Our Market Ready Guide provides strategic advice and useful tips to get top dollar for your house when the time comes to sell.
When you consider downsizing -- or rightsizing, as I call it -- you have to think about what really is the right size for you, not just based upon where you are, but where you’re going. The average person uses about 1100 square feet of any home they live in, unless they have a special hobby. So if you have five children, and you have a house that’s about 6000 square feet, you have more than enough room for everybody.
If you are preparing to sell your home, you should be aware of the capital gains tax implications. There is a good chance that you will not owe any capital gains taxes on the sale of your principal residence if you meet certain federal requirements. And, if you do, the amount of capital gains that you pay on will be significantly reduced.
INSIDER TIPS | Moving | Selling
When selling your home, you’re the boss when it comes to deciding when to move. Depending on your particular situation, there are three times you can consider vacating your current home – before, during, or after the sale. Like a lot of decisions pertinent to the home sale process, a number of trade-offs can come into play.
One of the most popular blogs I’ve written revolves around what happens to the earnest money deposit when a buyer changes his mind after going to contract. This reminds us that, while everyone has likely heard of an earnest money deposit before, a little clarification is likely needed. Here's what happens when a buyer decides they no longer want to buy your home after beginning the process.
Unfortunately for many consumers, there’s a misperception that there’s a fall market and a spring market in the Washington DC region. Frankly, this is a myth promulgated by the media and some real estate agents, including me for many years. But I studied 31 years of real estate markets and with only two exceptions in late stage bull markets, there is not a fall market of notable value.
What does the word “contingency” mean in sales, especially in real estate? Contingency is a simple word from Latin roots meaning to hold together. Wait, if it means to hold together, why is it known as a way out of a contract? Well, consider buying real estate without any contingencies. Would you purchase a home if you couldn’t inspect it, do an appraisal, or check for termites? Or have a loan contingency if you need to get a mortgage? No, hopefully you wouldn’t. You need the contingency to hold the contract together even though, if a contingency isn’t fulfilled, the contract will die.
How do you show your home to buyers when you have a pet? Pets are a part of the family for many home owners, and protecting Fido from running out the door when a buyer is walking through the property is of tantamount concern. Furthermore, some pets have annoying behaviors like incessant barking, or may even be aggressive and potentially harmful, so protecting the public from them is an issue. Let’s break this down from two perspectives: sensitivity to the pets and sensitivity to the buyers.
Many homeowners are under the impression that open houses are a powerful selling tactic but, according to the National Association of Realtors®, only one percent of homes sell this way. Let’s talk about potential pitfalls of open houses that may have you rethinking this option.
