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Derren Peters
Recent Submissions
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Cheap Home Improvements for Sellers
Selling your home can be a demanding process, and making the best impression on potential buyers is one of the most important parts of it. Doing it cheaply and quickly is likely to net you the best returns. |
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Why Use a Seller's Agent
The advantages to having a seller's agent. |
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Understanding Home Appraisals
A guide to understanding the different kinds of home appraisals. |
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What a Great Listing Agent Can Do For You
There are several ways to sell your home. For many, partnering with a listing agent may offer the most effective path to a successful sale. |
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What is an Open Listing?
What is an open listing? |
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Sellers Need a Real Estate Lawyer
Putting your house on the market brings you back in to the world of real property law, a unique and often tricky legal realm that involves practices and problems not seen in other transactions. In a scenario such as this, with so many potential legal pitfalls, sellers should arm themselves with the guidance and counsel of a real estate lawyer. |
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What's Included in an Appraisal Report
An appraisal is a survey of a home performed by a licensed, independent professional to determine the home's market value. What's included in that report? |
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How an Appraisal Report is Compiled
Appraisals are vital reports in the real estate market, relevant to buyers, sellers, and lenders - but how are they compiled? |
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How Home Inspectors Become Licensed
Home inspections play an important role in the process of acquiring a home. As the professional hired to find any and all trouble spots, the inspector's skill level is vital. |
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Choosing the Right Painter
Whether you're prepping your home for sale, or simply upgrading the look for your own pleasure, a fresh coat of paint is one of the simpler ways of reenergizing your home. |
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Your Home Insurance Deductible Affects Your Premiums
Home insurance premiums are directly affected by the deductible you choose. |
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The Cost of Moving
Moving to a new place brings a lot of excitement and change. But it's important to develop a moving budget to save money and avoid unnecessary expenses. |
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What Exactly Do Real Estate Appraisers Do?
A real estate appraisal aims to pinpoint a property's market value for your lender, as well as other relevant information related to a sale process, but what actually happens in an appraisal? |
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When an Evicted Tenant Won't Leave
For a landlord, evicting a tenant is the worst case scenario in a dispute with a tenant. It becomes even worse when the tenant refuses to leave. Both parties have legal rights in this matter, and proper legal procedures must be followed. |
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Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) was passed by Congress in 1968. It created a uniform system for calculating the terms of a consumer loan, and how that loan is explained to the public, making it easier for consumers to compare loans. |
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Rental Scams: Renter Beware
The Internet has become the primary place for people to find housing and apartments to rent. Some tips to avoid scames to keep in mind if you're looking for a rental property online. |
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Buying a Fixer-Upper
Fixer-Uppers are homes that require a bit of maintanence, and so will usually be sold for a lower price. This article outlines some important questions you should ask and decisions you should make before making that purchase. |
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Fixed Rate vs ARM
Speaking with a mortgage professional, or visiting a bank's website, will introduce a number of different mortgage packages and products designed for different types of customers (first time buyers, veterans, low-income, etc) with custom terms. But every mortgage product is a variation of two distinct mortgage types: Fixed and Ajustable rate. |
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Buying a Short Sale Property
Homebuyers looking for a deal will likely come across a short sale property at some point. When you spot a listing price that seems too good to be true, call your agent and find out if it's a short sale. |
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What is a Short Sale?
When a homeowner is "under water" - owing more on their mortgage than their property is actually worth - and can't keep up with mortgage payments, they wind up defaulting on their loan, and run the risk of losing the property to foreclosure. |
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Closing the Deal
You did all your homework, and aligned with all the right professionals. You found the home of your dreams, made an offer and sweated out the back and forth negotiations. And now, finally - finally! - your offer has been accepted. Congrats! But through your jubilation, keep in mind there are still potential pitfalls related to the closing process. |
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Why Use a Real Estate Lawyer?
For many, the idea of a simple, routine, hitch-free home purchase exists in the same cannon as the Easter bunny and Santa - fairy tales. Breathe easy - it is possible to survive the process without slipping on a proverbial banana peel, provided you have the right team of professionals on your side. |
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The Art of Negotiating
You've partnered with an agent, shopped for a lender, viewed home after home, and finally identified the house of your dreams. Now it's time to make an offer for it. |
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What Does a Buying Agent Do?
The process of buying a home can bring about a dizzying array of contracts, home tours, and haggling. The experience can be daunting even for those who have purchased a home before. A buying agent can ease that stress by walking you through the home buying process. |
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Buyer Broker Agreements
Once you've selected a buying agent to represent you, they will likely present you with a Buyer Broker Agreement (BBA, also known as a buyer broker contract). This certifies your partnership with the agent and spells out what sort of duties/tasks the agent will perform for you, while providing them the power to begin working in your best interests. |
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The Benefits of Home Ownership Over Renting
You woke up one day and decided to stop procrastinating and actually purchase a home - one of the biggest, most important investments of your life. Congrats! That's a heady decision! There's a dizzying array of choices in front of you -- Which neighborhood? Which agent? Which lawyer? -- But one of the most significant decisions is whether to rent or buy. |
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Applying for a Mortgage
As exciting as the home buying process can be -- beautiful homes to view, neighborhoods to explore, and possibilities to consider ? it's the not-so glamorous work that turns those dreams into a reality. It may take a lot of time, phone calls, and Internet research, but matching up with the right lender can save you thousands compared to signing an ill-advised agreement. Whether you're approaching lenders yourself, or utilizing a mortgage broker, keep the following in mind. |
Derren Peters is a Staff Writer at BayAreaForSale.com.
Credentials: BA, Communication, Newbury College
Bio:
Derren has written informative content for various media entities, including the Associated Press and the Museum of Science. He spent time at the Alewife newspaper on the City Hall beat covering neighborhood politics in his native Cambridge. He's also played a role in the creation of media and marketing initiatives for Be The Change, WHDH (7NBC), and Interlock Media.
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.
