The home inspection process is an opportunity for discovery... to provide buyers insights about the condition of the home as a part of their home buying decision making. A study of 50,000 home inspections were analyzed and results summarized on RepairPricer.com. These are national findings and give you some insights into the more common findings.

FIRPTA? I know, that sounds like you should say excuse me after you say this out loud. Perhaps you have never heard of FIRTPA or perhaps you have but haven't a clue what it is or how it could possible relate to real estate. FIRPTA stands for The Foreign Investor Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) and requires non-residents to pay a 15% withholding tax on the sale of any U.S. Real Property Interest.  Even if you are not a Foreign Investor you should be aware of what this is because it could impact you if you the person on the other side of a sale or purchase is.

COVID-19 has caused people to have to adapt to circumstances caused by this pandemic. For some, additional financial pressures may have arose causing them to think about their obligations and how to best manage them. This is a resource to explain some mortgage relief options. 

Composing an offer for a home you are interested in purchasing has many components to be considered. Understanding the purpose of an earnest deposit helps you weight out how you want to utilize the earnest deposit as one spoke in the offer wheel. 

There is good reason that people are attracted to model homes decorated by professionals who have a knack for interior design. You will typically will find wonderfully furnished and decorated rooms that anyone could live in. Wait, did you notice that the operative word here is “anyone”.

Even when they add certain features to visualize subsets of buyers like the computer screen on a desk in the den or a child’s doll sitting in a corner, all the rooms are still fairly anonymous. There is a sense of family, but no specific family… the feeling of personality, but no specific person.

The decorators who set up a model home make it anonymous for good reason. They want buyers to view it as their potential home, not someone else’s. Based on decades if experience, These professionals know that this strategy helps sell houses faster and for a better price.

Why not use this same strategy when showing your home?

It can be done at your home too. And if you need help having a real estate agent like Renee Hahn, who styles homes as a part of her sales approach may be just what you need.

It could be as simple as putting away that soccer trophy, taking down the wedding photo, and boxing those souvenirs from the family vacation at Disneyland. No, you don’t have to completely empty your closets and drawers. Just pack those personal items that can be seen when a potential buyer views a room. Put away toothbrushes, collectibles, even unopened mail. Don’t forget to clear the fridge door, which is often a mosaic of personal items in family homes. It doesn't mean that the home needs to be sterile and void from any warmth and personality, but it does mean that you need to clear cluter, simplify and put your best foot forward for your home.

If you have lots of personal items, consider renting a storage unit for the few weeks that your house will be on the market. It’s worth the investment. You wouldn’t think of buying a birthday cake with a stranger’s name on it. Keep that in mind when you show your home. Make it anonymous!

​Need more ideas for selling your house faster and for the best price possible? Call today.

If you’re lucky enough to get down-payment help under the tree this year (or generous enough to give it), be sure you know the rules around gift funds. It’s not as simple as handing over a wad of cash with a note that says “Happy Holidays! Here’s a little something for your new house.”
Down payment gift funds must meet certain requirements or the gift giver and recipient face trouble down the road. From writing a gift letter to rules around repaying gift money, here are basic facts homebuyers and donors should know.

We all know the drill... We are approaching the new year and everyone is busy making their list of what they will commit to in the new year. Will you get in shape? Try something new? Look for a new job? Renovate your house? The list goes on. But, what about considering some new year's resolutions for largest investment, your home? This article provides some food for thought in this area.

The journey of life is an exciting one that is part intention and planning and part accident. When you reach that chapter of your life that is most often planned where you are considering retirement, there are a number of things to account for... income/savings, family distribution, assets, etc. Jim Vogel has provided this guest blog to help you when thinking through one of your biggest assets, your home.