5 Tips To Improve Your Odds in a Multiple Offer Situation

June 23, 2009 · Jean Joh · 12 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:

When Did I Agree to That?!

March 18, 2009 · Julie Cleland · 8 Comments

Recently I was in one the Prudential California Realty – San Bruno kiosks at the mall when a seller approached to ask if he, as the seller, has to pay the country transfer tax on a sale he is currently involved in. I asked him a series of questions regarding the transaction and was, frankly, surprised at how little he seemed to know about his own deal.

One of the questions that seemed to confuse him the most was whether or not he had signed a purchase agreement. It wasn’t until I described what the agreement looks like that he realized he had, in fact, signed the agreement and was in contract. Read more

Just how SHORT are short sales anyway?

August 6, 2008 · Jean Joh · 5 Comments

Want the “short” answer?… But seriously, a short sale transaction can actually take much longer than a regular sale. First of all, what exactly is a short sale? A short sale is when a home is being sold for less than what is owed on it, i.e. the proceeds from the sale would not be enough to pay off the loan and thus fall “short.” Because the lender is taking a loss, the sale cannot take place without approval from the lender. Unfortunately, the process of getting that approval can sometimes take weeks, even months, depending on the lender.

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re thinking about buying a short sale: Read more