When it comes to buying a home, there is one word that becomes more important than almost all others: CREDIT. Unless you just cashed out your Google stock (and we're an early hire), you'll probably need to get a home loan in order to buy your first home in San Francisco. As a San Francisco first time home buyer, in order to get a mortgage with the lowest interest rate and the best terms, you'll need to have CREDIT, and good credit at that! Let's say you have good credit*. You've done the right … [Read more...]
Want the lowest interest rate when buying your first home in San Francisco? Don’t do these things.
Filed Under: First Time Buyer, For Buyers, Hot Tips & Advice Tagged With: credit, First Time Buyer, Home Buying Tips, mortgage broker
San Francisco Real Estate – Buyer Beware or Get a Professional Home Inspection
Part of an ongoing series of San Francisco real estate & related guest bloggers, here is one of San Francisco's top residential home inspectors, Bill Thomson of the Thomson Builder Group, letting you know all about the home inspection process when buying a home in San Francisco. "ASK THE INSPECTOR… ABOUT HOME INSPECTIONS One of the most important processes in buying a home is having it properly inspected. The inspector can give you information about the property so that you will be more … [Read more...]
Filed Under: For Buyers, For Buyers, Home Buying, Home Inspection Tagged With: bill thomson, Home Inspection
San Francisco Real Estate – Is it smart to trade up to a nicer or bigger or ideally-located home in a buyer’s market?
San Francisco Real Estate Conundrum: Is it smart to trade up to a nicer or bigger or ideally-located home in a buyer’s market? Under many circumstances, it is smart to trade up in a buyer’s market. How can this statement be true? Let's look at an example. Example: Let's follow two San Francisco properties from peak to trough of a SF real estate market cycle. Home #1 - The starter home: Inner Mission 1 Bedroom Loft Condo Home #2 - The desired trade-up home: Noe Valley 2+ Bedroom Single … [Read more...]
Filed Under: For Buyers, For Sellers, Home Buying, Home Selling Tagged With: Buyer's Market, trading up
Buying a home in San Francisco? Why it’s crucial to get preapproved for financing before beginning the house hunt.
If you are buying a home in San Francisco, it is crucial to get preapproved for a mortgage before beginning the house hunt. Why? You'll know exactly what you can afford. Understanding your purchasing power and any limitations * is integral to an efficient, focused home search. Spend your time looking at homes you can afford to actually buy. By focusing on homes that meet your needs, you'll get a sense of market value for yourself and be able to make a smart decision as to which home to buy. … [Read more...]
Filed Under: For Buyers, For Buyers, Home Buying Tagged With: loan preapproval, preapproval letter, preapproval v prequalification
The Realtor Personality Test: Which Type of Loco Is this San Francisco Real Estate Agent?
Real estate is, as they say, a people business. And, well, people are different. Over the years working as a San Francisco Realtor, I've learned that to have an enjoyable real estate experience whether you're selling a home in Bernal Heights or buying your first home in the Mission, it is absolutely crucial to work with a Realtor you can relate to... One study of human personality is called the DISC Assessment. Here are the basics brought to us by Wikipedia. DISC is an acronym for: Dominance … [Read more...]
Filed Under: For Buyers, For Sellers, Humor Tagged With: disc, realtor personality type, youtube
How do you know it’s the right time to buy a home?
For San Francisco home buyers, how do you know it's the right time to buy a home? Real estate prices in San Francisco are down about 20% from the peak of the market (more or less depending on the neighborhood and type of property). We've been in the downturn for about 3 years already. There are genuine signs of life like increased transactions and the return of multiple offers. … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Economic News & Market Updates, For Buyers, Home Buying Tagged With: recognize the bottom, right time to buy?, tom sinkowitz
Buying New Construction in San Francisco? Should You Use Your Own Buyer’s Agent?
Yes, you should. Of course, as agents, we're paid (by our local sponsors) to say that! But seriously, you should use your own agent when buying a new construction condo in San Francisco for 2 main reasons. … [Read more...]
Filed Under: For Buyers, Home Buying, New Construction Tagged With: blu, Esprit Park, millennium tower, New Construction, new developments, Soma Grand, the infinity
San Francisco Real Estate: Condos are a deal but can you get a loan?
San Francisco Real Estate: Condos are a deal but can you get a loan? As Kenneth Harney confirmed last week in his column , "Mortgage rates and house prices are down - which sounds great for buyers and refinancers. But a series of mortgage industry underwriting and appraisal changes taking effect this month is throwing new hurdles in the way of borrowers and loan officers." Bottom line: What does this mean for a San Francisco condo would-be home buyer? … [Read more...]
Filed Under: For Buyers, Home Buying, Hot Tips & Advice, Real Estate Financial Knowledge Tagged With: Condo Home Buyer, Condo Loans, FHA Condo Loans, Kenneth Harney
10 Things to Remember When Buying Your First Home (or your 5th) in San Francisco
10 Things to Remember When Buying a Home in San Francisco whether it’s a Mission Loft, a Noe Valley Edwardian, a Bernal Heights Victorian Cottage or an Inner Sunset Mid-Century: When buying a home, bite off more than you can chew but not enough to choke. Remember, to get to the penthouse you must first get on the elevator. (Or take the stairs but who wants to do that?) It is not the cost of the home per se; it is the monthly cost to you that matters most. Reasons to buy a home in order of … [Read more...]
Filed Under: First Time Buyer, For Buyers, Home Buying Tagged With: 10 things to remember, First Time Buyer
