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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Top 3 Tips to Increase Your Credit Score

“My wife and I want to buy a home in Clairemont or TierraSanta in the next year or two, but my credit score is below 600. Do you know how to increase it?” Answer: I’m not a credit expert, but “Mr. Credit” Derrick Evens recently stated his Top 3 Credit Tips. This is from a
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Short or Stay San Diego Gary Kent San Diego Short Sale Specialist

Should you Short Sell or Stay in your San Diego Home? That is a question many San Diego home owners ask me. Hi, my name is Gary Kent. I’ve been a REALTOR since 1984. With the San Diego real estate meltdown, it’s been a difficult time for many people like you. If you are frustrated
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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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