You've watched the news and read about it in the papers. You know, the "credit crisis" and how buyers need 20 percent down in order to buy a home? And even if you found a buyer with 20 percent down, lenders aren't making loans anyway. So, why bother, right? Wrong!We're right smack in the middle o
...
05/05/2008
Green is Good!The Rivers team has recently "gone green" by changing our method of Marketing. Now instead of mailing out post cards to our clients informing them of new socials or community fund raising activities, we now notify our clients by email. At first, our clients gave us some grief; who
...
04/09/2008
The Up's and Down's of A Home Owners Association (HOA)Home owner associations or HOA's have become very common and can be a valuable tool for the maintenance of the community. HOA's are created by a developer of a community for the purpose of managing and enforcing the covenants and restrictions
...
04/07/2008
Ever want to get inside the head of a buyer? As a buyers specialist with the rivers team, sometimes I feel like I know exactly what they are thinking.Here's the scenario:We drive up to house A, in the neighborhood they want to live in. The first thing you see when you drive into the driveway is
...
04/07/2008
Hello All, I have had a whirlwind 24 hrs and thought I'd share. I was contacted a few months ago by some folks thinking of selling. They have a beautiful home in a great neighborhood and have kept it in relatively good shape. We met and had a conversation about price and condition. The end resul
...
04/02/2008
So what can you do to give your house super appeal? For starters, you should: Set your price competitively. Offer incentives. If your carpet is old or outdated, offer a carpet allowance up front. If a potential buyer knows this right off the bat, they might be able to overlook the unattractive ca
...
03/19/2008
Remodeling Magazine has released its 2007 cost versus value report [www.costvsvalue.com]. So where is the value? Across all projects, the share of construction costs recovered is down compared with last year, although the rate of decline has slowed. And some parts of the country are doing better
...
03/17/2008
Commissioner Ed Brimer says "The new homestead exemption will reduce Wakulla Counties Budget by around 1.5 million dollars. When this law passed, the State assured us they would "hold harmless" small fiscally constrained counties-such as Wakulla County. Governor Crist did not put the money to
...
03/13/2008
Hello All!Warning: The article from TIME magazine linked below contains (gasp!) a POSITIVE outlook on real estate and explains why it's smart to buy now. It's long overdue! I hope you take a minute to read it and let me know your thoughts.http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1713483,0
...
03/12/2008
Real Wood Floors: Add Value to Your HomeDid you know that homes with real wood floors sell faster and for more money than homes without wood floors?It's true. In a survey of real estate agents across the country, 58% of agents surveyed agree that homes with wood floors sell for more money than ho
...
03/11/2008
