McGuire Real Estate

Articles, Stories & Questions

Displaying all 29 submissions

Dust Mites: A Growing Problem In the past few years bedbugs have been a growing problem, particularly on the East Coast and thanks in part to a rise in international travel. But, dust mites might be even a bigger problem in your home, especially on the West Coast. Both bedbugs and dust mites find an ideal living environment in our bedrooms. A bedroom can be packed with up to 1 million dust mites. Dust mites feed on our ski... more... Blogged on 11/15/2011	Brooke Brock
Granite Counter Tops or Mounted TVs? I thought this article is very interesting and how it really applies to the West Coast. We are in the heartland of Technology—the Silicon Valley. I notice at my open houses buyers asking technical questions and testing their technology. How disappointed would you be if you purchased a $1M condo, but have no cell phone reception or your internet connection is slow? I h... more... Blogged on 11/10/2011	Brooke Brock
Looking Ahead at Homes in 2015... Looking into the future, home builders are predicting what homes will look like in 2015. Some of these changes have already taken place, due to the recession. The biggest change is that families are looking for smaller homes. Average size home in 2007 was 2,521 square feet, but expect homes to shrink to an average size of 2,100 square feet. Actually smaller homes will allow home builders to cre... more... Blogged on 11/9/2011	Brooke Brock
How to lower your property taxes? A great article in the Wall Street Journal reads that half of homeowners are paying way too much in property taxes. I believe this is true for San Francisco. I personally have been a victim of my property taxes going up significantly while my property value is going down significantly. Ironically, when I go to the home page of the San Francisco tax assessor’s website a big press releases ... more... Blogged on 9/26/2011	Brooke Brock
Should I respond to a low offer? You received an offer lower than your asking price. An initial response is to walk-away, feel disappointed and even be offended by this low offer. Selling and buying property can be very emotional. Let’s be honest it is a lot of money being traded. It is challenging for both sellers and buyers to set aside their emotions and consider working with what you have. If you do walk-away and don... more... Blogged on 9/13/2011	Brooke Brock
SF's Dog Days of Summer Real Estate I feel that we’re experiencing summer slowness, or in the doldrums of summer or what I love to say “the dog days of summer.” Real estate has been worse than expected this summer—a lack of inventory, high competition among the good properties and the “dog” properties are just sitting on the market. Do you play the real estate game, or sit on the sideli... more... Blogged on 8/12/2011	Brooke Brock
New Neighborhood Crime Tool This new interactive tool on Trulia shows a heat map of crime by neighborhood per day in San Francisco and other major cities. The map is very user-friendly, you can zoom in a specific area or even by block, and the data provides what type of crime and the time and date. For instance, a description of the crime reported might read robbery, theft, assult, arson, vandalism and even shooting. The ... more... Blogged on 7/6/2011	Brooke Brock
Carbon Monoxide Detectors Now Required New state law: as of July 1, 2011, single-family home residents will be required to install carbon monoxide detectors. Not all single-family homes will require a carbon monoxide dectector, but those homes with an attached garage, fireplace or fossil fuel burning appliance must place a detector. If you are putting your home on the market in the second half of the year make sure you have install... more... Blogged on 6/28/2011	Brooke Brock
The Accuracy of Zillow Zestimates On Zillow it says that my home is worth “X.”In my experience both buyers and sellers begin their home search on the internet. Zillow is an excellent tool to begin your research, but it’s just not very accurate. The company is based in Seattle, and admittedly does not verify the square footage of a home, number of bedrooms, and/or baths. Since it d... more... Blogged on 6/7/2011	Brooke Brock
To Stage or Not to Stage? Today’s strange economic times have more sellers feeling financially stressed than they did before. Cutting costs, in preparation of selling one’s home, has become crucial for most sellers. However, sellers also must recognize the benefits of staging, minor repairs, and even renovations.Many sellers believe they can stage their home on their own, or they’re confident that ... more... Blogged on 4/20/2011	Brooke Brock
Is It Time to Change Your Smoke Detector? Chirp…Chirp! I hear this in homes that are for sale. I explain to my buyers that it is just the sound of a smoke detector needing new batteries.According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, about 3,000 people lose their lives to residential fires each year in the U.S. Most fire victims die from inhaling smoke and toxic gases, not as a result of burns. The majority of dea... more... Blogged on 3/9/2011	Brooke Brock
Ready, Set, Go! The Real Estate Marathon Has Started With a Sprint I’m always pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest in real estate at the beginning of the year. I expect a “hangover” from the holidays – sluggish prices, stale inventory, not a lot of buyers out, and sellers waiting until spring to put their home on the market. Instead, the 2011 real estate marathon has started sprinting and we are only a few days into February. ... more... Blogged on 2/4/2011	Brooke Brock
10 Best Places to Buy a Home There are plenty of top ten lists as we head into the new year — top movies, top artists, top companies to work for, top stocks to buy, top babies names, top candidates for the 49ers head coach. But this top ten list caught my attention: 10 Best Places to Buy a Home in 2011. While I have been seeing more buyers than normal this time of year — the increase in interest rates i... more... Blogged on 1/3/2011	Brooke Brock
Open House Etiquette Sellers do’s and don’t’s to prepare for your open house: If living in your home while selling… Don’t cook fish the day of — or even a few days prior to — the open house Don’t leave pet food lying around and consider removing your pets Don’t leave smelly workout clothes in your hamper Don’t leave wet clothes in the washer Don’t ... more... Blogged on 12/28/2010	Brooke Brock
Will Printing Money Restart Housing? Again, I am hearing buzz around the Feds’ recent program of “quantitative easing.” It sounds complex, it looks complex – and yes, it is complex. But let me see if I can explain. According to Wikipedia, “quantitative” refers to money being created, and “easing” is supposed to reduce pressure on the banks. In everyday terms, some describe it as... more... Blogged on 11/11/2010	Brooke Brock
If You Don’t Buy Now, Will You Regret It in 5 Years? Though the majority of the media still reports doom and gloom about the housing market, occasionally I see some optimistic news. This article in the Wall Street Journal struck me, “How to Bet Like John Paulson”. Paulson was quoted: “If you don’t own a home, buy one. If you own one home, buy another one. If you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the ... more... Blogged on 10/29/2010	Brooke Brock
It is OUTTA HERE... in Glen Park! Wow! The entire city has Giants baseball fever, especially since the Giants have clinched the National League pennant and are heading to the World Series. If you are a long-time Giants fan like me, you appreciate listening to Krukow & Kuiper (aka Kruk & Kuip). Not only are they intelligent baseball analysts, they are entertaining and come up with catchy expressions. Of course, my favori... more... Blogged on 10/24/2010	Brooke Brock
What Do These Real Estate Expressions Really Mean? I know from reading real estate advertisements and looking at properties that a home might not be as attractive as the ad reads. In fact, it might be far from what you envisioned — and it could be a real disappointment. In this spongy market I strive to be as creative as possible and select my words carefully when I am creating an advertisement for my sellers. But even I am guilty of usin... more... Blogged on 10/1/2010	Brooke Brock
How Do You Determine if You Have a Mold Issue? Every home has mold. We can’t get away from mold, especially in a cooler climate like San Francisco. Mold is growing all around us, and there are hundreds of types of mold. Some of us are more sensitive to mold than others. For instance, I can smell mold immediately when I walk into a home that has minor mold issues. Worse yet, I know people that get skin irritations from mold or have lon... more... Blogged on 9/16/2010	Brooke Brock
Pricing Strategies for San Francisco Real Estate A recent article in the Wall Street Journal talks about how the market is “uneven” in local markets. Specifically, it mentions a home in the Outer Sunset that sold in 2007 for $830,000, but in 2010 it sold for $1,100,000. Data suggests that the median home price in the Outer Sunset has declined by -14% since 2007. Market conditions are certainly better than last year, but the San Fr... more... Blogged on 8/19/2010	Brooke Brock
Sound Proofing (Part II) - Does It Add Value? This is the second post in a series about sound proofing. Read the first post here. Part of city living is dealing with city noise. Our properties sit closer to curbs, streets, public transportation, restaurants, stores, and even our neighbors. If we choose an urban lifestyle we must get comfortable with exterior city noise. However, we might never get comfortable with interior noise from our n... more... Blogged on 8/3/2010	Brooke Brock
How Many Photos? With the ability to do so much research online these days you would think that most agents would post as many photos as possible for the property that they are selling. Well, they don’t. Buyers move on quickly when there are no pictures to tell the story. And as for sellers, if the goal is to bring as many potential buyers through their property as possible (and it is), one of th... more... Blogged on 6/21/2010	Brooke Brock
Bidding Wars & Foreclosures BIDDING WARS and FORECLOSURES. These two phrases don’t really go together. But if you look at San Francisco versus the rest of the nation, that conflict may indeed be reality (check out these articles in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times). Nationally, the foreclosure market seems to be getting worse. Americans do not feel guilt about walking away from their loans, nor have any in... more... Blogged on 6/9/2010	Brooke Brock
Pros of Open Houses on Holiday Weekends I believe that holding an open house on a holiday weekend is proactive and a great idea. Pros for Sellers: Serious buyers are house hunting Out-of-town buyers are visiting and looking at homes Most sellers can get away and don’t have to worry about preparing their home prior to the open house Less inventory on the market, and therefore less competition for your home You are in good hands... more... Blogged on 5/28/2010	Brooke Brock
Is the Appraisal Process Broken Again? Lenders used to be allowed to select an appraiser. While that was just a couple of years ago, you can consider them the olden days. The general consensus was that lenders had relationships with the appraisers and the appraisers were valuing homes based on their relationships with their lender friends – not the actual value of the home. Today, lenders are under strict guidelines not to sel... more... Blogged on 5/14/2010	Brooke Brock
New Retrofit Legislation in San Francisco A new voluntary seismic retrofitting legislation was passed on April 19th. It has since been published and highly recommended by the city of San Francisco. I am hearing from my real estate clients: what does this mean exactly and does my building need to be retrofitted? It is certainly a hot topic for homeowners.The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection is now accepting applications f... more... Blogged on 4/26/2010	Brooke Brock
Valencia Corridor Heating Up Heart I live and work in Noe Valley. I love the local community here. It always makes me feel that I am a part of something special. More importantly, it makes me feel at home. However, sometimes I am in the mood for a more eccentric experience, so I walk down the hill to the Inner Mission. Today, you don’t even have to go as far as Mission Street. I have noticed more restaurants ... more... Blogged on 3/11/2010	Brooke Brock
Does Soundproofing Add Value? Your agent hands you the keys to your new home and the movers come the next day with your furniture. You can’t wait to settle in and meet your neighbors. While you are moving in you realize that you can hear your neighbors above you, below you and even beside you. A month goes by, and even with rugs covering 75% of your floors and your neighbors’, you can hear their conversations, B... more... Blogged on 3/2/2010	Brooke Brock
When is the best time to sell your home in San Francisco? Homeowners can be in a rush to list their property due to job changes, family matters or financial situations. Luckily, in San Francisco there is never really a bad time to list your property, but there are a few months that are hotter than others. I was with a client early this year and she explained that she is waiting to list her house in late spring because her backyard will be in bloom. S... more... Blogged on 3/1/2010	Brooke Brock