Kathy's Blog

Let's just assume you've priced your home or listing correctly for its condition, location, and the market forces in your area. Beyond that most important factor, why the heck isn't it selling, or even getting showings?  Think of yourself as a consumer who is ready, willing and able to buy a home...

Ok, no one really knows for sure if the market has hit the bottom. So let's just get that out of the way up front. All you can do is make an educated guess for your geographical area. But there are a few clues you can look for when trying to decide if the market is close to the bottom, if not at ...

Selling your home as a short sale means that the property is worth less than what you owe to the bank. There are many factors to consider when trying to decide if you should sell your home as a short sale. If you can answer Yes to the following questions, then it is possible that you are a good c...

A short sale is a property that is worth less than what the seller owes to the bank. In order to buy a short sale, the bank must approve the sale at that lesser amount. Here's a simple guide to see if you are a good candidate for buying a short sale home or condo. If you answer Yes to the followi...

Do you ever wonder whether feedback from showings really helps? Or do you get irritated with comments made after a showing?  My advice is to take feedback seriously, and learn to read between the lines. Instead of getting mad when an agent says their buyer thought the bedrooms were too small, or ...

1) Clear everything off all flat surfaces except for one or two items. This includes coffee tables, end tables, dressers, countertops in kitchen & bathrooms, dining tables,  ledges, open shelves, etc. 2) Switch out any energy saving bulbs for regular incandescent bulbs. 3) Keep family photos to a...

I think it's really important to explain to buyers that in spite of the market, most sellers are not giving their homes away.  If buyers have the expectation that offering a $300,000 seller $200,000 is going to get them a sale, they are sadly mistaken.  In the vast majority of cases, if a buyer t...

I continue to feel very sorry for some sellers out there who are really in trouble with their houses being worth less now than what they paid for them a couple of years ago. I've been curious if the media is correct in saying that these poor homeowners didn't know what they were getting into when...

A gentleman calls me up last week and tells me that his house has been on the market for a year with another Realtor and she hasn't been able to sell it, his contract is expiring, and he needs some aggressive action to get it sold, so he wants me to come over and look at his house. I looked it up...

I don't know what's happening in other markets, but the real estate market in Arlington Hts., IL is definitely picking up.  By "picking up" I don't mean that prices are rising, because they are not. But I do mean that it seems like more and more buyers are getting serious about buying again.  The...