A Buyer’s Perspective
How do you buy your first home
With housing affordability at all-time lows, purchasing a home is beyond reach for many. So, how do you buy your first home? Seek help boldly. Ask your parents for support. Reach out to grandparents if they can assist. Many millennial ho...
Does the buyer have the right to privacy during the home inspection?
Does the buyer have the right to privacy during the home inspection? Dear Phyllis, I am buying my first home and am both excited and anxious about the process. After looking at homes for more than two years, I finally found a real est...
What are buyer’s agent’s duties?
There is a new trend among real estate agents. And it’s not good. There are a growing number of Realtors “representing” home buyers writing offers when the agent hasn't viewed the home. In a multiple offer situation, how can your Realtor ...
How to prepare to purchase a home?
How to prepare to purchase a home? Dear Phyllis, Our daughter recently graduated college and started working. My husband and I plan to help her purchase a home and were thinking next year would be a good time to begin to look. Can you...
What is sweat equity?
Have you heard the term "sweat equity"? According to Wikipedia, sweat equity is a party's contribution to a project in the form of labor, as opposed to financial equity, such as paying others to perform the task. Sweat equity has an applicatio...
Why didn’t I receive a counter offer?
Why didn’t I receive a counter offer? Dear Phyllis, My fiancé and I made an offer on a house but due to the condition of the economy, our offer was low. Although we would have increased our offered price, we were never given the op...
When is the right time to sell your home?
It’s often difficult to determine when it is the right time to sell your home. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average home seller remains in their home for ten years. In 1985, it was just five years. My husband ...
Counter Offers not Required
Counter Offers not Required Dear Phyllis, I have been looking at homes for nine months. During that time we have written several offers which for various reasons weren’t accepted. The most recent offer my agent submitted was on a ho...
