Will Refinance Appraisals Be Conservative on Your San Diego Home?
Wednesday, 04 June 2014
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
- Published in Q&A - Home Financing Questions, Real Estate Tips
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How Agents Price Your San Diego Home So Fast
Tuesday, 13 May 2014
Question: “I interviewed an agent to list my house. She walked through for a few minutes and told me what price we could get. It surprised me that she gave me a value that quickly after just seeing my house for 10 minutes. It didn’t seem like she did any homework. Is that normal?” Answer:
- Published in Q&A - Home Selling Questions, Real Estate Tips
When Low Owner-Occupancy Hurts Your Condo Value
Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Question: “I live in a four-unit condo complex. Three occupants are owners and the fourth is a vacation home for the owners. Now one of the owners plans to move and rent his unit. Does this hurt the value of my condo?” Answer: If a condo complex falls below 60% owner-occupied, financing gets more difficult
- Published in Q&A - Home Investing Questions, Real Estate Tips
What Makes Home Valuation Sites So Bad?
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Question: “You always say that Zillow and other sites are so inaccurate. What do you think causes them to be so far off?” Answer: There are many reasons sites like these are so inaccurate. Here are a few: They “pull” comps from within X miles of the subject. However those often include neighborhoods geographically close
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Investing Questions
Why List Prices May Not Be Accurate
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Question: “I’ve heard you say that you can’t look at the asking price of a home as an idea of value. But those prices were set by a professional real estate agent. So they must be fairly accurate, don’t you think?” Answer: Nope. I’d like to think what you said was true. But reality is
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Selling Questions
Don’t Use Open Houses to Find Your Home Value
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Question: “Hi Gary. I’m not ready to sell yet, but what do you think about going to open houses to get an idea of what my home is worth?” Answer: Let me tell you a story… There’s a Bay Park home that had been on and off the market for years, usually listed 20-50% over
- Published in Q&A - Home Selling Questions, San Diego
Don’t Use Others’ List Price to Get Your Home Value
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Question: “Can you compare this listing at [address removed] to our house? It has no garage and is not remodeled like ours, but it’s listed at $725,000. Based on this, don’t you think our home is worth more than $800,000?” Answer: I’d say your house is worth more than the one you referenced. However, as
- Published in FAQs, Q&A - Home Selling Questions, San Diego
Do Appraisals Tend to Be High or Low?
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Question: “Do appraisals tend to come in high or low?” Answer: Great question. Most people think that appraisals tend to be conservative and come in on the low side. And in this case, most people happen to be wrong. From 29 years experience, I can tell you that appraisals tend to come in on the
- Published in Q&A - Home Investing Questions