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.

Short Sales. Good Investments?

“I’m seeing lots of ads touting short sales, most of which seem priced pretty well. Are they good investments?” ***ANSWER: [NOTE #1: I’m repeating a question/answer on short sales from July as too many people are still futilely trying to buy homes that are short sales and will never close.] [NOTE #2: a short sale
Read more
No Comments

Renters Paying Cash

“I own rental property in Logan Heights and southeast San Diego in some pretty rough neighborhoods. I’m sick of all the bounced checks and related delays. I have a mortgage due every month whether they pay me or not. So I’ve decided to require cash-only for rent, but somebody told me that’s not legal. That
Read more
No Comments

Renters Paying Cash

“I own rental property in Logan Heights and southeast San Diego in some pretty rough neighborhoods. I’m sick of all the bounced checks and related delays. I have a mortgage due every month whether they pay me or not. So I’ve decided to require cash-only for rent, but somebody told me that’s not legal. That
Read more
No Comments

San Diego Tax Assessor

“Dear Gary, I’ve been told that the San Diego Tax Assessor will allow a senior citizen to sell their existing house in another county (ie. Orange County), allow you to retain your existing property tax base, purchase a home in San Diego county and forward your original property tax base to the new home in
Read more
No Comments

First Time Home Buyer

“We want to cosign to help our 40-year-old daughter buy her first home, but with prices so high here in San Diego she can’t afford the payment. Can you give us any advice?” ***ANSWER: Consider a small duplex for her first home, like my wife and I did in the mid-1980’s. The rent should more
Read more
No Comments

Silent Seconds Loans

“Have you heard about those loans with silent seconds where you pay no interest on a second loan?” ***ANSWER: Yes. They can be very good programs if you fit the criteria and understand the downside. Typical Criteria 1. Most programs are only in specific census tracts in specific areas, such as Escondido or El Cajon.
Read more
No Comments

Downsides of a Short Sale

“My wife and I need to sell our condo, but we owe $519,000 and it’s only worth about $495,000. An agent we know told us we could do something called a short sale where the bank agrees to accept the proceeds from the sale even though it’s less than the $520,000? The agent made it
Read more
No Comments

Buying a Home on a “Lease-Option”

“I’m saving up money for a down payment, but I’d like to get into a house now since prices are so attractive and there are so many homes for sale to choose from. What do you think of getting a home on a lease-option?” ***ANSWER: There are some +’s and –‘s, that I’ll go over
Read more
No Comments

Credit Scores and Buying a Home

“Hi Gary. I got laid off awhile back and got behind on my bills and hurt my credit. I’ve had a good job for two years now and I’d like to finally buy a home, but my FICO score isn’t that good. Is there any way I can buy a home?” ***ANSWER: A couple of
Read more
No Comments

Real Estate Contingencies

“I’m buying a home and had 17 days from acceptance to remove my contingencies, which is today. The seller’s agent just faxed over another disclosure paper, but insists I remove all my contingencies today because this new disclosure isn’t on a legally-required form. Do I still have 5 days from receipt to approve this disclosure
Read more
No Comments