Issue #242
In This Issue
Welcome / This Week's Special Offer
Welcome To The Latest Issue
Hello and Happy Friday. …Did ya see Leno’s “Headlines” segment Monday night? He
showed a Florida realty firm’s slogan, “We’ll show you homes while the owners
are sleeping!” Their marketing person must have been sleeping when he wrote
that. Then again, he did get on Leno. …67 people have already signed up for our
Free Seminar: “2007 San Diego Real Estate Forecast”. If you want to go,
call 858-457-KENT asap as we’re 2/3 full!
My First Foreclosure Auction
After 23 years in real estate, I finally went to my first trustee sale (aka
foreclosure auction) Tuesday. Much less excitement than you’d think. Of the some
dozen scheduled sales, none were bid on, with several postponed. It wasn’t so
formal either. The auctioneer wore shorts and a Lakers shirt.
FREE MLS Online Search For A San Diego or Riverside Home
To search for a home right now, click here: Free MLS Homesearch
True Story: Give The Tree
Credit
Do you get a few more credit card mailers than you’d like? So did Gary More, a
West Hollywood Realtor. Frustrated, he took an application and wrote "Never
waste a tree" across it and mailed it back. To his shock and amusement, weeks
later he actually received a Chase Visa credit card issued to “Never Waste
Tree”! Hard to believe?
Click here to see the card.
Get On Our San Diego
“Foreclosure Hot-List”
We now have foreclosure listings coming up in La Jolla, La Mesa, Allied
Gardens, Mira Mesa, Pt. Loma, and Downtown…and more on the way. I’m looking for
a short list of investors or people wanting to buy a home or investment up to
5-10% below market. If you’d like to be the first to find out about them,
click here.
Help Wanted: Two Real
Estate “Buyer Agents”
Energetic, positive, hard-working person wanted to help people find their dream
home! We provide great training, coaching, and pay most expenses.
Bilingual/Spanish a plus, but not required. Call (858)535-7435 or fax
info/resume to Kevin @ (858)550-3410 or email
Jobs@GaryKent.com.
U.S. Cities Ranked 2006: Most
Educated Populace
Here are cities from the CNN/Money “Best Places to Live” database with the
highest percentage of residents with graduate degrees.
1. 35.7% Arlington, VA
2. 34.6% Davis, CA
3. 32.5% Brookline, MA
4. 31.2% Evanston, IL
4. 31.2% Bloomington, IN
4. 31.2% Towson, MD
7. 29.1% Oak Park, IL
7. 29.1% Bethesda, MD
9. 29.0% Alexandria, VA
10. 28.9% West Hartford, CT
Next Week: U.S. cities with the most golf played.
This Week’s Free Offer:
FREE Consultation With A Professional Home-Stager /
Decorator For Homesellers
My last four clients who used my Home-Staging Expert had their homes sell in
just days. You’ll be amazed how she can add strategic touches or even
dramatically transform your home. Her easy, surprisingly simple
changes will help your home sell faster and for more money.
After your consultation, you have 3 choices:
1. Do nothing
2. Do your own staging
3. Hire her and have her invest all the time, effort and work to maximize your
home’s appeal and value.
Available for a limited time. For your free home staging, call me at
(858)457-KENT.
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.
FREE SEMINAR: Saturday, January 20, 2007 10AM-Noon
At "Forum Hall" at the UTC Mall in University City
Click Here For FLYER
Don’t Dare Buy or Sell…Until You Go To This Seminar:
2007 SAN DIEGO REAL ESTATE FORECAST
Fasten your seatbelts!
Sanford Goodkin, “real estate's leading guru” per the San Diego Union, internationally known real estate economist and advisor, will share his insider’s forecast for San Diego real estate in 2007. Mega-homebuilders pay him big bucks…for info you’ll get free.
And I’ll provide a review of 2006, including lessons learned from our changing
market…based on 22 years experience and surviving and thriving in past
challenging San Diego markets.
Here’s just some of the fascinating insights and information you’ll discover…
- 2007 Real Estate Forecast: "Soft Landing" or "Bursting Bubble"?
- 2006 Local Real Estate Review - From The Trenches
- An Insider’s perspective on the economy, real estate, & housing
- Bird’s eye view on other markets
- Why what you see on the news & read in the paper about real estate prices is often DEAD WRONG
- How will San Diego’s rising foreclosures and short sales impact the market? You may be surprised...
- Why today’s slowdown is NOT like the ‘90’s slowdown
Sandwiches & drinks provided + free dinner-for-2 drawing.
To RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW for this free presentation, click here or call (858)457-KENT!
Homebuying Question
""Hi Gary. We just found the
perfect house and it’s at a great price. Even though we both agree it’s priced
right, my husband wants to offer quite a bit under the asking price. What’s the
downside to making a low offer?”
***ANSWER:
(Part 2 of a 4-part answer)
When SHOULD you Make A Low Offer?
You should make a low offer when:
1) You don’t love the home and are OK risking offending the seller
AND/OR
2) You have information indicating that the seller is motivated and willing to
accept a low offer.
Regarding #2, many listing agents share WAY too much information about their
client. In fact, I’ve found about 1/3 of them will tell me SPECIFICALLY what
price their client will accept.
You might be wondering, is that legal? Nope. It’s a violation of an agent’s
fiduciary duty to his client to reveal what price the client will accept without
permission to do so.
…So that’s when you should make a low offer. But that leads to a good question:
“What constitutes a low offer anyway?”
I’ll answer that next week in part 3 of 4…
"When we sold our home in Pasadena, we told
our agent we didn’t want a sign and he said that was fine. Would you require us
to have a sign?”
***ANSWER:
No, but…
Why don’t you want a sign? If you’re like most people, it’s because you don’t
want your neighbors to know you’re selling.
But don’t you suppose your neighbors might get a clue when small groups of
people show up, one with a clipboard leading the others? …Some having car signs
saying “RE/MAX” or “Century 21”?
So the bottom line is: no, you don’t have to have a sign to have me sell your
home. But I’m going to suggest you not be so shy and go ahead with the sign.
Investing or Financing Question
"We’re in escrow to buy a home
and supposed to close in three weeks. We locked in a loan at what I thought was
a fair rate, but I was talking with another mortgage broker who said she could
definitely get us a rate .25% lower. Do you think our first lender was
overcharging us?"
***ANSWER:
Perhaps. But the lending game is more complicated than most people realize and
there are many ways an unscrupulous lender can rip you off.
Here are ten possible scenarios for your situation that I can think of:
#1. Lender B is charging more loan points to make up for the lower rate.
#2. Lender B is charging a (typically) one point origination fee, but Lender A
isn’t.
#3. Lender B is adding all kinds of extra fees, equaling 1-2 points.
#4. Lender B has a different loan type. Perhaps it’s a 10-year fixed as opposed
to a 30-year fixed.
#5. Perhaps Lender A quoted you based on your credit, and Lender B hasn’t run
your credit and is assuming its perfect.
#6. Lender B has a 10-day (or no) lock-in on the rate, vs. Lender B did a 60-day
lock-in. The longer you lock in, the slightly higher your rate is.
#7. Interest rates have dropped.
#8. You’re getting an adjustable loan and Lender B’s start rate is lower, but
the other variables (cap, margin, index, etc.) are less attractive.
#9. Lender B is flat-out lying to get your business and knows they won’t deliver
you that lower rate, but hopes you’ll have dumped your first lender and will
just take their loan. (I see that happen all too often.)
#10. Lender B actually has a lower legitimate rate!
Hot Properties: Call Now On These Hot New
Listings & Not-Yet-On-The-Market Properties
|
THIS WEEK'S FEATURED PROPERTY! | |
 |
Clairemont Home |
|
For more information on this Delightful Home Click Here | |
"COMING SOON"
(Click
Contact Me to be contacted BEFORE these properties hit the market!)
- Allied Gardens – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! 3BR house w/ double garage. Quiet street near Kaiser.
Price TBD.
Contact Me
- Downtown – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! 1BR/1.5BA ground-floor condo with direct street entrance.
Contact Me
- Downtown – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! Under-market 2-year-new 2BR/1BA high-rise condo in Acqua Vista. Contact Me
- La Jolla – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! Remodeled 3BR/2BA penthouse vu condo 2 blocks to beach. Price TBD. Contact Me
- La Mesa – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! 2BR/1.5BA house with big yard, no garage. Should be high $300’s. Contact Me
- La Mesa – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! 2BR house w/ garage, RV parking & big yard. Should be high $300’s.Contact Me
- Mira Mesa – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! 4BR/2.5BA 1804sqft house w/ spa. Should be low $500’s. Contact Me
- Mira Mesa – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! 2BR/1BA condo, 913 square feet. Should be mid-$200’s. Contact Me
- Point Loma- BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! Very affordable 2BR house on quiet street. Should be in the $500’s. Contact Me
- Pt Loma – BANK-OWNED
FORECLOSURE! Cute 2BR, 1227sqft house w/ garage, 6500sqft lot. High
$600’s?
Contact Me
NEWLY LISTED (Your Property Here!)
- Chula Vista – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! 3BR/2BA 1186 square foot condo in “Woodland Hills” complex. Contact Me
- Clairemont – SHORT SALE! Nicely remod 3BR/2BA house: hdwd floors, dbl garage, quiet street, palm trees galore. Look For Yourself
MORE GREAT HOMES & INVESTMENTS (Your Home Here!)
- SOLD/Clairemont – SHORT SALE! Stunning remod 3BR/2BA house on quiet street in great neighborhood. Lo 500s! Find Others Like It
- Encanto – Upgraded 3BR/1.5BA home with HUGE grassy backyard & double garage. Price to follow. Take a Look
- SOLD/Escondido – Spacious 4BR/3BA 2029sqft house w/ large family room, huge backyard, corner lot, dbl garage: 499-535K Find Others Like It
- La Costa – Just-remodeled luxury Mediterranean-style 4,800 sqft estate on huge lot, right on La Costa Golf Course. 1.695-1.795M Look For Yourself
- La Mesa/Mt. Helix – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE! Mega-fixer 3BR house “contractor’s special” w/ dazzling views! 399,9K More Foreclosures Here
- North Park – ADD 3 UNITS to this 3BR
“cosmetic fixer vintage house built in 1933 on a 6250sqft lot. Asking 460-490K!
See For Yourself
- Tierrasanta – BANK-OWNED FORECLOSURE!
1584sqft 3BR/2BA townhome, dbl garage. Near pool, canyon. Now $464,900 Take A Look
Call me at (858)457-KENT to find out more or for a private showing. To find other homes, go to Free MLS Homesearch.
Clicked on a property, but there’s no info? It may be sold. Call me to double-check or discover other similar properties we have for you.
Thank you Marie E. for all your kind referrals…
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/
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