“Re: how to fire a realtor. Went online & got some vague answers. Wish to cancel my listing, based on realtor’s breach of contract, regarding lack of communications. Any suggestions as to back up info I might need???” ***ANSWER: Good luck. Listing contracts make it virtually impossible to fire an agent who isn’t performing. That’s

“I’m going to sell my home and I got price opinions from 2 agents, at 525K and 650K. The first guy had info on comps [comparable home sales] supporting his price. The other agent said she was confident she could get me in the $600’s, but didn’t show me any comps. I don’t know who

“My husband and I went to view a home which we found on our own. We contacted the listing agent directly and he had an agent from his office meet us at the property. We were prepared to make an offer on the home when the agent who showed us the property got “weird”. Given

“I’m seeing lots of ads touting short sales, most of which seem priced pretty well. Are they good investments?” ***ANSWER: [Quick explanation: a short sale is when someone is selling a property with a loan(s) that exceeds the property value and the owner doesn’t have funds to cover the shortfall. For a sale to happen,

“I’m trying to figure out value range pricing. If I feel my home is worth $500,000, what range would I ask?” ***ANSWER: Great question. Your desired price should be around the middle of the range. That allows for an attractive lower end of the range to draw interest, and a higher range to give you

“My husband and I made an offer on a home a couple of weeks ago and asked for a termite clearance. The agent said we should ask for all repairs for Section 1, but not Section 2. When we asked the agent what the difference was, she didn’t know. Can you tell explain the difference?”

“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: