Kevin Smith Real Estate Podcast

Here are five questions that every home seller should ask before listing. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes. Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel!  Low inventory and interest rates are causing absolute craziness in our real estate market. If you’re thinking about selling your home, you should hold off until you’re able to answer all five of these questions confidently: 1. Where are you going to go? Are you going to sell and buy another home right away? Are you going to rent instead? 2. Are you ready for the showings? We can’t have open houses, so we’ll have to stack showing appointments on top of each other. Within the first seven days that your home is on the market, you could have up to 70 people coming through the house. A real estate professional is the best hire you can make.  3. Is the house ready? You might need to make some renovations. You’ll need to do some deep cleaning and decluttering and possibly some staging before listing the property. 4. How will this affect my finances? Talk to your CPA, accountant, or tax person because if you have a large gain, you’ll likely have a larger tax bill. Know this info ahead of time and run the numbers. 5. Are you ready to hire a Realtor? A professional is the most important person you can hire. They will be able to negotiate, handle the contracts, do disclosures, and deal with any problems that might arise. You’ll be better off if you hire a professional. These are the five big questions every home seller should be asking before they list their home on the market. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here’s how many Americans actually made money throughout the pandemic. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes. Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel!  Some people have been making a lot of money this year, and there are a few reasons why. Over the last year, the housing market has boomed. Multiple-offer situations are causing bidding wars and allowing sellers to (in my opinion) get more than their houses are actually worth. A big factor behind this has been the stock market, as most people have seen huge gains in their portfolios. A lot of people have jumped in, and many of them have made a ton of money. People who have owned a home since the 2009 housing crash have also enjoyed equity growth in their home values. These individuals have a lot more money available to them right now; if they wanted, they could pull out their equity or refinance in order to buy an investment property. For many Americans, the pandemic has actually increased cash flow, increased savings, and decreased debt.  Interest rates are also at historically low levels. We’ve seen them as low as 2.75%, though they’ve risen slightly. Still, even a 3% rate is fantastic and allows you to buy a bigger home for a lower price. The pandemic has also played a role in a few ways. People have been saving money because they’re traveling less and avoiding restaurants, and stimulus checks have allowed many to build up their savings as well. Some people have even seen their income increase due to unemployment. A lot of people have also been given early retirement packages, and companies that have decided to relocate have given bonuses to employees that come with them. Some families are also receiving inheritance or life insurance because a loved one passed away due to COVID. For many Americans, the pandemic has actually increased cash flow, increased savings, and decreased debt. This means that more people than ever are ready to find a home. If you are looking to buy or sell, have any questions, or would like more information, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here is the key difference between sales professionals and consultants. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes. Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel!  A real estate sales professional is someone who might be pitching or pushing their client into buying something for their own financial gain. A sales consultant, on the other hand, is going to ask a lot of questions, identify the client’s pain points, and help them make the right decision. A consultant is also going to inform and educate their clients, taking them step-by-step through the entire process so it’s not a stressful situation. If you have any questions about this topic or how we help our home sellers reach their goals, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here’s what sellers can do to deal with a low appraisal. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes. Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel!  If you’re a seller, what if your home’s appraised value doesn’t meet its contract price? With the market being so hot and so many multiple-offer situations happening, we’re seeing a lot of this right now. The first thing you want to do in this situation is look over the appraisal and check for any errors. Appraisers are super busy, so it could be something as small as having the wrong address or the wrong square footage. If everything checks out, your next option is to have your agent file a rebuttal. This rebuttal should include all the latest comps from your neighborhood and an explanation as to why you don’t think the appraisal is correct. After you’ve made sure everything’s been done correctly, send this rebuttal to the lender. From there, they’ll take a look at it and see what they can come up with. Appraisers are super busy, so it could be something as small as having the wrong address or the wrong square footage.  If that doesn’t work, your last option is to renegotiate the price with the buyer and come up with terms that satisfy both parties. As always, if you have questions about this or any real estate topic or are thinking of buying a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m happy to help.

A few laws regarding ADUs (accessory dwelling units) have changed in California. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes. Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel!  If you haven’t heard, the Senate in Sacramento has passed new bills that enact a couple of changes regarding ADUs. The first bill, AB 881, has three key aspects to note: The first aspect of the bill changes the language about setbacks, which are the amounts of space you can build up to the property line, making them smaller. Now that space is limited to four feet instead of the 10 or so feet you were allowed before (depending on your city or county). The second part to note is that they’ve made the square footage of the ADU itself larger. For instance, if you have a 3,000-square-foot house on a 13,000-square-foot lot, you can go up to almost half the size of the house, to a maximum of 1,200 feet. If you have a smaller house, say 1,100 square feet, the maximum you can go up to is 800 square feet. This change adds a substantial amount of square footage to your house that you can use as in-law quarters, or even rent it out for income.  The third aspect of Bill 881 is that it shortens the amount of time you can get approval from the city. Where it was once 120 days, it has now been reduced to 60 days. This makes it a lot faster for people to get their permits billed, which has been taking longer these days due to a land shortage. SB 12 removes a hurdle that people typically have to jump when building an ADU.  The second bill passed was AB 670. If you live in a neighborhood that has CCNRs and HOAs, this bill will change a few things. Let’s say you have a 13,000-square-foot lot and an HOA has been added to your neighborhood. The new bill allows you to add an ADU to your home regardless of your CCNRs or HOA. The third bill was Senate Bill 12. This bill eliminates the fees associated with getting permits for ADUs, and if they’re under 700 square feet, then those ADUs will have no additional fees levied on the property. This removes a hurdle that people typically have to jump when building an ADU. If you have any questions or comments about today’s topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you.

These four tips will help you achieve your goals in 2021. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes. Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel!  If you’re having trouble setting and achieving your goals for 2021, here are four tips I use that can help you too: 1. Have an accountability partner. An accountability partner means having someone to tell your goals to—this could mean a group of people, a mastermind, a friend or family member, or a coworker. Telling them the goal you’re reaching for and being able to check in with them on a weekly (or monthly) basis helps you keep your goals set. I use an accountability partner for my health and fitness goals. Having a class to go to or a trainer makes me be on time and pushes me to hit my goals. 2. Make SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely). For the Achievable criterion, make sure you have short-term, medium, and long-term goals that are obtainable. Having achievable goals gives you a nice pat on the back as you move through the year. If you have a goal, write it down and figure out whether it’s a financial goal, sales goal, etc.  3. Get educated. We’re always evolving and changing, and education is very important. Whether this means attending a webinar, seminar, or taking a Zoom class, getting educated will keep you at the top of your game. Technology is always changing aspects of the real estate business (e.g., contracts), and keeping up to date with these changes is a great way to maintain a sharp business. 4. Have a plan. If you have a goal, write it down and figure out whether it’s a financial goal, sales goal, etc. Then calculate how many transactions you’ll need to close and how much money you’ll need to make on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis to reach that goal. After that, stick to your plan. If you have to tweak it throughout the year, that’s fine; just make sure you’re doing your due diligence and stick to the plan. If you have questions about today’s topic or need any type of real estate assistance, don’t hesitate to call or email me. I’d love to help you.

These tips will help you decide how to prep your home for the market. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes.Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel! Should you take the time and money to fix up your home before selling or are you better off selling it at a discount and not doing anything? Here are some tips to help: 1. Get an assessment from a real estate professional. They should know the ins and outs of the market and be able to give you a better idea of what you could sell for with making fixes and without making fixes. 2. Get your reports upfront. For example, a termite inspection will give you a report about the conditions of the wood in your home. A pre-listing home inspection will point out any areas of neglect so we know how to price the home based on its condition if we do choose that route. 3. Be realistic with the pricing. In today’s market, it’s possible to overprice. Pricing at or slightly below market value will not only get you more eyes on the property, but it will also help you sell it faster and for more money. 4. Timing. If you have a few months and some cash to spend, the repairs can be easily made and really impact your final sale price. If you have any questions for me about fixing up your home, selling your home, or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here’s everything you need to know about Proposition 19. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes.Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel! Back in November, the “ayes” barely eked out the “nays” as Proposition 19 passed with a margin of 51% to 49%. This directly impacts the tax basis of California homeowners who are in the 55+ age bracket. One of the benefits of Prop. 19 is that it allows you, a senior homeowner, to transfer your tax basis (1%) to any county in California, not just the 14 counties that had been participating prior to the 2020 vote. The second benefit is that a tax basis can be transferred up to three times—a significant increase from the previous one-time cap. This gives you more flexibility if you know your next home won’t be your “forever” home. Here’s a huge drawback, though: In order for children/grandchildren to inherit a property from their parents/grandparents and keep the same tax basis, the property must be used as a primary residence. So if, for example, a son is living in Florida and his California-based parents pass away, he’d have to move into their house permanently so he could keep their tax basis; if he plans to hold onto it as a second home or rental property, then the property must undergo a tax assessment for 1% of its current value. Prop. 19 gives you more flexibility if you know your next home won’t be your “forever” home. Depending on how long someone’s parents or grandparents have been living in a property, this change in the inheritance law could mean the difference between them paying $1,000 a year in taxes or $10,000 a year in taxes. Properties inherited as second homes will be reassessed at the current market value—no exceptions. These tax liabilities will be huge. If you have more questions about Prop. 19 or need some help with your buying, selling, or investing plans, reach out by phone or email anytime. I’m always here to help you make sense of the market, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes.Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel! I want to take this opportunity to wish you the happiest of holidays. I know 2020 has been a challenge for all of us, but we made it. We’ve had the pleasure of helping many clients buy and sell homes, and I hope you’ve had a good year too. On a personal note, I look forward to spending time with my nieces and nephews and seeing the joy of Christmas through their eyes. Be safe out there, have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing you in 2021! If you ever have any real estate needs, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help.

More and more homebuyers are moving across the country. Here’s why. Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Click here to search our new construction homes.Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel! What’s behind the increased migration of homebuyers across the country?  Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many companies have realized they don’t need all of their employees to physically come to work, which has convinced them to either close down their offices or move their offices to less expensive states. Similarly, many employees have realized that they don’t need to live in major metropolitan cities and are now moving to the suburbs or other less expensive areas. According to a recent poll, roughly 67% of employees across American claim they don’t have to go into work as much as usual. Those who’ve been renting in the big cities can now afford to buy a home in the suburbs, a rural area, or even another state due to the low interest rates we’re seeing. National Van Lines, Inc. recently conducted a migration survey and found that these are the top five states from which people are moving: New JerseyIllinoisConnecticutKansasOhio Meanwhile, these are the top five states people are moving to: VermontOregonIdahoNevada Arizona There could be a variety of reasons behind these migration patterns. Here in California, for example, we have a high tax bracket and a high income tax, so many businesses and residents are leaving. Additionally, our average home price is about $500,000, which is twice as expensive as any other state in the union. The average yearly salary needed to live in San Francisco alone is roughly $350,000. If you’d like to talk more about what’s driving people to relocate or whether or not it’s in your best interest to do so, feel free to call or email me anytime. I’d love to help.