The Downsides of Low Offers

“Want to get your opinion. We want to buy a home. What’s the downside to making a low offer to see what the seller will take?” Answer: Great question. But what do you call a “low offer”? I’d call an offer within 5% of the market value an “okay offer.” The only downside is you
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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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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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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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The Five Returns of Real Estate

No question today, but here’s some info you may find interesting: What are the 5 returns of real estate? 1. Positive cashflow 2. Appreciation 3. Sweat equity 4. Principal paydown 5. Depreciation deduction Many people only think of #1 and #2. #3 never comes up. But a benefit of rental real estate is you can
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Zillow: For Entertainment Purposes Only

“Hi Gary…I checked on Zillow and see my San Diego property is estimated at 691K, but it looks like the values listed on this site are quite high. I was thinking low 600’s. What would you estimate for the property as is?” Answer: We’re on the same page. Zillow does tend to be high. In
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