Licensed since 1984, San Diego real estate broker Gary Kent is a recognized authority on real estate. In addition to selling over 5,500 homes for clients, he has been an expert court witness, trainer of other agents, and he does seminars on home buying, home selling, and investing. Gary has sold homes for The Salvation Army, dozens of major banks, and Fannie Mae, amongst others. You can find Gary on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Can I trust an offer from a flipper?

Question: “We just got a surprisingly good offer from a flipper. Should we be suspicious?” Answer: Yes! In the past, flippers have made offers on my clients’ homes at attractive prices and gotten us to sign the contract and take the house off the market. Sometimes, the flipper had never even seen the property. Then
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Can a lender deny a loan if they don’t believe you’ll live in the home?

Question: “Years ago, I wanted to scale down and buy a condo in my neighborhood and keep my old house. But the lender denied my loan because they didn’t believe I was actually going to move into the condo. Is that even legal?” Answer: Yes. In fact, it just happened on one of my transactions.
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Thorncrown Chapel

The Thorncrown Chapel feels at home among the trees of Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains. This unique structure receives over 2,000 visitors each day. It was designed by E. Fay Jones and built in 1980. Jones, one of the top students of Frank Lloyd Wright was recognized with the 1990 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for a
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Ryugyong Hotel

The imposing Ryugyong Hotel towers above its neighboring buildings in Pyongyang, North Korea. The name means “capital of willows” and comes from a historical nickname of the city. Its unusual shape is thought to be symbolic of a mountain and determined by the exclusive use of concrete as a construction material. Normally a building of
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How do I transfer my property taxes to a new house?

Question: “Is it true that if I’m over 55, I can sell my house and use the property ‘tax base’ as the tax base for a new purchase?” Answer: Under Proposition 60, if you sell a San Diego home that qualifies as your principal residence and buy another principal residence in San Diego, you can
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Should we still buy a house even if the seller won’t lower their price?

Question: “We found a house we like that just hit the market, but the seller won’t budge off his price. Do you think we should still buy it?” Answer: You haven’t provided me the most important information: What are they asking? What do you think it’s worth? If you like the home and it’s worth
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Do houses make good rental properties?

Question: “I live in University City and the house next door just came up for sale for $900,000. Do you think that would make a good rental?” Answer: Maybe. While I do own one rental house, I’ve found that less expensive condos and houses, as well as 2-4 unit properties, make better investments. However, since
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Are condos good investments?

Question: “What do you think of a condo as an investment?” Answer: Excellent question! I own several condos as investments and they’ve been great. Here are some situations where I recommend condos to my clients looking for investment property: You’re a beginning investor and want to start easy. You want to keep things simple so
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Why NOT to use open houses to price your home

Question: “Hey Gary: We stopped in at an open house at the home at XXXX XXXX. It’s listed at $700,000. We weren’t impressed with it compared to ours. We assume the main draw for that house is location and it’s on a bigger lot. Have you seen it? What’s your opinion?  It makes us think
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Should I buy a home with an unpermitted addition?

Question: “I was looking at a home that had one of those California Rooms built without a permit.  Is there a downside to buying a home with an unpermitted addition?” Answer: (A California room is typically a patio style room with many windows. FYI, in Florida they call these Florida Rooms!) Three possible issues come
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