Will This Value Range Pricing Mistake Haunt Sellers?

Question: “I saw an ad that said the seller ‘will ACCEPT offers between $600,000 and $660,000.’ If that’s the case, why wouldn’t everyone just offer $600,000?” Answer: Unfortunately, the broker isn’t stating that correctly. It’s supposed to say: “Seller will entertain offers between $600,000 and $660,000” or perhaps just “Value range $600,000 to $660,000”. That
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Tower of Dreams and Longings

Trier, Tower of Dreams and Longings auch Turm Luxemburg genannt by Berthold Werner is licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 1.0
This week’s crazy building is the Tower of Dreams and Longings in Trier, Germany. The 62-foot-tall structure was a gift from the neighboring Luxembourg. Visitors can climb to the balcony to see wonderful views of the surrounding greenery. With its strange geometry and sharp angles, it’s more like a sculpture than a building.
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Is Your Credit Info Sold to Banks?

Question: “I’ve heard that when you apply for a loan that your information is sold to banks so that they can solicit you to get a loan through them. Is that true?” Answer: Every time your credit report is run, the credit bureaus can sell the information to companies who purchase “trigger leads.” Companies who
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How Long Is Your San Diego Home Inspection Good For?

Question: “We made an offer on a house and the seller had a home inspection done 4 months ago. How long are home inspections good for?” Answer: There’s no generally agreed “expiration” date for a home inspection. But I’d say any inspection done in the past 6 months is still going to be pretty current.
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Tianning Temple

Tianning Pagoda in Changzhou by Jakub Halun is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation
This week’s crazy building is Tianning Temple in Changzhou, China. At 13 stories and 505 feet in height, Tianning Temple is the tallest pagoda in the world. That feat is even more remarkable given that it’s constructed out of wood. Though completed in 2007 for $38.5 million, the site has been the home of several other
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San Diego Market Update: March 2014

How’s the real estate market doing? Well, here’s a quick summary. As you know, we had gravity-defying roller coaster thrill rides: Up (2001 to 2006), down (’07 to ’11), and up again (’12 to mid-’13). Since then, the market has been a bit tamer: June ’13 thru Sept. ’13: Flat Oct. ’13 thru Nov. ’13:
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Can You Get a Loan Without Qualifying?

Question: “I got turned down for a mortgage, but I know I can afford a payment.  Is there a way to get a loan without qualifying?” Answer: For better or worse, the crazy Wild West lending rules of 2005 are long gone. Back then, we joked that if you could fog a mirror, you could
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What Furniture to Keep When Selling Your San Diego Home

Question: “Hi Gary, we inherited a house that we’ll be calling you to sell.  We’ve moved out some of the furniture, but there’s still a couch,  bed, a couple of chairs, and a coffee table.” Answer: Depending on the home and the furniture, some homes look better furnished. But… Leaving just a few sticks of
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Should You Buy a 1-Bedroom Condo?

Question: “Is buying a 1BR condo a bad idea because they’re hard to resell?” Answer: No. First of all, like any real estate, they’re not hard to resell if priced correctly. But if they were undesirable, that would (or at least should) be reflected in the form of lower prices.
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Auditorio de Tenerife

Auditorium of Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain by Diego Delso is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy building is the Auditorio de Tenerife, an auditorium and music venue in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It’s renowned as the greatest modern building in the Canary Islands (a territory of Spain) and considered an iconic example of Spanish architecture. It kind of reminds me of a wave crashing over a miniature Sydney Opera
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