When Buying a House…Shop Around!

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You shop around when buying a new car or even new clothes so why not shop around when looking for a new house and mortgage? It’s also important to examine your budget in detail to find out what you can really afford. After all, a home is likely the biggest purchase of your life! You might [...]

A New Definition of Fully Furnished

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Ever heard of a lock, stock and barrel listing? It’s when a house is sold fully furnished and decorated. Everything is included- often down to the pots and pans in the kitchen and the linens in the bedroom. One woman is trying this approach to sell her Westport, CT home, according to the New York Times. This [...]

How to Sell Your Home

home-for-sale

The news recently broke that America’s priciest home has finally been sold. Petra Ecclestone, a 22-year-old Formula One Racing heiress, purchased the home listed at $150 million. The mansion, on 5 acres, includes a bowling alley, beauty salon, parking for 100 cars and even several gift wrapping rooms plus many more amenities. After hearing that news, [...]

Rent vs Buy

Should I rent or should I buy? That’s the question many people ask themselves when the time comes to move to a new home. The answer can vary depending on how long you stay in your home and how fast prices/ rents are rising. This calculator from the New York times allows you to change inputs such as your monthly [...]

Five-Figure Rentals

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A recent NY Times article describes how many New Yorkers, for various reasons, are opting to rent as opposed to buy an apartment. Even when the rental price is five-figures, wealthy New Yorkers are ready to shell out the cash. The article cites streeteasy.com data saying that more apartments priced at $10,000 or higher were rented this May [...]

Photographing Your House to Sell

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Sellers and Landlords Please read these two lists of suggestions. Better yet, PRINT and walk around your house with a highlighter. These suggestions might not cost you a dime but might insure that you have some success, as these can gain you an incredible burst of activity, as well as much more money in a [...]

Foreclosures

foreclosure

Quite the buzzword these days in Real Estate, but it just doesn’t mean the same thing it used to before the recent real estate disco years of 2003-2006. There’s another term making the rounds the past couple years, and that is a ‘short sale’. The short sale is where a house sells for less than [...]

What Can I Rent My House for This Summer?

For Rent sign

First, my favorite books of the last couple years. They’re ideal winter reading if you live in a city away from your weekend house by the sea. Any Sea. Seven books…in no particular order. My family is in one of them, and so far only one of them won a Pulitzer Prize. We put a [...]

What is Your House Worth?

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To measure what your house is worth, there’s a combination of art and science involved. Even the best and most experienced come up with a range of value. As real estate values aren’t determined in light speed like stock, you can do your homework and even have time to make some adjustments. Some brokers can [...]