News from BLG Properties
Thrillist has released a report of the most expensive homes for sale in every state including a $3.7 million home in Nebraska, where BLG Properties founder Doug Bend grew up, to a $135 million home in Beverly Hills, California. You can review the full report here.
Would you like to buy or sell a home in San Francisco? If so, please give us a call at 415-295-6370.
Typically when you sell a property you have to pay taxes on the capital gain.
A few exceptions apply to this rule, including a 1031 exchange which allows an investor to differ the capital gain if they invest in a property of a "like-kind".
It is key to work with a trust advisor in making sure that all of the boxes are checked for the tax deferral to apply, such as:
(i) making sure the replacement property has the same or greater amount of debt and is of a "like-kind";
(ii) within 45 days from the date of sale of the relinquished property you identify up to three potential replacement properties and
(iii) you may identify up to three replacement properties and acquire one, two or all three of the properties.
Interested in learning more about 1031 exchanges? Please contact us at Doug@BLGProperties.com or 415-295-6370.
It is not a legal requirement to work with a real estate agent to buy a home, but here are seven reasons why you should consider doing so:
A solid real estate agent will have their thumb on the pulse of the real estate market and can best advise you on whether a particular listing is the best fit for you or if you should be patient and wait for another opportunity .
An honest real estate agent can tell you how much it will likely cost to make anticipated improvements to a home so you can determine a fair offer price.
They can also introduce you to quality contractors to make those improvements once the purchase has been completed.
An experienced real estate agent will not only add value with their services and expertise, but will be able to recommend a quality mortgage broker and home inspector.
In addition, because the real estate agent works with the mortgage broker and home inspector on a repeat basis there will be added accountability for them to be responsive and to provide quality services for a fair rate.
A savvy real estate agent will provide you with additional options. For example, you might have your heart set on a particular condo across the street from At&t Ballpark but a good agent will provide you with additional listings to make sure that condo really is your best option and to at least consider some alternatives.
Some of the best deals are never listed on MLS. A well connected real estate agent can sometimes present you with "pocket listing" opportunities that the real estate agent heard about through word of mouth that have not hit the open market yet. Pocket listings can be particularly important in a hot real estate market to possibly find you a purchase option at a good value before it hits the open market.
A knowledgeable real estate agent will be able to spot any non-standard disclosures made by the home seller that might indicate future homeowner problems. In addition, a solid real estate agent will know the professionals who can provide accurate estimates of what it will cost to fix those problems once they pass from being on the home seller's plate to being the home buyer's problem.
If you do not purchase a home, your real estate agent will earn no commission. Even if you do purchase a home, your real estate agent's commission will be paid out of the sales price of the home by the seller at closing. In California, if you are not represented by your own real estate agent the seller's real estate agent can get both sides of the commission. You might as well be represented by a zealous advocate of your interests instead of having the seller's real estate agent theoretically represent both your interests and the seller's interests so they can earn twice the commission.
Are you looking for a rock star real estate agent to help you find the perfect home? Please e-mail us at Doug@BLGProperties.com or call us at (415) 295-6370.
Looking for a great home? Here are four questions to ask to help you separate the wheat from the chaff.
A great starting point is to get pre-approved for a mortgage so you know the home you can truly afford.
You may want a ten story mansion with a pool and a basketball court, but can you realistically afford it? Even if you can afford the mortgage payments, would you be "home broke." That is, would you have anything left over after paying for your home mortgage for travel, eating out and other things you enjoy in life?
Do you want to live in the city? A suburb? The countryside?
Particularly if you will be moving from one area to a new type of location you should consider moving to the new location for one to three months to give it a living test drive.
You may like the idea of living in the countryside and having your own garden but what would be your commute to work? How far is the closest grocery store? What will you do for entertainment?
It is better to experience the pros and cons of a new environment on a trial run than after you have made a large financial and life commitment to make the shift.
Do you want to live in a historic home? A condo? A home with a beautiful, big yard?
Do some research to make sure you know of the time and financial commitments of the type of home you want to live in.
A historic home might seem nice on paper, but what are the restraints on renovations? What are the energy bills like?
The pool at the condo might seem inviting, but what are the HOA fees? Are you game for dealing with all of the HOA rules?
You might envision yourself sitting on your deck overlooking your big, beautiful yard, but are you will to commit several hours a week to taking care of the yard or to spending money on a gardener?
Be sure to give some serious thought not only about the upsides of a potential home purchase, but also the time and financial commitments to maintaining the home.
Before buying a home, give serious consideration as to what you want your day to day life to be.
For example, do you have children? Then you should pay more attention to the schools in the neighborhood than if you are 55 and are planning to retire.
Do you have a car? If so, is there suitable street parking or should a garage be a must have?
Every home buyer is different and so each one will have a different home that would be ideal for their dream lifestyle.
Finding your ideal home takes time and thoughtful consideration. Do you need a fantastic real estate agent to help you find your ideal home? If so, give us a call at (415) 297-6370.
Just as important as the home you purchase is the neighborhood you purchase it in. Here are a few tips on finding a neighborhood that is safe and has great schools, but that also hits all of your other must haves.
1. The 20,000 Foot View.
If you just pull up to a house you might not be aware of key neighborhood features, the good and the bad, that are nearby.
Check out the home's address on Google maps to get the bigger picture of close by amenities, such as playgrounds and dog parks, or items that might decrease your day to day enjoyment of your home, such as train tracks or large power lines.
2. Property Taxes.
Many homeowners don't discover what the property taxes will be until they receive the first tab from the government.
Property taxes can vary considerably not only state by state but county by county and so do your homework to get an estimate of these taxes before, and not after, you buy your home.
3. Schools.
Even if you do not have children, the quality of the schools in your neighborhood can impact the long term value of your home. Take a few minutes to check out a school evaluation website, such as www.greatschools.org, to make sure that a potential buyer of your home won't run in the other direction if they care about the quality of the neighborhood's schools.
4. Don't Be Shy - Meet Your Potential Neighbors.
Knock on the door of your potential neighbors, introduce yourself and ask them if there is anything they wish they knew before they moved into the neighborhood.
You'd be shocked at the quality of information you can find out about your potential new home with a handshake and a smile.
5. HOA Restrictions.
It is worthwhile to review the HOA restrictions, particularly the rules that govern any issues that are of importance to you.
For example, some HOA regulations limit the number and size of pets a homeowner can have. You don't want to move into your dream home only to find out that Toto has to go.
6. Visit The Home More Than Once.
Visit the neighborhood more than once at different times of the day to make sure that there are no noise or other potential nuisances not only when the home seller ideally wants you to be there, but at other times of the day as well.
7. Crime History.
Do a bit of digging into the crimes that have occurred in the neighborhood by visiting mylocalcrime.com.
By researching what crimes have happened in your potential new neighborhood you can get a better handle of what you might expect if you move in.
8. Be Aware Of Sex Offenders.
If you have children you should visit the national sex offender's database at NSOPW.gov.
Even if you do not have children, buying a home close to a sex offender might make the next potential buyer walk away.
9. Other Safety Concerns.
RealtyTrac.com has resources to help you evaluate the risk of earthquakes, tornadoes and former drug labs.
All of this might seem like a great deal of work, but the time you invest now in researching your new neighborhood can pay huge dividends not only on the quality of life you will have at your new home, but also on your home's resale value.
By doing your homework, you will not only be more likely to enjoy your new home but you are also likely to get a higher sales price when you sell it as many of the neighborhood features that are important to you are also likely to be important to the next buyer.
Want help finding a great neighborhood to purchase a home? Give us a call at (415) 295-6370.
It can be difficult to find good deals on a home, particularly in a hot real estate market. That being said, here are four ways for finding a great deal on your next home.
Sometimes real estate agents will leverage their connections to find a buyer for a home without ever listing the home.
Homes that are never listed are called “pocket listings.”
The National Association of Realtors estimates that 30% of all inventory in Northern California is currently pocket listings.
If you are interested in finding a good deal by purchasing a home that is a pocket listing, it is key to working with a real estate agent who has a strong network as many pocket listings are sold through word of mouth.
Zillow has a feature that allows sellers to post a price that they would be willing to sell their non-listed home. That being said, most of the Make Me Move prices are above market prices.
Real estate agents will sometimes give other real estate agents a heads up that they will soon be listing a great home.
Similar to pocket listings, it is key to work with a well connected real estate agent who has a strong network and who is more likely to learn of great homes that will be listed soon.
Some of the best home deals are found through leveraging your network. Don't be shy to e-mail family, friends and colleagues or to post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or your other social media channels what you are looking for. You'd be surprised at the number of times a home buyer has heard of a friend of a friend who is considering selling their ideal home.
Looking for a well connected real estate agent to help you find you a great home in San Francisco? Contact us at Doug@blgproperties.com.
Mortgage rates hit a new 2015 high the week of July 5th with the 30-year fixed-rate rising to 4.08%. There have now been three consecutive weeks of mortgage rates over 4%.
With the increase in mortgage rates there has been a decrease in refinance applications, which fell by 5% for the week ending June 26.
Need a great real estate agent to help you buy a home? E-mail us at Doug@BLGProperties.com.
When trying to determine which real estate agent to work with, the various titles real estate agents use can be very confusing. Here is a breakdown of the key distinctions between a real estate agent, a real estate broker and a Realtor®.
A real estate agent is anyone who has a real estate license. A real estate agent could have two days of experience or twenty years of experience. A real estate agent, therefore, is a very generic description for anyone who has a real estate license, regardless of the amount of real estate experience or the level of licensing.
Most states have a preliminary associate level of real estate license before someone is a full real estate broker. Associate brokers are required to work under a fully licensed real estate broker.
For example, in California you are required to be an associate broker for at least two years before you can sit for the test to become a real estate broker unless you submit an application to have the two year associate broker requirement waived for equivalent experience.
Doug Bend with BLG Properties is not only an associate broker, but a full real estate broker.
A Realtor® is a real estate agent who is a member of the National Association of Realtors®.
If a real estate agent wants to call themselves a Realtor®, they are required to pay the National Association of Realtors® dues and to follow its code of ethics.
Like a real real estate agent, a Realtor® could have two days or twenty years of experience.
Don't be confused by the various titles of real estate agents. Instead, focus on finding the real estate broker whom you feel most comfortable working with and who has the best experience to help you and your family find an amazing home.
Trying to find the best real estate agent to help you buy or sell your home in the Bay Area? E-mail us at Doug@BLGProperties.com.
Real estate agents are typically paid a commission that is a percentage of the sale price of a home.
Many home buyers and sellers assume that the commission that is offered is a legally required amount and cannot be negotiated with the real estate agent.
However, a certain set percentage commission is not required by law and you can offer your real estate agent a lower commission percentage or a flat fee for representing you in a successful transaction.
Real estate agents who work for larger brokerage firms may not have the flexibility to change the amount of commission they charge but smaller real estate firms, such as BLG Properties, are sometimes open to a lower commission percentage or a fixed fee depending on the complexity of the transaction, the time of the year and the amount of work that needs to be completed.
For example, the standard 2.5% commission might be fair if it is a busy time of the year for real estate transactions or if the house will need a significant amount of work to find a suitable buyer, but it might be too high if you are buying a new condo in San Francisco's financial district and the agent will likely only do a few hours of work.
If your real estate agent offers you a standard commission rate, consider asking for a lower percentage or a fixed fee. Depending on the details of the transaction and who the real estate agent works for you might save yourself thousand of dollars on the transaction.
Need a great real estate agent to help you find the perfect home? Give us a call at (415) 295-6370.
Uncertain whether to accept an offer for the sale of your home or keep your home on the market to get a higher price?
This is often the most difficult question to answer when selling your home. To make matters worse, your real estate agent is incentivized to push you to accept a low offer even if they could get you a higher sale price with a bit more work.
Why is that the case? Well, your real estate agent earns a commission on the sale price of your house (often 2.5% to 6% depending on the location and whether the real estate agent just represents you or represents both you and the buyer).
If you believe the true value of your home is $1,100,000 but you accept an offer for $1,050,000 your real estate agent might earn $26,250 (2.5% of $1,050,000).
In contrast, a real estate agent who has your best interests in mind might offer to work even harder to find a buyer to buy your home for $1,100,000 but by doing so would only earn an additional $1,250 (2.5% of the $50,000 higher purchase price).
Many real estate agents might be tempted to encourage the home seller to instead accept the offer of $1,050,000 because on an hourly basis they would be earning far less working an additional twenty hours to possibly obtain a sale price of $1,100,000 (only $1,250 more) than encourage the home seller to accept the $1,050,000 low ball offer and then moving on to the next client to get another 2.5% commission on the full sale price of a million dollar home.
This is particularly the case given that the real estate agent would not only be spending more time but also likely more money on advertising to get the optimal sales price of $1,100,000.
And to top things off, there is the risk that even after the additional work and expenditures the real estate agent might not find a buyer that is willing to pay $1,100,000 for the purchase of the home.
It is, therefore, crucial that you work with a real estate agent who is going to keep your best interests in mind to help you get the best purchase price for your home instead of accepting a low offer.
Do a gut check: Is your real estate agent likely to accept a lower offer so they can move on to the next deal to earn the 2.5% commission on the full purchase price on the sale of another home? Or will they make every effort to help you squeeze out another $10,000 or $20,000 to make sure you get the top price for your home?
As a home seller, you should also take a real estate agent's advise as to whether accept an offer with a grain or two of salt. Is it really a good idea to accept the offer? Or should you work with a different real estate agent who is willing to work twice as hard to make sure you get the top purchase price for your home?
Need help with the sale of your home? Give us a call at (415) 295-6370. We will put in as much time and hard work to make sure you get the highest possible sale price for your home.
