Month: March 2017

  • Four tips to find the perfect real estate agent

    Reader Question: My husband and I will be selling our third home soon. We want to find the perfect real estate agent. In all of our past buying and selling transactions, we have experienced some degree of angst somewhere in the process. After three purchases and two sales, we want everything to go smoothly from…

  • Five steps unmarried home buyers should take

    Reader Question: I am considering buying a home with a co-worker. We both have good jobs, and employment has been stable. The idea of deductions for interest and real estate taxes is appealing. The big appeal is that by buying a home together, our monthly housing expense will decrease dramatically because we currently do not…

  • A condominium buyer alert

      An alert for condominium buyers Reader Question: We bought a condo unit in a mid-rise development on the west coast. We had the unit inspected, and the inspector turned up several repair issues. They fixed the repairs correctly. We closed on the unit and moved in. Within a couple of months, we learned that…

  • Six steps to take with a low-ball offer on your home

    Reader Question: Our home is for sale for $284,900. It has been for sale for two months. We just received a low-ball offer for $245,000. We are very disappointed and stunned with the offer. We feel like telling them to get lost. How should we deal with this situation? Monty’s Answer: The offer is about…

  • Eight red flags in a real estate listing presentation

    Reader Question: We are going to be listing our home soon to take advantage of the spring market. We will be taking your recommendation and interviewing multiple agents, and we expect they will each have a strong listing presentation. Do you have any specific comments for us that may help us spot gimmicks or questionable…