Issue #220
In This Issue
Welcome / This Week's Special Offer
Welcome To The Latest Issue
Hope you’re doing well, and I’m glad I’m still in one piece…
Last Saturday I’m viewing a house for sale. The owners are gone and I go in the backyard. As I walk back to the house, there’s a growling PIT BULL between me and the slider. So I veer left down the narrow walkway between the garage and the fence…and SO DOES THE PIT BULL! As I back away from him, he advances on me, chomping, snarling viciously, ready to attack. I grab the gate, but it’s locked. Out of options, I get a crazy idea and start walking TOWARDS the pit bull, raising my hands and yelling ‘SIT’ and ‘GO AWAY’. After a minute, to my disbelief, he slowly starts backing up, still growling, and turns the corner out of sight. He’s still there, so I hop the fence and go back in the house to get my ‘stuff’, fully knowing he may be inside. Fortunately, he’s not and I complete my escape. …Who says a Realtor’s job is easy?
Check Out Our BRAND-NEW Seminar:
“Why Buy In A Buyer’s Market”
See below for a free Padres tickets & see the Gary’s
Real Estate Seminars section for more info…
This Week’s Special Offer
TWO FREE PADRE TICKETS To The First 10 People…
…To sign up from this week’s newsletter for our brand-new seminar Thursday,
July 27, 6-8PM called “Why Buy In A Buyer’s Market”.
Click here for flyer with more info &/or call (858)457-KENT to
sign up. (Winners must attend to receive tix!)
FREE MLS Online Search
For A San Diego or Riverside Home
To search for a home right now, click on:
Free MLS
Homesearch
St. Joseph Statue
Some homesellers will try anything to sell their home. Many even bury a plastic
statue of St. Joseph in their yard, based on folklore promising that a qualified
homebuyer will soon appear on their doorstep. Where did this idea originate?
Some claim in the Middle Ages that St. Teresa of Avila buried a medal of St.
Joseph, asking the saint to intercede in her quest for a convent for her order
of Carmelite nuns. Others say it’s from German carpenters who buried the statues
in foundations of houses they built and said a prayer to St. Joseph.
Does it work? I’ve heard people swear by it, while others dismiss it as
superstition…
Interested In Positive
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Want a hands-off real estate investment with consistent positive cashflow?
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Send This Free Newsletter To A Friend
Subscribe them with a quick email to
TellAFriend@GaryKent.com
with their email address in the subject line.
Remember to email your questions, comments, compliments, corrections,
critiques, & rebuttals to
Questions@GaryKent.com.
Gary's Real Estate
Seminars
FREE SEMINAR July 27 / Thursday 6-8PM
At "Forum Hall" at the UTC Mall in University City
Why Buy In A Buyer’s Market?
- San Diego real estate market update
- Bursting bubble or soft landing?
- Advantages of buying in today’s slower market
- Who should NOT buy a home today?
- 10 Things you must know BEFORE you buy your next home
- Tax benefits of owning a home
- 7 ways to profit and plunder in today’s market
- The 80/20 rule to buying a home
- Insider secrets to buying a home below market value
- Common homebuying mistakes
Click Here For Flyer
Call (858)457-KENT to reserve your seat today!
"Hi Gary. My
girlfriend and I want to buy a home, probably a condo with a garage. We both
make good money, but we’re short on cash. I know there are zero down loans, but
what if we don’t have enough for closing costs?"
***ANSWER:
Great news… I’ve got an answer for you that I couldn’t have given you even a
year ago:
Ask the seller to pay all your closing costs!
In the recent Seller’s Market, you’d have been laughed out the door if you asked
a seller to pay your costs. If you didn’t buy the home for full price or more
(with no costs paid), there were a dozen other homebuyers right behind you that
would.
But in today’s strong Buyer’s Market, many sellers are willing to pay all your
costs in order to achieve a sale. And if you’re able to pay your own costs, you
should be able to get a better price on the home.
It’s great to be a homebuyer in San Diego in 2006!
"My wife and are interviewing agent to sell our rental condo and tell us the value. The prices are coming in a bit higher than I expected. Then my wife mentioned she’d told the agents that we’re interviewing that we want the highest price possible. I get the feeling she in so many words just told them to exaggerate the price to win our business. Am I right? "
***ANSWER:
Sadly, you may well be. Ethically challenged agents calculate home values like this:
Agent's True Estimate Of Market Value
+ 5% Premium To Get The Listing
+ 5% Higher For An Asking Price
= Inflated Price I'll Tell The Seller To Ask
Then, after many long months on the market, they arrive at a final sales price like this:
Inflated Price They Told The Seller
- Price Reduction At 30 Days
- Price Reduction At 60 Days
- 5% Drop In Negotiations With A Buyer
= Final Sales Price Below What The Seller Should Get
Don’t let this to happen to you!
When you interview agents, feel free to tell them you want top dollar (who doesn’t?). But make it clear that your decision on agent and price are 100% separate. And tell them you want them to justify the price they come up with. When they do, be sure to keep you B.S. detector dialed to “10” just in case you’re dealing with one of those EC (ethically challenged) agents.
Then choose the best agent and a list price close to your home's actual market value.
Investing or Financing Question
"Hey Gary, I heard rates are creeping up. What kind of interest rate can I get today?"
***ANSWER:
Simple question. Complex answer. Here’s why:
To answer you correctly & completely, first I need to ask you some questions:
1. Are you talking fixed or adjustable?
2. If fixed, do you want a 15, 30, or 40-year term?
3. If fixed, do you want it to be fixed for 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 30, or 40 years?
4. If adjustable, what start rate, margin, index, and caps do you want?
5. Is the loan amount conforming or jumbo?
6. How many points will you pay?
7. Are you OK with a prepayment penalty?
8. What % is your down payment?
9. Are you OK paying PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance)?
10. What is your credit like?
11. Would you be getting a no-documentation or a full-documentation loan?
12. Will you live there?
13. Is it a condo, house, 2-4 units, or 5+ units?
14. If it’s a condo, what’s the owner-occupancy percentage?
15. Do you want an interest rate lock? If so, for how long?
The list goes on and on…
As you see, all these options and factors influence the rate that you’ll pay. So my best advice is to talk with a lender you trust to find out what rate YOU qualify for on the loan YOU want.
If you don’t know a great lender, I do. Feel free to call me and I’ll pass their contact info along to you…
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- Clairemont – Sought-after Palisades neighborhood! 3-4 BR house w/ HUGE
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- Clairemont – 2BR/2BA house w/ oversize backyard, brand-new eat-in
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- Clairemont – Cute, clean 3BR/2BA home w/ 2-car garage, FPL,
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Take a Look!
- Clairemont/Kearney Mesa – 2BR condo w/ yard. Newer carpet, paint,
flooring, appliances, tub/shower, more. Just 269K Check this out
- Jamul –3BR/2BA house w/ brand-new kitchen & country views. FULL ACRE w/
lovely pool, RV parking, large garden: 625-675K
Look at this beauty
- La Jolla – Newer 2BR/2BA condo, heart of downtown La Jolla walk
to shops, restaurants! Marble, granite. 650-725K Reduced!
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- Linda Vista – 3BR/2BA fixer-upper house w/ spectacular valley & city
views! Beautiful street. Priced to sell @ 459K! Contact Me
- Phoenix, AZ - 12 apartments, 4x1BR, 4x2BR, 4x3BR. Fully
renovated.
Condo conversion opportunity? $1.068M.
Contact Me
- Phoenix, AZ - Cashflow apartments, zero management, 15%
under-market!. 1031 exchange OK. $100K to $2M down. Click here to request
more information
- San Marcos – Large
1060sqft 2B/1.5BA condo w/ garage & private patio. Pool, spa,
tennis pets
allowed. 295-329K
Contact
Me
- Scripps Ranch- Handsome newer home
on quiet street! Offers 19' ceilings, travertine, hdwd floors, family
room.
700-750K. Take a
Look!
- USD/BayPark/Mission Valley – Four
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remodel & decorate to you specs. FPL, views. From 470K!
Look
here
Call me at (858)457-KENT to find out
more or arrange a private
showing...
Thank you Tony A. for referring
some clients to sell a home…
Have a great week...
"The Agent You See EVERYWHERE"
All-Time #1 Agent/Team In San Diego County for RE/MAX
22 Years Experience -- 3,000+ Homes Sold
Gary Kent Team --- RE/MAX Associates
(858)457-KENT --- (858)457-5368
GaryK@GaryKent.com
-- http://www.garykent.com/
Due
to production and shipping expense, free items are available only to
residents, owners, and people planning to purchase real estate in
San Diego.
