The Lowdown on Termite Fumigation

Question: “Gary, I had my house tented about two years ago. I believe it is effective for three years, so is it true that I won’t need to tent again should I sell within three years?” Answer: I’m not sure if you’re asking… Does a fumigation kill termites for 3 years? Is there a 3-year
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Buying a Home at a Courthouse Foreclosure Sale

Question: “What do you think of buying a home at a foreclosure sale down at the courthouse?” Answer: For sophisticated investors, it can pay off well. However, there are many very real risks and downsides to buying at a trustee sale: Low supply / high demand: There are very few foreclosures now, but plenty of
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This Week’s Crazy Building: House of Bottles

La casa Ecológica de Botellas by Rodrigo Soldon licensed under the terms of CC BY-ND 2.0
This week’s crazy building is the House of Bottles in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. After the Argentinian economy went bust in 2001, Alfredo Santa Cruz was reduced to sifting through trash. But in an inspiring tale of lemons into lemonade, he decided to make that trash into a home. More specifically, using a system of over 1,200
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Using an FHA Loan to Buy Apartments

Question: “Can I use an FHA loan to buy apartments that I’m going to live in?” Answer: FHA loans are for 1-4 unit owner-occupied properties. So in theory, you can use one if you buy a duplex, triplex, or fourplex. However, the qualifying for a triplex or fourplex is so poorly thought out that’s it’s
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Is Closing Done via E-signatures or in Person?

Question: “We may be out of town when our sale closes. Is the closing done via esignatures, or do we have to be present?” Answer: Good news. Unlike other states, in California you do not need to sign anything at closing. It’s all signed beforehand. Of course, there could be some last-minute document to sign,
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How to Know if Your New Home Was Fumigated

Question: “I just bought a house and closed a couple of weeks ago. My neighbor said he never saw a termite tent go on. How do I know it was fumigated?” Answer: Let me ask a few questions… First, did the contract call for a pest control clearance? If so, was a fumigation required for
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2 by Johndedios licensed under the terms of CC BY 3.0
This week’s crazy building is Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona. Biosphere 2’s weird series of structures has an even weirder history. Based on the name, you may expect that there was a similar building built before this one. In fact, Biosphere 2 was meant as the second self-sufficient biosphere—the first being Earth itself. It originally contained miniature
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Will Lenders Make a 30-Year Loan to a Senior?

Question: “I’m 63 years old and would like to move and buy a home in San Diego. Will lenders make a 30 year loan to a senior? That would mean I’d be 93 when the loan is paid off” Answer: Good news. Lenders are not allowed to discriminate based on age. If you qualify, they’ll
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Buying a Warranty for the Homebuyer

Question: “I got an offer on my home that asks us to pay for an optional warranty on the a/c unit. We rarely use it and its 15 years old. If it breaks for the buyer, I don’t want to take on that expense. How do I protect myself?” Answer: You’re buying a warranty policy
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Is it Worth it to Sell Your Home As-Is?

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Buying a San Diego home? Search all homes for sale   Today we are here to answer a question we’ve been getting a lot lately, “Can I sell my home as-is?” When people ask this question, they are really asking two questions. “Can
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