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It’s spring…time to sell or buy a home in The Glen

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Yes, I know you’ve heard it many times, but here it is again.  Spring is the very best time of year to buy or sell a home.  It’s when buyers begin to get serious about their next home purchase.  Why?  Well, a couple of reasons.

First, spring (yes, I think it’s really here now) is when home buyers come out of hibernation, blink their eyes because of the sunlight, and begin to get serious about finding their new homes.  They’ve been cooped up all winter long, and while planning on a move, they just didn’t have their hearts in it.

The second reason is the most important.  Families with kids are already thinking about the fall when little Johnny and little Mary will need to know where they’ll be going to school.  (As an aside, children in The Glen are fortunate to attend Glenview’s outstanding schools, rated among the best in the country!)  Knowing that it may take a few months to close on a new home after signing a purchase contract, buyers want to see what’s out there and pick just the right home for them in time to close and move during the summer.

So, friends, it’s April.  And it’s spring.  Finally!  If you want to sell your home, let’s get it listed for sale.  Homebuyers are out there just waiting to see your Glen home.  And if you are a buyer, there’s no better place to live than The Glen, in beautiful Glenview, a close-in Chicago-area community.  We have lovely neighborhoods with single family homes, townhomes, duplexes, and condos.  They’re all within walking distance of Glen Town Center’s restaurants, shops and movie theater…as well as the Glen’s Metra station to get you into the city in well under an hour.

Whether you’re a buyer or seller, give me a call.  I am a long time Glen homeowner and an expert on Glen properties.

Margaret Ludemann    @properties Realtor, and proud Glen homeowner

What you should know about home appraisals

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A neighbor of mine here in The Glen is considering selling his home, and knowing this will require an appraisal of his home, he asked me how they work. So I thought I would write to you about it in today’s blog.

Home appraisals are performed by independent, certified professionals (not realtors) to establish the current fair market value of a home, information that lenders use to determine if and how much they will lend. They will examine the most recent selling prices of comparable homes to yours (known as “comps”). They will consider other factors such as your home’s condition (which they will personally inspect) and whether the residential real estate market in The Glen is appreciating or depreciating. In a housing market where prices are steadily rising (which is the case in The Glen currently) appraisals are typically not a problem unless the seller and buyer have agreed on a price that is much higher than similar homes have sold for recently. In markets where prices are falling appraisals many times come in below agreed-upon sales prices.

When a home is appraised at less than the agreed upon sale price lenders either reject the buyer’s application for a mortgage or require that they put more money down. Some buyers may not have the ability to come up with additional down payment money or they may not wish to do so. In this case buyers might choose to simply walk away from the deal or they may ask you to renegotiate the purchase price downward so that they can qualify for the mortgage loan. At this point it is your choice whether to renegotiate or walk away.

Even if a home purchase transaction is for cash (not requiring a loan) some buyers still require an appraisal as a condition of the sale. This is to protect them from purchasing a home above fair market value.

So that’s how it works. If you have any questions please call or email me. I am a long time homeowner in The Glen and an award winning Realtor affiliated with @properties.

Margaret Ludemann   847-401-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com