Most folks don’t sell a home very often, so may not be aware of a Craigslist scam that has become very prevalent by using your marketing photos and descriptions to try to fool potential renters into making a deposit. The scam goes like this: The scammer finds your home for sale online on any one [...]

The IRS just published a set of summertime tax tips for home sellers, outlining some of the most commonly asked tax questions when you go to sell your home. Very helpful info if you are considering selling in the near future.

A critical step for the sale of any home is the review of the property’s title report. A buyer, their mortgage lender and the title insurance company will want to review the current title history of the property to make sure that the next buyer can purchase the property free of any unnecessary liens and [...]

When you are trying to sell your home, your agent may schedule an open house to attract potential buyers. If you live in the Seattle area or Western Washington, your agent will use the Northwest MLS (NWMLS) to publicize the open house to other agents and to the general public. It is important to understand [...]

  You never know who in your network may be “in the market” or looking to live in your neighborhood. Your real estate agent is an expert at marketing the home to the general public, but you are the best (and only!) person who can let your personal connections know that you are selling your [...]

Many home sellers are faced with the dilemma of either selling or renting their home. Here are some questions that you may find helpful in determining your decision. Are you ready to become a landlord? The role of a landlord isn’t easy. Becoming a landlord involves sourcing and contracting a renter (performing a background and [...]

The real estate downturn has dramatically increased the number of sellers who need to pursue a short sale. A short sale occurs when the sale of your home does not generate enough money to pay off the loans against the home. For sellers in a difficult financial situation, a bank may agree to release their [...]

Lending requirements in today’s real estate market have tightened substantially from a few years ago. One of the options that is possible in the sale of a home is seller financing, where the seller makes a mortgage to the buyer. This bypasses traditional lenders and perhaps help put together a deal that wouldn’t normally happen. [...]

Billy Joel said it pretty well in his song, The Entertainer: But if I go cold, I won’t get sold. I’ll get put in the back in the discount rack, Like another can of beans. ZipRealty, one of the pioneers of online real estate, and still one of the most popular search sites on the [...]

You are planning to sell your home and interviewing a few potential real estate agents to help you with the process. Each agent describes their services and offers up a pricing recommendation based on their knowledge of the local market. Often agents with the highest recommended prices ooze with confidence and say “I can get [...]