Here’s a true story. Recently Judi found herself deciding to exchange her large ranch-style home for a smaller, easier to maintain condominium. She didn’t know how soon she would be able to get it on the market, so she wanted to delay contacting her real estate agent.... Read More
On the HGTV series Buying and Selling, families simultaneously try to sell their homes and buy new ones. It’s a high-stress process, but they get help from the show’s hosts — Jonathan and Drew Scott, well known from their other show, Property Brothers — ab... Read More
Sometimes it can be very profitable indeed to be out of step with everyone else. Just like heading to your favorite restaurant or shop during off-hours can get you a good selection with little hassle, shopping for a home during slow times of the year can have a big impact on whet... Read More
The report that the San Francisco real estate market is picking up is better news to sellers than it is to buyers. But this column is the Mystery Housebuyer, not the Mystery Houseseller, so we’re interested with how this affects the person hoping to own a prospective home. ... Read More
Fans of HGTV’s House Hunters program have been forced to reconsider that series. Each House Hunters features a person or couple touring three homes before they select one. We watch them consider the high and low points of each house and its price, and then they make their d... Read More
In the late 1990s, the National Association of Realtors was faced with its worse fear: What if people didn’t need Real estate agents anymore because everyone could find house ads online without the need of the NAR Multiple Listing Service? But a funny thing happened on the ... Read More
San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting announced in February that about 84% of the home mortgages that have been foreclosed on in the city contained at least one error in their documentation. I was not surprised, because early in my hunt for a home I had the displeasure of fin... Read More