Real Estate Articles
News and Advice for Central Coast Home Buyers and Sellers
10 questions sellers hope you don't ask
Sellers often operate on a don't ask, don't tell system. Here are some common house queries they aren't going to volunteer to discuss.
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10 Steps You Should Take Before You Sell Your Home
Are you planning to sell your house? Be sure to take these important steps before you list the home with an agent or market it...
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10 Things You Should NOT Do Before Closing
Your new home is officially under contract and you're counting down the days to closing. So you're in the clear, right--the loan is a done...
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10 Things You Should NOT Do When You're Buying a Home
The house isn't yours until the papers are signed, the deed is recorded, and the keys are in your hands. Here are ten things that...
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20 tricks to selling your home
Make your house stand out from the others.
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7 steps to sabotage your home sale
Virtually every home can be sold, unless you really go out of your way to foul it up. Surprisingly, that's just what some people do.
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8 hints to help sell your home fast
Have to sell in a hurry? These tips will help you move your property quickly without sacrificing your profit.
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A Modular Home That's Out of this World
The International Space Station may be the most unique modular home in the universe. Additional modules are transported to the site periodically to give astronauts...
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A Step By Step Look at Tent Fumigation
Tent fumigation uses poison gas to kill insects and other pests. It's the ultimate pest control, and must only be attempted by the pros, but...
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A timeline for buying a new home
You have got plenty to do. We'll help you keep track of what and when you need to do it.
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A timeline for selling your home
You have plenty to do. We'll help you keep track of what and when you need to do it.
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Advertising, the Red Flags Agents Should Avoid
Sometimes real estate agents get too enthusiastic with ad descriptions, especially when we have a great house to describe--one we think will sell just as...
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Are Downpayment Gift Assistance Programs for Real?
I talk to lots of buyers who wonder if downpayment gift assistance programs are the real deal... or a scam. The good news is that...
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Are You Sure You're Pre-Approved for a Home Loan?
Do you know the differences between the terms pre-qualified, pre-approved and loan commitment? Learn how these designations can affect your offer to purchase and the...
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Before You Sign a Listing Agreement
If you are selling your home, and plan to list it with a real estate agency, what type of listing contract will you have? There...
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Beware lurking homeowner associations and covenants, conditions and restrictions
If the neighborhood looks too good to be true, it just may be. Learn what rules, regulations and restrictions will effect your life before you sign on the dotted line.
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Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payment Plans
Can a bi-weekly mortgage payment plan help you pay off your mortgage more quickly? Find out how a bi-weekly payment plan works and learn other...
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Buy or rent?
Sure, buying a house has advantages, but it's not for everyone. Take our quiz to see whether homeownership is for you.
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Buying a home without a down payment
A variety of programs make it possible to move in without cash up front.
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Buying a house long distance
Some steps to make it easier to find a new home in an unfamiliar community.
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Buying a house online
It can save you time, money and lots of shoe leather.
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Buying a new house vs. buying used
Each approach has both pros and cons.
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Buying Flood Insurance
Flood insurance isn't one of the items you can run out and purchase just before a storm hits--you must arrange for coverage in advance. Use...
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Buying historic property takes patience, cash
You had better inspect before you purchase or restore, say the experts.
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Charities exploit down-payment loophole
Nonprofit groups help home buyers obtain down payments with taxpayer backing.
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Checklist for maintaining a closed-up house
Make sure your home looks and smells good when buyers arrive.
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Clean Up Your Credit Report Before You Shop For Homes
You just discovered errors on your credit report, or even worse, accurate references to late payments or other debt-related issues. Take a few deep breaths...
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Cleaning Up Your Credit Report
You just discovered errors on your credit report, or even worse, accurate references to late payments. Take a few deep breaths and try to stay...
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Common For Sale by Owner Mistakes and Misconceptions
Sellers, are you going the for sale by owner route? You'll have lots to contend with during the real estate transaction, but you can help...
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Common Home Buying Myths
You're calling the agent whose name is printed on the For Sale sign because you've heard the listing agent can "get you the best deal...
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Common Myths About Working with Real Estate Agents
You'll have a better home buying experience--AND maybe even save some money--if you learn how to work effectively with real estate agents. Get off to...
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Constructing a Healthy House
Ideas about the design and construction of homes that have a minimal impact on the environment and your good health. Details about indoor air quality...
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Coping with Home Buyer's Remorse
Are you suddenly feeling queasy about the house you just agreed to purchase? You might have a case of buyer's remorse, a condition that sometimes...
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Don't Forget Your Final Walk-Through!
The final walk-through is the last chance you'll have to inspect your new house prior to closing. Find out when you should do the walk-through...
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Don't Get Caught Up In Loan Fraud
Has someone involved with your mortgage asked you to do something that you feel uneasy about? It could be nothing--or it could be loan fraud...
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Escrow Procedures Around the United States
Where I live, title searches are performed by attorneys. Attorneys also act as closing agents for our real estate transactions--but that isn't the closing scenario...
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Evaluating an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
Some ARMs are gaining popularity again now that mortgage rates are climbing upwards a bit. Get the FAQ about Adjustable Rate Mortgages before you shop...
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Exploring Home Designs: Topsiders
Topsider Homes' post and beam construction offers design flexibility, and their pedestal foundation allows you to build a Topsider in nearly any location. Take a...
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Find a Home - Search Public MLS Web Sites
Home buyers have more Internet search tools than ever. Every day more Multiple Listing Services (MLS) go online, allowing us to search for listings without...
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Get the Facts About Manufactured Homes
They're not called mobile homes or trailers anymore--and they sometimes look a lot different than the homes those terms bring to mind. This information helps...
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Get top dollar for your home with a good appraisal
The right residential or certified appraiser can get you a better return on your home. We can help you sort through the choices.
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Get Up Close and Personal with Your Credit Report
It's a good idea to get familiar with your credit report and credit score before you even think of shopping for a new home. Here's...
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Getting Your House Ready to Sell
Stand back and take a critical look at your house--buyers will. They don't have fond memories of the home.. buyers react purely by what they...
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Giving your home curb appeal
First impressions count, especially when it comes to selling your house.
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Home Buyer Downpayment Gift Assistance Programs
Downpayment gift assistance programs help home buyers close on a home by providing funds for downpayment and closing costs. Find out how they work and...
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Home Buyers Have Duties, Too
A successful real estate transaction requires cooperation from everyone associated with the sale--and that includes home buyers. There are things you can and should do...
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Home Buying & Selling from A to Z
Use this new (and growing) sitemap to find the home buying or selling topics that you're most interested in. It's an easy navigational aid that...
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Home Buying Contract Contingencies
Contingencies are an essential part of most home buying contracts. These written clauses give you time to evaluate the fine points of the purchase before...
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Home inspection: The hidden horrors
A general inspection may not be enough to catch problems with fences, pools, or chimneys. For those you may need a specialist.
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Home Seller's Homework
The home selling process differs from state to state, and even when laws are similar, the procedures and local customs sometimes are not. But many...
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How are home prices in your neighborhood?
How home prices have changed in major metropolitian areas across the nation over the past quarter.
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How Important is a Home Inspection?
Funds are tight for your upcoming closing so you've decided to forget the home inspection-or you plan to ask a friend who's savvy about the...
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How Real Estate Commissions Are Shared
People who aren't familiar with the real estate profession often assume that the entire commission goes to one agent. Not so. Find out how agents...
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How To Avoid Foreclosure
Your situation may seem hopeless, but there are things you can do to avoid foreclosure. Don't put it off; learn what steps you must take...
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How To Buy a Home with Good Resale Potential
Most of us won't live in the same house for the rest of our lives, so it makes sense to at least try to buy...
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How to Buy a House, Home Buying eCourse
Are you overwhelmed with the knowledge you need to have a successful real estate closing? Would you rather learn about the home buying process a...
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How To Get Rid of Your PMI
Are you tired of paying for private mortgage insurance every month? There are ways to eliminate your PMI, but the method you must use depends...
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How To Improve Your Credit Score
Most increases to your credit scores take place over time and require an ongoing effort from you, but you cannot devise a plan to increase...
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How To Make an Offer on a Home
You'll be more confident if you know a home's market value before you start negotiating the price--so dig in, start crunching the numbers, and add...
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How To Prepare Sellers for Home Showings
Real estate agents should always take time to prepare their sellers for the realities of showing a home. When home sellers understand that well planned...
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How to Work with Real Estate Agents
You can be an agent's client or you can be an agent's customer. Which do you think requires more loyalty on the part of the...
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How You Can Help Your Agent
Throughout the US there are rules in place that dictate what real estate agents should and shouldn't do and say and whether they represent buyers...
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How's Your Curb Appeal?
You might only have one chance to WOW! potential buyers. Improving your property's curb appeal is a first step, and it's one of the most...
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I Need Your Input: Progressing From Contract to Closing
One popular topic in the Home Buying and Selling Forum deals with the progression from real estate contract to actual closing. You don't have to...
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Inside scoop on condos and co-ops
Got your eye on a sharp apartment? The form of ownership can make a big difference in your life when choosing between condos and co-ops.
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Inspect your neighborhood, not just your house
Before you buy, make sure that lot across the street isn't slated to become a landfill. Here's how to check on your prospective community before you move in.
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Learn How to Measure a Home's Square Footage
Have you ever wondered how real estate agents determine the square footage measurements for their listings? They use standard guidelines in order to avoid lawsuits...
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Lease-options offer an alternative
Lease-now, buy-later plan has advantages for both buyers and sellers.
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Making An Offer On a Home
You'll be more confident if you know a home's market value before you start negotiating the price--so dig in, start crunching the numbers, and add...
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Making An Offer On a Home
Even seasoned home buyers can feel a bit queasy when it's time to make a formal offer on a home. You'll be more confident if...
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Making Sense of the Settlement Statement
The HUD-1 is a form used by the settlement agent (or closing agent) to itemize all charges imposed on the buyer and seller in a...
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Making the Trip from Contract to Closing
Finding a house and making a successful offer on it are just the beginning--after that you have to actually get the transaction to the closing...
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Modular & Manufactured Homes
Modular homes.. manufactured homes.. many people use the terms interchangeably, but they're two very different types of houses. Site Built, Manufactured & Modular Homes explains...
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Mortgage vs. Deed of Trust
Most of us are accustomed to calling our home loan a mortgage, but that isn't an accurate definition of the term. A mortgage is not...
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New e-mail Course - Shaping Up Your Credit Reports
Here's a step-by-step course that helps you decipher your credit reports and credit scores. Find out why FICO scores are so important for home buyers...
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On the Lookout for Toxic Molds
Molds are a hot topic in the home buying community, especially Stachybotrys chartarum, sometimes called toxic black mold. Find out what steps you should take...
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Outfitting a Home Disaster Kit
Hurricane Isabel was one of Mother Nature's regular wake-up calls, an event that should have reminded us that nearly every community in the world is...
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Pre-Qualification, Pre-Approval, Loan Commitment
Sometimes even real estate agents are confused by those terms, so it's no wonder that home buyers and sellers are, too. Although related, the three...
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President Bush Signs American Dream Downpayment Act
The American Dream Downpayment Act will provide downpayment assitance to first time home buyers throughout the United States. Find out if you qualify for the...
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Pros & Cons of Buyer Possession Before Closing
During a real estate transaction, sellers are sometimes asked to agree to grant the buyers possession of the home before closing. Sometimes it benefits both...
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Protecting Your Home from Wildfires
There are nearly always houses that survive when a wildfire rages through a neighborhood. The reasons? Pure luck plays a part, but early planning and...
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Real Estate Agency Disclosure Laws
Most states in the US require real estate agents to disclose whom they work for, home buyers or home sellers or both. Some disclosures can...
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Residential Real Estate Appraisal Methods
Your personal approval is usually accomplished early in the loan process, but final loan commitment hinges on a satisfactory appraisal of the property you are...
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Restrictive Covenants - An Important Consideration for Home Buyers
Restrictive covenants are a good thing. They give a development a more standard appearance and control some of the activities that take place within its...
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Sales Techniques for Real Estate Pros
Successful real estate agents know that asking the right quetions is an important part of working with home buyers. Use these tips to learn how...
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Searching For House Plans?
The house plans library can help. Search for country and farm homes, Craftsman plans and cottages, or you might prefer historic home plans. That's not...
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Sellers--Get Ready for the Home Inspection
You can eliminate a big chunk of your home selling headaches by making sure your house is ready for the buyer's inspection. Learn which hot-spots...
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Selling a house long distance
It's tough, so finding a good real estate agent should be tops on your list.
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Set your mind at ease with a home warranty
Home warranties cost a little more, but they can protect a home buyer from unwelcome surprises -- and help a home seller move the property.
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Shape Up Your Credit, One Step at a Time
A step-by-step email course that helps you decipher your credit reports and credit scores. Find out why FICO scores are so important for home buyers...
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Should You Buy Points?
The term 'points' is one you'll hear repeatedly when you're shopping for a home loan. Don't make a decision about buying points until you understand...
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Should you remodel or move?
You can fix it up or you can buy a new house. Some things to think about before you decide.
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Special deals for first-time home buyers
Before you arrange financing for a new home, check with your state's housing agency. You could save a bundle.
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Taking Your Final Walk-Through
Have you scheduled a final walk-through of your new home? Although it's not the time for a full home inspection, the final walk-through is an...
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Tax breaks for homeowners
There are lots of tax reasons to own a home. Here's how to make the most of them and avoid the pitfalls.
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Telling a house's secrets upfront
Now when a house goes on the market, it's "seller beware" as property disclosure forms require sellers to reveal intimate details about their homes.
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The Scoop on Factory Built Homes
Manufactured housing.. modular homes.. log homes.. This document helps you locate details about many types of homes that start out in a factory...
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Top five home-buying mistakes
Buyer beware! Watch out for these common mistakes that can cost home buyers money and peace of mind.
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Top Reasons Why Good Houses Don't Sell (and how they can help savvy buyers)
There are lots of reasons why houses don't sell quickly. Many are overpriced, so they sit on the market while others around them change owners--but...
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Top Tips for First Time Home Buyers
The process of buying a home can be stressful, especially for first time home buyers. So what gets you through it? Knowledge. It's the best...
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Using Online Mortgage Calculators
The Internet has opened up the world of real estate for home buyers and sellers worldwide, providing us with tools to help us understand the...
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What Are Your Plans for the Property?
When you're buying a home, it's important to understand the restrictive covenants and other deed restrictions that are in place for the real estate you...
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What Stays, What Goes?
Just because you think an item is a permanent fixture does not mean the seller agrees. Take important steps to make sure there are no...
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What's a Material Fact?
The real estate laws in your state probably require sellers to disclose any known problems with the house they are selling. Learn what is and...
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What's hot in housing
And, just as importantly, what is definitely not so hot.
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What's the Difference Between a Mortgage Broker and Bank Loan Officer?
If you're buying a home, chances are you'll need a new mortgage. Sometimes home buyers are confused about the differences between mortgage brokers and bank...
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When the Appraisal Comes In Low
It's the call we all dread. The lender notifies you that your appraisal came in for less than the home's sales price. Closing is not...
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When's the best time to buy? To sell?
There's a distinct home buying season. Whether you're a buyer or a seller, knowing what the season is can help you plot your strategy.
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Why homes don't sell
If you do any of these six things, it's a safe bet your house will stay on the market for a while.
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Winterizing Your Home
I love the fall, but I'm not a big fan of winter--it makes me shiver when I realize that it won't be long before cold...
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Women become a force in home buying
Women are finding their places in homes, all right, and in record numbers.
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Working With a For Sale By Owner Seller
Rules regarding deposit money and property disclosures are two of the topics you should consider anytime, especially when you are working with a for sale...
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Working With Real Estate Agents
It's critical that home buyers understand agent loyalties before they even think about giving personal information to a real estate agent. This collection of articles...
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You Can Buy a House - Step 1, Your Wants and Needs
Buying a house isn't as difficult as you might think, even if you're short on funds. But you should approach the home buying process one...
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You Can Buy a House - Step 2, Browse Your Local Real Estate Market
You may already know exactly where you want to live, but browsing the real estate market should be an important part of any home buyer's...
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You Can Buy a House - Step 3, Find a Lender and Get Pre-Approved
Finding a home loan is one of the most important tasks you must handle when you are buying a home. Here's some advice to help...
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You Can Buy a House - Step 4, Find an Agent
You've studied the market and you've been pre-approved by your lender. Now it's time to find a real estate agent who can show you houses...
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You're Just 11 Steps Away from Buying a Home
You'll feel more confident about your home buying journey when you understand what is required of you and every other person who is involved in...
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