Buying A Fixer Dear Phyllis, My niece and her husband are in escrow to purchase their dream home. It’s a 1920s Spanish home that, while charming, needs a lot of work. There are a variety of minor problems. Additionally, the chimney needs to be rebuilt, and the foundation requires cripple walls. After their down payment, […]
Home Inspection Problems Dear Phyllis, I am self-employed and work 60 hours a week. I don’t want to buy a home that needs work. Last year, I was under contract for a home advertised as meticulously remodeled. When I initially looked at it, the home seemed perfect. The attention to detail was unbelievable. Everything you […]
Appraised Values Dear Phyllis, I enjoy reading your real estate advice and don’t recall you addressing appraised values. My daughter recently took a second mortgage to build an ADU on her Tustin property. Before construction started, she received a job opportunity in Tennessee. At the time of the second mortgage her home was appraised at […]
Listing A Home That Needs Updating Dear Phyllis, I had my home listed last year. The agent I hired asked me about the infrastructure of my house. After telling him my roof and air conditioning were old, he advised me not to make any repairs. He listed my home as is, and it was on […]
How Important are Interior Photos? Dear Phyllis, My mother is in rehab, and when she recovers, we are going to move her to an assisted living facility closer to my family. We will then be selling her home in Torrance. Unfortunately, her house is extremely run down. It will be a lot of work relocating […]
Should I Sell or Rent? Dear Phyllis, I love your real estate column! My wife and I will be moving to Texas next year and the home we will buy will likely be in the $400,000 range. I want to sell our La Crescenta home, but my wife wants to rent it out because the […]
Completing Disclosures On A Long-Term Rental Dear Phyllis, My cousins and I own an Orange County home that we inherited from our grandparents. One of the cousins has passed and this cousin was the one in charge of the renting and maintenance. The current tenant, who my deceased cousin placed, moved out and we intend […]
Understanding The Buyer’s Brokerage Agreement Dear Phyllis, My wife and I are in a two story home and we think the time is nearing that we should move to a single story. We have a Realtor we have known for years. A new listing in our neighborhood just came on the market and I texted […]
Overcoming Resistance To Memory Care Dear Phyllis, I am another loyal reader who enjoys your real estate advice. I have a question with a twist. I am my mother’s conservator, she has dementia. Although she has caretakers, it’s getting to be the time that I will need to sell her home to continue to pay […]
Reverse Mortgage Rules Dear Phyllis, I look forward to your real estate Q&A. I am hoping you can offer some guidance. My 85-year-old mother fell and broke her hip and was rushed to the hospital. She has been in rehab for a month and just had a stroke. I don’t know if she can ever […]