Dear Monty: We are baby boomers that are considering a lifestyle change. We have raised our family here and our children have their own families. We are not scared, but the turmoil we’ve observed during the past two or three years is unsettling. Conflicting views on the economy, interest rate fluctuations, home values and inflation…
The Pros and Cons of a Home Sale Contingency
Dear Monty: Our home just went up for sale 10 days ago. We have had two showings. We just received an offer for our asking price, which is acceptable. We are hesitating because the buyer has a home to sell. We asked our agent about the buyer’s home, but the offer came from another company….
Are Sizable Earnest Money Deposits Necessary?
Dear Monty: We are trying to buy a house, but the seller backed out of the sale. The real estate agent is holding our deposit until the seller pays their commission. I know this is not legal, but how can I get my large deposit back? Monty’s Answer: The seller signed two contracts in this…
Four Options When the Seller’s Agent Refuses to Present an Offer
Dear Monty: We made an offer on a home through our agent that is $400k overpriced at $1.3 million. Our agent researched the comparable sold homes in the area. They recently listed the house. They rejected the offer. Sixty days later, we tried again, removed several contingencies, and left the price as before. Their agent…
Valuable Tips for Every First-Time Homebuyer
Dear Monty: I live in the Washington, D.C., area, where home prices are always higher than in other parts of the country, and I hope to move closer to the city. I work as a freelancer and have about $150,000 saved up. I think I will have to get a modest condo if I buy…
Why Don’t Lenders Trust Borrowers?
Dear Monty: We made an offer on a home, and the seller accepted it. We advised our agent that we are paying for the house from the sale of our home and cash. The seller’s agent contacted our agent who sold our old home and wanted to make sure we had the closing scheduled and…
Six Options When Your Offers Are Losing
Dear Monty: We have made offers on four homes. Our agent says that people are buying them for cash and for more money than we offered, yet she says she cannot tell us what to do or offer. All she does is show us the houses and fill out the paperwork. We are tired of…
Buying Amid Affordability Squeeze? Here’s How Homebuyers Can Cope
By Jeff Ostrowski From Bankrate.com The housing market caught fire in 2020 as Americans decided en masse that they wanted homes and were willing to pay for them. Two years on, the pandemic-era housing boom continues to rage. Home prices have set one record after another. Bidding wars have become the norm in many markets….
Top 10 Negotiation Tactics Used by Buyers (And How to Respond)
By Mike Schultz Imagine that you worked on a sale for about nine months. The average size of your opportunities is roughly $600,000. This one is $2,400,000. About four times the size. You’ve run facilitated sessions, done interviews and organized a global team for the rollout. You’ve pulled out all the stops and received word that you’ve…
US Housing Market Leaving Buyers in ‘Tears’: Zillow Survey
The process of buying a home in today’s extremely tight low-inventory housing market is leaving 50 percent of homebuyers “in tears” according to the latest survey by real-estate marketplace company Zillow. Among the survey respondents, Gen Zers and millennials, many of whom tend to be first-time home buyers, are more likely to “cry at least…
US News
RSS Error: A feed could not be found at `https://www.theepochtimes.com/c-us/feed`; the status code is `200` and content-type is `text/html; charset=utf-8`