San Diego Real Estate Podcast with Felipe Arias

Nobody likes to go to court. However, if you have a family trust and a will in place the inheritance of your property will be laid out for you, allowing you to protect your identity and avoid legal conflicts. How does this work? Well, rather than having a property under your name (which is kept on public record), you can have it under a family trust—or any other name, really. I highly recommend putting your property in a family trust and having a will in place because doing so will help you avoid a lot of headaches later on. If you have any questions about putting your property in a family trust, reach out to me by phone or email. I would love to help you

It’s common to hear people ask, “How much should I be paying my agent when listing my home?” My first response whenever I hear this question is to point out that it’s simply the wrong question.  You shouldn’t be focused on the agent’s commission—you should be focused on how much money you can get out of the sale of your home.  You need to ask yourself, “What exactly is this agent going to do for me? Are they knowledgeable and experienced? Are they the best in the area? What kind of marketing plan will they be using?” “My first response whenever I hear this question is to point out that it’s simply the wrong question.” At the core of it all, what should matter to you is that an agent is doing everything in their power to sell your home for the most amount of money in the shortest period.  Again, it’s all about asking yourself the right questions. Why should it matter if one agent charges 4% commission and another charges 6% if the real question is: Who could get you 10% more for the sale of your home?  I hope this perspective has been useful to you. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. I’d be happy to help you in any way I can.   

People tend to think that the spring and summer seasons are the busiest times of the year for home sellers, causing them to ask if it’s a good idea to even try to sell their homes in the wintertime. In San Diego, if you sell your home in the fourth quarter, you’ll have much less competition than you would if you sold in the spring. Because they think that the spring is a better time to sell, home sellers pull their homes off the market during the winter months or simply choose to wait until spring to list. That means there are fewer sellers in the winter to compete with for potential buyers’ attention. “You won’t have to worry as much about looky-loos who are just there to window-shop.” While it’s true that there are also fewer buyers in the winter, that’s not necessarily a bad thing for sellers, either. The buyers who are on the market in the fourth quarter tend to be more serious about purchasing a home. You won’t have to worry as much about looky-loos who are just there to window-shop. Additionally, third-party services are generally more available in the winter than in the other, busier seasons. Title companies, escrow companies, handymen, and contractors, for example, will be less preoccupied this time of the year, so they’ll be more readily available when you need them. If you have any further questions about selling your home in the winter or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help you.

Many buyers assume that putting 20% down on a home is their only option, but this isn’t the case. The truth is that there are many down payment options out there, including the FHA loan—which allows buyers to put down as little as 3.5%. The main drawback to this is that when you submit less than 20% down, you’ll be subject to paying mortgage insurance on top of your monthly payments. That is, unless you make use of a VA loan—which allows veterans to purchase property with zero money down. Qualifying non-veterans can also put zero money down by using a down payment assistance program, so connect with a lender as soon as possible if you’re curious which option is best for you. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

If you’re in the market to buy a home, you’ll probably need to secure a loan in order to do so. Here are three things you will need to focus on in order to get the best loan with the best rate possible: 1. Your credit. Try to keep your credit inquiries to an absolute minimum. Anytime you apply for a new credit card or any other type of loan, it will ding your credit. “Make sure you’re not late on any monthly payments.” 2. No late payments. Make sure you’re not late on any monthly payments. That will significantly impact your credit score as well. Make sure you pay any outstanding balances down to below 50% of your credit limit if you can. It’s easier for your lender if you have all of your finances in one place, too. 3. Avoid cash deposits. Because of money laundering, lenders don’t like to see any large cash deposits because they have to source them. In fact, most lenders won’t even be able to use that money. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

There are a few different strategies you can use to actually pay your mortgage off sooner than the 15- or 30-year term that you’re scheduled for. The first thing you can do is call your lender and start utilizing a bi-weekly payment plan. Every 15 days, half of your payment will be withdrawn from your bank account and directly paid to the lender. Believe it or not, this method will reduce the amount of interest you will have to pay and pay off your mortgage earlier in return. Another strategy is paying a little extra on every mortgage payment that goes toward your principal. Rounding up the number a little bit will also help you pay your loan off earlier. “The first 15 years of payments on a 30-year loan are mostly interest.” A third method would be to refinance your loan from a 30-year note to a 15-year note. This will increase your payment significantly, but will also cut the time you have to make them in half. Just remember that every time you refinance on a 30-year loan, you incur quite a few fees and will restart the time on your note.  Also, keep in mind that the first 15 years of a 30-year loan consist mostly of interest. It’s not until year 15 where you’re paying as much in interest as you are on the principal. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

If you need to buy and sell a home simultaneously, there are three ways you can do so (assuming you don’t have the means to buy first and then sell).  The first is to close escrow on both homes at the same time (also known as “dual escrow”), but the tricky part of this method is that most sellers won’t accept an offer that’s contingent on another home sale—especially in a seller’s market like ours. Dual escrows are possible, but you need to get the timeline exactly right in terms of handing off the keys to the new owner(s) of your old home and getting the keys to your new home.  “Dual escrows are possible, but you need to get the timeline exactly right.” Another option is to negotiate a leaseback agreement with your home’s buyer, which allows you to remain in your home after you sold it and bought your new one so you have time to make the move. It can either be a seven- or 15-day leaseback, but you’ll need to negotiate over whether the extra stay is free or there’s a per diem fee involved.  Finally, if you sell first, but you won’t get the keys to your new home for an extended period, or you haven’t found your new home yet, you can try temporary housing. In this case, you can stay at an Airbnb, a Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO), or find another type of rental property that’s furnished on a monthly basis.  If you’d like to know more about coordinating a simultaneous transaction or you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.  

Before you put your home up for sale, there are a few steps you’ll need to take first. Here are seven of the most critical:  Declutter. Clearing out junk from your home will make it look cleaner and more spacious, which will give buyers a much better impression. When it comes to the items in your home while it’s open for showings, less is more.  Check your light fixtures. If any bulbs are broken or burnt out, now is the time to replace them. Your home should be impeccably bright while it’s up for sale.  Hire a handyman. You don’t need to go overboard with home repairs, but you should take care of any issues you’ve been putting off. The goal is to preemptively resolve any problems that would otherwise show up on an inspection report later on.  Touch up interior and exterior paint. Giving your home a fresh coat of paint, inside and out, can totally transform its appearance.  “Buyers want to see your listing as their future home—not your current one.” Hire professional cleaners. Buyers will be keeping an eye out for even the smallest speck of dust as they tour your home during showings and open houses, so hiring a professional to clean your home before you list is a must.  Depersonalize. Take down family photos, remove any sports paraphernalia, and store religious items while your home is on the market. As much as you cherish these things, they could make it difficult for buyers to imagine themselves living in your property. They want to see your listing as their future home—not your current one.  Stage. Studies show that staged homes tend to sell faster and for more money. Professional staging shows buyers your property’s potential. Following these steps will help you sell quickly and for top dollar. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here are six major issues that could sabotage your home sale: 1. Check with your title company to make sure there are no liens on your property. A lien could be related to a past owner, judgements, or city violations that will need to be addressed. This can delay a sale for months if it’s not handled properly. 2. Check the roof. This is an important system to look at, as is your foundation. These will affect your value and can sabotage your sale down the road. “Your roof and foundation are the two most important systems in your home.” 3. Check the listing accuracy. A lot of times, agents put in the wrong information online. It could just be a typo, but it happens. I run into a lot of cases where the wrong square footage, the Mello-Roos tax, or the HOA fees are a bit off. This is another thing that can delay your transaction. 4. Check with the HOA. You want to make sure there are no special assessments coming up in the future that could affect your bottom line by hundreds of dollars. 5. Make sure you know what is staying and going. You don’t want to have to fight over a refrigerator, solar energy system, or mounted TV.  The more proactive you are with all of these issues, the smoother your transaction will be. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email today. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

When you’re buying a home, no matter what type of property it is, you need to have a home inspection done on it. We always recommend one to our clients. A general inspection ranges in cost from $200 to $500 and the inspector will do a thorough inspection of everything inside and outside of the property. You might just come across minor imperfections, but you might come across some serious issues as well. If you do find something serious, it can usually be negotiated, either by a request for repairs, a credit toward closing costs, or a reduction on price. I like to call this the second round of negotiations after you open escrow. “Make sure your inspector is licensed, bonded, and insured.” Your inspection report will go into great detail and if there’s an issue that the inspector doesn’t quite fully have a grasp on, they’ll refer you to a specialist in that area. Make sure your inspector is bonded, licensed, and insured. If you need any recommendations from us, feel free to reach out. If you have any questions for me about home inspections or about anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

There are two main methods that investors use when it comes to real estate: Short-term rentals and long-term rentals. Today I’m here to go over the pros and cons of each. Long-term rentals are really easy to fill. Just put an ad out there online, interview five or six potential tenants, run their credit, do a background check, and you can lock them in for a one-year, two-year, or three-year agreement. The only thing you really have to worry about here is some yearly maintenance and you don’t have to furnish it at all. “Believe it or not, short-term rentals have much less wear and tear.” With short-term rentals, the ROI is much higher because of increased rates, but the type of management you’ll need involves a lot more work and is more time-consuming. Airbnb and VRBO can help you market these properties, but you’re still responsible for the turnover.  Another pro for short-term rentals is that the property has less wear and tear. They won’t be drilling holes in the wall or using the appliances every day. However, they are harder to fill on a daily, monthly, or weekly basis. If you have any questions for me about either type of rental investment or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

An escrow is really two things: First, the general definition of an escrow is a third-party company that handles all the transactions between the buyer and seller, but ‘escrow’ is also a term used when you open escrow, which means that the buyer has three days to make their earnest money deposit (typically around 1% of the purchase price of the home). This money can be delivered as a check or else wired online, but be careful of wire fraud! There are a few other timelines that are important to note during the escrow process. Buyers need to be aware of the 17-day inspection and appraisal contingency; during this time, the buyer has the option to hire a professional general inspector to give them a report of all the things, both good and bad, about the property, so they can decide to proceed with the transaction or not.  “‘Escrow’ is also a term used when you open escrow, which means that the buyer has three days to make their earnest money deposit.” Also during this period, buyers will also receive disclosures from the seller that will tell them everything about the property’s history, as well as information from the title company regarding any liens or other potentially damaging factors in your decision. Once all the information has been reviewed from these processes, the seller will then ask the buyer to release those contingencies, meaning you’ll no longer be able to cancel escrow due to an issue with inspections or appraisals. For those doing a loan, the last contingency is the 21-day loan contingency. This is the time period your lender is given to get you a full loan approval before you decide to release all contingencies. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you. 

I’m very excited to invite you to our upcoming “Bash to Beat Cancer.”Join us on Saturday, May 25 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at 4520 Morena Blvd in San Diego for an amazing night of delicious food, great drinks, and amazing live entertainment—all for a great cause. Joaquin “Quino” McWhinney from Big Mountain will be there performing and all of the money raised will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as I continue my quest to become their “Man of the Year.” To get your tickets today, follow this link. If you can’t make the event but would still like to donate, follow this link. 

If you’re facing foreclosure or a short sale, it’s because you can no longer afford to pay your mortgage.  When this happens, you have a few options. You can have a loan modification and negotiate a more comfortable payment plan with your lender. If not, you’re forced to sell. A short sale is the best way to go. You hire a Realtor and go through the same steps as the traditional home selling process. However, there are no expenses on your end as a seller—the lender will absorb closing costs, commissions, etc. The offers you receive will likely be much less than the amount left on your mortgage. Then, you need to negotiate with the lender and have them reduce your balance so you can make a sale. “By hiring a Realtor and making a short sale, you’ll be much better off” In a foreclosure, everything is taken out of your hands. The bank takes possession of your home, and you’re left with a big hit on your credit. That’s why we don’t recommend this route. By hiring a Realtor and making a short sale, you’ll be much better off—and you’ll probably be able to buy a home again within two years. If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.