The Importance of Reliable Home Stats

“I was told my Tierrasanta home is worth $475,000, but the UT says the median in Tierrasanta is $520,000. My home is 1700 square feet, well maintained, but needs to be updated. Is the agent underpricing my home?” Answer: Great question. Even accurate statistics can be misleading. The stats you quoted were for only ten
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The Trouble with Home-Swapping

“Is there such a thing as a home/property swap, where I trade my home for another person’s home?” Answer: You’re the second person to ask me that this week. Yes, this is theoretically possible, but the challenge is having all these things happen at once: 1. You like someone’s home enough to buy it, you
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Can a Seller “Knock Out” Your Short Sale Offer?

“If I make an offer on a short sale and get it accepted, can the seller keep trying to get higher offers and submit them to the bank, effectively knocking out my offer?” Answer: Great question, complex answer… First of all, once your offer is accepted, the property must be placed in “Contingent” status in
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How Much Are Closing Costs When Selling?

“How much should I expect to pay in closing costs when selling my home?” Answer Depending on how much your San Diego home sells for, a rough rule of thumb for seller’s closing costs is .5% to 1%. The .5% is more for multi-million dollar homes. For simplicity, use 1%. Note that this does not
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Getting a Home Warranty When Buying a San Diego Home

“Hi Gary. I’ve never bought a home before and I’m a little nervous. Do you get some kind of warranty when you buy a home?” Answer: New homes offer some coverage by the builder against defects for the first ten years. If you buy a resale home, you can get a “Home Protection Plan” or
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Switching Banks When Mortgage Shopping

“I’m looking for a San Diego home and shopping around for a mortgage. Once my offer is accepted, is there any rule that prevents me from switching banks if I find a better deal with another bank?” Answer: Probably not, but it depends on your contract. However, some warnings: – You don’t always get the
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What Does “Owner Will Carry” Mean?

“I’ve seen the phrase “owner will carry” in a couple of real estate ads. What does that mean?” Answer: It means that if you buy a property, the seller acts like a bank and loans you part of their proceeds for a first or second loan on the property. For example, your banker tells you
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What to Disclose When Selling Your San Diego Home

“Hi Gary, my husband and I will be calling you next month to sell our La Jolla home. I’m doing my homework now and have a question: What are we supposed to disclose? We want to do the right thing and also avoid any problems after we sell…” Answer: You’re legally required to disclose anything
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Use Caution When Buying a San Diego Home w/ a View

“If I buy a home with a view, would my neighbor be allowed to build up or grow their trees and block the view?” Answer: To my knowledge, there’s NO universal law or statute preventing someone from blocking someone else’s view. All I know of that may protect a view are neighborhood CC&Rs (covenants, conditions,
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Selling Your Home vs. Continuing to Rent it Out

My mom, who is 60, lives in OC and owns a townhome. She has a situation with the renters. She doesn’t know whether to just sell or continue renting it out. My mom has several health issues and feels this “rental” is causing her extra stress. I told her to make a pro’s and con’s
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