Berkshire LIFESTYLE Blog

  We are seeing more short sales becoming available on the market in the current market conditions than we have in the past. A short sale is a sale of a property where the lender agrees to accept less than what is owed on the mortgage in order to facilitate a sale. While this typically means bad news for both the seller and the bank, it can mean opportunity to buyers who have patience.  ..(read more)

  We are seeing more short sales becoming available on the market in the current market conditions than we have in the past. A short sale is a sale of a property where the lender agrees to accept less than what is owed on the mortgage in order to facilitate a sale. While this typically means bad news for both the seller and the bank, it can mean opportunity to buyers who have patience.  ..(read more)

As we all know energy prices are through the roof these days so anything we can do to use less energy in our homes is going help ease some of the strain on the pocketbook.  People are also becoming more and more conscious of the conservation of consumable energy sources and therefore have more of an interest in “going green”.  With that in mind it may be time to replace the old..(read more)

The bundle of fees associated with the buying or selling of a home are called closing costs. Certain fees are automatically assigned to either the buyer or the seller; other costs are either negotiable or dictated by local custom.Typically Buyers and Sellers do not get specific information about their precise closings costs because the closing attorneys are engaged in confirming tax data and discussing..(read more)

The 7 Basic Principles of Home Staging Every home seller will greatly benefit from doing the following five things.

Real estate and physics have some very basic fundamental principles and laws.  An example, in physics the law of gravity is paramount.  If you throw a ball up, you know that it is going to come down.  Tough to defy this law. In real estate, the most..(read more)

Great Barrington Realtor® Completes Loss Mitigation Certification Program   Great Barrington, MA – Corinne McKeown, Broker/Owner of Storybook Homes Real Estate earned a Certification in Loss Mitigation on March 8, 2008.  The program was offered by The Massachusetts Association of Realtors®, and taught REALTOR® attendees how to work effectively with complicated..(read more)

Every person working in real estate or planning to buy or sell real estate can benefit by using the below link which will lead you to a free real estate dictionary. This dictionary of real estate terms is one of the most extensive in the industry and is used by many real estate agents, real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, and instructors in major real estate schools across the country.  ..(read more)

It's a challenging time for many home owners who borrowed money at too-good-to-be-true rates a few years ago.  We hear daily news reports about more and more foreclosures.  While we care greatly about what these folks are going through (see homeowner resouces below) - it is also true that forclosures bring opportunity to others -  who often wouldn't otherwise have..(read more)