by Gary Belk | Sep 29, 2013 | Before and After, Blog, Home Improvement, Properties with Potential, San Francisco Real Estate |
by Gary Belk Good ideas for narrow homes: The home in this article is only 10′ wide, makes the SF standard 25′ wide home feel spacious! Other by Washington Architects & Designers KUBE architecture Good ideas for narrow homes: Design Lessons From a 10-Foot-Wide Row House Architecture, interior design, and more ∨Browse living room ideas, from sectional sofas to chandeliers and floor lamps, for your next interior design project. Browse inspiring bedroom design, then outfit your own beds, convertible sofa beds ordaybed with luxury bedding and decorative throws....
by Gary Belk | Aug 22, 2013 | Business, Real Estate, San Francisco Real Estate |
Don’t Be Scared of Those Rising Interest Rates – They’re Actually Good for Housing! Here in San Francisco, we are beginning to see two interesting trends in the real estate market. The first trend pertains to the method of payment in transactions: cash. During the first half of 2013, 35% of the transactions were cash. This tendency toward cash could be due to an increasing difficulty in getting a loan or it could be that the seller wants to close fast and is not willing to wait for financing if a cash offer also comes in. Cash transactions have another added benefit: the guarantee. In my two decades of experience in real estate here in the Bay Area, I know that a small but meaningful percentage of transactions with financing will fail. Many of my sellers tell me they prefer cash deals, even if the sales price is lower. The second interesting trend is that rising rates are beginning to cause lenders to offer a wider variety of products and underwriting practices are getting back to pre-recession “normal”—no more having to use you’re first born as collateral! How these two are changes a good thing? Two reasons: one, with easier financing sellers have started to realize that waiting a few extra days for someone to get a loan is worth getting a higher price, and two, higher rates do take a few buyers out of the market and this will have a gentle cooling impact on the market as a whole. With a reported 25% increase from May 2012 to May 2013, the market needs to cool a bit....
by Gary Belk | Apr 12, 2013 | Blog |
Bush St. Planning Process with your Renovation Realtor Gary Belk from wwwGaryBelk.com Often renovation is the best way to get the perfect home. Join me, Gary Belk San Fransisco’s Renovation Realtor over the next few weeks as we follow a renovation we are doing for a longtime client. She loves her home, with just a few exceptions. In this initial video I share the tips, techniques and reasons for spending some time planning your renovation. If you want to learn more about the homeowner and how she purchased the home read The Women of...
by Gary Belk | Feb 22, 2013 | Blog, Real Estate, San Francisco Real Estate |
In the competitive real estate market of San Francisco sometimes the best strategy is to come in second place when your trying to buy a house! The inventory of available homes in San Francisco is very tight and this results in a competitive marketplace. Often homes receive multiple offers and the winning bid is way over the asking price. A strategy that I have used with success in the past year has been to get my clients to submit a fair offer, one they are comfortable with and one that is at or just above market value. We try to make the offer as clean as possible; avoiding all possible contingencies. We also have financing lined up so that the sellers are confident that we could and would close the transaction with as little headache to the seller as possible and on the sellers preferred timeline. This offer may not be the winning offer but it may be enticing enough to the seller (and the seller’s agent) to offer you a back-up position. Sellers like to have a back-up offer because it keeps pressure on the primary offer to perform because the seller may offer the back-up position at a price less than that of the primary offer. Having the back-up position is a great place to be; it puts you in control of the situation if anything happens to the primary offer. Think about this; in a market where buyers get sucked into an auction mentality and often offer more than they are comfortable offering; they often get cold feet or what agents call buyer’s remorse. Once buyer’s...
by Gary Belk | Feb 13, 2013 | Newsletters |
How to Buy a Home in a Competitive Market Once again the real estate market in San Francisco has become crazy! Buyers are lining up to buy homes in good locations in livable condition. I have some tips that make buying in such a market a bit easier. Prices are continuing to rise while inventory is very low. There are many theories as to why inventory is low but if you’re in the market to buy a house it doesn’t matter. What matters is finding a home you love at the right price*. The point of this article is to give you a few strategies to use in a competitive market. They work for both – the investor and the homeowner. Read More of the Original Article Here Tips in a Nutshell What to Look for – Stale Listings: Houses on the market for more than a few weeks are called ‘shopworn inventory’ or ‘stale listings’. If a property is on the market a couple weeks, it presents a potentially great opportunity for a buyer! Don’t gloss over these listings. Go into Back-up Position: If your offer is not the one chosen, then ask to be put in back-up position. Don’t Miss an Opportunity Because the Property Doesn’t Meet All of Your Needs: No property is perfect. While you are shopping for the perfect home, prices go up and near perfect homes are sold. Prioritize your list of needs and wants for a property according to what cannot be changed. To download a PDF version of this newsletter click here: Tips for Buying a Home in a Competitive Market...
