The San Diego Real Estate Blog

Home Shopping Tips You Can't Be Without

When you're shopping for homes, how do you know when it's a good time to make an offer? Here's a couple of tips and steps you can keep in mind as you house shop.

First thing to do is sit down with a nice cup of coffee and ask yourself why you really want to move. Are you motivated? Do you have something to sell first and what is the cost of selling that property? Will your economic, social or life position improve as a result of your move ie. get closer to work, be in a neighborhood with people like you for example. Depending on the type of person you are, if you draw two columns on a piece of paper and label it plus and minus you may begin to see the clearer picture.

Ok, so looks like you answered "yes" so read on.

Get the formalities out of the way. Get prequalified by a mortgage professional so you don't waste your time looking at things you can't afford. Do it online or talk to someone in person. Then, go to some open houses in neighborhoods you like and meet some realtors. It's likely since they're local that they'll know the neighborhoods well. Realtors have previewed lots of homes and probably know floor plans that match your needs. Try to find an agent that's not pushy and provides lots of information. Ultimately you want someone that will guide you, not convince you to buy a home. Suplement your open house tours and look on line at CaMoves so you can target price ranges of neighborhoods or go to the open house section of CaMoves, Open House.com or SignOnSanDiego.com.

Once you've identified some towns or neighborhoods you like, set yourself up or have an agent set you up on an "automatic" email search targeting only the parameters of properties you're interested in. Our MLS here in North County San Diego can target over 900 different search fields so if it's out there you'll see it within 24 hours of a new home coming on the market or having changed it's price. Identify some homes you'd like to see and call your agent to go see them. It's important to keep your logic and emotions in check through this process.

There's no such thing as a perfect house. Every parameter your looking for isn't likely to appear in the same house and you should be aware that you may have to compromise on some issues. Pull out that paper again and write down your priorities so you can look at it as you walk through properties. Believe me, I've worked with enough buyers to know that many times those priorites go right out the window because their emotions can take over easily.

There are many different personalitiy types and that's why it's important to have an agent who can help you keep yourself in check by acting as a sounding board. Things like whether or not the home may be easily resold later because the floor plan is friendly to the most buyers is important. Comparables (what similar homes have sold for) in a neighborhood play into the equasion too. There's no rules other than to shop smart, get lots of information and find an agent you trust. Need some other tips or have a question about the process? Email me or leave a post and I'll be happy to help you as best I can.

Dreaming in Pacific Beach San Diego

I’ve lived in San Diego for 6 years and I’m ashamed to say I get stuck in my own little pocket here in Encinitas and it’s tough to get out. Hey, not that it’s bad because actually its incredible here. It’s just that you don’t realize how vast the activites are that exist elsewhere, the variety of beaches (never thought it could get better than Encinitas!) and the diversity of the people...oh the incredible people, until you talk to people in other parts of the nation.

I held an open house this weekend in Pacific Beach and a guy from Upstate New York walked in off the street. He said he wanted to go to school at San Diego State University, which has an incredible Masters in Business Administration program and he wanted to live in “PB.” Pacific Beach for those who don’t know it is close to downtown (for those professionals who work there), is bordered by Mission Bay Park to the South (best water skiing!), the pacific ocean to the West and is totally surrounded by some of the most active night life, restaurants and activities one could ever imagine. Who needs a car here?? Beach bike, surfboard, skateboard, walking and jogging is the “transportation a la mode.”

The lifestyle and living opportunities are abundant. Imagine a life where you walk Tourmaline Street beach 3 blocks from your house in North West PB. You’re back in the condo or house by 8, hop in the shower, across the street for a cappuccino, then just a short jaunt to the down town office. Home in the afternoon and put the car away for the night and then you’re away for the night. Meet your buddies at the local pub, walk up the street for dinner and then stroll in the clean night ocean breezes as you head back to rest and look at the surf lit up from the bars on the beach. When you wake up on Saturday morning, make sure you go to the street fair and farmers markets.

Slap, slap….then I woke up from my day dream. Oh wait….not a dream; it was the guy from New York telling me about how he’d lived upstate for 25 years in tons of snow, ice and freezing weather. (I did the same in Syracuse, NY for 4 years at SU) But then there’s life at the beach!