North County home for sale at $100,000?

Question: “I saw a house in north county for $100,000. How is this possible?” Answer: I don’t know the specific house you’re speaking of, but I’m almost certain that… It’s a manufactured home (similar to a mobile home) and requires that you pay monthly space rent of somewhere between $700 and $2,000. If that works
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Why wasn’t my offer accepted?

Question: “I wrote kind of a low offer, but the seller accepted another offer without even responding to mine. I would have come up but they never gave me the chance. Why wouldn’t they respond?” Answer: Imagine you’re the seller and you have two offers. One is low, but the other is at a good
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Should I hire a lawyer when I’m buying a home in San Diego?

Question: “At what stage do I hire a lawyer when I’m buying a home?” Answer: “You ain’t from around these parts, are ya?” (If you haven’t seen an old western movie, that’s a typical line the locals tell a stranger who bellies his way up to the bar in a dusty old saloon in some
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What’s a good website to find out the value of a home?

Question: “What’s a good website to find out the value of a home I’m interested in?” Answer: Sorry, there isn’t one. I even have my own website that will give you a home value, and it’s better than most. But honestly, I don’t recommend it. To illustrate how far off these sites are, here’s a
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When can you cancel a home purchase before closing?

Question: “My brother is buying a home in L.A. He’s a month into it and is supposed to close in March. Their agent just walked through the house and disclosed to him some issues he found. I don’t know what they are, but my brother is pretty freaked out and wants to cancel. Since this
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Can you give me an overview of things I should know when buying a home?

Question: “Last time we bought a home, the agent didn’t explain anything or give us any guidance. Can you give me an overview of things I should know?” Answer: There’s a lot to know, but here are some basics and smart tips not everyone thinks about: Upon acceptance: Get your deposit into escrow within 3
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Do Home Buyers Have 3-Day Rescission Rights?

Question: “Hi Gary, thanks for your newsletter. I really learn a lot from it. I have a question for you. When you sign an offer to buy a home, do you have 3-day right of rescission?” Answer: People ask me that now and then. No, real estate contracts do NOT have any rescission rights for
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How do I sell my home and buy another at the same time?

Question: “We’re ready for a bigger house, but I don’t know how to go about this. I don’t want to sell mine until I’ve got another one, but I have to sell to get the money to buy the next one. How do people do this?” Answer: I hear this question all the time. Let’s
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Should I ever overpay a little for a home?

Question: “We found the perfect home. It’s on a culdesac near my sister and her family and just a block to the elementary school. It’s in our price range, but the seller is being stubborn on the price. Two homes like it just sold for $493,000 and $495,000, but they want $500,000. Do you think
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Do people actually read the contracts?

Question: “I recently bought a home and was amazed by all the pages we had to sign. We barely skimmed most of the pages. Do they really expect people to read them?” Answer: Ironically, in an effort to inform people of all they should know when buying or selling real estate, there’s such an information
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