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.

Buying Outside San Diego

“Hi Gary, I guess I am what you might call…‘a fan?’ I’m about to retire out of the military, and move on. I am destined for the Detroit suburb area. While the housing market is already, and forecasted to be low, I do intend on buying once in the area. Do you handle Eastern United
Read more
No Comments

Are Adjustable Loans Risky?

“We’re looking at buying a home and our mortgage broker suggested an adjustable loan. But with all that’s happened, I’m hesitant. Aren’t adjustable loans too risky?” Answer: Right after I got this question, the San Diego Union-Tribune ran an excellent article by Lew Sichelman on the exact same topic. Here are some excerpts: “Adjustable-rate mortgages
Read more
No Comments

What’s a Good FICO Score?

“Gary– Looking to buy a home. Going to get my credit run shortly. Can you tell me what’s a good FICO score?” Answer: A FICO score is a numerical rating of your credit. My sources tell me FICOs range from 300-850. Here’s how the break down from something I read a couple of years ago:
Read more
No Comments

Using Open Houses to Sell Your Home

“We talked with an agent about selling our home. She told us she never does open houses because they don’t sell the home, they’re just a chance for the agent to meet new clients. We always thought open houses were a good idea. What do you think?” Answer: Like many things in real estate, open
Read more
No Comments

Buying San Diego Homes w/ VA Financing

“I’m a vet and want to buy using VA financing. I’ve had offers rejected because they won’t sell VA or they take another offer because they don’t want to sell VA. Is that even legal?” Answer: THANK YOU for your service to our country. To answer your question, it is not illegal or discriminatory because
Read more
No Comments

Does FHA Let You Borrow Down Payment?

“I thought FHA allows you to borrow your down payment. Am I wrong?” Answer: FHA allows the down payment to be a “Gift” from a family member or from a loan against an asset. In fact the family member can pay for everything and the buyer does not have to have any of his/her own
Read more
No Comments

Getting Offers on Your San Diego Home

“Gary, my home has been on the market for 4 months and we haven’t received an offer. We’ve had a lot of showings, averaging about 5 per week. We haven’t dropped our price since we listed because the activity has been so good and we thought we’d get an offer. What do you think the
Read more
No Comments

Risks to Foreclosure Buying?

“I don’t want to buy a foreclosure due to all the risks…” Answer: Not sure what risks you’re referring to. It’s true that foreclosures are often in worse condition and banks are exempt from most disclosures. But if you hire a good home inspector to thoroughly check out the home, you should be fine. Use
Read more
No Comments

Borrowing Money for Down Payments

“Can you borrow the money for the down payment on a home?” Answer: It depends how you borrow the money. You can only borrow from a secured asset: HELOC, car loan, savings account loan, 401-k loan, etc. You can’t take a personal loan that is not secured by an asset of some kind. Automated Notification
Read more
No Comments

How We Handle Short Sales

“I’m upside down on my home and need to do a short sale. How do you work with people in my situation?” Answer: First, we’ll set up a free phone consultation to determine if you are likely to qualify, and to answer your questions. If that goes well, we’ll give the list of required documents
Read more
No Comments