mission viejo real estate: Will Your Solar Power Upgrade Cost You A Home Buyer?
- 05/27/15 10:23 AM
Solar Power
Listen to the radio or watch television...ads for solar power companies fill the air waves. It sounds like a good idea, and I'm not going to debate the pros or cons of solar power options for the home, but if you're planning to sell your home, it can cost you a buyer.
Residential solar power is offered as an outright sale and a long term lease. The financial difference is clear. The long term leases generally are zero down and the idea is that you'll save so much on your electric bill that the lease payment added to any electricity use is … (22 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: What Is Your Mission Viejo Property Worth Today?
- 07/01/14 05:36 AM
What Is Your Mission Viejo Property Worth Today?
Mission Viejo is a city located in southern Orange County, California, U.S. in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size.
The city has a 2011 estimated population of 93,483. Mission Viejo is suburban in nature and culture. The city is mainly residential, although there are a number of offices and businesses within its city limits. The city is known for its picturesque tree-lined neighborhoods, receiving … (0 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: 40 Offers? Hang In There Buyers, It's Going To Slow Down
- 05/02/13 02:00 AM
Seller's Market! 40 Offers! Over-bidding!
Buyers, I'm sure you are thinking: "when did this happen?" Well, somewhat slowly over the past couple months. If you've been working with a real estate agent, they have probably been warning you, and you've probably ignored the warning. I'm just guessing!
Ok, lecture over! :)
So now what? You see a new listing and there are hundreds of offers on it before you can even schedule an appointment? Well, maybe not hundreds, but certainly a lot. We've seen this market before. It's the beginning of a curve and it's wise to know that. … (35 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Working For Money Or The Client?
- 04/28/13 08:45 AM
There has been some discussion on Active Rain this week about being "too good" for business. I wonder if this attitude stems from a misdirected focus in what constitutes our business?
Real estate is a people business! We all say this but do we really understand what that means? For me it means that our goal is to get the best possible outcome for our clients. When that is our goal, the money/income follows.
When we focus on making our clients happy, they come back to us in the future.
When we focus on making our clients happy, they … (59 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: That House Has A "Good Side"
- 11/02/12 12:51 AM
Do you have a good side and a bad side? You know, come on...the side you always turn to the camera? Maybe you tilt your head up, or down? You flip your hair one way or the other? Admit it!
I do! I will admit the older I get, the quicker my good side catches up to the bad side, though. LOL. Well I've noticed that house listed for sale seem to be following this rule of pictures as well.
As I perused homes for a client this afternoon, I started to pay attention to the pictures taken, the angles. I realized … (13 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Know The Contingencies To Your Purchase And What They Mean To You
- 09/22/12 03:50 AM
Alan May wrote a post today about a potential buyer wanting to see the Association's Financials ahead of writing an offer. He went on to explain that this was a contingency and that the buyer would have an opportunity to back out later if they didn't like what they saw in the records.
It prompted me to expand on that subject. Many buyers do not fully understand the contingency period and what this actually means to them.
For instance the home inspection contingency. The most common misunderstanding is that as long as the seller addresses the issues found in … (21 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Can You Work Anywhere? Or Are You Stuck Where You Are?
- 07/12/12 09:52 AM
Have you thought about where you work, and how it fits you? Companies, cities, type of client....are you set in your professional ways? Why?
Having an open mind is a wonderful thing. Not to say that we need to jump at every new thing, but we do need to examine how opportunities can fit into our business model. And most importantly, we need to be willing to change when circumstances demand.
Today I agreed to join a dynamic buyer's agent team. Not what I thought I'd be doing this month....but things change. Over the past couple of months, I … (19 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Finding Home
- 07/03/12 05:52 AM
I've been thinking about the concept of "home" a lot lately. What constitutes a home...to me or to others. Over the years I've had many houses, and each one has been home to me. It's never been the structure around me, but the feelings inside.
As a Real Estate agent, I have clients ask me to help them buy or sell their home. It is this mindset that can make the process more difficult. It may seem like a small thing, but if our clients can view the transaction as involving a "property" instead of their "home," they … (36 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: The Moment of In-Decision
- 06/15/12 08:44 AM
That's right...just relax, there is nothing but time. You have finally found the "perfect" property and now you know exactly what to do...
NOTHING!!!!
No offerNo questionsNo movementNo nothing
Oh sure...that's going to work. You are absolutely, definitely, miss this opportunity.
This is not intended to turn into a rant about buyers who don't buy, or "waste" our time, but a reminder that when you don't move, you will lose. As people, we often have concerns about large decisions, and buying or selling your Mission Viejo Home is certainly one of the largest you will make. But if … (17 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: A Dual Multiple Offer Market
- 04/26/12 09:34 AM
This market is very complicated. And even though buyers want to buy and sellers want to sell......it seems the number of homes coming and off the market is increasing.
Why?
On short sales, this makes sense. The amount of time it takes to get approval often exhausts and frustrates the buyer, who moves on. But what about the equity seller listings? In Mission Viejo, we are seeing these homes pop back and forth from back-up to active.
I try to educate my buyers.....the more they know what I know, the better we can communicate and faster they can … (7 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Coke® Or Pepsi®?
- 04/15/12 08:19 AM
I do the shopping in the family. Feel a bit like the old commercial "I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan." I don't mind. Every time my husband goes to the market he comes home with such practical things as smoked trout and granulated honey....don't ask.
This week I was stocking up on soda as my son was having a "movie night" party and teenagers need lots of junk food for this. I was picking up the 12 packs of Coca Cola® and Dr. Pepper®...and noticed the reduced prices of Pepsi® at the … (89 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Are Realtors® Here To "Protect Homeownership"?
- 03/29/12 08:34 AM
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has an ad campaign claiming that Realtors® are here to protect home ownership. It's a bittersweet conversation between a grandfather and his grandchild while they sit on the grandfather's porch. The child hopes to have a home just like it someday....and the wistful grandfather says "I hope so......" It's clear that we are to get from this that the future is so uncertain that owning a home is no longer a fixed fact.
The advertisement then goes on to explain that the members of the NAR are here to protect home … (31 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Your Offer Price....From The Listing Agent's Perspective
- 03/19/12 01:24 AM
So you've found a great home in Mission Viejo and are ready to write an offer. The home is the right size, right neighborhood and within your budget.....great. Now comes the moment of truth, you hold your breath and out comes a number.
The offer price.
This is where the experience of your Mission Viejo Buyer's agent comes into play, if you listen. What to offer is a very tricky business. The first thing you need to know is what is the home worth....based on comparable listings. This is very important because the last thing you want to do is … (40 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Comparing Apples To Pears
- 02/22/12 09:59 AM
I know...typically this would be apples and oranges, but the only graphic I could find has a pear instead. At first I thought, "this doesn't make any sense"! Then I started to think about it, and actually it's a pretty good analogy.
Every buyer wants to know if the home they are considering is a good value. Of course they do....but how to tell these days?
I hear all the time from these self-comping (is that even a word) buyers; they are using "comps" from Zillow, they are checking "solds" from Trulia, they are seeing "current" price-per-square-footage from Redfin. … (46 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Agressive Agents.....Pitbull vs Professional
- 02/16/12 07:21 AM
I had a listing presentation this week. This was a good old fashioned equity seller....remember those? The ones who really cared about what the sales price turned out to be? I love those.
The seller has owned the house for over 15 years; that's a lifetime when it comes to real estate markets. Naturally he had a lot of questions about how to effectively sell his Mission Viejo home.
"How agressive are you in your representation?"
Not that unusual of a question. Buyers and sellers both want to know that their agent is going to represent them and their … (129 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: I Know That's Not What You Wanted To Hear
- 02/09/12 09:55 AM
I feel like so much of my time these days is giving bad news to good people! It's tough! Buyers and sellers are getting bad news from me. But honest news.
Short Sale Sellers are hearing:
The home value is so low that they have to do a short sale The Short Sale "might" result in an income tax bill There is a sale date scheduled The buyer walked Equity Sellers are hearing:
The real value of their home, not what they wish it were The home down the street is listed 30% less because it is a … (78 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Correcting A Bad Hair Color....Cheaper Than Correcting A Bad Real Estate Deal
- 01/31/12 02:58 AM
I got my hair done yesterday. At my age, and with my amount of hair, this is a long process. Base color to hide my roots, highlights to pretend it's sun-streaked, trim, style...you get the idea.
I do enjoy it though...the salon I go to is filled with friends of mine. These are women that my kids have gone to school with and clients and personel all have a great time.
Yesterday, however, one poor woman was having major color correction done. She had been "impatient" (her word not mine) and a bit "cheap" and had tried a … (48 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: I'm Just A Realtor®....I Can't Put A Hex On You
- 01/25/12 10:24 AM
I am just a Realtor®! I don't wear a black cape or carry poison apples. I don't know any (good) spells. My sword skills are sorely lacking. I have never been convicted accused of kidnapping.
I'm really not that scary!
But I do scare people. I hear from time to time that someone was "afraid" to call/email me. Why is that? How could that be? I mean "little old me"?
Ok.....I get it. Taking that step, talking to a real estate agent, you might end up listing your house or worse.....BUYING A HOUSE. We have a habit of finding … (20 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: The Toilet Paper Doesn't Fit The Holder Anymore
- 12/30/11 03:19 AM
The little things can frustrate us when they change. The things we take for granted? The things we do automatically? The things we use daily?
A big fallout of the recession is the consumer products industry....in particular the grocery products. The manufacturers have been hit with higher production costs, higher transportation costs and less consumer spending.....how could they adjust and continue to be profitable?
They knew that they couldn't raise prices proportionally to the increase in production costs....people would stop buying the non-essentials.
So rather than raising prices to the level that they would need to to … (84 comments)
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mission viejo real estate: Who Is The Conductor Of The Real Estate Transaction? Well....Me Of Course
- 12/07/11 03:34 AM
In every transaction of every kind there is....or should be...one main point of contact. This is true in all successful ventures....
One Head ChefOne CEOOne CaptainOne ConductorMom
And it's true in real estate.....and that person is ME!
I consider my "job" STARTING once we open escrow....not ending. This is the point when things can progress smoothly or go awry. The problems arise often because each individual person in the transaction is also an independent contractor...self-employed.
The escrow companyThe home inspectorThe mortgage brokerThe insurance brokerThe appraiser
It takes a special personality to be able to work independently. These are strong personalities but … (15 comments)
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