By Ilyce Glink
Realtor’s unprofessionalism pushes buyer to breaking point
Q: I am a first-time buyer and because of my real estate agent, I am very stressed and frustrated. I’ve been looking for a house since October. I won’t go into detail about the horrible behavior of my agent, because it would take too [...]
It depends. Simply because a property sells does not make it a comparable.
Often a duress sale doesn’t accurately reflect true market conditions, such as a foreclosure, short sale, estate settlement, tax sale, divorce, condemnation or other involuntary sale conditions. Professional appraisers use a standard called “arm’s length.” To qualify, the buyer or seller must not [...]
Question: If a buyer’s agent comes along, we show the house and the buyer makes an offer, what kind of realtor’s fee should we expect?
Answer: 2.7%+.
Almost everything is online these days, including buyers for Real Estate so if the simple fact that almost 8 out of ten buyers are on the internet these days shopping for that perfect home is important to you then the answer to your question is YES.
A reverse offer is an offer from the seller to the buyer. The seller proposes the terms he will accept after the buyer has expressed some interest. This can help a seller keep a buyer interested before they move on to another property, or if they are choosing between homes.
Q: Could someone explain the differences between a co-op and a condominium purchase?
A: A shareholder in a co-op does not own real estate, but a share of the legal entity that does own real estate. Co-operative ownership is quite distinct from condominiums where people “own” individual units and have little say in who moves into [...]
Q: I am about to put an offer on a short sale property. What is a short sale? What can I expect? Short sales sound very confusing. What am I about to get myself into?
A: A short sale occurs when a homeowner who is unable to pay the monthly mortgage owes more then their house [...]
Q: Who ‘owns’ the home inspection report? If the listing agent requests to see the full inspection report, the buyer’s agent usually asks the buyer, who paid for the inspection, for permission to send the report to the listing agent.
A: Buyer owns the report and has every right to make the decision to share with [...]
Q: Besides a mortgage payment, what other costs should be factored into my monthly payment? Annual property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, HOA fees, anything else?
A: This is typically called your monthly PITI:
Principal - The monthly portion of your mortgage payment
Interest - The monthly interest on your loan
Taxes - Your monthly property taxes (this can be escrowed [...]
Q: So… If our house is priced right, in a great neighborhood, and appealing to “a lot” of buyers, how long should we plan on?
A: I think it is very hard to make a blanket statement that you will sell in x days. It depends on how much activity is in your marketplace. Ask [...]