Harrisonblog

People, Places, Events, and Issues in Harrisonburg
(with an emphasis on real estate)

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Thinking About Buying a Home? 8 Tips To Help You Get Started

November 17th, 2011 by Lisa Oates · No Comments




If you’ve never bought a home before, just thinking about it can be daunting. We know. We’ve all been first time home buyers before. It is important to know what you are getting yourself into before you make the decision to purchase, so here are 8 tips to help you get started [source of the [...]

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Tags: Buyers

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Kline May Showings Update: Year End 2010

January 3rd, 2011 by Lisa Oates · No Comments




It is time for another update on how showings have fared at our brokerage, Kline May Realty. We made it through 2010, and showings were up from last year for half of this year. This means we’ve had our ups and downs (as you can see on the chart below), but we are confident that [...]

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Tags: Buyers · Market Trends

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Searching For a Home in Harrisonburg and/or Rockingham County?

September 29th, 2010 by Lisa Oates · 1 Comment




You may have heard that the fall months aren’t great for home buying. In reality, though, fall is a great time to buy! Here’s a few reasons why:

Properties are still being put on the market in hopes of a sale, and many times, a quick sale.
Sellers may be more likely to negotiate on price because [...]

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Tags: Buyers · Listings · Tools · Weekly Update

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Are You Ready to Buy a Home? When Do You Start Your Search?

July 13th, 2009 by Lisa Oates · 1 Comment




The home buying process can be a daunting task if you’ve never done it before — and sometimes even if you have! A common concern that we hear from first-timers is whether or not they are ready to buy, and how they know when to start looking once they are ready to take that next [...]

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Tags: Buyers

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Is Now the Time to Buy a Home?

January 27th, 2009 by Chris Rooker · 1 Comment




Maybe.
It is certainly a buyer’s market, which means that home buyers have the advantage in negotiations, as well as a broad range of choices. However, since it is a difficult market for sellers, our team’s counsel to inquiring would-be buyers is that they need to be reasonably confident that they will live in the [...]

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Tags: Buyers · Market Trends

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Got Mortgage Questions?

January 20th, 2009 by Lisa Oates · 1 Comment




MortgageCroc has a website that holds a plethora of information regarding mortgages and loans. It features a tip of the day, news, articles, lays out the basics of mortgages (credit scores, types of mortgages, amortization schedules, etc.), and is all-in-all a cool looking site. So if you have any questions about mortgages, feel free to [...]

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Tags: Buyers · Tools

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Finding the Right Real Estate Agent for You

January 5th, 2009 by Lisa Oates · No Comments




I just read this excellent and informative post by Rudy Bachraty of Trulia entitled “How to Pick the Best Real Estate Agent for You.” It gives steps to find your ideal real estate agent in your region — either online or offline.
Before your start doing your homework, I want you to envision your ideal real [...]

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Tags: Buyers · The Team

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Buyers, Are You Able, Ready, and Willing?

December 29th, 2008 by Lisa Oates · 1 Comment




This month’s REALTOR Magazine is out, and in it is a fascinating article entitled “Overcoming Buyer Reluctance.” We are regularly speaking with home buyers about their wants and needs for a new home, but many times — especially now — they are reluctant to actually go through with a transaction. This article hits the nail [...]

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Tags: Buyers · News

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Who’s Buying Real Estate… and Who’s Not

December 5th, 2008 by Lisa Oates · No Comments




The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) surveys home buyers and sellers on an annual basis, and they have published their findings for 2008. Here is a glimpse at the type of folks buying:

Married Couples: 61%
Single Women: 20%
Single Men: 10%
Unmarried Couples: 7%
Other: 2%

Compared to the past 5 surveys, first-time home buyers accounted for a larger portion [...]

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Tags: Buyers · Market Trends

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Is There a Positive Outlook for This Negative Economy?

December 2nd, 2008 by Lisa Oates · No Comments




Let’s just state the obvious: the economy is in (or close to) a depression. So, how can we stay positive — especially about the real estate market — in this negative economic climate? It seems too unstable to be really confident in buying or selling, but things aren’t always what they seem.
The Wall Street Journal [...]

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Tags: Buyers · Issues

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