“Hi Gary: My friend bought a home a year ago. He’s getting ready to refinance it so he can get money to pay off other debts. After he refinances he’s going to sell and get another place. I told him he’d have to pay taxes because he’s had it less than 2 years. But he

“Hi Gary. I’m selling my home and my agent told me that my buyer just got what she called ‘loan approved with conditions’. My agent said she doesn’t know exactly what that means and told me not to worry about it. What does that mean?” ***ANSWER: Yours is a simple question. And if your agent

“How can I tell if the market is slowing down or speeding up?” ***ANSWER: One way is by looking at changes in the “absorption rate”. Absorption rate is defined as “the number of months (or weeks) it would take to sell the current inventory of homes at the present rate of sales.” To determine the

“Hi Gary. I want to be a smart buyer. I know that everyone selling a home wants the highest price. Any creative ideas on how to make my offer stronger w/o just raising the price?” ***ANSWER: While top dollar is most sellers’ #1 priority, finding a well-qualified buyer is also important, especially now with all

“I’m buying a home and there was only one smoke detector in the hallway. My contractor says that’s fine, but my agent says they have to be in the bedrooms. Which is correct?” ***ANSWER: Per California law, the smoke detectors must be centrally located outside each “sleeping area” (sounds like a bedroom to me). They

“What’s causing all the foreclosures in San Diego?” ***ANSWER: Last week I answered this question, attributing them to: 1. Subprime Loans 2. “Pay Option” ARMs 3. No-documentation loans 4. Zero-down 5. Mortgage Fraud 6. Increased Interest Rates 7. Lower Values 8. Difficult Short Sales 9. Tightened-up Financing Upon reflection I left off at least four

“We’re planning to sell our home. Truth be told, our home is far from perfect. The kitchen is old, the inside needs a new coat of paint, the yard’s a mess, to name a few. Do you think we I fix up my home first or just sell it?” ***ANSWER: Great question—another one that I

“I tried to buy a condo about a week ago, but it fell out of escrow because my mortgage broker couldn’t find a loan for me when my credit score fell mysteriously. My realtor’s broker has informed me that the seller is entitled to my $3000 good faith deposit. My realtor never informed me of

“What’s causing all the foreclosures in San Diego?” ***ANSWER: People ask me this all the time. The answer has many related parts. The causes include: 1. Subprime- Too many people with bad credit (aka “subprime” or “non-prime”) were granted home loans. Surprise: people with a poor history of paying their bills didn’t pay their mortgage.

“Hi Gary. I know you have a lot of experience. Suppose you have multiple offers on a home you’re selling. Other than price, what do you look for to decide which offer to accept?” ***ANSWER: Excellent question, because there is more to an offer than price. I also look at any closing costs the seller