Advantages of an FHA Loan

Question: “What’s the advantage of getting an FHA loan? And is that only for first-time homebuyers?” Answer: Good questions! I’ll take the second one first: Contrary to somewhat popular belief, there’s no requirement that you be a first-time homebuyer to use an FHA loan. FHA loans are generally easier to qualify for, and specifically to
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How Much Does Your San Diego Home Need Remodeling?

Question: “Hi Gary. I recently read that when you sell your home, you only recoup 79.4% of the cost of a kitchen remodel. But my kitchen was really busted up and I’ve got to think I’ll get more than that back. What do you think?” Answer: You’ve hit upon a big beef I have with
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Who Should Fix Problems the Inspector Finds?

Question: “I was in escrow buying a home and had the home inspected. The inspector found several items that he told me the seller should fix. But the seller refused to fix them all, including a broken pool heater and replacing the roof, which was old but didn’t leak. I wasn’t too happy when they
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Beware Bad Lenders When Buying a San Diego Home

Question: “Hi Gary. We’re ready to look for a home and have already talked to a lender, so…” Answer: Careful! Just like there are very nice but very bad Realtors, the same holds true for lenders. I could write 100 pages telling you of all the bad experiences my clients and I have had from
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Do Banks Do Short Sales on Reverse Mortgages?

Question: “My mother moved to a senior home and we need to sell. She has a reverse mortgage and is upside down. Do banks do short sales on reverse mortgages?” Answer: Yes! Short sales on reverse mortgages are as fast and easy as they get. In fact, we just did one and got the bank’s
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Are There One-Bedroom San Diego Homes?

Question: “I’d like to buy my first home. I don’t need a lot of space; one  bedroom should be enough. I don’t want a condo. Is there such a thing as a one bedroom house?” Answer: One-bedroom homes are very rare. I doubt that even close to 1 in a 100 homes have just one
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Don’t Worry About Deflation When Buying a Rental

Question: “I’m a little afraid to buy a rental with everything going on. I’m afraid we’ll have deflation which will push rents down. What do you think?” Answer: I’m by no means an economist, despite a BA in Economics from UCLA. A little knowledge can be dangerous, but I’m willing to share my opinion. The
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Hard to Find Your San Diego Home Value Online

Question: “Which website do you recommend to find out a home’s value?” Answer: Two types of websites purport to tell you your home value online: 1) automated; 2) agent/referral. Automated sites use complex but flawed software to calculate values. However the values they tell you are typically far from correct. This is due to incomplete/inaccurate
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Why Don’t Home Flyers Show Property Taxes?

Question: “We’ve been driving around pulling property flyers from for sale signs. Why don’t the realtor flyers show the taxes on the property?” Answer: Because the taxes the current owner is paying are irrelevant. In California, properties are reassessed when they’re sold. The approximate rate is 1.1% of the price per year. And that goes
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What Is Debt Coverage Ratio?

Question: “I’m a small-time real estate investor. I have a couple of rental condos in Mira Mesa and North Park, but I’d like to trade into an apartment building. I’ve been talking with people and asking a lot of questions. There’s a term I’ve heard called debt coverage ratio. What is that?” Answer: You’re getting
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