How a Phillips Ranch Real Estate Agent Decides on the Listing Price for your Home When you are ready to sell your Phillips Ranch home, whether you use a real estate agent or not, you need to have a market analysis in order to price it correctly, according to Phillips Ranch real estate professional Brett Ehart with Villa Group Real Estate.  But trying to do one yourself with online information probably won't be accurate so it is best to utilize the services of a professional. The most important thing to remember about a market analysis is that you are only being given the information as it is available to the agent.  When Phillips Ranch sellers put their house on the market they typically have a price in mind before they talk to a Phillips Ranch real estate agent.  They may have an amoun... 02/20/2011

Selling Your Phillips Ranch Home by Phillips Ranch Realtor Brett Ehart When it comes to putting your Phillips Ranch home on the market for sale, there are many different considerations to make. In fact, it can be a frustrating and challenging time as you prepare to get your home in shape to go on the market. No one knows this better than Phillips Ranch Realtor® Brett Ehart. There is no question that the real estate market all over the country has been challenging for the last couple of years. Brett says that this is why it is more important than ever to make sure that your home in Phillips Ranch is in proper condition to be put on the market for sale. Sometimes, sellers can be emotionally attached to their home in such a way that they might not see what needs to be repaired or replaced ... 02/15/2011

How to Buy Phillips Ranch Foreclosure Homes at a Trustee's Sale Many homes that are being foreclosed upon will be offered to the public at a Trustee's Sale, sometimes referred to as a foreclosure auction.  If you are looking for a good deal, this could be the place to go.  There are many homes in the Phillips Ranch Real Estate market that are going through foreclosure, and they will offered for sale at the auction. First, you must find a list of Phillips Ranch homes that will be offered at Trustee's Sales..  You can do this by looking in the newspaper for advertisements of these auctions in the classifieds section.  These ads can be incomplete, or they may be split among several publications.  An easier way is to subscribe to a foreclosure tracking service, like Foreclosure Radar, or C... 02/13/2011

What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home- Lesson #5Seems that a slight re-visit to lesson #4 is in order. In lesson #4 we reviewed the fact that Cars In The Driveway Don't Exactly Show Off The Home That Well.  However, maybe we missed also telling you don’t leave the garage doors open when you take the picture of the exterior. The pictures displayed are actual MLS listings that are used for illustrative purposes. Previous TipsWhat NOT To Do When Selling Your Home- Lesson #1What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home- Lesson #2What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home- Lesson #3What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home- Lesson #4Keisha Hosea is a local Market Expert and Realtor with Keller Williams Realty. She is the Team Director and CEO of KASI Homes. Keisha Hosea and the KASI Homes team offer help to ... 02/08/2011

How to Win a Multiple Offer Bid in Phillips Ranch Without Losing Your Shirt, by Brett Ehart, Phillips Ranch Realtor® One of the worst things that can happen during the home buying process is to finally find your dream home, only to discover that someone else is already bidding on it. When this happens, how can you win your dream house without losing your shirt in the process? In this article, we'll cover some of the more important points to winning a multiple offer situation on a Phillips Ranch Home. Tip #1 - Know Your Limit It's tempting to increase your bid based on emotions during a bidding war. Buyers are often willing to pay more out of competitiveness, feeling that something they want is being taken away. This trap can cost you thousands of dollars. Instead, do your comparative a... 02/05/2011

Which House Is The Right House? Tips From Phillips Ranch Real Estate Expert Brett Ehart When you are looking to buy a home in Phillips Ranch there are certain things that you are looking for. For instance, it may need to have a large kitchen or a big yard for the kids. So what happens when you find more than one home with everything you want? First, you have to understand that you will find the right Phillips Ranch house in good time. You cannot rush it or you may regret that you chose in haste. You just have to remember when you find it you will  know. As soon as you walk in the front door it will have your full attention and you won't want to leave. If you have to talk yourself into a home, then it is the wrong one. You have to weigh all of the features of a Phillips Ranch home in or... 02/01/2011

  Should You Sell Your Phillips Ranch Home During the Holidays? Is it a good idea to maket your home during the holidays?  Here are a few things to consider: You will have fewer showings, but the buyers who do look will be serious and qualified. Many sellers take their homes off the market for the holidays, so you will have less competition. Often, buyers have vacation time over the holidays, which gives them more time to look. Some people become emotional when they look at homes with holiday decorations.  They are more likely to base their buying decision on the good feelings they get from your home. There are tax benefits to buying before the end of the year.  Investors in particular are looking to close by year-end. There is a lot of information available to you about when is the bes... 11/23/2010

Homeowners who relocate or move up to another home often wonder whether to sell or to rent the old one. Here are 2 questions to ask: I. Do you making money if you sell your home? First thing you need to consider is whether you are making profit from the selling of your home or not. If you are making profit, you may need to look into the tax aspect. If you live in the same house for the past 5 years, each spouse can claim up to $250,000 profit tax free or $500,000 for both of you. For each year the house is rented, you will be losing 20% of the tax exemption. If the house is rented for 5 years, you will lose all your tax benefit and need to pay about $10K federal income tax for $100K profit. Please consult your tax advisor for your individual financial situation. II. Do you make money as... 09/13/2010

Sales Remains Strong In Phillips Ranch Sales remains strong for the month of August in Phillips Ranch. 27 properties for sale, of which 8 of them are short sales, 21 pending, and 16 houses sold. Inventory level is still very low at 1.3 months supply. Phillilps Ranch is highly sought after by buyers for it's quiet garden like setting, excellent schools and easy access to 57, 71, 210, 10 & 60 Fwys. 09/06/2010

Hidden Valley Townhomes gated community located in Phillips Ranch offers a peaceful oasis full of greenbelts and lush green, mature trees. Two separate pools and spas offer total relaxation. Commuting into any of the adjacent counties of Orange, Riverside or San Bernardino are a breeze with the 60, 71 and 57 freeways being in close proximity. Diamond Ranch High School is within walking distance. Shopping and parks are also close.    Keisha Hosea is a local Market Expert and Realtor in Chino Hills, California with Keller Williams Realty. She is the Team Director and CEO of KASI Homes. Keisha Hosea and the KASI Homes team offer help to home buyers and home sellers throughout the Inland Empire. With a Master of Arts Degree in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling, Keisha has worked extensi... 08/02/2010

Good news for new home buyers! California Energy Commission allocated $35.2 million for the new appliances rebate program begins April 22, 2010. Three residential appliance categories were selected to be eligible to receive rebates: Clothes washers - rebate $100 Refrigerators - rebate $200 Window air conditioners - rebate $50. To get the rebate, all you need to do is to purchase an eligible appliances from platinum retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot or Lowe's, have the retailer recycle your old one and fill out the rebate form. Visit California Cash For Appliances for more information. 04/22/2010

04/19/2010

Can buyer back out from the deal after escrow is opened? Customarily in Southern California, buyer has 17 days to back out from the deal for the following 3 reasons: 1. Loan Contingency Buyer cannot secure a loan successfully. 2. Appraisal Contingency Property does not appraise to the value of the selling price. 3. Inspection Contingency Buyer is not satisfied with the condition of the property after property inspection. After the 17-day contingency period expires, if buyer is fully prepared to purchase the house and has no problem on loan, appraisal, or the condition of the house, buyer can proceed to to remove all contingencies. Once the contingencies are removed, there is a clear and biding contract to purchase the house. Therefore, buyer can not back out from the deal without penalt... 02/19/2010

Market remains very strong for the month of December. According to Dataquick, sales volume was up 31% in 12/09 comparing to 12/08 in Los Angeles County. The meian price was up 5.9% from $320,000 to $339,000. First-time buyers and investors continued to dominate the buy side of the market last month. FHA loans, a popular choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 39.6 percent of all home purchase in December. Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 19.2 percent of the homes sold in December. Buyers who appeared to have paid all cash accounted for 24.9 percent of December sales, based on an analysis of public records. Below are the charts of number of home sold in the past 3 years in the neighboring cities. 01/19/2010

Inventory level remains very low in December 2009. Below is a chart showing the inventory level in Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Walnut and Phillips Ranch. In Chino and Chino Hills, house supply are both less than one month. Despite of the higher tax rate with Mellos Roose and HOA, Chino and Chino Hills continue to attract large number of buyers who desire newer homes at a deep discounted price. Some good deals in Chino are only 50% of it's 2006 value making it one of the hottest cities to invest. Inventory levels in Diamond Bar, Walnut and Phillips Ranch are all below one and half months supply. I am also seeing a fast price rebound in those cities. Fall is typically the slowest time for real estate market. Unlike the past, the low inventory level shows a continue strong demand for ... 12/01/2009

Number of houses sold last month in June 2009 went up dramatically and the buying frenzy continues in July. 07/06/2009

Why is it important to hire a agent who is familiar with the area you are buying or selling instead of an out of the area agent who is a trusted friend? The answer may be very simple. 1. Convenience Is it easier for a local agent to drive 5 to 10 minute or out of the area one to drive 30 to 60 minute to the house for showing? It is more practical to hire a local agent who is nearby due to the showing convenience. 2. Area Knowledge On top of that, the local agent who specializes in the area knows the neighborhood by heart. They are familiar with the rating of the schools, the crime rate of the area, and where the parks and shopping malls are. Those local knowledge may require some research if the agent is out the area and could be totally unaware of. 3. Pricing Knowledge A local agent wh... 06/25/2009

Below is a chart showing the number of houses sold in Phillips Ranch from 2006 to 2009. In April 2009, 7 properties were sold and 19 properties went into escrow. Of the 7 properties sold, 1 is regular sale at bargain price, 2 short sales and 4 bank owned properties. 17 properties went into escrow in March and only 7 were sold in April showing the level of difficulty to close escrow successfully. Unless the property is an outrageous deal like the bank owned or short sales selling 10% to 40% below market, buyers are not that desperate to get the deal through in today's buyer's market. Transactions could easily fall apart in escrow due to buyer's inability to secure a loan or buyers' change of mind. Unless the escrow is closed successfully, sellers need to psychologically prepared for the ... 05/01/2009

After the passing of the new federal tax credit of $8000 for first time buyers, we are seeing a crazy frenzy of buying in Phillips Ranch and neighboring cities. Buyers with large cash down payment of $100,000 to $250,000 saved in their CD accounts are coming out to make purchases now. Above is a chart showing the number of houses sold in Phillips Ranch from 2006 to 2009. In March 2009, 15 properties were sold and 17 properties went into escrow. March sales volume is 3 times more than last March in 2008 and is highest since 2006. We are also seeing rapidly market price increase of 10% to 20% since December 2008. Since the interest rate is still below 5% for 30 year fix rate loan, this may be the last opportunity for buyers to capture excellent deal with low interest rate. 04/07/2009

In a down market where most houses stay unsold, in order to get the house sold successfully, there are 3 important steps for sellers to prepare themselves and the house ready for sale. I. Treat The House As A Merchandise Psychologically, sellers need to get emotionally detached from the property and treat the house as a merchandise by making it available for showing as much as possible. II: Hire A Good Agent Seller will also need to hire a good agent who is a neighborhood specialist. A good neighborhood agent shall be able to perform 2 tasks. 1. Price the house correctly Houses with pool and/or view worth about 5 to 10 % more depending on the neighborhood. Houses sitting on the t-junction or bordering the main artery route may sell up to 10% less. Does you agent has that level of market... 03/12/2009