If you are in the middle of a real estate transaction, you have a target on your back for cyber-criminals because a large chunk of money gets transferred at the end of the transaction. They know you’ll have a lot of details to keep track of that you don’t normally do so it’s a perfect opport… Read morePROTECT YOURSELF FROM CYBER CRIME

Here are some tips to keep your home cool without running your AC as much this summer. Read moreKEEP YOUR HOME COOL

We are seeing multiple offers on some properties. There are no rules set in stone for how sellers and their agents deal with this situation. Sometimes they will just accept the highest offer, or they will counter the highest offer on price or other terms. Another strategy that is very common… Read moreWHAT IS A MULTIPLE COUNTER-OFFER?

The number of homes for sale (what we call “inventory”) is still very low across East Contra Costa County. The reports that I’m seeing from some of the third-party companies I subscribe to show that we have a little more for sale than we did this time last year and about the same as the year… Read moreINVENTORY UPDATE

Your credit score is a number that summarizes your credit report. It is the end result of a very complicated formula that takes into account how well you pay your bills, how much debt you have, how “maxed-out” your credit cards are, etc. Lenders are relying more and more upon your credit sco… Read moreQUICK CREDIT SCORE FIX

I noticed a small article last week in one of the real estate trade publications that really caught my eye. It was talking about the projections for an increase in the number of HELOCs (Home Equity Line of Credit) over the next few years. The chart showed that from 2012-2016 there were 4.8 m… Read moreA BULLISH SIGN?

Potential home buyers often incorrectly view an inspection report as a mandatory repair list for the seller. The fact is, sellers are not required to produce a flawless house. They have no such obligation by law or by contract. Read moreINSPECTION IS NOT A REPAIR LIST

When a listing receives multiple offers, my buyer clients will ask me, “If we aren’t the highest, offer, they’ll counter us, right?” Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. There are no hard-and-fast rules in how agents handle multiple offers. Sometimes they go through several rounds of c… Read moreMULTIPLE OFFER STRATEGIES

Let’s say you’ve been renting out a home for several years to a tenant. They approach you about buying the property and you are interested. There are some things to consider. Read moreSELLING TO TENANT

The real estate industry has been worried for a while now that the mortgage interest and property tax deductions and/or the generous exclusion on capital gains from the sale of your principal residence would go away. There are some tweaks but most of these will stay about the same for the av… Read moreHOW DOES NEW TAX BILL AFFECT REAL ESTATE?

Most of time, a home buyer will obtain a home inspection during their contingency period before they purchase a home. If something major is discovered, what we call a “health and safety” item(s), the buyer will usually ask the seller to repair those items or for a credit towards those repair… Read moreHOME INSPECTOR MISSED SOMETHING

A long time ago, real estate was sold under the idea of “buyer beware.” This meant that the seller didn’t have to disclose anything, and the burden was on the buyer to find out what was wrong with the property. We’ve come a long way since then, and there are now legal requirements for seller… Read moreSELLER’S DUTY TO DISCLOSE

The roots of trees that grow from one yard into a neighbor’s yard have been a point of contention for many neighbors. The roots can damage fences, patios, foul sewer lines, etc. But can you just cut back any roots that wind up on your side of the fence? Maybe, or maybe not. Read moreTREE ROOTS AND REAL ESTATE

Our standard contract calls for property taxes to be pro-rated between Buyer and Seller as of the date of close of escrow. That part everyone understands, but HOW that is accomplished can be pretty confusing. The County Tax Collector only accepts full payments for each installment, so the ti… Read morePROPERTY TAX PRO-RATIONS

Last week I wrote about the challenges associated with writing an offer contingent on selling your home when your home isn’t even on the market yet. I often hear people say that they don’t want to put their home on the market until they find the home they want to buy. Their concern is that t… Read moreCONTINGENT OFFER SOLUTION

I know of many people that would like to move, but don’t really HAVE to. They don’t want to put their current home on the market until they find the “right one” to buy, but because there isn’t much for sale, they continue to wait. And even when the “right one” comes on the market they find t… Read moreCONTINGENT OFFERS?

I received an offer on one of my listings recently, and when I presented the offer to my client, they asked why there was a financial contingency in the contract if the buyer was already “approved” for their loan? I explained that there are different types of approvals, and different levels … Read moreWHEN IS BUYER “APPROVED”?

We are seeing auctions again in real estate, but they are mostly online, so it’s more like eBay.   Read moreREAL ESTATE AUCTIONS

If you are thinking of selling an investment property and you’ve heard that you can delay paying income tax on the gains by buying another investment property, this article is for you. This is called a 1031 exchange. In years past, you could only sell and then buy “similar” properties. For e… Read more1031 BASICS

Zillow is the most popular real estate site. Their most famous (or infamous) feature is their “Zestimate” of a home’s value. Their computer looks at the public records information about a house and then make adjustments based on recent solds. It’s just a ballpark figure, but some buyers and … Read moreZILLOW UPDATE

Meeting at the Redmen Hall!  Read morePersonal Blog: MsTanya1973

Just this past week the National Association of Realtors announced that resale home sales are way up, as are prices. And there was much rejoicing! Well, the buyers weren’t rejoicing, but homeowners were rejoicing! Especially the ones that need to sell their homes. The rest of the homeowners … Read morePROP TAX UPDATE

California is still suffering from a major drought and people are really starting to take it seriously. Last summer I saw a few brown lawns, but most people weren’t quite ready to let theirs die. Now it seems like there are more brown lawns than green ones! Last year my advice to homeowners … Read moreNEW DROUGHT LAW

I’ve had some people tell me they’d like to move, but they think they have to wait for their two year anniversary before they can sell to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of their principal residence. Read moreCAN WE MOVE NOW?

It seems like we’ve been talking about Greece defaulting for a LONG time. Things are coming to a head again quickly and there are renewed concerns that this could be the start of another worldwide economic implosion. People are asking if a Greek default is our new “Lehman moment,” harkening … Read moreWILL GREEK DEFAULT HURT US?

Now that prices have recovered, people are asking me about capital gains taxes again. There are a lot of myths out there on this topic. Read moreCAPTIAL GAINS QUESTIONS ARE BACK

Using the same agent to represent both buyer and seller is 100% legal, as long as all parties are made aware and agree to this BEFORE signing a contract. While it is legal, that doesn’t mean that it will always be in your best interest. Read moreSINGLE AGENCY VS. DUAL AGENCY

In our area, it used to be customary to have the Seller pay for a termite inspection of the property. Recently our standard contract changed to where it doesn’t mention this report, so the Buyer either pays it, or has to amend to their offer asking the Seller to pay for it. This small change… Read moreWHO PAYS?

The answer is an emphatic “YES.” Read moreIS TITLE INSURANCE WORTH IT?

The market in East County is still hot, although if inventory continues to rise, we may see appreciation slow later this year. Read moreSO HOW IS THE MARKET NOW?

How well do you negotiate? How well does your Realtor? Negotiation is the key to a successful agreement, especially when dealing with a large transaction, typically for the average person, such as a real estate purchase or sale. Read moreThe Art of Negotiating

Do you have an FHA loan where the rate is higher than today’s market rates? Then there is good news for you! Rates are still very, very low and it’s not too late to take advantage of them. And if you happen to have an FHA loan, there is a program you need to know about. Read moreFHA REFINANCE OPPORTUNITY

I just found out that today is World Cocktail Day!  Here is a recipe to help you celebrate....http://mountainroseblog.com/tea-cocktail-hibiscus-highball/ Read moreWorld Cocktail Day