Although this column is about real estate, it includes important information for anyone handling high-dollar transactions electronically. Whether you’re wiring money for real estate, a vehicle, or equipment, you can lose a lot of money in a hurry if you don’t know how to spot wire fraud. Sadly, this happened recently when a family here … Read more
Last week, I shared information about how to be the buyer whose offer is accepted. While I cannot provide a fail-safe way to guarantee your offer will be chosen, I can certainly give you good advice that will put your offer near the top of the list: get pre-approved for a loan. Remember, property owners … Read more
When property owners put their house on the market, they want to sell at the highest price in the shortest time period with the least inconvenience. Rather than chasing the promise of a few more dollars, many sellers will go for the sure thing. As long as offers are fairly close on price, sellers often … Read more
Many people in the real estate business have heard horror stories about home-improvement projects gone awry, made worse when the company hired was not insured and the homeowner was left to foot the bill. Here’s the type of scenario I’m talking about. Imagine Heather the Homeowner hires a contractor to complete a small home renovation. … Read more
I was at a seminar recently and the speaker, a respected economist, made me feel way better about the economy. Traditionally in America, we’ve faced an economic recession about every seven years, so by that measure, we’re overdue for a downturn. However, if you look at economic indicators, this speaker made a solid argument for … Read more
On July 1, 2019, updates to the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) went into effect, requiring landlords to adhere to new safe harbor warnings for California residential property. Safe harbor provisions are those that define actions that should prevent you from running afoul of a given law. I’ll get … Read more
In county government, the Planning and Building Department has the biggest impact on real estate. This is why I’m so pleased to introduce Brent Schultz, the new department director. Brent has spent the last 33 years working in city and county government, so you’d think he and I wouldn’t have much in common since one … Read more
Many of us can hardly imagine going a full week without electricity, but that is precisely what Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is telling us to prepare for. In the wake of devastating wildfire seasons, PG&E has warned local residents that if weather conditions meet certain criteria, PG&E will shut off power to the electrical … Read more
Landlords and tenants often see things from very different perspectives. Our property management service has dealt with all sorts of disagreements. Sometimes the landlords are right. Sometimes the tenants are right. Here are a few interesting cases. What Happens to the Lease Once the Property Sells? Imagine you own an investment property, a single-family home … Read more