my old blog

In spite of your best efforts, you may rub some people the wrong way.   Even if you do your best to treat others with consideration, they may have a different interpretation of what being considerate entails and end up angry.  Or they may be upset for a multitude of reasons and you just showed up...

Change is inevitable, but most of us resist it. Change can be inconvenient.  It may take time to reposition your life to accommodate the change and you may have to notify lots of people about it, such as change of address, name, or office. Change can bring hardships, especially when it's out of y...

I've run into several sellers this year who really want to move, but their house isn't worth what it used to be and they'll lose money if they sell. They're not upside down and can afford to take the loss, but they can't bring themselves to accept the fact that they've lost the equity that they h...

Could it be that the price is too high?  Regardless of its condition and location, if it were priced at $1, would there be plenty of buyers for it? As they say, "price fixes everything". But every seller wants to get top dollar. And, not surprisingly, every buyer wants to get a great value, so se...

I was searching MLS (in Tallahassee, FL) today and found two active listings in a nice neighborhood that were both priced at $259,000, yet one of them was 1550 SQF and the other was 2300 SQF.  It didn't make sense. The last sale in this subdivision was one year ago for a 2200 SQF house that sold ...

  This strategy involves calculating all the seller's expenses and then basing the price on that, to ensure that the seller makes a profit, or at the very least, breaks even.  This method of pricing is often used by un-informed sellers when there is little or no equity in the home and the seller...

I heard someone say recently that they were entitled to speak their mind because "that's what America is all about".  This person was describing an ugly closing where both agents were shouting at each other and disparaging one another's competence.  You would think that someone who had earned a P...

The more knowledgeable and better prepared the seller, the easier it will be to negotiate and resolve issues when an offer is presented.  Selling a home can be stressful, especially in a declining market when home values are falling and sales are slow. Understanding the process and discussing typ...

When you buy something expensive, like a house, you're usually both excited and nervous. For many people, once they've signed their name on the dotted line, some level of anxiety sets in, otherwise known as buyer's remorse. You might have a case of buyer's remorse if ... You wonder if you selecte...

Inspectors serve a useful purpose - to identify issues with major systems in a house and inform buyers of items requiring repair immediately or in the near future. It's a good way for buyers to determine whether a house is structurally sound and how much maintenance goes with it. If there's a lot...