Must You Stay in San Diego to Keep Your Low Tax Base?
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Question: “I heard that if you’re over 55 and sell your home, you can keep your low Proposition 13 tax base. Do you have to stay in San Diego County to do that?” Answer: (I’ve addressed this before, but so many seniors are unfamiliar with it, I’m happy to go over it again…) Many seniors
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Financing Questions, San Diego
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Refinance and Still Pay Off Your Loan
Wednesday, 09 October 2013
Question: “I’d like to refinance, but I’ve had my loan 18 years and have got myself in a position where I only have 12 years to pay it off. I don’t want to blow that and start over with a 30 year loan.” Answer: I hear this a lot! And with some math or going
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Financing Questions
What Should a Rookie Investor Buy?
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Question: “I’d like to start investing in real estate. What do you suggest for a rookie investor like me to buy?” Answer: I’d suggest keeping it simple and buying a small condo. As a matter of fact, the first property my son bought was a condo that he rented out. It’s worked out quite well
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Investing Questions
Can Seniors Sell & Keep Their Low Property Tax Base?
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Question: “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
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Selling Questions
How to Sell & Avoid Paying Taxes on Your Gain
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Question: “Hi Gary. My wife and I plan to sell our home and we’re pretty sure we’re exempt from paying taxes on our gain. How does that work?” Answer: In 1997, Congress gave you and me a particularly generous tax break. IRS Code Section 121 lets you sell your principal residence and exclude all your
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Selling Questions
Beware of Home Valuation Sites
Monday, 22 October 2012
Question: “I saw a house listed for 1.2 million, but Zillow shows it’s only worth 781K. Do you think they’d accept an offer in that range?” Answer: You must be new to my Q&A! Otherwise you’d have heard my rants about how grossly inaccurate ALL the home pricing websites are. It’s not uncommon for them
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Selling Questions
Frequent Short Sale Mistakes
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Question: “Hi Gary. We’re in default on our home and need to do a short sale. There’s a lot of investors calling to buy our home, so we’re not worried about getting it sold. We don’t really need an agent because the buyer’s agent can handle the short sale. We all have a common goal,
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Selling Questions, Short Sale