Can You Leave Items for the Buyer?

Question: “I have a pile of bricks, a lot of potted plants, and some cans of paint left over from the painting we just did. Can I just leave them for the buyer?” Answer: You can’t just leave personal property, even if you think the buyer will want it. You have to either have it
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Never Use a Lender Who’s Also an Agent

“I just went to your San Diego investing seminar and heard you say never to use a lender who’s also an agent. Sadly, I heard this too late. I bought my San Diego home in 2009 and my (ex) agent did my loan. It was a nightmare. It took almost three months to close and
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How to find a San Diego Short Sale Agent

How to find a San Diego Short Sale Agent? San Diego home owners who are facing the prospect of a bank short sale, need to find short sale specialist. Most folks find their agents from the “neighborhood specialist” or by a family member or friend. Gary Kent, a San Diego REALTOR since 1984 suggests that
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What Should Be Repaired Before Selling?

“Question: I had my noisy central air conditioning at my Pacific Beach home looked at and recommendation was to get a new unit for about $3,000. You think that’s something that really should be done before house goes on market?” Answer: It’s a judgment call, but I recommend you do not change it now. When
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Pricing Your San Diego Home Right Gets More Offers

Question“My neighbors just listed their San Diego home and I know they got several offers the first week. Do you think that means they should have asked a higher price?” Answer: Not necessarily. Yes, San Diego homes that are priced too low usually attract multiple offers. However, you can also get multiple offers if your
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Finding the REAL Worth of Your San Diego Home

“I’m thinking of selling my La Jolla home and buying a bigger one. And I’m concerned about asking the right price. Everyone talks about list price, sales price, CMA, appraised value, etc. But what is a home really worth?” Answer: Great question. Recently a young man told me his condo had just appraised at $460,000.
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5 Options for Selling a Home & Buying Another

Question “We live in Clairemont and we’re ready for a bigger house, but I don’t know how to go about this. I don’t want to sell mine until I’ve got another one, but I have to sell to get the money to buy the next one. How do people do this?” Answer: I hear San
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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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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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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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