Understanding Your “Very Limited” Obligations as a Seller In the State of California home sellers are only required to install smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors (one per floor) and the hot water heater must be properly strapped. That’s it. Everything else is sold “AS IS”. The buyer does however have the right to perform an […]
Home Sellers – Be Very Afraid of the Agent that Tells You This….
February 15, 2020 By
“You don’t have to do any fix up, I have buyer that will buy it “AS IS” !!!” Well guess what? So do I. All I have to do is look in my email deleted folder. I have hundreds of buyers wanting to buy my fixer upper listing. These Flippers are so nice that they […]
Pricing Confusion – What’s the Market Telling Us?
January 27, 2020 By
Economically, we are living in strange times. Usual sign posts are not as reliable as they once were and it is leading to contradictory signs. Contradictory indicators have been a re-occurring theme for quite a few years. I will chalk it up to the Federal Reserves machinations and monkeying with money and interest rates which […]
What Does “As Is” Really Mean?
December 12, 2019 By
Sellers often tell me that they want to sell a property “As Is”. This is where we need to define what “As Is” really means to the seller. There are three possible interpretations. One – “As Is” as it applies in the legal world means there is no “Warranty” included with the property, but this […]
A Level Playing Field – The New Normal
October 21, 2019 By
I had an agent call this morning about one of my listings. I faced the standard question. Other agent- “What will the seller take?……”. In my head I am think – “Really??? “ I am not answering this question. I never do. Then a secondary question “what comps did you use”. Really again in my […]
6646 Harco Street – Before & After
April 11, 2019 By
Project Description This property was inherited by siblings. Dad was over 90 when he passed, living a good life, but had not been able to maintain the property. My client lived in Utah, only coming to Long Beach when we first met. We all agreed that a quick freshening up would make sense. Photos Cost […]
3412 Sandwood – Before & After
April 11, 2019 By
Project Description This was an inherited property. Prior to my clients inheriting the property their Aunt lived in the property. The Aunt had not done any maintenance in 30+ years and was afraid to leave the home. Needless to say the property was in shambles and had much deferred maintenance. The Perfect home to make […]
The Importance of an “Accurate” List Price
February 26, 2012 By
The list price you choose serves two purposes: One – Get people in the door & Two – Be high enough to not compromise your best possible outcome. Sellers often think the best way to choose a list price is determine the true value of a home, and then add some or a lot of negotiating room, but […]
Fix Up is More Critical when Location is Less than Ideal.
February 1, 2012 By
Odds makers understand statistics. Specifically they understand the likelihood of two events happening. As an example, if you drive down the street, what would be the likelihood of seeing an older Volkswagen beetle? If you are in Southern California, this would be pretty likely, it might only be 15 minutes before you saw one. Then what […]
The 80/20 Rule Applies with Home Preparation
January 30, 2012 By
I just got off the phone with past clients that are in the process of getting their Dad’s home ready for sale. The home is a stunning Craftsman home in a prime historical district. The home has character and presence, the only problem is Dad let maintenance go for the last several decades. We talked […]
Bank Repo’s and Short Sales – How Much do they Really Affect Prices?
November 2, 2010 By
It’s no secret that short sales and bank repos sell for less. These low sales didn’t affect sellers until the advent of the HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct). This law, enacted by Andrew Cuomo, is an attempt to mitigate appraisal fraud. However, laws to regulate morality or integrity often do neither. If you want […]
How to Prepare your home for Sale, A video example – 1924 Fanwood
October 21, 2010 By
In these videos, we look at a home that didn’t need much work, but through proper home preparation, we were able to maximize the homes value with a few select improvements. Part 1 Part 2
How to Prepare your home for Sale, A video example – 829 Lees Ave
September 21, 2010 By
829 Lees – Living Room In these video, we look at a home that had been neglected and abused. The owner had let his sons live in the property and rent out rooms to all of the son’s college buddies. We came in and helped the seller maximize the homes value with an interior cosmetic […]
Negotiating the Highest Price for Your Home is Like Poker, You Must Know the Strength of the Hand you are Playing.
March 2, 2010 By
It takes years of experience to become a good negotiator. Much like a good poker player, a good negotiator is both technically competent, knowing odds and with years of experience, knows which rules to apply and how far they can “push it” for any given situation. In Real Estate, the strength of the hand you […]
Appraisals & Why Andrew Cuomo’s Legislation Must Die
October 1, 2009 By
On May 1st new legislation (by Andrew Cuomo) went into effect, which is crippling the Real Estate market. The piece of legislation that I am referring to is know as the HVCC or Home Valuation Code of Conduct. Theoretically the intent of the legislation sounded good, to enhance integrity in the appraisal industry. The result […]
What Improvements, Prior to Sale, Return the Most Profit for Your Home?
August 29, 2006 By
After a seller knows how much his home is worth, the next question is “What can I do to increase the value?”. Sellers will usually start with ideas based upon the fix up work they were going to do for themselves, that list of 20 things you haven’t done yet. While Real Estate agents have […]
Spring Prices Explode to Upside
April 29, 2004 By
Every December and January the Real Estate market slows with holiday glee. Buyers are busy with holiday shopping and parties, and sellers aren’t excited about being on the market during the holidays. With a 2 month seasonal hiatus, I often wonder what the spring will bring. This year I have been blown away at the […]
The Anatomy of a Market Turn
January 28, 2004 By
Recently I have met with quite a few prospective customers who are planning to sell in the near future. They are anxious because they don’t want to miss the opportunity that currently exists with high sales prices. Not being quite ready to sell, they are asking me, if they don’t sell for 3-6 months will […]
Trading Up in Long Beach
November 28, 2003 By
Tom & Susan have lived in their Los Altos home since 1991. Like most homeowners during the early 90’s they watched their homes value decline to about the loan amount. Simply holding on to their home during this unsettling period was the best strategy. 12 years later, they have two pre-school aged children, several hundred […]