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Articles written by Mike Mason


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  • Home sellers set their asking price by one of four strategies

    Mike Mason, Special to the Village News|Updated Mar 5, 2018

    When first deciding to sell a home, setting the asking price is one of the most important decisions sellers will make. Price is the first thing for which buyers look, followed by looking for the best value within that price range. The asking price is often a home’s first impression, and to realize the most money possible from a home’s sale, it is imperative that the seller makes a good first impression. It is not as easy as it sounds, the pricing strategy should not be taken lightly. Pricing a home too high can be as cos...

  • Homeowners look to move up in 2018

    Mike Mason, Special to the Village News|Updated Feb 16, 2018

    Unlike the experience of buying a first home, when homeowners are looking to move up, and they already own a home, there are certain factors that can complicate the situation. It's important to consider these issues before listing a home for sale. Not only is there the issue of financing to consider, but they also have to sell their present home at exactly the right time in order to avoid either the financial burden of owning two homes or just as bad, the dilemma of having no...

  • How to sell a home contingent on finding another

    Mike Mason, Special to the Village News|Updated Feb 1, 2018

    When real estate agents are looking at homes for their clients and see the language in the listing that says "subject to the seller finding replacement housing," many will push delete. It's typically, a turn-off for everyone involved, except the seller. Selling a home contingent on finding another may seem like a great idea on the surface. The seller puts their home up for sale but makes it clear that it can only sell if they successfully purchase another home before the sale...

  • Avoid costly housing mistakes in the midst of a divorce

    Mike Mason, Special to the Village News|Updated Jan 30, 2018

    The holidays are clearly over. Things did not go as hoped, again. Divorce is now clearly on people’s minds. Someone is asking themselves how will a divorce affect their home, their mortgage and their taxes? How can they make these critical decisions easier? Neutral, third-party information can help people make logical, rather than emotional decisions. Divorce is a tough situation which opens up many emotional and financial issues which need to be solved. One of the most important decisions is what to do about the house. In t...

  • Is now the right time to move-up/move-down my home?

    Mike Mason, Special to the Village News|Updated Jan 11, 2018

    Today’s move-up and move-down buyers face many challenges in the ever evolving real estate market. It doesn’t matter if homebuyers are looking for a larger home for their family with more yard for the children and dogs to play or downsizing to a smaller home with less maintenance. The challenges are all the same, juggling two real estate transactions at once. Not an easy task for even the most diligent. Since many homeowners once again have equity in their homes many are planning on selling their homes to buy another, as the...

  • Avoid these home seller mistakes

    Mike Mason, Special to Village News|Updated Jan 7, 2018

    Christmas is over, it's time for homeowners to get their homes ready for sale in the spring, and they're contemplating what steps to take, what needs to be done and what's it all going to cost to sell the home for the top dollar in the hot spring sellers' market. To eliminate stress from the formula when just the thought of all that lies ahead is already creating this sinking feeling of despair deep inside homeowners everywhere as the anxiety is already starting to mount....