Blog

‘Tis the season! And, no, I don’t mean Christmas, although that is fast approaching, too.  More on that later! What I DO mean is that Fall is the perfect time to to snag a bargain on your next home purchase. RealtyTrac analyzed more than 32 million home sales over 15 years and found that October buyers paid 2.6% below the Estimated Market Value of the home.  For a home valued at $200,000, that’s a savings of $5,200! LESS COMPETITION Spring and Summer have long been considered the best time to buy a home. More inventory will be available in the Summer, but prices tend to rise when ... Read More

With August 1st comes the realization that Back-to-School time is already here.  It just doesn’t seem possible that summer is coming to an end and school will be starting soon!  Whether your kids attend traditional schools, homeschool, or college, there is always a sense of excitement for what the “new year” is bringing. Over the last 21+ years of having kids in all stages of schooling, I have come to realize that this time of year is when I also renew my pledge to be more organized and survive the crazy school schedule, sports, and extracurricular activities that all kick-off in th... Read More

Summertime, glorious Summertime! For the majority of people, that means a vacation away from home. In addition to the usual tasks of arranging pet care, planning your route, and packing the car, it is a good idea to take care of these few items on a “pre-vacation checklist” before you go to prevent any unwelcome surprises when you return!   Turn Off the Water How many of us have heard the stories of a washer hose or toilet connection failing while the homeowner is away and they return to a flooded home?  The recommendation is to turn off the water to your home while you are gone... Read More

Spring has finally arrived! Actually, it seems like we skipped Spring and went straight to Summer.  Everyone seems to be OK with that after the Winter that we had! It sure seems like Spring has been a long-time coming in all areas of the U.S. this year! It is the perfect time to bring to life the changes that you have been dreaming about all Winter.  Patios and outdoor design consistently rank near the top of online searches for "most desired features in a home".  Making improvements in these areas gives you a great space to enjoy and can provide a fairly significant Return On Investment... Read More

 I need to do WHAT?! I have to say that when presented with the topic of “Spring Cleaning” as a blog post, I was at a loss.  Yes, I know what Spring Cleaning is.  But I have to also say that when I was growing up, I don’t remember Spring Cleaning being a thing at our house. My mom was very particular about how things were cleaned on a weekly basis and, quite frankly, we didn’t need to Spring Clean! I remember Dad doing outside windows and screens, but that was the extent of it. Unfortunately, I didn’t follow in my mom’s footsteps.  I struggle with having a weekly cleaning s... Read More

Studies show that we make up our minds about people within seconds of meeting them.  It would probably be fair to say that prospective buyers do the very same thing with homes that they are considering buying. Some buyers even go as far as refusing to go inside the house after pulling up to the front of the home! If you want to be sure that buyers don't hightail it out the door within moments of arriving, you have to create a fantastic first impression. (more…) Read More

Will the new tax laws be good or bad for the real estate market? Now that the new tax code has been signed-off on , a lot of people are asking how the Mortgage Interest Deduction is going to affect homeowners. Reactions range from “this is going to be a deathblow to the American Dream” to others saying this will have little impact on the majority of Americans. Tax Changes The new tax code allows taxpayers to deduct mortgage interest on loans up to only $750,000 combined for both primary and secondary (vacation) homes. The previous limit was $1 million. Existing homeowners will be allow... Read More

Believe it or not, the snow will eventually melt and the temperatures will rise indicating the onset of Spring and the beginning of the prime selling season for real estate. Improving the value of your home can be beneficial whether or not you plan to sell this year. Obviously if you plan to sell, increasing your home’s value can increase your position in the market thus attracting more buyers. But even if you don’t plan to sell, improving your home’s value(especially with curb appeal) can improve the selling prices of any of your neighbors’ homes that plan to sell this year, thus c... Read More

Bruns Realty Group is pleased to announce that Ben Redick has been promoted to Principal Broker and General Manager of the company. In this role his responsibilities will include providing full support to the agents in the brokerage, as well as expanding the business of the brokerage through new business development, networking, marketing, and recruiting. Ben has been with the Bruns family of enterprises since 2008, and has been an agent with Bruns Realty Group since 2011. Please help us welcome Ben to his new position. Read More

Ask any real estate agent to sum up what nearly every seller’s goals are and they will most likely say it is to sell their property for the maximum amount in the fastest time possible. Essentially, they want there to be a demand for the home that they are selling. But there are so many factors that play an important role in creating demand for a home; some of which a seller has little or no control over. For example, location is one of if not the most important factor in home values. And what the demand will be within certain communities and neighborhoods cannot be controlled by individual s... Read More