Buyer Tips

A lot of people say that investing in a rental property is one of their best investment decisions. Since I also own investment properties in addition to selling residential real estate, this is a topic that’s very near and dear to my heart. So if you’re thinking about buying your own investment properties in East Bay, here is a list of things to think about before you start shopping for your first investment home.

A lot of times, my clients are always asking me “Hey! How do I know how much cash do I need to bring in to close this deal outside of my down payment?” Today, I’ll walk you through how exactly I estimate these closing costs using the Buyer’s Net Sheet Tool of my go-to company, Placer Title Company. 

It may look like a boring document but from its name, a Natural Hazard Report determines if a property is within a designated hazard zone. These zones may include natural hazards such as floods, earthquake faults, and wildfires.

In California, home sellers and real estate agents are required by the law to provide potential home buyers with a Natural Hazard Report. If you think of its purpose and how it can affect your insurability and the thousands of dollars you’ll potentially use to pay for your home insurance, it probably will not look as boring anymore.  

Whether it’s your first time or your nth time buying a house, the negotiation with the seller can be tricky. The last thing home buyers would want to hear from a seller is a NO that’s why they usually want to grab opportunities to have an edge over their competition, like choosing an expert buyer’s agent and preparing ahead for the negotiations. But what should you know exactly to be able to prepare for the negotiations? Read my negotiation tips for home buyers below.

After hours and days and weeks of searching, you’ve finally found the house of your dreams. The first step to really owning that house? You now have to make an offer. But how do you figure out when an offer is fair, too much, or too little? Here is where “comps” come in.

Imagine this: after days and days of searching online, you’ve finally found a house that matches all that you’re looking for in a home. You decide to visit it, end up liking it even more, but then you realize you have a problem—a lot of other people also want to buy that home. Worse scenario? When you have this problem with not just one but two or probably, even more of your options.