Ask Kathe
An Ongoing Column Offering News, Advice, and Observations: All About The Real Estate Market in Pittsburgh, PA.
Buyer Trends to Consider When Remodeling
We are in the middle of remodeling and want to make sure we create a home the market will embrace on resale. Any suggestions? The number one requested item from buyers nationally is a dedicated laundry room – a place where they can spread out and get laundry done...
Finding An Affordable Home
We would like to move to Sewickley. Are there any affordable homes anymore? Of course there are! But Sewickley, particularly in affordable price ranges, has become a very competitive market. It seems the secret is out – many people know about our very unique...
Home For The Holidays!
455 Backbone Road Everything you could ever need, in one home, to live an exclusive life of leisure, luxury, convenience and privacy. This spectacular 11 acre Sewickley Heights estate is less than 1 mile from the heart of Sewickley Village and yet here, you will feel...
Choosing the Right Home
We are eager to buy a new home but worry that we may not make a good choice. Any advice? Surveys have shown that 33% of baby boomer and 64% of millennial home buyers have some level of regret when buying a home, and given the fast-paced market we have been in this...
Mortgages and Retirements
We are planning for retirement and thinking of paying off our mortgage – is this a good idea? When it comes to personal finances, there is never a one size fits all answer. Financial advisors will often tell you that investing in the market will, over the long run,...
To list or not to list
We are planning to sell our home but have an opportunity to sell it before it goes into the MLS – what are your thoughts?Many people often think that it’s a great idea to sell before their home hits the MLS – you certainly save yourself the hassle of having to get...
Simplifying The Mortgage Process
Do you have any tips on how to get through the mortgage process as smoothly as possible? I certainly do! Below are a few pointers on what you should not do if you want your mortgage to move smoothly through the process! This is critically important these days when...
Financing Your Retirement Home
We are moving toward retiring and downsizing. Is there anything we should be thinking about as we move toward this goal?One very important thing for you to consider is how you plan to pay for your retirement home. If you are thinking you want to finance your home...
Rub-A-Dub Better Keep the Tub
Both our bathrooms have claw-foot tubs which I am thinking of replacing with walk-in showers. What is the value of having a tub in the bathroom in place of a shower or in addition to a shower?
The Markets Temperature
Are you starting to see the market cool down at all yet?The answer to that question is both yes and no. In part it depends upon the price range that you are looking in or are selling in. Our homes priced under $500,000 are still selling quite readily and often with...
To Sell or Not to Sell
We are thinking about selling the home we have lived in for 25 years but it seems like such a daunting task. Do you have any advice?If you are like most people who live in their homes for multiple decades, you have undoubtedly collected a lot of treasured memories in...
Things to Consider
We hear selling a home can be a trying process. Any annoyances a seller should be expecting? Below is a short list of many of the “joys” sellers might experience during the listing process. Being aware that these are possibilities will hopefully help you take them in...
Is It Priced Right?
In your articles you often write “when it is priced right, it will sell.” Our home is on the market, has not sold and we feel it is priced right. Is this maxim always true? The short answer is that it is not always true. Some homes just take longer to sell than...
Candid Camera
We recently viewed a home that is on the market, only to find out the seller was taping the showing – we were stunned. Is this common?Welcome to the age of cheap technology! If you are viewing a home, whether at an open house to at a private showing, these days you...
The Waiting Game
We have been sitting on the sidelines for a while now waiting for a home that meets our wish list to come on the market – what’s coming this fall?You might be surprised to find out, you are one of dozens of prospective buyers sitting on the sidelines waiting for their...
QUICK PROPERTY SEARCH
Associate Broker
HOWARD HANNA
REAL ESTATE SERVICES
401 Broad Street
Sewickley, PA 15143
Cell: 412-779-6060
Office: 412-741-2200 x238
kbarge@howardhanna.com