One way to make a home more valuable (read: good for sales,
good for property values) is to make it more energy efficient. Green
sells, and green pays.
Pay attention to home inspection For just about anyone, a home is the single-most expensive and single-most complex thing that you'll ever own. So when making that purchase, you certainly want to do everything possible to be an informed buyer and to protect yourself and your investment.
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Playing the real estate waiting game Buyers often are reluctant to make an offer to buy a home they find early on in their search. After looking for months and not finding anything comparable, some buyers regret not having moved quickly on a listing even though they saw it early on.
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Pricing to sell in today's market Putting yourself in the right mindset to sell is essential. It's the most difficult aspect of selling for most sellers. Your home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay, which may not be what you think it is worth.
Detaching yourself emotionally from your home is difficult. Clearing out years of clutter, depersonalizing your home by removing personal memorabilia, and staging your home for sale can help you step back and view the home as a commodity that needs to be sold rather than as your personal sanctuary.
Putting your home on the market at a price that reflects what you want and not what the market will bear can cost you time and money as it sits on the market unsold.
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Loan modification “blackmail” DEAR BENNY: My wife and I received from our lender a repayment agreement for our original mortgage. This was a result of the bank initiating a foreclosure sale, which was temporarily suspended because we agreed to enter the Home Affordable Modification Program.
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