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All Blog Entries by Marjorie Dick Stuart

Found 701 blog entries published by Marjorie Dick Stuart.

As a seller, unreasonable buyer expectations can make contract negotiations on your house more difficult than they need to be. Luckily, there’s a way for you to solve this problem.

           

Today I want to talk about the emerging trend in buyer expectations that impacts marketing, contract negotiations, and—most importantly—home inspection negotiations.

Let’s imagine you’re a seller and we’ve got a contract on your house, we’ve negotiated the price and all the terms with the buyer, and we’re ready for the home inspection. This buyer will expect that your house is move-in ready and nothing is wrong with it other than what you’ve already disclosed in your disclosure document.

Suddenly, the home inspector comes in and has a long list

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Please stop by...OPEN 1-4pm Sunday, March 5th

3702 Reno Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

Sunny, semi-detached 3/4 bedrooms plus den, 2 full baths. New slate front porch, large living room, formal dining room, sunroom, large galley kitchen with table space, new central A/C, back patio, fenced yard & garage. Great entertaining space. Near METRO & shops.

CLICK HERE to view architectural photos and color floor plan.

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Please stop by...OPEN 1-4pm Saturday, March 4th

2939 Van Ness Street #1006

Updated 2 bedroom condo with 2 full baths, great kitchen, balcony w/ park view and garage parking. First class building with 24-hour front desk, 2 pools, party/social room, fitness center, laundry room on each floor, underground access to Giant, steps to Metro, restaurants & shops.

Monthly Condo fee: $986.00 includes gas, electric, water, sewer, heat/AC, reserve funds, professional management, maintenance of commons areas, trash removal, condo liability insurance & building amenities. 

Building Amenities: 24-hour front desk w/ package acceptance, 2 pools, fitness center, party room, washer & dryer on each floor, underground 
access to Giant, steps to Metro, up to 2

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Mortgage Rates Impact on 2017 Home Values | Simplifying The Market

There is no doubt that historically low mortgage interest rates were a major impetus to housing recovery over the last several years. However, many industry experts are showing concern about the possible effect that the rising rates will have moving forward.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the National Association of Realtorsare all projecting that mortgage interest rates will move upward in 2017. Increasing interest rates will definitely impact purchasers and may stifle demand.

In a recent study of industry experts, “rising mortgage interest rates, and their impact on mortgage affordability” was named by 56% as the force they think will have the most significant impact on U.S. housing in 2017. If rising rates slow

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Over Half of All Buyers Are Surprised by Closing Costs | Simplifying The Market

According to a recent survey conducted by ClosingCorp, over half of all homebuyers are surprised by the closing costs required to obtain their mortgage.

After surveying 1,000 first-time and repeat homebuyers, the results revealed that 17% of homebuyers were surprised that closing costs were required at all, while another 35% were stunned by how much higher the fees were than expected.

“Homebuyers reported being most surprised by mortgage insurance, followed by bank fees and points, taxes, title insurance and appraisal fees.”

Bankrate.com recently gathered closing cost data from lenders in every state and Washington, D.C. to be able to share the average costs in each state. The map below was created using the closing costs on a $200,000

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Today I want to talk about another strategy you as a buyer can do to avoid the frustration caused by no houses being for sale.

You need to find an agent who knows how to find properties “under the radar.” They need to be able to network for you by networking with the other agents who are working in the neighborhoods where you want to live. They need to do things like knock on doors, send mail, and advertise on Facebook.

Most neighborhoods where we live also have neighborhood Listservs. If you can find an agent who can utilize Listserv, that would help tremendously.


Your agent needs to be able to network.


 

For example, I’m working with a family right now who wants to live in a particular location, so I

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How Long Do Most Families Stay in Their Home? | Simplifying The Market

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) keeps historical data on many aspects of homeownership. One of the data points that has changed dramatically is the median tenure of a family in a home. As the graph below shows, for over twenty years (1985-2008), the median tenure averaged exactly six years. However, since 2008, that average is almost nine years – an increase of almost 50%.

How Long Do Most Families Stay in Their Home? | Simplifying The Market

Why the dramatic increase?

The reasons for this change are plentiful!

The fall in home prices during the housing crisis left many homeowners in a negative equity situation (where their home was worth less than the mortgage on the property). Also, the uncertainty of the economy made some homeowners much more fiscally conservative about making a move.

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Where Are the Home Prices Heading in the Next 5 Years? | Simplifying The Market

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey.

Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts, and investment & market strategists about where they believe prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.

The results of their latest survey:

Home values will appreciate by 4.4% over the course of 2017, 3.4% in 2018, 2.8% in 2019, 2.7% in 2020, and 2.8% in 2021. That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.22% over the next 5 years.

Where Are the Home Prices Heading in the Next 5 Years? | Simplifying The Market

The prediction for cumulative appreciation fell from 21.4% to 17.3% by

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Please stop by...OPEN 1-4pm Saturday, February 25th

2939 Van Ness Street #1006

Updated 2 bedroom condo with 2 full baths, great kitchen, balcony w/ park views and garage parking. First class building with 24-hour front desk, 2 pools, party/social room, fitness center, laundry room on each floor, underground access to Giant, steps to Metro, restaurants & shops.

Monthly Condo fee: $986.00 includes gas, electric, water, sewer, heat/AC, reserve funds, professional management, maintenance of commons areas, trash removal, condo liability insurance & building amenities. 

Building Amenities: 24-hour front desk w/ package acceptance, 2 pools, fitness center, party room, washer & dryer on each floor, underground
access to Giant, steps to Metro, up

835 Views, 0 Comments