“Hi Gary. We sold our home last year and were able to avoid paying any capital gains taxes. Now we’ve moved into one of our rental houses and plan to do the same thing this year. Is there any limit to how many times we can do this?” ***ANSWER: Congratulations. You’re taking full advantage of

“We’re planning to buy our first home and are wondering, do we have to use an agent?” ***ANSWER: Why wouldn’t you? Some first-time buyers think they have to pay their agent, so they avoid working with one for as long as possible. But the seller pays both agents 99% of the time. And a buyer’s

“How much under-market do I need to buy a home to make money on a fix-and-flip?” ***ANSWER: There’s no simple formula, because of all the variables: – Financing – Fix-Up Cost – Fix-Up Time – Added Value – Market Time – Negotiation – Transaction Management – Appreciation – Financing – Obviously, you want to get

“I just got a letter in the mail from someone who says he wants to buy my home. I’m a little suspicious. Do you think it’s legit?” ***ANSWER: Probably not. Odds are it’s an investor looking to buy your home way under value or a dishonest agent posing as a buyer. A client called me

“How much deposit am I required to make to have a binding contract?” ***ANSWER: This may surprise you and many readers, but you’re not legally required to make a deposit at all. While contracts require what is called “consideration” to be valid, that doesn’t mean you need to have a deposit. Per the good attorneys

“Hi Gary. We have a pretty nice house in UC, worth around 850,000. We want to scale down and buy a condo. Do you think we should keep the house as a rental?” ***ANSWER: Expensive homes make no financial sense as a rental in San Diego. Your cash on cash return will likely be 2-3%.

“Should I let the buyer move in early to make repairs?” ***ANSWER: NO! Letting the buyer of a property move in before closing for ANY reason is WAY too risky. Let me count the ways: 1. Liability for injury, etc. 2. Possibility they may change their mind once they’ve spent a few nights. 3. See

“Hi Gary, love the blog. I want to sell my condo and a Realtor suggested a price based not only on comps, but also on condo conversions in the area for sale. She feels the ‘new everything’ in the conversions (plus the 4% commission to the broker) makes for tough competition to standard resale condos.

“What do you think of buying at a real estate auction?” ***ANSWER: There are different kinds of real estate auctions, including foreclosure sale auctions, probate “auctions” (called overbids), and auctions put on by private auction firms. We’re actually involved in one of the latter that’s happening tomorrow. Here are six things you should know in

“Last year I had a plumbing leak that led to mold in my laundry room. A mold remediation company handled everything and the mold test came out 100% clear. Do I still need to disclose it when I sell my home?” ***ANSWER: Definitely. The law says you must disclose anything that could “materially affect the