FAQ

Question	Answer
What is Fee Simple vs. Leasehold?	Fee Simple is the type of ownership that most people are familiar with- You purchase property, receive title and it’s yours or your heirs forever, or until such time as the property is disposed of. Leasehold: property to which you hold title remains yours for a specified period of time, at the end of which the property reverts back to the person that holds title in Fee Simple.
What is my home worth?	What the market will bear is the easy answer, for a more in-depth discussion, take a look at my Pricing Your Home page.
What is a marketing plan and why is it important?	The easy answer is a plan to sell your home, take a look at my Marketing and Sales Plan page.
What repairs should I be looking for?	I've documented the top 10 repairs homes need, take a look at my Repairs page.
Does a seller have to accept a full price offer?	Actually, they don't.
How much can I afford?	A difficult question that really depends on your individual situation. The best way to work this out is to get a pre-qualification for a loan, this will give you a good estimate.
What impacts how much I can borrow?	Lenders use several criteria, including but not limited to: Your gross monthly income, Your credit history, The amount of your outstanding debts, Your savings, Down payment, type of mortgage, current interest rates.
What is Debt-to-income Ratio?	It is the ratio of debt you are paying each month e.g. car payment, student loan, credit card compared to your monthly income. 1:10 is a good value for this, but as a general rule of thumb it should not 1:3
What is Housing-expense Ratio?	It is the ratio of mortgage payment you are paying each month to your monthly income. As a general rule of thumb it should not It should not exceed 1:3
What are props 60 and 90?	Proposition 60 allows transfers of base year values within the same county (intracounty). Proposition 90 allows transfers from one county to another county in California (intercounty). Click here for more information.
How much down payment do I need?	The more the better. The larger the down payment the more flexible lenders tend to be with "other" requirements like housing-expense ratio or Debt-to-income ratio.