With most houses listed for sale, the seller lists a fixed price for the sale of the property based on a market analysis of similar area properties and a home buyer makes an offer based on that price. Now factor in “value-range pricing” (VRP) — a pricing strategy that has gained popularity. The question for sellers: Will it help you in selling your home faster?

First, some background. VRP, also know as variable-range pricing, apparently originated in Australia and has been around the U.S. for over 14 years. It seems to be especially popular in Southern California. This pricing strategy relies on a price range rather than a fixed-sales price. For instance, a home may have a range of $230,000-$250,000. This means that the seller will entertain offers within that price range, giving both a high and low price that may be acceptable.

Real estate agents I’ve spoken with using …

Barbecuing this Labor Day weekend? Why not make it a “green” barbecue for your friends and family to enjoy. No, I’m not talking about using green wood for the fire. It’s about making the barbecuing process more environmentally friendly and keeping the air around your home as clean as possible, especially if you are selling your home. Specifically, a greener barbecue helps eliminate potentially hazardous chemicals, improves air quality, reduces waste and saves natural resources.

The following is a collection of tips on ways to have a “greener” BBQ:

Use propane, natural gas, electric or  solar instead of charcoal briquettes. Charcoal is more polluting to the air than the other cooking methods.
Stop using charcoal lighter fluid. These liquid charcoal fire starters emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through evaporation – and as the charcoal burns and may leave a toxic-chemical residue on the grilled foods.
Save money with a charcoal chimney starter. This is a …

Unless you are familiar with foreclosed homes or short sales, you’ve likely never heard the acronym BPO. However, it’s not a new term. BPO stands for ‘broker price opinion’ and is merely one way to assess the current value of a home.

A full real-estate appraisal is performed by a licensed appraiser and can be expensive for the lender. Instead of an appraisal, a lender may order a less expensive BPO be done to determine a home’s value in today’s market. Often done for $50-$175 per BPO, this is much less expensive than the hundreds of dollars or more a full-blown appraisal would cost.

A BPO is done by a real estate agent/broker who, as part of their day-to-day work, typically must ascertain an accurate property valuation to help a client sell or buy a home. While a real estate agent may use less precise methods and not be as well trained as an appraiser …