Dear Jan: About a year ago, we had an agent come out and give us a price for our home. If we would have listed for that price, we would have been underwater. We decided to wait to sell.

We have done the improvements suggested and are thinking about trying to sell now. Have things changed enough that we could possibly get the money out of this that we need this year?

— JRKM

Dear JRKM: I am glad you were able to wait a bit to sell. Many sellers not only owe more for their home than what it is worth now (commonly referred to as a short sale) but also cannot afford to make the current payments, as they are so high and therefore have to list as a short sale or walk away from the home.

We are now in a hot market with very low inventory and the prices are creeping up. Therefore, perhaps your price has gone up enough to avoid a short sale. I would call upon a local agent to come out and give you an updated Computer Market Analysis, or CMA, to see where you sit today.

Just a little extra FYI: many of our buyers are selling in “Seattle’s multiple-offer crazy market” and are coming over here and paying cash. This means no appraisal and fast closings. Nice!

Best wishes to you. — Jan

— Jan Zufelt is an agent with John L. Scott Real Estate in Kingston. Contact her at janzufelt@telebyte.com