When you hire an agent, you’re hiring a skill set. Agents offer expertise in pricing, staging, marketing, negotiation, contract preparation, due diligence and project management. A good agent is also a skilled leader, advising clients of how to seize opportunities and avoid pitfalls. Like anything requiring personal skill – be it golf or tennis or surgery – some practitioners are better …
Good news on the energy efficiency front related to residential real estate: homes have become much more energy efficient! In 1978, all residential properties consumed 10.58 quadrillion Btu. In 2005, the number stood at 10.55 quadrillion Btu. That may not seem like any progress at all until you realize that during that time frame: The average square footage of a house increased by 32%. …
Just about everything we do these days exposes us to legal risk. So, it’s no surprise that a real estate transaction has legal risk, too. But, it’s not well known that the risk is disproportionate — it’s much riskier for the seller than for any other party. In a recent study, it was found that the seller was the defendant …
Now that your property is under contract, you’ll need to decide right away whether you want to continue showing it. There are pros and cons to continued showings. On the positive side, having a backup contract is extremely valuable. If you can get a back-up contract, it puts you in a stronger negotiating position when dealing with inspection issues with …
The buyer of your house will be conducting inspections in the near future. The inspection process creates some anxiety for most sellers and understanding the process can help alleviate the worry. Here are three things that will help the process go smoothly: Your agent will call you with the date and time the buyer has selected for conducting the inspection. …
Section 2 of the contract lists two very important dates — the Closing Date and the Possession Date/Time. Take a look at these and make sure you are planning accordingly. In most cases, you have to be completely out of the property by the Possession Date and Possession Time listed in the contract. You are subject to monetary penalties and …
An appraiser may be coming to your house in the near future. Most home sale contracts are contingent on the buyer or the buyer’s lender obtaining an appraisal on your property. Here are some things you’ll be interested to know about appraisers and the appraisal process: Occasionally, the appraiser will be doing an “exterior only” appraisal. In those cases, we …
You may have agreed to repair or replace items on your property as a result of the inspection or as part of the original contract. Also, the contract requires you repair or replace anything broken since the contract was negotiated, e.g., the dishwasher stopped working, a window was broken, etc. Failure to get repairs made prior to closing is actually …
You’ll need to notify your homeowners insurance company that you have sold your house and that you no longer need the homeowners insurance. THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE CANCELING/CHANGING YOUR INSURANCE There is sometimes a gap between the closing date and the possession date for a property, be mindful of avoiding any possible lapse in coverage between these dates. Additionally, you …
How clean does your property need to be when you turn it over to the buyer? There is a legal answer and a practical answer. Legally, the contract requires that the property be delivered in the condition it was in on the date that the buyer wrote the purchase offer. If anything breaks down between that date and the date …
There is an 82% to 86% chance that you made money on ownership of metro Denver residential real estate no matter when you bought and sold over the last 26 years.
Is this your scenario? You’ve wanted to move to a new house for some time now. You know you can sell your current house in a heartbeat. You’re worried, however, about finding the next home given the crazy, super-strong seller’s market we’ve had in metro Denver for the last few years. We have good news if this describes your situation. …