Is it more difficult to get a loan these days?

Question: “I’ve heard it’s very hard to get a loan because banks just aren’t lending. Is that true?” Answer: Not at all. It’s true that after the wild and irresponsible days of “fog the mirror” and you qualify for a mortgage, the pendulum swung the other way and banks were overly strict on qualifying. So,
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Should You Buy an Ugly Home?

  If you buy an ugly home in our market, you might get a far better value for your purchase.   If you’re looking to buy a home, you might’ve already browsed your fair share of bright, shiny, beautiful listings. However, if you’re looking to get a great value for your purchase, you may be
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Guggenheim Museum

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain looks like it defies gravity. This is the work of renowned architect, Frank Gehry who has employed this shocking style for about 20 years. Besides a surprising exterior, the Guggenheim also created another effect, economic prosperity. The building generated 500 million in profit within 3 years of its opening
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Is it safe to buy a house that had mold?

Question: “We kind of like a house we saw. It’s a cute 4-bedroom with a huge yard. But the agent said it previously had mold that was removed. Do you think it’s safe to buy the house?” Answer: Good question. First of all, not all mold is hazardous. So it depends on what kind of
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Why pricing your home according to market value is important

Question: “I’m thinking of selling my condo and I want to get top dollar. So I’m thinking of starting high to see what happens…” Answer: Hold on a sec. Here’s the rule when pricing your home in anything OTHER than a market experiencing rapid appreciation: “The closer you price your home to market value, the
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What is the best number of units for an investment property?

Question: “I want to start investing in real estate and I was talking with a real estate agent about buying 4 to 6 apartment units.  She told me it’s better to buy 4 units, but when I asked her why, she didn’t really know.  Do you?” Answer: I don’t know that it’s better to buy
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You’re Invited to Our Next Open House Extravaganza

  We’d love for you to join us on Saturday, February 2, for our next open house extravaganza. Here are all the details.   You’re invited to another Open House Extravaganza! This one is going to be at 5108 Pacific Drive in Pacific Beach on Saturday, February 2 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Bolwoningen

Bollenveld Bolwoningen by Dries Kreijkamp is used under the public domain
Amidst the medieval architecture and historic buildings in Den Bosch, Netherlands the Bolwoningen makes a very unusual contrast. These futuristic homes were the brainchild of architect, industrial designer, and sculptor Dries Kreijkamp and were built in 1984. Kreijkamp’s vision was two-fold. His inspiration came from the fact that we live on a sphere (the earth)
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Think You Need 20% Down to Buy a Home?

  Do you think you need a 20% down payment to buy a home? Think again.  There are many people I speak to who say that they’re busy saving for a 20% down payment on a house. A 20% down payment is great, but you don’t need that much in order to buy a home.
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Welcome Back, Old Friend

Contingent offers: welcome back, my old friends. Back when the market was red-hot, if you brought a contingent offer to a home seller, the response was often something like, “You must be kidding me! I’m not going to consider a contingent offer!” At that time, sellers had many offers to choose from, including cash offers,
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