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Newest Questions

  • Are Open Houses a waste of time ?

    Our listing agent says that open houses don’t generate serious buyers. When the agent does an open house, he never has a sign up sheet, so I don’t know how the agent follows up with potential buyers that might be interested. For awhile, the agent didn’t even have flyers to hand out. Is an open house just a waste of time ?

    • Asked by William
    • Stockton, CA
    • 89 views
    • Selling
    • 2 weeks ago
  • Should I walk around with the appraiser?

    We have our home appraisal coming up. I'm wondering what my role is. Should I walk around with them? Or do I just try to avoid them? Or is it like a home showing where I should leave?

    • Asked by Ben
    • La Puente, CA
    • 81 views
    • Selling
    • 1 month ago
  • What is right of first refusal?

    What exactaly is right of first refusal? If it was written into a lease does that give them the power to buy the house? What if the owner passed away, do the children have priority to inherit the house? If the children have authority to inherit the house, how does this work?

  • Can I raffle my house?

    I read a story about someone raffling off their house. They sold $1 raffle tickets, and 2 million people bought them! The home was worth $1 million. I'm wondering if this is even allowed?! It seems like a crazy idea, but maybe I'd try it if it was legal/possible.

    • Asked by Jeremiah
    • Sacramento, CA
    • 882 views
    • Selling
    • 3 months ago
  • CA Buyer Rep Agreement? Buyer agrees to pay the commission?

    Buyer HAS to sign the Buyer Rep Agreement AND PAY the Broker's fee before we

    even see the house or really know if we like the agent?

    • Asked by Linda
    • Redding, CA
    • 653 views
    • Buying
    • 6 months ago
  • Can the seller of the house make you get approved again?

    I put an offer on a house, and the selling agent countered with a lot of demands. One of the demands being to send over financial statements to make sure I have closing cost and so I did. I countered again, and selling agent said I needed to get pre-approved by her choice of lender after she had already spoken to my current lender. We reached out the their said lender and were told it would only be a soft credit check since I have already had my credit ran in February when I locked in with my current lender. I did the application with her choice of lender for a soft check and they asked for bank statements, w2's and paystubs. I do not want my credit ran again and get dinged. Is this allowed? and all before they even accept an offer?

    • Asked by Lesandra
    • Sacramento, CA
    • 478 views
    • Buying
    • 6 months ago
  • Can spouses buy property separately?

    I'm wondering if I can buy a property apart from my spouse. I'd like to get an investment property and I would like to know if I can be the sole owner of it. We do file taxes jointly if that matters.

    • Asked by Mark
    • Santa Barbara, CA
    • 453 views
    • Buying
    • 8 months ago
  • What if a home appraises for more than the offer?

    I'm worried the home will appraise for more than what I offered. The seller agreed to the offer and we both seem fine with it. But if the appraisal is more than to the offer will I need to pay more to get the house?

    • Asked by Cameron
    • Marina del Rey, CA
    • 665 views
    • Buying
    • 8 months ago
  • How do I get a home out of foreclosure?

    How do I get a home out of foreclosure? How long does it take? What are the steps? Do I need an attorney or real estate agent?

  • Can my house not be photographed?

    We're selling our house. Can we ask that the inside of our house not be photographed? We're private people and don't want photos of our house or our kids rooms floating around or put on social media. We have professional listing photos, and would prefer that any potential buyer refer to those. We could even compromise and allow personal photos after an offer is put in. However, we don't want casual buyers coming through our house and taking photos and videos of it. It makes us uncomfortable. How do we navigate this?

    • Asked by Juanita
    • Chula Vista, CA
    • 689 views
    • Selling
    • 9 months ago
  • Home appraised lower?

    Our home appraised $10K lower than the offer. We'd like to get a second appraisal or push back. Our real estate agent says we should just accept the lower price. The appraiser isn't from this area and we feel like they didn't fairly appraise the house. What are our options? Can we contest the appraisal?

    • Asked by Dominic
    • San Francisco, CA
    • 469 views
    • Selling
    • 10 months ago
  • Do I need to be pre-approved before I find an agent?

    Do I need a mortgage preapproval before I find an agent? I have a general idea of budget, so can I start looking at homes while I work on preapproval? Or will an agent not want to work with me if I'm not preapproved?

    • Asked by Morgan
    • Santa Ana, CA
    • 543 views
    • Buying
    • 10 months ago
  • How long is a normal buyers house search agreement?

    I'm starting my house search and I'm a first time buyer. The agent I'm talking to wants me to sign a contract stating that I'll only use him until I find a home to purchase. I totally understand exclusivity, but I also don't want to be locked into this agent if after a month we don't vibe. What's normal for these buyer contracts?

    • Asked by Brinley
    • San Diego, CA
    • 613 views
    • Buying
    • 10 months ago
  • Can I bring my dog to a showing?

    Can I bring my dog to a showing? I'm spending hours seeing houses, and can't be away from my dog for that long. It's so hard to find a home and I want to start taking my dog with me. Maybe my dog will help lead me to a good home and I'd like to start taking him with me to the houses.

    • Asked by Olivia
    • Long Beach, CA
    • 689 views
    • Buying
    • 11 months ago
  • Is a loan from a seller a bad idea?

    Is a loan from a seller a bad idea? The seller is offering a loan as part of the deal. The interest rate is below what I could get from a bank, but I'm worried about a shady deal.

  • Do buyers agents get paid the same as the sellers agent?

    Do buyers agents get paid the same amount as the sellers agent? I'm wondering if one side of the transaction gets paid less, or if I should be negotiating so that I pay a fair price. I don't want to be disrespectful, but is the payment up for negotiation?

    • Asked by Becky
    • Sunnyvale, CA
    • 267 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • What a reasonable buyers agent commission?

    What's a reasonable buyers agent commission? I talked to an agent that said I need to sign a contract and agree to his commission. It seems high, so I'm wondering what's normal.

    • Asked by Daniel
    • San Diego, CA
    • 492 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Can I cancel listing agreement if I don’t want to sell?

    we signed an agreement to sell, our rental property, with the understanding that the market would be such that there would be multiple competing offers and could be for above listing price. it has only been a few weeks, but we haven’t even gotten a offer for full listing price. So we would like to go back to just renting out the property. Can we cancel the listing agreement?

  • I have bad credit. Can I buy a house?

    As of recently, I have bad credit. But my family and I would like to buy a house. My mom has good credit but she has no income. Only her retirement income.

    • Asked by Sophia
    • Los Angeles, CA
    • 488 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • My home been on the market for 117 days what should I do ?

    I’ve changed the price five times and nothing is happening should I price it back up everything works it’s a cute house not sure of my realtors marketing strategy I figured go down on the price but was told that long on the market and lowering the price people will think something is wrong with it. was thinking to relist it

    • Asked by Rhonda
    • Folsom, CA
    • 655 views
    • Selling
    • 1 year ago
  • Do I have to pay CA Taxes if I purchase a Rental property?

    Do I have to pay taxes in CA if I am domiciled in NY state and bought an investment property in CA to rent to family?

    • Asked by Helen K
    • Indio, CA
    • 409 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • I have bad credit and im trying to get a home?

    I served in the military and got out with bad credit and I’m just trying to get a forever home with my kids and wife

  • How do I buy a house with a friend?

    My current roommate and I are renting. If we put our money together we could afford to buy a house. Buy I'm worried about buying a house with a friend. What if one of us wants to move out? Could we buy each other out? How do I proceed while also protecting myself and my finances?

    • Asked by Eric
    • Santa Barbara, CA
    • 578 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • I want to sell quickly because I inherited a condo.?

    I am painting the whole inside With a professional painter. I need a new stove, and I have furniture to stage. What incentives can I offer to make a quick sale

    • Asked by Sally Catalana
    • San Rafael, CA
    • 858 views
    • Tips & Advice
    • 1 year ago
  • What kind of loan do we need for redemption ?

    What kind of loan do we need for redemption ? Home loan for redemption of buying house back I’m within my 90 day window to be able for redemption and I’m in California

    • Asked by Genowa Walker
    • Los Angeles, CA
    • 395 views
    • Home Loans
    • 1 year ago
  • Should I use my max pre approval amount?

    Should I use my maximum mortgage pre-approval amount to buy a home? Homes are expensive and I'm tempted to use my max pre-approval amount, but it's much more than what I expected and I'm nervous about the monthly payments. However, I also want to be able to purchase a home.

    • Asked by Morgan
    • Sunnyvale, CA
    • 670 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Can I buy land in California and live on it in an RV?

    With real estate being so high. I would like to buy land and live on it but Im not sure if its even legal.

    • Asked by Melissa Arroyo
    • Ventura, CA
    • 601 views
    • Tips & Advice
    • 1 year ago
  • What are signs that an area is declining?

    What are some red flags or signs that an area is declining? What should I look at to get a feel for the neighborhood and get a picture of what it will be in 10+ years?

    • Asked by James
    • San Mateo, CA
    • 589 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Can I buy a home without homeowners insurance?

    I know it's risky, but can I buy a home without homeowners insurance? I would want to add it in eventually, but for the first 1-2 years I was hoping to eliminate that cost.

    • Asked by Theo
    • Oakland, CA
    • 786 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • How do I compete with cash offers?

    How do I compete with cash offers? I can put 20% down on a house, but I need financing for the rest. I have a strong credit history and in a normal market I would be a strong buyer. But I'm struggling in this market to get an offer accepted.

    • Asked by Lucas
    • Morgan Hill, CA
    • 507 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Should I consider accepting contingent offers from buyers?

    Should I consider accepting contingent offers from buyers? I'm not sure how this process works. What if a better offer comes in after I accepted an offer?

    • Asked by Levi
    • San Diego, CA
    • 538 views
    • Selling
    • 1 year ago
  • What do I need to buy land in California?

    What do I need to buy land in California? How can I find land to buy in California and how do I figure out if it's buildable?

    • Asked by Khai
    • Hollister, CA
    • 837 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Do you need 20 down to buy a house in California?

    Do you need 20 down to buy a house in California? The money that I was saving isn't enough now that interest rates are high, so I'm wondering if I can put down less than 20 on a house.

    • Asked by Claire
    • Temecula, CA
    • 586 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • How much money do you need to buy a house in California?

    How much money do you need to buy a house in California? What is a typical income needed to buy a house in California?

    • Asked by Charity
    • Santa Rosa, CA
    • 745 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Can you buy a house in California with low income?

    Can you buy a house in California with low income? Every house I look at seems so expensive. I'm moving to California and don't know how I can afford a house.

  • How to buy a house in California with bad credit?

    How to buy a house in California with bad credit? I'm trying to get better credit, but that will take a long time and I want to buy a house now.

  • Can a minor buy a house in California ?

    How old do you need to be to buy a house in California? If a minor wants to buy a house does an adult need to be on the deed as well?

    • Asked by Sabrina
    • Los Angeles, CA
    • 1675 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • What Documents Do I Need To Buy A House In California?

    What documents do I need to buy a house in California ? Are there any documents that can help me to get a home or show I'm a strong buyer?

    • Asked by Kristin
    • Sunnyvale, CA
    • 981 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • What credit score is needed to buy a house in California?

    What credit score is needed to buy a house in California? Does the credit score need to be higher than in other states?

  • What is the minimum down payment for a house in California?

    What is the minimum down payment for a house in California? Do I need to put more money down on a house in California compared to other states?

    • Asked by Jason
    • San Luis Obispo, CA
    • 592 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Can a foreigner buy property in California?

    Can a foreigner buy property in California? If so, what are the requirements for a foreigner to buy property in California?

    • Asked by Ed
    • San Francisco, CA
    • 1227 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • What can I ask for after a home inspection?

    What can I ask for after a home inspection? The owner has several cats that have damaged the house. Beyond the scratches, the cats have peed on the carpet. Can I ask for money to cover the cost of new carpets and to repair the damage from the cats?

    • Asked by Sonja
    • San Jacinto, CA
    • 746 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Do I need to share my financial info with my realtor?

    Hi. I don't feel comfortable sharing my financial information with people. I know I will need to share it with my lender, but I'd prefer for my realtor not to know. It's not a matter of trust, I'm just very private. Can I give my realtor my budget and not share other financial information with them?

    • Asked by Juan
    • San Diego, CA
    • 853 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • Can I sell my half of a duplex?

    Hi. Can I sell my half of a duplex without my neighbor selling? They were initially marketed as one unit, but are now deeded separately. Should I alert my neighbor before I list my duplex for sale?

    • Asked by Mike
    • Morgan Hill, CA
    • 914 views
    • Selling
    • 1 year ago
  • Is Lake Elsinore CA growing and good place to purchase?

    I am looking to move to city of Lake Elsinore for my work and was wondering if Lake Elsinore is growing and is it good place to buy a home?

    • Asked by Joe
    • Lake Elsinore, CA
    • 806 views
    • Buying
    • 1 year ago
  • What should I not negotiate when buying a home?

    What should I not negotiate when buying a home? Are there things that are offensive or would end negotiations?

    • Asked by Rodrigo
    • San Diego, CA
    • 400 views
    • Buying
    • 2 years ago
  • Can I sell a house with a home equity loan?

    I have a mortgage and a home equity loan, can I sell my house? If I can sell a house with a home equity loan, what if I owe money on it?

  • Should I get rid of my popcorn ceiling before selling?

    Old popcorn ceilings throughout the home. Will I get a better value if I remove them? Seems overwhelming, so I prefer to leave it, but I also want to get the best value for my home.

    • Asked by Chris
    • Bakersfield, CA
    • 851 views
    • Remodeling
    • 2 years ago
  • How do I cancel a listing agreement?

    I'd like to cancel my listing agreement with my agent. I want to make sure that it's done correctly. How do I cancel a listing agreement?

  • How can I protect my home during an open house?

    How can I protect my belongings during an open house? While I certainly won't leave jewelry out to take, I'm wondering about other items, even basic things. With a lot of people walking through, I worrying about someone taking something.

    • Asked by Cherry
    • San Jose, CA
    • 793 views
    • Selling
    • 2 years ago