James D'Amato, Your Local Realtor and Home Sales Specialist

I recently had a deal where the appraisal came back less that the agreed upon sale price. Obviously my seller client was upset since he had already planned on making his next purchase. Further complicating matters was the fact that he had put a lot of money into his property and wanted to "recoup" most of the money. When you own real estate, try not to make the mistake of "over improving" your property unless you are ok with not getting it all back in a slow market. Spending $40K on a finished basement will rarely get you $40K back at the sale. In fact appraisers will usually adjust about $5-10K for a finished basement vs. an unfinished basement. Having that gorgeous kitchen with GE Monogram appliances wont get you the $20K investment that you are looking for.

Just listed and awesome house in Hopewell. One of the best houses I have seen in a long time. Pictures to follow...

Who would you blame if you closed on a home and discover that the deck was not legal and you had to remove it. You now own the home and are paying title insurance as well. The title company did not do a municipal search because it was an "all cash" deal.

I recently had an appraisal of one of my listings come in lower than the selling price. This has been a big issue lately since appraisers are more strict in their pricing. It is very important in todays market to price your home correctly. In addition, when buying a home, make sure your Realtor does a market analysis to determine what your potential home is worth. This can save you hundreds of dollars if your deal were to fall apart.

Pending home sales decline in August...-releases/2013/09/pending-home-sales-decline-in-august