“Hi Gary. I’d like to start investing in real estate, but I don’t have a lot of extra cash. Is it possible to buy zero-down as an investor?” ***ANSWER: Zero-down investor loans are hard to get, but not impossible if you have good credit. They’re available on condos, houses, and (if I’m not mistaken) duplexes

“Hi Gary. I want to figure out how much my home will sell for. Can you email me some comps?” ***ANSWER: I’d be happy to, but… By themselves, comps (sold homes comparable to yours) aren’t enough to correctly determine your home value. They need objective interpretation and adjustments. I can’t tell you how many of

“Hi Gary. How much is a typical deposit on a home and who holds the money?” ***ANSWER: Deposits vary greatly and many people have different opinions on what’s normal. For me, it’s about 1% of the sales price. Typically, when you write your offer you give your agent a personal check made out to the

“Hi Gary. I hear some agents say that open houses are a total waste of time and others say they work. Who’s right?” ***ANSWER: It depends on the home and how the open house is run. Some homes don’t make good open houses, often because they’re just plain unattractive, too far from main drags to

“I’m a veteran from the first Gulf War. I know for awhile that it was almost impossible to use my VA to get a loan to buy a home in San Diego. Has that changed? ” ***ANSWER: I want to first say, THANK YOU for your service to our country. In answer to your question,

“I’ve heard that if I sell my home and then change my mind, I can rescind the contract and cancel. How long is my right of rescission? Isn’t it 3 days?” ***ANSWER: Real estate contracts offer no right of rescission for either party. While not a right of rescission, the buyer of a property usually

“Hi Gary. Yesterday my wife and I got pre-approved for a mortgage by a loan broker. But we didn’t make a loan application and he was late for an appointment, so I don’t even think he ran our credit. In fact, we didn’t give him our social security numbers, so I don’t think he could

“How do I know the agent I’m talking to isn’t going to under-price my home for a quick sale?” ***ANSWER: Great question. Here’s an answer that sounds like the right one, but may not be: “Get a couple of other opinions.” Now this isn’t necessarily a bad approach. But it doesn’t always work as you’d

“We’re in escrow to buy a home and supposed to close in three weeks. We locked in a loan at what I thought was a fair rate, but I was talking with another mortgage broker who said she could definitely get us a rate .25% lower. Do you think our first lender was overcharging us?”