Buying a Duplex as a First Home

“What do you think of buying a duplex as a first home?” Answer: Way back in 1986, the first home my wife and I bought was a Clairemont duplex. We stretched to buy it for $122,000, but we did get $425 per month for the other 2-bedroom unit. It worked out great. So you can
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Should You Sell & Buy Something Smaller?

“We love our house and our neighborhood. But our son just moved out and it’s getting too big. So we’d like to move and get a smaller house…” Answer: A client of mine recently reminded me that she’d asked me this same question several years ago. Here’s what I told her then: It costs a
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Deal with the Agent, Not the Seller

“There’s a house for sale I’m interested in buying. Is it illegal or unethical for me to approach the seller and find out what price they’ll take?” Answer: It’s not illegal. And it’s not literally unethical because you don’t have a formal code of ethics to adhere to like Realtors do. Better words to use
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Lowest Down Payment to Buy a Rental Property

“What’s the lowest down payment you can make to buy a rental property?” Answer: Theoretically, you could buy a property that the owner finances and put zero down. But the odds of that happening are not much higher than that down payment. Fannie Mae sells some of their foreclosures for just 10% down to investors
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Why Foreclosures Are Valid “Comps”

“I’d like to find out what my home is worth. The house next door was a bank-owned foreclosure and sold way under market value. It doesn’t have any bearing on my home’s value, but will it hurt my chances of selling?” Answer: Let’s address what I call the “It-Was-Just-A-Foreclosure” Syndrome. Many homeowners automatically dismiss foreclosure
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The “Price Per Square Foot” Myth

“Hi Gary. We’ve found a beautiful La Jolla home on a canyon, but it’s way overpriced. The sellers won’t go below $397 per square foot, but homes in the area are selling for around $350 per square foot…” Answer: Stop. You’re falling for a fallacy that traps many homebuyers, homesellers, and a whole lot of
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What Is Fannie Mae, Anyway?

“What is Fannie Mae? I hear about it on the news all the time, but they never explain what it is.” Answer: Fannie Mae is the nickname for the Federal National Mortgage Association, a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) chartered by Congress to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to U.S. housing and mortgage markets. Rather than making
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There’s Far More to Selling than the Marketing Plan

“Gary, please give me a call. My husband is being transferred to Florida and we’ll be putting our home on the market next week. We’ve heard a lot about you and want to find out about your marketing plan…” Answer: I’d love to meet with you… and I’d like to give you some advice. There’s
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Suing Over Problems with Your New Home

“We bought some San Diego real estate 2 months ago and have found plumbing problems that no one disclosed to us. The sewer line has deteriorated. We need to tear up the lawn and have the line replaced. And we noticed a warm spot on the floor and found out a pipe in the slab
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Selling vs. Renting a San Diego Home

“We’re retiring and moving to Georgia to be near family. Do you think we should sell our University City home or rent it?” Answer: Let me start by saying I’ve advised many people NOT to sell their homes, depending on their situation. I say that because I obviously have a self-interest to just advise you
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