If you dread the negotiating process when buying a home, never fear. Your real estate agent is an experienced negotiator who helps keep the bargaining from becoming emotional and veering off track. Your agent must know your desires by heart and have quick access to you if a negotiation point needs to be made. It’s important to stick to the strategy you and your agent have agreed upon — showing the seller how strong your offer...

      Buying real estate is one of the most complex undertakings of your life. Success is much easier to live with than failure, so decide from the start what “success” means to you in terms of purchasing real estate. Then, be prepared to learn everything necessary to achieve it. Savvy buyers take two approaches when preparing to excel at buying real estate, especially in hot markets and sought-after neighborhoods: 1....

    Buyers and their agents need to feel welcome to look at the property at their leisure without danger or distractions. So while you adore your sweet-tempered pit bull rescue, he could turn territorial, barking and growling at potential homebuyers. And it could cost you the opportunity to sell your home. Think of buyers as guests and work to make them feel comfortable as they consider your home for purchase. If you have a protective...

    No matter how intensely you prepare for moving day, you may still face problems if you overlook three sanity-defeating challenges. Can you and your partner really think clearly when swamped by distractions, exhaustion, and disorientation? If the ramped-up activity of moving day represents less pressure than a typical day for you, you’ll probably find your upcoming move-in day a breeze. Most people do not regularly handle...

The National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Marketing Index (RMI) for Q2 2014 has a composite score of 56, up three points from Q1. A reading over 50 indicates that more homeowners and remodeling firms are reporting renovation activity versus inactivity. Large jobs costing over $25,000 scored a 54. The RMI has now been above the 50-point mark since April of 2013. Regional differences play a major role when deciding on...