House Selling Tips and Advice

Looking for Short Sale Help in California?

Foreclosure blog: Our top tips and adviceBy Osborne Team January 23, 2019

Even with the best intentions, the worst circumstances can cause you to fall behind on your mortgage. Anything from the accumulation of medical bills to the loss of loved one may force you to choose between which financial obligations are the most important to meet. Sometimes, it is tough to call. Most often, however, caring for your own health or that of your family’s simply takes precedence. Still, these kinds of choices frequently have unintended and far-reaching consequences—especially if the bank comes calling to repossess your home. As hopeless as that can feel, resources are available to help you avoid foreclosure. One option is to short sell your home. Finding short sale help for California homeowners, like you, is not hard to do. It is also not the only option you have.

How to Sell Your House Without Paying Commission

Selling a house tips and adviceBy Osborne Team January 21, 2019

The real estate commission rates in California, which more often than not reach upwards of 6% of a home’s sale price, are some of the highest in the nation. So, if you know how to sell your house without paying commission to a real estate agent, you could save yourself tens of thousands of dollars. Saving even a few thousand on an older, smaller house in Marysville or Fresno is nothing to sneeze at—especially if money is tight because of pending medical bills or other time-sensitive financial obligations. But, without paying for the help of a professional real estate agent. Can you still attract serious buyers who are able, and willing, to pay you a fair price for your home? You can, and we will show you how.

Sell a House with Foundation Problems in California

Selling a house tips and adviceBy Osborne Team January 16, 2019

Foundation problems are becoming more common in California because of the recent drought. Without rain, the earth around your house contracts and causes your foundation to shift, crack, and sink.

How to Get Your House Ready to Sell in a Week

Selling a house tips and adviceBy Osborne Team January 14, 2019

It could be that it is getting harder and harder to make the payments on your Madera home and you need to find a way to avoid foreclosure in California as quickly as you can. Or perhaps you are moving out of state for a job and need to leave Irvine for Austin as soon as possible. Promptly getting your home show-ready is the first step to getting it on the market and, hopefully, sold sooner rather than later—assuming you have the time, energy, and resources to tackle all the tasks. To give you an idea of how to get your house ready to sell in a week, we have listed a few ‘must-dos’ here that can also make selling the house faster, and easier, too.

How Long Does It Take to Sell a House in California?

Selling a house tips and adviceBy Osborne Team January 9, 2019

The time it takes to sell a home located in Riverside County will differ from the amount of time it might take to sell in Sacramento County. And while the number of days your house spends on the market will vary from city to city, you will even find variation from neighborhood to neighborhood, too. But average days-on-market isn’t just about geography. There are other factors that influence how quickly you can, or cannot, offload your property. If you are moving out of state for a job, need to settle other debts, or are trying to avoid foreclosure, knowing what to expect can be a critical component to effectively managing all of your affairs. It may also help you decide on the ways in which you may be able to change the outcome—should you hope to speed up the process.

Repairs to do before selling a house in California

Selling a house as-is guides and adviceBy Osborne Team January 7, 2019

You have probably read about home sellers getting sued by their buyers after the house has been sold in the real estate section of the Sacramento Bee or the Orange County Register. You might have even heard stories from a friend or from your own neighbors. The issue usually involves undisclosed problems or damage that was uncovered by a home buyer later and that potentially hurt the property’s value. Sometimes, repairs were promised before the close of escrow and never satisfactorily made. In either case, imagining such a scenario happening to you can put you on edge when it comes time to sell your home. And, this might make you rethink whether you should fix your house or sell it ‘as-is’ since, technically, repairs are not required to sell a house in California. To help take some of that edge off, we will take a look at what you should and should not do, as well as what you can do, once you decide to sell.

How to Sell an Inherited House in California

Inherited house guides and tips for sellingBy Osborne Team January 2, 2019

Inheriting a house in California has to be called a lucky break, but maybe it’s not the opportunity that you’ve been looking for. If you don’t want to keep it, you can sell the house and use the money for what you really want. The only question is how to best get it sold. And the answer depends on your priorities and circumstances—how much money you want or are able to put into selling the house and how fast you need to sell it. If you choose to spend thousands of dollars, you can use a real estate agent to sell the house as quickly as possible and probably for the highest price. Putting the house on the market “for sale by owner” will require less cash up front, but it’ll take more time and work. We’ll take a look at both of those choices and suggest a third way that may be a better fit for your needs.

Steps for Selling a House by Owner in California

For sale by owner tips and guidesBy Osborne Team December 19, 2018

Selling your house to move out of state for a job can be tough, especially when you’ve lived in the same city, or even the same state, for years. Of course, a change in jobs is not the only reason you may need to sell your California home. Plenty of homeowners decide to sell in an effort to avoid foreclosure or because they simply want to downsize to something that is more manageable after the kids go off to school. Whatever your circumstances, deciding to conduct a ‘for sale by owner’ can help you save money if funds are tight. But, to make the most out of this option, it’s important to skillfully, and carefully, navigate the steps you have to take when selling a home without an agent. So, how do you successfully sell a house by owner in California, especially if it needs to happen quickly? It can be easier than you think.

How Much Are Taxes on the Sale of Rental Property in California?

Landlords advice and guidesBy Osborne Team December 17, 2018

When you’re a California landlord selling a rental property, capital gains taxes are one of the many costs that might keep you up at night. Of course, you’ll also have to get the property ready for sale—even minor repairs can add up to a pretty penny. Plus, you can expect to pay a real estate agent and California commission rates are sky-high compared to other states. The expenses of selling just keep adding up. Isn’t there a better way, one that will leave a little more cash in your pocket? If you understand how taxes on the sale of a rental property in California are calculated, you can make a more informed decision about how to go about selling it—and keeping costs down.

What Does a Notice of Default Mean in California?

Foreclosure blog: Our top tips and adviceBy Osborne Team December 10, 2018

Your lender has been sending you regular “reminders” of your overdue mortgage payments and probably has even warned you that this was coming. But it can still be a shock when a notice of default arrives in the mail. It makes your financial problem official. But now is not the time to dwell on the negative; you need to take clear-headed and decisive action. Understanding what the California notice of default means and what you can do about it is the first step, so let’s start there. Then we’ll give you some suggestions for how to avoid the foreclosure altogether and even settle the issues with your mortgage lender in a simple and stress-free way.

Category Archives: House selling tips and advice