Pacita's Quick Bytes of Real Estate

We're in trouble.     We already know we have a drought in California, and we have several programs in place intended for water conservation. But looking at this interactive drought map from United States Drought Monitor it appears other areas are having its share of trouble, too.     California ...

Before we attempt to answer this question, it's always good to remind sellers: Your property's market value is driven not by what you think it's worth or what you want for it, but rather, what your buyer is willing to pay for it. Estimating market value by going to online resources like Zillow, e...

Who’s at fault? Seller or Listing Agent Listing agent claims to have over 25 years of experience…yet, she is embroiled in a tedious, contentious and continuous process because there appears to be a serious failure to communicate. Something is terribly out-of-synch, Request for Repairs Sellers agr...

A colleague had a conversation about some shared buyers who are experiencing "teachable moments" as they continue to lose out to higher offers. My colleague said “Our message to them right now: If everyone really used comparables all the time as a guide for what to offer, prices would be the same...

We in the real estate business know the value of home staging. There's enough empirical data to support that. Barb Schwarz said that   "Recent statistics gathered by Stagedhomes.com shows that 94 percent of homes staged by an Accredited Staging Professional sold in 29 days or less, compared to an...

Although the market in my neck of the woods has rebounded considerably, some clients' properties have not recovered their market value at the peak. And as such,  yes, I'm still working with short sales.   California short sale homeowners get a tax break Fortunately for California home sellers fac...

Unattractive house, unattractive situation I have seen short sale listings where it seemed the sellers have given up and didn't care what the property looked. Some sellers try to get money out of the situation and rent out the property to tenants who can be uncooperative, making it impossibe to s...

When I first met with my client and took a tour of his home, I was a bit worried about how we can present this Alameda CA Victorian home so that it will appeal to a potential buyer.   MEN AND THEIR TOYS Here's the situation.....and this is not a put down of men....but these guys are real heavy in...

Oakland CA tops the list among the top 10 hottest housing markets in 2014, according to CNN Money.  Home buyers who have been trying to buy a home in Oakland the last few months will surely agree, especially since they are constantly competing in multiple offer situations, and oftentimes at over ...

One of the things we learn as salespeople is that we can't depend on leads to be handed down to us, nor can we assume the leads we get are quality leads.Several real estate trainers like Brian Buffini ,  Joe Niego, Tom Ferry, Mike Ferry as well as motivational sales speakers like Zig Ziglar have ...