Beware Of “Price Creep” When Selling Your San Diego Home

Question: “We listed our home for sale for $550,000 yesterday, but it’s not on the market yet. Now we’re thinking we should ask $580,000. Are we allowed to raise the price?” Answer: For all practical purposes, you are. I can’t imagine a broker telling you, “I don’t care. We have a contract and I’m going
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Don’t Try to Time the Market When Buying a San Diego Home

Question: “I want to buy a home but am trying to time the market right. I’m not sure if we’re in a mini-bubble or are still looking at a lot more appreciation. What do you think?” Answer: I sold two San Diego properties in 2003 and 2004. I missed the peak by some 10-20%. Do
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Will Refinance Appraisals Be Conservative on Your San Diego Home?

Question: “I have a question about refinancing. We owe about $420,000 on our condo and it’s finally worth enough to refinance, about $475,000. We need to have a maximum 90% loan to value to refinance so those numbers should work. But I’ve heard that refinance appraisals are conservative. Is that true?” Answer: Believe it or
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Clearing Up a Misconception About Real Estate Agents

Question: “I’ve already talked to Keller Williams about selling my home. Wouldn’t it be unethical to talk with another Keller Williams agent?” Answer: Not at all. As a matter of fact, you haven’t actually talked with “Keller Williams.” Keller Williams is a real estate company. You talked with a Keller Williams agent. Real estate companies
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Are Sellers Required to Respond to Your Offer?

Question: “My wife and I made an offer and the seller accepted another offer without responding to ours. Don’t they have to respond? My agent said the seller’s agent is required to submit the offer to the seller. And he said if they don’t accept it, they must sign a written rejection, which the agent
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Fix & Flip Investing Is Harder Than It Looks

Question: “I was intrigued by your article last week on fix and flip investors. I have some extra cash and was thinking about getting into that. How hard is it to do?” Answer: VERY hard. Most flippers work crazy long hours, 6-7 days a week. They have to be available to move quickly when the
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Do Fix & Flip Investors Only Make Low Offers?

Question: “Last week you talked about selling to a fix and flip investor. But don’t they only buy if they get a really low price for a house?” Answer: Not necessarily. I can speak from experience, having sold dozens of homes where we had offers from investors and from owner-occupant buyers. Many fix/flip cash investors
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3 Reasons Home Valuations Sites Don’t Work

Question: “We’re interested in a house and checked what value Zillow shows for it. They have $517,000, but the home has been listed at $449,000 for a few weeks. So obviously it’s not worth $517,000. Why do you think Zillow is so bad?” Answer: I can think of at least three likely reasons that ALL
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Can I Do a 1031 Exchange on My Vacation Condo?

Question: “Can I do a 1031 exchange on my vacation condo?” Answer: I talked with a 1031 expert said about doing an exchange with a vacation property. Here’s what she said: A second home that is not reported on Schedule E and the interest is written off against your personal income does not qualify for a
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Choosing the Right Offer When Selling a Fixer-Upper

Question: “I inherited a fixer-upper house in L.A. We put it on the market yesterday and today we already have 6 offers. Is that normal?” Answer: There is a strong demand for fixer-uppers right now by “fix and flip” groups. So when selling a fixer upper, the trick isn’t so much getting offers, it’s choosing
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