Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
Skyrocketing Gas Prices Affect San Diego Realtors
Posted by Rich Johnson | Currently 1 Comment »
I had to stop for gas yesterday on my way home, having milked my gas tank down to 3 miles remaining. Since I was driving my Mercury Mountaineer SUV, I paused to think as I looked at the $4.47 price per gallon. I did a quick calculation in my head…$4.47 times 21 gallons, gee that’s over $90 bucks! And that didn’t include the quick drive-thru car wash I was going to get and desperately needed.
After the pump stopped filling up, at $97.43 (I guess my tank holds a little more than 21 gallons) and I added the $10 car wash, my stop cost me $107.43! As I pulled out of the wash, looking down at my “miles remaining” guage, my vehicle told me I could go another 311 miles until the next day that I would be totally depressed. That works out to a whole lotta cents per mile. At these costs, thoughts of getting a bigger better and newer SUV evaporated and were replaced with the thought of that itty bitty car, what’s it called, the smart-car.
Now somehow I just don’t see me or my fellow REALTORS carting around people in one of these. Does it even have a backseat? What’s funny is that just last week I saw one truckin down Hwy 15 that was “wrapped” in advertisement and the owner was a REALTOR!
I don’t remember what the name of the REALTOR was or his company name, but I guarantee you that I’m on the lookout for him. Is this the next big thing for us real estate pro’s? Are we showing our clients that we are no longer wastefully driving around previewing homes for our buyers burning large amounts of gas? And then I wondered…how would I feel about my REALTOR if he showed up to meet me at a property driving one of these things?
What with all the history behind rising gas prices, OPEC, the War in Iraq, don’t you ever feel like your just the victim of world politics? There’s a funny video on YouTube that was forwarded to me…click the arrow at the bottom of this page.
Most successful REALTORS drive nice cars. It’s been a part of our culture for many years. Part of the vision I had for myself when I decided to get into the real estate business was a mental picture of me in my big black Mercedes 500 series. Is that image now going to be replaced by a smart car?
The price of gas has definitely been a water cooler topic around my offices. REALTORS are becoming more creative, planning more carefully, and even carpooling more because of the price of a barrel of crude oil. For those of us who were driving back in 1974 (I had just gotten my license a year or two earlier), I can remember the impact it had on American car makers. Big Chevy Impala’s were replaced by the Vega and Ford’s Pinto. This was a very depressing period of time for those of us who enjoyed the 60′s muscle cars.
So on behalf of all my fellow REALTORS, I hope and pray that our government does something to reduce the price we pay at the pump to something more reasonable. Gas prices seem to be at the top of people’s minds when they think they have to cut and save. This will definitely have an effect on our housing market recovery and lengthen the time it takes.
I’m not ready for the smart car yet, and I can’t sell my SUV because nobody wants to buy one now. So I guess I too will have to be more creative and plan more carefully my routes, but it’s not gonna stop me from being the best REALTOR I can be!
Related Posts: Real Estate News, San Diego
Want To Hire A Realtor Who Agrees With You?
Posted by Ron Brownell | Currently 1 Comment »
In your search for a qualified and educated Realtor to work with on the marketing of your home or the search for a new home, there a few things to keep in mind. Your professional Realtor will supply you with facts and information to make a truly qualified decision about timing, price, marketing strategy and staging your property.
You may not necessarily agree with their evaluation of what the list price or the suggested offer price might be, however you can and should feel confident that you have hired an agent with the experience and ability to understand and be able to explain the market conditions of the specific area you are interested in.
They must also be interpreting the “Comps” and “Conditions” that exist in your neighborhood to help in your making the very best decisions.
So many times, Sellers and Buyers will lose out on the first few attempts because they did not “trust” the opinion of their Realtor.
This frequently results in lost time and quite often dollars.
If you don’t have confidence in the professional person you have chosen then you are undoubtably working with the wrong person.
Have confidence in your Realtor, and happy selling!
Related Posts: Real Estate News
Carlsbad Real Estate – It’s The Market
Posted by Susan "Sully" Sullivan | Currently 2 Comments »
I got an email from a client who has been sitting on the fence (like so many of you out there!) and is maintaining his position that the bottom has yet to fall from the Carlsbad and San Diego real estate markets. 
“It’s the market”, he told me when I mentioned my frustration that so many of my sales are not coming together lately.
I beg to differ.
It’s the public’s perception of the market.
Whoever buys in this “market” is the one who has the best selection, best price, best interest rates, and the best shot at “buying low and selling high” when there is no more product out there; (we are at build out in Carlsbad) thereby leveraging the supply to the demand. Here’s what I know and facts that I live by in my business:
1. Real Estate values are determined by supply and demand. (And they always will be).
2. What goes down must go up. (Especially on the coast).
3. History repeats itself. (Need I say more?) History repeats itself.
It’s unfortunate that the media continues to contend the fear of entering the market.
I’m going on the record. We are living in the “then”. The “wish I would have bought then” then. People hesitating to enter the home buying market need to keep in mind the one wildcard that will snafu the “bottom” theory. And that is interest rates.
Each incremental interest rate hike will effect the buying power by thousands of dollars; so even if the prices are to go down some, with an increase in rates, the payments will be more. With the deflation of the dollar, the only way the feds can fight a recession is with an interest rate hike. And just like California earthquakes, it’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.
In my experience there has never been a better time to enter the home buying market.
I can only lead the horses to the water. That’s what’s so frustrating.
Related Posts: Carlsbad, Real Estate News
Sex In The City And Real Estate
Posted by Donna Niksich | Leave A Comment »
Most everyone we know loves episodes of “Sex in the City” (ok…fine…most women). “Hello Lover”! I myself am an avid fan and have religiously watched it for years and often find my life running parallel to Carrie Bradshaw. Thus my words of wisdom to other busy, single women who sometimes find themself in the dilemma of needing to do the right thing vs. doing the fun thing… One episode comes to mind while renters are looking for another place to rent or are thinking of buying a place during this time. 
Carrie was trying to buy her apartment and she couldn’t because she realized she had spent too much money on her Jimmy Choo and Manolo Bilanik shoes, which by the way can cost up to over $1000 per pair. WHAT!! “Really Carrie! shouldn’t you do the right thing by saving for that apartment instead of doing the fun thing and buying those HOT SHOES!!” If you remember or didn’t see it, “Big” gave her a check for the down payment but she ripped it up and eventually received a check from her best friend, Charlotte, and all was good. You have to love sisterhood! Then her significant other, Aidan, stepped in to buy the other apartment and began to remodel.
If you’re single, in a big, popular city…New York, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Are you financially able to buy real estate if you do not have a significant other, spouse, friend, if you have children, or not?? Well, reality is, rentals have increased in price, especially the HOT places.
In San Diego County, you look for a rental in the HOT places that fit your budget, you go check it out, and it turns out to be a dump. Owners who want to rent have the upper hand right now because lenders have such difficult criteria to purchase a home, so most return and give up to renting. Oh, but it’s such a great market to purchase bank owned property right now, so this is said!
Well, most of us love our shoes or whatever. So it’s a toss up. Should we buy shoes that make us look fashionable and HOT, or should we save and buy an apartment….out here in San Diego, it’s called a “home” or “condo”. Well, I must tell you…I’m all about looking hot and sexy and I would go for the shoes, but dreams of owning a home prevails.
Bottom line. If you’re an independent contractor and you have tons of write offs in order to fore-go paying high taxes (in compliance with the IRS I must add), you are pretty much unable to qualify for a loan to purchase a home, unless you want to buy one that is built to apartment specifications, or a tear down or shack somewhere in an unsafe neighborhood. Hello! Single mom or women in these neighborhoods? No thank you. I’d rather buy the Jimmy Choo or Milano Bilanek shoes!!! By the way, this message is for the median income or lower income buyer/renter, not the buyers or sellers out there that make $80K/year or more…whatever lenders are looking for now.
If you have a significant other and one makes a salary of approximately $40K/year, but the other is an independent contractor and has write offs to avoid taxes, you’ll probably have to rent. Then we have the owners and landlords taking advantage of the tough stipulations lenders require to buy a home at this time, so the rents have increased, even if it’s a dump on the coast. So, if the rents are high, how can we save for that 3% or more down payment for that dream home?
So, just forget a’bout it and do the fun thing, buy those fashionable shoes for the time being…you may as well look HOT. “HELLO LOVER” – Carrie would approve!
Related Posts: Real Estate News, San Diego
Stop Making Mortgage Payments?…Don’t Make A Seller’s Mistake!
Posted by Kevin Kueneke | Leave A Comment »
The following is based on an actual conversation I had with a seller recently…
Question: I just accepted an offer on my home, can I stop making the mortgage payments?
Answer: NO!!!! If you are selling your home and you are concerned about your credit, it is in your best interest to continue paying all mortgage related debt on that property in a timely manner. Just because it will be paid off soon is no reason to stop making the payments. Becoming delinquent can cause several problems: 
- Once a mortgage loan becomes delinquent, payment and payoff processing is handled by a different department, namely the debt collection department. This can lead to additional fees and days added to the transaction.
- The most important credit item that lenders review (on par with the credit score) is housing payment history. Mortgage late payments can ruin your credit and make it difficult if not impossible to buy your next home. This can be an issue even if you only plan to rent.
- “I’m already approved for my next home, why should I worry?” Lenders have been known to re-pull credit and/or request an updated mortgage rating prior to the close of escrow especially if your file is a little on the older side.
- “My lender has several thousand dollars in my impound account, they can just use that to cover my payment.” Wrong. Lenders internally treat your account as two accounts: the actual loan and the impound account. The impound account is not used to subsidize shortages from the regular monthly payment.
Bottom line is that if you want to protect your credit, continue to pay your mortgage on time.
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Related Posts: CW Mortgage, Mortgage News, Real Estate News
