Buying your first home can be one of the most exciting experiences of your life. But it can also be one of the scariest. Buying real estate is a complicated process. And if you've never purchased a home before, the fear of all those unknown variables can make the experience stressful, frustrating, and downright terrifying. If you're thinking about purchasing a home but are dealing with the fear that comes along with it, don't worry! You're not alone. Most first time home-buyers deal with a certain level of fear as they get ready to buy their first home. But that fear doesn't have to hold you back. Here are three of the most common fears of first time home-buyers (and how you can overcome them).

"I can't afford to buy a home."

The

As unfortunate as it can be when homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments and must face the possibility of losing their homes, short sales and foreclosures provide them options for moving on financially. The terms are often used interchangeably, but they’re actually quite different, with varying timelines and financial impact on the homeowner. Here’s a brief overview.

A short sale comes into play when a homeowner needs to sell their home but the home is worth less than the remaining balance that they owe. The lender can allow the homeowner to sell the home for less than the amount owed, freeing the homeowner from the financial predicament.

On the buyer side, short sales typically take three to four months to complete and many of the closing and

While not in our 50's yet, my wife and I are about to send our two kids off to college in the next 6 months which naturally has us thinking; "Do we stay in our 4 bedroom home just the two of us?"  We love the home and location, but things will definitely be different without the kids. What home improvements might we consider?

Like us as we approach the nest phase of our lives, more homeowners are taking on projects that will allow them to age comfortably in their current home, according to the “2017 Aging in Place Report” from HomeAdvisor. But they don’t like the term “aging in place.”

Researchers, who surveyed those 55 years old and up for the report, found that many of these homeowners are completing projects that put more emphasis on

Now is the time to start setting the “Table” for your real estate business for 2018. At the Cascade Team we will show you step-by-step exactly what our top performers do to get to the positions they are at. Unlike at other companies, The Cascade Team will help you develop a business plan, implement it, and help hold you accountable to reaching the results and goals you set for yourself! Our rookie of the year for 2017 completed 121 transactions his first year, and another agent (Matt Jensen) will earn over $1.3 million in commission income… And we’ll have you the keys and blueprints to do exactly the same thing… It’s all up to you!  

We want to help you become the best agent you can be!

Every month The Cascade Team provides professional

Even with early seasonal snow and the expectation of our usual seasonal slowdown October key housing indicators continue trend upwards.

• Seattle, year-over-year prices jumped 17.6 percent.
• On the Eastside, the median price for a single family home rose 10 percent from a year ago.
• Buyers outnumbered new listings, with 10,586 of them having their offers accepted compared to only 8,466 New Listings further shrinking available inventory.
• Buyers may find themselves in a quandary as the year winds down as they contemplate limited supply, possible upticks in interest rates and tax reform.

Pending sales rose nearly 8 percent from a year ago, closed sales were up 5.2 percent, and prices jumped about 8.2 percent, with 14 counties reporting

Sometimes you just can’t find the perfect house. With inventory as tight as it is, options are slim, and buyers often must settle for a home that isn’t their best match if they’re determined to purchase now. But there’s still a way to get exactly what they want, even if it’s not on the market. They could build the house of their dreams — though the process may be grueling.

Building comes with many more details to keep track of than buying an existing home. You have to get construction permits, work with an architect, worry about staying within zoning regulations. It’s a daunting task that not every home buyer should take on. But for clients who want what they want and can’t find it anywhere, new-home construction could be their best

It dawned on me recently that buyers really need a basic overview. Especially for first-time home buyers who aren't familiar with the process.

Bear in mind that the steps in the home buying process can vary from state to state, depending on local custom. However, when you strip away all of the crap, which may or may not happen to you, there are really only 5 basic steps to buying a home.

Hire an Agent

Because I am an agent, I believe in hiring a buyer's agent first. But you don't have to if you prefer to go to open houses and look through a mumbo jumbo of homes online. Mostly, an agent will save you time.

• An agent can send you listings directly

It's about to become nighttime a whole lot earlier as Daylight Saving Time ends and numerous Americans and people across the world will get an "extra" hour of sleep as their clocks change from 2 a.m. back to 1 a.m. on Sunday. For the world of Real Estate that means an extra hour of homes sales and home appreciation, but how did we get to the whole "Spring Forward" and "Fall Back" idea anyway?

SEE: 6 Benefits Of Buying Or Selling Your Home In The Fall

The clock will change back to Standard Time which the United States will follow until March 2018 when Daylight Saving Time will kick in again.

When you change your clocks or "fall back" an hour Sunday, Nov. 5, in the U.S., you will be following Standard Time once again which this nation has been

Fading FSBOs: More Sellers Admit They Need Real Estate Professionals Help

Posted by Cary W Porter on Friday, November 3rd, 2017 at 9:46am.

Homeowners are increasingly turning to real estate agents for help in selling their home, as the share of for-sale-by-owner sales remains at the lowest share on record, according to National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

Sellers’ use of a real estate agent remained at an all-time high this year at 89 percent, according to the survey. Meanwhile, for the third consecutive year, for-sale-by-owner sales continued to be at the lowest share in the history of NAR’s survey at 8 percent.

Sellers reported mostly being satisfied with the performance of their agents, too.

Homeowners are increasingly turning to real estate agents for help in selling their home, as the share of for-sale-by-owner sales remains at the lowest share on record, according to National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

Sellers’ use of a real estate agent remained at an all-time high this year at 89 percent, according to the survey. Meanwhile, for the third consecutive year, for-sale-by-owner sales continued to be at the lowest share in the history of NAR’s survey at 8 percent.

Sellers reported mostly being satisfied with the performance of their agents, too. Eighty-eight percent of sellers surveyed indicated they were satisfied with the selling process, and 85 percent said they are likely to use their agent