From the category archives:

Buyers and Sellers-- What You Really Need to Know

Fast Flip or Long Term Quality? Don’t Be the Biggest Loser!

July 26, 2010

We’ve all seen it– the quick flip with nothing more done than yard clean up, new paint, low grade carpet and a granite countertop, all this for $50K-$75K more than the investor purchased it for.
That’s great, if you go for skin deep looks, and the house is only 5-10 years old.
But [...]

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Why is it So Crucial to Read and Heed LOCAL Real Estate News?

July 25, 2010

I’m blessed with such wonderful clients. One lady always sends me the most interesting real estate headline news, and it’s important to keep up with real estate in general. But the national news is such a huge lump, that it rarely accurately reflects what’s happening locally here in San Diego.
We were [...]

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Quit Trying to Outguess the Market. Just Put in your Best Offer Now!

July 23, 2010

Quit trying to outguess the market, the seller or the bank. Just put in your best offer!
You might not get a 2nd chance.
A lot of times I am peppered with questions: when did they buy this home, how much do they owe, what will the bank take, when will they decide, how many other [...]

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Stop Trying to be Comfortable!

July 21, 2010

Buyers, sellers, investors, agents… stop trying to be comfortable. Because so many times, “being comfortable” that means you’re trying to play it way too safe, and you simply won’t get to the next level this way.
You’ve probably heard (or said) one these things before:
Buyers– “we want to feel comfortable with the monthly payment”. You don’t [...]

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Get a Copy of Your Credit Scores while they’re still good

July 16, 2010

If you’re facing financial difficulties, and may start having to miss payments on your home, call your loan officer or go to www.myfico.com and order a copy of your FICO scores now, while they are still strong.
Here’s why:
1) It’s a good, positive reminder for you of all you’ve worked for AND that your current financial [...]

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Buyers—stop looking for the perfect house!

July 4, 2010

The perfect man, the perfect woman, the perfect wedding, the perfect kids, the perfect house, the perfect car, the perfect school… sound familiar? Searching for perfection is as old as man, but as Miss Manners so wisely puts it in her new book: “Perfection does not exist this side of heaven, especially when it involves [...]

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Miss Manners takes on real estate???

June 30, 2010

Ooops– she was really talking about weddings, but substitute the word HOUSE for WEDDING and you’ll see how Miss Manners’ sage advice can help anyone and everyone currently searching for a house.
From Miss Manners’ top five gentle wedding reminders, homebuyers please heed # 3:
” A phrase you will be happier if you forget: “the PERFECT [...]

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What’s a Fair Offer? 3 Ways to Tell

June 15, 2010

What’s a fair offer? I’m asked this a lot, and there are 3 key elements which will help bring more clarity for buyers deciding what amount they should offer.
1. What’s it worth to you, the buyer? Can you reasonably expect to find something else with these same amenities (or more) in [...]

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Another home didn’t make appraisal– courtesy of another absurd government program

June 9, 2010

So how’s everyone doing with the new 3rd party appraisal situation? For the 2nd time in 3 months, another home didn’t make appraisal today– they valued it in at 10% less than contract price. Whatever happened to value being determined by whatever a willing seller and willing buyer agree upon? Not if the government can [...]

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The Giant Fork in the Road– how important is the number of closed transactions, really?

June 9, 2010

Build a giant team? Or remain a happy boutique agent… that is the question.
I work with a lot of out-of-town buyers, so my first consultation “meeting” with them is usually over the phone. After spending a good 45 minutes answering one gentleman’s extensive short sale/foreclosure questions, he suddenly became very focused on wanting to know [...]

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