Real Estate Decoded

Buying a home is one of the single biggest purchases people make in their lives and for several of us, it will be a process we go through multiple times at various points in our lives.  Welcome to the third and final part of our series in which we are exploring the surrounding circumstances of home buying and/or selling  throughout the various stages of your life. After years of living in the beautiful home you traded up to in order to accommodate your growing family, there will come a point where the kids move away and you'll discover that you now have simply too much space.  When that moment arrives, you'll want to embrace the beauty of downsizing.  Downsizing: The Competitive Edge Of the three stages of the home buying circle of life, sellers who find themselves in the downsizing stage are typically in the most advantageous position of them all.  Those in the downsizing stage have usually bought and sold a house or two by now, so they'll start the process with e

Buying a home is one of the single biggest purchases people make in their lives and for several of us, it will be a process we go through multiple times at various points in our lives.  Welcome to the second part of our series in which we are exploring the surrounding circumstances of home buying and/or selling throughout the various stages of your life.  This week we will take a look at the pitfalls to avoid and best moves to make for those families who are looking to trade up.  Trading up is a term used for home buyers who already have a home, but are in the market to purchase a larger, and often new or newly upgraded, home to accommodate their growing family and changing lifestyles.  Trading Up: Challenges and Advantages When it comes to those who are looking to trade up in the world of real estate, you'll no doubt quickly discover that you will have a very tricky balancing act --- one in which you must figure out how to max out the sales price of your current home, w

Buying a home is one of the single biggest purchases people make in their lives.  Depending on where you are in life and what your circumstances are, you might have the opportunity to buy and/or sell a home multiple times in your life. Over the next two weeks we will take a look at the pitfalls to avoid and best moves to make depending on your current stage of life.  Regardless of whether you're a young family just staring out, a growing family looking for more elbow room, or empty-nesters ready to downsize into something that's easier to take care of and is more your style, we'll show you how to find the perfect home at the right price for you! First-time Homebuyers: Challenges and Advantages For most first-time homebuyers, your current circumstances will typically find you as being recently graduated, just starting out in a new career and possibly, newly married.  Because of this, you're likely to bring less cash to the homebuying table at this point than you

Spring is finally here and so is one of the most highly anticipated home buying and selling seasons we've seen in years.  The buyers are ready...but is your home? While there is still a shortage of available houses across the nation, that gap is starting to close.  More buyers are turning to new construction builds rather than selecting from a pre-built home in order to get exactly the home and value they want.  With their choices improving, buyers are becoming a bit more selective in their choices. In today's market, you want to make sure your home is in the best position possible, removing any hesitation from a potential buyer's mind. To help get your home in tip-top shape and to attract the attention of hungry buyers this season, we've put together a list of tips that will help you stand apart from the crowd, showcase your home in the best possible light, and sell your home like a true boss. Remove YOU from Your Home : The double meaning on this one was i

One of the most exciting times of adulthood is realizing that you're finally ready to purchase your first home.  Your student loans are under control or paid off, you're secure in your career and you're at a place in your life where you're ready for both the additional responsibility and rewards that come with home ownership.  Congratulations and welcome to the big leagues! Now that the high-fiving is behind us, it's time to really focus because there is more to your first home purchase than simply finding that perfect home that "just speaks to you."  Yep, it's time to talk about budgets. Setting a realistic budget is where many first-time home buyers simply miss the mark by not having the experience and full understanding of what all actually goes into owning a home.  Here are seven tips that will help you lay out a plan that will set you up for first-time home ownership success. Down Payment - While this is a no brainer for most first-time