Jacki and Jerry's Blog

"But XYZ Company says they can get me $10,000 more for my home than you can." When you're interviewing Realtors, don't go with the agent who may be there for with one goal - to GET THE LISTING! - even if it means embellishing the listing price. Actually, when an agent comes in with a pie-in-the-s...

          It was predictable but still made the headlines:           The Washington Post braces America for the bleak news: New-Home Sales Plunge 33 Pct with Tax Credits Gone: "Sales of new homes collapsed in May, sinking 33 percent to the lowest level on record as potential buyers stopped shoppi...

When your home is on the market, you're in a race.  And the competition is fierce.  Using round numbers, let's just say there are 100 homes for every 20 buyers.  (Not much of a stretch...).  What are you going to do to ensure that your home jumps ahead of the others, giving you the edge you need ...

Before my Saturday listing appointments and home showings command my day, I like to take a short drive to one of my favorite places - LaGrange Farmers and Artisan Market.   First stop: grab a great cup of coffee from LaGrange Coffee Roasters.  After saying hello to some friends and fellow shoppe...

Even if you're 100% SURE this is your last home.  You're positive this is the home you'll be in until someone carries you out in that big black limo, it rarely is.  You probably will move again.  So when you buy or build, make SURE that the home will someday work for someone else.  This quirky fl...

Did the recent tax credits have an impact on home sales in the beautiful rural community of Oldham County, Kentucky?  The numbers tell an interesting story: Compiled from the Louisville Multiple Listing System, I compared single family homes that SOLD from January 1, 2010 to May 5, 2010 to homes...

  Drive through just about any neighborhood in America and you're likely to find empty houses.  Shiny new homes that never found an owner are abandoned by bankrupt builders.  Subdivisions left largely unfinished by cash-strapped developers.  It seems to be especially unnerving to see the "SUPER-...

You're never quite ready for the phone call.  It almost always takes you off guard.  That, "Are you sitting down?..." phone call that makes you feel like your stomach is falling out.  The Buyers want out of the contract after a home inspection.  Even though the Sellers are willing to make any and...

It's not comfortable up there on that fence.  But you're waiting for the right time.  Will home prices continue to come down?  Should I wait for a better interest rate?  Just when IS the right time to buy? Well, jump on down!  Rarely do we have the stars aligned in a perfect pattern spelling out ...

Yep, it's confession time.  When I decided over twenty years ago to get my real estate license, it was for one reason and one reason only:  I needed to bring money into the household budget.  It was all about the money. After getting my bachelor's degree in Marketing and Communications I went to ...