805 Local

We were asked our thoughts about having a physical inspection prior to putting  a house on the market.  In today’s buyers’ market, we think it is wise to take a proactive approach to disclosure.  Here are a few reasons: 1.  Providing an inspection report to the buyer promotes an atmosphere of trust.  It shows that the [...]

Is it us or is it the market?  We have reported in the past that we (and others)  will know that the real estate market has turned the corner after the fact.  We refer to that as looking in the ‘rear view mirror.’  We are starting to believe, hope, think this might be happening.  Of course we [...]

Have you ever read a real estate ad and thought about what those words really mean?  What does handyman special mean?  And on and on……Here’s our take on those words– “Charming“ means wallpaper, lots of wallpaper plus matching drapes. “Cozy“ screams small, very small. “Lush, tropical garden” means overgrown with palm trees. “Compact kitchen” instantly says just enough room [...]

Thursday morning: “Sounds good. Let’s meet at the office at 10:00 a.m Saturday to look at homes.” Better check the MLS to see how many properties suit this buyer’s criteria.  Wow!  There is a total of 46 just in Camarillo plus there is an additional 55 homes that meets the criteria in Thousand Oaks.  That’s a [...]

Here’s the latest in what is on the market with bank-owned properties in Camarillo and the Conejo Valley. Two weeks ago Camarillo had 23 properties currently on the market that were bank owned.  This week that total now registers 20 REOs for sale in Camarillo. Click here to get the list of bank-owned properties for sale [...]

  You are thinking about buying a bank-owned house which are also known as a REO or a foreclosed house.   Buying from a bank demands guidelines which are different than buying from a traditional homeowner.  Each bank/lender differs but there are similarities to each transaction.   Here are lessons that we have learned by writing offers on bank-owned homes with [...]

So you want to buy a house, but you don’t know what you qualify for.  You know how much you want your total payments to be, but you don’t know how much house that will buy.  What about property taxes and homeowner’s insurance?  How much would that be?  How much do you need for a down [...]

Neil Cavuto gives simple answers to the housing market in this two minute video.  It’s worthwhile!

SEVEN SECRETS —what you need to know before putting an offer on a short sale: Length of time to get an answer.  It could take anywhere from two weeks (doubtful) to well over two months (more likely) to get any type of response from the lender.  If there are two loans on the property, it could even take longer. [...]

With all of the tightening credit guidelines, it would be nice if your credit score mattered a little less these days, but nowadays it matters more than ever!  It used to be that people with generally good credit got about the same interest rate as people with really good credit and people with generally not-so-good [...]