Home Buying Articles & Advice
Don't Buy a Car - or Did You Already Buy One?
- When Income Grows and You Want to Buy "Stuff"
- Debt-to-Income Ratios and Car Payments
- How Buying a Car Reduces Your Purchase Price
Things Not To Do Before Buying a Home
- No Major Purchases of Any Kind
- Don't Move Money Around
- Should You Change Jobs?
- Reasons to Delay Buying a Home
Why Buying a Home is a Good Idea
- The Best Investment
- Income Tax Savings
- Stable Monthly Housing Costs
- Forced Savings
- Freedom and Individuality
- The Business Cycle and Buying a Home
- Looking Ahead - Buyer's Remorse
- Buyer's Remorse - Did You Make a Huge Mistake?
Why Search for A Realtor?
- Finding an Agent by "Accident"
- Listing Agents vs. Selling (Buyer's) Agents
- Should You Call the Listing Agent?
- Agent's Advertising - Is the Purpose What You Think?
- Finding Your Own Realtor
- Some Basics About the Search
- How to Conduct the Search
- Interviewing A Good Realtor
- When the Agent Asks You for an Appointment
Buying a Home With Resale Value - Location
- Location, Location, Location?
- Location - Local Community, Town or City
- Location - the Local Neighborhood
- Location - the Residential Neighborhood
Buying a Home With Resale Value - the House
- A Home With a View?
- Lot Choice and Landscaping
- House Size
- Bedrooms & Bathrooms
- Closets, Garage & Laundry
- Kitchen
- Fireplaces
- Swimming Pool?
Comparable Sales and Your Offer Price
- Determining Your Offer Price
- Comparable Sales in the Public Record
- Comparable Sales in the Multiple Listing Service
- Comparable Sales - Pending Transactions
Offering to Purchase Real Estate- the Basics
- Introduction and Overview
- Contingencies in a Purchase Offer
- Earnest Money Deposit
- The Closing Date
- Transfer of Possession
Writing an Offer - Safeguards Regarding the Property
- Disclosures From the Seller
- Condition of the Property Upon Transfer
- Inspections You May Require
- Final Walk-Through Inspection
How Financing Details Affect Your Offer
How FHA and VA Financing Affects Your Offer
You and the Seller Must Agree on Some Services
Also, check these pages:
Moving Resources
Get an estimate on moving, truck rentals for do-it-yourself moving, and moving supplies such as boxes and stuff..
Property Search
There are over a million homes for sale at any given time. Most national sites only have a partial or outdated listing of those homes - but they don't tell you that. We do. So, "property surf" on a local site with MLS access. Our Property Search Directory contains such local sites.
On-Line Listings
Some local agents put their listings online and these listings often contain more information than the MLS database. It might be fun to cruise through those sites, if only you knew where they were. Use our Property Search Directory.
Housing Market & Appreciation
Once a month we analyze the current housing market and prepare quite a few graphs on housing appreciation in different regions of the country.
Step-by-Step Home Buying
- Are you Buying a House? Or a Home?
- Writing Offers - Property Safeguards
- How Financing Affects Your Offer
- How FHA and VA Affects Your Offer
- Agreeing with the Seller on Some Services
- The Home Inspection
- Buying a Home for Resale Value - Location
- Buying a Home for Resale Value - the House
- Did You Make a Huge Mistake?
Buying Hints & Insights
- One in Five Homeowners in "Underwater" Mortgages
- Take Advantage of Homeowner Programs to Avoid Foreclosure
- Sell Your House in This Market
- Offset Your Mortgage Costs by Saving on Homeowners Insurance
- Home Buyers Guide - The Appraisal
- Foreclosure Rescue Bill Explained
- Is It Time to Renovate or Repair Your Home?
- Foreclosures and the Housing Crisis
- How to Sell Your Home in a Slow Market
- Should You Start with a High Sales Price?
- Preforeclosure flipping: The key to real estate riches
- When Your Home's Value is Less Than the Mortgage
- Should You Buy a Home in Today's Market?
- The Home "Wealth" Effect
- Closing at the End of the Month.
- What is the Multiple Listing Service?
- How the Lockbox Helps Buyers and Sellers
- Location, Location, Location - Means...what?
- When Market Value Outpaces Appraised Value
- What Goes With the Home When You Sell or Buy?
- Negotiating Contingencies in Real Estate Contracts
- If you bought cars the way you bought houses
- Asking the Seller to Pay Your Closing Costs
- Where is an Agent's "True Value"..?
- The Earnest Money Deposit
Submitted by Professionals
- Real Estate Lament
- A Broker's Responsibility
- Buying Homes in California
- How do I Prepare for Closing?
- Buying Bank Owned Properties
- Buying Your Country Dream Home
- Negotiating the Real Estate Contract
- Choose Agent Carefully Before Buying Home
- Buyer's Brokerage -- Boon or Bane?
- So You Want to Buy a Home?
- Your Escrow and YOU
Click here to see the Q&A Page
Featured Articles
Real Estate Glossary
Original, complete and easy to understand.
