Expert Insights: What Is the Best Way to Find a REALTOR®?
A: Begin by asking someone that you know. Friends, relatives, co-workers, or neighbors who have recently purchased a home can give you a firsthand account and attest to the agent’s professional abilities. Sometimes an agent you contact will refer you to another one who works more closely with buyers and sellers in your neighborhood. Once […]
Expert Insights: How Much Can I Afford?
A: The general rule of thumb is that you can buy a home that costs about two-and-one-half times your annual salary. Speak with an agent or a good lender who can determine how much you can afford and estimate the maximum monthly payment based on the loan amount, taxes, insurance and other expenses.
Expert Insights: What Does a Buyer’s Agent Do?
A: A buyer’s agent represents the buyer exclusively. This means he works to protect your interests in the transaction and helps to negotiate the best purchase price and terms. More information about buyers’ agents is available by contacting the REBAC at http://rebac.net/.
Brokers vs. MLSs: Is there a winner in this mud match?
SAN FRANCISCO — Three years ago, Craig Cheatham of broker network The Realty Alliance announced that brokers had “lost faith in the system,” read out a list of grievances against MLSs and cryptically hinted at an upcoming big initiative that he said would not endanger MLSs “swimming upstream.” …
Severely underwater properties down 6.1 million from 2012 peak
Equity is rising and seriously underwater homeowners are dropping as the damage from the housing slump subsides, according to Attom Data Solutions. Seriously underwater properties declined by 776,000 nationwide since the second quarter of 2015 and 37,235 compared to the first quarter this year, according to the data firm’s Home Equity and Underwater Report …
Inman Connect speed wrap: Provoking, flipping and dropping bombs
Last week was Inman Connect in San Francisco, one of the best events of the year (and no, not only for the parties). I’m writing to you from a campground in the Cascade mountains, so I’ll try to wrap up a lot of content quickly …
New features at Hubzu ease distressed-home buying process
Hubzu, an online real estate sales and auction marketplace, today announced two new features that ease the homebuying process for traditional buyers looking to purchase bank-owned homes …
Podcast: Broke in real estate? 10 reasons your ego is to blame (Part 2)
We continue our series on identifying the ways your unchecked ego is making you broke. If you’ve always thought that ego was just a word to describe a person with a “big head,” then you’ll be surprised at what you’ll learn on today’s podcast. Here are the next four reasons your ego is keeping you […]
You have two choices: Change your habits or kill your business
Sasha Farmer had quite a year in 2015. The Realtor and owner of The Sasha Farmer Team at Montague, Miller & Company started off the year thinking that 2015 was going to be her best sales year ever …
3 ways that you should be using Facebook to showcase panoramic shots
If you’ve been using Facebook over the past year or so, you’ve started to see the rise of the 360 videos. The 360 degree videos are shot using a 360 video camera (most popularly, the Ricoh Theta S) and selecting the special checkbox when uploading to Facebook …
