When showing homes to buyers, one of the most dreaded questions in the industry often arises, “where’s the property line?” What seems like a relatively straight forward question, often gets a less than a straight forward answer. When looking at a new subdivision, that has recently been surveyed, finding the survey pins in the four … More Where’s my property line?
Whenever I list a property, I ask the homeowner to go to two places they generally don’t want to go: The crawl space and the attic. In the attic, sellers are looking for several things including missing or moved insulation, a leaky roof, disconnected ventilation tubes and possibly mold. If these conditions exist, they need … More Crawlspace and Attic Woes
What is a contingent offer? Your home is on the market and an agent brings you a “contingent offer”… In general, that means the prospective buyer needs to sell their home before they can purchase yours. OR…you’d like to buy a home and need to sell yours first and to free up equity to buy … More Don’t Fear the Contingent Offer!
The truth is there is no standard commission. In fact, there was a large “east coast lawyer” lawsuit regarding this issue. The big loser from the law suit was the National Association of Realtors and its members. I’d like to say that the big winner was the consumer, but I’m not sure that’s exactly accurate. … More What is the “standard commission” to pay when selling your home?
Historically, the very best time to put your home on the market has been late spring, through the summer, and up until school starts. That was the rule of thumb up until the Covid crisis. During and after the pandemic, those rules went out the window. Similarly, listing a home in the period of time … More When is the best time to put my home on the market?
If you are buying a residence that is more than a few years old and that is connected to a sewer line, a sewer scope is a must have add on to a home inspection. Plain and simple. The scoping itself can be done by a licensed home inspector while they are looking at the … More Sewer Scope Wisdom
In Thurston County there are several new subdivisions under construction. Builders involved vary from the cookie-cutter builders like DR Horton to the more boutique builders like Rob Rice Homes. These homes are hard to pass up, due to the modern features, open floor plans and safety features, like sophisticated overhead fire suppression sprinklers. Many of … More Buying new construction vs. an existing home
Why get a home inspection? Why not just buy it “as is” knowing that almost any problem can be fixed down the road? It depends on many factors including market conditions. In the crazy market a few years ago – when every home on the market had multiple offers, buyers were waiving inspections in order … More Be calm and get it inspected!
Clean up clutter, donate unneeded and unwanted items, clean, wash, rinse and repeat. As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression. As a general rule, rooms should be freshly painted, clean and have just enough furniture in them to let the prospective buyer know what type of room it … More Thinking of getting your home ready for sale?
Just because a saying is trite, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be considered. The one that comes to mind is, “Marry the house and date the rate”. Simply put, commit to buying a home you love and keeping it for an extended period of time. Be open to refinancing it as rates become more attractive. Here’s … More You’ve heard it before, marry and date…
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