 |
Torn Between Two Houses?
What to Consider When
Making a Decision
As you find yourself heavily immersed in the house-hunting mode, you may encounter a situation in which you're torn between two houses. Perhaps you and your spouse each have a favorite, or perhaps you both like two houses equally - or think you do.
Making a final decision and determining which house to make an offer on shouldn't be taken lightly. The decision should be made rationally and not guided by emotion.
Of course, you may not have the luxury of taking your time on deciding
|
|
|
|
which house you'd like to pursue. You may be in a market in which homes in your
price range get snatched up as quickly as they go on the market, perhaps even attracting multiple offers.
|
|
|
|
Avoiding 7 Costly Mistakes of Selling Your Home
There are inappropriate steps sellers can walk down when it comes time to put their house on the market.
For instance, the seller in Virginia, who thought the half bath the builder had located at the front of the house would really be better situated toward the back of the main level (though all the other similar models had the powder room in the same place for the previous 20 years). He got hung up on this detail so much, that he just had to move it -- and did -- for thousands of dollars, just so he could get it on the market the "right way." His hang-up may have settled some deep-seated emotional need for him, but it didn't draw any more buyers, and it drained his bottom line. You might say, that was a costly mistake.
Real estate broker and author Sid Davis has identified in his book "A Survival Guide to Selling a Home," another seven costly mistakes that many sellers make when it comes time to put their home on the market. In my business, I've seen each one of these
|
|
|
|
The Housing Boom
Is Far From Over
Housing is going strong at least through the end of the decade, predicts David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, and his infectious enthusiasm is as strong as his theory.
He believes it so strongly he wrote a book about it.
While promoting his new book Are You Missing The Real Estate Boom?: Why Home Values And Other Real Estate Investments Will Climb Through The End Of The Decade - And How To Profit From Them, Doubleday, on a recent nationwide tour, Lereah is aware of the real estate bubble theorists who predict that what comes up must eventually come down.
Real estate has been on a bull run the last five years, particularly when interest rates hit a 40-year low several times. Relaxed credit terms allowed more people to buy. Baby boomers reached their economic success point, enabling them to drive second home purchases to new levels. These are a few reasons real estate homeownership has reached the 68 percentile, an all-time record.
But nothing lasts. New home sales tumbled 9.2 percent in a colder-than-normal January, says the National Association of Home Builders. U.S. home prices increased 11 percent last year, says the Office of Federal Housing
|
|
|
|
|
Consumers Clamoring For Kitchen Upgrades
An increasing number of consumers are opting for kitchen upgrades -- whether it's at the time they're buying a new house or down the road, when they replace the original products. And the new appliances, sinks, faucets, and countertops are getting fancier and more functional than ever.
Following suit, the National Kitchen and Bath Association, in its consumer trend research, found that more new homes are coming equipped with appliances.
Indeed, in 2004, 57 percent of all new homes were sold with a refrigerator included, totaling some 1 million. Five years ago just 51 percent of new homes came with a refrigerator.
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate market today, find current interest rates, or browse the extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
|
More Articles
|
|
|
