Here are the best places in Philadelphia where you can take your dog to eat, play, shop, and stay.  Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation Today’s topic is all about the dogs of Philadelphia—where you can take them to eat, play, shop, and stay. Joining me to provide special expertise is my dog, Mr. Licorice. Here are a few links that direct you to all the best places to treat your pet. The best dog parks: Mr. Licorice and I like to visit the Schuylkill dog run, which is located near the Schuylkill River. It’s open 24/7, and they have two separate areas for big dogs and small dogs, not to mention canine grass so your dog never gets dirty. Many of these dog parks offer seasonal activities. Seger Dog Park, for instance, holds a “Woofstock” event every summer, and they have a “Howl-o-Ween” celebration coming up this October, and a “Santa Paws” event this December. The best dog-friendly restaurants and bars: (Our favorite is Parc) The best dog-friendly hotels: (Some of them, like Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, provide dog bowls, treats, and bedding) The best dog-friendly shopping centers: (Our favorite is Doggie Style in Queens Village) If you’d like to talk more about how you can show your dog a great time here in Philadelphia, give me a call! And don’t forget, Mr. Licorice’s birthday party is coming up on October 13 at Le Peg on Columbus Avenue from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. We’d love to see you there. In the meantime, if you have any real estate questions, feel free to reach out to me as well. I’d love to speak with you.  

What should you do if a buyer pitches you a lowball offer? My advice is to respond in one of three ways.  Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation Lowball offers are something no seller wants to receive, but they occur nonetheless. As frustrating as it is to receive an offer that’s lower than what you had in mind, it’s important to know what your options are, and today I’ll list three. But first, I want to point out that you should always respond either verbally or in writing. Try not to take it personally and never ignore any offer that comes your way. Now, without further ado, here are the three ways to address a lowball offer: 1. Test the market by altering your home’s price based on data from the MLS. How do we do that? Say we’ve priced your home at $310,000 and our first offer comes in at $290,000. At first glance, this constitutes a lowball offer. However, maybe we experiment by lowering your home’s price a bit and waiting a week or so. That slight reduction will catch the attention of buyers and the idea is to drum up a multiple-offer situation, thereby driving the price up. Once that happens, you’ll certainly be able to sell for a price higher $290,000 and possibly even above your original price. 2. Make a counteroffer close to the list price. If we’ve listed your home at $325,000 and, using the example above, received an offer of $290,000, our response will be to adjust your price to $323,000. This sends a message to the buyer that we’ve done our research and we’re secure in our price. If they’re a serious buyer, they’ll get the message and counter back with an offer closer to that number. 3. Politely decline the offer. As I mentioned earlier, though it’s a little risky, we can also submit a verbal or written response letting the buyer know that the home might not be right for them. This will catch the buyer and their agent a little off guard and, without sounding insulting or rude, is a great way to gauge the buyer’s seriousness. If you have any questions or you’re looking for a trained, skilled negotiator to represent you in the selling process, please give me a call or send me an email. Mr. Licorice and I look forward to hearing from you!  

If you’re planning on buying a home sometime soon, make sure you do your research when it comes to school districts. Here’s why. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation My trusty pal Mr. Licorice joined me recently to talk about some of the benefits of buying a home located within a Greater Philadelphia-area school district. Even if you don’t have young children yourself, it’s still important to check out the quality of local schools where you’re thinking of buying a home. More than any other factor, good schools establish a good location to buy a home in. Buying a home in an excellent school district will result in paying more up front, but it will also help you sell for more down the line. Additionally, a home in this kind of area is more resilient to downturns in the market. These homes tend to hold their value during a recession much more often than homes in areas with lesser schools. The internet makes it super easy to find what you need. Websites like schoolgrades.org and greatschools.org give great stats and useful information. City-Data.com can also help you get some more insight. My big advice is to do some legwork by checking out the local schools in the area you’re considering buying in. It will really help out in the end. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The loan process can be a stressful part of the home buying process. Here’s what not to do during the loan process.  Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation As a buyer, there are certain actions you’ll be advised to take during the loan process to ensure a smooth progression toward closing, but that topic is for another time. Today I’ll reveal what not to do while obtaining loan approval. Here are the five buyer don’ts: 1. Don’t quit your job. Your boss might be a jerk and you might be ready to pursue greener pastures, but now’s not the time to disrupt your employment situation. Avoid quitting, relocating, or changing positions while the loan process is in progress. The name of the game in all of this is stability. 2. Don’t increase your credit card balance. I’m sure you’re eager to buy some new furniture and appliances to go along with your new house, but, again, not so fast! Ramping up your credit card debt before the loan is finalized can impact your credit score or debt-to-credit ratios, and that’s not something you want to mess with. 3. Don’t buy or lease a new car. You’ve probably caught on to the theme by now: Wait until you’ve secured your home loan to do this! Most lenders will do a soft pull, and it’s best to not do anything that could alter your score and get the attention of your lender. 4. Don’t use the money set aside for your down payment. This seems obvious enough, but it’s certainly worth reiterating. 5. Don’t omit any of your liabilities. If you have a private loan, owe child support payments, or are bound to some other form of liability, be forthcoming about it with your loan officer. Withholding this information will just create problems for you later on. There you have it! Avoiding these things as you move through the loan process is a must. If you have any questions about today’s topic or you’re looking to buy, sell, or invest in South Jersey or Philadelphia, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I’d be happy to help!