“I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a real estate investor. You’d have to be so heartless. How could you ever evict someone who’s down on their luck and can’t pay the rent?” ***ANSWER: I admire your thoughtfulness and caring. The world would be a better place with more people like you in it.

“How much value will I add if I remodel my kitchen?” ***ANSWER: Great question. The answer depends on: 1. How’s your kitchen now? I know of a woman in Pacific Beach who had her kitchen remodeled. When it was done, though it was nice, she didn’t like it and remodeled it again. Then she did

“I just missed out on a house that I wanted. The sign says the house sold so I’d like to find out the price. Can you find out for me?” ***ANSWER: To paraphrase a recent president, it all depends on what the meaning of “sold” is. “Sold” may mean that the buyer and seller just

“Hi Gary. LOVE your blogs. Question for you, I still have my condo in La Jolla. Where could I find out what the current rents are? I need to raise the rent and thought there must be something online but haven’t found a good source. Anything you use in your office? Thanks in advance.” ***ANSWER:

“My husband and I are in a bad situation. He lost his job and we can’t afford to pay the mortgage. And if we rented our home out, we’d have a $1200 per month negative cashflow. We owe $534,000, but our home is only worth $500,000, so we can’t sell. Out of the blue, an

“I saw that Farmer’s Insurance isn’t taking on new clients in CA. I’m afraid when I buy a home I might not be able to get homeowner insurance. Do I need an insurance contingency in my offer?” ***ANSWER: No. There are still plenty of firms writing homeowner’s insurance. And if the unlikely scenario that insurance

“I purchased a home 4 years ago with the assistance of your agency. In early/mid 2008, my 5 year fixed loan rolls to an adjustable rate. Currently, my APR is 4.875%, in ’08, it will go to 6.875%. I am watching interest rates skyrocket every day…the best I could find today is 7% with a

“Hi Gary. Thanks for your help, but we’re going to use an agent who said she’d guarantee to sell our home or she’d buy it herself…” ***ANSWER: Hold on! I’ll match her offer! Why? I mean, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to buy your home…at 10 to 20% under market value. Oh, she forgot

“We’re going to lose our home to foreclosure. We owe too much to sell and the bank denied our short sale. I lost my job and my wife isn’t able to work, so we can’t make the payment and definitely are going to lose our home. I hate the feeling of not knowing what’s going

“Hi Gary, I’ve got another question if you have the time. Do you think a lot of buyer’s agents start their client’s search by commission? Like would they limit their search to say 3% and up and as a result they might never see my condo (which is offering 2.5%) in their search? If so,