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10 Tips For First-Time Sellers
At first the task seems daunting: You haven't sold a home before, the market looks complex, and what worked for owners 10 or 20 years ago seems inappropriate today.
What steps should you take? Here's a baseline list to get you started.
You Can Do It. Some 6.6 million existing homes were sold in 2004, more than 18,000 a day. Other owners have done it and so can you.
Define Your Goal. Do you want the highest sales price -- or the biggest check at closing? They're not necessarily the same. Imagine that two homes sell for $300,000, but one owner pays 2
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points and agrees to replace the roof. The owner who sold without such costs got a bigger check at settlement. The bottom line: To have a successful sale you need to look at both price and terms -- you
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Is Your Home A
Financial Asset?
Now a net worth of $1 million is hardly unique. The new "Ninth Annual World Wealth Report" by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini shows that just in North America we now have millions of millionaires -- 2.4 million of them. This gilded upper crust has assets worth $9.3 trillion, an astonishing figure considering that it does not include "collectibles, consumables, consumer durables and real estate used for primary residences."
Huh?
The idea that a home is not a financial asset is curious. Do not a lot of people use home equity to raise capital for businesses, college educations and other purposes?
If you sell a home for $1,000,000 and move into a property that costs $600,000 do you not have $400,000 in your pocket? And given our current federal tax rules, is it not probable that the entire profit is tax-free?
Can you buy stock with nothing down? Ten percent down? If you own
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Insider Information For
Condo, Townhome Buyers
Buying a condo or town home is a lot like buying a share in a closely held, publicly-traded, non-profit real estate holding corporation -- run by volunteers.
You don't just buy a home, you also enter a partnership and, in any business, surprises can cost you.
That's why you need the Community Association Institute's (CAI) "Community Matters -- What You Should Know Before You Buy," a brochure that provides some insight on the lifestyle.
"Most people are very satisfied living in community associations, but issues can and do arise. The more you know, the more likely you'll enjoy your new home and community" says Tom Skiba, CAI's chief executive officer.
Condos and town homes, often a given market's more affordable owner-occupied housing choice, are home to more than 54 million Americans and an estimated 274,000 homeowner and condominium associations, cooperatives and other planned communities.
Condominiums, town homes and even some newer higher-density, single-family home communities are developed along the lines of a common interest -- you own everything in your unit, at least everything on your side of the walls. You
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New Trends In
Kitchen and Bath
The recent 2005 National Kitchen and Bath Show, held last May at the Las Vegas Convention Center, showcased new products and trends to a sold-out exhibition hall.
This event gives professionals, and those interested in the industry, the chance to meet, greet, show, and discuss what is new and exciting in their fields. A press release from the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show and Conference noted that this event allows "dealers, designers, distributors, manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and home centers [to] participate in round table discussions, network with industry leaders, and enroll in professional development courses."
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.
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