“Hi Gary. We’ll be selling our condo in La Jolla next month. We know the comps say it’s around 700K, but we’d like to shoot for 725-750K. We’re not in a rush and are willing to hold out even if it takes several months to sell. How long should we expect it to be on the market?”

Answer:
I hear this all the time and find it, well, puzzling.

How does “not being in a rush” actually increase the value of your home? Sure, you’d likely sell for less if you were under time pressure.

But the opposite isn’t the case. You don’t get a higher price just by waiting (unless you’re in a highly appreciating market and the market rises to your price over time).

In fact, studies show the longer a home is on the market, on average the LOWER the final price.

Why?

Because it no longer has the “new home on the market” buzz. And with time agents and homebuyers start to wonder what’s wrong with the home and figure the seller is getting more motivated and willing to deal.

The moral is to price it right from the beginning and to generate the most interest when it’s the new home on the market.

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“We are going to attempt a short sale. We have almost no money and can’t pay the mortgage and probably can’t keep paying the HOA fees either. Will not paying the HOA fees hurt our chances of doing a short sale?”

Answer:
Back HOA fees have to be paid in full in order to do a short sale.

The good news is banks will often pay back HOA fees on a short sale. If the bank refuses, since you don’t have the money, then the buyer would be asked to pay them in order to buy your home.

If the bank and buyer won’t, you might need to find the money to pay them in order to complete the short sale. (We advise our clients who are not paying HOA fees to try to put that money aside if needed.)

The bottom line is that you likely won’t need to pay them.

Selling Your San Diego Home Faster, Better, & Easier

“How does the homebuyer tax credit work?”

Answer:
Here are the basics:

- $8000 to first time homebuyers (haven’t owned for 3 years)
- $6500 to homebuyers who aren’t first-timers
- Must buy a primary residence
- Must sign contract to buy home by 4/30/10
- Must close by 6/30/10
- Must stay in the home for 3+ years
- Applies to homes up to $800,000
- Income limits are $125,000 for a single or $225,000 for a couple. Credits are phased out over these limits

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“It’s so hard to know what the market is going to do. Do you think this is a good time to invest [in real estate] in San Diego?”

Answer:
Of course, many agents will answer “yes” to that whatever the market so they can make a sale. So rather than just answering your question, let me tell you what I’m doing:

- In October I bought a condo in my IRA to be a rental.
- I recently made an offer on a 3-unit rental property.

So you can see that indeed I do think it’s an excellent time to invest in San Diego real estate.

Get More Cash When Buying or Selling Investment Property

“Is it legal for agents to represent both the buyer and seller? How can they possibly do that?”

Answer:
Great question. This “dual agency” is legal in California and most other states as long as it’s disclosed.

The downside is that some agents abuse the situation. For example, the buyer or seller may tell the agent their bottom line and the agent could reveal it to the other party. Unfortunately, this happens all the time.

On the other hand, this can happen even when the agent only represents one party. I can’t tell you how many times, by asking the right questions, I get other agents to spill their guts about what price their client wants to buy or sell for. (BTW, it’s perfectly ethical for me to probe for this information.)

Back to dual agency…

You’d expect me to say this, but I would never abuse a client’s trust. Nevertheless, to avoid even the appearance of this, I typically will not represent both parties in a transaction. If someone is interested in one of my listings, they’ll work with another agent on my team.

Does your San Diego real estate agent care more about you or his commission check?