Should You Make a Large Down Payment on a House? For some people this is a no-brainer… If you’re scraping together every last quarter you can find under the sofa cushions, then your bank account has already told you how much you can put down. But if you’re in the position to make a large […]
The question of what a home is actually worth is the driving force of every real estate transaction. The negotiations about price and repairs, the managing of multiple offers for the best outcome, the buyer’s ability to obtain financing, and even insurance quotes all come back to determining the true value of a property. A […]
Are there hidden costs to selling a home in Orange County? In most cases I think that there are unexpected costs, but I wouldn’t necessarily say they are hidden. There shouldn’t be surprise fees, but if you haven’t done your homework or hired a competent agent, you may find yourself facing some unexpected costs. The truth […]
If you are a buyer in today’s seller’s market, you know just how tough it is out there. There are simply more buyers than there are homes for sale, which can make the process of finding and buying a home incredibly difficult. Some houses are going under contract within hours of being listed for sale, […]
It’s easy to get carried away thinking about all of the wonderful upgrades you can make to increase the value of your home. But, if your goal is to actually walk away from your house with more money, then you need to play it smart and make sure you are only making cost-efficient upgrades. Shelling […]
You feel frustrated, angry, and confused. The O.C. real estate market is on fire, houses are selling left and right. But, despite multiple people coming to see your house, you just haven’t had any bites. The weeks have turned into months, and you’re not sure what else you can do. You shake your fist at […]
When it comes to buying or selling real estate in the United States, the process is pretty well established these days. There are universal financing options, deed recordings, and even the way we define owning real estate has become pretty systematic. The current system works so well that it’s hard to imagine it was ever […]
Ahh yes, the infamous Preliminary Title Report, or as we call it in the biz: The Prelim. This is one of the many documents in a real estate transaction that is meant to disclose all significant knowledge of a property’s current condition to the buyer. The prelim, however, is one of the most important disclosures. […]
What is Positioning? The backbone of an effective marketing campaign is positioning and it is THE MOST important consideration when selling a home. Proper Positioning can be summed up as the who, what, where, and how of portraying your home for sale to the general public. WHO: We need to identify and define who the […]
Selling Your Home Fast If you want to sell your home fast (trust me, you want to sell it fast) then it’s imperative that you get as much exposure as possible within a short timeframe. How do we do this? In a nutshell: we use the internet! Years ago, the traditional method of selling homes […]
One of the most important decisions you’ll make when selling your house is what price to list it at. If you are serious about getting offers and selling your house, than you should pick a price that is close to the expected market value of your home. 7 tips for evaluating and negotiating multiple offers […]
Once you have a buyer for your home, the hard part is over. Or is it? The contract is signed, escrow has been opened, and the earnest money has been deposited, but there are still countless potential snags that could arise. It’s easy to slip into a feeling of contentment once you are in escrow. […]
So you’ve done a ton work getting your house ready to sell, your agent has put a rock solid marketing campaign into motion, so the next thing you’re expecting is a bunch of offers on your beautiful home. But, before we get too carried away with all the action, let’s go over some important tips […]
Title insurance protects a title holder from some pretty scary potential problems. When buying or selling a house in California it is pretty common to be required to buy title insurance, but there is an exception or two. In most transactions there are 2 title policies that need to be purchased: The owner’s title policy, […]
The median sales price of homes steadily increased throughout 2016 and into 2017. This of course was no surprise, as I discussed about a year ago. What would be a surprise though (at least to me) is if prices continued to increase into 2018. So what happens next? Let us speculate… First, I just need […]