Homes for Sale in San Diego County

San Diego homeowners facing financial difficulties have numerous options besides short selling your home. Options could include loan modification or a revised repayment plan; refinancing with your current lender or another lender; bankruptcy; or voluntary deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. These options may have adverse consequences and you must decide what is best for your individual situation.

To find out more, explore your options with your lender and other appropriate professionals, such as attorneys, accountants, and qualified San Diego housing and credit counselors. A list of HUD-approved housing counselors is available by Clicking Here. Even more local, state and national resources are compiled on the State of California Foreclosure Help website at http://www.hud.gov/local/ca/homeownership/foreclosure.cfm

It’s a buyer’s market, and even small things can set your San Diego house apart from the competition. The problem is, over time, homeowners no longer see small projects like fixing a hinge on a seldom-used cabinet door or cleaning scuff marks off the back door.

But in a home buyers eyes, those little projects put questions in their minds, not only, “how much will these repairs cost?” but also, “if the little things aren’t done, are there big things that haven’t been done as well?”

A clean and clutter-free San Diego home is a great start. But it’s important to take a more critical eye to your home before listing it for sale. If you can afford it, have a pre-listing home inspection to identify problems ahead of time. Fix the problems that you are able to, and be prepared to disclose and/or negotiate the ones you can’t fix up front. Here are five areas where a small fix can make a big impact on how a buyer sees your San Diego home.

Heating and cooling is a critical component to San Diego homes and one of the most costly repairs to make on a home. a heating and cooling system that appears to poorly maintained can raise concerns with potential San Diego home buyers. Be sure to replace the furnace filters to ensure optimal air flow to the HVAC system. Clean all the air vents and ceiling fan blades.

Electrical. Replace any burned out light bulbs in all fixtures inside and outside. Replace cracked or missing outlet covers and switch plate covers. These are simple, inexpensive items that improve the overall appearance of any home for sale in San Diego.

Walls and windows. Repair and touch up dings, scratches and holes in the walls, even small holes from picture hangers. Clean scuff marks off base boards, walls and doors. Clean the windows and vacuum the window tracks inside and outside to get rid of debris.

Flooring is an item that every San Diego home buyer immediately notices. Shampoo the carpet if it is still in good condition. Where possible, replace broken floor tiles or boards. If the carpet is looking worn or stained, get estimates to replace it so you will be armed with information if the buyer tries to negotiate a concession.

With all the recent news and health concerns about mold, it is important to have the plumbing in tip top condition. Fix any leaky faucets or pipes. Besides being clean, bathroom fixtures should function properly. Check the faucets for water flow and temperature. Make sure the toilets flush properly and don’t “run.”

Finally, if you started home improvement projects that you haven’t quite finished, finish it! Not only will it be one less thing on your to-do list, it could improve your chances of standing out to potential San Diego home buyers.

Selling your San Diego home can be much easier if you follow a few basic guidelines. Even in a slow real estate market you can get a good offer in a minimal amount of market time if you are a realistic seller.

The most important factor in getting a good offer on your San Diego home (in my opinion) is to price it right from the get go. Set a price at the lower end of your property’s realistic price range. Pricing your San Diego home at the upper end of the property’s price range “hoping to leave room for negotiating” can deter potential buyers from viewing your property if there are similar lesser priced property’s in your neighborhood.

Prepare for visitors. Get your San Diego house market ready PRIOR to listing it in the MLS and showing it. You want your home to be ready to show the day it hits the market. Listing your San Diego home in the MLS and stating it cannot be shown for a week due to clean up will only frustrate potential buyers and lead them to believe the home  is in poor condition.

Be flexible about showings. It’s often disruptive to have a house ready to show at the spur of the moment but the more amenable you can be about letting people see your home, the sooner you’ll find a buyer. Having a lockbox on the property, even if you want to be present during every showing is also a big plus. A San Diego Realtor who is preparing a list of properties to show their client may choose to skip your property if they think it will be difficult to show due to not having a lockbox present. 

Anticipate the offers. Decide in advance what price and terms you’ll find acceptable. A quick response back to the potential buyer will keep them interested in the property.

Don’t refuse to drop the price. If your San Diego home has been on the market for more than 30 days without an offer, you should be prepared to at least consider lowering your asking price. Despite declining prices, there are still a lot of San Diego home buyers out there. If you have little to no showings and no offers with-in the first 30 days, your list price is most likely too high.

Curb appeal can make the difference between a sale and no sale when marketing your home for sale in today’s market. Most home buyers over estimate the cost to clean up, repair, or replace a homes undesired exterior features so it’s important to take away that factor when marketing your home. When a potential home-buyer is viewing homes in a neighborhood they are constantly comparing every home they view against each other.

I had a client once who was searching for homes in a certain school zone. There were quite a few to choose from but this couple fell in love with one particular model. There happened to be 3 of this particular home model available for sale all with different features. I will call them Home A, Home B, and Home C. Home C was on a standard lot with neighbors on both sides and Homes A & B were on corner lots which was appealing to the buyers. Homes A & B had identical features and amenities inside, aside from the color schemes. The front exteriors were landscaped in a similar fashion but Home A had a permitted but unfinished patio cover and no rear landscaping. Home B did not have a patio cover but had a simple but well maintained rear yard but was priced almost 100K more than home A. Guess which home did they chose (against my advise)?

Home B! The overpriced property with the well maintained yard. Their reasoning…the color of the paint on the inside and they thought the rear yard was going to be too much to landscape and finish! Mind you these were 7000sf lots, not half acres or anything. The cost to finish the patio and landscape the rear yard in Home A in a similar fashion to Home B would have been well under $8000 if done by a professional. Interior paint job by a professional would have been less than $6000 and they could have chosen their favorite colors. Essentially, they paid roughly $86,000 for a $16,000 job.

Now, I’m not suggesting you list your San Diego home $100,ooo more than the guy down the street because your landscaping is better, I’m just making a point that curb appeal makes a huge impact on buyers. This is a very rare circumstance that happened.

If you’re looking to sell your San Diego home, here are a few suggestions for making your home more appealing for potential home buyers with these quick and easy tips:

Trim bushes, so they don’t block windows or architectural details.

Mow the lawn, and turn on the sprinklers for 10 minutes prior to a showing to make the lawn sparkle.

Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on the porch.

Edge the grass around the walkways and trees.

Keep your garden tools and hoses out of sight.

Clear toys from the lawn – front and back.

If your mailbox looks untidy, replace it.

Upgrade outside lighting.

Make sure the doorbell works and is clean.

Replace the doormat for the outside of the front door.

Clean the windows, inside and outside.

Polish or replace your house number and make sure it is visible from the street. Even in the evening time.

Place a seasonal wreath on your front door.

Title insurance protects the homeowner from any losses sustained from defects in the title. It’s required by most mortgage lenders. Here are five other things you should know about title insurance.

It protects your ownership right to your San Diego home, both from fraudulent claims against your ownership and from mistakes made in earlier sales, such as mistake in the spelling of a person’s name or an inaccurate description of the property.

It’s a one-time cost usually based on the price of the property. It is customary in San Diego county that the Buyer pays for the “Lender” policy and the Seller pays for the “Owners” policy but can be negotiated differently.

There are both lender title policies, which protect the lender, and owner title policies, which protect you. The lender will probably require a lender policy.

Discounts on premiums are sometimes available if the home has been bought within only a few years since not as much work is required to check the title. Ask the title company if this discount is available.

If you are purchasing a piece of San Diego real estate as an investment purchase with the intent to sell the property shortly after the purchase, be sure to ask the title company for a “binder” with your policy as this will save you money when you go to resell.

How does your San Diego home smell? It might be worth an extra sniff because buyers certainly will take notice.

Sensory research shows that the smell of a home can affect a person’s mood, according to Terry Molnar, executive director of The Sense of Smell Institute, a New York – based organization that focuses on the importance of smell to human psychology, behavior, and quality of life.

A light floral fragrance can put people in a more pleasant mood, while citrus scents, such as lemon and grapefruit, tend to have an energizing effect, he says. “Vanilla is one scent that’s universal around the globe,” Molnar says. “People find it comforting and relaxing.”

But be careful: When you add smells to  your San Diego home, it can be viewed as an attempt to cover up a bad odor. And if that’s the intent, it can make the problem worse.

So what if you do need to get rid of a bad smell? Here are some ideas from home staging professionals:

Take the trash out. It’s simple, but it can make a big difference. When your San Diego home is being shown, empty the garbage often.

Snuff out the smoke. Eliminate all smoking inside and even outside, particularly when the doors or windows are open. An ionizer can help remove smoke smells.

Watch the cooking. The smell of lamb, broccoli, garlic, fish, and eggs can stick around long after the food has been eaten.

Wash Fido. Pets can be a big source of smells. Limit the pet to an outdoor area or a certain room in your house that can be regularly cleaned. Also, clean the pet’s bedding regularly and if you have cats be sure to clean the litter box.