Most home buyers are resistant to selling their current home before they already have another one tied up. This means buying before selling, which carries an element of risk.

One way to approach such a move, if market conditions permit, is to make an offer on the new home that is contingent upon the sale of your current home. This way, you don't put cash down on the new place until you have your equity out of the home you're selling.  more...

DEAR BOB: As a Realtor for 19 years, I do not agree with your comment that a listing agent who refuses to hold open houses is lazy. A more appropriate response would have been for the home seller to ask that agent to prove by his success record he can sell property of that type without open houses. I have sold hundreds of condos and I never hold open houses. I feel they are an imposition on the neighbors, especially within gated communities. I work with clients who are often elderly widows, single women, and mothers with newborns.  more...