Issue #207
In This Issue
Welcome / This Week's Special Offer
Welcome To The Latest Issue
Hello! Hope all is well with you and your family. By the way, we’ve got a great opportunity coming up for you if you’re interested in real estate investing. It’s a free seminar coming April 20th. CLICK HERE for flyer, more info, & free sign-up
True Story: You’ve Entered The Bizarre Petting Zoo Zone
A gentleman called me to sell his home. Walking into his living room, I was greeted with a macabre petting zoo out of the Twilight Zone. A hunter, he’d filled his living room with full-size stuffed bears and moose and deer and you-name-it-he-shot-and-stuffed-it. How could I tell him his prized possessions would turn off prospective buyers? Fortunately, he already knew and wasn’t offended. So the zoo was lovingly placed in a large storage unit (no air holes).
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To search for a home right now, click here: Free MLS Homesearch
FREE “My Income Taxes Are Killing Me” Home-Buying Analysis
Did you just get BLASTED by taxes?! Uncle Sam wants to slash your taxes when you buy a home or move up to a bigger one. That’s because mortgage interest and property taxes are tax-deductible. How much could YOU save? We’ve arranged for a CPA to analyze your tax return FREE and tell you. He’ll explain how to start enjoying those savings NOW without waiting for a tax refund in 2007. Call us at (858)457-KENT now and we’ll arrange your free analysis.
Got School Info?
If you want information on San Diego County schools, go to one of my websites: SanDiegoRealEstateInsider.com and click on “San Diego Schools”.
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Remember to email your questions, comments, compliments, corrections, critiques, & rebuttals to Questions@GaryKent.com.
Gary's Real Estate Seminars
FREE SEMINAR April 20th / Thursday 6-8PM
"Discover Exactly Where I'm Investing MY Money In 2006"
...Positive Cash Flow Apartments With Appreciation & ZERO Management
At "Forum Hall" at the UTC Mall in University City
CLICK HERE for flyer, more info, & free sign-up
Want to build wealth through real estate? Want an easy, hands-off investment
with appreciation and consistent positive cashflow? I've found a great
opportunity that my wife and I are investing in, as have 23 of my clients.
If you have 100K to 5M to invest and want to find out more...
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now, click here or call (858)457-KENT!
Homebuying Question
"Hi Gary. I’m writing in response to what you wrote Friday about
it being a great time to buy a home. My wife and I looked for a home
a year ago and things were so bad, we gave up. Prices were too high
and we kept getting beat out by other buyers, even when we offered full
price. Things are different now. We started looking again in February.
Just like you said, prices were down a little and we were able to get
a smokin’ deal on a really nice 4-bedroom home University City. Plus
we got the owner to pay $10,000 of our closing costs. We’re thrilled.
Why do you think the market is so good to buy right now?"
***ANSWER:
It’s simple supply and demand.
Due to negative media coverage, many homebuyers are afraid to buy a
home at the moment, causing many homes to sit on the market, unsold.
This creates a window of opportunity right now to go out and browse
the bloated “inventory” of available homes and negotiate a good deal
on a home that meets your needs.
That’s radically opposite from a year ago. Back then, you were considered
lucky to overpay for house you didn’t even like!
"Hi Gary. I listed my home a few months ago at a low commission. At first I was happy about saving some money. But the agent has been a disaster. My home hasn’t sold and he’s done a terrible job. My contract is about up and I’d like to hire you. I should have been concerned about hiring an agent I could out-negotiate.”
***ANSWER:
Thanks for the email. You didn’t ask me a question, but I’d like to comment…
There's an old Groucho line from a Marx Brothers movie: "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."
And so it goes in real estate. What I mean is the last agent you'd want to hire is the discount broker or weak agent who'd agree to a low fee to get your business.
Why?
It’s the old universal law of "you get what you pay for". If the agent is so weak negotiating their own fee, guess what's going to happen when they're negotiating $100,000's of YOUR money?
And I see it happen every day:
Mr. Weak Agent or Ms. Discount Broker has a listing. We bring an offer and steamroll right over that agent in the negotiations. Their client loses thousands, while ours pockets those thousands. Then during the escrow, we have to do that agent’s work or -worse yet- correct their mistakes.
So my advice is to remember Groucho's old line...
(BTW: if you know what movie Groucho said that in, please email me @ GaryK@GaryKent.com & let me know. Thanks!)
Investing or Financing Question
“What’s the best way to figure out the value of a property without going through too much math? Do you recommend using times gross?”
***ANSWER:
"Times gross" is also called the "Gross Rent Multiplier" or GRM. It’s a simple method people, including many brokers, use to estimate a property's value. The downside is that it’s very inaccurate. Here’s how it works...
Take the total annual rent a property could earn if 100% fully rented. Then multiply that by a "times gross" factor common in that part of town. For example...
Say there are 6 Pacific Beach apartments with gross annual rents of $100,000, and the "times gross" for the area is 18, then the very approximate value would be: 18 x $100,000 = $1,800,000.
Hare are some BIG limitations of using the GRM approach:
1. GRM only takes into account rents and ignores expenses, condition, location, development potential, financing, etc.
2. If the rents are below market, you’ll come up with a below-market price
3. An area's GRM changes over time, there's no consensus on the number, and is not always easy to determine
My advice is NOT to depend on this approach when making your real estate investment decisions. A better approach that involves a little math (but not too much!) is called the capitalization rate, or “cap rate”.
I’ll talk about this next week…
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- Mira Mesa – Sunny 2BR/2BA top-floor corner/end unit w/ redone
kitchen, dbl-MBR floorplan, large patio, quiet location: 315-335K Contact
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- Mission Hills –6251 square
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- Mission Hills - Attention Contractors / Developers / Investors!
Build 10-11 homes on this canyon view lot. 950K-1.15M!
- Oak Park – 3BR/3BA
house w/ ocean & fireworks view deck, remodeled kitchen, hardwood floors:
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- Pacific Beach - Development Opportunity! 3BR home, approved
plans to build 2 condos. Resell or rent. Reduced: 775-850K
- Pacific Beach - 5BR/3BA “Harbour Heights” home on culdesac.
Family & bonus rooms, a/c, FPL, 3-car garage! 960K to 1.06M Contact
Me
- Phoenix, AZ - Cashflow apartments, zero management, 15% under-market!.
1031 exchange OK. $100K to $2M down.
-SOLD/Rancho Bernardo- 2410sqft 4BR+bonus house on huge 1/4-acre
culdesac lot, 3-car garage, no Mello-Roos! 675-745K Contact
Me
- Vista – Price Reduction!
Secluded hilltop 4br/3ba, 3000sqft, home on big lot: 749-999K
Call me at (858)457-KENT to find out more or arrange a private showing...
Thank you Betty F. for
referring a neighbor to sell their home…
Thank you Maria & Chris H. for your referrals…
If I haven’t told you lately, I am honored and appreciate your generous
referrals!
Have a great week...
GARY KENT
"The Agent You See EVERYWHERE"
All-Time #1 Agent/Team In San Diego County for RE/MAX
21 Years Experience -- 3,000+ Homes Sold
Gary Kent Team --- RE/MAX Associates
(858)457-KENT --- (858)457-5368
GaryK@GaryKent.com -- http://www.garykent.com/
Due to production and shipping expense, free items are available only to residents, owners, and people planning to purchase real estate in San Diego.
