Friday, January 22
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Home Buying

Jan202021 by Ian JensenNo Comments

We Want a Diverse Area With Moderate Population, Warm, Beach and Culture—So Where Should We Retire?

Grand Prairie, Home Buying, Retirement
Courtesy Visit St. Pete/ClearwaterDear MarketWatch, We are African-Americans and want to retire to a diverse area with moderate population, warm, beach, culture. We can afford a better-than-average lifestyle and want to feel accepted in our new community — hopefully somewhere with high walkability and homes with character. And maybe near a major airport…. for lots of traveling. Let me know what you come up with. Thanks. — Jennifer Dear Jennifer, We all know there are plenty of beach towns in the U.S., but finding one with personality is a bigger challenge. I’m going to leave out some obvious places, like Miami Beach and, though less diverse, Hilton Head. On the West Coast, no Southern California. Too obvious. Plus, while you can afford a better-than average lifestyle, home pr...
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Jan172021 by Ian JensenNo Comments

Homie & Girl Scouts Partner to Build Cookie Castle

Home Buying
As with many things in 2020, selling homes and cookies is being done differently; that’s why we’ve teamed up with the Girl Scouts-Cactus Pine Council in Arizona. In an effort to foster creativity, engineering, and entrepreneurial skills amongst the Girl Scouts we’ve donated $15,000 to the foundation. Similar to Homie, Girl Scouts encourages innovation and finding new ways of doing things. When Girl Scouts were forced to sell cookies indoors as a result of safety precautions due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we wanted to create something eye-catching and fun. The result – a cookie castle. What is a Cookie Castle? One local Girl Scout, Mija and her father are building a 9-foot by 9-foot by 13-foot tall castle mostly out of Girl Scout cookie boxes. This will be the focal point to the ...
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Jan162021 by Ian JensenNo Comments

3 Big Reasons Your Home Offer Was Rejected—and How To Play It Right Next Time

Grand Prairie, Home Buying
Natee Meepian/Getty ImagesFor first-time home buyers, finding the perfect place to settle down is hard enough. But then to have the offer you’ve made on it rejected? You might be tempted to start reconsidering this whole homeownership thing altogether. But hold on! Having your home offer rejected doesn’t have to mean it’s back to renting. In fact, if you play your cards right, you might just be able to turn that rejection around—or at least learn from the experience and come back a stronger candidate the next time. The most important aspect of a rejected offer is understanding why it was rejected, and for that we turned to the experts. Here are a few common reasons your home offer might have been rejected, and a few helpful tips on what you can do about it. 3 common reason...
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Jan132021 by Ian JensenNo Comments

Homie’s Greater Phoenix, AZ Housing Market Update November 2020

Home Buying
The local Arizona housing market has been hot nearly all year long. As we get closer and closer to the year’s end, will the trends continue? We checked out all the stats for Arizona’s market during November. Check out what we found out! Monthly Sales According to data from the ARMLS ® from November 1, 2020 to November 30, 2020, monthly sales in the Phoenix metro area rose significantly from where they were at this same time last year. With a +27.4% year-over-year increase, sales landed at 8,886 for the month. While this number is a slight drop from the previous month of October, the -8.3% month-to-month decrease in sales is in line with the typical slow down in the market as the year starts wrapping up. Data retrieved from ARMLS®. List Price At $453.9K, November saw a +6.4% year-ove...
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Jan122021 by Ian JensenNo Comments

How To Tour a House Today: Tips To Make the Most of Virtual or In-Person Showings

Grand Prairie, Home Buying
d3sign / Getty ImagesTouring a house is like going on a first date: It’s your chance to get a sense of whether this home is the one. Can you envision baking cookies in that kitchen, or cracking a beer on that back deck? But in this day and age, with so many houses to see and so little time before they get snapped up, the prospect of finding this dream home in the real estate haystack can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. Add in the coronavirus pandemic, and the idea of checking out houses all around town might feel unsafe, too. But here’s the good news: The rules on how to tour a house have changed in ways that can save time, lower your exposure to COVID-19, and curb your workload and stress levels, too. Here’s what you need to know to ace your house-hunting game for the...
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