Is the Price Negotiable?

Yesterday I hosted an open house at one of our listings. At least 3 of the visitors asked me if the price was negotiable. My advice to buyers is always: If you’re a serious buyer and interested in a house, put in an offer. If you don’t think the house is worth the asking price, offer something lower. You’ll never know how negotiable the sellers are unless you put in that first offer. That’s the

Real Estate Dreams

What kind of home would you live in if you could go out right now and buy a place? I’m not talking about the pie-in-the-sky fantasy here (I’m going to buy my own island!), rather asking what kind of home would ideally fit your current lifestyle, interests, and approximate budget? The American Dream Amy and I lived in apartments for a long time. After college we were working in the Boston area and weren’t mentally

Buyers: Get Your Act Together

This past weekend I held an open house at 55 Grennan, in the heart of West Hartford Center. For those that don’t know, the West Hartford Center market is very active, and right now strongly favors sellers. Homes that are priced properly tend to sell very quickly because there are many buyers and agents on the lookout for opportunities. Our listing went under contract shortly before the open house. Since it’s virtually impossible to cancel

Special Offers for New Homeowners

Every time a mortgage closes, marketers line up to pitch all sorts of fabulous offers and opportunities to new homeowners. Nearly all arrive via mail so they are, fortunately, easy to sort through and discard. On occasion a company will dispatch their best door-to-door salesman to pay the buyers a visit and congratulate them on their purchase – thankfully they are few and far between. The special offer bounty covers a wide spectrum. Some is

Did You See That?

Last evening was a nice night for real estate. Temperatures were in the mid 50s, which is unseasonably warm for late November, and quite pleasant for looking at houses. But it wasn’t a perfect night. The problem? It got dark before 5:00! So our buyers really couldn’t see the fantastic architectural details or the brand new roof. The lack of light at this time of year makes evaluating houses more challenging. Most buyers work during