In order to avoid some of the biggest missteps, you should first know what they are.

1. Picking Any Old Mortgage

You don’t want to be saddled for even a short period of time with the wrong mortgage. Investigate all of your options, and then you need to lay your choices side-by-side and do the math — making sure you have an emergency savings for worst-case scenarios.

2. Confusing Pre-Approval or Pre-Qualification With Commitment

When you’re pre-qualified, the lender is simply giving you an estimate about how much you can borrow based on information you’ve provided. When you’re pre-approved, the lender has verified everything you’ve provided and is offering to lend you up to a given amount at current interest rates — under certain conditions.

It’s much better to be pre-approved when shopping for a home, but it’s still not a guarantee: the lender’s final clearance and a loan commitment are subject to an appraisal satisfactory to the lender, a good title, a last-minute credit check and other verifications.

3. Having Too Much Debt

Even if you pay your bills on time, lenders tend to focus just as much on how much credit you have available to you — that is, your debt-to-income ratio — as they do on timeliness.

Being up to your ears in debt is a sure way to be turned down for a mortgage. Postpone any big-ticket purchases until after you buy your house.

4. Forgetting About Your Credit

Before you apply for a loan, you should know your credit score and credit report inside and out. Thoroughly check your credit report for any possible mistakes. You can order a free credit report from each of the big three credit report agencies — Equifax, TransUnion and Experian — once a year. If you see a mistake, dispute it. If your credit is bad, that’s okay: just work on repairing it before you apply for a mortgage.

5. Lying on Your Loan Application

Exaggerating your income on a mortgage application or putting down other untruths can be a federal offense. If a lender finds out, they can make your loan due and payable. And while bad loan officers may stretch the truth to get a client approved, it’s the borrowers who end up paying the price.

6. Hiding From Payments

The worst thing you can do is ignore phone calls and letters from your lender when you are behind on your payments. Lenders have many options at their disposal to help keep borrowers from losing their homes to foreclosure, but they can’t do anything for you unless they can talk to you about your difficulties.

7. Skipping a Home Inspection

Failing to make your purchase contingent on a satisfactory home inspection could be a costly mistake. Good home inspectors examine houses from stem to stern. They’ll be able to tell you whether the roof or basement leaks, whether the mechanical systems are in good shape and how long the appliances should last. Don’t get caught off guard by needed repairs, or it will mean more money for your mortgage payments.

If you’re unsure of where to find a good home inspector, ask me for a referral!

8. Making Big Life Changes

Lenders like stability. It’s a good idea to have kept your job for at least a year or two before applying for a mortgage, and it’s even more important to keep your job throughout the mortgage process. If you’re looking to switch jobs, wait until after you’ve closed the deal.

If you are thinking of making a purchase in the near or distant future and need any assistance, feel free to reach out and ask questions! I’m always happy to assist.

Article taken from Realtor.com – 11.3.2014

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“They are priced for the luck and sold for the luck,” Mr. DeVito says of homes in the Sunset Park neighborhood, where many of the residents are Asian. In Chinese culture, eight is considered to be a lucky number while four is believed to bring bad luck.

Just like the lottery, real estate can be a numbers game in which superstition plays a role. According to research by real-estate website Trulia, “luck” is frequently linked to the last nonzero digit of homes for sale (the eight in $528,000, for example). In Asian-majority neighborhoods, 20% of listings end with a lucky eight, compared with 4% of listings in areas where Asians are a minority.

It’s not just Asians who rely on luck. Home-sellers in Nevada—especially Las Vegas—look to lucky seven to unload their homes. Listings with a seven before the zeros are 37% more common in Nevada than in the rest of the U.S.

In the Bible Belt, defined as the Southeast and south-central U.S., homes are 27% more likely to include 316 in the listing price, a nod to John 3:16, a touchstone New Testament verse. Surprisingly, the numbers 666—considered to represent evil—are 39% more common in the Bible Belt than elsewhere in the U.S. And throughout the country, the number 13 is about 15% less likely to appear than either 12 or 14.

But the listings superstition appears to be strongest in neighborhoods where Asians make up more than 50% of the population, according to Trulia data of all homes listed for sale, excluding foreclosures, from October 2011 to the present. The affinity for eight comes across most frequently in luxury homes over $1 million, with 37% of listings ending in an eight before the zeros.

The Chinese pronunciation of eight is similar to the word that means “prosperity” or “wealth,” says Zili Yang, professor of economics at Binghamton University. Four sounds similar to the Chinese word for “death,” making it a very unlucky number in Chinese culture, Prof. Yang adds. “All businesses try to avoid it in all occasions. We don’t even want to put it onto our car plates,” he says.

Brent Chang, a real-estate agent with his mother, Linda Chang, with Coldwell Banker San Marino in California, says his clients stay away from fours in nearly all circumstances. He says about 85% of his Asian clients use numerology when buying or selling. “If we suggest $2 million for a property, they will want to price it at $2,188,888. They’ll put as many eights in there as possible,” Mr. Chang says.

Manoj Thomas, a marketing professor at Cornell University, says lucky numbers are a subconscious strategy used by sellers: If a person believes one number brings him luck and uses it more frequently, it will seem intuitive to him, and he will feel more comfortable using it.

But numbers—and their placement—have a subconscious effect on buyers, too. People tend to look at digits on the left, says Prof. Thomas, who studies the psychology of pricing. Prices with lower left-hand-side numbers give buyers the impression that they’re getting a better deal.

That’s why prices are often listed with multiple nines, like $19.99, says Alan Cooke, a marketing professor at the University of Florida. “People mentally round down, dropping the cents off of $19.99 and seeing it as $19 and not $20,” he says.

The same strategy can be seen in homes priced under $1 million, where 54% of homes have prices ending in a nine, according to the Trulia data. But the picture changes for homes at the higher end: Only 25% of homes that cost more than $1 million end in a nine. One theory: Nines are associated with mass consumer goods, making them less appealing to high-end buyers, says Jed Kolko, chief economist and head of analytics at Trulia.

And pricing psychology may be a tougher game as prices go up. “It’s harder to make a $3 million home sound inexpensive,” Mr. Kolko says.

Instead, high-end home sellers gravitate toward the number five. With homes over $1 million, 55% have a final nonzero digit of five, such as $2.5 million. Under $1 million, only 26% of listings have the five. Five is a common default number when people end their price listing, Mr. Kolko adds.

“Five does have a special status in our minds,” Prof. Thomas says. “We see it as the midpoint on the 1 to 10 scale, and we tend to spontaneously compare any single digit as higher or lower than five.”

After a homeowner arrives at an approximate value of his house, he can fine-tune the price by changing the numerical pattern, Prof. Thomas says. “The makes a difference,” he adds.

Using precise numbers can give the sense of a bargain, he says, because precise numbers are usually used for lower-cost purchases, like a grapefruit, while round numbers are reserved for bigger purchases. “You can list a house for $500,000, or you can list it for $505,550,” he says. “The second one seems like a better deal.”

But the strategy can backfire if the number is too precise. A sale price of $1,328,972, for example, can turn potential buyers away, Prof. Cooke says. Since that kind of “bizarre” number isn’t used often in daily life, it seems harder to work with, and people may subconsciously reject using it.

For some, lucky numbers are purely a way to stand out in the real estate scene. Triple sevens are three times more common in Nevada than in the rest of the country, but Tina Ott, who works with her family within the Coldwell Banker Woodbury office in Minnesota, has been listing homes with the lucky trio since 1995. “Instead of $319,900, we’ll do $319,777,” Ms. Ott says.

The strategy works twofold: it bumps the 777 listings up before the 999s when listed by price, and it also puts clients at ease in what can be a stressful process.

“When we’re getting ready to get to the pricing part, which can be a tense subject, it helps soften the process,” Ms. Ott says. “We try to make it a little lighter by asking, ‘Shall we try our luck?’ “

Crazy 8 Effect on Addresses

The impact of numbers goes beyond pricing. The street address matters, too.

In a paper presented two years ago, called “Superstition in the Housing Market,” Nicole Fortin, professor of economics at the University of British Columbia, found that home buyers in Chinese neighborhoods in the metro Vancouver region were willing to pay a premium for lucky numbers in their street addresses.

Ms. Fortin says buyers paid a premium of 2% to 3% for homes prices that ended with an eight, while sellers had to accept a 2% discount if they were selling a house that ended with a four. The trend was most pronounced among luxury homes.

“It’s a luxury to get that number. It’s considered to be prestigious,” she says.

Brent Chang, a real-estate agent in San Marino, Calif., explains the thinking: “If you have a listing, and the address is 180, you know Asian buyers will be very interested in the house because it’s so hard to change the address.”

(Taken from WSJ.com)

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The chart below from Trulia.com shows the average listing price for new listings in San Diego. Summer is traditionally a hot time to buy and we usually see higher sales prices and less time on the market this time of year.

You can see a clear upward trend for the last half of July, but those increases look a little more reasonable when compared to this time last year. While the number of sales is down considerably (primarily because of lack of inventory) the median sales price is up over 3% from July 2013. Not an astronomical gain, but as they say — slow and steady wins the race. And we have definitely seen a moderate, yet steady increase over the last 12 months.

The map below breaks it down by neighborhood, with a list of the most changed areas on the bottom right. These are week-over-week changes and represent the percentage changed in the average listing price for each area. While North Park showed a 1.3% dip, Kensington just up the street clocked in at almost 68% higher than before and Golden Hill isn’t far behind.

Keep these trends in mind if you are out looking for a home as these can indicate which hyper-local markets are making the biggest shifts — both up AND down.

Overall, things are looking great. Things have tapered off just a bit in most markets and a slower and more consistent growth is exactly what we want to see for now. Interest rates are still low for now and inventory seems to be growing. More sustainable growth long term is better for everybody!

As always, keep an eye on the numbers… make informed decisions… and EDUCATE yourself before you make the biggest financial decision of your lifetime.

If I can be of any help, or if you just want a second opinion, feel free to call me anytime!

- Ross

The post San Diego Real Estate Market Snapshot – August 2014 appeared first on RossAnthonySD.com.

In no particular order…

Blind Lady Ale House

Blind Lady Ale House will be playing most of the games on their giant projection screen. Tough to find a better viewing experience — all with gourmet pizza and an insane selection of craft beers readily available. NOTE: Some early games will not be broadcast since, you know, sleep.

Follow the link about for a full 2014 World Cup showing schedule.

Clem’s Tap House

Clem’s is always good for a more relaxed atmosphere and great beer selection. Order a beer flight and grab a spot at the bar. Seating is limited so not great for large groups.

Heights Tavern

If you’re looking for somewhere with a lot of energy and TV’s in every direction – you found it. Too many screens to count with comfortable indoor and outdoor seating.

Rosie O’Grady’s Irish Pub

Rosie’s is a landmark. 8 TV’s. 30 Beers on tap. I called to see about the schedule and you can bet they will be showing most games – best to confirm though ahead of time.

The post Where to Watch 2014 World Cup on Adams Ave! appeared first on RossAnthonySD.com.

“The median home value in San Diego is $484,600. San Diego home values have gone up 11.0% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 3.5% within the next year.”

Prices are still heading up, folks. We probably aren’t going to see the crazy increases we saw during 2013 but people are more confident than ever that this trend is more sustainable and going to continue for years to come. This handy graph from Zillow lays out their prediction pretty clearly.

According to a recent study by the National Association of Realtors®, 74% of sellers surveyed in 2013 believe prices are going to continue their upward trend over the next 10 years — compared to just 20% of those surveyed in 2012. Now, these are obviously pretty fluid numbers but buyer / seller confidence has proven to a pretty accurate indicator of the market in the past. Definitely something to consider if you have been on the fence as to whether now is the right time to throw your hat in the “home ownership” ring.

NOTE TO RENTERS: Don’t let last years price increases deter you; real estate (especially in Southern California) has shown a steady upward trend on the macro scale over the past 30 years, despite the recent recession and housing bust.

The post Sellers Are Feeling Good About Home Prices appeared first on RossAnthonySD.com.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the San Diego City Beat sponsored “Burger Week” in San Diego.  From March 7 – March 16 participating restaurants are offering $5 specials on burgers so there’s no excuse to go hungry.

You can see the entire list of participating restaurants HERE.

That sausage burger at Salt & Cleaver is looking pretty enticing if I do say so…

(courtesy of www.sdcitybeat.com)

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Good times (and food) were had and Societe’s long list of craft brews left little to be desired. So congrats to the Mastiff guys on a great first year and many, many more to come.

Oh, and here are some photos from Sunday’s event.

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Mostly.

Since the market started turning around over the past year or so, it’s not uncommon for homes to sell upwards of $30-40k ABOVE their asking price. Investors, both seasoned and newcomers, have been buying homes in bulk with dreams of flipping houses for thousands in profit. We’ve seen prices increase while the average days on the market decrease – and while things may stabilize a bit in 2014 we’re likely to see a slower, steadier version of the same trend.

OK, OK… so it’s not all bad. In fact, just today I had the pleasure of informing buyers that I’ve been working with for 14 months (yes, as in 56 weeks) that their offer was accepted and they can start planning their move into their new home. It took four offers and somewhere between 50 and 75 showings, but we made it happen.

Whether you’re already on the hunt or are thinking about purchasing a home sometime in the future, you can alleviate much of your frustration by adhering to these four simple strategies.

1) Set Realistic Expectations

In my experience, the most satisfied home buyers are those that start with education. That may mean doing your own research online, talking to a professional about what to expect, or getting advice from experienced friends and family members. Start with this. Not being able to materialize your dreams of a 3-car garage and a fireplace in every bedroom AFTER you’ve already set your expectations can be tough. Focus on one or two of the most important items on your checklist and stay flexible whenever possible.

2) Stay In Touch With Your Lender

Getting an offer accepted probably won’t happen within the first week of your search… but it might!

Just in case it doesn’t, make sure you don’t let your documentation that you’ve spent so much time acquiring for your lender expire, which would require you to start over once you DO find the home of your dreams. After you’ve initially received your pre-qualification from your preferred lender, contact them at least once a month to make sure your pay stubs / tax returns / income verification is all still valid and up-to-date. It can be easy to let it slip, but frantically trying to gather everything and e-mail to your lender while your dream home slips away is less than ideal. Stay on point.

3) Enjoy The Process

Buying a home may not be exactly like you’ve seen on TV (or even close…), but try and find the fun in the journey from Point A to Point B. In fact, this pretty much holds true for most of life, but I’ll try to stay on topic. Searching through countless MLS listings, spending your weekends visiting open houses or driving through neighborhoods can get repetitive, but there are worse ways to spend a Saturday. Find an appreciation for architecture and interior design. Gather ideas for your future garden. Start a notebook. When you get that call from your Realtor that the offer is accepted and you move into your house you’ll have a wealth of knowledge to draw from and can hit the ground running.

4) Be Determined

Keep your head down. Focus on the end game. Don’t get discouraged. The satisfaction of the end result will all be worth it. It might take one offer or it might take twelve, but if you know what to expect going into it and don’t sweat the small stuff, it’s all going to seem like a small bump in the road when you finally get the keys. Trust me.

If you’re even thinking about getting into the home buying or selling game, feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call. I’m happy to discuss your options honestly and without any pressure.

The post How To Stay Motivated As A Buyer In A Competitive Housing Market appeared first on RossAnthonySD.com.

With a projected worldwide population of 9.7 Billion by the year 2050, concern of where people will live and how major cities will accommodate this increase has grown significantly. As a possible solution, scientists have claimed to have developed a scaled-up 3D printer (known as “Contour Crafting”) that can build a 2,500 square foot concrete home in just 24 hours.

Below is a video from gadgets.ndtv.com that explains the process.

See full article at http://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/news/new-giant-3d-printer-can-build-a-house-in-24-hours-470564

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I just came across this great map of San Diego City broken down by neighborhood. You’d be surprised how hard it is to find an accurate / high quality neighborhood map – this one’s even color coded! There are a couple areas that I would consider renaming (for example changing Park West to Banker’s Hill) but I’d say this one is worth holding on to.

Being able to determine what neighborhood a property belongs to can be very valuable when considering future resale value. It also makes it easier to track recent sales, time on market, and various other data when you’re considering making an offer. Obviously you can do the same with zip codes, but I find the neighborhood borders can be a stronger indicator with more logical borders.

Just click the picture for full size or download the image to take with you on your phone or tablet.

Click For Full Size

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