Investment Concerns for Selling Your Home

Besides the emotional upheaval of uprooting from your home, your property is most likely the biggest investment you have ever made, and its sale causes financial stress as well. You must protect your investment nest egg and secure your future.

Not only do you want the highest sales price, you want to make sure you don't pay too much in selling costs. If you feel comfortable showing your home and handling some details yourself, check out flat-fee real estate brokers who list homes on the MLS for a lower price than the usual six percent commission.

However, note that a great listing agent may be able to sell your home for more money and make sure that you don't pay more than your fair share of closing costs.

A friend of mine just sold her home. The first offer brought to her had her paying the seller's closing costs. Her listing agent didn't make this clear to her. This is why you must understand what the sales contact means to you, in detail. Her second offer--the one she signed--has the buyers paying their fair share of closing costs, plus they put up a $5,000 deposit and $140,000 down. This secure offer will pay her thousands more than the first offer.

Do some research and reading about the selling costs, real estate commissions, and sales price before you list your home.

Ask your agents to give you a net sheet. Look at all the costs to you. If you don't understand what an expense means, ask.

Don't just consider where you're moving to and how to unload your current house. Keep your emotions under control. Protect your equity. Selling your home and moving on can be a great financial boost to you when you pay attention to the bottom line.

Copyright (c) Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Jeanette Fisher is the author of real estate and interior design psychology books, including how to "Sell Your Home for Top Dollar--FAST" and "Home Staging for Top-Dollar Sales." For more articles on how to sell your home, see http://www.sellfast.infoFor Home Staging tips, see http://www.homestaging.us

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.