5 Reasons to Hire a Real Estate Professional
We
are often asked if it makes sense to hire a real estate professional
when buying or selling a home. We always emphatically answer – YES!Here are five reasons why:
Ask These Two Important Questions Before Choosing a Realtor
There are many great San Diego area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (619) 562-6800 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
Questions Agents HATE to Answer
Today I am going to be talking about some questions that agents just hate to answer. However, I am not afraid to answer these questions.
- Am I locked into a contract? Most agents will keep you locked in a contract for the entire term of a contract, but if you work with me I will let you terminate the contract and fire me if I do not do everything possible to sell your home. When you sign with another agent and then decide not to use them anymore, it will hurt you later because when you buy or sell a home within that time frame, that agent will get the commission for doing nothing. However, you're not locked in to a contract with me.
- Can I speak to your past clients? With me, you can speak to the last 5 or 10 clients that I have dealt with. If you just go to Zillow.com you can type my name in and see reviews from over 65 clients, or you can hear audio testimonials with my most recent buyers and sellers.
So, there you go. These are questions that most agents will not want you to ask, but I have nothing to hide, so I can answer them for you.
As always, if you want to buy a home or sell a home, or if you just want to talk about San Diego real estate, feel free to contact me. I am always here to help you make informed decisions about real estate.
3 Reasons to Sell Your Home this Spring
3 Reasons to Sell Your Home this Spring
Many sellers are still hesitant about putting their house up for sale. Where are prices headed? Where are interest rates headed? These are all valid questions. However, there are several reasons to sell your home sooner rather than later. Here are three of those reasons.1. Demand is about to skyrocket
Most people realize that the housing market is hottest from April through June. The most serious buyers are well aware of this and, for that reason, come out in early spring in order to beat the heavy competition. We also have a pent-up demand as many buyers pushed off their home search this winter because of extreme weather. Sellers in markets where seasonal weather is never an issue must realize that buyers relocating to their region will increase dramatically this spring as these purchasers finally decide to escape the freezing temperatures of the winters in the north.
These buyers are ready, willing and able to buy…and are in the market right now!
2. There Is Less Competition - For Now
Housing supply always grows from the spring through the early summer. Also, there has been a growing desire for many homeowners to move as they were unable to sell over the last few years because of a negative equity situation. Homeowners have seen a return to positive equity as prices increased over the last eighteen months. Many of these homes will be coming to the market in the near future.
The choices buyers have will continue to increase over the next few months. Don’t wait until all the other potential sellers in your market put their homes up for sale.
3. There Will Never Be a Better Time to Move-Up
If you are moving up to a larger, more expensive home, consider doing it now. Prices are projected to appreciate by approximately 4% this year and 8% by the end of 2015. If you are moving to a higher priced home, it will wind-up costing you more in raw dollars (both in down payment and mortgage payment) if you wait. You can also lock-in your 30 year housing expense with an interest rate at about 4.5% right now. Freddie Mac projects rates to be 5.1% by this time next year and 5.7% by the fourth quarter of 2015.
Moving up to a new home will be less expensive this spring than later this year or next year.
Why Buying Now Makes Sense!
We have never hid our belief in homeownership. That does not mean we think EVERYONE should run out and buy a house. However, if a person or family is ready, willing andable to purchase a home, we believe that owning is much better than renting. And we believe that now is a great time to buy.
We are not the only ones that thinkowning has massive benefits or that now is a sensational time to plunge into owning your own home. Here are a few others:Benefits of Owning
“Homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord…Having to make a housing payment one way or the other, owning a home can overcome people’s tendency to defer savings.”
“Renters have much lower median and mean net worth than homeowners in any survey year.”
Benefits of Buying Now
“Buying costs less than renting in all 100 large U.S. metros… Now, at a 30-year fixed rate of 4.5%, buying is 38% cheaper than renting nationally.”
"One thing seems certain: we are not likely to see average 30-year fixed mortgage rates return to the historic lows experienced in 2012…Yes, rates are higher than they were a year ago – and certainly higher than two years ago. But if you look at the averages over the last four decades, today's rates remain historically low."
Increase Your Chances for Getting a Home By Avoiding These 3 Buyer Pitfalls
There are many great San Diego area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (619) 562-6800 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.
How to Ruin a Real Estate Deal in 3 Easy Steps
There are lots of ways to blow a real estate deal, and today I'm going to show you a few ways to avoid them.
1) Lowball Offers: This is a great way to irritate a seller and have them brush you off when glancing at your offer. If you're working with a real estate agent, you should know how to make a competitive offer on a home. You should do some research and find out what other homes are selling for and if they are comparatively priced. All you need to do to avoid a situation like this is research your local market. Ask your local San Diego realtor about how you can accomplish this.
2) Asking for Small Things: For instance, if it makes the difference between you getting or not getting the property, why don't you pick up the cost of the termite report (a paltry $65)? Or, if you don't need a refrigerator or washer & dryer, don't bother the seller about them. These little things can add up and cause the seller to become very irritated.
3) Pre-Qualified instead of Pre-Approved: There is actually a difference between these two things. A pre-approval is much better than a pre-qualification. Anyone can be pre-qualified, but you want to be Pre-approved. If you want to take it to the next level, have your loan officer call the other agent and sell you to the seller. This is the ultimate presentation, and you are as good as gold in the eyes of the seller.
There you have it. Three easy ways to ruin a real estate deal and ways to avoid them. If you follow these three steps, your chances of getting into a home should greatly increase.
If you need any assistance with buying or selling real estate here in San Diego, then please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be more than happy to help you out.
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