Most advice about timing a home purchase focuses on interest rates, inventory charts, and market data. Those things matter, but they do not tell the whole story. As a real estate agent with a background in architecture and interior design, I look at timing a little differently. After working with buyers, sellers, and homeowners, I’ve…
Before you begin: a quick reality check Condo living is for people who don’t want to worry about external maintenance and who like having neighbors close by, sometimes even close enough to become friends. But it comes with a trade-off: you’re giving up some of your freedom and individuality in exchange for those services and…
Editor’s note: This guest post shares a first-time buyer’s personal experience renovating a fixer-upper, including the lessons they learned along the way. Buying a fixer-upper sounds exciting until you are standing in the middle of a half-renovated house wondering how paint, flooring, plumbing, and surprise repairs all became urgent at the same time. When I…
Whether you’re buying your first home or your second or third, the process of touring a home can feel overwhelming. From starter homes to luxury properties, the scale may change, but the questions you should ask stay remarkably consistent. Below are the most important things I encourage my clients to look for when touring a home, drawn directly from real experiences,…
Getting the keys to your new home feels like a finish line, but it’s actually the beginning of the next chapter. By this time, most of the preparation is behind you logistics are handled, utilities and services are arranged, possessions are packed, and the move is planned. From this point forward, the condition of that…
This second part of the series focuses on property-level issues that are often discovered too late when buying a home. This list may not be exhaustive, but it flags many of the issues I have seen as a real estate agent, and highlights what to look for when buying a house beyond surface-level appeal. Can…
Start With the Area — Not the House When beginning your search for a new home or investment property, your research should begin with the area and neighborhoods you are interested in, before you start choosing properties to view. A house can be changed. A location cannot. Starting with area research helps make sure that…
Buying a home is often described as exciting but what it really is, from a professional standpoint, is a sequence of high-stakes decisions made with incomplete information, emotional pressure, and strict time constraints. Understanding how to pick a real estate agent as a buyer is one of the most important parts of that process. The…