Joseph Pettinella's blog

Are you a first-time home buyer?  If so, you might not know where to start.  The first thing you need to know is how much home you can afford, and if you can get approved for a mortgage. Once you have these answers, you can start looking for the perfect home.

To learn about what to expect throughout the home-buying process, ask your REALTOR®, who can explain everything from start to finish and answer all your specific questions.  In the meantime, this short video is a quick way to get some good advice.

If you are planning to sell your home this Spring, then you should have already started preparing your home to sell for the best possible price and terms.

You may have watched or read reports about the real estate market being 'hot' and homes selling very quickly at increasing prices.  This is accurate information in many of our local neighborhoods, but not so much in other communities. There is a shortage of homes for sale that meet today's buyer expectations, and this factor is driving up prices in the more desirable communities and neighborhoods.

So what are 'buyer expectations'?  What are buyers looking for?  It's simple.  Buyers are looking for clean, well-maintained, clutter-free homes that show pride-of-ownership, and that are priced at or near actual market value.  

Use our Home Seller Pre-Marketing Checklist to help you get your home ready to meet, and exceed, buyer expectations.  It's also a good idea to call your REALTOR® before you are ready to sell, invite them over, and get their opinion on things that should be done to neutralize your home and make it as attractive as possible to potential buyers.

How is the real estate marketing looking for the State of New York?  Continued slow and steady growth is expected throughout 2016 . . . a sign of a healthy market.