First Time Home Buyer Q&A

First Time Home Buyer Q&A

1. The description in one of the listing says - "LIGHT TLC NEEDED TO MAKE THIS HOME SHINE". Do you know what this means?

Answer: TLC = Tender Loving Care – it is a nice way of saying home needs cosmetic repairs

2. "Ownership - Fee Simple", "Ownership - PUD", "Possession - Close of escrow", "Corporate-owned. * * * AGENTS: READ CFR * * *" - What does these different terms indicate?

Answer: Ownership – Fee Simple: You own the lot and land – city/county typically owns the roads/driveways leading up to it.
Ownership – PUD – Planned Unit Development – you own the property but there is a shared interest in the common areas e.g. driveways, etc.
Agents: Read CFR - CFR = Confidential Remarks is an MLS communication field used for broker-to-broker communication that is not to be shared with the general public on the internet for security purpose e.g. showing information, gate codes, lock box codes, contact phone numbers, etc.

3. When the listing says - "Pets - Yes". Does this mean that the house has/had pets OR is it OK to have pets in the community for new owner?

Answer:
Pets – Yes – means rules and regulations of the community (aka CC&Rs) allows pets. Sometimes it will say Pets - Yes, with restrictions. This means that pets are allowed but may have size/weight restrictions to ensure that someone doesn't have a caged 150lb Siberian Tiger in their townhome and classify it as a pet.

4. One of the houses had this description- "...Its many upgrades include travertine, Berber carpet, custom paint, surround sound,..."? Do you know what travertine, or berber carpet is? What is vinyl flooring? And as far as pricing is concerned how is vinyl compared to hardwood, engineered wood, tile, or carpet flooring?

Answer:
Tiles: Travertine is a stone tile – in order of cost for tile flooring – Ceramic Tile < Travertine < Granite < Marble. Carpet: Different types of carpet: Berber, Plush, etc. Vinyl flooring – cheapest of all floor covering – this is a piece of plastic-type covering mostly used in bathrooms and kitchens. I will show you. Vinyl < Carpet < Tile (see tiles above) < Laminate < Engineered wood < Hardwood. There are so many different types of floor coverings that this order of cost is no set in stone. Cost of stone depends on where it is quarried from, how rare it is, etc. etc.

For Buying or Selling, You Need a Teacher that gives you straight answers. For more information on buying, selling, or renting out an income property in San Diego, please call Frank Rashid's cell phone at (858) 676-5250 or email him at rashid@rashidrealty.com. More to follow within the next couple of weeks.