Everyone who owns a home or aspires to own a home has a vested interest in the quality of education being delivered at their neighborhood school.  We hear so much today about staging and making your home memorable; doing everything possible to make sure it stands out in a crowd so that it will sell. 
Truth [...]

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I bought my first home before I began my career in real estate.  It did not occur to me that I should be the slightest bit picky about who would represent and help me make one of the biggest investments of my life. Instead, I just picked up the phone and called my best friend’s [...]

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Here’s a question buyer’s ask a lot: “Do I need a home inspection if I’m buying new construction?”
The short answer is, it depends. If you a purchasing a home from a reputable builder that offers a long term warranty, has a pre-closing inspection process, has a warranty service department with a defined program and has allowed [...]

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When I was an investment banker, we used to say “Pigs Get Fat, Hogs Get Slaughtered.” It was a catch phrase explaining the realities of trying to “time” the bottom or the top of any market. If you were close and hit the market before the turn, even if you didn’t hit the EXACT bottom [...]

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As the historic residential “spring market” comes to a close and we enter the transition period following the expiration of the tax credits, I am often asked questions such as, “where does the real estate market stand?” and “what is next in the recovery plan?”
Let’s look at the first half of 2010 to understand what [...]

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Carl Sandburg told us that “nothing happens unless first we dream”.  A fundamental dream that is as American as apple pie is the dream of owning a home. 
That dream just got a boost earlier this month with the launch of a workforce housing program that will educate the public about affordable housing options.  It will [...]

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So you want to begin a search for a new home. Great! You have everything ready when you realize that you have not saved enough money for a 10% or larger downpayment. What now? What are your options?
A few years ago there were options for everyone, including those with no money down.  Unfortunately, these options [...]

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I was taught very early on in my real estate career that what buyers look for when they first enter a home is light and space.  This is what your real estate agent or staging professional is aiming to achieve when they “stage” your home. Making a home appear more spacious can only benefit the [...]

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If you are in the market for a home or are thinking about purchasing a home…let me tell you now is the time to buy.  Interest rates are at a 25-year low and the inventory of homes available is high, which means the advantage lies with the buyer. So there is a perception that buying [...]

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Last Friday I attended my first Real Estate BarCamp. For those who may not be familiar with the term “Bar Camp” let me tell you that if you’re thinking tents and tree’s or lecture halls and motivational speeches, you’re heading in the wrong direction…on both accounts.
So what is a BarCamp? Put simply, it is a [...]

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