Your House Your Home

What Are You Waiting For ... Christmas?

 Homebuyers and sellers seem to be waiting and wondering and worrying and wringing their hands.  "Will the prices go even lower?"  "Should we wait longer - just in case?"  "Can we get a mortgage?"  "Will I get enough if I sell now?"   In some ways, it's a stunning market.  In other ways, it's not really any different. So for all you Buyers and Sellers out there, here's a little Christmas present for you all.  Please listen to me, a professional Realtor, and NOT the national media - they feed on gloom and doom! Sellers: If you do not have to move right now, if you have crunched the numbers and you'd lose your shirt if you sold now, then hang tight and wait for the market to bounce back - it always does.  However, if you MUST move, if you NEED to move, there is no reason to wait - do it now!  The buyers that are looking now are looking to BUY - why else would they not be shopping for Christmas?!  So do yourself a favor and hire an real estate agent who understands your current local (I said LOCAL) market, who understands people as well as the Internet, is tech-savvy but can also pick up the phone and make a simple phone call, someone who has a website, a blog, and a PDA, someonw who wants your business and will market the heck out of your house, someone who is well connected and well respected in your town, who will think out of the box, and who will TELL YOU THE TRUTH about the current value of your home.  Hire her (she'll be worth every penny) and then LISTEN to her - she is the expert - not your parents, or your neighbors, or your best friend's mom-who-is-a-realtor-in-another-market.   Okay, just hire ME and you'll be all set! (sorry - shameless plug) Buyers: BUY!  NOW IS THE TIME!  Don't wait any longer! The rates are low, the selections are vast, the sellers are ready and willing to make a deal.  For all you first-time buyers:  why pay rent when you can own your own home?  And, you can take advantage of the tax credit!  And, you no longer have to PAY SOMEONE ELSE'S MORTGAGE - you can start paying your own!  Okay, YOU can hire me, too!  (yes, another shameless plug). Listen, not even Donald Trump knows where the bottom of the market is or when we'll get there.  Do you know WHEN we'll know?   That's right, when it starts to go up.  Then you've missed it.

Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas

Looking for affordable, eco-friendly decorations this Christmas? Find a basket. Bundle up the kids. Head to the woods. Grab pine cones, fir branches, winterberries and acorns. Back at home, fill window boxes with pinecones, berries and branches. Head inside and put on the cocoa for the kids. While you’re in the kitchen, turn on the oven to 200 degrees, slice oranges and apples and bake on cookie sheet until dried. Have kids thread red ribbon into each slice. Fill a tall vase with some small branches and hang apple and orange slices from branch “tree.” Now, find some cream pillar candles and plop them into some large clear glass hurricaines or bowls. Place some small pine branches around the base of each candle. Add a few fresh cranberries. Now light the candles and sip some cocoa.

Dear Santa, Please Bring Me A House!

Starting a home search is exciting - and daunting.  So just in case Santa does not deliver that cute-two-bedroom-one-bath-Cape-with-a-nice-yard-in-a-friendly-neighborhood, Here's a quick-and-dirty list of how to buy a home: 1. Get pre-approved by a reputable lender.  If you've already gotten pre-approved, make sure it's up-to-date.  Nothing will kill a deal faster than a bad pre-approval. 2. Make a wish list of what you really must have and what you can live without.  And remember... every house has a history, and  there is no "perfect house!" 3. Based on your price range and wish list, pick a few towns to look in.  Don't look all over Middlesex County or you will be looking for a long, long time. 4. Find yourself a good Buyer's Agent (shameless plug).  It's free so why not? Okay, okay.... if you REALLY want to find a house, email me and we'll look together!