Are Buyer’s Agents a Free Service for Home Buyers?


When home buyers go out to look at homes with their buyer's agents, every single buyer's agent expects to get paid. Yet, I suspect that some home buyers don't understand how a buyer's agent works. I will bet you that buyers think agents operate in ...

Top 3 Factors Inherent in the Best Short Sale Agents


If you're going down that short sale path, you want to hire the best short sale agent you can find. The problem is many sellers know very little about a short sale. The problem compounds itself, however, is your agent is in the same boat. A short sale...

Is a Halfplex a Duplex?


Even though you may be unfamiliar with the term halfplex, you'll find a lot of halfplexes in California, and in many other states as well. In fact, I have sold many Sacramento halfplexes. They are very popular with first-time homebuyers. But many p...

Tips for Buying a Home Without a Contingency to Sell Your Existing Home


Sellers generally don't advertise that a contingent offer is acceptable. In fact, some won't even consider a contingent offer -- meaning ...Read Full Post

How to Get Your For Sale Listings Directly From MLS


My neighbor across the street told me I did not need to send her MLS listings because she could access them online. For a moment, I wondered if maybe she ...Read Full Post

Should You Sell as a For Sale By Owner?


Sellers who decide to sell as a For Sale By Owner -- a FSBO, without representation -- often start out with the best intentions; however, most of them end up ...Read Full Post

How to Find Short Sales to Buy


Sometimes, buyers are finding short sales, even when they don't want to find them. That's because not all short sales are clearly advertised as such. There is hidden jargon in the verbiage that will tell you if it's a short sale, but it's not alway...

Helping Your Agent to Sell Your House


Before you ask why you should help an agent sell your house, think about it this way. Who knows your home better than you do? Nobody, right? So this is the knowledge you might want to share with your agent before your home goes on the market. A good ag...

Is Your Home Buying Paperwork Ready?


Don't be frightened off by putting together home buying paperwork. It's not nearly as bad as you might surmise. But it's a good idea to begin collecting the required paperwork and documents before you start house hunting. This way, you'll have all ...

The Last Room in the House for Staging


If a seller can manage nothing else while staging the bathroom, at least get rid of personal hygiene supplies in the bath or shower. Because one of the main goals to ...Read Full Post