input as well.) //

1.    How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? (While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate, like many other professions, is mostly learned on the job.) 2.    What designations do you hold? (Designations, such as e-PRO and CIPS which require that real estate professionals take additional, [...]

Increase your chances of getting your dream house instead of losing it to another buyer, with these easy steps. 1.    Get prequalified for a mortgage.  You’ll be able to make a firm commitment to buy and make your offer more desirable to the seller.  This is what home owners love to hear. 2.    Stay in [...]

1. First, make sure your children know that they can ask you any question and you’ll give them an honest answer. Most kids want to know about their new school, neighborhood, sport teams and city. But they may also have questions you hadn’t thought of, such as, “how hard is it to make friends?”; “Are [...]

Selling your home can be a nerve racking, exhausting experience.  Last minute calls, inconvenient showings, price adjustments, and the uncertainties of being stuck with a house that doesn’t sell for months on end can all take their toll.  If you are not completely prepared you could end up losing thousands of dollars in profit! The [...]

•    Garage – Keep the garage doors closed during showings.  Make sure that all items are neatly placed and look organized.  Stow away items as best as possible.  Again this will show that you take care of you home.  Check the floor and remove grease spots.  Sweep the floor thoroughly and remove cobwebs from walls [...]

1.    Be Available – Your house should always be available for showings, even though sometimes it may be inconvenient for you. 2.    Leave the House – Prospective buyer will feel like intruders when you are at home when they visit and will have a hard time visualizing themselves in it. 3.    Lighting – Turn on [...]

A short guide for the Internet consumer When you’re on the Internet, you don’t have time to waste on endless searches for useful real estate information.  You want to get things done quickly and without hassle.  So chances are you’d like a real estate agent who •    Answers e-mail promptly and professionally. •    Respects your [...]

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. Open Listing The “open listing” is mostly used by people trying to sell their home by themselves but who are also [...]