San Clemente Homes / A Guide for Buyers and Sellers


San Clemente Home Buying Pitfalls


Buying your San Clemente home whether you are a first time buyer or an ‘Old Pro’ involves legal, financial and emotional considerations. The more you know about the most common buyer mistakes in San Clemente, the more likely you are to avoid them.

Make sure that when you put in an offer on any San Clemente home that you have spent time narrowing down just what you are looking for. When the sellers accept your offer, you are involved in a binding contract that could cost you your deposit and other damages should you decide to back out. The opposite scenario, waiting for the 100 % perfect home can be an exercise in futility. With the thousands of variables available in housing, including location, style, size, amenities and condition, perfection is almost always an unreasonable goal.


San Clemente Real Estate Contract Options


Finally, the Exclusive Agency Listing allows an agent to list and market your San Clemente real estate. The agent will earn a commission if he/she or any other agent sells the property but not if the homeowner finds his/her own buyer. Very few if any agents are willing to agree to spend time, money and know-how on promoting a home without the guarantee of a commission when the home sells.

Many people imagine that the agent who lists their home begins an immediate search for likely homebuyers for San Clemente but this is not always the case. The real skill of a good listing agent is her/his ability to market your home to other agents. Usually as soon as your listing agent returns to the office, your home is entered into the MLS and is now available to hundreds, maybe thousands of other agents.


San Clemente Homebuyers Quandry


First time San Clemente homebuyers have their issues to deal with and homeowners who want to move up, down or sideways have an entirely different set of problems. A homeowner’s first task is to counteract human nature. Humans must be genetically programmed to find their next home and then scramble to sell the one they have so they can afford the one they want. The San Clemente market is no exception. Of course, this is contrary to good sense but since most people will go ahead with the Buy then Sell approach.

Building San Clemente Home Equity


A popular question from prospective San Clemente homebuyers relates to building home equity. Buyers like to estimate how much a home may increase in value based upon past appreciation. One of the many advantages of home ownership is that appreciation is based on the home’s market value rather than on the actual dollar amount invested or the down payment so that a $100,000.00 home that appreciates 5% is now worth $105,000.00, especially in San Clemente.

With a typical 30-year loan, most of your monthly payment goes toward interest payments with only small amounts going to the principle in the early years. Only half the principle is repaid in the first 23 years of the loan. You can build San Clemente home equity faster by choosing a 15-year loan instead of a 30-year loan.

Buying San Clemente Below Market


While the perfect San Clemente option at the right price might come on the market within a couple of weeks, don’t expect that kind of time frame. You must be prepared to wait months for right property, and the San Clemente is no exception. Remember, most sellers tend to ask MORE than their property is worth, not less so bargains don’t pop up every day. Often times, homes that are on the market for too long a period of time will come down in price as the homeowners get tired of having their house for sale but unless the seller is really pressed, home prices tend to come down is small increments unless there is an unfortunate circumstance that might cause the homeowner to price the San Clemente under market for the specific purpose of getting a fast sale.

Buying San Clemente Real Estate...Will it Pay?


The only factor being considered here is Home Equity. In individual cases it may be wiser to invest than to pre-pay your San Clemente loan. It also may be wiser to pay off high-interest, non-deductible loans before considering your home equity building options. Your financial advisor is the one to consult for these matters. If you would like up-to-the-minute information about home appreciation values in your area, please call or E-mail me today.