The three most important factors when buying a home are location, location, and location.

Too often I hear people talking about making decisions based on the home itself, instead of the location, and that is a mistake.

What is it about location that makes it so vital to a real estate investing?

The condition and price of any home can be changed. You can even change the size of the house. The one thing you can't change is the home's location. A great location can change an entire neighborhood seemingly overnight as happened in Downtown Raleigh.

Supply and demand are two factors that will always play a role in real estate appreciation. Housing supply in great locations is limited to the number of homes in that location.

Location creates

Should I use a Realtor when Buying and Selling Homes?

Using a Realtor when buying and selling homes is an investment. You're going to pay them a commission, and statistics show you are going to see a GREAT return on your investment. It's also a great way to avoid being sued.

Some people don't want to use a Realtor when buying and selling homes, and this is because they want to try and save on the commission normally paid to an Agent. This is easy to understand. Ask the Founder of ForSaleByOwner.com how trying to sell his home without a Realtor worked out for him. He tried to sell his New York City Condo for 6 months before asking the help of a Real Estate Agent... who sold it in a few weeks for $150,000 MORE.

Craig Newmark the founder

Moving is NOT fun. It is one of the least enjoyable parts of buying and selling real estate.

When you buy a house, you need to move in... and when you sell your house, you need to move out.

With the amount of people moving to Raleigh NC, it's about time we simplified things with a 'Moving Checklist!' This article is intended to help with your move, so if you find it valuable please drop us a line in the comments section below... we love feedback!

If you're anything like the buyers and sellers we work with, than there is a good chance you have a lot of stuff that you need to pack, load into a truck, unload from the truck, and then unpack once you arrive to your new home. While the thought of moving is enough to make most people cringe, we are

How to Sell a House FAST for The Most Money

Here is an infographic on 'How to Sell Your House Fast and For The Most Money!' 

Be sure to check out each tip in detail below!

Preparing your House to Sell Fast!

Part of selling your house fast for the most money is going to come from the work and efforts you put in leading up to listing it for sale. Give yourself a full 2 weeks to prepare (sometimes you'll need more) because there are a lot of things you want to do in advance to make your home sell fast!

Consult with a top local real estate agent to ensure that you are preparing your home for sale the right way. If your home was once an expired listing it will likely sell the next time around if you prepare it the right way. Almost 90%

How to Avoid Foreclosure in Raleigh, NC

If you're a homeowner in the Raleigh, NC area and you are unable to make your mortgage payments, the lender may seize your property, evict you, and sell the home as it is written in the mortgage contract.

So how do you Avoid Foreclosure?

Talk to Your Lender

Once you begin having trouble making your mortgage payments you should contact your lender and explain to them your financial situation. This will give your lender the opportunity to work with you, and hopefully create a plan that helps you keep your house. Don't stop paying your bills, and don't wait until you can't make payments to act on your financial hardship. 

It's often that many homeowners are embarrassed or scared to tell their

The Spring is the Best time to Sell a House, Right? Not so fast...

If you're wondering when is the best time to sell for YOU, you should contact a top local Real Estate Agent to assist. There are many factors that go into selling a house, and whether you're selling in the Spring or Winter, there is a lot to consider.

Homeowners who plan to sell their home typically wait until the Spring to list their home for sale. This is for many different reasons, and one of them is a big time misconception - that the Spring is the best time to sell a house. While it is still a great time to be a seller, if you use the right strategies to market and sell your estate you can sell in any season. 

You want to sell your house when the pool of serious buyers is

Zillow Home Values

How can you find your DREAM Home if you can't see it?

If you're searching for home value information the first person you should ask is a top local Real Estate Agent, and the last place you should check is Zillow.

As of today, Zillow is the most widely used real estate website in the United States. It's an awesome experience for users because the website behaves beautifully. It's fast, it's clean, and it gives great functionality that other websites don't. It also appears that they have future plans to operate with boots on the ground.

However, News Corp has other plans for the Real Estate Marketing Giant...

Let's start with a little of the background drama before we hop into the details. News Corp owns

Tips to Sell Your Home FAST in Raleigh

Everyone wants to sell their home fast and for the most money possible. In order to do this you don't have to spend large amounts of money, in fact you can spend nothing at all:

Below you will find 7 - Cost nothing tips to sell your home faster! For those selling in competitive markets, like the homes in Raleigh, it makes even more sense to pay attention to the tips below that will help you put a sold sign in your yard. There are common mistakes sellers make and these tips are a low risk way to ensure your home sells fast.

Cleaning your Home Helps Sell it Faster

One of the first things you should do, and it should go without saying, is clean. Cleaning your home so that it presents at it's

A Real Life Story About a Home for Sale in Raleigh, NC 

Selling a home for more than your neighbors takes the right mix of ingredients.

In July, a Realtor® brought a buyer to one of our north Raleigh listings and made an offer. We countered at list price. She came back significantly closer to our list price, however my seller and I were confident in our price so we countered again by saying we would accept their offer at list price. She then told us "you will never sell that home at that price." She cited one home on the street that was comparable which sold for less. We respected her opinion and pointed to the fact that homes in Raleigh are selling 20 days faster and for 10% more than when that home sold a few months ago. That's when the

Did you know that the founder of ForSaleByOwner.com, Colby Sambrotto, couldn't sell his home for sale by owner? He enlisted the help of a Realtor® who then sold it for $150,000 more than the original price. You can read the full story here.

So you're probably wondering how did a Realtor® earn Mr. Sambrotto more money than he would have if he sold it himself. Let's talk about it.

As with anything in life there are people who work hard to master their craft. Lebron James is the best basketball player in the world, Tom Brady is the best Quarterback in the NFL, and they didn't end up the best without working extremely hard. Many of the best Realtors® spend their time learning, adapting and selling the homes of their clients each and every day. They