“Hi Gary. I made an offer on a bank foreclosure in Spring Valley a few days and haven’t heard back. My agent has been calling the listing agent at least once a day and still can’t get an answer. What do you think is going on?” ***ANSWER: Nothing special. My bank-clients typically respond to offers

“Do you think it’s a good time to invest in real estate?” ***ANSWER: Yes. OK, you’re going to expect that coming from a real estate agent. In my defense, you may have noticed I’ve not been parroting the standard Realtor line of, “It’s a great time to buy a home” the past 3 years as

“Hi Gary, My wife and I want to sell our home in La Jolla. We live part of the year in Phoenix and part in San Diego. We want to get the $500,000 principal residence exclusion. How do we know which one is my principal residence?” ***ANSWER: According to industry journal California Real Estate Magazine,

“Hi Gary. I have a question about real estate investing. Can you buy and flip fixer uppers doing a 1031 exchange?” ***ANSWER: No. If you buy a property and sell it a short time later without renting it, the IRS considers it “dealer property” and it’s not eligible for a 1031 exchange. Please verify with

“You’ve been talking about questions to ask when you’re deciding on an agent to sell your home. What about just asking how long they’ve been in real estate?” ***ANSWER: Thursday, one agent who was also a mortgage broker (bad news already!) told me it was illegal for the bank/seller to ask his client to prequalify

“Hi, do you think the bank will consider an offer of $150,000 for this place? According to the latest statistics, Julian homes have taken a 75% hit.” ***ANSWER: Julian has not dropped even close to 75%. The statistic you refer to is based on one June home sale, which is not statistically significant. When you

“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?