PARKER  REALTY ASSOCIATES

It may seem hard to imagine but, yes, the cycle has spun around and in some markets there are bidding wars leaving buyers wondering, "What can I do to make my offer stand out?" The real estate market is again heating up and many buyers are trying to get into the market now after taking a long break. For some, it's a chance to become first-time homeowners. For others, it's a chance to make a move up to a larger home or to buy a second home. Still others may have owned in previ

Selling a home has its typical challenges. Maybe the couple across the street just listed their house, which you know has an amazing kitchen (while yours is just slightly less so). Maybe values have started to drop a tad. Or maybe you're getting transferred and you have to sell - and find something new in your future city - in what seems like an impossibly short amount of time. Whatever the circumstances, you want the sale to go as smoothly, and take place as quickly, as poss

Residential homeowners have a number of tax benefits, the most important of which is the exclusion of up to $500,000 profit made on the sale of the principal residence. But real estate investors -- large and small -- still have to pay capital gains tax when they sell their investments. And since most investors depreciated their properties over a number of years, they often have to "recapture" the depreciation, as well as paying a lot of capital gains tax. There is a way of de

You have signed a contract to purchase a house. Your potential lender has qualified you for the mortgage loan, on the condition that the house will appraise high enough to support the loan. Now you have learned that the appraisal has come in too low, and the lender is not prepared to commit the loan. You have a number of options. Let's take this example. Your contract price is $500,000, and you are seeking a loan which will be 80 percent of the purchase price -- or $400,000.

A story broke this week about how Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff overpaid for his $20 million home. The New York Times called it "ironic" that he paid "over $1 million above its Zestimate" for his 12,732-square-foot Brentwood, CA mansion. Everyone who's had an issue with Zillow's farcical Zestimates calls it "payback." "The next time you're surfing popular real estate listings site Zillow for a new home and stumble across a "Zestimate" - the company's estimate for a property's va

Thinking about selling your house without a real estate agent? It's a choice some people make, mainly to try to save some money. But the number of people who list their home For Sale By Owner is in decline. "Eight percent of home sellers chose to list themselves - a record low of for-sale-by-owner transactions," according to a National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) survey. So why isn't it a good idea to go it alone? Let us count the ways. 1. Because you're not thinking with

Real estate investing can be as fraught with complexity as it is fruitful with rich opportunities and profitable dividends. The challenge is to demystify this process -- to translate the nuances and contradictions of this vocation, for many, and this avocation, for many others still -- into something that people can apply with consistency. For there are multitudes of novice investors who do not understand, and need to appreciate, the dynamism of the marketplace; who require t

With many real estate markets rebounding or thriving, foreclosure rates way down, and short sales all but gone in most areas, can you still find a bargain when buying a home? Yes, but you'll have to be sneaky, creative, diligent, or all of the above. Pay cash You've got a couple hundred K lying around, right? It may sound ludicrous to some, but buying a house all cash is a growing trend, and one that can save you money upfront and down the line. Sellers may be more willing to

Turn on HGTV or any number of other channels almost anytime during the day or night and you're bound to find at least a couple of shows about flipping houses. Some provide a cautionary tale about overextending yourself financially or making other rookie flipping mistakes, but the vast majority end up with a profit of $30,000, $60,000, or $100,000+ in profit for a couple of months (or a couple of days, in the case of one new flipping show). Enticing, right? If you're getting r

We have all heard about the high costs imposed on homebuyers -- ranging from lender points, title insurance and settlement fees. However, if you are selling your house, you should understand you will be hit for some closing costs also. When a seller signs a listing agreement with a Real Estate Broker, authorizing that person to sell the house, in addition to all the other forms which sellers receive, the seller should be given an estimated settlement statement. This statement