Q: Gerald, I’m under contract to sell my home and it seems like I’ve been waiting forever for the buyer to finalize his mortgage. How much time should I give a buyer to get a mortgage? Claudio, Chicago, IL. A: That’s a great question, Claudio. As the saying goes, time is money–the longer you have to wait for your buyer, the more mortgage interest you have to pay on your own mortgage and the more you’ll be forced to pay in property taxes and other expenses associated with the property you are selling. For starters, you should vet any buyer you choose to sell to by making sure they provide a written mortgage pre-approval before you sign a contract. The […]
continue readingAvoid poorly designed homes–this is often referred to as functional obsolescence. Functional obsolescence reduces the desirability of your home and makes it more difficult to sell. Here are some examples that you should steer clear of: 1) No bathrooms on first floor 2) Bedrooms with no closest 3) Knob-and-tube wiring or fuses instead of a circuit breaker box 4) One outlet per room
continue readingWhen you overprice a home it takes more than three times as long to sell.
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