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.

Finding Out Your Credit Score

“Question– What is best way to get my credit score–I have not checked in 20 years.” Answer: Here’s how my favorite lender answers that question: “You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com and get a free credit report from each bureau once a year, but the credit scores are not accurate unless it asks what type of
Read more
No Comments

Deciding Whether to Rent or Sell

“Hi Gary. We just bought a new construction home in San Marcos. We’re moving soon and can’t decide if we should sell or rent our home in North Park. It’s worth $575,000 and we owe $319,000 with a monthly payment of $1900. It’ll rent for $2,000 per month, so we’ll have a small positive cash
Read more
No Comments

The Meaning of “Corporate Owned”

“I’ve seen some properties say ‘corporate owned’. Does that mean it’s a foreclosure?” Answer: Usually. It typically means it’s a foreclosure, or occasionally if a relocation company has bought someone’s home to facilitate their job transfer or new job. Some banks don’t like us to use “foreclosure” when marketing their properties, but most of those
Read more
No Comments

Details on Short Sales

“I can’t make my house payment and am trying to decide if I want to do a short sale or just let it be foreclosed on. Can you tell me about short sales?” Answer: I’m very experienced in short sales, having done about 200 of them. Qualifying: It’s the opposite of applying for a loan.
Read more
No Comments

Who Pays the Agents?

“Hi Gary. We’re looking to buy our first home, but we’re hesitant to start working with an agent because we don’t know how their fees work. Do I pay the agent that helps me find a home?” Answer: Great question! I hear that a lot from our clients like you who’ve never bought a home
Read more
No Comments

Right of Rescission

“I’m afraid of losing my deposit if I don’t get my loan. Will the 3-day right of rescission protect me?” Answer: Bad news, good news. Bad News: You have no right of rescission when you buy a home. Such laws do not apply to real estate contracts. Good News: The standard California CAR contract gives
Read more
No Comments

Identifying Good & Bad Foreclosures

“How can you tell a good foreclosure from a bad one?” Answer: I’m guessing your question is about the either condition or value. Let me deal with condition first… “How can you tell a foreclosure is in good vs. bad condition?” My answer is that you do the same things you would do for any
Read more
No Comments

Preparing to Buy a San Diego Home

“Hi Gary. I read your newsletter every week. My girlfriend and I want to get our ducks in a row before we buy a home. Is there anything we should or shouldn’t be doing?” Answer: Great question. Until you actually get the call that your escrow has CLOSED on your new home, here’s a few
Read more
No Comments

Should Your Agent Accompany Showings?

“I’m interested in selling my condo in La Jolla. I’ve already spoken with an agent who promised she’d accompany other agents for all the showings. Are you willing to do that?” Answer: No. I’d never do you such a disservice. Your home should be shown via “call first/lockbox”. Meaning agents call you and arrange a
Read more
No Comments

How Banks Handle Multiple Offers

“I just made an offer on a condo. There were several offers and the bank accepted one without even sending me a counter-offer. I offered almost full price but would have paid more. Why didn’t they even send me a counter-offer?” Answer: Different bank asset managers (who handle the sale of foreclosures) handle multiple offers
Read more
No Comments