“Hi Gary. We’re trying to choose an agent to sell our home in UTC. One of them suggested a higher price, but I’ve never heard of his company. The other is with XXXX [a large firm], so he’s probably pretty good. Who do you think we should go with?” ***ANSWER (Part 1 of 3): First,

“With this buyer’s market, I’m dying to finally buy a home, but my work schedule is crazy and I’m constantly out of town on business. What things require me to be here?” ***ANSWER: You can do absolutely everything long distance, via phone, fax, email, and FED-X. But I strongly recommend you show up live to

“I just talked to a lender for about 10 minutes and I got pre-approved for a $550,000. That seemed a little to fast. I thought getting a loan was a little more complicated. Do you think I’m really approved?” ***ANSWER: No, I don’t. You’re right to be dubious. There’s pre-qualifying, there’s pre-approval, and there’s REAL

“We’re planning to sell our home in Carlsbad this June. Homes in our neighborhood are going in the 700s, but ours is much better than average, so we expect to at least get in the 800s. Do you think the low 900s would be pushing it?” ***ANSWER: Before I answer your question, please answer these

“Hello Gary. We have a question for you. We’re looking for a home in Pacific Beach and we want our kids to go to Kate Sessions Elementary with their cousins. How close do we have to be to the school so our kids can go there?” ***ANSWER: That’s a great school. My kids went there

“Hi Gary. I’m a new real estate investor. I see all your foreclosures. Are they also short sales?” ***ANSWER: First, a quick explanation: There are 3 stages of foreclosure during which a home may be sold: 1. BEFORE a foreclosure sale, when the homeowner is in foreclosure. 2. AT the foreclosure sale, when the home

“We have a question. We’re going to sell our home. When we get our new place, we plan to buy brand new furniture because our current furniture is ugly and old and out of style. Do you recommend we sell our home vacant?” ***ANSWER: Here’s a novel way to effectively get your new furniture for

“Hi Gary. I saw a condo for sale in P.B. priced extremely low, about 25% below market. Then I found out it’s one of those short sales. Do you think it will actually sell for that price?” ***ANSWER: No. Before I explain, let’s first review what a short sale is: A short sale is when

“I’d like to take my duplex and add funds from my 1031 exchange so that I can turn it into a fourplex. Can I do a 1031 exchange into an investment property I own without paying taxes?” ***ANSWER: Basically the answer is NO, you cannot exchange into a property you already own. However… If you

“I’m going to sell my home and I’m a nervous about the buyer’s inspection. My home is in good shape but it’s not new. Won’t the buyer’s contractor come up with a lot of things wrong so he can charge to fix them?” ***ANSWER: Great question. It’s the same concern you have when taking your