{photo credit: McAlpine Tankersly Architecture} Hi there! I’ve been a little pre-occupied with our renovation lately, but we are in full spring work mode over here and I today I wanted to talk about something that I get lots of questions from people about all of the time ~ what’s the real estate market like right now? And how can someone possibly have success in this market?! Honestly, I get tons of questions all the time, they are all great questions and before I got into real estate I had no idea where to go to get answers for any of…
Category: buying
What it really feels like to buy a house
You guys, it’s officially official, we bought a house! I shared the super exciting news a few weeks ago, but I also wanted to share our/my experience of going through the actual process, because I feel like it’s something people don’t really talk about. Sure, your friends might tell you when they are doing it, but does anyone really share what it’s actually like to go through this crazy process? So today I’m sharing what it was really like for us, to help de-mystify the whole thing and maybe answer some people’s questions along the way. When I’m the broker…
Happy New Year! We {might be} buying a house {!!…?!}
Guys! Happy New Year! I have some super exciting news… we’re buying a house! Well, a condo because that’s big city life, but seriously ~ !!!!! If I’m being honest I vacillate back and forth between this is totally happening and this is not going to happen at least 10,000 times every day. Also between being totally ecstatic and totally terrified too, lol. Somedays I feel like I’ve never been on as intense an emotional roller coaster as being under contract on this puppy. I was really hesitant to share any of this yet because really, nothing is guaranteed until…
Our house search has me feeling like Goldilocks… where’s the ‘just right’ one?!
We are in the house hunt these days and I’m getting a little taste of what my own clients go through during their house search! Sometimes it’s fun and exciting and sometimes well… it’s not. We purposefully rented a temporary space for part of this year so that we could get a great deal on just the right fixer upper in the winter, when real estate is a little slower and you can usually get property for a better value than in the spring. Even though I know we’ll find something I am starting to feel some pressure to just…
The 411 on New Construction
Of all of the dream houses I might have, the one type of property that’s never really on my wish list is new construction. It’s not because there’s anything wrong with new construction, it can be a great option, I’m just the type of person who will always want to be doing the updating myself. I’m pretty particular for one, and I just love the design process, and to be the one transforming a space. It’s a thrill and complete joy for me. But what’s the 411 on new construction? What are the pro’s, what are the cons, and what…
Working on the energy of our now space, and our next space…
I’ve been feeling super frustrated this week. I’m so ready to buy our new place and be going full steam ahead on all kinds of fun fixer-upper projects, but we still have a little while until we even start looking for that place {like at least four or five months}. We also aren’t settled into our current {temporary} place either… while we might not be totally unpacking, there is still quite a bit that needs to get put away and organized so that the space feels good to be in and we can enjoy it… and I need to figure…
The final walk through ~ what to expect and tips for success
Our team has a crazy pants number of closings this month, so of course final walk throughs are on my mind {I feel like I have one every day!}. We’ve had some go more smoothly than others… so I’m giving this little-talked-about topic a hello today. It’s tempting once you are under contract on your house sale to relax, celebrate your house being sold {!!!}, and start deciding where to spend all. that. money. from the sale. But in reality, your house isn’t sold, not yet at least. So yes, do a big happy dance for getting your place under…
The distressed property… what it is, and what it means for you as a buyer.
So you think you want a distressed property… it can seem like an amazing deal, but is it really? Our team is selling a listing that is a bank-owned property {also known as an REO property}, so I thought it was the perfect time to talk about this type of sale. The house we are selling is listed at $739,000, it’s pretty big at about 6,500sf, and was built in 2006. And even though it hasn’t been especially well cared for over the past decade, it’s not in extreme {or obvious} disrepair, and it’s not an old house where you’re…
The ‘in-between’ space, and how it’s turning out to be a blessing for our real estate search AND my purge!
If you’re buying a house you might need an ‘in-between’ space. Maybe just for a few days, or maybe for a few months… Cue the panic. And the resistance. Noooooooooo!….. Often there is considerable stress about timing when it comes to real estate. People selling their houses are worried about being able to find something new, so they won’t put their house on the market until they’ve found ‘the one’. The trouble with that is that great spaces sell extremely quickly, and the market is competitive enough right now that most sellers also won’t accept a home sale contingency {that’s when…
The real questions you should be asking when looking at a potential house…
Quite often during a showing a buyer will ask “why are the sellers moving?” or “how long have they lived here?”. I am not really sure what prompts people to ask this and the more it happens I must confess, I’m starting to get a little annoyed at the question. Are they trying to figure out if the sellers are leaving because something is wrong with the house? Are they just nosy? Are they trying to find some leverage for their offer? Maybe. Maybe they are trying to get a feel for how motivated the seller is, always looking for…