“My wife and I want to sell our 2-bedroom Mission Valley condo and buy a house in north county. She keeps talking about new construction, but I think a resale home is smarter. Which do you think is suggest?” ***ANSWER: It depends. Buying a brand-new home can be exciting and complicated. Here are some pro’s

“How long does it take to get a home mortgage?” ***ANSWER: Most lenders take 30-45 days. But even if you give them 6 months, be ready for your lender needing a more days than planned, either due to dropping the ball or something unexpected coming up at the end. That being said, I use the

“My mother is moving into a retirement home and we need to sell her house. She hasn’t been keeping it up and we’d like to do some work on it so it looks better and can get a higher price. The trouble is I’m too busy to supervise things. Can you recommend a good contractor

“Hi Gary. My wife and I are first-time homebuyers. We want to make sure the home we buy is in good condition and doesn’t have a lot of problems. What inspections do you recommend we get? And do we do them before or after we make an offer?” ***ANSWER: Here’s the answer my attorney wants

“What in the world is a condo hotel, and do you think they’re a good investment?” ***ANSWER: A condo-hotel, also called a hotel-condo, is a building used as (surprise) both a condominium and a hotel. The rising costs of building and related expenses can make developing new hotels difficult and costly, especially in major cities.

“Question: We’re planning to sell our house. It was appraised in August because we were planning to refinance. It came in at $855,000, but we’d be surprised to even get $800,000. How much stock do you place in appraisals?” ***ANSWER: An appraiser comes to your home and takes notes, measurements, and photos. He or she

“Hi Gary. I’ve never bought a home before, but I’ve been seeing a lot of good deals and I think it’s time to take the step. I don’t know much about buying a home, but I have a question. What is the purpose of title insurance and do I need to buy it?” ***ANSWER: When

“I hear about no-doc loans. What documents are normally needed for a full-doc loan?” ***ANSWER: Here are the items you typically need when you do a full-doc loan application: – Copy of sales contract – List of your residences last 2 years – Employer names and addresses last 2 years – Copy of last 2

“It seems like all the agents I’m talking with want to list my home for six months. Should I list for that long?” ***ANSWER: Provided you hire the right agent, there’s a valuable benefit to giving the agent enough time to sell your home. For example, say you have a short listing and you get

“Hi Gary. I know from when we bought our current home that buying a home can be so emotional. In fact, this home really doesn’t even some of the features I really wanted. Can you give me any ideas to organize my thoughts and do this the right way?” ***ANSWER: Get out a sheet of