“What’s the difference between a short sale and an REO?” ***ANSWER: Great question. Right now, there are basically 3 situations homes are in when they’re for sale: standard, short sale, & REO. By “standard”, I mean your typical situation where Mr. & Mrs. Smith are selling a home. Nothing unusual about it. A short sale

“I’ve seen how many homeowners who don’t pay their mortgages are being helped out with lower interest rates, having their mortgages re-done. How about those of us who have high interest loans but pay the mortgage every month and are never late. It seems unfair to us. Is there any help? We are also upside

“When I buy a home, does it have to be tented for termites? I don’t want me or my 2-year-old to breath in all those poisonous chemicals…” ***ANSWER: First of all, homes only need to be tented for termites if there is evidence of active infestation of “drywood” or swarming termites. If not, no tent

“I want to buy another home in a few months using the credit line from my current home…” ***ANSWER: Let me stop you right there and give you this advice: Use it or lose it! Did you read the Union-Trib article three weeks ago about a gentleman whose bank slashed his credit line in half?

“Hi Gary. My wife and I thinking about selling our home. What’s your marketing plan?” ***ANSWER: Great question, and here’s an even better one: “What is your complete plan to sell our home?” Marketing is but one of several key steps to successfully selling your home. Here they are the major things you hire an

“How do banks price their foreclosures?” ***ANSWER: Great question. Typically, my bank clients will get price opinions from me, an appraiser, and another agent. They then analyze all three opinions and come up with a price. Occasionally, the size of the loss the bank is eating impacts their pricing. Of course, this has nothing to

“Hi Gary. My wife and I make good money, over 100K, but we haven’t saved for a down payment. Can we still buy a home?” ***ANSWER: Yes! Because you have a high income, you won’t qualify for any government down-payment assistance programs. However, you still have three great options: 1. VA If you or your

“Are you always required to fumigate your house for termites when you sell?” ***ANSWER: Not necessarily. I’ll explain when you do have to fumigate, but first let me correct three myths about termite fumigations: Myth #1: “You’re legally required to fumigate when you sell.” Over the years, many of my clients have believed this. There’s

“Hi Gary, I have thought about possibly trading my home for a townhome, so you might tell me about how many people do that. Thank you…” ***ANSWER: AS I mentioned in a recent newsletter, a literal trade (as in “I’ll trade my property for yours”) is rare because for that to happen: * You’d have

“I want to buy my first home soon. I definitely don’t want a condo and I can’t afford house in a very good neighborhood. I want to find an area that’s getting better, not worse. So how I can tell if a neighborhood is improving?” ***ANSWER: Great question. Most of the tips I can think