How Long Do Buyers Have to Inspect a San Diego Home?

Question: “How long does a homebuyer have to inspect a home?” Answer: That’s a good question, but a more complete question to ask is: “How long does a buyer have to inspect and investigate a home and, depending on what they find, either cancel or request from the seller a credit or repair?” That’s because
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Must Sellers Bring the Home Up to Code?

Question: “When you buy a home, does the seller have to bring the home up to current building code?” Answer: No*, thank goodness! Can you imagine the burden if the owner of a home built in 1950 were forced to bring their home to current code? So many people would hang onto their homes rather
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San Diego’s Changing Housing Market

Question: “My wife and I were looking for a home a few months ago and gave up. We were tired of making offers and losing out to higher bidders and cash buyers. But I’m seeing a lot more for-sale signs. Do you think the market changed?” Answer: Yes! While most of the media is months
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Can You Trade Your Pacific Beach Condo for a House?

Question: “I own a 3-bedroom condo in Pacific beach and I’d really like to trade it for a house with a yard and keep my monthly payments the same. Do you think that’s possible?” Answer: What are you willing to give up? You may be able to sell your condo and buy a small 2BR
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Must Sellers Disclose San Diego Home Appraisals?

Question: “I just bought a house and we closed a few days ago. We paid $550,000, but now I just heard from a neighbor that the old owner had the house appraised and it was for $525,000. Didn’t they have to disclose that?” Answer: Simple answer is “no.” But I rarely keep it simple, do
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When Are Sellers Liable for Lack of Disclosure?

Question: (From clients whose home I sold in San Diego.) “We found some serious structural damage to the addition of the home we just bought here in Texas. Kelly and I would appreciate your opinion given your expertise in real estate. We were told the addition was permitted but can find no documentation of it.
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Why Won’t Agents Tell You What a Home in Escrow Sold For?

Question: “There was a house I liked, but I dithered and someone else got their offer accepted. The sold sign is up, but when I called the agent, she refused to tell me what it sold for. Is that normal?” Answer: Yes, that’s normal. Until the sale closes escrow, it could always fall through and
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What to Do on a Walk-Through Home Inspection

Question: “I’ve never bought a home before. What do I look for on the walk through inspection? Is that when you hire a contractor to look at the home?” Answer: The walk-through inspection, or as it’s now called in our contracts, the “final verification of condition,” is the inspection you do right before closing. You
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How Do Homesellers View Contingent Offers?

Question: “My wife and I want to buy a house. We don’t want to list our condo unless we have a house to buy. So we’ll have to buy contingent on selling our condo. How do homesellers look at contingent offers?” Answer: A bit cross-eyed. Homesellers do not love contingent offers because they must wait
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Make Sure Your Home Offers Are Realistic

Question: “I found a fixer-upper house in Del Mar listed at a good price. It needed a lot of repairs, which I took off the price and made an offer. But the seller rejected it. Any advice on how to convince them to take my offer?” Answer: Yes, raise your offer. I could be wrong,
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