You may be able to ignore the knee-high grass in your neighbor’s yard, but a home appraiser won’t. When calculating the value of a property, an appraiser also factors in surrounding conditions. Neighborhood nuisances like an overgrown yard or a persistent odor could in some cases bring down the value of adjacent homes by 5 to 10 percent, said Richard L....Read More!

Continuing this week's focus on tips for selling and buying real estate, let's take a look at the financial impact of certain repairs.   Top 10 Remodeling Projects                                     Not Ready Yet? You may not be ready to sell now, but even if it is a remote proposition, these improvements can be enjoyed by your family now and will impress buyers later, if you do...Read More!

You want to sell your house.  You know there are some things that probably will need to be repaired before you can turn over the keys to a new owner.  Bet you'll get lots of well-meaning advice on what you need to do, including "fix everything that doesn't work."  Well --- let's talk about that! DO NOT fix everything!  No, no,...Read More!

Proper insurance coverage is a must for homeowners. Protecting your financial future and your property is critical to your ability to provide for your family no matter what happens. With so many uncertainties, you must understand the various types of insurance coverage that will keep your finances secure if the unexpected happens. Home warranty insurance is one of the many types...Read More!

In the current bulletin from the California Association of REALTORS®, I found the following article (original source: The New York Times) about loan modification fraud.  By coincidence, on Thursday I attended a short seminar at our local REALTOR® association, and our guest speaker was from the SB County District Attorney office. Topic? Fraudulent loan modification agents/companies! I suppose you could...Read More!

If you or anyone you know has a loan that has Private Mortgage Insurance attached, it can be removed.  This additional cost applies when a home is purchased with less than 20% down.  To remove PMI: 1.  Once you have made enough payments to boost your equity to 20% of the original purchase price, you can ask your lender to cancel...Read More!

Even though it has been 6 years since the market peaked in 2006 and prices started to decline, many sellers are still in denial about the current market value of their homes.  Some sellers bought at the peak of the market and can't face the reality of a loss, while others may have years of equity built up, but are...Read More!

There is a saying in the real estate business: "Buyers are Liars".  It's about the many ways buyers mislead their agents, at least in the beginning, about their motives for buying, the price they want to pay, etc.  I will write more about that at another time, as today I want to answer a question I was asked recently about...Read More!

It's the buzzword in the news these days: the "fiscal cliff", and our financial crisis is spinning towards it! That's what they say.  One item included in that crisis that many homeowners seem to be unaware of is the MID, i.e. the mortgage interest deduction.  At a time when housing is just beginning to recover in this country, when at...Read More!

Have you heard? The price of homes in the Santa Maria Valley, like in many areas, are just about what they were in 2003!  Great!  But here is the really good news: the cost of the same home today is 28% less than the same-priced home in 2003! This chart shows the monthly principle and interest payment per $100k borrowed today...Read More!