San Diego CA Real Estate Podcast with Carlos Gutierrez

Carlos Gutierrez

A Video Blog about the San Diego Real Estate Market for buyers and sellers By San Diego's premiere Realtor Carlos Gutierrez of Montenzuma Properties

  1. 07/25/2017 ·  Video

    Don't Take Our Word for It: Hear Why Carlos Is Different From His Clients

    Carlos Gutierrez has been serving clients in San Diego County since 2005. Here’s what just a few of those clients have to say. As a full-time real estate agent, Carlos Gutierrez has earned the Chairman’s Circle Platinum award for his sales performance in 2013, ranking him among the top 1% of Coldwell Banker sales associates. But, the successes most important to Carlos are the ones that come not in the form of awards, but in the form of satisfied clients. Since 2005, Carlos has been serving buyers, sellers, and investors throughout San Diego County—treating each and every transaction as if it were his very own. And his clients have noticed. Diane Gaske is one such client. She’s known Carlos for 25 years—since meeting him at the elementary school she once worked at. Years later, when it came time for Diane to sell the home she had lived in for 27 years, she knew she would need the right person to help. For her, and many others, Carlos is that person. “ The successes most important to Carlos are the ones that come in the form of satisfied clients. ” She recalls Carlos sending postcards to all of her neighbors and hosting multiple open houses—something she says ultimately paid off, since her house sold in less than two weeks. Another client, Matthew, first encountered Carlos when he helped Matthew’s father to sell the home he had been struggling to sell for months in just 15 days. The reason for Carlos’ success, according to Matthew, is that he listens to clients and creates unique, detailed plans according to their needs. Something that stuck with Matthew, specifically, is when Carlos came to him with a 27-point presentation explaining what he was going to do to sell his house. Matthew emphasized to us that what Carlos does is different for every client—because every client is different. Matthew says that, because of this, “He was able to do what he said he was going to do.” He also says that Carlos only “promises what he can deliver” and that “his communication is extraordinary.” Other clients had praise for Carlos, as well. According to Jan and Mike Neil, “You are foremost and number one in his mind” while you are working with him. All of these people are real clients who Carlos has gone above and beyond for. So, if you are thinking of working with him, remember them when making your decision. Diane, who has known him for 25 years, says she recommends Carlos “110%.” If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you, soon.

  2. 07/07/2017 ·  Video

    3 Tips for Investing in Real Estate

    Today I wanted to share with you three tips for investing in rental properties. You may have played the game of Monopoly and you know that the way to win that game is to have the most amount of properties and cash in the bank. Life can sometimes be a game as well, and we live in the perfect city for investing in rental properties. You might have thought about investing, and I wanted to share three things to consider before you invest. “ Have a one-year plan and five-year plan and stick to them! ” Be selective when you buy. You need to make money when you buy the property. Often investors see a home at a low price and think they’ve found a good deal. However, you need to do your homework and research the area to determine whether it’s a good deal or not. Remember, price is what you pay, value is what you get. Have an exit strategy. While investing in a rental property can be a great way to earn profit, don’t let it become such a large part of your portfolio that losing returns on it can ultimately bring you down with it. Have a one-year plan and then a five-year plan and stick to those plans. Be ready for the unexpected! Things can quickly take an unexpected turn, and you need to be prepared for it. Houses can be a great investment, but are often full of unseen costs that correspond with those investments. So be prepared and able to address those issues when they present themselves. If you have any questions about this or any other real estate topic, give me a call or shoot me an email. I’d be happy to help!

  3. 05/01/2017 ·  Video

    How Can You Find Accurate Real Estate Info Online?

    Homebuyers and sellers alike can get frustrated by the wealth of misinformation about real estate online. Today, I’ll give you a few tips to help you find accurate, updated real estate info. The Internet is a great place to start your home search and find some information on what your home is worth. However, I hear from my friends and clients every day about how frustrating it is to sort out all of the information that they find online. Popular sites like Zilow, Realtor.com, and Trulia can be great places to start out, but studies show that in cities like San Diego, the prices on those sites can be off by as much as 10% to 20%. In our market, that can mean a difference of anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000 off the actual market value of your home. So, what can you do? First off, don’t believe everything you read. If you are a buyer searching for homes, you can find some basic information online, but make sure that you go on multiple sites. Local sites like mine pull information directly from the MLS so you know that all the information you are looking at is up to date and accurate. Buyers also need to get a pre-approval so that you can save time on your home search and know how much your loan limit is. In our market, having a pre-approval gives you negotiating power that will help you edge out the other buyers. Being pre-approved tells sellers that you are ready to buy. “ Don’t believe everything you read on sites like Zillow or Trulia. ” You also need to stay calm. If you’re looking at homes on Zillow, don’t fall in love too fast. The prices may be wrong and, sometimes, the house may be listed as available even though it already sold months ago! An experienced agent like myself can guide you to the right homes. If you are selling your home, you need accurate information to determine the value of your home. If your home is unique and you’ve made improvements, then you need a proper appraisal so that you get every dollar out of the sale of your home. So, do your research. Check out multiple home value tools to get a range of what your home might be worth in the current market. You should also check out the comps, or comparable properties. A real estate agent can do a comparable market analysis to see how your home stacks up against other similar, recently sold properties in your neighborhood. That is the most accurate way to determine what you can get for your home in this hot market. Ultimately, you need to be careful when you are looking at homes online or if you are trying to find your home value with sites like Zillow or Trulia. If you have any other questions about finding accurate real estate information online, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

  4. 02/27/2017 ·  Video

    How to Make Sure Your Family Is Protected

    Dealing with the loss of a family member can be especially difficult when the necessary planning was not done ahead of time. There are three steps you can take now to protect your family. There is nothing more devastating than dealing with the loss or illness of a family member. That difficult time can turn into a nightmare if you haven’t taken care of the necessary planning ahead of time. I was recently working with a family who had just lost their mother and, when selling her estate, they realized there was no will or trust in place. Now they have to deal with the challenges of probate, which costs a lot of time and money. There are three things you can do now to make sure that your loved ones are protected after you’re gone: 1. Talk about it now. Don’t wait until there is a tragedy or illness to have the difficult conversations with your family. Be open and honest about what you want to happen to your home and your investments. “ Be open and honest about what you want to happen to your home and investments. ” 2. Put it in writing. Make sure that you have a will or trust. It’s smart to put your wishes in writing so that your children and other beneficiaries are not left trying to sort out everything while they are in mourning. Not having a will can complicate relationships and cost your loved ones thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees. Have a frank and open discussion about your estate plans with the people who you love, who should be in the know. 3. Consult a real estate professional to ensure that your plans and assets are protected. A real estate agent can help you determine whether a revocable or irrevocable trust would be best. This can be a very difficult topic to navigate, but it is important to take these three steps in order to protect your family. If you have any other questions or need further guidance on this topic, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. I am here to help you.

  5. 01/30/2017 ·  Video

    How to Make Your Neighborhood Cleanup a Success

    There are a ton of positive benefits to organizing a community cleanup project. Here are a few of them. Your cleanup day is almost here! You need help, so I’ve got some great tips to share. I really enjoy helping others write their real estate success stories. As promised, I am here to give you some tips on how to organize and motivate the people in your neighborhood for your own community beautification project. Here are three things to keep in mind when planning your cleanup: 1. Show me the money. You don’t have to pay people in cash, you just need to share with them how much value will be added to their home by cleaning up the neighborhood. The nicer it looks, the more home values go up. “ The world is in need of positive community stories. ” 2. Shout it out. Post on local neighborhood Facebook groups or even on Craigslist to increase turnout. Make a flyer, walk the neighborhood, and introduce yourself to some neighbors you haven’t met before. Let them know when and where the dumpsters will be located. You can also contact your local media to let them know and ask if they could get the word out. The world is in so much need right now of positive community stories. The local media loves those stories and are happy to share them. Start making your own positive news story today. 3. Be positive. Your energy will spark others to want to take action. Maintaining a positive attitude is one of the keys to ensuring success. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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A Video Blog about the San Diego Real Estate Market for buyers and sellers By San Diego's premiere Realtor Carlos Gutierrez of Montenzuma Properties