Jean Joh

5 Tips To Improve Your Odds in a Multiple Offer Situation
June 23, 2009 · Jean Joh · 9 Comments

auction“Multiple offers?  I thought we were in a Buyer’s Market?”  Well, it certainly IS a great time to buy in that we are seeing interest rates that are still at historical lows coupled with housing prices that are more affordable.  But on the other hand, here in the San Francisco & Peninsula area, we are seeing an increasing number of multiple offer situations.  For example, on the last home my clients submitted an offer for, there were 26 (yes TWENTY-SIX!) offers, all of which were put in within the home’s first two weeks on the market!  Whatever the reasons for this, it’s become clear that if a home is well priced or below market value, there’s a good possibility that prospective home buyers will find themselves in a multiple offer situation.  Here are five tips to help make your offer stronger:

Read more

Bookmark and Share
Adam Chinn

Homes Are Moving Quickly!
June 19, 2009 · Adam Chinn · 5 Comments

cartoon-house-runningI recently started working with some first time home buyers. We made an appointment to view four homes in Daly City and South San Francisco. They have not had much experience viewing homes and wanted to get their feet wet to see what was offered in the current market.

As always, I do my best to preview the homes I show, as to gain as much knowledge as possible about the homes we are going to view.

What we were surprised to find out is that, out of the four homes we planned on viewing, 3 of them were marked pending or were going to be marked pending soon. All of the homes were vacant and have been on the market less than a month.   Read more

Bookmark and Share
Mark Hasha

8 Tips to Save Your Sanity
June 3, 2009 · Mark Hasha · 5 Comments

I received some great advice from one of the great lenders I work with and I wanted to share it with you. Timely loan approval is critical in today’s real estate market and I wanted to share his tips with you.

frustrated-home-buyer8 Tips to Save Your Sanity

A buyer’s guide to the loan approval process.

 

Guidelines and requirements for loan approvals have recently become more rigorous and each transaction is processed with much more scrutiny. Keeping just a few things in mind could save your sanity, stress level and funding schedule.

1. Be expedient and thorough. When initiating a loan, and throughout the loan process, it is imperative to provide complete documentation to your Mortgage Advisor as quickly as possible. For instance, if all pages of the bank statement are requested, it really means all pages. While you and I might not think it’s necessary to include the reconciliation page of the statement, the lenders do. And, when they receive only five of the six pages of said bank statement, the loan process can become inefficient and stalled. Read more

Bookmark and Share
Lee Ginsburg

Old School Pricing Is Out and Price It Right Is In
May 26, 2009 · Lee Ginsburg · 6 Comments

 Many sellers are determined to set their listing price higher than they are willing to accept so they have room to negotiate. With the New Millennium buyers they unfortunately will not get any offers. Today’s buyers are more educated than any others. The internet gives the buyers the opportunity to research all public records. They know the price of all the homes in the area that sold recently and are on the market. They know the trends, the cost per square foot; they know what the seller paid for the home and how much they owe and sometimes the improvements the owner has completed. If a home is over-priced the “New” buyer is almost offended that someone would expect them to purchase it at the “Over Valued List Price” so they don’t even make an offer. Many don’t even waste their time to view the home. That is the old school pricing method. My parents would have done that. Back then information was not so accessible. Read more

Bookmark and Share
Jean Joh

Good News or Bad News?
May 23, 2009 · Jean Joh · 8 Comments

good-news-bad-newsThe other day, I was manning our Prudential kiosk at the Tanforan mall, and a gentleman came up to me and asked how the real estate market is doing.  I enthusiastically told him that our office has become quite busy lately and that we’re seeing a lot of activity, especially among first-time home buyers.  His response surprised me. 

He looked somewhat downcast and said, “Oh, that’s not good…”  When I probed a little further, I found that his main reasoning was that he was     Read more

Bookmark and Share
Terry Birt

Missed Opportunity ?
May 22, 2009 · Terry Birt · 6 Comments

buyers-choiceRecently, it seems that all the buyers have come out of the wood work….
We have been inundated with large groups at our open houses and receiving large amount of “sign calls” and inquires on our websites…
But the one thing that has not changed is fear…Depending on where the property is and the price range that it is in, there is a different strategy on how to make an offer. I think the public understands that the interest rates are great, and  inventory has lessened, and  buyers are hearing about multiple offers; but there is something that is preventing them to make a move. My advise: Work with your agent…let them help you understand… ask a lot of questions.

Just this week, I have encountered buyers who I met a few weeks ago, they saw this home in their price range, and have their financing in order, but they needed time to “think about it”.  When they came back to reconsider the home, it was gone (in escrow with multiple offers).  Had they written a couple of weeks ago it could have been theirs.

 Don’t lose your opportunity. There are several ways to protect yourself from competition and allow you to participate in obtaining home with your price and terms.

Bookmark and Share
Adam Chinn

How much under the list price can I offer?
May 21, 2009 · Adam Chinn · 6 Comments

This is a question I am asked quite often.  Many people get their real estate news from what they hear on the radio, watch on tv, or read in newspapers.  What many do not do is actually speak to the people who are in the business and have up to date information on the current market.  Although I encourage my clients to ask any questions that comes to mind, it is my job and responsibility to explain to them what I have experienced in the market and where I think it will go from here.  Of course, I can not predict the future, but if the facts are studied, trends can be found.   I feel it is very important that I educate my clients on the current market, so that we can work together to accomplish the common goal. Read more

Bookmark and Share
Adam Chinn

Has The Market Already Changed? I Think So!
May 17, 2009 · Adam Chinn · 4 Comments

I have been working with some clients for the past few weeks. They have been pre-approved for a loan and we have been looking at many homes in hopes of finding them what they are looking for. We find a nice house in Pacifica, they write an offer that is over the listed price. I heard back from the listing agent today, informing me that there have been 20+ offers some of them coming in at about $100,000 over the listed price.   Read more

Bookmark and Share
Page 1 of 1212345»...Last »