Ms. San Francisco Real Estate (Janice Lee)

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a pocket listing? When do you recommend taking this approach?   A : There are occasions in which selling a home, “off-market” (not exposed to the wider buying public by keeping it out of the MLS) may make sense. Sellers who do not have the time, energy and/or desire to prepare their home for presentation on the Internet and to the public may prefer the off-market route. Sellers who prefer a higher level of privacy, wishing to limit access to their homes may choose this route as well. The potential downsides include a more limited buyer pool, fewer offers and ultimately a lower selling price; likely more true for properties that are not located in the most sought-after locations than those that are. Whether a pocket listing makes sense depends upon the particular property being sold and the individual needs of the seller. A : Pocket listings take several forms, but all involve limited exposure, usually outside the ML...

4 Things to Do with Your Home When Deciding to Downsize As they settle into retirement, many seniors begin taking a good, hard look at their homes. For some, the idea of living in a spacious house no longer holds any appeal, especially if it requires a lot of maintenance and upkeep. Enter the concept of downsizing, which involves paring down your possessions and moving into a smaller, more manageable home. For some seniors, this could mean purchasing a smaller house, finding an apartment, moving in with loved ones, or shifting gears altogether and moving into an assisted living facility. However, regardless of the reasons for your downsize or where you want to end up when all’s said and done, you’ll need to determine what, exactly, you’ll do with your old property. Here are four options you should consider when you start thinking about downsizing. Selling Your Home Successfully selling your home depends on quite a bit with the   current housing market , so take the...