So you’re single and ready to make the homeownership commitment. Well you’re not alone. According to the National Association of Realtors, 36 percent of recent home buyers were unmarried. With home prices and interest rates as low as they are, right now is a perfect time to buy instead of renting an apartment and paying someone else’s mortgage. And when it comes to buying your first home, the first rule is something that I learned over the years, and that is that mamma is always right! Although the opinion of your friends and co-workers can help, many of them probably …

With recent changes to the real estate market, a seller never want a transaction to fall through once their property has gone under contract. Don’t make a mistake or a hard-headed decision that diverts you from the path you’re on, which is to make it past the closing table to the sale of your house. The biggest mistake I see a seller make is agreeing to make a repair brought up by a buyer only to not complete it. If you agree to make a repair, make sure it is completed in a timely manner. The buyer WILL come back …

The rental market these days is hot, hot, hot! A recent study showed that renters will spend up to 45 percent of their monthly income on housing. With the real estate market still in recovery mode and younger people leaving the nest earlier than in recent decades, rental properties can be lucrative. So what will set your rental property apart from the rest? When someone is looking to rent, they will look at numerous properties. What will make them choose yours after they slim the list down? Location is not always the key, with a potential tenant choosing amenities over …

  So you’re sitting on the sofa watching one of those home improvement show and thinking to yourself, “This is easy! I can do that”! But what you don’t see are all the mistakes and outtakes, and the enormous amount of time and effort that ends up on the cutting room floor. Don’t let a 30-minute television show convince you that it’s easy to whip a fixer-upper into line. Before you ask your realtor to begin the search for a “project property” as we call it in the profession, you need to ask yourself a couple of important questions. No. …

You have scrimped and saved for years and now you have money in the bank for a down payment on a property. But before you rush into the market, consider this. What many homebuyers don’t take into account are the extra expenses that lurking in the closing costs. Closing costs can equal 3 percent of your purchase price in many cases, and sometimes even more depending on the price range. There are many costs that can fluctuate daily, from government charges like transfer stamps to attorney or title company fees. Closing costs cannot be avoided and everyone will have their …

The real estate market is starting to pick up again and folks are starting to think about possibly buying or selling. If you fit that profile, now is the perfect time to start doing some due diligence. In other words, find out what it’s going to cost you. There are many different factors that can affect your bottom line. Closing costs can include broker, appraisal, processing, attorney and title fees and your down payment percentage just to name a few. Along with that, let’s not forget good old Uncle Sam! Property transfers can include state, county and local transfer stamps. …

For many folks, straightening out there house means stuffing items that are out into a closet, deterring the actually cleaning. Face it, as a child when our parents asked us to clean your room, we would stuff everything into your toy box. That was the easiest and simplest way! In the end, the toy box would explode and the toys would be everywhere again and we would have to spend more time cleaning our rooms again. Long story short, let’s get our home right from the beginning prior to listing! The sale of a home is a major financial milestone, …

So you want to prepare your home for the spring market, but don’t have the funds to complete major projects like installing new kitchen cabinets or remodeling basement? The most inexpensive options always begin with paint. Check out the paint department of your local hardware store. Many will sell a returned pre-mixed can of paint at a steep discount. Find a neutral color and spruce up your walls quickly and inexpensively. And to boost your curb appeal, don’t forget to splash a fresh coat on your exterior doors. And why not apply some wallpaper to your bathroom or entryway? It’s …

Many real estate transactions fall apart for one simple reason: miscommunication. A lot of times, folks in the real estate industry speak to their clients in a language they don’t understand, using terminology that goes right over their head. Here are a few terms you should know when dealing with real estate. The first one is the MLS. The MLS or Multiple Listing Services is a magical place where anyone looking for a property may search. The MLS is an online database used by a majority of Realtors and brokerage firms to make a property available to the general public. …

A relationship between a tenant and landlord can be difficult. The truth of the matter, though, is that it can work better if tenants are educated properly upfront, even if it regards tiny details. Our first issue sounds simple and easy, but you would not believe how many people fail to do this. Read your lease prior to signing it. It may seem long and riddled with legal jargon. But within those pages a tenant will learn their responsibilities versus those of the landlord. And be sure to write down any questions and raise those issues with the landlord prior …