Ask Phyllis! Selling An Empty Home vs. A Staged One Dear Phyllis, Thank you for your column which I always look forward to reading. I will be relocating my mom from Valencia and am wondering if it’s better to sell her house completely empty, or whether I should have it staged […]
Ask Phyllis! Realtor Responsibilities Dear Phyllis, Four months ago, our home was in escrow and it was a nightmare. Our buyer’s original offer was a cash offer. He then opted to get a loan and the appraisal came in low. All of this developed after we had been in escrow for three weeks. We […]
Short Sale Timelines Dear Phyllis, Three weeks ago, we made an offer for a short sale listing. The seller’s agent acknowledged receipt and said she forwarded our offer to the bank. She says she still hasn’t heard from the bank and as you can imagine, we are anxious. We have a $28,000 deposit just […]
Ask Phyllis! Saving On Capital Gains Dear Phyllis, My parents moved out of state two years ago and converted their home to a rental. To avoid capital gains tax, my accountant thinks my parents should sell since it was their primary residence for at least 2 of the last 5 years from the (anticipated) […]
Ask Phyllis! Transferring Property Taxes Dear Phyllis, Next year my wife and I plan to downsize to a smaller home or condo. We are contemplating renting our current home and then perhaps renting something in Ventura County where we believe we want to retire. I have several questions: 1) How do I go about […]
Ask Phyllis! Contingent Offers Dear Phyllis, While interest rates remain low, we hope to buy a larger home. We have made a couple offers but keep getting turned down because the other buyers we are competing with don’t have a sale contingency. I know it’s difficult to secure a home because they are selling […]
Ask Phyllis! Selling As Is Dear Phyllis, I am moving my mother into an assisted living facility. Her home is 70 years old but most everything is in working order – just old. I want to sell her home AS IS, I don’t want to paint, or even clean or empty the home. In […]
Ask Phyllis! Contingent Offers Dear Phyllis, While interest rates remain low, we hope to buy a larger home. We have made a couple offers but keep getting turned down because the other buyers we are competing with don’t have a sale contingency. I know it’s difficult to secure a home because they are selling […]
Ask Phyllis! Open House Theft Dear Phyllis, Three years ago, our home was on the market but because we listed a bit high it didn’t sell. During the first open house, my Rolex was stolen. I didn’t leave it out in plain sight – it was in my dresser drawer. When I told my Realtor® […]
Ask Phyllis! Septic Inspections Dear Phyllis, I am planning on selling my La Cañada home in the next year or two. I have lived in my 70 year old home for 20 years and never had problems with my septic tank. I am located in the sewer district four and there are no foreseeable […]