What makes San Bruno unique and why is it a great place to buy a home?
San Bruno is a city that offers the perfect balance for a home buyer, especially for new home buyers looking for their starter home. The location, the downtown scene, and the weather are all high points that recommend it!
The location of San Bruno, between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, gives any home buyer a convenient compromise for those couples who may be working areas, as many couples in the area do. Also, getting to downtown San Francisco is faster from San Bruno than from the Sunset District of SF because of the easy access to the 101 and 280 freeways!
San Bruno is also very close to SFO and has a friendly business climate. The class “A” office spaces have attracted companies such as Walmart.com, YouTube and United Airlines! Lastly, the northern part of San Bruno is considered the “end of the fog line” meaning you will have more warm and sunny days while living in San Bruno, as compared to many parts of San Francisco.
All of these things and more make San Bruno an amazing city to live in and a great place to buy a home, raise a family and work!
In your opinion, what is the most common myth that home buyers or sellers think about real estate agents and how they operate?
Sellers and buyers often times think that a real estate agent is only trying to have a quick easy sale of their home. That there is nothing more to the transaction than the transaction itself! This couldn’t be further from the truth and agents know that this manner of working is the easiest way to choke off future business.
Real Estate agents depend on the referrals of their past clients. The clients’ happiness is paramount to the transaction and the future success of the agent is dependent on clients’ satisfaction! Happy customers who send their friends and relatives to an agent they’ve worked with is the easiest, cheapest way for the agent to enjoy a successful career.
Why should you hire a real estate agent when buying or selling a home, rather than trying to do it on your own?
This is one of those questions that is frequently asked, but despite the many great answers the attractiveness of saving some money I’m going to reiterate a few key points!
The first is, if your are a buyer, working with a buyers agent is always a good idea because they are someone who knows the area and will be able to find you the key things you’re looking for in a home. But, most of all, the commission of the agents is customarily paid by the seller so you don’t have to worry about the cost of working with the agent!
Sellers, since they do pay the commission of the agents need to hear these few key things agents do that increase your home sale! First, with the market the way it is and the excessive amount of ‘short sale’ and ‘foreclosure’ properties, you need to understand how to successfully price your home for your area.
These troubled properties have brought investors and opportunists out of the woodwork looking to “steal” a home. It’s hard for the buying public to recognize the difference between homes that are priced competitively and those that are put on the market at a steep discount to attract a lot of buyers. Those homes prices are then jacked up during the bidding process.
The main thing a seller needs to be sure of is that their home is priced competitively but not so competitively it is lumped into the same category as the troubled homes in the area. An agent also has the marketing skill to get your home in front of the right eyes, and show, negotiate, and close the transaction with the least amount of hassle to you!
How is the housing market in San Bruno these days?
The housing market in San Bruno is recovering in the same manner as the rest of the peninsula, thankfully! It’s still strong for selling homes that are in good condition with competitive prices. There are also still homes that need some cosmetic upgrades, if you’re looking for a mild fixer upper!
Essentially these homes have become “stale” on the market due to faulty marketing techniques which gives a buyer the opportunity to find some really attractive deals! It helps when you work with a local agent who knows the area and inventory and is willing to dig a little to find these deals!
Why should I buy instead of rent?
The long term financial benefits of buying are pretty clear to most people. You gain equity in your home, you have an asset rather than just giving money to your landlord each month. You also have free reign of your space to do with as you want, home improvement projects, painting, etc!
But beyond the obvious financial benefits you also have the security of your own home, pride of ownership and community that comes along with it! Now is a time that many people are being cautious and staying on the sidelines. Interestingly, it is times like these that people often look back at and say, “I should have done it then”.
How important is the choice of mortgage lender when buying a new home or refinancing? How do they affect the transaction?
There has never been a time when it’s more important to choose the right mortgage lender. The recent foreclosure and mortgage crisis we’ve experienced has caused regulators to react with more and more stringent regulations which in turn has caused the lenders to become more cautious. Even overly cautious at times!
The opportunity of borrowing at today’s extremely low rates is nothing short of fantastic! There are also many pitfalls for the borrower that need to be watched. Getting involved with the wrong mortgage lender who is unaware of the demands of the regulators, zealous loan underwriters, and other requirements for closing can cost you!
My recommendation is to get reviews from friends, co-workers, and other sources on who they worked with, take the time to really interview your mortgage lender because they will be handling a transaction that will affect you for the next 30 years! Working with the right person who has your best intentions in mind can make all the difference.
Sometimes everything works out how you want it to!
Recently I worked with a client who was committed to finding the right property that she could afford and also fit into her long-term plans. When she came in looking for an investment property of multiple units, with low down payment, low monthly payments, and in a good rental market near San Francisco I thought that she may just be asking too much.
She interviewed a lot of people, asked questions, listened to their advice and did her own investigations and then, when she felt comfortable she acted decisively and heeded the advice of the professionals working for her. We were able to find her a great four-unit building with only a 3.5% down payment. And, believe it or not, the property even has a positive cash flow with her living for free in one of the units!
The market right now is so varied that even some of the most difficult to find situations have a chance to found. It’s important to know what you’re looking for and to recognize when you’re asking for too much, but always take a chance on finding just the right place because it happens!
As manager of a real estate office, what traits have you seen successful Realtors portray that unsuccessful Realtors do not?
I’ve seen that a lot of very successful Realtors open themselves up to the new techniques of finding business. It’s important to understand were the upcoming buyers and sellers may be! However, most of them still get the majority of their business the old fashioned way.
Never underestimate the power of prospecting past clients and your sphere of influence. Be sure you always provide superior service and do everything you can to make your clients happy and you’ll never have to worry about a bad referral. Past clients, friends, and family will always be willing to recommend you to a friend!
Unsuccessful agents often embrace new technologies or other forms of busy work as a way to avoid the feeling of rejection that comes from personal prospecting. There’s a place in the industry for new techniques, especially in this age of technology, but be sure you use it as a tool to enhance the personal ways of reaching out rather than replacing it.
What are three things buyers or sellers can do to make the transaction smoother?
There’s not any three particular things that can be done to make everything smoother as there are so many different parts of every transaction that need to be monitored. What does this mean? It means there is one specific thing in particular that needs to happen.
Buyers and Sellers need to find a Realtor® that they can trust and have confidence in. Listen to their advice because it comes from years of experience in the market.
I find the greatest obstacle to getting my clients the best terms a smooth transaction is building enough trust that they will listen to my advice.
What makes Burlingame special? How is the market there now?
Burlingame is what I refer to as a destination market. This means it’s a place you want to live, not somewhere you settle for until you can afford where you want to live! It’s a place to stay. We see young couples doing everything to squeeze themselves into the cheapest home on the market just to be in the area!
We also see people moving up from the nice 3 bedroom to the grand home of their dreams, but still within Burlingame! Retired couples will bite the bullet on property taxes so that they can remain in the area they want to be in rather than somewhere cheaper- all to stay in Burlingame! So that begs the question, why Burlingame?
They come for the schools, the community and the family involvement in these schools. There’s shopping, weekend mornings at the local coffee shop, the history of the area too! And, on top of all this, there’s the convenience of it’s proximity to San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
But mostly, what makes Burlingame special and makes it a place people want to stay are the amazing people who make up the community. They make this city a beautiful place to live.
