| Your
Realtor: Virtual Real Estate Store |
March
2001
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All Rights Reserved. |
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What's "Fair Market Value?" 
Fair
market value. You hear the expression all the time. But what is
"fair market value" and how is this number determined?The term "fair market value" generally means the price at which a seller will freely sell and a buyer will freely buy. A more technical definition -- and one with general application -- can be found in the state laws of Louisiana. The state's legal code explains that, "Fair Market Value is the price for property which would be agreed upon between a willing and informed buyer and a willing and informed seller under usual and ordinary circumstances; it shall be the highest price estimated in terms of money which property will bring if exposed for sale on the open market with reasonable time allowed to find a purchaser who is buying with knowledge of all the uses and purposes to which the property is best adapted and for which it can be legally used." The dollar amount represented by fair market value becomes important in many cases. 
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Rates
are low again. Should you refinance your mortgage?
But what about the sacred "rules of
thumb." Aren't you supposed to wait until
rates get at least 2 percent below your current
rate? Or wait two years? Or perhaps you're
supposed to recover your closing costs in two
years?
A
major remodeling project -- something that can involve a
lot of time, money, and inconvenience -- is a big deal.
Little wonder that homeowners are often scared, sometimes
emotional, and in a few cases even irrational.
It's
an enviable position in which to find oneself, but it
happens. You're approaching the end of your home search,
and you're torn between two or more homes. The major
deciding factors -- asking price, quality of the
neighborhood, quality of school district and commute time
to your office as well as your spouse's -- are relatively
equal, so those won't help you favor one home over
another. What to do now? The decision could drive you
batty. If you lean toward one home, you'll be looking over
your shoulder longingly at the other home. All of those
"What ifs?" questions will run through your
mind. Maybe the carpeting in the other house would have
been more versatile. Maybe the layout of the other home
would have been more agreeable both for your furniture and
for your family's lifestyle.