Should Real Estate Be Part of Your Retirement Plan?

Should you invest in real estate as part of your retirement plan? It’s a good idea, but you need to make sure it’s right for you.

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Should real estate be part of your retirement plan? 

Actually, including real estate in your retirement plan is a great way to diversify your portfolio. Most financial planners agree that diversification reduces the risk in your retirement plan. 

However, investing in real estate may not be right for everyone. It does require you to set a lot of money aside in case something happens in the property. For example, the air conditioning may go out, you could lose a tenant, or you may need to take care of deferred maintenance items. When you invest in real estate, you need to have an emergency fund to take care of those things. 

Real estate is a big commitment. Unlike other kinds of investments, real estate is not necessarily liquid. It can be difficult or expensive to get rid of your real estate investment. 

Investing in real estate is a big commitment.

So, before you take the plunge, make sure you do your research. First, find out how much money you need to put down. Also, decide who will manage the property. If it’s a local property, you may be able to manage it on your own. If the property is in another city or state, then you need to find someone you trust to manage the property for you. 

If you have any other questions about investing in real estate, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Why You Should Run Comparables Before Submitting an Offer

When you’re looking at buying a home, it’s very important to have your agent run comparables on the home before you decide on making an offer.

Selling in the East Bay area? Get a free home value report

Purchasing in the East Bay area? Get full MLS access

What we’re seeing more and more in this area is listing agents are purposely pricing the home low to get multiple offers. In many situations, we are seeing a $1 million home being priced at $600,000. It creates a craze among buyers who are looking at this $1 million home and thinking they can get it for $600,000. 

The idea behind this strategy is that the listing agent and the seller want to create a multiple offer situation in which the potential buyers are trying to outbid each other and end up going over the actual price of the home.

Running comps before submitting an offer will help you anticipate what other offers will be.

Comparables, or "comps," are properties that have sold that are like-kind in your area in the last 60 to 90 days. If you’re buying a home in the area and you want to make sure you’re putting in your highest and best offer, make sure you have your agent run the comps on that home to know what it will actually sell for. 

Doing this also helps you anticipate what kind of offers you may be competing against for the home and helps establish a reasonable market value for the property. 

To set yourself up to get the best outcome as a buyer or a seller, make sure you’re doing your homework and having your agent working for you to find these things out ahead of time.

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home or you have any other real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. I’d be happy to help.

How to Handle Multiple Offers on Your Home

To maximize the return on your investment, here are five things you need to consider when reviewing your offers.

Selling in the East Bay area? Get a free home value report

Purchasing in the East Bay area? Get full MLS access

You have your home on the market, you have a due date for offers, and you’re starting to receive them. What do you do when you find yourself in a multiple offer situation?

First, have your agent confirm with the other agents that their clients have submitted their highest and best offer, and make sure that all the documents are completed with all the information you need to make the best decision. Remember that the highest price isn’t always going to be the best offer. 

Remember that the highest price isn’t always going to be the best offer.

To maximize the return on your investment, here are five things you need to consider when reviewing your offers:

1. Timeline. What is their time frame to close escrow? Is it too soon for you or will the timing take too long?

2. Contingencies. There will be inspection, appraisal, and loan contingencies written into most offers you receive. Review these carefully; they should be reasonable for the buyer but you want to make sure that they will be able to follow through with what they’ve promised in the offer.

3. Type of financing. Cash isn’t always going to be the best option, so be sure to carefully consider the other financing options that buyers include in their offers.

4. The down payment. How much is their deposit and down payment? 

5. Rent-back agreement. A rent-back agreement may be necessary if you need time to find another house after you make the sale.

As your agent, I take the time to interview each buyer and buyer’s agent to ensure that the offers they present are solid. I want to know what their motivations are in purchasing the home, both emotionally and financially. This will help you make a better decision in a multiple offer situation.

If you have any other questions regarding this or any other topic, please reach out to me. I would be happy to help.