Selling a House After a Hoarder Eviction and the Cleaning Math
What You Are Actually Dealing With After a Hoarder Leaves A property owner I know in Compton went through an eviction that took eight months to complete. When the tenant finally left, what was inside the house was not something a regular cleaning service could handle. There were stacked newspapers from floor to ceiling in […]
The Impact of Illegal Conversions on Your Home’s Resale Value
Why Illegal Conversions Hurt Your Home Sale More Than Most Sellers Expect I talked to a seller in East Los Angeles last year who thought he had done himself a favor by converting his two-car garage into a living unit ten years ago. The conversion looked great. Nice floors, a full bathroom, a small kitchen. […]
Selling a Home with a Failed Septic System in Rural LA Areas
What a Failed Septic System Really Means When You Are Trying to Sell A seller I know in Agua Dulce spent three months trying to find a buyer for her property after a routine inspection turned up a failing septic system. Every conventional buyer who came through walked as soon as the inspection report hit […]
Why Foundation Cracks Don’t Scare Cash Buyers But Stop FHA Loans
Why Foundation Cracks Create Two Completely Different Reactions I have seen the same house get two very different responses from two very different buyers in the same week. The first buyer was using an FHA loan. His lender’s appraiser came through, spotted the foundation cracks, and the deal was dead before noon. The second buyer […]
Selling a Property With Red Tag Building Code Violations
What a Red Tag Actually Means for Your Property A few years back a seller I knew was ready to list his duplex in the San Fernando Valley. He had no idea the building department had flagged it six months earlier for an unpermitted garage conversion a previous owner had done. The moment the title […]
How to Sell a House with Mold Damage Disclosure vs Direct Sale
What Mold in Your Home Actually Means for the Sale Finding mold in your home right before you plan to sell is genuinely stressful. I have talked to sellers who discovered it behind a bathroom wall, in the attic, under a kitchen sink, and the first thing most of them said was the same thing: […]
The True Cost of Termite Tenting in SoCal vs Selling As-Is
What Termite Tenting Actually Costs Homeowners in Southern California A neighbor of mine in the San Gabriel Valley called me a couple of years ago in a panic. She had just gotten a termite inspection report and the company was telling her she needed a full tent fumigation before she could list the house. The […]
Selling a House With Soft-Story Retrofit Requirements in LA
What Is a Soft-Story Building and Does Your LA Property Qualify I talked to a property owner in the San Fernando Valley last year who had no idea her building was on the city’s mandatory retrofit list. She found out when a buyer’s agent pulled the records during escrow. The deal did not fall apart, […]
The Hidden Tax Benefits of Selling to a Professional Home Buyer
Most homeowners who sell to a cash buyer are focused on speed and simplicity. They want out of their situation fast, and a professional buyer delivers that. What they often do not realize until later is that there are real tax advantages built into that kind of sale too. Some of them are significant enough […]
How to Handle Lis Pendens When Selling Your Property Fast
What Is a Lis Pendens and Why Should You Care If you are trying to sell your property fast and someone just told you there is a lis pendens attached to it, I know that feeling of your stomach dropping. That happened to a friend of mine a few years back. He was ready to […]