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Author: Monty

  • Ten great tips to start your home search

    Reader Question: We are outgrowing our apartment and going to investigate buying a home. We want to do this without the help of our parents and friends, but we have no idea where to start. We want to do it right. How should we get started? Michael and Anna L. Monty’s Answer: Home seekers that…

  • 7 critical home condition items

    Reader Question: We looked at a home that we are considering making an offer for. When our friends at dinner asked us about the house, there were questions that came up we couldn’t answer. We then realized that we were focused on the floor plan and how our furniture and decorating accessories could fit, and…

  • Is homeownership right for us?

    Reader Question: We want to ask about homeownership. After witnessing the run-up in real estate values in the not-to-distant past and the aftermath of the financial meltdown, we read conflicting information about where real estate values, and the economy are going, and whether or not a home is a good investment. Is owning a home…

  • Knowing how real estate works

    Reader Question: Monty, we have good jobs and our employment appears solid, so we want to buy a home. This may seem like a silly question to you, but here it is: How does real estate work? We have read a number of articles, but this appears to be an elusive subject. What can you…

  • Police calls are interfering with our home sale

    Reader Question: We need some advice for our son who has been trying to sell his home in an older neighborhood for almost a year. The biggest problem is the neighbors. Since he has left, there seems to be a feud between them. On several occasions, the real estate agent has had a prospective buyer…

  • How to pick a real estate agent to sell your home

      Reader Question: We are going to sell our home. We know a number of real estate agents. 20 years ago we sold a home, and it was not a good experience. Do you have any tips about how to pick a good agent? Roger and Mary Ann D. Monty’s Answer: The right real estate…

  • Four great tips to negotiate home offer

    Reader Question: Monty, the same buyer has made several offers on our home but none acceptable to us. This has been going on for two months! What can be done to get them to be more reasonable? Josh and Sarah G. Monty’s Answer: The success to negotiate a home purchase contract involves circumstances like motivation,…

  • Home buyers question error in agent thinking

      Reader Question: Monty, we want to make an offer on a house. Our agent wrote up a contract with a financing contingency that says “subject to buyer obtaining financing.” We are wondering if that wording is enough. We asked, and the answer was “you either get a loan or you don’t.”  Is our agent…

  • 8 good tips to renew older apartments

    Reader Question: Monty, we inherited two 16-unit apartment buildings from my father. They have been in the family for over 30 years. I never took an interest in real estate until now, but as a kid I did mow the lawns. They are free and clear and we intend to keep them. Dad was a…

  • The best tips to prepare your home “for sale”

    Reader Question: Monty, we are getting our house ready to put on the market. The advice from different agents has generated a variety of contrasting opinions about how to prepare the house for showings. We feel like two of the agents are asking for way more tasks than is necessary. Do you have a specific…

  • Tips for picking a good home inspector

    Reader Question: We found a home we want to make an offer on and our agent wants us to use a home inspector that is on their “team.” The agent believes the “team inspector” is the only good inspector in town. We have heard differently. Being we did not have our first home inspected, we…

  • Can seller counter a full-price offer?

    Reader Question: If you make a full price offer on a property, can the seller come back with six thousand dollars more than the listing? Isn’t a listing a good faith agreement to sell for that price? Mike C. Monty’s Answer: The seller can counter-offer the list price with a higher price. It would be…

  • Is radon gas harmful, or not?

    Reader Question: Our home is currently “for sale” and a prospect has visited the house several times. They asked us if we ever tested the house for radon gas, and we have not. They want us to have the house tested, but we have heard conflicting stories about radon. What can you tell us about…

  • 13 “red flags” that affect home values

    Reader Question: We just sold our home after struggling in the market. We never realized when we bought the house we had a built-in “objection” (food plant a couple of blocks away discharged an odor). We will buy another home and wondering if there are other “objections” to be alert for after missing it in…

  • 5 important tips when considering cooperative housing

    Reader Question: Monty, we are considering the co-op style of living. What are you and other folks saying about the way that this works regarding the buy-in and the monthly costs? Monty’s Answer: Hello Mike, and thanks for your question. Here are some thoughts, not about any particular co-op. Instead, it is one person’s opinion based…