Buying a Home

Even in today’s market, it is not uncommon to have to compete with another buyer for a home. Nothing can be more unnerving to a home buyer than having to negotiate against these faceless competitors. Can you get proof that these competing offers are legit? In most cases the answer is no. Fair Market Sale [...]

Our friends over at Redfin have finally given up on their aversion to short sales, and now allow you to work with one of their agents on a short sale purchase. For the last year and a half, their agents would take you on tours through short sale houses, and then pass you off to [...]

If there is one piece of advice I can offer to home buyers today, it’s that emotions seem to rule the day for home sellers in today’s market. If you can recognize that there is a human being on the other end of the transaction who may driven by emotion or irrationalities, you will be [...]

I just wrote about what to watch for with short sale negotiation fees, but there is one form of short sale scam that deserved its own special article. Short sale negotiators are hired by listing agents and sellers to take care getting the sale approval through the bureaucratic short sale process with banks. They all [...]

It is no secret that there are a lot of home sellers who owe more than their home is worth. Because they are underwater on their mortgage, many are forced to ask the bank to take a payoff of less than they are owed, otherwise known as a short sale. As of today, ~14% of [...]

The housing downturn has meant that there are a lot of bank-owned homes for sale on the market. (Also known as Real Estate Owned or REO properties.) Successfully negotiating the purchase of a home that is owned by a bank is a process that requires patience and a different approach compared to buying a home [...]

One of the most important steps in purchasing a home is having it professionally inspected. A professional inspection can reveal hidden defects in a home and can provide a list of items that will require maintenance or repair during your ownership. Quality and thoroughness of home inspectors varies widely. Many inspectors show up armed only with a [...]

We just wrote an article about how to negotiate the price of a house, primarily talking about a “regular” real estate purchase from a private-party seller. Buying a home that is listed as a short sale is a whole different game, and you need to understand how the listing price may be set, how the [...]

Negotiating the price when purchasing a home can be one of the most anxious moments in the home buying process. Will the seller say yes to my offer? Will I get the house at a price I can afford? Will I be paying a fair price, given the current market conditions? Do I have to [...]