Buying a Home Archives

Should I Buy a Home Now Or Wait Until Next Year?

Buying a home in San Diego can be very exciting but can feel scary at the same time. If you think about it too long and listen to too many people who don’t own a home or even some that do, you may become paralyzed with fear and never jump in. It is ok to be careful and do your homework. But, over analyzing for too long can hurt you in the long run. Constantly asking yourself, “Should I buy a home now or wait until next year”? I can remember meeting people that came in through our Open Houses during 2012- 2016. Some of these people wanted to buy a home but kept saying that they would wait for the bubble to burst. It is 2018 as I am writing these words. I still see a few of these people around that still haven’t bought. They are kicking themselves for not buying back then. We also helped many people buy homes during that time period, and then they decided to move out of San Diego. We then sold their homes, and they left with a lot more money than they had when they initially bought their house. They were sure happy! With this being said, yes, you do have to put much thought into it. It is a big financial decision. But no matter what time it is, it always seems like mortgages are high, and one wonders how they will pay their mortgage.

How Will I Pay The Mortgage?

So, you’re either going to pay your mortgage, or you are going to help your landlord pay theirs. Either way, you are paying a mortgage. Why not it be your own.

My parents bought houses back in the 1970s and 1980s. There were times when interest rates were way up at 18%. Sure, the purchase prices were lower. However, with interest rates as high as they were, so was their mortgage. They, too, asked themselves, “how are we going to pay this mortgage.” Today, they are sure happy they took those risks. This allowed them to have a large safety net to retire with and not have to work in their golden years.

Should I Buy a Home Now?

So, are you asking yourself, “should I buy now or wait until next year”?

Buying a home today at $700,000 with interest rates at 4.3%, your mortgage will be approximately $3223.00. With projected interest rates for next year at 5.10% and the price going up to $735,000, your mortgage payment will be approximately $3,629.00. That is a difference of $406.00 a month.

If you are thinking of buying a home and would like to sit down and go over a plan of action, contact the McT Real Estate Group at 619-736-7003. Together we will look at your long-term goals and see if buying a house is the best thing for you today.

San Diego Homes for Sale Coming Soon

Homes for sale in San Diego are hard to find these days. With a limited inventory, finding a home and getting your offer accepted before someone else is getting more difficult these days.If you have been searching for “coming soon“ real estate listings but have not been successful at it, here is a good place to start. The McT Real Estate Group are real estate experts in the San Diego area. We always have a list of homes for sale in San Diego County that on other Real Estate Websites. Before we put homes on these other sites, we spend time with the seller preparing the home for sale, so they are the nicest homes in the area for their price range.

What Do I Mean By Preparing the Home For Sale?

How one lives in a place and how one sells a home is quite different. When we live in our home, we tend to fill it up with stuff we love and make us feel good. When we are getting ready to sell a home, there are certain things that one should do that a home buyer will look at before entering your house. It starts right when they drive up to your house. If the front is not tidy and cared for, they may not even want to step inside.

With this being said, when the McT Real Estate Group gets a listing, we work with our sellers and help them with this process of getting their home to look nicer than the competition. Do make sure to check in with us to see what we have in the pipeline, what we will be putting on the market soon and how to be the first to see it. Call us at 619-818-8122 right away!

See Our Current List Of Homes Coming Soon for Sale

Affordable Homes for Sale in North Park

North Park, like other neighborhoods in the San Diego Metro Communities, has gotten expensive throughout the years. However, with today’s low-interest rates and the cost of renting a house, it may be better to search for an affordable home for sale in North Park in the long run.

Check out the most affordable homes in North Park today!

Top Reasons for Buying a Duplex as a First Home

You have decided to buy your first home in San Diego. This is great news! The first thing that comes to mind is, should you buy a Single Family Home, a Condo, or a Townhouse? These are all great options but let’s not forget about another great option. What about buying a Duplex or a Triplex? These are great investment strategies to think of.

There are a lot of advantages in homeownership with buying a Duplex for Sale in San Diego. Having someone else help pay for your mortgage is one of these advantages that owning a Single-Family Home does not have.

Below are some of the reasons and advantages and why you should consider buying a Duplex instead of a Condo, Townhouse or even a Single-Family Home:

Mortgage Relief

When you apply for a mortgage, banks will have lower interest rates if you will be occupying the home as opposed to someone who is buying a home to rent out. Also known as a non-occupied loan. When you apply for a loan to buy a Duplex or a Triplex, they still consider this an owner-occupied loan since you will live in one of the units. You will also qualify for a larger loan because the other units will be helping you pay the mortgage loan.

Tax Write-Off

One of the beauties of homeownership is writing off the mortgage interest when having an owner-occupied property. However, if you own a Duplex or a Triplex, you cannot write that off on the units that you don’t live in. Still, you can write off other things such as the cost of any repair done to the other units, the cost of managing the other units and the costs that it takes to get those units rented out. Other costs would include if you share the electric, cable/internet, and water.

Short Term Rental Vacation Rental

You may not want to be a long-term lease landlord. Being a landlord is not for everyone. You may not want to live in such close quarters with a tenant. Another option is to use the other unit/units as Vacation Rentals. This side business can bring in a lot more money than a regular long lease tenant would. It would also give you the flexibility of not having the same tenant for such a long period. You can even open it up to family and friends who would like to visit town and visit on occasions. You may also want to keep it as a home office. This, of course, takes you back to tax savings and something to discuss with your accountant.

Duplex Investment Strategy

Ok, so you’ve lived in your home for 2 years, and you feel good about being a landlord. You can now go out and buy another duplex or triplex home and use the rental income from the other units to qualify for the loan. As long as you will move into the new property, you can get another owner-occupied loan and benefit from the lower interest rates. This is a great way of creating and building wealth for your future with residual income.

Buying a Duplex with 3.5% Down Payment

You can buy a Duplex Home with as little as a 3.5% down payment. As long as you are going to live in the home, you can apply for an FHA loan, which is a great way of getting into the market. Yes, they have MI (mortgage insurance)that you have to pay, but this is the cost of doing business. Once you can prove that you have 80% equity in the property, you can speak to your lender and re-fi out of the FHA and eliminate the MI insurance.

For more information on how to get started with buying your first Duplex or Triplex home in North Park, South Park or any other neighborhood in San Diego, contact the McT Real Estate Group right now.

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Buying a House in San Diego

You have reached a point in your life where you know that now is the right time to buy a house but are not sure exactly where to start. There is so much information out there you would think making a decision would be easy. But in fact, it sometimes is more confusing. This holds even if you have bought a home in San Diego in the past.

The first thing you should consider is how much money you can afford to put out every month to pay for this house. This means that just because you spoke to a Bank/Mortgage Broker/Lender and they told you that you could afford” X” amount does not mean that you will feel comfortable doing so once it is said and done. You are the only one that knows what you will feel comfortable with.

A good rule of thumb to determine how much of a mortgage you can afford determines what 30 percent or less of your income is. This is what should go into paying your mortgage. I know it is not easy based on the purchase price of what San Diego homes sell for, but this is a general guideline. This is not to say that Banks will not lend you their money if you go over this number.

You can start to figure this out by finding out what your new utility bills will look like based on the house’s square footage and the home area. Contacting the utility departments in that area and asking them would be a good idea. Other new bills would include new home insurance and property taxes. You can contact the San Diego accessors office and speak to someone in the Realty Division. As for home insurance quotes, ask your Realtor for a few referrals. They should have a few people who can recommend and who would help you figure out the numbers.

What Kind Of Down Payment Do You Need?

You have most of the numbers for buying a house in place. Now you must determine how much of a down payment you can afford to put down or are willing to put down. Remember to keep in mind that you have to set aside money for closing costs, appraisals, and home inspections. In some cases, it behooves you to do several specific inspections, and they do come with a price. You are better safe than sorry, so listen to your Realtor when they recommend such inspections. Another cost to consider is the cost of moving and the cost of gas to go to and from work (if further away); we must not forget this one.

Having 20% down to buy a house in San Diego is great and more attractive to lenders lending you the rest of the money. However, there are other loan programs that you can use with 0% down (VA loan), 3.5% (FHA), 5% Conventional, and several others.

These other loan options come at a higher price, but it is the cost of doing business with the banks willing to loan their money to you. You will have to pay private mortgage insurance with loans below 20% down.

What Is Private Mortgage Insurance?

PMI, aka private mortgage insurance, is the fee that the bank charges you for the risk they take to lend their money to you. If someone puts down less than 20% to buy a home, they should know all about PMI. With FHA loans, you will have this payment for the life of the loan. With other loan programs, you will cancel the PMI once you have 20% equity in the home. Speak to your lender about this. Make sure that you understand this thoroughly before choosing a loan option.

How Much Difference Do Interest Rates Make?

With the prices of homes for sale in San Diego, this can be the difference in costing thousands of dollars more over the loan period. Even a slightly higher increase in interest rate can cause the lender not to lend you the funds because it will increase your monthly payment to the point that your debt-to-income ratio is out of balance.

Tips for Buying Your First House

First, figure out what neighborhood you would like to live in. Then, have all of the numbers in front of you; this is the time to have a serious conversation with your Realtor. Based on the numbers that you and your lender have come up with, your lender should be able to provide you with a DU approval instead of just a pre-qualification. Once you are confirmed with the price of the home that you can buy, you will then start touring homes with your Realtor.

What is a DU approval?

Having a DU approval from your lender will make you a stronger buyer, especially if you are in a multiple-offer situation. If a typical buyer provides a pre-qualification letter with their offer, they still have not filled out a loan application, and the lender does not know if they truly qualify for the loan. If you have a DU approval, this means that you have already provided the lender with your employment history, assets and income, and debts and they become “Approve Eligible.” You will most likely receive final approval unless something with the title or appraisal comes back with something negative.

What to know when buying a for Sale by Owner in San Diego

As you search for homes for sale in San Diego’s hot market, you may come across a “For Sale by Owner”. You may be tempted to knock on the door or call the number advertised. You may think that going directly to the seller, may save you a lot of money. Well, the complete opposite may be true.

Most Home Sellers Will Work With Your Agent

Just because the seller has put their home up for sale by owner does not mean that they will not work with your Realtor. They are well aware that most homebuyers are working with agents so they will agree to pay the buyer’s agent a commission, so do get your agent involved. This will only help you in the long run. A great buyer’s agent is priceless and will not cost you a thing. The seller is the one that will pay for this service that will save you thousands of dollars and aggravation in the long run.

Once you do your inspections, a lot of things will most likely come up that you will want to take a second look at, and may want to renegotiate because of certain repairs needed. Your agent will serve as a buffer and be able to know exactly how to get this negotiated where it makes more sense to your financial pocket. The buying process is an emotional one for both the buyer and seller. Having your agent as your buffer will give you an advantage; you can discuss things over with them before making a decision on certain things the seller is asking for.

Is The Home Priced Right?

Many times a seller who has decided to put their home on the market as a “For Sale by Owner” is doing so because they feel the Real Estate market is so good for sellers right now that they may not need a Realtor. They may have spoken to a few Realtors but have not liked the price that was recommended for their home so they figured they would be able to go at it themselves at a higher price and save the commission.

Your Agent will be able to show you the comps and help you determine what price you should offer if you decide to put an offer on this home. An experienced Realtor will be actively visiting properties in the area and will be well versed with the comps in the neighborhood.

What questions to ask when buying a for sale by owner?

With this being said, when selling a home in San Diego, there are certain disclosures that a seller is supposed to provide to a buyer with the sale of a home. Because the seller of a For Sale by Owner is typically not experienced with these documents, they will not have filled them out and ultimately not realize that they are supposed to disclose certain things about the property.

Your agent will know exactly what questions to ask so that the seller will have to disclose everything they possibly know about the property (the good, the bad and the ugly) without leaving anything out.

If you were to buy this house and all of a sudden you run into a problem with it, you can then re-examine the seller’s disclosures. You may discover that the problem was ongoing and the seller did not disclose it. At this point, you will be able to go back and address the issue and most likely get compensated because the seller did not disclose a “material fact.”

If you are in need of an expert buyer’s agent in San Diego, contact the McT Real Estate Group right now. We will go over the process of buying a home and together come up with a game plan to get you the right home that you desire.

Just Bought the Home- Now What?

Just Bought a Home in San Diego, Now What?

You just bought a home in San Diego and are super excited and nervous at the same time. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with owning a home. There is also a lot of satisfaction and freedom that comes with doing so as well.

First, you can remodel the home however way you would like to. Meaning, if you want red walls, purple, blue or any color walls for that matter; guess what, you can paint them any color you want and not have to ask the landlord permission. If you are planning on living there for a while, then doing whatever makes you happy is great. However, if at some point you are planning on selling, I would recommend losing the personal colors and toning it down a bit.

If your home needs some remodeling, be smart about it. Don’t just start ripping things out with not have a plan about what you are going to do. Sit down and think about it. If you have a significant other, make sure that you are both on the same page. Go to Houzz.com or sites like Pinterest to get some ideas. Once you figured out what you would like to do, figure out if you will be doing the work yourself or you will be hiring it out. A good source of referrals is your Realtor. She or he should know several different tradespeople that you can get estimates from. As for referrals from friends and co-workers as well. Just from this group of people, you will have a gold mine of great tradespeople.

Handyman repairing stucco repairs — Negotiating Repairs

Once you figure out what you are going to do and who you are going to use, I would recommend creating a budget for your projects. Be realistic about the numbers and whatever that number you think it will be, add another 20% to it. Believe me, you will reach it and you don’t want to feel strapped and have to cut corners. With this being said, avoid being too cheap. This can cost you big bucks in the long. You may think that by doing something yourself you may be able to save money but then once you figure out that you are not able to, you will have to hire a professional to come to fix what you started, hence, costing you more than had you just hired that person from the beginning.

Another pointer is to not overspend on materials needed for the projects. If you plan things out properly, you will be able to find certain things that go on sale, or you may be able to shop around and compare, and not have to buy last minute which will save a good amount of money. If you plan out your projects, you will avoid last-minute changes and add on’s which can be very costly.

If you just bought a home in San Diego and are doing all of the things mentioned above, remember to save all receipts for work completed on your home. You will be able to write off certain home improvements so make sure to be very organized so that you can share this with your accountant when it is time to do your taxes. Other tax write-offs include such things as mortgage interest, points that were paid when taking out a loan, Real Estate Taxes, Energy Credits, Home Equity Loans and several other things that your accountant can go over with you. These are write-offs that homeowners can benefit from when tax time comes around.

If you would like a second opinion before you start your project, contact the McT Real Estate Group. We will be able to share with you what types of things will be a great return on your investment when it is time to sell your home.

Add Value To Your Home

What Are Contingencies When Buying a House in San Diego?

You just got your offer accepted on your favorite house in North Park. Now you have a certain amount of time to remove all of your contingencies. The California Real Estate purchase agreement notes up to 21 days to remove all contingencies. However, in today’s competitive market, if your buyer’s agent does not shorten the contingency dates when writing an offer, you will most likely get beat out by your competition. Contingency periods are tied to timelines and dates. The buyer is expected to have completed all investigations within the time indicated in the purchase agreement and signed off on that contingency. Below is a list of all contingencies when buying a house in San Diego.

Inspection Contingency-

You will have your timeframe agreed upon in the agreement to do your general inspection as well as any other specific inspection, such as electrical, plumbing, foundation, roofing, etc. This does not mean that you wait until the end of that time period to do these inspections. What it means is that by the end of when your timeframe comes, you should already have completed these inspections. Your Realtor should have put together what is known as your “request for repair” if you are going to be submitting one prior to this date and inspection contingencies should be removed by this time.

Request for Repair-

Once all of your inspections have been completed, your Realtor will sit down with you and go over the inspections in detail. A good Realtor will know how to structure a “Request for Repair” based on what comes up in the inspection. Knowing that a request for repair is simply that, “a request”. The seller does not have to do anything that you have requested. However, if you are reasonable with your request, a reasonable seller will consider fixing or renegotiating based on the items requested. On the other hand, if you submit a laundry list of items that were on the home inspection, know that you will most likely turn the seller off and they will either say “No” to everything or decide that they prefer to move on to a buyer that is more reasonable. We have seen this happen many times.

Appraisal Contingency-

The appraisal will typically take place within the first 7-10 days of having an accepted offer. You will know pretty soon if the home appraises at the purchase price or not. Appraisals are performed by a 3rd party who will walk through the home, take pictures and come up with their valuation report. They then send it to the bank that is lending you the money to buy your home. A title company, typically hired by the seller will do a title search to make sure that there aren’t any clouds or liens attached to the home. This report is sent to the lender who wants to make sure that there aren’t any issues with the home. Appraisal contingencies typically get removed at the same time as loan contingencies, although it can be removed sooner.

Loan Contingency-

Prior to going out and searching for homes for sale with your Realtor, you should already have been pre-approved with a lender. This means that you should have filled out an application, given them your last 2 years of tax returns, current pay stubs, bank statements they should know what your credit score is. This way, you are way ahead of the game once your offer gets accepted and you get into escrow and are not late with removing all of your contingencies when you are supposed to. If you are working with an experienced local lender, they should be able to have full loan approval within 12-17 days. Remember, you will most likely only have 17 days to remove all of your contingencies and the loan is the last one to remove. The appraisal will typically take place within the first 7-10 days so you will know pretty soon if the home appraises at the purchase price.

Disclosures-

The sellers have several disclosures that they must fill out and give to the buyer during the Escrow period. These documents will provide information on previous improvements, renovations or upgrades completed, as well as whether work was done with or without permits.

Buyers should cross-check the seller’s disclosures with the city building permit and zoning reports. Work completed without a permit, or approval by the municipality, may not have been performed to code, which could result in a fire or health hazard. This is not always the case but should be investigated properly.

Disclosures are supposed to be provided to the buyer within the first 7-10 days. However, in San Diego, you will want to have this within the first 0-3 days.

Your Realtor most likely suggested you write a 10 day inspection contingency period in order to compete with other offers so you must move quickly.

Having these disclosures prior to you doing your home inspection is very helpful and informative. The home inspector looks at certain areas of the home pertaining to what he or she finds on the disclosures. Listing agents will sometimes have them upfront and will upload them into the MLS, which is very helpful. This way, your buyer’s agent can download them and go over them with you prior to submitting your offer.

Staying on track with your contingency periods is crucial, especially in a busy seller’s market. You would not want to receive a notice to perform from the seller for not sticking to the contract. If so, the seller can technically cancel the agreement if you are not able to perform the specific contingencies agreed upon in the purchase agreement.

Close of escrow is typically 30-45 days in San Diego, although many times we close in less than 21 days.

If you are thinking about buying a home in the North Park, South Park or any metro neighborhoods in San Diego, contact the McT Real Estate Group. We are located in North Park and would love to help you with finding your dream home for the best price.

Buying a Home in San Diego from Across the Country

Knowing what you want in a house will enable your Realtor to help you find a neighborhood that suits your lifestyle. Buying a home in San Diego from across the country can be scary. But, if you are teamed up with a great Realtor and have created a list of what’s important to you, it is possible. Do you like yoga? You might want to live near a park or in a neighborhood with a few yoga studios. If you work remotely from your computer, a place with plenty of coffee shops gives you plenty of options to operate your business. If nightlife is your thing, a place like North Park will be right up your alley with tons of restaurants and bars. Whether or not you have children, the proximity to good schools will affect the resale value of homes in some neighborhoods. So, when buying a home in San Diego, make sure that you have a sharp agent aware of this.

snow in the winter — road covered in white snow and bare trees

The Lifestyle in San Diego is different than in other parts of the country. Have you experienced year-round outdoor living before? If you’re moving from New England, as an example, the house prices will seem high, based on the value and square footage that you are accustomed to. That’s because in Connecticut, for example, you have to be inside your house for the whole winter.

Here in San Diego, you can sit in the sun and relax in your garden on a January morning. “But I Love the Skiing,” you say. Not to worry! Bear Mountain is less than a three-hour drive from San Diego, and there are several more nearby. Wouldn’t you love to be able to have fun in the snow and have a short drive back to the year-round sunshine? You don’t have to worry about digging your car out of the snow before work the next morning.

With a lot of cash buyers present, the San Diego market is quite rapid and competitive. If you are buying a home in San Diego, you’ll have to be comfortable with making an offer on a property the first day you see it. That might seem extreme, but it’s the nature of the current market. You’ll see homes for sale that come and go off the market quickly. If you take too long to think about it, you’ll miss out on many great properties. Knowing what you want will give you the confidence you need to move with the fast-paced market that we are experiencing. This leads us to our next key aspect of buying a home in San Diego from across the Country.

Find the Right Real Estate Agent

If you are buying a home in San Diego, you’ll want a local Realtor who’s an expert in the neighborhoods you’re looking at. If you don’t know what neighborhood you want, a good Real Estate Agent will help you with this based on your interests. With this being said, good communication is key.

Depending on whether you are buying a property to invest in or to move for work or retirement, your search for a house will be very different. You’ll want a Realtor that has experience with the type of property you are searching for. If you’re looking at an investment property, find a Realtor that owns investment properties themselves. They will have better insight than a Real Estate Agent that has never purchased an investment property before, or any house at all. They will be able to point out important things to look for and consider and things to be aware of.

Is Your Realtor Tech Savvy?

Today’s technology makes it easy for a tech-savvy Real Estate Agent to use several tools to convey a property accurately from wherever you are. Video walkthroughs, 3D rotating cameras, and video calls can accurately convey much more than still photos.

Video Tour — cartoon of a person videotaping

Make sure your Realtor is familiar with these tools. Also, make sure that you’ll feel confident buying a house that you’ve never physically been inside of. Even though you will see walking video tours, it is still slightly different from being at the property in person. If you are comfortable with this, then you’ll be swinging in your hammock on your back porch in no time. You will be thinking about all those times you were jumping over puddles of ice water on your way to work.

Get Your Ducks in a Row and Pre-Approved

As previously mentioned, it’s a high-speed Real Estate market that we are experiencing. Have patience; you could lose out on a property you like if you’re not 100% ready to go. Have your ducks in a row before you start your home search. One thing to keep in mind is to make sure no obstacles are holding you back.

You’ll need to be pre-approved for a loan, and not just with any lender. An experienced Realtor will have many great referrals for you if you don’t already have someone you are working with. You may have a local Lender where you currently live. Speak to your Realtor about this. We find that working with a local lender near the home you are trying to buy typically works best. They know the timeframes and things to look out for that are not always the same in other parts of the Country. If you think of buying an investment property and not planning to live in it, you will need to get approved for a loan as a non-occupied-owner-investor. Typically, this type of loan requires that you put down at least twenty-five percent when buying a home. On the other hand, if it is not an investment property that you are looking for, but instead, you are planning on moving into the home, you’ll be able to look into an FHA loan. With this type of government loan, you only have to put as low as 3.5 percent, whether it’s a single-family house or a duplex/multi-unit house.

Buying And Selling A Home

You may currently own a home you would need to sell before buying a home in San Diego. Before a homeowner considers accepting your offer and taking their home off the market, they would want to see that your present home is under contract. This can all be very stressful. You may not feel 100% comfortable buying a home without seeing it in person. If so, another option will be to plan on moving to San Diego first. Renting an apartment or home for a couple of months or even a year might make you feel more at ease. There are a lot of short-term rentals available if you decide that this would work better for you. Yearly rentals are available, but they are also competitive. If you find one that you think you want, you will have to move quickly.

For more information on buying a home in San Diego, contact the McT Real Estate Group.

More About Buying a House in San Diego

6 Tips On How To Write An Offer To Buy A Home In A Sellers Market

The San Diego Real Estate Market is a very competitive one right now. We are in what is known as a Seller’s Market, not a Buyers’ Market. A typical Seller’s Market is when there is less than six months’ worth of inventory. A Buyer’s Market is when more than seven months’ inventory is waiting to be sold. There is currently 1.5 worth of inventory in the San Diego Metro communities such as North Park, South Park, and several surrounding neighborhoods. This means the inventory is very low, and many buyers are competing for the same home. How to write an offer to buy a home is crucial. Homes that are priced well receive multiple offers, and only the best offers will be considered.

What do I mean by best offers? The purchase price has to be competitive, but sellers are also looking at different things when reviewing offers.

Here are 6 tips on How to Write An Offer to Buy a House in a Sellers’ Market

Tip#-1– Must have a pre-approval- Before going out and searching for homes with your Realtor, you should have already spoken with a few mortgage lenders/brokers and picked the one you feel most comfortable with. Your Realtor should have a few great lenders that they will be able to recommend if you don’t already have one. They will let you know exactly what documentation they will need to be able to give you a loan approval right away. This is different than a pre-qualification. Having the pre-approval will let the Seller know that you have already submitted your application and documents to the lender/bank, and the Lender will approve your loan for the home. This tip alone will get you in front of the pack. The pre-qualification only means that the buyer spoke with a lender and verbally gave information regarding their income.

Your bank statement should be included in your offer showing the Seller where your down payment is coming from. This is what we call “Proof of Funds.”

Tip#-2-Find Out What Is Important to the Seller?

I have never met a seller that does not want the highest dollar amount for their home. However, there may also be other things that are important to them. Your Real Estate Agent should ask the Listing Agent about the following. Does the Seller need a longer or shorter close of escrow? Do they need a rent-back from the buyer? What this means is, do the sellers need to close on the current home and then rent the house back from the buyers for 2-3 weeks? If so, typically, the Seller pays the buyer for that time frame. You may offer to pay for this. This will be something of interest if they need extra time.

Tip#-3- Termite Clearance is not always a must

In a regular market with less competition, the buyer will typically ask the Seller to give them Termite Clearance. When competing with other offers, this may be something that you do not ask the Seller to pay for. It will make your offer look better.

Tip#-4-Include a higher earnest deposit

The earnest deposit is also known as a good faith deposit- We typically see offers where buyers will offer anywhere from 1%-3% of the purchase price as good faith deposit. If your offer is accepted, you will deposit that amount into the Escrow Company that is being used for the transaction of the sale of the home. They are a 3^rd party company that holds all deposits and finalizes the transfer of funds from the bank. If for whatever reason, you were to cancel within your contingency time period, the escrow company would return your deposit. With this being said, if you have completed your inspections and removed all contingencies included the loan contingencies, you would risk losing a large portion of those funds if you then decide to cancel.

Tip#-5- Submit shorter contingency periods–

Typically the buyer has 21 days to do their home inspection and get full loan approval. This is something that a good Realtor and Mortgage Lender can cut down significantly. Home Inspection contingencies can be reduced to 10 days. This will depend on the loan and Lender. We work with lenders that can have a fully approved loan in 12-17 days. By working with an experienced Realtor and Lender, you would be able to cut these contingencies down, making you appear as a stronger offer.

Tip#- 6-Your Realtor should have your Lender reach out to the Listing Agent

As top real estate agents in San Diego, I can tell you that when we receive these calls from the buyer’s lenders, it shows us that the buyer’s agent and their Lender are working together very closely. We can ask the lender questions regarding what type of loan the buyers are applying for and their ability to qualify for the loan.

If you would like to speak to an experienced and dedicated Real Estate Agent on the McT Real Estate Group, please shoot us an email, text, or give us a call. We would love to help you find a home in the San Diego area.