The Wonders of Masking Tape

Recently I showed a house in the Hartford area where the homeowner had a strong affection for masking tape. Throughout the home we saw its various uses; acting as an insulating material to seal gaps between a door and its frame, serving as a water barrier to caulk around a bathroom vanity, replacing glue to hold together a broken piece of wood covering the water meter, and stitching together tears in a porch screen. Overall,

Greater Hartford May 2009 Real Estate Market Statistics

Yesterday I was preparing my data for the May real estate market statistics post and this morning the Courant had an article about housing prices for the state as a whole. While aggregating the state as a whole is good for a macro economic perspective, your average Joe and Jane are more likely to be concerned with what’s going on in their town or the few towns surrounding where they live, as that’s what’s affecting

Inspector Shortage?

When a buyer purchases a home, they have the right to have certain inspections performed within a specified timeframe after the contract is signed. In our market, the window to have inspections conducted is typically anywhere from 7-14 days. Buyers want their right to understand any issues with the house and sellers want the review conducted as soon as possible so that they know the contract is continuing forward towards closing. Often my buyers look

Our Topsy Turvy Tomato Experiment

Kyle and I are both originally from Vermont. I think this means that we are supposed to have green thumbs. My theory comes from the fact that when I was in college just about every person that learned I was from Vermont asked “Did you grow up on a farm?” To set the record straight, neither Kyle nor I grew up on a farm. Perhaps as a tribute to our “heritage,” each year we try

How Much is the Other Offer?

The past few weeks have been busy. More multiple offer deals. So far this year I’ve sold 13 houses. Of those transactions, 9 of them have been multiple offer situations. In some cases I represented the sellers. In others, the buyers. The houses have been priced anywhere from the mid-$200Ks to the mid-$500Ks. Whenever I let my buyer clients know that another offer has been submitted on the property that they’re interested in, the first