PARKER  REALTY ASSOCIATES

Unfortunately, our homes don’t always grow with us. What may have initially worked fine for a single person, a young couple’s starter home, or a family with a newborn can quickly become too small as families expand and multiple generations live under one roof. Remodeling and adding to your home is one option for creating more space, but it can be costly, and the size of your property may be prohibitive. That’s when moving to a bigger home becomes the best solution. WHERE DO Y

When you put your home up for sale, one of the best ways to determine the asking price is to look at comparable sales. There’s rarely a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, so a pricing decision often relies on comparisons to several recent sales in the area. Here are five criteria to look for in a sales comparison. Location: Homes in the same neighborhood typically follow the same market trends. Comparing your home to another in the same neighborhood is a good start, but com

You’ve heard horror stories of contractors doing shoddy work and make mistakes homeowners just have to live with. Or worse, costing them thousands of extra dollars. So how do you make sure you’re hiring a great contractor instead of your worst nightmare? Ask them these questions. What qualifications/licensing do you have?: This should be your first question to any prospective contractor. You don’t want just any schmuck off the street working on your house, right? Can I have a

 Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) — The interest rate is tied to a financial index making the monthly mortgage payment go up or down over time.  Annual Percentage Rate (APR) — The percent of interest the will be charged on a home loan.  Appraisal — A report highlighting the estimated value of the property completed by a quali-fied 3rd party. This is typically done for the benefit of the buyer to ensure the property is worth what they are paying.  Association Fee/HOA Fee — I

Home warranties are a popular way for home owners to protect themselves against the high cost of unexpected repairs or replacement of home appliances and systems. They are available to all home owners as an affordable way to get peace of mind for your home and excellent service from trusted local technicians.With a home warranty, covered items are repaired or replaced for just the cost of the annual service contract fee plus an affordable servie call fee. Trusted, professiona

Buying a home represents one of the biggest purchases that an individual can make in his or her lifetime. As such, the decision should not be taken lightly, and you'll want to review many factors as you search for your dream residence. The U.S. Census Bureau reported 501,000 homes were sold in the United States last year, up from 437,000 homes one year earlier. Furthermore, the U.S. economy continues to rebound from the Great Recession. This means the number of homebuyers may

Make the most of your energy dollar. Just follow these simple guidelines and enjoy lower gas bills this season. Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter. For each degree you raise your thermostat setting, your fuel bill climbs 3 percent. So dress accordingly. Consider slipping into a sweater before you crank up the temperature. Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed. A simple task like this and those in No. 3 could improve your system

When Mom told you to turn out the lights, she was thinking of saving energy dollars, not rolling blackouts and bankrupt utility companies. Rarely have Moms words of wisdom been as fitting as they are now and not just in California. Electricity rates are going up everywhere. Besides switching off lights, there are several other painless methods to conserve energy and save money on your electric bills. Plug Ins Look for those electronic devices, especially those with digital ti

Your Goal: To Sell your house quickly and obtain the Best Possible Price. Now that you’re going to sell your home, you’ll want to look at it differently. Look at is as a “house for sale” through a “buyer’s eyes.” That vantage point will help you package it to sell more quickly. You don’t have to spend a lot of time or money preparing your house for sale. You may be able to simply borrow or rent the “extras” like decorative houseplants or lawn furniture to make your home memor

Important real estate questions can often be asked quickly —"What's the right sale price?" or "What's the right list price?"— however, the answers may take a while. A question may be simple to ask, but the answer is usually complex because real estate is complicated. Even when the person answering is very familiar with the subject, arriving at the "right"— best fit, complete, and accurate — answer may first require asking questions of the quick-question asker, because: Contex