What Happens During a Home Inspection?

Home inspections are extremely useful, but there are a few things about home inspections that every buyer needs to know.

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If you are buying a home, there are a few important things that you should know about home inspections.

First of all, you can choose your home inspector. Your agent is not required to choose the inspector for you, although they can make a few recommendations. Whether you use an inspector your agent recommends or you find one on your own, make sure that the inspector is a member of the National Association of Home Inspectors.

Members of the NAHI must complete an approved home inspection training program. Remember, this is the biggest investment of your life; you don’t want to hire just anyone to do the inspection for you.

Home inspections are intended to point out adverse conditions, not cosmetic flaws. Your home inspector will pay attention to the structural integrity of the home, the HVAC system, the appliances, and more.

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Hire an inspector who belongs to the National Association of Home Inspectors.

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I recommend that you attend the home inspection. That way, you can follow the inspector throughout the property and learn which issues are important and which are not. Not every home is perfect, and an inspection on any home is bound to uncover some flaws. Your inspector will focus on things that need to be repaired.

At the end of the inspection, you will receive a report highlighting the issues your inspector noted. Your home inspector considers hundreds of items during an inspection. On the exterior of the home, they will look at the steps, the roof, the windows, and the doors. Inside the home, inspectors focus on the attic, electrical components, crawl spaces (if there are any), and the garage. They will also check on working items like faucets.

Finally, keep in mind that home inspectors work for the party who pays the fee. In most cases, the buyer pays for the home inspection. After all, you are the one who will assume ownership of the property, so it’s up to you to do your due diligence. It doesn’t matter if you are a cash buyer or if you need financing — you should definitely order a home inspection so that you know exactly which areas in the home need work.

If you have any questions about home inspections or you're thinking about buying or selling a home in Rancho Cucamonga, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help.

Why Fall Is a Great Time to Buy a House

In our real estate market, fall might just be the best time to buy a home. There are four main reasons why that I wanted to share with you.

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Many of you have asked me why fall is the best time to sell a home. You might hear Realtors say that any season is the best season to buy a home, but it really depends on the conditions out there. Is it a buyer's or seller's market? What properties are you looking at?

Our market is currently a seller's market because there is not enough inventory and there are not enough people who are qualified to buy a house. However, here are the top four reasons why fall might just be the best time to buy your house:

1. Lower home prices. October is the best month to snag a deal when buying. That's not just a random guess; it's based on a Realty Tracks analysis of more than 32 million home sales over the past 15 years. On average, October buyers pay 2.6% below market value at the time of purchase.
2. Less competition. Like a beach after Labor Day, the Realty market starts to clear out as the days turn crisp. After the summer when all the home buying frenzies out there are over, inventory levels get even lower than they already were. Most summer buyers have already found a home, meaning that fall buyers will have less competition on the market, too.
3. The holidays are around the corner. Most home sellers are worn out after the summer selling season, but they're also caught between a real estate rock and a hard place because the holidays are bearing down on them if they want to settle in before then. Buyers who want to move in time to host Thanksgiving and put up the Christmas tree need to close now–use that window to your advantage like a savvy Realtor would.
4. Year-end tax credits. Nobody wants to buy a house purely to make their accountant happy, but there is an incentive to closing a home at the end of the year. Come April 15th, you might be able to take some serious tax deductions like property taxes, closing costs, or mortgage insurance.
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   Fall real estate is like the beach after Labor Day.

   
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If you have any more questions about buying a home this fall, give me a call or send me an email soon. I'd love to talk through your situation with you!

A Home Buying Checklist to Keep You From Buying the Wrong Home

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Here is a list of things you shouldn’t overlook when in the process of buying a new home:

1. Bedroom count and general floor plan. You may be tempted by a house because it’s staged nicely, but you have to look beyond the furnishings and see if it has what you really need.
2. What direction the house faces. Facing West is great if you like to watch the sunset every day, but not so great when your electric bill is skyrocketing because your air conditioning is running non-stop.
3. The status of the structural walls. If you’re contemplating a future renovation, you want to make sure the walls you want to remove aren’t load-bearing walls. In this instance it would be a good idea to bring a structural engineer along with you to take a look at it.
4. Is there enough pantry space? Though this can be easily remedied with a quick renovation, it can often be a deal-breaker for many people.
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   The better the school system, the better the value of your home.

   
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5. What shape is the floor in? Replacing floors can be an expensive undertaking.
6. Is there an HOA? This is important to know if you’re looking to paint the home purple or display your collection of flamingoes on the front lawn.
7. Schools in the area. Even in you don’t have kids and don’t plan to, a good school district is important to a home’s value. In fact, a lot of home values are primarily driven by the school system in closest proximity. The better the school system, the better the value of your home.
8. Acoustics. If there is an echo coming from the upstairs bonus room, think of how bad it will be once you have two kids playing in it.

Remember, even though these things don’t seem relevant, they are just as important in conducting a successful new home search. If you have any questions or topics we haven’t dealt with, don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email.

5 Ways to Impress Buyers with Your Front Landscape

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How can you wow buyers with your front landscape? I have five easy tips for catching the wandering eye:

1. Cut the grass. The last thing a buyer wants is to feel like they’re on safari while walking up to your house. This means that the lawnmower needs to come out at least every other week, even in dry climates such as ours.
2. Plant more shade trees. This one is especially important here in Southern California. Shade trees not only appeal to the buyer’s aesthetic, but they also help you with your cooling costs during the summer months.
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   Keeping the outside clean implies
   that you take care of the inside, too.

   
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3. Install outdoor lighting. This is one of the most beneficial ways to allow people to see what your property looks like at night when they’re doing drive-bys to check out the neighborhood. Include a design concept that accentuates your plants and your front walkway.
4. Add more color. Don’t be afraid to use flowers. Perennials are the best choice because they are low maintenance and year-round. Color attracts the eyes in a positive way and demonstrates that you’ve been taking care of the property.
5. Keep everything clean. Regardless of whatever landscape you have, keeping the outside clean implies to the buyer that you know how to keep the inside clean, too.

If there is a point or topic I haven’t yet discussed that you would like me to talk about, give me a call or shoot me an email and I’d be happy to discuss it with you at our next session.

What a Seller Should Never Talk About When Showing Their Home

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When you’re showing a home, there are some things you should never talk about with a buyer, regardless of how innocent the topic may be. These things are:

1. The sale price.
2. The length of time the home has been for sale.
3. Why you’ve decided to sell.
4. Any price reduction considerations.
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   Anything a seller says can and will be
   used against them during negotiations.

   
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5. The comparable sale price of other homes.
6. The number of other offers you’ve received.
7. How quickly you’d like to close.

Asking how many offers you’ve received or wanting to know how quickly you’d like to close are a buyer’s way of gauging how motivated you are to sell. Anything a seller says can and will be used against them when negotiations for the home commence. If you say, for example, that you’d like to move quickly because you’ve got another home in escrow, you can expect to get a low-ball offer.

The best thing a seller can say are these magic words: “You’ll have to ask my agent that question.” It doesn’t matter what they’re asking about the house. This is one of the reasons a seller hires a real estate agent - to sell your home. You hire us to be a buffer between the buyer and the buyer’s agent. Let us earn our commission and protect your investment.

Thanks again, and if you have any questions feel free to call or send an email.

5 Ways to Win in the Hot Southern California Market

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In such a hot market like Rancho Cucamonga, the questions of how to “win” in real estate is a common one. There are five things I think you really need to pay attention to in order to get the home you really want and beat the competitors.

1. Be informed and be proactive: You need to know about specific neighborhoods and communities you’re looking at or specific builders you want to buy from. Do the research by following them on social media and setting up Google alerts to stay on top of what’s going on with properties you like.
2. Register your home on the interest list: Open houses and new home communities have sign-in sheets and interest lists, so it’s important that the builder knows about you!
3. Work with a Realtor: Realtors have the inside track on new releases and can alert you to important property news before the public sees it. I’ve helped a buyer purchase a home before it even went onto the MLS.
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   Realtors have the inside track on new releases.

   
   ”
4. Get pre-approved: I can’t emphasize this enough - it’s so important because many people don’t do it! Many are interested in buying a home but haven’t yet talked to a lender. Realtors can set you up with a good lender who can let you know what you can afford. If you find a home you love but you’re not pre-approved, you could lose out to a competitor who does have pre-approval.
5. Talk to your Realtor about options and upgrades: This is important for new homes. In new build communities, they trick the homes out with upgrades, which raises the base price. It’s important to know the amount that’s raised by upgrades because the actual price is usually well beyond the base price. Know your wants and your must-haves.

Thanks for watching! If you have any questions for us, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.

How Erick shared his knowledge and time to help us find a home and keep everything moving ahead of schedule.

“Well, you know we met him at one of his open houses that happened to be in our old neighborhood. It was a house that was out of our price range. But while we were there he immediately started jumping on looking at other prospects for us, as far as what we were looking for and what we were thinking about. And we did tell him that we were probably going to wait till the fall to jump into the market to just kind of stay out of the way of the springtime/summer buyer and seller traffic. And he then he showed us the interest rates, where they were at the time, what the market was doing as far as what we were interested in, and he really showed us the importance of maybe going ahead and moving on it, like now. It made sense, we appreciated his knowledge, his area knowledge as far as this area we are moving back from having moved away to Santa Barbara and we are moving back to L.A. county, And so, we have been gone 10 years. He caught us up on what has been going on and we ended up putting in offers in on a couple homes before we finally got to this third one. Erick made sure the offer was presented. He stayed in touch with the other agents, he has been right there hand and hand with them even after they accepted our offer. He got our inspection people, the agency we were going to use, got us in touch with them right away, was able to get the appointments and stuff scheduled. Everything has just moved ahead of schedule really, thanks to him."

- Rozalyn McFarland

What To Do Before, During, and After an Open House

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Open houses can be very rewarding, but only if you approach them in the right way.  Here’s what to look out for before, during, and after an open house.

Before the open house, get a feel for the neighborhood. Drive around during the day and at night. Also, take a look at the condition of the other homes in the neighborhood and see how they are maintained. Take a look at common areas like parks as well.

During the open house, go in with a critical eye, but be able to look past minor cosmetic or design issues that blatantly stand out. Don’t mind the furniture, take note of the size of the room. Do keep an eye out for any big issues, like structural damage.

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You shouldn’t feel rushed.

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After the open house, the first thing you want to do is set an appointment to see the property again as soon as you can with your Realtor. Take your time when looking, because you don’t want to feel rushed. You will know the right property when you see it, so just trust your gut. Don’t take too much time, however, because the market is moving fast.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to  give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you out.

How working with Erick Carpenter has been a successful experience.

“We worked together in the past in real estate and that’s basically how we, in various different ways regarding we got home loans and estimates, that’s the type of relationship we have. Mostly business, more so. We have a great relationship working in business together. And like I said, we had some real estate investments in the past that were successful in the years past. I think our working, me and him working together, we have a pretty good working relationship.”

-Ammanuel Brooks

How Long Will My Home Take to Sell in Southern California?

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It’s a question that comes up every time a seller lists their home: how long will it take to sell my home?

The average home sits on the market for 100 days in Rancho Cucamonga, but it really depends on two things: location and price.

When it comes to price, no matter the area, you want to make sure you’re priced competitively to attract the most attention. Homes here in California may not sit on the market as long as they might in the Midwest for example, but even homes in California will typically sit longer on the market in desert areas as opposed to the suburbs. Regardless of area, it’s important to attract attention with a competitive price.

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You want to make sure
you’re priced competitively.

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Additionally, your chances of selling in a short amount of time increase greatly when you price competitively. Hiring a real estate professional will help you determine what that competitive price point will be.

If you are looking to sell, I'd love to be the real estate professional who helps you!

We’ve Got a Hot Market in the Inland Empire

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Today we are happy to be joined by our in-office lender, Mike Esposito of NFM Lending, to discuss what’s going on in the market currently. 

Right now, interest rates are at an all-time low. People were concerned at the end of last year that they would go up, but the opposite has happened. We are seeing multiple offers on many of our listings, and rates are as low as they have ever been. If you’re looking to take advantage of this, you need to give Mike a call at 909-227-7420 and he can get you hooked up with the lowest interest rate out there.

So, the big question we always get is, “Are we in a buyer’s or seller’s market?” Primarily, we are in a seller’s market, due to our low inventory. There simply aren’t enough homes for sale, so if you’ve been thinking about selling your home, now is the time to get top dollar. We have an entire network of buyers who are ready to purchase, and may already have a buyer for your home.

Another reason to consider selling now is that you can still get a mortgage for your new home at a good price. If you have an agent like myself, or a lender like Mike, we can get you a great interest rate on your mortgage.

In areas like Diamond Bar, homes are still holding their value. Although they are staying on the market longer, the fact that there are so few homes on the market means they can sit until someone ends up paying the price. There are buyers out in the market looking to take advantage of low rates, and homes priced between $300,000 and $600,000 are selling especially quickly.

If you have any questions for us, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!