Q: I have a purchase offer on my home but the buyers need to sell their current home first. I want to take the offer, but what if they don’t sell their home? I don’t want to miss any other buyers that might want to buy in the meantime. What should I do?
A: There is a way to accept the offer and still show your home to potential buyers. The term is “First Right of Refusal.” If the buyer agrees, you can addend the contract to include the right to continue marketing your home to find a more suitable buyer. This addendum, sale & settlement of other property contingency (with right to continue marketing) addendum to agreement of sale, which is approved for, but not restricted to use by, the members of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®, spells out the terms of an agreement which will allow you to keep your home on the market. continue reading »
Q: Where can I find a nice three-bedroom home for sale for under $150,000 that doesn’t need any work in the Far Northeast? I have been looking and looking, but all I can find are fixer-uppers or condos. I want to be close to I-95 and very far up in the Northeast, but I can’t find anything, and all I am approved for is $150,000. Should I wait and see if the prices come down?
A: It is tough to find what you are looking for in those zip codes in that price range. There are some three-bedroom homes for sale under 150,000 but they all will need some work, whether it’s heavy duty or just paint and carpets. If you were looking for a nice two-bedroom condo, you’d have much to choose from. continue reading »
Q: We had our house in Burholme on the market for several months and we have had only four showings and no offers. Our real estate agent is blaming the market, but other people in the neighborhood have sold their homes. My husband wants to renew our contract with this agent because he knows him, but I want to find another agent. What can I do?
A: Did this agent even try to market your home? Can you find it on the Internet? Has he shared feedback with you from the four showings? It makes me wonder if he put any effort into it if he is blaming it on market conditions. Whatever his excuse, there’s no reason a house should not sell in any market. Every home just needs to be priced correctly in the market of the moment to sell. continue reading »
Q: My landlord has given me a notice telling me that she is selling my duplex in Academy Gardens. I am worried, and I don’t like the idea of strangers going through my apartment. Do I have to let them in?
Also, I have been here for four years, and paid on time every month, and I want to stay but she told me she can’t guarantee that the new owners will want to keep me. I thought they had to accept a lease with the property.
A: Anyone buying real estate will want to see the entire property. It can be uncomfortable, but if there’s any hope of you staying, you should make it as easy as possible to see it. Nobody wants a problem renter, even with a great payment history.
If you consistently deny showings because you don’t want to move, your landlord will not get a chance to find a buyer who may actually want a renter already in place when they buy. You might just guarantee that the new buyer won’t want to keep you, or you could even find yourself evicted sooner.
Everything should be spelled out in your lease. Your lease should contain the following information:
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The home-buying process can be stressful enough without all the little odds and ends to tie up and, of course, the actual moving day. Here is a handy list of things to do — including a few you may never have thought of — to prepare for the big move: continue reading »
Q: My house is in foreclosure. I have not been able to make the payments in several months. I want to sell it before the sheriff does. What should I do?
A: If you owe more than market value, you have some work ahead of you. continue reading »
Q: I am a first-time buyer, not in any rush, looking for a Northeast house, but my real estate agent seems to be in a rush to find me something. He is very nice and knows the area, but I feel like he maybe just wants
to make the sale. Do you think I should just find a new agent?
A: If you’ve signed a Business Relationship Agreement with him, then you need to ask him to let you out of the agreement. If not you can just go find another agent if you want. My question to you is why aren’t you in any rush? There are very real time sensitive, monitary-related reasons for homebuyers to want to purchase sooner rather than later: continue reading »
Q: So they’re finally planning on tearing down Liddonfield Homes. Do you think the home values will really improve in Upper Holmesburg?
A: Yes.
Last year, the average sold price on the closest blocks adjacent to Megargee Street and Tolbut Street was $127,000, more than 5 percent lower than the rest of the 19136 zip code. This is a good example to show that all real estate is local. Very local. continue reading »
The real estate market held its own in Northeast Philadelphia last year as home prices and sales dipped in most neighborhoods, somewhat due to many foreclosures. But it looks like the market may be close to leveling off.
The average Northeast home listed for $173,000 in 2009 before selling at the average price of $161,500, dropping slightly from $166,400 in 2008. The number of sales also went down with just 3,073 homes sold compared to 3,161 in 2008. The average number of days on the market was 65 in 2009 — not much different than 64 in 2008.* continue reading »
Q: I am buying my first house and I was told I needed “title insurance.” Do I have to get it? How much is it and what is it for?
A: If you are buying a home, whether is it your first or your last, you need to purchase title insurance. An abstract company with a real estate lawyer will conduct a “title search” in order for the sale to proceed properly. It protects the insured from any losses sustained from defects in the title. Also, it’s required by most mortgage lenders.
Here are five other things you should know about title insurance. continue reading »
