Real Estate Contract is legal, binding, can't just walk away!

You cannot just walk away from a legal bing real estate contract to buy a house. If you are a home buyer you should know that just "changing your mind" isn't an option. The seller of the house can sue you. There are legal ramifications that can happen to you. It is a serious thing you arent just buying a pair of shoes. Be prepared and educate yourself before the process so you know what you are doing and are comfortable doing so.
For more information on Wilmington, NC Real Estate and Wilmington, NC Luxury Homes visit my website at TheCarolinasFinest.com!Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaEdwards@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Buyers should be guided, not pushed.

A role of a buyer's agent is to guide, advise, educate, and negotiate on the behalf of the buyer purchasing the home. The role is not to push them into whatever home they think will be a fit.

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Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Pre-qualified or pre-approved...it's not the same.

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Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

There is still time to get your $8000!

On this mornings Today Show some very frustrating and incorrect information was announced. In the real estate clip it was stated that is was too late to purchase a house and get the $8000 tax credit because ALL home loans now take 60-90 days to close, so you are too late. WRONG!!!! COMPLETELY WRONG!!!! All of my closings are 30 days and even less. This is so frustrating and really annoying. I dont know about other area, but in Wilmington, NC we can get a loan closed in 30 days just like always.
If you have comments or disagree you can email Jessica at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

What's wrong with "looking for a house"? Wilmington, NC

Make sure you think about how you are "looking" for a home. Sometimes the looking part gets very clouded and becomes way more difficult than it should. Finding and buying a home should be a fun and exciting process. If not, you need to step back and look at why it is not.

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If you disagree or have any comments you may contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

HGTV Gone Wrong in Wilmington, NC

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A Bikers View of Wilmington by Brian Moxey

If you have comments or disagree please contact Jessica at jessicariffle@seacoastrealty.c om. For more info on the Wilmington, NC area and Wilmington, NC real estate visit www.TheCarolinasFinest.com

The appraiser WANTS it to appraise, let's make their job easier!

An appraiser's job is not always easy, but it is important to remember that they WANT a property to appraise. It only makes their job more difficult when something doesn't appraise or they cannot get it to appraise with the available comparables.
For more information on the Wilmington, NC area and Wilmington real estate, click here!If you disagree with Jessica you may contact her at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

First time home buyer, not unprepared home buyer.

If you are a first time home buyer, there are a few steps that are important to remember. One being that it is important to ask for advice and opinions from only a few trusted people that you decide will help you with this process. If you talk about your home purchase with everyone you know, friends, family, co-workers, etc you are going to end up with so many different opinions that your head will spin. Watch the entire video...My video blog: http://www.HotPropertyBlog.com

Is you disagree or have comments/questions contact Jessica at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com. For more information on Wilmington, NC real estate and luxury real estate, click here!

I am not a tour guide, this isn't HGTV.

As a Realtor in NC I am required by law to explain to a potential client or any customer, how they will be represented by an real estate agent. You can be represented as a buyer or a seller. As a buyer's agent, most experienced and educated Realtors will require that you work exclusively with them under an exclusive buyer agency agreement. This protects the buyer...if your agent isn't representing you then by law we work for the seller and must look out for their best interests not yours. And it protects the agent, who is not paid hourly or reimbursed for gas or for the time, etc, unless someone purchases a property. As an agent and a real estate consumer/buyer I will only work under this agreement. Why should I be loyal to you if you arent loyal to me?

Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Correction / Clarification

In regards to my blog on Friday titled "Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty ROCKS!"...

In my video below I stated that we “sold a house every 2.5 hours”….which is correct for the month of June and yes, it is based on 24/7. CBSC did sell a house every 2.5 hours for the month of June.

HOWEVER, in the video I was saying that it was for 2009, for all of this year, we sell a house every 2.5 hours. That is not correct. If you pull the numbers for the entire year and base it on 24/7 we have been selling a house every 3 ½ hours since January 1. That was completely my fault….I guess I really shouldn’t have dropped AP Calculus my senior year of high school...maybe I would be able to add/multiple/and divide properly. LOL

So, yes 24/7, yes every 2.5 for June, but for all of 2009 it is every 3.5 hours.

Which I must say is not too shabby of a number.

Hope this is good clarification. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

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Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Negotiations are often the most important factor in a real estate transaction

Negotiations are often the single most important piece to any real estate transaction. Terms of the contract, dates, price, inspection items, and repairs are all things that your Realtor must negotiate for you. If your agent does not have strong negotiating skills you could be leaving a lot on the table and not getting everything you could. Also, you must be able to trust that your agent knows the best negotiation tactics to get you what you want.
If you have any comments or disagree, please email Jessica at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Remove by request, no need to yell at me!

If you wish to be removed from receiving any emails....even if you requested to receive them....all to have to do is let me know. Reply to an email or talk to me about it. No problem. Why would I want to send emails to someone who doesn't want them? That would be a waste of time. I do not need yelled at to follow a request. I can hear if you speak normally.

Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.
For more information on Wilmington, NC real estate or Wilmington Luxury Homes, click here.

Watch that price...199,900 may not be such a good thing. Wilmington, NC

There are several things to think about when pricing your home. We all know the most important like current market activity, but what about search ability? Typically, searches auto-populate the price ranges we can choose from. Meaning we, agents and buyers, search in increments of 25-50,000. Usually when someone's price range is 300-350,000 we all search up to say 360,000. I don’t think anyone ever thinks to search down by 5,000 or 10,000. So if you list you home at 299,000 you are potentially cutting out A LOT of buyers that are search at 300,000 and above. Don't miss out on potential buyers and make sure your price is optimizing the number of searchers out there!
Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Real Estate Flyers...Are they worth it?

Do you often see flyer boxes next to for sale signs that are empty or the flyers are wet and stuck together? If you were really interested in a house don't you think you would call the listing agent for more info or your own buyer's agent? If you are a seller wouldn't you want someone to speak with your agent or an agent on duty in regards to your house rather than grabbing a flyer and driving off? I think they are a waste...what about you? If you have any comments or disagree, please feel free to email Jessica at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

For more info on Wilmington NC Real Estate & Wilmington Luxury Homes, click here!

Open for Business, Realtor Hours, Wilmington, NC

As a Realtor, my office hours are never set in stone. In fact, often, my "office hours" doesn't mean I am actually in the office. I am available by cell phone daily from 8am until 10pm. Other than that my "work hours" change from day to day. Sometimes, I may be in the office or on appointments listing homes or showing homes until 8 o'clock at night. Other days I may be done working at 5 or 6. The same goes for morning. Sometimes I am in the office most of the day and others hardly at all. So, when working with a Realtor, it is best to not feel like you are "bothering them" or "making them stay late" in the evenings. Part of my job is to be available at times convenient for my clients. All you have to do is ask and if I am available at that time, I will be happy to accomodate your schedule.

If you have any questions, comments or disagree with what I have to say, please feel free to comment or email me at JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

For more information on Wilmington, NC Real Estate and Wilmington Luxury Homes or to search all homes for sale in the Wilmington area, Click Here!

Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Who brought the buyer, who brought the offer? Real Estate in Wilmington, NC

This is my response to a FSBO seller that was wondering about the buyer's agent that brought them an acceptable offer on their 400,000 home which is now under contract! Pay that agent for doing their job and be happy and thankful you are selling your home!!!

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Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

FREE Buyers Agent

In the state of North Carolina you can have full representation when buying a home and it is FREE!

Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

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8000 Tax Credit as Down Payment...Maybe, Maybe Not

It seems the announcement from HUD of the possibility the government allowing using the current 8000 tax credit as a down payment on a home purchase was a bit premature. They have now removed it from the website and it looks like it was more of a thought or an idea that comething concrete. Surprise, surprise....

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Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

Down Payment Assitance

The included information is from my friend Chris Hutchens at Alpha Mortgage...

HUD recently announced that qualified First-Time Home Buyers who want to take advantage of the available tax credit of up to $8,000 now have another option available to them to help them become homeowners.

It's clear that first-time home buyers have been having a major impact on the housing market this year. The National Association of Realtors announced that first-time buyers, who typically account for less than 40% of home sales each year, have been especially busy…in March, homes that were purchased by first-timers accounted for 53% of all sales, and this percentage is expected to hold true for all of 2009.

With home affordability higher than ever, available tax credits and some of the lowest interest rates ever recorded for home loans, who can blame them? Particularly as a first-time buyer, there may never be a better time to buy a home than right now.

However, the availability of a tax credit, while a great incentive, does not put the money in the hands of a buyer right away. HUD's announcement now allows for prospective and qualified home buyers to borrow the money from approved agencies and lenders.

While details of participating lenders and HUD-approved agencies are not yet available, this should turn up the heat on prospective buyers to get busy searching for their next home. As further details become available, I will get them to you.

In the meantime, alert your database that one more barrier to homeownership is being removed and the time to start shopping is now!

You may contact Chris Hutchens at Alpha Mortgage by emailing chris.hutchens@alphamortgage.com. Please tell him I sent you!

Contact Jessica at 910-352-1043 or email JessicaRiffle@SeaCoastRealty.com.

For more information on Wilmington, NC real estate and Luxury Homes, click here!