How do you make decisions, especially really important decisions like choosing where you want to live when you retire? Buying a new home at this time in our lives can be overwhelming for some and yesterday one of my clients asked if I had a Checklist that I could send [...]

If you are 65 or over, you are eligible for a property tax credit against regular school taxes assessed on your primary residence. The actual credit is for 50 percent of the taxes up to a maximum of $500. It sounds very simple, but as I was doing the research for myself, I ended up with questions. So, I made some calls and I am sharing those [...]

Everyone keeps talking about how hard it is to get a mortgage with todays tighter lending standards. Many people actually disqualify themselves without even talking to a mortgage professional! But with both money and houses on sale, now is a really great time to buy. In fact, 8 of 10 homeowners would say now is a great time to buy a [...]

Do you ever wonder what all those initials are about? You know that long list of three and four letter abbreviations after Realtors names? If you were to look at mine, you would see Kathy Sperl-Bell, Broker, ABR, CRS, SRES. Most consumers do know what a Broker is, but dont know and probably dont really care about the [...]

There are certain truths in every business, things you just know to be true. After 10 years in Real Estate, I have learned that some things never change. These truths are [...]

If it seems too good to be true it probably is and that applies to homes. When I get a call telling me

Im looking for a bargain

or asking about buying a short sale or foreclosed home, I can tell they probably just saw a segment on CNN about the housing market. Or maybe they heard that commercial on satellite radio about the thousands of [...]

There is so much new technology introduced every day to help you find your next home. Sometimes I wonder - what technology do you use? For example:

• Do you use a Smartphone?
• Is your Smartphone a Blackberry or an iPhone or Android device?
• Have you ever scanned a QR Code? If you saw one on a For Sale sign, would you scan it to get more
[...]

The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay is one of Coastal Delaware's most beautiful resort properties. Last year when Bill and I were homeless, waiting to move into our new home in Lewes, we were thrilled when good friends told us we could stay at their condo at The Peninsula. If you are new to this blog, you may have missed all the great [...]

Where do our buyers come from? In Coastal Delaware, so many of the new Buyers now come from outside Delaware and have limited local knowledge about our communities, builders or lifestyle. On top of that, quite a few Baby Boomers have been in their current home for 20 years or more, so it's been a long time since they bought a home. Now that [...]

Is it true what you read about the low taxes in Delaware? Yes, it is absolutely correct. If you now live in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, DC and almost anywhere else, your property taxes will be much lower here. Even in Coastal Delaware resort towns like Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Bethany, taxes on a $400,000 new home will [...]