Posts in category 'Financing And Mortgages'

Last week we touched on some of the challenges of selling a home during the winter months. It is important to be wary of too much holiday cheer. It is always a good idea to ensure everything works and all lights are on. And it is also always a good plan to ensure that the walkway to the front door is free of snow, leaves and other debris that can cause a trip or at very least, a chagrin.

But what about the other side of the coin? What about buyers who are interested in home shopping during this time of year? There are certain considerations (and benefits) to being a buyer in the colder months. Let's explore a few of those today and maybe even prompt you to get in the game!

First and foremost it will be very obvious to

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You survived round 1! You made it through Thanksgiving and you are still alive and kicking! Perhaps at this point you are simply thankful that all of your relatives have finally gone home. This year it was just my girlfriend, her mom and I for a yummy turkey dinner. It was great, simple and we were on the couch by 7PM. For Christmas this year, we will have an additional 5 guests in the house: Mom, dad, Tyler (brother), Mel (his wife) and Lily (lovable greyhound). We are excited for them to be here and I haven't seen Lily since July! (Oh, and it will be good to visit with the humans as well!)

One thing that we all do, regardless of our guests imploring us not to "make a fuss" is clean the house before they get here. As I was reviewing my task list of cleaning it occurred to me that there are hot spots throug...

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I need more coffee, so I could only come up with the word "snappy" for my title this morning. The gist of our topic today is encouraging impatient sellers whose home is still lingering on the market. Coming from someone who sold his home in early March, I can tell you it is not easy sitting on one's hands waiting for that "right" buyers to come along. Today I want to explore a few strategies that might actually help you move that thing before the flowers start to bloom again.

Any of you who have been reading along over the past few years, as well as those of you who have some experience (or a well-educated friend) in real estate, are going to be very familiar with the first tip. It is as simple as doing your homework and knowing your market. A friend of mine is an agent in the Denver area and he...

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While living in a tiny cabin (~300 sq. feet) over in Lincoln, my bathroom was literally in between the living room and bedroom. Needless to say, privacy was not on the menu when I had visitors. Convenient escapes out to the kitchen (or my truck) offered a little more of a buffer and made the space tolerable. For the price I was paying, it was worth the hassle. Today, I have 4 bathrooms to clean and I'm (sort of) lamenting those simpler times.

While a bathroom is not the most prominent room in your North Conway NH home, there's no reason it can't stand out (in a good way!). We've all had small, large, cramped and expansive bathrooms in our lives. Today I'd like to explore a...

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There is a lot of discussion about the current state of housing affordability for both first-time and move-up buyers, and much of the narrative is tarnished with a negative slant. However, the truth is that housing affordability is better today than at almost any time in our history.

The naysayers are correct in the fact that affordability today is not as good as it has been over the last several years. But, we must remember that home prices collapsed during the housing crash, and distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) kept home values depressed for years. When we compare affordability to the decades that proceeded the crash, a different story is revealed.

Here is a graph of the National Association of Realtors™ Housing Affordability Index. The higher the graph, the more affordable ho...

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