Westchester County Real Estate Blog

Home Finance Basics

Home Finance Basics

Your dream is about to come true. You’ve been saving your down payment. You carefully guarded your credit score. You’ve spent months looking at home listings online. Now you’re ready to actively search for and buy a home. You know one of the first steps is to get pre-qualified for a home. 

If you’re a first-time homebuyer there’s a mind-boggling amount of information you have to process before taking that big step. Here’s some of the information you’ll need to finance the home you’ve been dreaming of.

Terms You Need to Know

  • Principal – This is the amount you borrow to buy the home. It includes the purchase price and anything else you finance.
  • Interest – The percentage the bank charges you to borrow.
  • Term – This is how long you take to pay the money back. On a home loan that’s usually between 15 and 30 years.
  • ...

How to Negotiate Like a Pro

How to Negotiate Like a Pro

Right now, desirable properties are moving quickly. Frequently you hear stories of a house that lists and immediately has multiple cash offers for more than the asking price. Does this mean that homeowners can’t negotiate the price of the home they’re considering? If you fall in love with a home, do you have to move fast or risk losing it?

How do you find the line between paying too much and alienating the seller with a low offer? In many situations, the buyer can negotiate a significant sum off the asking price or request seller concessions that reduce the buyer’s closing costs. Here are some of the areas you can negotiate to find the best deal.

Negotiate the Price

The seller wants the most they can get, you want to save as much as you can. Usually the result sits somewhere in the middle. Sellers appreciate when buyers are up front with their offers.

Negotiate doesn’t mean haggle. There’s...

Signs a House is a Money Pit

Signs a House is a Money Pit

A house doesn’t have to be perfect to be worth buying. Sometimes buyers can get a huge discount if they are willing to handle small repairs and do cosmetic work themselves. However, some issues are extensive and costly. They can signal a house with structural flaws. Some problems can make it impossible for you to get financing.

How do you tell when to jump on a bargain and when to run away as fast as you can? Here are some imperfections you can live with and some you should avoid.

Flaws You Can Overlook

If the home you’re considering just has some dated features, it’s still worth considering. Here are some flaws that are easy to fix and could result in you being able to negotiate a better deal on your home.

  • A home that wasn’t recently built. While you’ll need to put money into maintenance and updates, older homes offer charm and craftsmanship you might not be able to find in newer homes....

How to Sell Fast and Make the Most on Your Home

It’s a great time to sell, with buyers often paying at or even above asking price. If you’ve decided to put your home on the market, you want it to sell quickly and make as much as you can. Attract buyers and get top dollar by making the right first impression. Here are some home staging and listing strategies to prepare your home for sale and make sure it shows at its best.

Price it right. Negotiations are part of the home buying and selling process, and the initial price point can heavily influence how this process moves forward. Many sellers decide to “aim high” and ask for even more than top dollar. They hear how quickly homes are selling and think they can always come down. However, listing at the wrong price point can result in your property sitting on the market for an extended period...