Ever read your home’s appraisal report? A riveting document it’s not — unless you know what you’re looking for. This report is not only the appraiser’s opinion of your home’s value, it includes all of the factors the appraiser used to come up with that number. Here’s how to read it. How to Skim Your Appraisal First things first — get your...
Sellers looking for top dollar often consider home renovations to make it as appealing to buyers as possible. As we’ve previously discussed, we’re experiencing an extreme shortage of homes for sale right now, and we all know that low supply drives...
In 2020, bestcities.org — AKA, the most comprehensive city ranking in the world — ranked Reno, Nevada, the best small city in the US. The year before, Reno sat at an impressive six on the list, and its leapfrog to number one, over other little cities like Savannah, Georgia, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, was largely based on its “natural assets and...
Compass does a fantastic job of compiling real estate data and making it readily available. If you’re looking for San Francisco, Bay Area real estate data for...
Special thanks to Suzie Wilson at Happier Home for this week’s post. Cleaning your new home before you move in is a big job, but it’s an important one. Whether it’s newly built or previously owned, every house should be deep-cleaned to ensure that the air quality is in top shape before a family moves in. This is because dust, pollen, pet...
Somehow, it’s spring again and for many of us, it’s the time of year when we roll up our sleeves and do some serious decluttering. Whether you’re moving or not, there’s something satisfying about sorting all that stuff into “trash” and “donate” piles. But before you pat yourself on the back for all your self-less donations, read on. Your local secondhand store...
And that means it’s time to check in with the numbers. New listings are up 10%, pending sale are up 95%, and luxury house sales are up 87%. For those of you that can’t get enough data, below are a few of the charts outlining a few of the highlights. Annual Median Bay Area House Sales Price Yes, even during a pandemic...
There are lots of home improvements that add to your bottom line when it’s time to sell. But don’t make the mistake of assuming that every dollar you spend on upgrades and renovations means a higher price tag on your home. Here are four (surprising) home upgrades that can actually downgrade your home’s market value. That Chef Kitchen Say it ain’t so...
Parts of California are particularly vulnerable to wildfire, and the devastating toll over the last few years has made that clear. The concept of home hardening — i.e. using resistant materials during construction or retrofits to make a home more resistant to fire — builds on the state’s stringent fire-resilient building codes for homes and structures built since 2008. If you’re living in...
Recently, I got an email for an epic moving checklist. There were 100 steps on this list, which is thorough, to be sure, but also daunting. Yes, there are many, many, many considerations when you’re moving, especially if you’re going to a new state, but is it truly a 100-step process? Maybe! In my experience, even those of us who think we...
