Q: My realtor wants me to stage the home I just rehabbed. Which areas inside the home should be staged? Selvin, Bladensburg, MD A: I often stage the houses I rehab and sell to retail buyers. The reason to stage a house is to make it look livable to potential buyers so they can picture themselves living there. Sometimes buyers will buy a house just because it was staged well. Staging normally allows you to sell a home faster, which is particularly important to investors who lose money every additional day a property sits on the market unsold. Staging is an art, so I don’t do it myself, I bring in someone else with experience to do it. It costs […]
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The national median existing single-family home price increased 4.8% annually in the third quarter.
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Avoid working with real estate attorneys that are not responsive. If they’re not available to assist you, they’re not going to do much good for you regardless of their level of competence or experience.
continue reading When you evaluate a local realtor, examine the average number of days on market (DOM) it took them to sell the last 10 listings they had-low DOMs indicates a realtor is good at accurately pricing properties to sell.
continue reading Q: Gerald, I’ve been looking for motivated property sellers. How can I tell if a seller is serious or not? Chloe, Madison, Wisconsin A: You are smart to target motivated sellers when prospecting for real estate deals. There are many homeowners who may place their property for sale just to test the market. The more motivated a seller is the more potential room there is as a buyer to negotiate. Determining the motivation level of a seller requires building rapport with the seller and inquiring about their specific personal situation. There is a big difference between a homeowner saying “I just want to see what I can get for my house” versus “I just got a new job halfway across […]
continue reading A federal judge ruled that Zillow “Zestimates” are just estimates, dismissing an Illinois lawsuit by homeowners who sued Zillow Group over its controversial home valuation algorithm – a tool which they alleged had undervalued their homes and made them harder to sell.
continue reading Neighborhood social network Nextdoor launched a real estate listing service that now competes with Zillow, Trulia, realtor.com, Redfin, and other online real estate listing sites.
continue reading Q: Gerald, we’ve been trying to sell our home for over a year. Our agent has been telling us to lower our price, but the market here is really hot and I don’t want to give it away. Our house is nicer than the other houses in our neighborhood, our backyard is bigger, our basement is finished and we have a beautiful custom deck. What is our real estate agent doing wrong? Kendrick, Upper Marlboro, MD A: I’m not sure whether your Realtor is any good or not, but the bigger issue is that even in a hot real estate market, buyers are always going to look for the best value they can find. I’m sure you are understandably proud […]
continue reading Q: My buyer had some complications with his mortgage so it has taken longer than expected to close on a property I’m selling. Should I just wait until January to close for tax reasons? Nicole, Bridgeport, Ct. A: Hi Nicole, that’s a good question. I don’t know whether you are selling your personal residence or another property that you own–if you’re selling your personal residence, you’re eligible for a $250,000 exclusion on the gain when you sell as an individual or a $500,000 exclusion on the gain when you sell if you’re married and file your taxes jointly with your spouse. In answering your question, I’ll assume you are selling an investment property not your personal residence. If you close […]
continue readingBuy property that is consistent with other property in the neighborhood. It’s smarter to buy the cheapest rather than the most expensive house in an acceptable neighborhood-this increases the odds that your property value will increase and often makes it easier for you to sell.
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