[Special thanks to Gene Williams of DIYDad for the following guest post about DIY (and non-DIY) projects that can add value to your home when you are preparing to sell. If you are thinking about selling your home in the Durham area and you’re curious about what improvements can increase your sales price the most, […]
Finding your dream home in a seller’s market can be stressful. The Triangle area of North Carolina is a great place to sell a home right now…and a tough place to buy one. The Durham, North Carolina in market in particular is a seller’s market right now, for homebuyers and investors alike. And this is true for many areas across the country. A seller’s market is […]
What happens after your offer to purchase a home is accepted? The weeks leading up to closing can either be stressful or uneventful; there may be many unexpected things that come up or, if you’re lucky, it may be smooth sailing. Either way, as either a buyer or seller, knowing what to expect during this […]
Winter is here and you have finally decided to put your house on the market, but you heard somewhere that it’s better to wait until the spring. Is it really? Some conventional wisdom says that selling a home in the spring is a better bet. Flowers blooming, green grass and sunny skies make homes look […]
I recently helped a client buy a house for which a third party had the “right of first refusal” (ROFR). My buyer had never heard of this term, and so I thought it would be a useful term to explain for others who may encounter it when looking to buy or sell a home. Very […]
Are you thinking of buying an older home? Maybe you love the idea of living in a home that’s stood through years of local history, or you love the unique architectural features and building materials that come with a lot of older construction. Whatever it is about old homes that you love (and there are […]
There is something unique about older homes that many home buyers just can’t resist. Everyone has different things that appeal to them of course, and for many people a brand new house built just for them might be ideal, but if you’ve been thinking about buying an older home these reasons might sound familiar. For […]
What’s my first step in buying a house? I was recently asked this by my brother-in-law, who has been thinking of buying a home for the first time. He explained, “My lease is up in March, but I’m not really sure what to do first.” He’s not alone. Many first time home buyers aren’t quite sure what they […]
My parents were in town this week which meant my wife and I had eager, free babysitters. So we went downtown last night for dinner and drinks. The end of August in Durham always seems extra crowded as all the students are back in town; we drove around for a a few minutes trying to find parking […]
Deciding whether to build a new house or buy an existing house is one of the first questions to answer when you first start thinking about a new home. Ultimately your decision will depend on what you value most in a home as there are benefits and drawbacks to each approach. To help you think through […]
There are two similar terms that you will come across if you are in the process of buying or selling a home: appraised value and assessed value. Each one attempts to represent the value of a house—and yet it’s unlikely the two numbers will agree. So what does each one mean? And how do they […]
Buying your first home can seem overwhelming. It can be hard to narrow down what you want, figure out what neighborhoods are the best and decide how much to spend – let alone do all of that with another person! My wife and I have had our fair share of disagreements while house hunting, so […]
People often ask what they need to do to their house before listing it for sale. Or maybe they know they should clean up the clutter and repaint that hot pink bedroom a nice neutral, but they aren’t sure about the exterior. How much does it really matter if your shutters are painted and your […]
Take it from someone who has moved internationally with a pregnant wife, across state lines with three small kids, and across town here in Durham: how you pack your home can either help make the move go smoothly and (relatively) stress-free, or leave you fantasizing about burning all your belongings and moving into one of those […]
