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How Buying a Home is Like Finding the Perfect Shoe – San Mateo CA

The old adage “one shoe fits all” does not work when buying home. For that matter, it doesn’t work when shoe shopping, either! Homes, like shoes, are very personal, and often emotionally-based purchases. Try as they might to create a home that will meet every need and every taste, home builders are aware that it…Read More »

How to Choose a Home to Buy

If you’re ready to start looking for your dream home, and you’ve narrowed your search to a few select neighborhoods, take these following tips to heart: 1. Types of homes. Choose the type of home that is the most appealing yet practical for you. In addition to single family homes, there are townhouses, multi-family homes…Read More »

San Mateo County is Seeing Short Sales But Are They Good Buys?

If a property is being sold as a Short Sale it means that the loan on the property is for more money than the property can be sold for. There is a shortage of funds due the lender. Sometimes a lender will forgive this amount and sometimes it will not. If the amount is forgiven it may not be a win for the seller because they may have to show this amount “forgiven” as income in their taxes the following year. It must be shown as income because it was money that was owed by the seller through a note to buy the property, but not paid back to the lender and the IRS looks at this as money in your pocket even though you never see the money.

San Mateo Market Report – 1.27.09 – Condos & Townhouses

San Mateo, the second largest city in the county, had 103 Condos and Townhouses for sale last week, and believe it or not, this is a reduction from previous weeks. The Median Price was $450,000. The Average Price was $552,510 with the least expensive unit priced at $238,000 (a steal of a price for a…Read More »

Are You New to San Mateo County? Here’s How Buying a House Works Here.

If you are new to California, and especially to San Mateo County, buying a house here is likely going to be a different experience than what you’ve experienced in your old state. To begin with we do not use lawyers in the buying and selling process. In our area, Northern California, the Title and Escrow…Read More »

It’s Getting to be Like Old Times….20% Down, Please!

We are approaching the end of the year, yup, Q3 is just about over, and then the year winds down with Q4. Did you know that there might be a way to find some much needed money to buy a house with the help of your family? If you have the income to pay a…Read More »

What Are Points in a Loan? Should I Care?

If you are fairly new to buying and selling real estate, meaning you entered the real estate market this decade, you are probably unfamiliar with the term Points. Points are unique to our country, no where else in the world is the buyer offered the opportunity to buy down their interest rate. But in the…Read More »

Buying a House is Like Courting.

I have told my clients for years that the process of searching for your new home is very similar to the time they were or are courting for a mate. You go through a lot of dogs before you find the right one! And, the right one may not be anything like the person you’d…Read More »

Did You Catch 60 Minutes this week? Yuck.

Last night a story on 60 Minutes was aired taking shots at Realtors and especially the alleged 6% commission charged to sell a home. They stated over and over again that this 6% commission was set in stone. They then talked at length with the CEO of Redfin, a web company based in Seattle that…Read More »

Are Foster City Gen-X Buyers Different?

What makes a Gen X buyer different than anyone else? In my book, nothing. My kids are Gen Xers. I tell my clients if I think a property isn’t a good buy for them and if it isn’t something I would want my own kids to live in I won’t want them to buy it either. I tell my clients the same things I would tell my own kids. Ultimately my word and reputation is on the line here and I pride myself in taking good care of our clients.