Home Buying Tips

• Over Improving May Hurt Resale
  Resale value is very important if you plan to refinance or sell soon. Many factors affect it, including economic and housing market conditions, quality of the house, and desirability of the neighborhood. One measure of a home's resale value is the length of time it spent on the market before you bought it. To improve resale value, consider improvements such as landscaping or an updated kitchen. But be careful not to over-improve for the neighborhood. You may scare off buyers and you aren't likely to recoup much of your improvement costs. Continue article...
• What is the disadvantage of an older home?
  Maintenance will be higher on an older house if major components such as the plumbing, heating and electrical systems, roof, major appliances or drainage system need repair or replacement. Before you purchase the home, find out the age of the major systems. Have they been updated or are they original? Ask the sellers to provide a list of repairs and modifications they have made to these systems, including the date the repairs were made. Also, find out how much it costs to heat the house and if it is insulated. Another consideration is that most older homes often do not meet modern building code requirements. Older houses can be updated or retrofitted to conform to current code—but the price can be steep. Also, older houses may contain materials that are hazardous, such as asbestos or lead. Continue article...
• Real estate not always secured with highest bid
  Most sellers would be delighted to receive multiple offers. However, figuring out which offer to accept is not always as simple as you might think. Continue article...
• Try selling home without agent
  About 85 percent of home sellers use real estate agents to list and sell their houses. Continue article...
• Traps all home buyers should avoid
  At the beginning of a new year, it's natural to make resolutions. For instance, you may have been putting off buying a home. Now you've resolved to buy before interest rates rise and you're priced out of the market. Before forging ahead, consider the following tips and traps. Continue article...
• Home seller credit could save real estate deal
  No one likes to give money away, but a monetary credit from the seller to the buyer can solve a problem that might otherwise derail a home-sale transaction. Here's a typical scenario where a seller credit could save the deal. Continue article...