Jim's Blog

When purchasing a home using the latest version of the mlsni contract make sure you find out the cost of your home insurance within the first ten days.  Your insurance company can do a clue report to find out how many claims have been issued and how that might affect your rate.

Before putting your home on the market be sure to find out if you have any pre-payment penalties for paying your loan off early.  Occasionally these can be thousands of dollars and it's better to know about them up front.  Also, the loan payoff amount is often higher than the balance shown on you...

Know the importance of building a good real estate team.  It's vital you find a Realtor you feel comfortable with, but it shouldn't stop there.  Other important members of your home buying team should include a certified home inspector, a lawyer specializing in real estate, and a mortgage profess...

Don't rent a lifestyle!  The average net worth of a renter is $5,000 while the average net worth of a homeowner is $172,000!  Rents may be low right now, but that will change.  Historically rents increase an average of 5% a year, while a fixed mortgage remains constant over the years.  When purch...

In a down market, referrals are the key to success.  Nearly every day a past or current client looks to me as a resource for people to do business with.  No one wants to flip through the Yellow Pages and hope to find good service, most people want the security of being referred by someone else.  ...