Answers by Andrea Ballesteros

This all depends on the network of your agent and their ability to get it in front of the right people in order to bring value to you. It is always better to be on the open market. It allows exposure for your home to all the buyers out there rather than just the ones your agent or their brokerage can bring.

The earnest money you deposit is applied directly toward your total funds needed at closing, which includes your down payment and loan balance. For example, if you’re purchasing a property for $1,000,000 with a 20% down payment, a 3% earnest money deposit, and an 80% loan, the numbers would work out as follows: Purchase Price: $1,000,000 Earnest Money Deposit (3%): $30,000 (paid at the start of escrow) Down Payment (20%): $200,000 Loan Amount (80%): $800,000 Because you’ve already deposited $30,000, the amount you’ll need to bring in at closing is reduced to $170,000 instead of the full $200,000. This example doesn’t factor in additional costs such as closing fees.

Disclose, disclose, disclose. It is always best to disclose, present how it was corrected (if you have receipts etc that is best) and let the buyer know you have not had any issues since. This is the best way to protect yourselves from lawsuits in the future.

You sign an agreement as a commitment for your selected agent to go to work on your behalf. Broker's only get paid on the successful closing of a home. This fee can be negotiated by a seller so it is important to understand the numbers and hire an agent that is skilled in negotiations to get this fee or part of it covered by the seller.

I completely understand where you are coming from. You can navigate around this by having private showings only instead of public access via open houses etc. You can also have your agent request during the private showings that no photos or video are taken. As long as you have professional photos for prospective buyers to see you can have agent directed private tours that should ease you mind.

You can absolutely push back and get another appraisal. The problem is that a lender will not make an adjustment and the original appraiser will usually never go back on their original value. With that being said you can use the new appraisal as a tool to negotiate with the buyer to either keep your current price or meet in the middle.

How did you purchase it? Do you own both units? If they are deeded separately you should be able to sell your unit however you should verify this with the city and your title officer. You want to make sure they are in fact separate and their in no in lieu fee to convert to separate units. I would definitely let the neighbor know as they may be interested or know someone who is interested.