The Unique Real Estate Blog

No matter what kind of mortgage you apply for, whether it’s a commercial mortgage or a residential type of mortgage, you will find that great credit and good collateral will make it easier and more cost effective when it comes to the application process. But if your credit is not ideal, or even if you are planning on buying property in a bad part of town, you still may be able to get the financing that you require. Lenders are much more flexible and willing to work with you these days.

Did you know that buying a new home without a Realtor may cost you money?

I’ve always been an advocate of providing more than what’s expected. When I was a waiter in my teenage years, I gave “silent service” by providing drink refills, extra bread, and condiments before the customers ever had to ask. When I programmed computers, I wrote very detailed documentation within the code to guide future programmers if they made changes. In our video business, I was the first in our area to provide authored DVDs at no extra charge. When I began my real estate career, I continued this “more than expected” philosophy for my clients.

The purchase of a first home is likely to be the biggest one-time purchase in your life. There is a huge shift from living with family or renting, to owning a home. It can be an overwhelming experience and at times you may feel that you are barely keeping in step with the process. We are now at a point in our lives where our children are buying their first homes and we see the worry and signs of stress that make this FIRST BIG PURCHASE such a momentous event for them. The learning gained from buying a home and selling a house six (6) times - four different cities and two different provinces - has given us experiences that we share here with our children. The tips we can give you when going through the mind-game process of buying a home are insightful and are especially for people just like our children - first time home buyers.

Don’t Smoke Grass, Burn It!

Lots of tax dollars and nervous energy are being expended on the latest glitzy ideas for creating alternate fuels to put in your car’s gas tank. Ethanol is the darling of the renewable energy club.

As more and more homes and businesses are built in the Central Texas area, the supply of water is a huge concern of mine. The lakes and aquifers can only sustain us so long without extensive conservation. As water becomes more scarce, it will become more expensive. So what can we do? Or should the question be - what water can be re-used or recycled in a household?

The subject of house remodeling has gained a lot of attention over the last few years and this is probably because people are beginning to realize that any house remodeling is, usually a great investment, for the future. If a house remodeling project is carried out well, then the potential for high returns and a good improvement on your quality of life is what many people expect to achieve. So what does it take in order to get and have the best house remodeling you can possibly want? Well basically it boils down to the quality and the cost of the work that you decide to under take during a remodel. After all, the more you put into the project the more you are likely to get back out of it in the future.

If you want to sell your house quickly, keep it free of junk and don’t force your bad taste in decoration on other people.

That common sense advice works time and time again.

They say you’re removing the barriers that will stop buyers making an offer quickly.

“Home staging” was coined by Barb Schwarz back in the early ’70s, and the concept has become well known as “house fluffing,” “dressing to sell,” and “home presentation” to name a few, but the concept has not taken hold among home owners when selling a home because many people do not understand the idea or cannot create a workable plan for staging their home correctly.

Using a home equity loan or line of credit to finance renovations and improvements on a property can be profitable and quite rewarding if done properly.

When you are planning to sell a property and you do not have funds on hand to improve, repair, renovate, or rehabilitate it, then a home equity loan or line of credit can get you over this hump.