“Have you heard about those loans with silent seconds where you pay no interest on a second loan?” ***ANSWER: Yes. They can be very good programs if you fit the criteria and understand the downside. Typical Criteria 1. Most programs are only in specific census tracts in specific areas, such as Escondido or El Cajon.

“My wife and I need to sell our condo, but we owe $519,000 and it’s only worth about $495,000. An agent we know told us we could do something called a short sale where the bank agrees to accept the proceeds from the sale even though it’s less than the $520,000? The agent made it

“I’m saving up money for a down payment, but I’d like to get into a house now since prices are so attractive and there are so many homes for sale to choose from. What do you think of getting a home on a lease-option?” ***ANSWER: There are some +’s and –‘s, that I’ll go over

“Hi Gary. I got laid off awhile back and got behind on my bills and hurt my credit. I’ve had a good job for two years now and I’d like to finally buy a home, but my FICO score isn’t that good. Is there any way I can buy a home?” ***ANSWER: A couple of

“I’m buying a home and had 17 days from acceptance to remove my contingencies, which is today. The seller’s agent just faxed over another disclosure paper, but insists I remove all my contingencies today because this new disclosure isn’t on a legally-required form. Do I still have 5 days from receipt to approve this disclosure

“My wife and I need to sell our condo, but we owe $519,000 and it’s only worth about $495,000. An agent we know told us we could do something called a short sale where the bank agrees to accept the proceeds from the sale even though it’s less than the $520,000? The agent made it

“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