Are you selling Pittsburgh real estate? Has your home been on the market for awhile? Don’t feel despair, instead, take the opportunity to really showcase your home this spring. To begin with, get your yard in order.

Pittsburgh Homes For Sale

Increase your curb appeal. What is the first thing a Pittsburgh area home buyer will see? The outside of your house.

Power wash the siding and driveway, put fresh paint if needed, wash the windows, and get rid of all the cobwebs or fall debris that might still be hanging around. The best way to showcase a yard is to plant flowers and bushes to show off the yard’s best assets. Have a nice sunny patch? Get some bright flowers to draw attention to it. Have a large shady area? Get some great shade loving ferns and plants-show potential home buyers that the shade is a good thing, and show them what can be done.

Getting your Pittsburgh Home Ready To Sell

If you don’t have a green thumb, or don’t know the first thing about plants that will work in your yard, you are in luck. The 29th Annual Home and Garden Show starts today at the Pittsburgh Convention Center, and there are over 9 acres of everything and anything you ever wanted to learn about gardening.

You will also find great ideas for showcasing the inside of you home to its best advantage. If you take care of getting a great yard going and spruce up the inside with some quick cleaning and lighting tricks, you are sure to finally get an offer.

Relocating to Pittsburgh

If you are ready to move, but don’t know much about the Pittsburgh area, be sure to request my Pittsburgh Relocation Guide and my Pittsburgh Home Buying Guide, both are full of the important information that will make your real estate journey smooth and easy. Any other questions? Feel free to contact me, Jim Dolanch, your expert Pittsburgh real estate agent-I am here to serve you.

Until next time,
Jim

When you start the journey to Pittsburgh, PA home ownership, you have many options and choices to make-and sometimes it can be hard to tell which decisions are the best for you, your finances and your situation.

Pittsburgh Homes For Sale

First off, when you start browsing the Pittsburgh MLS home search through www.jimdolanch.com, you have the choice of also browsing Pittsburgh real estate for sale by area or zip code, so if there are certain community or area amenities and aspects you would like to enjoy, be sure to learn more about Pittsburgh area communities. By spending a little bit of time researching the areas, you can narrow down your home search by seeing homes that are only in the communities that interest you.

Pittsburgh Real Estate Financing

Second off, you must think about what kind of financing you will be using. If you are an “empty nester” you may be coming to the home buying table with a full cash offer, or if you are a first time home buyer, you may have 10% down. If you are a Pittsburgh first time home buyer, you may not have much credit history on your side; however, if what you have is in fantastic order, you can still get a great rate. As a second or third (or fourth) time home buyer, you do come to the bale with a boost up on the credit, as you have already proven yourself as a responsible home owner, capable of making reliable Pittsburgh real estate mortgage payments.

All of these aspects change the way your lender or bank will set up or mortgage, what interest rate you have, and  how much you can borrow.However, if your credit is questionable, now is the time to get it in order. A good year (or more!) of solid, reliable credit can do wonders to your home buying power, approval with lenders, and your mortgage rates. The longer you have a positive credit score, the more power you have to pick and choose your mortgage, your lender, and your rates.For even more guidance, you can request my Pittsburgh Home Buying Guide or contact me.

Selling Pittsburgh Real Estate

Lastly, For most home buyers, selling Pittsburgh property is the very first step that must be done before getting serious about buying a new home. How do you work out this process? What if a home you love comes on the market, but you  haven’t gotten an offer on yours yet, or the offer isn’t settled yet? With the help of an expert Pittsburgh real estate agent, you can easily make and offer that is contingent on the selling of your current home.

Pittsburgh Real Estate Questions and Answers

Do you have other Pittsburgh real estate questions? Feel free to contact me, Jim Dolanch, your expert Pittsburgh Realtor, to learn everything and anything about the Pittsburgh area.

Until next time,

Jim

Moving can always be a little stressful. Whether you have been in a home a long time or a short while, going through all your items and packing can be the least favorite item on your moving list. At the holidays though, the idea of packing up a home can be very overwhelming. If you find yourself in relocation mode right now, I have a few tips to help make your move easier.

Pittsburgh Relocation Tips

Get moving quotes and make reservations early. This is huge for cutting out stress. Holidays mean short staffs and reduced work time for many movers.  To make sure equipment and drivers are available when you need help moving, place your reservation as early as possible. It may cost more to move on some days than others, so for best prices, discuss holiday peak times with your movers. If you need to receive your shipment before the holidays, ask about guaranteed transit or expedited services. Also spend some time looking for discounts, coupons, or specials your movers might have the in local papers. ,

Consider moving help alternatives. Rather than only looking into truck rentals, consider moving containers with storage options and flexible load and unload schedules, like a Pack Rat. This is convenient when you want to reduce the pressure to load or unload quickly. In fact, if you need a break before unloading the entire shipment, you can start with holiday decorations and necessities and save the rest for later. If your budget allows, you can get more help moving by hiring labor to do all the packing and loading or just some of it. Combining moving labor with a self-move is often a money saving alternative to full service movers. If you are coming across a lot of items in your home you don’t want to move, but need to get rid of, you can save time by hiring a junk removing company, as opposed to taking everything to a charity or dump yourself.

Purchase gifts online and have them shipped directly to your friends and family. With the clutter of moving boxes, it might be tough to add a slew of gifts to the chaos and traveling to relative’s homes  might be out of the question. If so, consider purchasing gifts online and shipping them directly to a relative’s home or your new home – wherever you will be celebrating the holidays. Not only is this more convenient, it also means less moving boxes, which results in a money-saving opportunity. In most cases, the less you move, the less you pay.

Decorate with less. Although it is nice to have all of your decorations out for display, consider paring them down while in the midst of moving. Choose those decorations that hold the most tradition and meaning for your family, and pack the rest in moving boxes ready for the movers to ship to your new home. You could even consider doing “green” decorations, like with all evergreen boughs and wreaths, so that you an still decorate a lot, but none of it will need to be packed up and moved when the big day comes-it can be recycled into mulch by your town’s yard waste pick up.

Pack holiday essentials separately. Have everyone put their holiday “must haves” together in specially labeled boxes. Then load these boxes last. That way the decorations, fuzzy slippers, hot cocoa, cameras, holiday music and other special items are easy to locate right away on arrival. You won’t have to unload everything and dig through moving boxes to find just what you need. Wardrobe boxes are well suited for a small tree with trimming and traditional favorites. You can also have a huge decorating party with your family at your new house as you unpack all your holiday items.

Make it a fun family adventure. Incorporate your favorite traditions in new ways. Spend the day in your pajamas rather than unpacking clothing from the moving boxes. A tree in the corner of an otherwise empty room becomes even more special. Camp out in your new living room rather than moving the furniture in. It can wait until another day. Hang on to your traditions and maybe create some new ones. You may find that “different” can be special and memorable.

Pittsburgh Real Estate

Moving over the holidays may not be the best scenario but it can be an opportunity to embrace change and adventure together as family. Making the most of a potentially stressful situation can make this holiday season your best one yet and if you have questions about moving to Pittsburgh, would like to browse the Pittsburgh MLS or take advantage of the Jim Dolanch Relocation Guide, simply contact me. I am here to help make sure your holiday move is successful.

Until next time,

Jim

It has been a season of ups and downs for the Pittsburgh area real estate; however, October showed signs of a turnaround as last-minute buyers apparently scrambled to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit that was originally set to expire in November.

Pittsburgh Homes For Sale

Pittsburgh home sellers will be excited to learn that buying activity in Allegheny County jumped 18.1 percent in October, resulting in $227.1 million spent on housing, as compared with October 2008’s $192.3 million.

Pittsburgh Home Buyers

The substantial jump in Allegheny County sales, combined with a 6.4 percent increase in Westmoreland County, offset modest drops in Beaver, Butler and Washington counties to boost the five-county region 9.7 percent. Those of you searching for a Pittsburgh area home can request the Pittsburgh home buying guide to learn more details and tips on home buying in our areas right now.

Other questions about the Pittsburgh real estate market? Simply contact me, Jim Dolanch, your expert Pittsburgh real estate agent to find all your answers.

Until next time,
Jim

Moving to the Pittsburgh, PA area is a joyful time, but it can still be very difficult on kids- especially if they are of school age, with friends, favorite teachers, and class activities that they are having to move away from.

Make Your Move To Peters Township With Children Easier

Though the move may be hard for kids in general, the part most parents dread is the drive to your new home. Unless you are staying in the same city, or an area close by, you will probably end up with more than a few hours of driving to reach your new Pittsburgh area real estate all the while dealing with a grumpy child in the backseat. What are parents to do? Never fear, I have a few tricks I have learned over the years as an expert Peters Township real estate agent:

• Brush up on your traditional car games. Even the alphabet game and licence plate game can be modified for younger children. Travel size board games, like battle ship, can be fantastic ways to pass the time.
• Have a basket of entertainment at easy reach. For younger children, keep the basket full of their favorite toys, books, and snacks. Hand out one item at a time, so younger children will get some good entertainment out of each one before they get bored. For older children, perhaps take them to a books store to buy a book they would enjoy reading, let them pick out an age appropriate magazine. Highlights, Zoo Books American Girl, are great for the tween years.
• Have snacks on hand. Even the grumpiest child will cheer up when given his favorite snacks. If the move is particularly hard on your child, perhaps splurge and get some items he or she has always wanted -like those double stuff oreos-but you never deemed as appropriate lunch food.
• Get the addresses of all your children’s best friends, and let your children pick out their own stationary so they can write their friends about the trip to your new home. If your children are upset about losing friends, this can be a great opportunity to help them realize they can still keep their friends. There are lots of great car travel trays you can find at Walmart,Target and other such stores, that will provide a great flat surface for your children to write on. This also provides a great way for your children to realize they can still stay in touch with their friends, and provides a great way to work on their writing skills. Even if you children are older and in the texting/twitter/facebook way of communicating with all their friends, they may still enjoy the novelty of writing a letter to pass the time.
• If your drive will be more than 6-8 hours, it might be a good idea to invest in a portable DVD play for the car. As much as I myself dislike entertaining children with the tv for hours at a time, on a very long drive, a short movie or cartoon might be just the trick to help ease squirmy passangers, and give you parents some downtime from entertaining.

Learn More About Relocating To Pittsburgh

Are you Relocating to the Peters Township area? Be sure to ask for our FREE personalized Pittsburgh and Peters Township Relocation Guide to get all the businesses, Peters Township area schools and other local Pittsburgh activity informaiton make the areas of Pittsburgh and Peters Township one of the greatest places to raise a family. All our tips will help you get settled quickly and to prepare even more for your move, read up on our Peters Township moving tips.

If you are ready to search Pittsburgh homes for sale, or would like to browse the Pittsburgh MLS, then contact me, Jim Dolanch, your expert Pittsburgh Realtor.

Until next time,

Jim

Peters Township Real Estate has seen the same slump a lot of the nation is facing right now; however, we are starting to come out of that slump, which is great news for Pittsburgh home buyers and sellers! Even with with the good news, there is a group that still needs some assistance and your expert Pittsburgh and Peters Township REALTORS are here to help!

Pittsburgh Short Sales

When you are trying to sell your home, but can not sell it for what you owe on it, then you are caught in a short sale. Short sales can be maddeningly frustrating for all involved, because each one has to be approved by the mortgage lenders and that whole process can take a very long time.

Lenders can often take weeks or, in worst cases, months, to respond to a short sale offer. Why? Because they are getting overloaded with requests AND in a short sale, they are getting paid less than what was originally promised. So even though someone may be able to prove hardship in making their Peters Township home payments, the lenders still aren’t super excited to lose the money, even though in the long run they could up getting less if it goes to foreclosure.

So what is a home owner to do? Make sure you work with an Expert Peters Township Realtor, who understands the short sale process for your area inside and out.

Because even when things do go smoothly and your short sale is approved, there can still be mistakes in how long it takes the paperwork to get back to you, making it impossible to close in time and forcing you to start over. Unless you contact an expert Pittsburgh REALTOR and let me help with every step of the process.

Short sales can be frustrating, but don’t worry; the real estate team at JimDolanch.com is here to help you every step of the way.

Are you thinking about how to start the short sale process, or what to see if a short sale might be an option so you can avoid foreclosure? Then contact us, your expert Peters Township, PA real estate agents, with all of your questions and concerns.

Until next time,
Jim