John's Blog

I was just curious to see what your office policy is... Do you allow outside vendors in to speak at your meetings? For the last 5-6 years my office has been delivering vendor presentations (We call them "Talks") at real estate offices in our area (Los Angeles County). I've noticed over the years ...

Whether someone is getting a completely updated house or a fixer, what are the most important things to have in good shape, when buying a home?     The major systems are the most important items. The major systems are the plumbing, electrical, roofing, foundation & the heating/cooling systems. Th...

Buying a home is a monumental investment and often one of the most important purchases a person can make in their lifetime. It stands to reason then, that a buyer should investigate the exact condition of the property being purchased. Therefore the buyer's second most important purchase is to hav...

The guests appeared to be enjoying the music, the food and the drinks. In fact the fun was in full swing when the hostess was told that the bathroom toilet was blocked and overflowing. The plunger was pressed into service to no avail. The phone book came out and an emergency plumbing service said...

It's late Sunday afternoon and Ted drops into his living room recliner chair in an exhausted heap after spending the last six hours finalizing the deal on a house he's purchasing. He's looked at about 70 homes in the past 4 months and now he's finally got an accepted offer on one. "At last, it's ...

Home sellers would rather not have problems with their home appear before their house is sold and homebuyers do not want to be stuck with problems that are discovered after they have already handed over their hard earned money and moved in.Simply put, the seller does not want to get a surprise is...

If you are selling your home or representing a seller as a real estate professional, you are probably interested in making the experience as profitable and hassle free as possible. According to the real estate professionals and inspectors I know, the following 12 tips are tried and true ways to h...

As a property inspector in Los Angeles for over 20 years I have seen all sorts of issues with the homes in our area. The top ten problems may not be what you might have expected. 1. Moisture intrusion is by far the number one problem with all structures. Water entering from outside a building to ...

As we all know there are many foreclosures on the real estate market at this time. While these can seem like a good bargain, it's critical that the transaction be properly handled during the inspection process.Home inspectors are finding many problems that are unique to the purchase of foreclosed...