DC to the Bay: How They Found Their Dream Home in Just 6 Months! (Interview with Client)

Every Wednesday at 12PM PST, I interview and introduce a top real estate agent from all across the country to hear about how they got into the business, what they are seeing with real estate impacts with COVID, and the economic drivers of an area!This week we have Christopher Stafford, who is a 25 year veteran listing agent and founder of The Agent Unleashed, a real estate agent mastermind/coaching group. You can find more about his program on his website: www.theagentunleashed.com/--If you’re interested in buying, selling, or investing in residential or commercial real estate in the 📍SF Bay Area, contact me today!📧Spencer@spencerhsu.com📞 (408) 547-4590⏰ Set up a time to chat: https://calendly.com/spencerhsure🌍 Find your dream Bay Area home https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/🎙️ Listen to my podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/bayarearealestate📸Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerhsure🧑‍💼 Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhsu🛎 Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest real estate tips and updates: https://forms.gle/c5xkznHLTBh7Yzgi7🏠💲 Track the value of your home and see if it's beneficial to refinance! http://bit.ly/3aFdyMW--My Background: Born and raised in the Bay Area, I spent 11 years as Technology Sales Manager before becoming a Realtor. Having personally invested and done renovations through house flips in the Bay Area, I wanted to help busy professionals in the Bay Area tech industry find their dream home by leveraging tech, data and local insights. Our team specializes in creating trusted frameworks of buying, selling, and investing in the Bay Area. In 2022, we are thrilled to share that we have helped 80 clients in the Bay Area with their moves, which positions our team as the Top 1% groups in the country. Looking forward to helping you into your next home and save/earn you more money!Spencer Hsu, MBA, RealtorSpencer@SpencerHsu.com408-547-4590EXP Realty DRE #02077253https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/#BayAreaRealEstate

21 Okt 202027min

Every Tuesday, I go into detail about a question I frequently get asked. This week, I'm going to discuss what happens when you get your offer accepted. Do you start celebrating? Not just yet..So you spent weeks if not months finding a new property, and you finally got your offer accepted! Now what! Now the real journey begins. The close of escrow process will always feel like a roller coaster because you are not out of the woods just yet! The typical length of the close of escrow time is about 30 days. First thing that happens when you close a home is that you will need to wire 3% of a deposit called earnest money deposit typically within 1 business day to a 3rd party escrow account. The title and escrow company will be the checks and balance entity to ensure the transaction is facilitated appropriately.Next the bank will go back and forth with you collecting additional documents and scrutinizing your history. The process of getting your loan approved typically takes about 2-3 weeks. This can all be front loaded if you actually got underwritten prior to getting in contract which is why I recommend everyone that is remotely serious about buying a home, to go through the underwriting process so they minimize the risk of a loan not being fulfilled.Simultaneously, a 3rd party appraiser will be ordered by the bank. They will provide their valuation of a home by looking at the condition of the home and comparing it to others that have sold in the area.Throughout the 30 days of the close of escrow, there will be different documents typically sent out to be docusigned. Most of these are disclosures that you have already read prior to making an offer but certain documents may have been missing that are cookiecutter templates but needed for a Realtor’s broker, and internal files.2 weeks leading to the close of escrow, you want to schedule a change of utilities for your close of escrow date. You will also want to decide on a home insurance policy at that time.About 1 week leading to the close of escrow, we will do a final walkthrough of the property called the Verification of Property. Typically homes in the Bay Area are bought as-is but if there are very notable things different than when we get into contract, we can ask the sellers to repair those items. Doesn’t hurt to ask though as most sellers want to also ensure a smooth handoff to the next family.Around 1-2 days prior to the close of escrow, you will arrange a time to meet with a notary and sign alot of paperwork including loan documents, and the documents related to the transfer of a property to you. That same day or the following day, you will wire the remaining amount of your down payment + closing costs in one bundle to the escrow company. Once again, always be sure to call and verify the account information prior to wiring to prevent wire fraud.Delays do happen so it is up to your real estate team to help resolve those situations. If there are no delays, at the close of escrow you will meet with your agent to do the key exchange typically in the late afternoon. It’s all over! You now become the owner of a home!I hope this was helpful to understanding what happens after you win a bid! There is a lot that happens so choosing the right Realtor will help with the overall process. Leave a comment below as to how your experience was when closing on your home!---If you’re interested in buying, selling, or investing in residential or commercial real estate in the 📍SF Bay Area, contact me today!📧Spencer@spencerhsu.com📞 (408) 547-4590⏰ Set up a time to chat: https://calendly.com/spencerhsure🌍 Find your dream Bay Area home https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/🎙️ Listen to my podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/bayarearealestate📸Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerhsure🧑‍💼 Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhsu🛎 Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest real estate tips and updates: https://forms.gle/c5xkznHLTBh7Yzgi7🏠💲 Track the value of your home and see if it's beneficial to refinance! http://bit.ly/3aFdyMW--My Background: Born and raised in the Bay Area, I spent 11 years as Technology Sales Manager before becoming a Realtor. Having personally invested and done renovations through house flips in the Bay Area, I wanted to help busy professionals in the Bay Area tech industry find their dream home by leveraging tech, data and local insights. Our team specializes in creating trusted frameworks of buying, selling, and investing in the Bay Area. In 2022, we are thrilled to share that we have helped 80 clients in the Bay Area with their moves, which positions our team as the Top 1% groups in the country. Looking forward to helping you into your next home and save/earn you more money!Spencer Hsu, MBA, RealtorSpencer@SpencerHsu.com408-547-4590EXP Realty DRE #02077253https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/#BayAreaRealEstate

20 Okt 20207min

Every week, I go over news that can affect Bay Area Real Estate. I look into news and data that can affect the Silicon Valley Real Estate Market. Tune in weekly and ask me anything!San Francisco Apartment Rents Crater Up to 31%, Most in U.S.https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/san-francisco-apartment-rents-crater-up-to-31percent-most-in-us/ar-BB19YsKZDropbox Goes Virtual Firsthttps://blog.dropbox.com/topics/company/dropbox-goes-virtual-firstMicrosoft employees given option to WFH permanentlyhttps://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2020/10/12/microsoft-employees-given-option-to.htmlAmazon buys big site near downtown San Josehttps://www.mercurynews.com/2020/10/13/amazon-buys-big-san-jose-site-web-services-real-estate-tech-develop/Major Bay Area Biotech Giant Seeks to Double Its Headquartershttps://endpts.com/genentech-submits-a-plan-to-nearly-double-its-south-san-francisco-footprint/Average 30-year mortgage rate falls to another all-time lowhttps://www.housingwire.com/articles/average-30-year-mortgage-rate-falls-to-another-all-time-low/Luxury home sales rise 41.5%, making biggest jump since 2013https://www.housingwire.com/articles/luxury-home-sales-rise-41-5-making-biggest-jump-since-2013/Home prices rose by record numbers last weekhttps://www.housingwireHome prices rose by record numbers last week.com/articles/home-prices-rose-by-record-numbers-last-week/San Francisco homes for sale hit a 15-year-high, as deluge of new condos flood the markethttps://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/San-Francisco-homes-for-sale-at-15-year-high-as-15632382.phpLatest Market Data for all counties in the Bay Areahttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P5T3T4doU9vutLotcKnZ0WCZahU0nvKn1khR-QQsrTI/edit?usp=sharing--If you’re interested in buying, selling, or investing in residential or commercial real estate in the 📍SF Bay Area, contact me today!📧Spencer@spencerhsu.com📞 (408) 547-4590⏰ Set up a time to chat: https://calendly.com/spencerhsure🌍 Find your dream Bay Area home https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/🎙️ Listen to my podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/bayarearealestate📸Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerhsure🧑‍💼 Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhsu🛎 Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest real estate tips and updates: https://forms.gle/c5xkznHLTBh7Yzgi7🏠💲 Track the value of your home and see if it's beneficial to refinance! http://bit.ly/3aFdyMW--My Background: Born and raised in the Bay Area, I spent 11 years as Technology Sales Manager before becoming a Realtor. Having personally invested and done renovations through house flips in the Bay Area, I wanted to help busy professionals in the Bay Area tech industry find their dream home by leveraging tech, data and local insights. Our team specializes in creating trusted frameworks of buying, selling, and investing in the Bay Area. In 2022, we are thrilled to share that we have helped 80 clients in the Bay Area with their moves, which positions our team as the Top 1% groups in the country. Looking forward to helping you into your next home and save/earn you more money!Spencer Hsu, MBA, RealtorSpencer@SpencerHsu.com408-547-4590EXP Realty DRE #02077253https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/#BayAreaRealEstate

16 Okt 202023min

Welcome to my new PropTech Talk Thursday series to take a look and provide my candid thoughts on new Proptech businesses. These could range from products to companies leveraging technology to improve all facets of real estate. The Real Estate industry is one of the slowest to adopt technology but there are many opportunities along with money chasing these opportunities. Have you ever dealt with the hassle of renting out a property and wished there was a one stop shop to manage the entire process? Let me introduce you to Cozy.Founded in 2012 in Portland Oregon, Cozy has raised a total of $18.4M and was acquired by CoStar group in 2018 for $68M.They are an online property management service designed for landlords and renters to handle processes like rent payments, rental applications, tenant screening, and property advertising helping small and medium landlords and renters to facilitate both sides smoothly.So how does it work?For landlords, their platform allows you to list your property and collect applications all in one spot. The listings you post on Cozy.co are syndicated with Realtor.com and Doorsteps.com. Applicants are able to directly apply and purchase a background check and credit report through them for $40. When an agreement is reached, you are able to collect rent through their platform every month without any additional charges. Tenants can send payments for free with their checking accounts. They can also pay with a debit, credit, or prepaid card for a 2.75% transaction fee. You’re able to manage the entire process all in one place.Now, they do face a lot of competition. I just recently leased a client’s home as a landlord and just like marketing a home for sale, you want to get as much exposure as you possibly can. There are many options for consumers and landlords including Zillow, Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, Zumper, and/or the MLS. There is no centralized system like you will find for properties to buy and for sale.Summary: Nevertheless, Cozy is a great option to post and manage the process of finding the best tenant. You can always post in multiple platforms for a rental and then have the screening process through your favorite portal. Leave in the comments below if you have rented a property, and which site you used. Did you have a good experience?--If you’re interested in buying, selling, or investing in residential or commercial real estate in the 📍SF Bay Area, contact me today!📧Spencer@spencerhsu.com📞 (408) 547-4590⏰ Set up a time to chat: https://calendly.com/spencerhsure🌍 Find your dream Bay Area home https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/🎙️ Listen to my podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/bayarearealestate📸Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerhsure🧑‍💼 Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhsu🛎 Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest real estate tips and updates: https://forms.gle/c5xkznHLTBh7Yzgi7🏠💲 Track the value of your home and see if it's beneficial to refinance! http://bit.ly/3aFdyMW--My Background: Born and raised in the Bay Area, I spent 11 years as Technology Sales Manager before becoming a Realtor. Having personally invested and done renovations through house flips in the Bay Area, I wanted to help busy professionals in the Bay Area tech industry find their dream home by leveraging tech, data and local insights. Our team specializes in creating trusted frameworks of buying, selling, and investing in the Bay Area. In 2022, we are thrilled to share that we have helped 80 clients in the Bay Area with their moves, which positions our team as the Top 1% groups in the country. Looking forward to helping you into your next home and save/earn you more money!Spencer Hsu, MBA, RealtorSpencer@SpencerHsu.com408-547-4590EXP Realty DRE #02077253https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/#BayAreaRealEstate

15 Okt 20203min

Every Wednesday at 12PM PST, I interview and introduce a top real estate agent from all across the country to hear about how they got into the business, what they are seeing with real estate impacts with COVID, and the economic drivers of an area!--If you’re interested in buying, selling, or investing in residential or commercial real estate in the 📍SF Bay Area, contact me today!📧Spencer@spencerhsu.com📞 (408) 547-4590⏰ Set up a time to chat: https://calendly.com/spencerhsure🌍 Find your dream Bay Area home https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/🎙️ Listen to my podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/bayarearealestate📸Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerhsure🧑‍💼 Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhsu🛎 Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest real estate tips and updates: https://forms.gle/c5xkznHLTBh7Yzgi7🏠💲 Track the value of your home and see if it's beneficial to refinance! http://bit.ly/3aFdyMW--My Background: Born and raised in the Bay Area, I spent 11 years as Technology Sales Manager before becoming a Realtor. Having personally invested and done renovations through house flips in the Bay Area, I wanted to help busy professionals in the Bay Area tech industry find their dream home by leveraging tech, data and local insights. Our team specializes in creating trusted frameworks of buying, selling, and investing in the Bay Area. In 2022, we are thrilled to share that we have helped 80 clients in the Bay Area with their moves, which positions our team as the Top 1% groups in the country. Looking forward to helping you into your next home and save/earn you more money!Spencer Hsu, MBA, RealtorSpencer@SpencerHsu.com408-547-4590EXP Realty DRE #02077253https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/#BayAreaRealEstate

14 Okt 202028min

Every Tuesday, I go into detail about a question I frequently get asked. This week, I'm going to discuss the upcoming California Propositions related to real estate that will be on the ballot by giving my candid thoughts, pros and cons, and whether I think they will likely pass or not. The main ones I will be covering today are Proposition 15, 19, and 21.Proposition 15:Increases funding sources for public schools, community colleges, and local government services by changing tax assessment of commercial and industrial property. Initiative constitutional amendment.What it means: Taxes such properties based on current market value, instead of purchase price.Fiscal Impact: Increased property taxes on commercial properties worth more than $3 million providing $6.5 billion to $11.5 billion in new funding to local governments and schools.Proposition 19:Changes certain property tax rules. Legislative constitutional amendment,What it means: Allows homeowners who are over 55, disabled, or wildfire/disaster victims to transfer primary residence’s tax base to replacement residence. Changes taxation of family-property transfers. Establishes fire protection services fund.Fiscal Impact: Local governments could gain tens of millions of dollars of property tax revenue per year, probably growing over time to a few hundred million dollars per year. Schools could receive similar property tax gains.Proposition 21:Expands local governments' authority to enact rent control on residential property. Initiative statute.What it means: Allows local governments to establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old. Local limits on rate increases may differ from statewide limit.Fiscal Impact: Overall, a potential reduction in state and local revenues in the high tens of millions of dollars per year over time. Depending on actions by local communities, revenue losses could be less or more.---If you’re interested in buying, selling, or investing in residential or commercial real estate in the 📍SF Bay Area, contact me today!📧Spencer@spencerhsu.com📞 (408) 547-4590⏰ Set up a time to chat: https://calendly.com/spencerhsure🌍 Find your dream Bay Area home https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/🎙️ Listen to my podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/bayarearealestate📸Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerhsure🧑‍💼 Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhsu🛎 Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest real estate tips and updates: https://forms.gle/c5xkznHLTBh7Yzgi7🏠💲 Track the value of your home and see if it's beneficial to refinance! http://bit.ly/3aFdyMW--My Background: Born and raised in the Bay Area, I spent 11 years as Technology Sales Manager before becoming a Realtor. Having personally invested and done renovations through house flips in the Bay Area, I wanted to help busy professionals in the Bay Area tech industry find their dream home by leveraging tech, data and local insights. Our team specializes in creating trusted frameworks of buying, selling, and investing in the Bay Area. In 2022, we are thrilled to share that we have helped 80 clients in the Bay Area with their moves, which positions our team as the Top 1% groups in the country. Looking forward to helping you into your next home and save/earn you more money!Spencer Hsu, MBA, RealtorSpencer@SpencerHsu.com408-547-4590EXP Realty DRE #02077253https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/#BayAreaRealEstate

13 Okt 202014min

Every week, I go over news that can affect Bay Area Real Estate. I look into news and data that can affect the Silicon Valley Real Estate Market. Tune in weekly and ask me anything!New Google Village Downtown West Mixed-Use Plan Updateshttps://realestate.withgoogle.com/sanjose/updates/5232465839652864/downtown-west-updates-application-with-design-standards-and-guidelines/https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showdocument?id=43691Mortgage applications rise 4.6%https://www.housingwire.com/articles/mortgage-applications-rise-4-6/Opendoor discloses that it’s under federal investigationhttps://www.housingwire.com/articles/opendoor-discloses-that-its-under-federal-investigation/Latest Market Data for all counties in the Bay Areahttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P5T3T4doU9vutLotcKnZ0WCZahU0nvKn1khR-QQsrTI/edit?usp=sharing--If you’re interested in buying, selling, or investing in residential or commercial real estate in the 📍SF Bay Area, contact me today!📧Spencer@spencerhsu.com📞 (408) 547-4590⏰ Set up a time to chat: https://calendly.com/spencerhsure🌍 Find your dream Bay Area home https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/🎙️ Listen to my podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/bayarearealestate📸Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerhsure🧑‍💼 Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhsu🛎 Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest real estate tips and updates: https://forms.gle/c5xkznHLTBh7Yzgi7🏠💲 Track the value of your home and see if it's beneficial to refinance! http://bit.ly/3aFdyMW--My Background: Born and raised in the Bay Area, I spent 11 years as Technology Sales Manager before becoming a Realtor. Having personally invested and done renovations through house flips in the Bay Area, I wanted to help busy professionals in the Bay Area tech industry find their dream home by leveraging tech, data and local insights. Our team specializes in creating trusted frameworks of buying, selling, and investing in the Bay Area. In 2022, we are thrilled to share that we have helped 80 clients in the Bay Area with their moves, which positions our team as the Top 1% groups in the country. Looking forward to helping you into your next home and save/earn you more money!Spencer Hsu, MBA, RealtorSpencer@SpencerHsu.com408-547-4590EXP Realty DRE #02077253https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/#BayAreaRealEstate

9 Okt 202020min

Welcome to my new PropTech Talk Thursday series to take a look and provide my candid thoughts on new Proptech businesses. These could range from products to companies leveraging technology to improve all facets of real estate. The Real Estate industry is one of the slowest to adopt technology but there are many opportunities along with money chasing these opportunities. Did you know that there is the option to sell your home online in some cities across the US without working with an agent? Let’s talk about the iBuyer movement and the largest of them all, Opendoor.Based in San Francisco, CA, Opendoor has raised more than $1.5B in funding to date. Just a week ago, Opendoor made a deal with Chamath Palihapitiya to go public via a $4.8B SPAC deal. They are a newer breed of real estate company whereas Zillow and Redfin transformed how consumers searched for properties, Opendoor actually buys properties directly. They are an iBuyer that buys homes in cash based on their own algorithm. They deal with single-family homes built after 1960, priced between $125,000 and $500,000. But don’t try to sell them complete fixers as they disregard distressed properties, which require too much work, or more expensive properties, which are harder to value. Sorry Bay Area! ;)So, how does it work? Property owners enter in information about their homes along with a bid on the online platform. When a bid is accepted, Opendoor purchases the property as-is, charging a fee slightly above the commissions real estate agents collect in return for the convenience of closing a sale quickly. They take a service fee of 6%, which is similar to the standard real estate commission, plus an additional fee that varies with its assessment of the riskiness of the transaction and brings the total charge to an average of 8%. They then improve and repair the property before relisting it. They are holding literally thousands of homes at a given time since when they acquire the home, they are the owners. Think of them like a flipper, but on steroids with a ton of capital.Now this seems great, right? No Realtor, no showings, just some rich company buying your home. While the costs are a little higher than working with a Realtor, your net is likely significantly lower. Remember, that you are not selling what the market will pay for the home but what one company is willing to value. These companies want/need margin for each home so are you actually netting the most amount? Unlikely. The concept of buying direct has been going on for decades. I can buy your home in all cash if you allow me to. It doesn’t mean I or any investors would be willing to pay market but if you wanted the convenience, that can be done today. However, the margins they ask for is much lower than investors given their massive volume and huge capital war chest.Summary: If you want a quick and convenient way to sell your home, Opendoor and Ibuyers are great options for that. If you want to sell for top dollar, go with a top Realtor in your market in place. Tell me what you think and if you would sell directly to one of these companies.--If you’re interested in buying, selling, or investing in residential or commercial real estate in the 📍SF Bay Area, contact me today!📧Spencer@spencerhsu.com📞 (408) 547-4590⏰ Set up a time to chat: https://calendly.com/spencerhsure🌍 Find your dream Bay Area home https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/🎙️ Listen to my podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/bayarearealestate📸Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerhsure🧑‍💼 Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerhsu🛎 Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest real estate tips and updates: https://forms.gle/c5xkznHLTBh7Yzgi7🏠💲 Track the value of your home and see if it's beneficial to refinance! http://bit.ly/3aFdyMW--My Background: Born and raised in the Bay Area, I spent 11 years as Technology Sales Manager before becoming a Realtor. Having personally invested and done renovations through house flips in the Bay Area, I wanted to help busy professionals in the Bay Area tech industry find their dream home by leveraging tech, data and local insights. Our team specializes in creating trusted frameworks of buying, selling, and investing in the Bay Area. In 2022, we are thrilled to share that we have helped 80 clients in the Bay Area with their moves, which positions our team as the Top 1% groups in the country. Looking forward to helping you into your next home and save/earn you more money!Spencer Hsu, MBA, RealtorSpencer@SpencerHsu.com408-547-4590EXP Realty DRE #02077253https://www.homesbyspencerhsu.com/#BayAreaRealEstate

8 Okt 20204min