You know you’re a Bay Area home buyer when the idea of a “rentback” to a home seller gives you chills. What if the home owner doesn’t leave? What if you become a landlord? What if you have to end up evicting them? Enter the California Association of REALTORS® (CAR) form: “Seller in Possession.” Basically…
Here’s a success story of a life-long renter who found and bought her perfect home, a condo. My client had a perfect process for searching for houses and condos that led to a winning offer. She knew exactly what her criteria were — the home had to: be in an easy commute location, easy to…
Home sellers in Oakland, Alameda and some other East Bay cities need to decide whether to repair their sewer lateral, if necessary, or let the buyer pay for repairing the sewer lateral. It’s part of a program called East Bay Private Sewer Lateral (PSL) In Oakland, home sellers or home buyers where there is a…
The New York Times profiled of a Los Angeles house buyer who wrote a “love letter” to the seller. The buyer just happened to be a successful Hallmark romance movie writer. Was wooing the owner with a romantic letter how she got the house? Why many home sellers sand real estate agents won’t look at…
Qualifying for an FHA loan just became easier for buyers of properties with ADUs and other rental spaces. Mortgage lenders can now count income from small units of housing — known as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) — built inside, attached to, or on the same property as a primary residence when underwriting a mortgage.* This exciting…
I buy my home buyer clients a home warranty for a typical reason: peace of mind. I’ll admit, it took my becoming a real estate agent to learn about the magic of home warranties. Most of us assume only new developments have warranties, just like a new dishwasher. Nope! In fact, I usually warn buyers…
What’s the most important feature when buying a home? The oldest wisdom says “location, location, location.” But what exactly defines the perfect location that checks all the boxes of desirability and long-term appreciate? It depends! The book FLIP: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit distills that perfect location into “9 Neighborhood Appeal Factors.” You…
Chicago Title put together a scary video of home title horror stories (for Halloween). There’s nothing funny about someone stealing your property through fraud or finding out that you don’t actually own the property you bought. Watch these horror stories if you have any doubts about the importance of title insurance. What is title insurance…
All along the Oakland, Berkeley, El Cerrito and Richmond hills are homes with incredible San Francisco Bay views…with more houses, condos and townhouses along the waterfront from Richmond to Alameda and San Leandro. How do waterfront house prices compare to Marin County and San Francisco prices? For the most part, buyers find home prices are…
According to Chicago Title, scammers and fraudsters are impersonating property owners to illegally sell real property — especially vacant lots and land. Avoid being scammed! Due to the types of vacant lots and land property being targeted, it can take months or years for the actual property owner to discover the fraud. Facebook has lots…
