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New York Times
3 days ago
- New York Times
$700,000 Homes in New Hampshire, California and Ohio
Francestown, N.H. | $689,000 This four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom house is known as the Betsy Searle Place, after its original occupant. The house is on Francestown's Main Street, within a five-minute walk of the town's Old Meeting House, a building holding the town's offices and fire department, and a coffee shop that also serves handmade chocolates. Brennan Falls, a popular destination for day hikers, is five minutes away, and the ski slopes of Crotched Mountain are 10 minutes away. Concord, N.H., the state capital, is 45 minutes away, while Portsmouth, N.H., and Boston are both 90 minutes away, and Hartford, Conn. is a two-and-a-half hour drive. Size: 2,724 square feet Price per square foot: $253 Indoors: From the street, a red brick path leads to a covered entryway flanked by a pair of columns. In the foyer, stairs rise to the second level and Tamarack pine floors continue into a formal living room that has deep-set windows with wood shutters. On the other side of the staircase is a formal dining room, where a fireplace is finished with a white mantelpiece. Behind the dining room is an updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a garden window above the sink that looks out at the red barn behind the house. Off the kitchen is a sunny family room with white paneling. A powder room is off this space, and a mudroom with Moroccan-inspired tile floors is off the kitchen. All four bedrooms are on the second floor. The primary suite has a bedroom with its own fireplace and space for a king-size bed, plus a full bathroom. Another bedroom next door also has its own en suite bathroom. Two other bedrooms, both big enough for queen-size beds, share a bathroom with white wainscoting and green walls. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Can I offer my estate agent a £1,000 bonus if they sell our home for the best price?
We're about to list our home for sale and have agreed a flat fee with the estate agent firm upon completion. I'm aware our selling agent will get commission, but can we incentivise him to sell our home quicker and prioritise us by giving him a cash bonus? I thought I would offer £1,000 cash off the books to make our home his number one focus and get the price we want. But is this unethical, or even illegal? Ed Magnus of This is Money replies: This is an interesting idea, However, it needs to be kept above board, on the books and handled in the right way to be ethical. It's worth remembering that a good estate agent shouldn't necessarily need to be given additional financial incentives to sell. You would hope they would want to get you the best possible price regardless, as this often dictates their commission. If a quick sale is what you are after, it might be a better strategy to simply price your property competitively. Homes that receive an enquiry on the first day of marketing are 22 per cent more likely to successfully find a buyer than homes which take more than two weeks to receive their first enquiry, according to Rightmove. Listing your property at a realistic asking price is also likely to attract more buyers. That means more interest, more viewings, potentially more offers and even a bidding war. Buyers tend to become more engaged once they know other people are interested in a property and that 'fear of missing out' kicks in. Will the bonus strategy work? This will divide opinion and many will argue it won't. After all, a property is worth what a buyer is prepared to pay for it and ultimately, what price you accept is up to you. But there could also be an argument for offering an incentive to the estate agency on the basis it is paid to whichever negotiator ends up selling the property. You need to be clear about the terms. For example, you'll pay £1,000 if they sell for a certain price, or within a fixed time period. If the estate agent is just a one or two man band, then I would question whether an extra £1,000 will make much difference to them personally as the managers of the business. That said, most estate agent offices have a team of sales negotiators who get paid commission when they sell a property. Typically only the negotiator who sells a property earns the commission - the others get nothing. Negotiators' commission is often 10 per cent of the fee agreed, albeit it can be higher than this. This means for example if you agreed a flat fee of £6,000 with the estate agency, only £600 of that might go to the negotiator who sells your home. Do the maths: Most negotiators will receive a percentage of your estate agent fee if they sell the property, but this will only be a fraction of the sale price Most estate agents charge a percentage fee, rather than a flat fee, the average being about 1.5 per cent of the final selling price. This in theory incentivises each agent to get the best possible price. However, the negotiator who sells the property may not be that fussed to negotiate hard on your behalf given they only receive a fraction of that. For example, while the difference between you selling for £400,000 and £410,000 might be a big deal for you, for the negotiator it could make all but £15 difference to their commission, based on them taking 10 per cent of a 1.5 per cent fee. Setting a target price for all the negotiators to target with the offer of an extra £1,000 incentive for anyone who manages to secure that price (or more) could in theory pay off. After all, the worst kind of estate agent is the one that just waits for the incoming phone call via Rightmove or Zoopla. A much better sales negotiator will pick up the phone, know their list of buyers and be able to create a buzz around your property from day one. Some agents may even be able to find potential buyers looking in surrounding areas - if they have other offices nearby with a buyer database they can access. For expert advice, we spoke to Mike Hansom, consultant for property litigation at BLB Solicitors, Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and Matt Thompson, head of sales at Chestertons. Is £1,000 cash off the books legal? Mike Hansom replies: I am not sure what an arrangement 'off the books' would entail, but the extra fee you pay would be income that the agent needs to declare to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs. I recommend you are vigilant in avoiding any transaction where you suspect the agent might not declare the income. It could mean you are implicated and even prosecuted for an offence relating to tax evasion or avoidance. Assuming the transaction is entirely legitimate for tax purposes, there could be a view that you are simply looking for a premium service, for which you are willing to pay a premium rate, and in principle that is not unlawful. I also anticipate it is common for some agents to offer different marketing packages for different prices. Jeremy Leaf replies: I am not sure it is a great idea for various reasons – first and foremost, there is the tax and transparency question. Should the payment, if made, be disclosed to the tax authorities by the giver or receiver? And what would the reaction be of other client vendors of that agency if they were to discover that sellers have been offering extra payments to promote their properties at the expense of others? My advice is not to make the proposal as almost certainly trouble will follow one way or another. The majority of negotiators are on individual commission anyway so will benefit if they arrange a sale. You must be careful of offering one negotiator an incentive and not another because if word gets out, you may find the other negotiators disengage from trying to sell your home. Is it unethical? Jeremy Leaf replies: Any conversation would need to be had with the head of office or manager, explaining the circumstances and perhaps coming to a structured arrangement to incentivise the sale at a particular price, rewarding the successful negotiator who goes the extra mile. In this way, transparency is maintained and everyone knows what is happening. It may also depend on how big the agency is. A corporate structure might not be sufficiently flexible to allow for your proposal. Matt Thompson adds: I understand you are in a rush to sell your property, however, offering your selling agent an additional amount of money 'off the books' is not something that an agent should accept. Mike Hansom replies: In looking for an agent who prioritises your property over that of their other clients, you might struggle to find a reputable agent who will agree to work with you. I anticipate most agents' standard terms and conditions say something like they will 'use their best endeavours to market and sell the property' of all their clients. Agreeing something extra with you that puts their other clients at a disadvantage would breach that kind of term. If word ever got out it would put the agent at risk of legal action from all their other clients. Perhaps more importantly it would cause them huge reputational damage. What could they do instead? Matt Thompson replies: What you can do is agree an official negotiator bonus. I understand that you have agreed a flat fee with your agent. This may or may not be the best option for you as a flat fee doesn't really incentivise an agent to prioritise your property. Instead, we would advise you to agree for the agent to receive a set percentage of the sales price which can range anywhere from 1 per cent to 2 per cent and present a bigger incentive than a flat fee would. Best mortgage rates and how to find them Mortgage rates have risen substantially over recent years, meaning that those remortgaging or buying a home face higher costs. That makes it even more important to search out the best possible rate for you and get good mortgage advice, whether you are a first-time buyer, home owner or buy-to-let landlord. Quick mortgage finder links with This is Money's partner L&C > Mortgage rates calculator > Find the right mortgage for you To help our readers find the best mortgage, This is Money has partnered with the UK's leading fee-free broker L&C. This is Money and L&C's mortgage calculator can let you compare deals to see which ones suit your home's value and level of deposit. You can compare fixed rate lengths, from two-year fixes, to five-year fixes and ten-year fixes. If you're ready to find your next mortgage, why not use This is Money and L&C's online Mortgage Finder. It will search 1,000's of deals from more than 90 different lenders to discover the best deal for you.
Wall Street Journal
18-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Housing's Woes Are a Leading Indicator
A home for sale in Miami. Homeowners in states like Florida and Texas face rising costs. ()
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi Prepared to Take Bath on Bel Aire Mansion
Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, are trying to sell what are believed to be one of their last remaining homes in the United States after their recent move from California to the United Kingdom. However, according to Kelsi Karruli of Market Watch, the attempted sale of one of their homes that was originally purchased for $29 million in 2022 hasn't gone according to plan. The home is located in Bel Aire and was originally put on the market back in May of 2024 but has since been delisted twice after failing to sell. The first re-listing saw a drop in asking price from $33.9 million to $29.9 million, a reduction of $4 million. Then, the house was re-listed once again after being taken down for a second time last month and now has an asking price of $28.5 million, which is a whopping $5.4 million lower than the initial asking price. If sold at that price, DeGeneres and de Rossi would be taking a loss of $500,000. It hasn't been all bad for DeGeneres and de Rossi, though, as they were able to make a more than $200,000 profit on a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Montecito, California, that sold for $5.2 million following the couple initially buying it for $4.99 million. Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi Prepared to Take Bath on Bel Aire Mansion first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 16, 2025
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
On the market: This Rockford area home has an original curved wood staircase and built-ins
Address: 1004 Pearl St., Belvidere Property description: This four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home in the heart of town was built in 1900. It has 2,472 square feet of living space and a detached two-car garage. It has the original wood staircase that curves to the upper level with a balcony and built-in bookcases. The open living room has a gas fireplace and opens to a screened sun porch. The kitchen has Corian countertops and a breakfast nook. Outside is a fenced, landscaped yard, a paver patio with a built-in gas grill, and a garden trellis. The laundry area is in the full, unfinished basement. Asking price: $299,900 Listing agent: Jane Eurek, Dickerson Nieman, 815-988-7596 Each week, we feature a unique property for sale in the area. Have a property you'd like to see featured? Email news@ and put "on the market" in the subject line. Kathi Edwards is a freelance contributor to the Rockford Register Star. This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: On the market: This Rockford area home is on the market for $299,900
