“How do you find out the property lines. Ask the seller or the agent?” Answer: They may be happy to offer you their opinion, but who knows if they’ll be right or wrong. Unless they’ve seen a survey, they heard from someone else…who may or may not be correct. To know for sure, you can

“I don’t agree with this whole value range pricing idea. It just doesn’t make any sense. No one’s ever going to pay any more than the bottom. I’d never sell my home with it.” Answer: I’m with you. And while we’re at it, I don’t agree with this whole electricity thing either. It doesn’t make

“I’m selling my home and will also be receiving money from a settlement and would love to roll it over into a house. I’m not sure if I can though, so if I were to hold the money for awhile, am I charged with capital gains taxes or penalized for not rolling it over into

“It seems that interest rates and ability to get a home loan are more credit-driven than ever. Everyone talks about credit and I know it’s about paying your bills. But what exactly makes up a credit score?” Answer: There are 5 “Components of Credit”. Here they are, along with their %’s as they make up

“I own a condo and am thinking of selling it versus holding it for awhile. It’s worth about $300,000 and I owe $314,000. Do you see a turn around in the market anytime in the future?” Answer: My crystal ball is cloudy today. With all the government involvement, the market is not following normal cycles

“My fiancé and I have been looking for our first home for 4 months. We finally found a house in our budget we both agree on. The bad news is it’s on a busy street, which makes us hesitant about buying it. What do you advise?” Answer: Buying a home on a busy street, or

“I saw a house that rents for $1700/month. With 20% down, my mortgage payment should only be $1027/month. What other expenses would I have to pay?” Answer: Great question. Many people make the mistake of only comparing their rent to their mortgage payment and thinking the rest is positive cashflow. They’re pretty excited, until they

“We need to do a short sale. Before we go any further and put our home on the market, we want to call our bank first and get an idea if they will even review a short sale for us or not. Do you think they would speak with us? Thanks again for your help!”

“I saw a home I loved, but there was a crack in the slab. Should I avoid buying a home with a cracked slab?” Answer: Some cracks are very serious and cost thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands to fix correctly. Other cracks are more “cosmetic”, don’t reflect structural problems, and just

“We’re beginners in the homebuying game. Can you give us some tips on deciding how much to spend on our monthly mortgage payment?” Answer: I want you to come up with 2 monthly payment figures. They should include loan payment, taxes, insurance, and possible HOA fees, Mello-Roos fees, or mortgage insurance. Be sure to factor