About Us
I am a Broker Associate at HomeSmart Realty West. Before focusing on real estate, I worked as an attorney at the San Diego City Attorneys Office. I also currently run my own law firm. My legal experience has prepared me to provide excellent service to you by understanding your needs, devising strategic approaches to achieve your goals, and zealously advocating for your interests during negotiations. I also a native French speaker.
The products and services we offer
Products & Services
Comprehensive full-service home selling services including market analyses, marketing, and contract negotiation.
Recommendations Given (4)
"Joe is always willing to talk about construction matters and has a lot of great information. I..."
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"Joe is always willing to talk about construction matters and has a lot of great information. I highly recommend talking to him before undertaking any construction project. "
"Krystin knows a lot about interior design and is great to talk to about the topic. I would..."
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"Krystin knows a lot about interior design and is great to talk to about the topic. I would recommend her for projects."
Recent Activity
Your insurance policy dictates whether or not it's a covered loss. You should call your insurance company and they'll subrogate and recover from the other insurance company. From a legal perspective, it as a matter of state law.
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Your insurance policy dictates whether or not it's a covered loss. You should call your insurance company and they'll subrogate and recover from the other insurance company. From a legal perspective, it as a matter of state law.
I think this is an interesting question based on two assumptions.
First, your question is based on the assumption that agents would rather take listing photos themselves if they had the know-how. That's an incorrect assumption. The rule of thumb is -- people pay for things they don't want to do...
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I think this is an interesting question based on two assumptions.
First, your question is based on the assumption that agents would rather take listing photos themselves if they had the know-how. That's an incorrect assumption. The rule of thumb is -- people pay for things they don't want to do or don't have time to do. The rest, they'll do themselves. An agent may, out of necessity, take photos in the pandemic. However, under ordinary circumstances, a photographer will spend somewhere between 2-3 hours to generate a professional photo package between going to the listing, taking photos, doing shots, reviewing, editing etc. Such packages are usually well worth the cost of hiring a professional to do it simply because agents are not interested in being photographers or don't have the time to be photographers.
Second, your question assumes that if you cannot take photos your business will be destroyed. I'm pretty sure that's not true. If you become an "online guru" as you put it, you can continue to deliver value that you can monetize. Surely, agents who would pay you to photograph their listings would be willing to pay to teach them how to photograph their listings. They would presumably pay more to learn to do it themselves than they would for a single photo. Thus, the question is how much should you charge and how much value should you deliver for this to be worthwhile to you.
Related to this question is the idea of "serving themselves." The vast majority of professionals and experts don't want to spend time doing menial or simple tasks that people can do themselves. Instead, they want to use the skills they have worked hard to develop to deliver maximum value. As a real estate broker, I deliver more value to clients who have complex and difficult situations because I'm also an attorney and can analyze complex legal situations in a much more sophisticated way than the average broker/agent. I seek out those clients because I can help them the most. If you do provide education to some clients, you would need to figure out where you can continue to deliver value to others.
My two cents. Happy to connect if you'd like to chat more!
There are many questions before answering this question. For example, what are the buyer's goals, does the buyer have savings, what is the source of the buyer's income, does the buyer have children. Sure, a reverse mortgage may result in cash flow but it takes a chunk of savings and also reduces...
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There are many questions before answering this question. For example, what are the buyer's goals, does the buyer have savings, what is the source of the buyer's income, does the buyer have children. Sure, a reverse mortgage may result in cash flow but it takes a chunk of savings and also reduces equity to pass down to children. If the buyer wants his or her children to inherit, then perhaps a reverse mortgage is not a good idea.
As a practical matter, I rarely advise clients on outcome (you should buy/sell or you should not buy/sell), that's their job. My job is to advise clients on process only. How to get where they want to go. If a buyer wants to buy a home and has certain goals, I'll work to help the buyer achieve those goals. Similarly, if the buyer is unsure of the implications of choosing a specific path, I advise there. However, I am loath to advising a client to or not to buy a home because ultimately the client is the one who decides that.
Identifying the ideal buyer for the home. Spending time marketing to as many people as possible, increasing interest, and then hoping the right buyer comes along is completely useless if the majority of the people seeing the property don't want to buy it, can't afford to buy it, and don't know...
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Identifying the ideal buyer for the home. Spending time marketing to as many people as possible, increasing interest, and then hoping the right buyer comes along is completely useless if the majority of the people seeing the property don't want to buy it, can't afford to buy it, and don't know somebody who wants to buy it or can afford to buy it. I sold a property for 5% above the highest estimate of market value because I worked really hard with the seller to figure out who would value the house at what they wanted to sell it for. Then, all of my marketing was focused on attracting that type of buyer: the language in the property description, the types of photos, the staging etc. Plan, plan, plan, and the execution will be flawless.
I second (or third or fourth) the recommendation to hire an attorney. I am both an attorney and real estate broker, and this is precisely the sort of situation where my dual expertise is invaluable to clients. Agents and brokers really don't have the background to negotiate these types of complex...
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I second (or third or fourth) the recommendation to hire an attorney. I am both an attorney and real estate broker, and this is precisely the sort of situation where my dual expertise is invaluable to clients. Agents and brokers really don't have the background to negotiate these types of complex situations, and attempting to advise will open you up to unauthorized practice of law charges by clients. As an agent, you can state that your client wants the solar included or does not want the solar included in the sale. However, you cannot negotiate the terms of the solar transfer itself.
In any negotiation, I recommend identify interests instead of positions. Asking for lower rent or landlord concessions is a position. Minimizing up-front costs or having certainty in the lease is an interest. You can minimize up-front costs by, say, asking the landlord to have lower base rent...
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In any negotiation, I recommend identify interests instead of positions. Asking for lower rent or landlord concessions is a position. Minimizing up-front costs or having certainty in the lease is an interest. You can minimize up-front costs by, say, asking the landlord to have lower base rent and a higher percentage based on revenue-profits, having a balloon payment at the end of the lease, or anything that shifts payment to the end of the lease. You can have certainty in the lease by only having a not-to-exceed amount in the lease, by having a fixed monthly payment, or by negotiating non-payment provisions ahead of time, or anything that lets people know something ahead of time. It's really hard to identify negotiation points without knowing your client's or the landlord's interests. Once you identify those, you can come up with creative solutions so everybody is happy.
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Responsiveness is the most important quality for me. I need somebody who will respond to emails, confirm receipt etc. Quickly. If they need documents, I need them to let me know quickly.
Organization is the second most important quality for me. I need the TC to know what's going on with the...
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Responsiveness is the most important quality for me. I need somebody who will respond to emails, confirm receipt etc. Quickly. If they need documents, I need them to let me know quickly.
Organization is the second most important quality for me. I need the TC to know what's going on with the transaction, what documents are missing, what documents were received etc. These tasks are the bulk of the job.
Knowledge is the third most important part of the job. A TC needs to know the systems I work with, the forms that are necessary, any changes to forms, where signatures need to be etc. TCs are a second set of eyes to make sure everything is done appropriately.
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The unique combination of broker, lawyer, counselor, and neuroscientist all wrapped into one package. I use those skills to be the best agent for my clients and provide them with top notch service.
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The unique combination of broker, lawyer, counselor, and neuroscientist all wrapped into one package. I use those skills to be the best agent for my clients and provide them with top notch service.
Agents who constantly talk about their successes. You are buying a house, not your agent. You need a an agent who is a guide through the transaction, which means somebody who takes the time to understand your interests. When I first start working with a client (whether a buyer or seller), I have...
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Agents who constantly talk about their successes. You are buying a house, not your agent. You need a an agent who is a guide through the transaction, which means somebody who takes the time to understand your interests. When I first start working with a client (whether a buyer or seller), I have them go through an initial consultation where I ask them questions to help understand their interests and help them create a vision for themselves. Throughout the transaction, I have my clients revisit their vision to determine if a course of action is in line with their vision. The best agents are consultants for their clients.
It sounds like you are talking about a fully underwritten pre-approval. This means that the lender has submitted all of the documents to the lender's underwriting department and the underwriting department is vouching for the loan. This process is the most thorough process and minimizes the risk...
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It sounds like you are talking about a fully underwritten pre-approval. This means that the lender has submitted all of the documents to the lender's underwriting department and the underwriting department is vouching for the loan. This process is the most thorough process and minimizes the risk of surprises when the loan is going through.
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