• Home
• Featured Listings
• About Us
• 

Here is a selection of my recent posts:

I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO. Don’t get me wrong. I grew up in the peninsula in Daly City and South San Francisco and will always love and consider it home. But I LOVE “The City”. I guess you can say I’m a city-kind-of-guy who loves urban environment and living. I managed to find a home (complete with “Man Cave”) in SF for this lovely family just recently as a matter of fact. So that process was definitely a fun one for me since I drive to the city several times a week anyway.

I also love working with first-time home buyers! I enjoy guiding them, making the purchasing process as stress-free as can be. A lot of the time, their targeted type of home may be a condo. This article from my friend, Jay Sondhi (my office’s in-house lending team, Guarantee Mortgage) is only fitting to present. It’s an informative read and is beneficial for first-time condo buyers who are considering city life!

“I’m shocked to hear that there is still this notion out there that “condos are dead” as far as FHA financing goes. This is far far far from the truth. The rules regarding condo approvals for FHA insurance have changed, but they are far from impossible. Many of the new changes have actually had a positive impact on our local market.     Read more

Being a nice guy has its perks and its flaws…for my clients, it means working with someone they can trust and depend on. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I can say I am one of THE BEST when it comes to communication. People don’t like surprises. People don’t like to be left in the dark. People need peace of mind. I know this and cater to it fully and with great compassion.

Of course, there is always the downside in being a nice, dependable realtor. And that is dealing with realtors who, well, just aren’t. Their turnaround time to call you back is 1 to 2 days. They won’t always answer your calls. They might be so busy, they might not even remember who the heck you are when all you are doing is getting confirmation they received the buyer’s offer.

But I digress. Working in whatever industry that focuses on customer service, it is always all about the client and the quality of salesmanship they endure. A good realtor will always be ready to bat for the client and should do so with ethics, integrity and RELIABILITY. It is most likely because of my own bad experiences I place such emphasis on this subject. So for now, it is only fitting that I forward from the National Association of Realtors, the 2010 Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, Duties to Clients and Customers:            Read more

Hi everybody! I know, it’s been awhile..but here’s an awesome article I found earlier this year that would benefit first-time home buyers especially!

-via Luke Mullins, USNews.com (April 8, 2010)

As the selling season gets underway, many Americans will be looking to take advantage of the lower real estate prices, attractive mortgage rates, and federal tax credit by purchasing a home. But remember: Not all of the costs associated with homeownership are reflected in the listed price. Indeed, many buyers — particularly first-time buyers — may be surprised by the amount of cash they’ll need to set aside for housing-related expenses that they hadn’t previously considered. These often-overlooked expenses can include everything from title insurance to lawn mowing. To give would-be home buyers a better sense of the budget they’ll need to buy and maintain a home, U.S. News spoke with a handful of real estate experts and compiled a list of 12 hidden costs of homeownership:

1. Home inspection. Since a home purchase is likely to be the largest financial investment of your life, it’s a good idea to have it professionally inspected beforehand. A home inspector can point out areas of the property that may need repairs. Buyers can use this information as leverage during home-price negotiations or simply to determine whether or not the property is worth purchasing. “It’s not required, but certainly I recommend it to buyers,” says Judy Moore of Re/Max Landmark Realtors in Lexington, Mass. “It is actually very helpful in that [buyers] learn about the property and how to maintain it and it also alerts them to any potential issues that may be coming up in the near future or need to be taken care of.” The cost of a home inspection, which can run several hundred dollars or more, is typically incurred by the buyers before they go to closing, Moore says.    Read more

     Mondays…we all love them.  For us Realtors, it is the day after holding an Open House.  For myself, Mondays are the day my lockbox key is to be updated.  On this particular Monday, I was in Berkeley showing single family homes to my client.  I’m usually consistent in making sure my key is updated every Monday morning before doing anything else.  That afternoon was the rare exception.  As soon as I parked my car to walk over to the clients in front of the property, it dawned that we were not immediately going to be able to enter the home.  I sincerely explained to them what happened and managed to make another appointment to meet with them in another hour and half.  Driving back to the San Bruno office and then back to Berkeley was not exactly an appealing idea. 

      Quickly, I thought there must be another way where I could at least stay in Berkeley to update my key and prevent wasting precious gas.  Several Prudential California Realty office locations came up on my Blackberry.  After a few calls, I finally spoke to a helpful sounding agent who invited me to stop by and use their key updating station at her office.  Although it was located on the other side of where I was in Berkeley, I certainly didn’t mind driving there considering how much time and money I was saving.    Read more