3 Things to Know About Appraisals

If you haven’t had your home appraised in a while, here are three important things you need to know because the process has changed — dramatically. And while appraisal qualifications haven’t changed over the past few years, the process has says Ken Chitester, the Appraisal Institute’s spokesperson…Read More

 

Should I Manage My Own Rental Property or Hire a Property Manager?

There are many good reasons to manage your own rental properties. First, there is the common saying that “nobody cares about your property as much as you do.” That’s true and nobody will likely try harder to find and keep good tenants than you will…Read More

 

Can You Stage the Household Dog?

You arrive at a listing appointment to be greeted by a big German Shepherd’s slobbery licks or two Chihuahuas yipping away at your every slightest movement. Many home owners have pets, but pets can pose a serious challenge when listing a home for-sale…Read More

 

How Do You Know When it’s Time to Hire an Assistant?

I am writing this 30,000 feet in the air as I fly to St. Louis, Mo., where I’ll be participating in a “30 Under 30” panel discussion during the St. Louis Association of REALTORS®’ YPN second anniversary celebration. As I’m writing this, I feel very little stress, which is a giant contrast from just a few years ago when I’d travel out of town…Read More

 

Home prices ‘bottoming now,’ BofA Merrill Lynch analysts say

Things look better on the home front now compared to late last year, notes Bank of America Merrill Lynch ($9.89 0.04%), which revised its home price forecast Thursday to say “prices are bottoming now.”…Read More

 

Why Mobile-Enabled Property Websites are More Important than Ever

In the article Don’t Hide Your Apartment Web Sites From Mobile Users, I wrote how one third of American adults (35%) owned a smartphone of some kind, according to research released in May, 2011, by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project…Read More