A few months back, I wrote about why you should consider hiring a realtor if you plan to buy or sell a home. What I neglected to mention was how to hire a realtor. Like anything, if you’ve never done it before, it’s hard to be an expert out of the gate. Briefly, here’s a … Read more
As a real estate broker, I follow trends on why people buy and rent homes in Ukiah, and whether more people are coming to town or leaving. Lately things have been changing. Until recently, about 80 percent of new rentals in our property management department related to people moving within Mendocino County, but starting in … Read more
Lots of Californians have purchased homes so far this year, and the California Association of Realtors did a little research to find out why. More than a third of California homebuyers cited price reductions as their reason to buy. Housing prices are still down as much as 35 percent from their peak (before the economic … Read more
I’ve referred to the MLS in previous blogs, but I don’t know that I’ve explained what it is and why it’s so valuable, so here you go. MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service, and it is a system whereby real estate agents in a specific geographic area share information about all the properties for sale … Read more
It’s a seller’s market, but whether you’re talking about a sales transaction or a lease situation, it’s important to know the value of your property, and which home improvements will pay off. Here are some of the factors that affect a property’s value the most. Size. Square footage is the single biggest factor in determining … Read more
For those of you who may not have noticed, the real estate market has changed recently. Prices are up, inventory is down, and buyers outnumber sellers. This makes it a seller’s market. Buyers are in the market because rates are still at historic lows (and have only one way to go in the future). Prices … Read more
If you’ve been thinking about selling your house, now’s the time! It is a seller’s market. Rates are low, prices are climbing, and there’s not much for sale. And, since we have more buyers than sellers, the marketing time (time it takes to sell a home) is short. If you’re curious about what your home … Read more
You may have heard about people being “upside down” on their mortgage. When people owe more than the value of their home it can lead to a short sale. If they cannot afford their mortgage payments anymore, it can lead to an REO (Real Estate Owned) sale. A short sale occurs when a home is … Read more
I’ve talked about why renters should consider becoming homeowners. The market is still a buyer’s market, for the most part, so this week I’ll share some information on how to buy a house. The most important way to prepare is to get your finances in order. This means getting a credit report, collecting financial documents … Read more