What Happens to the Lease When Selling Your San Diego Home

“Hey Gary. We want to sell our parents’ old La Jolla home in the Muirlands area. The thing is it’s leased through the end of July. If we sell, what happens with the lease? Do you think a buyer will just take it over?” Answer: Leases “run with the property,” not the owner. That means
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Don’t Let Fluctuating Prices Control Your Decisions

“I could have sold my San Diego home in 2005 for $600,000, but now it’s only worth $475,000. I don’t want to take such a big loss.” Answer: (Question from reader who paid $290,000 for his home in 1998.) You need to have a short memory. What you could have gotten was an unrealized number
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Have FHA Loans Become More Expensive?

“I heard FHA loans have become more expensive. Is that true?” Answer: They’ve become both more expensive and cheaper. How could that be? Several months ago, HUD (Dept of Housing and Urban Development) changed how they charge the “MIP” or Mortgage Insurance Premium on FHA loans. The upfront premium due at closing has been trimmed
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Finding the Value of Your San Diego Home

“We need to sell our home and my husband wants way too much for it. There have been several homes sold in our neighborhood that show what our home is worth. But my husband keeps pointing to two high sales to justify his price. One sold 10 months ago and is almost a mile away.
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Hiring a Busy vs. an Idle Agent

“We have a home we’ll be selling soon and want to be sure we hire the best agent. So here’s my question: which is better, hiring an agent with lots of homes for sale, or an agent with few or none?” Answer: Which is the better restaurant, the one with the vacant parking lot or
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Home Sales Tax After 2012: Fact or Fiction?

Not sure if you got one of these emails: “Another Obama Nightmare. Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That’s $3,800 on a $100,000 home etc. When did this happen? It’s in the healthcare bill. Just thought you should know.” Answer: I’ve
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Marketing Your San Diego Home “As Is”

“A Realtor told me we can market our home “As Is” and not make any repairs. Is that a good idea?” Answer: No, for at least two reasons: 1. Marketing “as is” gives many homebuyers and agents a sneaking suspicion that your home has problems you don’t want to fix. This will lead to buyers
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Listing Your San Diego Home for a Short Time

“Hi Gary. My wife and I plan to sell our home in January. When we sold our last home in 2000, we chose some agent who promised us a high price but turned out to be a slacker. He didn’t do anything and never called to tell us what was going on. I don’t want
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Selling Your San Diego Home Vacant vs. w/ Tenant

“Hi Gary. We love your Q&A. Question: We want you to sell our rented La Jolla home in January. So my question is whether we should sell the house vacant or with the tenant in? What do you think?” Answer: Great question. The best answer is usually to sell it vacant, but the right answer
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How Banks Approve a Short Sale

“What do banks look at when they decide if they’ll approve a short sale?” Answer: Banks look at: 1. The owner’s “hardship” or reason for having to sell. 2. Whether they think the owner can keep making mortgage payments, based on their income relative to expenses, including the mortgage. 3. The owner’s cash, stocks, bonds,
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