I get asked this question all the time. Buyers and sellers alike want to be able to figure out what the value of a home should be. I have a separate post as to how I go about figuring valuation of a home, and you can read that post on Market Valuations here. If you […]

In each real estate transaction, there are buyer's closing costs, as well as seller's closing costs. But increasingly, buyers are asking sellers to cover their closing costs. Why should sellers pay for buyer's closing costs? The main reason is that this is purely an accounting move. With the way we structure purchase agreements, it is […]

5 Reasons to stage a home for sale? There are several reasons why I recommend staging a home before putting it up for sale. I've listed my top 5 below. Read on. It's the basis of marketing Marketing a home starts with the basics. You have to start with a strong foundation and build upon […]

There are many things that people can do to get their house ready to sell. 1. Declutter is the #1 item to do on the list. This means putting away most of the personal items, and cleaning off the counters. 2. Clean and dust everywhere. And I mean everywhere. This includes the top of the […]

As a listing agent who lives in the Nokomis Minneapolis neighborhood, I get this question often. Everybody hears that the market has changed and that the median house price went up 14% over last year. There is some truth to that, but it's not as simple as it sounds. The 14% appreciation is the increase […]

It is being reported that roughly 46% of Twin Cities single-family homeowners are underwater, which is an increase from 42% last year. This is being reported from Zillow. But what do they know anyway? Take a look at these two listings from Z. The data, according to the big-Z was updated in Feb of 2011. […]

There are two types of foreclosures that are commonly used around the country, Foreclosure by Advertisement and Judicial Foreclosure. In Minnesota Foreclosure by Advertisement is the process that is usually used.

I have written previous articles defining short sales and foreclosures.  I will now compare the consequences to a homeowner of a foreclosure versus those of a successful short sale.

These days, you can't read the headlines without noticing that there are many foreclosed homes around the country.   Since it is so prevalent, we thought it would be best to offer a brief explanation of how the foreclosure process works.  First of all, a little clarification.  "In foreclosure" is the process that leads up […]

These days, in real estate, the term short sales is frequently heard.   What is a short sale, you may wonder.  Well, let me explain it to you by giving you an example.  Let's say you bought a house two years ago with a mortgage of $200,000.  Let's say you've paid off $5,000 of the […]

You're selling your house.  It's a big process, and you aren't sure where to start.  You need to price it correctly; you  need to get it in tip-top shape for all the showings; you need to fix up a few things.  Now, many people think of the last item last.  In fact, many people put […]

Selling a house is time-consuming and hard work, especially in today's market.  If you are thinking about selling your house, you might feel a little overwhelmed by it all.  That's why it is helpful to have a professional by your side--one who can guide you every step of the way.  In this blog entry, I […]