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.

This Week’s Crazy Building: Mystery Castle

Mystery Castle by mediafury licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0
This week’s crazy building is the Mystery Castle in Phoenix, Arizona. In the 1930s, Boyce Luther Gulley made some drastic life changes. After learning he had tuberculosis, he moved to Phoenix and started building a house for his daughter Mary Lou. He created it from cheap or scavenged materials—everything from stones to car parts and
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Mushroom House La Jolla

Beach house on south end of Blacks Beach, north of Scripps Pier with funicular to La Jolla Farms mansion in La Jolla, California by Raquel Baranow licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 2.0
This week’s crazy building is the Mushroom House in La Jolla, CA. The official name of this strange structure is the Pavilion, but it’s been nicknamed the Mushroom House due to its distinctive shape. Way back in 1960, Sam Bell of Bell’s Potato Chips bought a summer home on the cliffs above Black’s Beach. Realizing
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Kauffman Center

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts by Burdettekevin licensed under the terms of the CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy building is the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri. The brainchild of philanthropist Muriel Kauffman, this oddly shaped building took five years to complete, finishing in 2011. It began as a napkin sketch by architect Moshe Safde, and ended as a massive construction with 25,000 cubic yards of
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Busan Cinema Center

Busan Cinema Center by Obristv licensed under the terms of the CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy building is the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. This absurd structure is the official venue of the Busan International Film Festival. Completed in 2011, it consists of several buildings, but Dureream Square is the most impressive feature. The square boasts a gigantic roof—534 by 196 feet—that also doubles as a massive “screen” consisting of
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Titanic Belfast

Titanic Belfast, author unknown licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 4.0
This week’s crazy building is the Titanic Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Opened in 2012, this massive museum boasts over 130,000 feet of floor space. It tells visitors the story of the Titanic with artifacts, reconstructions and even an informative high-tech ride. The museum was built in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, directly in front of where
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Getting Stepped-Up Basis in Your San Diego Home

Question: “My wife inherited a home six months ago and moved in. We don’t really like the neighborhood and would love to sell and move now. But her dad paid next to nothing for the house, so we have to wait until we’ve been here two years or we’ll pay taxes on the sale, correct?”
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Leave Buyers Alone When Showing Your San Diego Home

Question: “I’ve heard that when your home is for sale, you should leave when buyers see it. But I want to be there so I know what people think and make sure the agent tells them what they should know about my home. What do you think?” Answer: You sound like what agents call “the
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The Pros & Cons of Lease Options

Question: Hi Gary. We’re not ready to buy a home but have heard about a lease + option to buy. How do you feel about those? Answer: If you can find one, lease-to-own or lease-option might be a good choice for you. If done right, you can lock in a price on a home and
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Ministry of Transportation

Bank of Georgia Headquarters by Tinalomidze7 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
This week’s crazy building is the Ministry of Transportation Building in Tbilisi, Georgia. Completed in 1975 in Soviet Georgia, this amazing work of Brutalist architecture looks something like a 3D tic-tac-toe board. It consists of several crisscrossing prisms of steel and concrete—three vertical, five horizontal. The architect for the project was also the main client:
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Can You Borrow Money for a Home Down Payment?

Question: “Can you borrow the money for the down payment on a home?” Answer: It depends how and when you borrow the money. Generally, banks only want you to borrow from a secured asset: HELOC, car loan, savings account loan, 401-k loan, etc. They don’t like personal loans that are not secured by an asset
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