Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

The recent housing crisis has prompted questions over whether home ownership is still a viable way toward greater wealth in this country. Confidence in home ownership was shaken, and many have had to turn to renting (the number of renters has increased nearly 25 percent since the housing crisis). The home ownership rate, in turn, has fallen from a peak of nearly 70 percent in 2004 to a two-decade low of 64.3 percent more recently. Still, researchers continue to find evidence that home ownership contributes to individual wealth. One example: The Center for Responsible Lending of Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances recently found that median net worth of home owners in 2013 was $195,400, while at the same time the median net worth for renters was only $5,400. “Home ownership long has been central to Americans’ ability to amass wealth; even with the substantial decline in wealth after the housing bust, the net worth of home owners over time has significantly outpa...

Happy Holidays!  I hope you are enjoying the season.  The year 2014 is about to end and I wanted to wish you a  happy holiday season.   Soon 2015 will be upon us and we will all embark on new and exciting adventures.  I wish you good luck in 2015.  Thrive!!

By listing your home in January, you can capitalize on the buyers looking to buy before the busy and competitive spring market. For many, January is a fresh start, and that can mean a re-energized home search for many interested buyers. 

Buyers can search for homes easier than ever and in many cases have more time to look for homes during the holidays. Serious buyers are always searching for homes on the Internet; the lower inventory will provide your home with less competition and more exposure, which can lead to a quicker sale at a higher price.  

Buyers and Sellers who complete their transactions in 2014 may be able to take advantage of the tax deductions for closing costs when they file their return in 2015.  Contact your CPA to help you maximize the deductions available to you when you are buying and selling property. 

Buying or selling a home (or other piece of real property) usually involves the transfer of large sums of money. It is imperative that the transfer of these funds and related documents from one party to another be handled in a neutral, secure and knowledgeable manner. For the protection of buyer, seller and lender, the escrow process was developed. As a buyer or seller you want to be certain all conditions of sale have been met before property and money exchange hands. The technical definition of an escrow is a transaction where one party engaged in the sale, transfer or lease of real or personal property, with another person delivers a written instrument, money or other items of value to a neutral third person, called an escrow agent or escrow holder. This third person holds the money or items for disbursement upon the happening of a specified event or the performance of a specified condition. Simply stated, the escrow holder impartially carries out the written instructions g...

Prior to listing your home you should have an independent inspector give the house a once over. That way, problems can be spotted — and corrected — before a would-be buyer ever gets wind of them. Before you have your home inspected you should fix items you know are broken — the little things every owner learns to live with — before they become bargaining points. Your agent should provide you with a pre-inspection checklist so all parties can be as sure as possible that the house is inspection-ready. There are a lot of things you (the seller) can do, but if you are not skilled at certain repairs, even the simplest ones, you should call a professional. Not only can inspectors spot amateurish, sub-par work, they will wonder about the quality of repairs that are less visible. When repairs are made, either by you (the seller) or a professional contractor, it’s a good idea to have paid receipts and warranties on hand for the inspector and buyer. Finally, on the day of the inspection, seller...

With shrinking inventories, many buyers are finding only competitive offers will win them the house they want.   Listed below are several ways that home buyers can make more competitive “irresistible” offers. Be pre-approved: Develop a strategy with your loan consultant.  They will help you review your credit reports to make sure they are accurate.  They can also advise you on short-term steps to improve your credit score.  Then you will be ready to take the next step and get preapproval.   The preapproval letter will show sellers you are a serious buyer. Don’t lowball: You may only get one chance to get the home you want in a competitive market. You may not get a second try to sweeten the deal later, so a lowball offer the first time around could cause you to lose out. Use sales prices of comparable properties in the neighborhood to submit your best offer the first time around.   Your realtor can provide a Comparative Market Analysis for ...

Vacant homes  aren't  memorable and won’t stand out to buyers particularly in online listings where the majority of buyers begin their home search. Regardless of price point, staging vacant homes is important to initially capture buyer interest and take them from the online listing to the front door. Once there, a well-staged home will help buyers emotionally connect to the property, ultimately taking their interest to the next level with an offer.  Listed below are two examples of before and after. Photo credit: PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating Keep these insights in mind. Your property will sell faster. A vacant property can take up to 78 percent more time to sell than comparable furnished homes, according to the Real Estate Staging Association. Buyers will see it as their home. Only a few buyers can visualize a vacant room decorated and furnished. The majority of buyers, on the other hand, cannot envision how they will live in the h...

This is the first video in my series, Tip of the Week, where I give you real estate tips. 

You might have heard me say that it’s far more productive to focus on one thing 100% of your time with 100% of your energy rather than spending 10% of your energy and 10% of your time focusing on ten different things. That’s why I always ask the following questions. What is the one thing that I can get done in the next 30 days that will have the biggest bottom line improvement in my business over the next 12 months? The question I ask is: What is the one thing I can get done? Try that question on. What one thing can you get done in the next 30 days that will have the biggest bottom line improvement in your business over the next 12 months? Take some time to really think about the answer because this is where you’ll pour all of your energy and time into. If I was sitting next to you right now, I would act like a magnifying glass. I would have a clean yellow pad in front of us and I would write down these words, what is the one thing you can get done in the next 30 days that will...

Put your pumpkin pulp into the trash to spare your disposal (and other plumbing pipes) a horrible death. The pulp, seeds, and other guts you’re scraping out of pumpkins this week can kill your garbage disposal, so toss them in the trash or the compost pile instead. In a press release, Roto-Rooter warns home owners about the dangers of pumpkin pulp, saying its plumbers “remove gobs of it from clogged drains” during the Halloween season. “Plumbers know that frantic home owners will soon be complaining about pulp-clogged garbage disposals and stopped-up kitchen sink drains leading up to Halloween,” says Larry Rothman, Roto-Rooter’s plumbing director. “It’s stringy and sticky, and when it dries and hardens it’ll choke off drainpipes and garbage disposals, creating all sorts of havoc.” Pumpkin guts haven’t been an issue for my household. But then again, we don’t have a garbage disposal. Year before last, we never got around to carving the pumpkin. It sat on the front porch, ev...

Maybe not. Perhaps the sound you hate is coming down your chimney or through attic vents. Or maybe leaks around your windows are letting in noise along with cold air. Everyone who hates noise should consult an acoustical consultant before they throw money at the problem. For about $1,000, consultants will measure the kind and level of the noise you want to keep out, and suggest the best way to block the sound.  All you might need is a $2 tube of caulk around your windows. If you're going to spend $15,000 on windows, why not get some consulting for $1,000. 

I love being a real estate agent.  It's my passion. 

You’d think so, but you’d be wrong. There are different kinds of physics going on. Energy-efficient windows primarily depend upon low-E coatings and gas between thermal panes to reduce heat transfer and increase energy efficiency. Sound-blocking windows, on the other hand, primarily use thicker and laminated glass, and large air gaps between panes to deaden sound. You can easily make a soundproof window energy-efficient by adding low-E coatings. But you can’t easily make an energy-efficient window soundproof without changing its glass and construction. It’s a balancing act between the performance attributes you deem important for your project. 

T he sound of silence does not come cheap. An insert for a 3-foot-by-5-foot window, costs roughly $950, including installation, though pricing varies depending on features. Custom 3-foot-by-5-foot windows built to an architect’s specs, typically cost between $7,000 and $8,500 (without installation). You can spend a lot of money if you want to block out ear-splitting but occasional noises such as thunder or ambulance sirens. “Is it worth the extra $25,000 to get another 5% performance?” Clients were asked – most replied, “I’ll accept the siren or thunder.”

To reduce sound, you must create a barrier between the sound and the ear that captures the sound. Homes do that with walls, roofs and windows that block sound waves from entering. To increase a window's ability to block sound and increase its STC rating, the window manufacturer must: Add mass (make glass thicker) Add air space (increase the distance between window panes) Use laminated glass, a glass-plastic-glass sandwich that further reduces noise transmission CitiQuiet windows are inserts installed behind your existing window, which adds up to 4 inches of dead, sound-reducing air between the principal window and the new interior window. The company's 1/2-inch laminated insert has a STC rating of 38 and promises up to a 95% noise reduction depending on the size of the window opening, apartment location, and type of noise.  Zeluck Inc. manufacturers high-end, dual-pane windows that a 1-1/4-inch thick and reach an STC rating of 42.

No residential window blocks all sound, all the time. “Soundproof” is shorthand for noise reduction windows that block up to 90% to 95% of noise coming through windows. Sounds with low frequencies, like garbage trucks grinding trash, are harder to block than sounds with higher frequencies, like birds chirping. So when you shop for sound-reducing windows consider “what frequencies you want to soundproof against,” says John Storyk, an acoustical consultant and a founder of the Walters-Storyk Design Group based in Highland, N.Y. The acoustics industry makes soundproof window shopping easier by rating the sound-stopping quality of windows on a sound transmission class (STC) scale; the higher the number, the more a window inhibits sound. Your basic, single-pane window has an average STC rating of 27; a dual pane window has an average STC rating of 28. Soundproof windows, however, have STC ratings of at least 45, and some climb to the mid-50s, which block as much as 95% of noise.

Is outside noise driving you crazy? Soundproof windows could be the solution — or you might do better with some less-costly alternatives. Sound pollution has joined light pollution as another irritant that drives us bonkers and kills our love of home. But there’s good news: Soundproof windows that’ll put a damper on intrusive noise are going mainstream and are available at home improvement centers. “Things are getting louder, and people are getting more sensitive,” says Rich Galietti, sales manager of CitiQuiet, which has been manufacturing soundproofing window inserts for 25 years (Home Depot recently began selling them). Galietti says soundproof windows are most popular in urban areas beset by idling buses, highway traffic, and police sirens.  “We hear, ‘I love my view, but the highway below is so loud,’” Galietti says. “That’s when we’re called in.” But do soundproof windows deliver the peace and quiet they promise? Or are they another home improvement fad that sounds...

There are so many awesome things about hot days like poolside relaxation and cookouts with friends, but what about all the money you’re blowing on energy costs at home? Thankfully, there are ways that you can cut costs during this hot, sweaty season. You’ll also be doing the environment a favor – According to the Energy Department, about half of a household’s overall energy is used up by heating and cooling in the home. Here are 5 helpful ways to cut down on pesky energy costs during hot days. Clean your filters.   – Clean them out at least once a month, which can be done very easily. All you have to do is run water through the filters and let them air dry. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it…and your wallet will thank you! Keep that cold air in!   – It’s especially important to keep all the cold air that’s coming out of your home’s vents to stay in your home and not seep outdoors. You can do this by applying inexpensive plastic film around older windows to prev...

Eligible borrowers are Active-Duty Military, Veterans and widowers of Veterans not re-married  100% financing in San Diego up to $546,250  No mortgage insurance on the loan  VA funding fee is waived if borrower is collecting 10% or more disability from VA  Minimum credit score of 580 and above to qualify  Loan amounts up to $1,000,000. Down payment is 25% of the difference over $546,250  May re-use VA Certificate of Eligibility over and over again throughout your lifetime, usually on just one house at a time  Up to 4% Third Party Concessions allowed. All or part of that may be used for debt reduction to qualify  Condos must be on the VA Approved Condo List. No condo cert needed and we don’t ask about litigation, budget, reserves, owner-occupancy, etc…  Seller does NOT need to pay any of the buyer’s closing costs  Pest Inspection must be paid for and provided by the Seller. Repairs are negotiable as far as who pays for them. B...

Ask yourself these three questions to ensure you are ready. For those homeowners who may be interested in refinancing, you may or may not be ready to jump in. Lenders have developed stricter criteria in the wake of the recession. Here are some of the questions you'll need to ask to be an attractive candidate for a refinancing opportunity. 1. Are you a 20 percent stakeholder? The lenders would ideally like to see that you've got skin in the game — meaning, they want you to own at least 20 percent of the equity in the house.  How do you know whether or not you have that level of equity? Find out the answer  here . 

With all the wildfires in San Diego nearing 100% containment, residents of San Diego County are returning to their homes to assess the damage and begin the recovery process.  The County of San Diego offers its residents many resources to aid in the recovery and rebuilding of their property.  Information regarding this can be accessed through their website   sdcountyrecovery.com .  According to the website, the County has opened a Recovery Liaison Office at the County Library’s San Marcos branch, located at 2 Civic Center Drive. The office will be open from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. this week, but please call the library at (760) 891-3000 to confirm that the office is still set up before visiting.     The office can offer people whose homes were lost and damaged in the Cocos Fire help to obtain building permits, clear ash from swimming pools, safely handle food after a power outage and other recovery and rebuilding information. According to a recent AB...