2016: An Interesting Year for Real Estate

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Buying a San Diego home? Search all homes for sale   2017 is just around the corner, which makes now a great time to reflect on the past year. 2016 has been a very interesting year in real estate. We had a
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Have You Received An “I Want to Buy Your Home Letter”?

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Buying a San Diego home? Search all homes for sale   If you are a homeowner in San Diego, you probably get a letter in the mail every few weeks from someone who wants to buy your home. Sometimes it’s an individual,
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Real Estate Wire Fraud Warning

Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Buying a San Diego home? Search all homes for sale   Recently, there has been an epidemic of wire fraud in real estate transactions. For the most part, this scam impacts buyers, although sellers have been victims in the past. If you
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7 Disclosure Tips to Help Keep You Out of Court

Question: “We’ll be selling our home in University City next year. I’m an honest person and plan to disclose everything, even though I don’t know of anything wrong with our home. But with all the lawyers and litigation in California, I’m afraid of being sued by the buyer for some technicality. What can I do
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How to Buy and Sell Simultaneously in San Diego

  Looking to sell your San Diego home? Get a free home value report Buying a San Diego home? Search all homes for sale Most home sellers also need to purchase another home to move into. This is an extremely common problem we see in our market, and it is one that we deal with on
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3 Homebuying Tips If You Can’t Find What You Want

Question: “I’m having trouble finding a home to buy. There isn’t a lot to choose from and all the nice ones seem to already have an offer. Any tips you can give me?” Answer: Here are three… Don’t automatically skip over homes with poor pictures. They could be real gems that are being overlooked due
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Can I Use VA to Buy Investment Property?

Question: “Can I use my VA to buy an investment property?” Answer: Sorry. VA loans are only for owner-occupants. However, you can move out of the home at a later date and keep your VA loan. Verify with your lender or the VA, but I think you must intend to live there for at least
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Does It Matter How Much the Buyer Puts Down on Your Home?

Question: “Since I am not carrying the loan on my house, should I care how much the buyer puts down?” Answer: Yes! All other things being equal, the higher the down payment, the stronger the borrower’s qualifications and looser the lending requirements. And a side benefit is that if the appraisal comes in low the
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Be Careful When Offering Incentives to Tenants

Question: “Due to the crazy laws in California, I have to give my tenant a 60-day notice to move. But I’d like to get her out sooner by letting her skip the last month’s rent. Good idea?” Answer: No and yes. Offering an incentive is a good idea, but never give a tenant an incentive
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Do Termite Inspections Cover Fungus?

Question: “I saw a house that has a lot of fungus damage to the wood. Does a termite inspection cover that?” Answer: Yes. While it’s often called a “termite inspection”, the correct term is “pest control inspection,” which covers anything that can decay or eat the wood. And that includes fungus.
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