Frequently Asked Questions

Thanks for visiting this page. It is a compilation of questions I have answered on various websites and in articles I’ve written and been quoted in. Time has a tendency to wear a little bit on questions regarding real estate. If something here doesn’t sound quite right, let me know and I will give you an up-to-date answer.

Many of these questions below are from forums of qualified agents who contribute their knowledge and expertise to members of the public. I didn't write any of the questions, but I did write all of the answers.

Please keep in mind that there are a lot ‘real estate experts’ out there who don’t mind telling you how things work. Ask them how many buyers and sellers they have represented in their career. I run into a lot of agents who have only sold a handful of homes and give advice that could be detrimental to your financial wellbeing. I’ve sold an average of 25 single family homes, condos, townhomes, and multi-family properties a year since 1985. That’s over 600 so far.

And again, I really did write the responses myself. For authenticity I have not changed any spelling or grammar found in the original questions.

My email is mark@markburns.com If the spam filter gets you (which it shouldn’t) the other good email is mark.burns@cbnorcal.com

My phone number is 408-777-2083 and that gets through every time. I’ll be at my desk, Stacy will pick up, or my pager will tell me I have a voicemail – modern technology!

So, in no particular order, here are a whole bunch of real estate questions covering almost every aspect of buying, selling, financing, maintaining, and managing residential real estate in Silicon Valley.Thanks for visiting my website and don’t forget to tell your friends, neighbors, relatives, and co-workers about me. I always appreciate your referrals.

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1) Can I get two loans on a house purchase? I am a first time home buyer. Would a bridge loan work in this case?

2) In the Supplemental Seller’s Checklist, if the Seller answers “yes” to the question, “Has the Seller (or an unlicensed person) completed any electrical repairs on the house”, and then the house sold “As- Is” does the owner still hold liability?

3) I checked current “active” listings for Palo Alto area under 1.75M, none of the houses look reasonably priced to me, am I being unrealistic? Are any of the MLS listed houses well worth the price tag?

4) How difficult is buying a lot (land) and then getting your house built? Is it cheaper?

5) Final walk through – We did the final walk through today and our loan funded today. There are stains on the ceiling that weren't there when we last saw the house. What can we do now?

6) As Buyers, if we discover something on our final walk-though that was not there when we purchased, like the leaking roof in the prior question, does the “3 day rescission” apply?

7) If I take a property “As-Is” does that mean I can’t do any inspections?

8) How can I tell what High School my kids would go to based on a street address?

9) Will my impound account money be used (or will I get it back)?

10) Several predictions in the media expect that high-end home prices (> $1 million) will suffer a significant drop in the year 2010 and 2011 due to mortgage interest reset for ARM borrowers, and the high unemployment rate. Can anyone predict home prices in Los Altos in 2010?

11) Is there supposed to be a transfer tax when you do a refi in Santa Clara County?