The FOCUS Blog

I am Sharina Van Syckle - Administrative Assistant & Transaction Coordinator ‘Extraordinaire’ for Sage Street Realty. My background is anything but Admin however, this opportunity fell into my lap and I LOVE IT! In deciding to write this post, I wanted to change my…

The big debate… Rent or Buy? The thing to remember when considering if you should be Renting or Buying a home is to know your own financial situation, your plans for the somewhat immediate future, and know what you are looking for in a home. If you cannot answer these…

With interest rates at historical lows, it is tempting to jump ship on your current mortgage whether through a refinance or the sell of your home. Here are a couple of questions to consider when trying to make this decision!

The first thing you need to know about homeowner’s insurance is that it’s not optional. Any lender you work with will require that your new home be adequately insured before they will write you a mortgage. You’ll need to show proof of insurance come closing time or…

Buying a home is always an anxiety-ridden process, and that goes triple for anyone who’s embarking on homeownership for the very first time. There’s so much to do and so much you don’t know that “overwhelming” hardly seems like an appropriate…

Not too long ago in our country's history, talking about making your house "greener" might get you labeled a hippie tree-hugger. But times change, and as gas, electricity, and water prices creep up, more and more homeowners are seeing the (strong) advantages that come with…

Just like in any other profession, there are good real estate agents ... and there are, unfortunately, subpar real estate agents, too. But how do you know if you've got a dreamboat or a dud handling your real estate transaction? One way to know whether you've got a good…

If you've never owned a house before, then it's entirely possible that you've never deep-cleaned a house. (Hey, no shame in that game.) But when the house is yours, the desire to see it as clean and sparkling as it can possibly be is strong -- and you might have no idea…

Between micro-apartments, tiny homes, and even #vanlife, the real estate industry is taking the saying “less is more” to previously unknown levels. And while we can all get behind the idea of streamlining your life and shedding possessions that no longer meet…

If you’ve been thinking about investing in real estate, getting your finances in order before you start searching for properties and scheduling appointments will save you from money headaches in the long run.  Real estate investments could be one of your largest…

Real estate investing is gaining popularity, and if you’ve been giving it some thought, this guide will give you an overview. The goal of any real estate investor is typically to make money. This means purchasing an investment property at a good price so you can rent…

If you’re not familiar with home inspections, then you might have a lot of questions about what gets inspected, how thorough the inspectors are, why you even need one, and what you can expect if you’re walking with an inspector through the house you’re…