From the category archives:

Buyers

What % of deals fall apart after the signed contract?

by McIntosh November 30, 2011

It may be news to some of you but no deal is a deal until that contract is signed by both sides and then delivered to the buyer’s attorney.  Translation:  an accepted offer is not legally binding and does not warrant an exhale from either side.   This is why sellers’ brokers will continue to host [...]

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The pricing quandary: what’s a seller to do?

by McIntosh November 4, 2011

There’s a bit of a dilemma that sellers face when pricing their properties.  On one hand, they’re told to price to sell and be competitive in the market place.  On another hand, when they do so, buyers balk at paying the asking price, regardless of where it’s set.  Buyers often want the sellers to be [...]

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BREAKING NEWS: if you haven’t refinanced yet, do so this week!

by Honeycrisp November 1, 2011

We always like keeping our ears on the ground and our savvy mortgage sources tell us rates are plummeting … now! today!  25 basis points in one day kind of plummeting … and likely to do so even more through the end of the week.  We’re talking jumbo conforming rates at 4% or below, and 7/1 [...]

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Wherefore art thou, inventory?

by McIntosh October 18, 2011

We’re well past Labor Day.  You know what this means, right?  No, not the passé no-more-wearing-white-pants rule:  the explosion of new listings coming on the market!  Time to cheer and break out the bubbly at the abundance of fresh meat from which buyers can pick.   Except there’s a problem with that … we’re not seeing [...]

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Appraisal jam: multiple appraisals asked for the same property?

by Red Delicious October 6, 2011

As you may know, our team has a collective 30+ years of experience in the real estate industry. You could say we’ve seen it all … until now, that is. Thankfully, we had an amazing August; during the month, we encountered three, count them, three requests for doubling up on appraisals. To spell this out [...]

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Baby on Board? What to expect when you’re expecting

by Honeycrisp September 29, 2011

Few life events are more impactful than having a baby.  It changes your life, your priorities and, more often than not, your housing needs.  The prospect of a new giggling, pooping and seemingly always eating family member effects more than just your perspective on work and family:  it has very real consequences on the timing [...]

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When NOT to walk away from negotiations

by Honeycrisp September 8, 2011

We’ve worked with a few buyers recently who want to test a seller’s resolve via the negotiations process.  Sounds normal, right?  The issue is that we’re seeing many buyers not willing to take the process to its conclusion.  They begin bidding, receive one or two counters and then stop and pull out altogether, assuming that [...]

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Buying as a lesson in financial discipline for your children

by McIntosh August 16, 2011

If you’re a parent paying your child’s rent, pay close attention to this post.  (If you’re that child, read carefully as well and pass it on to your parents.)  The NYT recently ran an article on an increase in the number of parents buying for their children.  Normally we would speak about this to sellers, [...]

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Which buyers will get squeezed by lower jumbo loan limits?

by Empire August 10, 2011

It’s official:  jumbo loan limits are shrinking from “jumbo” to “extra large” instead.  One by one, banks are cutting off their conforming loans at the $625,500 limit that Fannie will impose come September of this year (this is down from the current $729,500 limit).  At first, upon learning of the lower jumbo cut-off, we started [...]

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When should you buy in a new development for the best deal?

by Red Delicious July 18, 2011

With tax abated properties getting absorbed with each passing week and the inventory of spanking new properties dwindling, fresh new developments coming to market are attracting many interested buyers.  Generally, they are frustrated by the feeling of seeing properties 80%+ sold and having few options from which to choose.  They are also feeling the pressure [...]

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