Bob Bekins

It may surprise you to know that almost NO home improvements ever increases the sale price of a home enough to cover the costs.  THAT IS if you examine those costs in a vacuum.  Here is the value from a study by Home Tech Publishing.  But read below to see why you may want to make a different decision about what and when to improve.   Entry Door Replacement  Cost $1,238      Resale V ...

Downsizing Your Stuff By Deborah Moyer www.YourOrganizingAnswer.com   Moves are daunting at any age because of physical/emotional stress and we all have a lot of ‘stuff’ we’ve accumulated over our lives. Don’t procrastinate & start now regardless of how far away your move date is! Don’t be afraid to ask for help from neighbors, family, and friends.  Pick the ones that will be tough ...

Whether you are a Senior Citizen or have parents who are becoming one, you will understand that beyond health care concerns, the home presents one of the biggest challenges.  It is filled with furniture, collections, clothes, tools, food, records, and notes; but most importantly with memories of every type.  Most of the homes in which I have lived had more good memories than bad and I ...

SHORT, SHORTER, SHORTEST – What you thought you knew about short sales and more.  A common myth in the real estate market place these days is that a Short Sale gets you, the Buyer, a great deal.  The truth is that usually is does not.  A Short Sale is when a Listing Agent and a Homeowner decide to sell a property for less than what is owed on it.  This “owing” can be to any or all of the ...

I love to talk to my Uncle George.  He has all these strong opinions.  Unfortunately about half of them are totally wrong and the other half are only partially correct.  He doesn’t understand demographics.  Numbers and trends create pressures that end up changing the facts which become our history.  Can we look forward and predict them?  Actually we can. Here is the history – the 83,000 ...

OWNING v.s. RENTING   Several hundred thousand reasons why owning is better than renting for years.   Your TOTAL RENT Payments, including an annual 5% rent increase. Monthly Rent 5 Year Total 10 Years 20 Years 30 Years $800 $53,040 $120,744 $317,316 $637,416 $1,000 $66,324 $151,020 $397,236 $79 ...

MOVING!  Now there is a word that draws in a huge number of powerful emotions.  Living in my 57th home, I have a full appreciation of all that the term implies.  And one of the big concerns in that transition is my pets. It would be easy to assume that everyone else will love my dog, or cat, or cockatiel as much as I do.  But before you buy that new place, or sign that lease, you had better ...