Month: February 2017

Attached or Detached?

My first home purchase was in 1993; interest rates were 7% and I was a first-time home buyer with limited funds. After consulting with a local lender and talking with a local REALTOR®, I settled on a maximum purchase price of $70,000. The two options at that price point, in the area I targeted, was either a semi-attached home (townhome, …

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Square footage price is only one factor to consider

Our phone rings everyday with questions regarding the local real estate market. I enjoy the conversations, helping people make decisions and often learning as much from them as they learn from me.

The most common question we get is about one simple calculation, the ratio of price per square foot in the valuation of a home. The square footage used …

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Should I Buy a Home in 2017?

Just over 4,000 detached homes, townhomes, and condos sold in Leon County in 2016 with the help of a local REALTOR®. The number of homes purchased has been increasing over the past five years in Leon County; I expect that trend to continue. The uncertainty of political change and slowly rising interest rates will cause some to pause. However, the …

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TEN APPRAISAL EFFICIENCY TIPS FOR A LENDER

5 QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK THE BORROWER  Is the property unique, for example: Is the home over 3,000 square feet? Is the design of the home unique, such as a log home, alpine villa, ultra modern ? Does the property include more than 5 acres. It is better to know this in advance so that if the assignment is more…

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TOP TEN APPRAISAL PREPAREDNESS TIPS

1) Be as flexible as possible with appointment times. The inability to get an appointment set up quickly is the most common cause of delays in the process.

2) Make a list of significant improvements to the home since your ownership, along with an estimated date that improvements / updates were completed. We will ask many questions and make a …

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