Author: josh

Key takeaways Earnest money and option fees are both payments buyers make when submitting an offer on a home, but they serve different purposes. Earnest money shows a buyer’s commitment and is applied toward the purchase at closing. Option fees secure the buyer’s right to terminate the contract during a defined option period. Both payments have specific timelines, refund rules, and conditions depending on the purchase contract. What is earnest money? Earnest money is a good-faith deposit that demonstrates a buyer’s serious intent to purchase a home. It serves as a financial commitment to the seller, showing that the buyer…

Key takeaways:  If you’re buying a home in Texas, you’ve probably heard the term earnest money, the deposit that shows a seller you’re serious about your offer. In most cases, earnest money in Texas ranges from 1% to 3% of the home’s purchase price, but the exact amount can vary depending on market conditions and your agreement with the seller. According to the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC), buyers must deliver their earnest money to an escrow agent within the time frame listed in the contract; if the money isn’t delivered on time, the seller can terminate the deal or…

Key takeaways Prices ending in ‘990’ or ‘900’ create an illusion of value, while round numbers can signal prestige. The first price a buyer sees shapes real estate pricing psychology and becomes the benchmark for all future negotiations. Pricing strategies must align with the seller’s primary goal: achieving the highest possible price, or selling the home quickly. When selling a home, the price you choose is the single most important factor, but it’s not just a financial decision. Setting the right price is an exercise in human psychology. It’s about how potential buyers perceive value, how they compare your home…

President Donald Trump says his $300 million White House ballroom will be paid for “100% by me and some friends of mine.” The White House released a list of 37 donors, including crypto billionaires, charitable organizations, sports team owners, powerful financiers, tech and tobacco giants, media companies, longtime supporters of Republican causes and several of the president’s neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida. It’s incomplete. Among others, the list doesn’t include Carrier Group, which offered to donate an HVAC system for the ballroom, and artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, whose CEO, Jensen Huang, publicly discussed its donation. The White House hasn’t said how much each donor…

Dave:President Trump has floated the idea of a 50 year mortgage. This could reduce monthly mortgage payments by hundreds of dollars per month for the average homeowner or investor, but at the same time, it would nearly double the amount of interest you pay over the lifetime of the loan. So would you take on a 50 year mortgage today? I’m gonna help you understand everything you need to know about this proposed new loan product and give you my take on whether the 50 year mortgage could make sense for real estate investors. Hey everyone. Welcome to On the…

Realtor.com has released Spotlight Listings, a new marketing tool that enables agents to drive additional traffic to their listings. Spotlight’s launch coincides with a major update to Local Expert, a lead generation tool that gives agents prominent placement on home and directory search results.

Chess’s international governing body said Tuesday that it filed a complaint against former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik after he leveled unproven allegations of cheating against fellow players, including Daniel Naroditsky, who died last month at age 29. The complaint centers on harassment and “the insulting of an individual’s dignity,” said the International Chess Federation, known by the acronym FIDE, in a news release. Naroditsky’s cause of death has not been made public. Kramnik accused Naroditsky, an American grandmaster of cheating last year and continued to share suspicions on social media. Naroditsky, a prodigious chess player who helped usher in the game’s online boom with…

Beside, an AI voice startup that emerged from stealth earlier this month has raised $32 million to expand its ‘AI receptionist,’ which is already handling millions of calls per month. The startup’s AI receptionist aims to fill the gap for people and small businesses who can’t afford a full-time assistant. It answers calls, remembers customer details, books appointments, and handles follow-ups, all through an app that connects directly to a customer’s existing phone number. “We think of it like hiring a Harvard-grad Chief of Staff with a perfect memory,” Maxime Germain, Beside’s Paris-based founder and CEO, told Fortune. “Over time,…

Dave:The US is on the brink of a recession, or at least that’s what one major bank is saying. According to another one, though the risk is mild and it’s actually going down. So which one is it? Is the economy really faltering and at risk of serious declines or is growth going to continue and does any of this even actually matter to real estate investors? Today we’re going to dive into this and discuss why the traditional ways of measuring recessions is failing to provide ordinary Americans and the real estate investing community with the information it needs,…

Asking the right questions that start with “why” can reveal your buyers’ true motivations and keep contracts from falling apart, writes broker Annette DeCicco. Rocks, like buyers, are easy pickings. They’re everywhere. However, what’s below the surface is often questionable, something to avoid. Without a communication strategy, heavy on “why” questions, agents face a serious risk of loss: derailed contracts.  Pre-qualifying your buyer clients before you show homes and create offers can not only save major communication issues, but it can also help keep already complex transactions from falling apart. The secret is getting behind the walls that buyers sometimes…