When selling your property, get ready for your home to be inspected.
This means that the buyer will be hiring an inspector to walk through your house and point out everything that they see is in need of repair.
Typically the seller is not home during the inspections.
However, you should ask your real estate agent (or agent's representative) to be in attendance from start to finish.
That way they can answer any questions the buyer might have, and they can make sure no damage is done to your home by the inspectors.
What insurances are required when buying a house?
Your inspection contingency allows you to physically inspect the home from top to bottom.
And during your inspection period, you should also be calling around and looking for fire insurance.
If, for whatever reason, you can't find a insurance company to insure the home, you can back out of the deal and use your inspection contingency as the reason why.
You can say that you did not know the home was in a severe fire danger zone and need to back out of the deal because of that reason.
Only fire insurance is required when buying a home.
The sales people at the insurance company are going to tell you that in addition to #fire insurance, you are going to need #earthquake, #flood, and #homeowners insurance.
No! It's not true!
When buying a home, your lender will only require you to get fire insurance.
All other insurance coverages are up to you if you want them.
It's not a bad idea to get the other insurances... but its not required.
When do I have to send over my remaining money to close escrow?
To be safe, you want to wire over the remaining cash you need to close escrow 72 hours before your close of escrow date.
If the bank has some sort of delay in wiring your money, you want to give yourself an extra day as a buffer, just in case.
Keep in mind that you can send it over several days in advance if you wish.
Send remaining cash to close 72 hours before closing.
A few days before you close escrow on your house, you have to wire over the remaining cash to close.
For example, within the first few days of opening up escrow you have to send over 3% of the purchase price as a deposit.
If your down payment is 20%, that means you still need to send over the remaining 17% at some point.
That 17% (plus any other closing costs funds needed) must be wired over to the escrow company at least 72 hours before you officially close escrow.
That way the escrow company has all the money it needs from you and is just waiting on the lender to wire over the loan money.
Escrow has closed. Do we need to be present for anything else?
You have a full time job, kids, dinner to prepare for... I get it, you're busy.
Thankfully closing escrow does not require any efforts on your part.
On the day you close escrow (the official day you become the new owner of the home) you don't have to go anywhere or be anywhere at a certain time.
Your agent will give you a call and let you know that the deal is done.
Way different then selling on the East Coast!
Register your agent's name at the open house or say goodbye to them forever...
Did you know that if you go to an open house, and you don't tell the listing agent that you already have an agent, that listing agent has to represent you when buying that home.
It’s true!
The agent that you have been working with for the last 3 months gets cut out and can't represent you.
Why?
Because the listing agent now has every right to say that he attracted you to the home through his marketing (an open house sign) and physically walked you through the property.
So your agent is left in the dust!
How do you avoid this? As soon as you enter the open house, tell the listing agent that your real estate agent sent you. Register their name when signing in or give the listing agent your agent's business card.
Problem solved! Now your agent can represent you when buying that home.
What's an SBSA?
SBSA = Statewide Buyer and Seller Advisory.
Sellers!
Use the SBSA form as part of your property disclosure package.
SBSA protects home sellers from lawsuits
SBSA stands for Statewide Buyer and Seller Advisory.
This disclosure tells the buyer for your home that they should investigate everything about the property: mold, square footage, easements, environmental hazards, condition of the property... this list goes on and on.
If you get sued in the future by the buyer for property defects, part of your defense is that you told them to investigate everything about your property through the SBSA.
Realtors - here is a price drop strategy
Realtors... have you ever set up a price drop strategy before putting the home on the market?
Did that turn out good or bad for you and your client?
Set a price drop strategy before your home hits the market.
Now that #LosAngeles is in a buyer’s market, it is smart to have a price drop strategy BEFORE your home is officially for sale.
What happens if you don't get an offer in the 1st 2 weeks?
Do you drop the price? If so, how much?
Do you keep the same asking price for another 2 weeks? Will buyers think something is wrong with the house if you keep it on the market that long?
These are all things you should strategize and prepare for before your home is officially on the market.
Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
What happens after accepting an offer on a property?
I'm begging you... clean your house!
Just because we found a buyer and opened up escrow, does not mean we stop trying to sell your home to that buyer.
When the buyer comes back for their inspections, we want the buyer to fall in love with the home all over again. You want them to leave the inspections saying "I love the home even more now".
You do that by cleaning and making it look beautiful. The last thing you want is for the buyer to see your home dirty, unorganized, dark, and want to back out of the deal.
It is very easy for them to back out too. All they have to say is that the home failed inspections and back out of the deal using their inspection contingency.
Clean... make them fall in love again... you will be just fine.
After you accept an offer on your home, inspections begin.
Once you have accepted a buyer's offer for your home, the inspection period begins.
Be ready! Keep all utilities on.
Gas, water, and electricity should remain on so that the buyer can inspect everything at your house.
If you turn one of those utilities off, then the inspector will have to return after it is turned back on.
Not only does this waste time, but the buyer will then have to pay for a re-inspection. This will anger the buyer.
And you don't want to do that... especially since they are probably preparing to ask you for a credit or repair soon.
My Latest Yelp Review!
I can help with your real estate needs too.
Let's talk. 818-445-7953.
How is the housing market going to be in 2019?
The market is not crashing!
However, I do see home values going down 1% - 3% in 2019.
It's a small price adjustment compared to how much home values have gone up over the last few years.