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The first month or so of my administration would be filled with meetings with advisers to try to hammer out my ideas into workable pieces of legislation. I would try my best to cater to both sides of the political divide here in the US, while also making sure that the legislation actually has power and isn’t a showpiece.ImmigrationImmigration Reform ActProvides a path to citizenship for all illegal immigrants currently in the US. However, they can still be rejected for citizenship if they have been convicted of serious crimes.Establishes that if a child was born to illegal parents in the US, and it can be proven that the child was born in the US, then that child is considered a legal citizen of the United States.All illegal immigrants that are currently residing in the US must either apply for citizenship, obtain a legal and valid green card/worker’s visa/regular visa, or face deportation. If they have children who are legal citizens of the United States and still refuse to apply for citizenship or a visa, then the children will be taken as wards of the state, and the parents deported. The point of this won’t be to break up families, but to provide a very strong incentive for illegal immigrants with children to apply for citizenship. If they are denied citizenship, but need to care for their children, then some sort of accommodation should be set-up to prevent the family from actually being broken up. Again, the point of this section isn’t to actually deport parents and break up families, it is to light a fire underneath illegal immigrants who are dragging their feet at applying for citizenship.Establishes a couple dozen immigration centers around the US. These centers, similar in size and appearance to a mid-sized public university, would have two main tasks: firstly, to provide for the basic needs of immigrants while they obtain their citizenship, and secondly to introduce them to life in the US. They would be housed in dormitory-style complexes, with suites available for both families and singles. The education they would receive would focus on the basics of American law (traffic laws, other basic stuff to know), American history, the duties of citizenship (voting, how to get a valid ID), English(if necessary), and tax paperwork. They would also receive all the necessary vaccines, as well as basic health exams. If they need some sort of operation (such as tooth repair, STD treatment, medicines), then some sort of payment plan could be worked out.The overall focus of the IRA would be to encourage people to come here legally. It would also streamline the process of obtaining citizenship via the immigration centers into a sort of college-like process lasting about 6 months or so. People who are already here illegally would also be given strong incentives (both positive and negative) to get their citizenship. The focus won’t be on turning people away, it will be on getting people through the front door instead of the sewer pipe.As far as border security goes, physical barriers can be broken, and their is only so much ground that the Border Patrol can cover. Instead, a high-tech barrier of surveillance cameras and a Border Patrol focusing on rapid intervention should be crafted. Drug smuggling should be stopped with whatever force is absolutely necessary, while illegal immigrants will be given enough aid to ensure their survival (water, snacks, medicine if necessary) and then deported back to wherever they came from, with a strongly worded warming to come back legally.Electoral IssuesVoter IDs should be required to vote at every polling place. They are not hard to obtain, and what little voting fraud there is here in the US needs to be completely eradicated.Donations to public campaigns should have an upper limit both for private donations and corporate donations, to cut down on attempted bribery. In addition, all donations should be made public during the campaign, again to cut down on attempted bribery.Gerrymandering should be eliminated, and independent commissions appointed to redraw the electoral districts for each state.Social IssuesAs much as I dislike abortion on a personal level, abortion is an issue best left up to Congress and/or the states. I won’t make any efforts to support or prevent abortions.The Equal Rights Amendment will be pushed forward againHealthcareObamacare will not be repealed, but it will be restructured to be more efficient, less cumbersome, and less expensive on the taxpayers. More leeway in regards to individual insurance will also be granted. All of the changes will be based on the recommendations of a committee of healthcare experts and lawmakers specializing in healthcare issues.Funding for mental healthcare and research will be increasedThe issue of marijuana will be left up to the states.Other Domestic PoliciesGun Control- a few smaller changes will be instituted; if you buy a gun, then you must pass a basic gun safety test, just like you have to pass a driving test in order to get a driver’s license.If the Patriot Acts are still around, they will be repealed.Net Neutrality will be enforcedNASA’s budget will be restored. Some of their main programs will be to return to the Moon, plan for a future mission to Mars, and continue their other investigations.Foreign PolicyThe military budget will be cut. In order to compensate for these budget cuts, the military will streamline their money usage as much as possible. Redundancies will be removed, loopholes, closed, efficiency increased as much as possible. All of the money saved due to this streamlining will be redirected to the planned education and immigration reform.An international solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be sought through the UN. What I propose is that Israel would pull out of the West Bank and Gaza; the West Bank would form the independent nation of Palestine, while Gaza would be given to Egypt as a demilitarized zone. Israel would get to keep the Golan Heights. Jerusalem would be vacated by both Palestinian and Israeli military forces; it would be patrolled by a permanent UN peacekeeping force. In exchange for giving up the West Bank and Gaza, as well as relinquishing control of Jerusalem to the UN, Israel would be the site of a US military base, with a naval base in Tel Aviv, and an operating base for American armored and infantry units located north of Tel Aviv. Israel would also get the first slot in buying exports of US military equipment. It won’t be perfect, but perhaps something like this would work.A diplomatic agreement with Cuba to end the embargo and restore diplomatic relations. Explore the possibility of inviting Cuba into NAFTA.Give Saudi Arabia an ultimatum: either tone down the authoritarianism and human rights violations, or get thrown to the sharks and lose American economic ties.Enter negotiations with Iran to prevent the use of their nuclear program for nuclear weapons, while scaling back the sanctions in exchange for other concessions.Education IssuesIncrease student loans for specific majors and degrees, most notably STEM degrees and educational degrees.All children must be required to have certain vaccinations in order to attend any public school. If a guardian fears that the child may be allergic to a certain vaccine, then a test for that and other allergies can be arranged. Otherwise, children who have not received all of the necessary vaccinations will be barred from attending public school until they have been vaccinated.Environmental IssuesIncrease domestic energy production. First and foremost, increase the production of liquefied natural gas. Next, develop alternative energy sources in the areas where they would be most helpful. Build wind farms in the Great Plains, solar power plants in the Southwest, geothermal plants out West, and nuclear power plants in areas with little danger from earthquakes, tsunamis, or hurricanes (such as around the Great Lakes).Emissions Reduction Act- establish a goal to reduce America’s carbon emissions within the following decade; in addition, provide subsidies for the development of low-carbon and zero-carbon technology; lastly, provide incentives for businesses to reduce their carbon emissions.Emphasize ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle’.Criminal IssuesLaw enforcement officers will be strongly encouraged to wear body cameras, both to discourage (already rare) acts of violence as well as to prevent any officers from being falsely accused of police brutality.Convicts who have been convicted of drug abuse (NOT drug trafficking or distributing) will have their sentences shortened. From there on out, individuals who are convicted of drug abuse will have shorter sentences and will instead be required to attend rehabilitation clinics to wean them off of their habits.On the flip side, individuals convicted of distributing illegal substances will have longer sentences and mandatory fines (which can be docked from their paycheck). The emphasis will be to help drug users and to prevent the sale of drugs, cutting off both the supply of drugs and the need for drugs at the same time.People who falsely accuse others of sexual assault will face prison time, with a minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Thnx for the A2A. Predictions are notoriously difficult to grade because looking back on them after some event, it’s easy to mis-apply them as having said the big picture, accurate account of what actually happened. Even a number of Gates’ predictions fall prey to this because the technology was in use before his prediction (just in a different form than now) and he wasn’t specific enough on what he actually meant. However, many are still prescient and kudos for that.Given that difficulty, I do have a number of them to offer. I wrote some of them down 2 years ago in a former answer which requested that they be both improbable and still possible. Copying them below the link, that should be noted. If you want to keep track, the prediction date is thus the year 2036 which isn’t far from your date. The link can be found at:Todd McKissick's answer to What are the biggest ways in which the world 20 years from now will probably be different from today? What are the biggest "X factors" (changes that are not probable, but are possible and could be huge)?Ah, an opportunity to show just how awesome and incredible the future will soon be! There are so many changes that will make our world such a better place and progress towards them is accelerating exponentially. So many disparate systems will join forces to create new and exciting alternatives to today's fundamental "givens" that everything from daily living to global crises will be seen as nothing but opportunity. And with so many new minds to chase these solutions, progress watching could become a full time project.This is a fun but tough question because of the parameters being "biggest ways" combined with "not probable" yet still "possible". Many changes will be small but significant while others will be big but commonly agreed to be obvious. However, I'll try to stick to those parameters with an emphasis on not probable and a mandate of still possible, while still hoping for somewhat brief. This leaves out many but other answers have covered most of those.CategoriesEnergyIn the context of what we desire, we will have unlimited energy and water. Most products will use far less energy and do so many tasks and do them more efficiently that energy demand per person will fall a fair amount. In addition to that, a genuinely intelligent smart grid will automatically negotiate between loads and generation to maintain a balance with much less being transmitted over big power lines. Intelligent appliances (below) will predict grid conditions and pre-plan to match. In aggregate, this will smooth the demand to better balance to available generation (even from variable sources) so that storage requirements are minimized.Most energy and residential water will come from site located, end-use-owned renewables (including large users) or from large scale, off-site plants. Current renewables will be supplemented with jet stream wind via tethered kite arrays, scalable and modular CSP, and combined geothermal generation with seasonal thermal underground storage. Coal will be long gone, oil as a fuel will be recently gone and natural gas will be on its way out. Nuclear will continue with many existing reactors, a few new ones by then but no more will be built except modular types for large ships and similar demand. Massive ocean based CSP (with cogen desalination) will both capture open sunlight (2,000x) as well as reflected 'double concentrated' sunlight (15,000x) from miles-diameter orbiting reflectors which operate 24 hours/day.International transmission systems will distribute desalinated water vapor and energy across continents (not in electrical form) while buffering enough to supply the remaining need for storage. Seasteads will be built with excess electricity going to the creation of growing cities on and under the oceans surface by transforming ocean carbon into seacrete. This reduces carbon from planet's carbon cycle in the most densely accessible way.Global warming will remain a concern even though we will have eliminated 99% of industrial emissions and switched the CO2 sourcing agriculture and meat/dairy production to CO2 absorbing. Talks on the subject will mirror today's talk of slavery - past but still a concern. Resource use will be a similar 'past' concern since all natural resources will only used if they can be fully recycled.TransportationNearly all new vehicles will be electric, autonomous and bought under a premise of being shared among a community. This will include passenger cars and medium and large trucks. Small trucks will cease to be manufactured.However, most transportation will not be in vehicles anymore. People will use autonomous personal shuttles (today's toys - hoverboard, Segway, autonomous golf carts) to travel very local and to access PRT terminals in their local neighborhood. Existing residential streets will migrate to being simply a wide sidewalk with larger lawns. These terminals will connect non-stop, private, above ground, maglev pods by overhead rail to the next neighborhood and the high speed rural routes between cities at up to 250 mph. This small rail will also carry residential utilities (energy, water and internet) as well as carry the pods right indoors at schools, stores, stadiums and other desired sites. Other pods will carry single pallets from manufacture all the way to final store, even intercity. Other pods will house delivery drones that will leave the moving pod, venture off course for a home delivery and return to the moving pod elsewhere afterward.On exiting city limits and at full speed, may choose to enter a set of high speed airlocks to partially evacuated tubes where precise air control behind them quickly boosts them to the top safe speed for that particular route. Speeds above Mach I are easily reached on stretches with limited curves or bumps with other stretches limiting speeds to 1 or 2 Gs of acceleration. At the exit points, air having leaked past the pod and now residing ahead of the pod acts as a cushion to slow the pod's speed for leaving that airlock system.Large cargo crossing land is done by rigid blimps, buoyant from either evacuated CF chambers and hydrogen / nitrogen balast systems, allowing them to remain aloft with minimal energy use. These airships will hold 500 tons of cargo and travel 125 mph, mostly following the trade winds for longer trips and larger loads. Smaller shuttle blimps (optimized for climbing and descending) will board with the larger one as it travels past. Vacation trips will house a couple thousand people on one that traverses the entire globe.FoodHealthy foods of all types will become more abundant and cheaper than their artificial counterparts. Vertical farms will be dotted around cities. They will use aquaponics and LED/electrolumiscence grow lights to grow most produce, bulk fish, shrimp, clams and some lobsters locally. This will supply 80-90% of non-meat based food to urban areas. The large vertical farms will publish their plant recipies on growth parameters for home aquaponic systems to mimic in fully autonomous residential gardens, fountains and greenhouse enclosures. Elaborate setups will be built around residential and community fountains and ornate tanks. Most of the quantity of produce and fish will come from these systems (including the vertical farms) with the remaining coming from ocean based fish farms and permaculture adventure sites (which also produce all the tree-fruit). The term 'farmer' will migrate to mean a building or system that autonomously grows food, not a person laboring at such.Meat will be obtained from two main carbon negative sources. First is indoor/underground happy-herds (a leftover name from marketing them positively because they don't get sunlight much) where all inputs and output are precisely controlled for perfect, natural high-yield growth. Cattle food is fully sprouted, dark-grown fodder for high nutrition, energy and low waste and water use. Waste and gasseous emissions are kept in the facility to aid the fodder growth in a fully closed cycle. Only supplemental nutrients, water and grain seed are inputs to the system. Optimized, recipe based dairy and cheeses are produced in a nearby facility. Poultry is partially raised this way as well.The more natural type of meat will come from pasture raised animals. Natural wildlife reserves are left open to roaming herds (monitored and directed by drone) where they can restore deserted and fallow land while sequestering massive amounts of CO2. Everything desired including beef, bison, buffalo, poultry and swine will be raised in a completely natural environment, mimicking their evolved heritage. People will cringe at the memory of past generations suggesting lab grown meats as an option to reduce CO2.Most uses of corn, wheat, soy, cotton and palm oil will have sustainable, responsible substitutes which reduce farm land demand. Minimal actual farms will exist, mainly to grow grains for the fodder above and will be tended to by drones-on-hoses. Trucks will park near a field and dispatch a swarm of drones to help unroll long tubes with emitters along its length. As an emitter is exposed, a drone attaches to it and helps unroll the tube to the next emitter. The full length of tube stretches across the field (even if a mile across) and the truck now drives along side while the drones dispense anything needed for each plant, including seeds to be planted. No tractor is driven on the field until harvest time, leaving the soil unpacked and completely fertile with micro-organisms. Entire fields can be covered in minutes with a single truck.Over half of existing farmland and most forest land is returned to natural ecosystems with no man-made borders (fences, roads, canals) to block the migration of any wildlife (from pests to predators), halting the compartmentalization-extinction of many species. Very few non-stop highways exist beyond 20-40 more years as most transportation is either on above-ground rail or hovering at higher altitudes. "Outback" becomes a real term for people choosing to live in these reserves even though air delivery is available and emergency services have faster response times.HomeSmart homes, smart appliances and home care robots will be fairly commonplace within 20 years. All butler, maid, gardener, cook and minor maintenance tasks can be handled by robot but most people will not have chosen to adopt them because leisure has become their norm. Smart appliances will be given a personality and will be treated as a trusted toast-pal or an entertainment-sourcing friend or even a dishwashing diva. They will plan their activities around people's lives, grid demand, weather predictions and supply delivery times.Autonomous drones (ground and air) will aid in tasks when beneficial, such as pest control, tracking/herding pets and a few farm animals. Some can be enlisted for additional tasks such as to retrieve a fresh apple or orange growing live on site or at a neighbor's property. They will all answer to the person but also to the human's assistant or agent. This is another AI "friend" which acts as a middle manager for many tasks, keeps schedules and inventories, learns the human's desires and archives events. It will maintain a full 3D point-cloud map of each room, area and item for full accountability, as well as coordinating relevant info to external entities.Many surfaces in the home will become dual use such as tables and counters becoming touch displays, walls becoming self lighting and eventually even high-res displays (not fully within 20 years yet).Robotic cooks will handle most of the cooking with full dexterity hands and unlimited recipies, that include many new and surprising combinations of foods - resulting from yet another AI system in the cloud.Producing most or all net energy onsite, these homes now process their waste in small thermophilic digesters, condensing gasifiers and compost equipment. Most water is dehumidified from the waste chilling of the energy system, stored in natural pools (swimming pools coupled with bio-filters for water and energy storage) with the balance coming from the utility rail passing by. Most homes will be fully self reliant except for the foods and consumables the human chooses to treat themselves to.Actual homes will become personal works of art, representing the full artistic and Utopian living amenities for that family. Artwork such as paintings, sculptures, architecture, gardens and things unknown now will showcase personality in every way imaginable. A common hobby is to fulfill the commissioning of local community building, parks and residential artwork. This earns much credibility and passion credits.Social / Entertainment / EducationInternet access will be a forgotten given. Free access will be via a combination of high-bandwidth wireless from the utility rail and peer-to-peer radio-phone hopping. These mesh networks will link every device to other nearby devices with no central tower or controlling middleman.Many people will sign into a decentralized service that hosts internet sites with a managed access, single definable identity, encrypted and distributed across a cloud host, including a managed content sharing system. This system will act as their firewall, cloud, social media agent, storage and search agent. It will host all their applications so that access is possible from even the most simplistic devices (like toast-pal) while interfacing autonomously (at specified levels) with the personal assistants and home assistants. Social interactions will be as open or private as desired on a per site and per person basis. This is the main location where a person's credit ledger is maintained.It will also host a global, database of all factual information (like Wiki) contextually linked to opinion info (like Quora) and ratings. Each piece of info is standardized to be linkable and to interface with ROS (robot operating systems), point-cloud maps, personal decision suggestions, information queries and social rankings. This promotes learning from both fact and opinion of all supporting factors on any subject, eventually reaching the root cause to any result. This will lead to a divide between those who instinctively base decisions on IQ vs. EQ., creating the only lasting negativity in society.All agents (virtual only) and assistants (physical and virtual) mold information to personal learning traits, to replace the out-dated education system. Education now becomes an invisible, built-in process that extends the full length of a person's life. All periods of play, interaction, inactivity and task performing becomes an opportunity to learn via application and example.PersonalWithing 20 years, we'll see extreme sports like we've never imagined. People will very soon begin to use simulated feedback body suits or augmented reality (AR) to control actual bot hardware to fight other bots with live ammunition at remote sites. Supplemented with CGR AR, this will allow competitors to transparently share worlds of physical reality and virtual irrational settings. From underwater to space to recovering after being thrown into a volcano, contestants will find all limits removed from their creativity. Similarly, in real life, augmented physical abilities and flying suits, breathing apparatuses will aid competitions with actual humans in the not-so-enhanced real world. Leisure passtime will increasingly involve watching and participating in the myriad sports and contests that will permeate all of society. This will offset much of the isolation from past days of being device focused.Hats, headbands and other wearable items will hide non-invasive brain interfaces and private bone speakers for all types of uses of fully artificial sound environments as well as full 360 degree, stereoscopic, non-stop recording of one's perspective.Advanced uses could wirelessly interface to implanted arrays of electrodes in the brain, creating far more immersive experiences. Upon training a person to interface to this array as though it was a standardized set of controls, one could then control a host of machines (think of the numerous arcade games with the same set of buttons and levers) by thought alone.Also, this array can be trained to become a 6th sense where bi-directional communication could transmit any type of data from sounds to images to video to "memories" (consisting of a packet of sequences) and even to emotions or live communication to a prosthetic, machine, bot, agent or another live person.Robotics & DataHumanoid robots will have achieved by then, a level of human replication so well that many people will be calling for a physical identification to be able to recognize they are non-human. They will be able to have all the traits of a human but rarely will one actually contain all traits in one unit. Most people will opt for some level of compromise to maintain the distinction as robot. Machine learning will have solved each of the separate tasks to mimic people but it won't be practical if done with traditional binary computers.New computing methods will have been invented to better suit the task but they will not be mature enough yet to build on. This will include a switch to analog computers (high resolution optical light color-mixing) to perform calculations in extreme density and differential comparitor systems to rapidly make choices on thousands of parameters simultaneously.Memory will migrate to insanely high density media. It may eventually be color based, write-once, 3 dimentional, lifetime crystal cubes that hold many lifetime's worth of information in the form of sequences of recognized patterns. (This causes a return to self controlled data and away from cloud services.) It also means that no information is lost between birth and death. Physical media in other forms is outdated.All of this, coupled with full 3D point clouds of an environment and conscious physical awareness from available sensors, will finally enable a learning system to match humans' learning ability. And this ability, coupled with massive information access and higher speed will eventually lead to genuine AI, but not within 20 years.Machines will continue to advance by migrating to programmable circuits at nearly molecular levels, enabling sensors, transmitters, processors and other circuits to be built en-mass and then programmed for the application as needed. Entire automated systems can now be created from existing models by a simple download from the ROS store. All this capability rests fully on the ability to create the appropriate standards of how each part interacts with another and with the physical world.ProductsManufacture is now mostly automated. Most mass production is a highly refined process with corrections at one stage being sent out to similar setups in all the other local factories where they apply. 3D printing has reached sufficient speed but is still not the only way to make things. It's mostly used for the smaller runs of odd, fast or special parts and all R&D needs. It remains a hobby industry except for higher end, precision parts using very expensive 3D printers. It has acquired nearly all materials in its bag of supplies and only lacks wood. Wood has 3D shapers which can still create most any part.CAD is more integrated with CAM and those include 3D printing instructions, assembly instructions, supply instructions and shipping/delivery instructions, sort of like object oriented programming. Each part is now an "object" that can be tracked, processed and used in any way physically possible across multiple assemblies.R&D operations are now guided by AI agents which maintain cause and effect to ensure no option is missed, including the most out-of-box ones, all the way back to first principles.Government / EconomyWith all this automation, we're already approaching a point where growth dependent economies no longer work. An unconditional basic income for every person (from birth on) is warranted on a fully global basis. I see this as absolutely critical now but its possible to continue with band aids down other paths. If so, many of the achievements above would not be accomplished in the given time. They require not only all the best minds of today but the 2-4 billion more people to become educated and hop on the internet by then. We literally cannot advance this much and still expend so much effort continuing wars or oil or banking rights, political and religious conflicts, poverty and inequality and survive a climate crisis at the same time. So... I'll assume we did switch to a basic income type of social safety net.If so, poverty, inequality and unemployment will simply vanish into the history books. Mundane and unrewarding employment will plummet while creative employment will soar. This will cause a massive effort to automate the former. This will cause a demand for upper-middle skill labor and become a boost to the economy. While this is happening, we'll be transitioning to cheaper energy, having passed the tipping point of renewables adoption.Now many things become possible with relatively unlimited energy and creative labor. This will cause a rush to abundance of everything people need and near abundance of many of their desires. The cost of surviving at a decent standard of living falls below the basic income level. Basically, people will only have trouble affording luxuries, the rest will be cheap. As such, paid labor really takes a hit, further continuing the cycle.The result is that people lose interest in accounting (pun allowed) and begin to barter and share, based on personal characteristics and 'credits' (from above). These are unofficial accounts of one's opinion towards another (similar to today's ratings) and really don't hold any official weight. They're kind of like how a family member feels towards another after numerous dealings with them. This leads to the demise of currency. And without money to account, many of the incentives for crime, greed, war, borders, insurance, power and (over)regulation become irrelevant.At this point, many things previously thought improbable, become highly practical. Full democratic voting (aka direct democracy) is a big one. People begin to vote for what's best for them, not what they're told might be best. Another major change might be that an online system is used to collaborate input from people without demographic consideration, where all laws are debated to their refined form and proposed to apply globally. These wouldn't have to be implemented but rather be used as an accepted set of laws for residents of a given country to consider when passing their own. And should a country have enough trust in such a list and want to avoid all the costs of creating and updating their laws, they could simply adopt the whole set across the board.SummaryWhile many of these advancements may seem improbable, a large number of them have been created on at least some scale already even though some are still under the radar, hence no details. If broken down to the smallest pieces, none are impossible and with the newest members added to the internet club in the coming years, most are pretty much guaranteed. However, if taken as one large big picture, the entire set of advancements would cause a completely different world to emerge. And personally, I cannot wait.

Choosing the Best Time to Sell Your San Diego HouseMarket trends, seasonal perks, and personal needs all influence the timeline for selling your home in San Diego. If you're pinched for time, then now is the time to sell. Period. If you're waiting for market trends, be careful as the market shifts quickly. But if you want to show your property in the best light possible and don't mind a bit of competition, then spring is your best option.Many potential buyers come out of hibernation in the spring. You can imagine that when seeking out a lifestyle in The Golden State, house-hunters are attracted to bright sunshine - and in spring, nature does much of the decorating with rays of sunlight, blossoming flowers, budding trees, and the energy of new life.Deciding to sell your home can be rough. Rougher still is determining the best price for your house. And above the decision to sell and for how much, you have to determine when it’s the right time to sell. Selling at the right time can encourage multiple offers, competing bids, fast selling time, and other benefits. Selling at the wrong time could mean lengthier stays on the market, several price reductions, and a lower sales price. So, when is the best time for you to sell your San Diego Home?There’s No Wrong TimeThe first thing to realize when listing your home in San Diego is that there’s not a bad time to sell. In areas other than San Diego, March and April are the most beneficial times to list houses. In spring, the days are longer than other seasons, the sun is brighter, the weather is warmer, and more people are stretching out of winter hibernation in search of new ways to make dreams come true. But in San Diego, you can pretty much sports shorts and a tank top year-round. Winter doesn’t keep people indoors in San Diego as it does in other areas. In fact, some studies show that November is the best time for San Diego Sales. So, when the home you’re selling is in San Diego, any time is the right time.Selling the LifestyleUnderstanding that there’s no wrong time to sell a San Diego home, there is a more productive time to sell a lifestyle. San Diego summers represent fun in the sun, especially if the property you’re selling is on the waterfront. Memorial Day signifies the onset of summer when people start craving that summer vibe, which supports the theory that March and April are the best times to sell.If There’s No Time to LoseSometimes, you aren't afforded the luxury of waiting until an ideal time to maximize profit and minimize stress. In fact, there are times when the get-up-and-go strikes fast, you find yourself in a crunch, and you don’t have options for waiting until spring to list your property for sale. In the case of limited time, now is the best time to sell.Weekends | Specifically SaturdayIf you’re serious about drilling down into every minute detail of when to sell your house, then you may also want to consider which day of the week you list your property. People are occupied during the week with work, school, errands, and the hustle and bustle of daily life. However, more people browse the web on weekends, Saturday specifically. If your goal is to have as many people view your listing as soon as possible, then listing it on a Saturday may bring you the best results.Market TrendsAlthough there is no science to determining when a market may shift from a buyers’ market to a sellers’ market, you can wait it out until the tides turn. In a buyer’s market, houses outnumber buyers, so there’s less competition, and values may decrease. However, in a sellers’ market, inventory is low, values can increase, and homes sell faster. If you can wait, a sellers’ market is the best time to sell your home.Interest RatesLeaving season, days of the week, and market trends out of the equation, you can look to interest rates. If your home currently has a high-interest rate and you can sell your existing home to purchase one with a lower rate, then now is an ideal time to sell.It can be said that certain seasons bring higher sales than others. Certain days of the week outperform other days for drawing out buyers. But the reality of the situation is that the best time to sell your San Diego home is when you’re ready to move. Whether you’re upsizing, downsizing, relocating for work, or looking for a lateral move, when you’re ready to pack up and move on, that’s the best time to sell your home.How to Update and not Renovate Your Property to Sell FastRipping out walls and gutting the rooms in your house to make it sell fast isn't necessary. There are simple updates, easy upgrades, and quick-fixes that can add charm to your home, inside and out.Spacious, open floorplans are all the rave, and formal dining areas are losing their status. Remove bulky furniture, re-arrange remaining furniture into conversational areas away from the walls, and add light. Dark rooms feel smaller whereas bright rooms seemingly enlarge a space. Mirrors can also brighten a room by reflecting light. Evaluate your current window dressings as thick, dark drapes can not only block light but can also make a room feel dated.Nothing makes a room feel dated like old doorknobs, cabinet handles, and drawer pulls. Replacing these items in kitchens and bathrooms can add an elegant touch of new and modern.Start with the OutsideBegin with the curb appeal, the flirtatious charm a house has upon potential buyers on the first impression. You don't need to gut the yard and put in all new greenery, but it may help to get rid of any weeds, dead plants, or debris. A few bucks for a few live flowers could add a splash of color under windows and entryways. It's interesting how "well cared for" or "neatly manicured" translates to higher values in real estate.Make sure the exterior of the property is clean, give it a good power wash or, if needed, a coat or two of vibrant paint. Replace window screens. Add a new layer of caulking around windows, and make sure windows open, close, lock, and unlock with ease.You can also give the impression of added living space by creating an outdoor room with a seating area such as on the patio, a usable living space outdoors.The front door holds a lot of power in establishing the feel of a home. Strong, solid, oak doors give one impression while bright, pastel doors invite another. Replacing or painting the front door could add a fresh new charm to the entryway.Let There Be LightLight works magic indoors. Bright light makes rooms appear large, airy, and open. Update window coverings, make sure they're correctly installed from ceiling to floor, and keep window dressings open during showings.In situations where rooms lack windows, then add light in the way of ceiling lights, mounted fixtures, etc.In rooms that are small and naturally dark, consider adding mirrors in addition to light fixtures. The mirrors will reflect the light and give the appearance of enlarging the room.Paint and floor colorings should also be kept light, airy, and neutral in color.Clean and PaintThe two most important activities in which you can engage to add energy and life to a room is to clean and to paint. Cleanliness sells, and with a clean foundation, a fresh coat of light, neutral paint can make a small, dark room seem open and airy in no time and minimal money.Once everything is clean and fresh, you can assess what updates need your attention next.Doorknobs, Door Locks, Drawer Pulls, Cabinet HandlesAn elegant touch makes a lasting impression, which you can generate with a high-end doorknob, fancy drawer pulls, or a modern cabinet handle. The investment for these fittings is minimal and takes almost no effort to install but can bring significant returns in the way of offers to buy your house.Look at the electrical socket and light switch covers throughout your property. These, too, can be a simple and cheap fix with high returns.Kitchens and BathroomsKitchens and bathrooms have long been the most important rooms when showing properties. Spending a little extra time, attention, and money in finding clever and creative ways to update these spaces could pack a powerful punch in delivering the wow factor to potential buyers who are eager for project-free, move-in-ready living conditions. Replace the caulking. Use crisp, white linens. Update cabinet handles, drawer pulls, doorknobs, towel racks, and other little projects that could translate into big bucks.You don't have to rip up floors, tear down walls, and gut rooms to update a house for sale to increase its perceived value. In fact, in many cases, a few dollars and a simple project could significantly add to the perceived worth of your house.Colors that Sell Your Home FastSuccessfully selling a house is usually an endeavor influenced by varying factors affecting the real estate environment of wherever the sale is taking place. Also, it is universally known that the way a house looks is fundamentally the leading variable. From the design to the color scheme and the landscaping, the aesthetics of a house significantly influences how fast a house sells.Real estate professionals know this, which is why they put in extra emphasis and effort to ensure the property is in the best aesthetic condition possible to attract the most interest. Let’s look at how colors influence the selling prospect of a house and most importantly what colors will help you achieve this when looking to sell a house in San Diego.What is color psychology?Color psychology is a study based on colors and what effects they have on sighted people mentally and emotionally. It has been proven that colors have varying mental and emotional effects on a person. The color and tone of a place or thing can evoke a certain emotion or feeling from you by just looking at it or being around it for a duration of time.This means whether we are conscious of it or not, the colors surrounding us affect how we feel about something and maybe the underlying reasons why we are drawn to certain colors at certain times and repelled by others.Though each color evokes different emotions from different people, there are those that have been proven to have an overall universal effect on people. These are the ones that you should consider applying to a house when trying to sell it.Best Exterior ColorsWhile considering a color scheme for the exterior of the house, you should consider multiple variables such as the neighborhood to the external fittings of the house. With that in mind, your selection options should also factor in the three main hues which are the accents, trim, and siding.Siding – This is the largest area to be covered while painting the exterior. Consider the color of permanent fixtures when choosing a color for this area. Best examples include brick brown, grey, and beige.Accents – These include places like the front doors and the shutters. It allows more freedom to add personality. For a house in the beautiful atmosphere of San Diego, consider sun-washed colors. The best-recommended colors include brown, rusty red, blue, black, etc.Trims – They should complement the siding. Use color in the same color family of the siding color but a shade lighter. Other recommended include whites, creams, and light greys.Best Interior ColorsLiving Room – This is the most used space in the whole house. Usually, colors differ depending on personality, and the mood one is trying to achieve. Lighter shades tend to create the illusion of more space while the opposite is true for darker shades. The best colors are warm tones that are thought to stimulate conversation as well as create a welcoming space. These include browns, orange, yellows, etc.Dining Room – Used for meals, the best colors to use are earthy tones such as orange and red. Apart from stimulating conversation, they are thought to whet appetites as well. Not recommended is blue as it suppresses the appetite.Kitchen – As with dining room colors, you can use the same colors for this room for the same reason.Bedroom – As places used for relaxation and reconnecting with a partner, the best colors recommended are cool tones, as they are thought to have a calming effect, such as blue, lavender, green, etc. Bright and dramatic colors are avoided in this space as they are too stimulating for relaxation.Bathroom – Warm colors have always been used for these places and continue to remain popular. These include whites, light blues, greys which symbolize cleanliness. Even though more people have been infusing unconventional colors to make these spaces unique, when looking to sell a house it is safer to stick to the classics.Here we have given you a basic rundown on what colors to use in your home when selling in the San Diego area. Taking into consideration the psychology of color helps with selecting colors that best speak for the mood each room is trying to achieve and the emotion it is trying to evoke in the potential buyer. Putting these into practice will help in closing that sale.How to Market Your Home to Sell FastWhen deciding to market your San Diego home, the faster you come up with a plan the less stressful the experience of selling a home will be. Using a real estate agent to help sell your home will take out a lot of guesswork, so it is worth looking around to find a reputable one.It can be tempting to try and sell your home independently but think about the money you may lose out on if you don't know how much your home is worth. A real estate agent will know how to value your home and help you navigate the home selling process.Let's look at the benefits of using a real estate agent.Taking out the guessworkThere is no such thing as beginner’s luck in the real estate market. Hiring somebody to help you will eliminate any guesswork that may be shrouding the quest to sell your home. Paperwork and legalities are important, and you need somebody on your side who knows the ins and outs of the real estate market.Negotiating can be a stressful process. With a professional real estate agent on your side, you have someone who is skilled in negotiations and can get positive results.Speed of SaleA real estate agent will promote your property with due cause. Their good name is important, and they will work with your best interest in mind. Real estate professionals have many tools in their arsenal including internet listings, mailing lists, newspaper ads, and social media connections. They have the power to make your property visible to hundreds if not thousands of potential buyers.The Art of NetworkingYour real estate agent helps sell houses every single day. For this reason, they have a broad network that includes other agents and potential home buyers.Ask your potential real estate agent these questions to help you decide on who the best person will be to hire in San Diego to help sell your home fast.1. What will you provide me with that other agents don't to A) ensure I get the best possible deal and B) Make you the best possible candidate?2. How will you keep in contact with me throughout the entire process of selling my home?3. How long have you worked in the real estate profession?4. Do you work solely or as part of a team?5. Can you have reviews from past clients?6. Do you upkeep a performance guarantee?7. Can I have a list of all payments and fees?8. What marketing strategies do you use?Marketing your home to sell can be an exciting part of the home selling process if you have the right real estate professional on your side. Make it a priority to add an agent to your home-selling team today.Tax Implications When SellingSelling a home anywhere can be overwhelming. Between finding a reliable real estate agent and worrying about what improvements you may have to make to earn a respectable profit, most of us forget to investigate what selling can mean for your taxes. To avoid any unfavorable surprises in the future, it's advised that you understand exactly what type of taxes you'll have to pay after selling your home.California has one of the highest capital gains tax rates in the United States to date. At a maximum rate of 13.3%, California will tax any capital gain on the sale of your home above $250,000, if you qualify for a primary residence exemption; couples who file jointly will be taxed after $500,000. When you include the fact that the IRS can also levy a maximum of 39.6%, it becomes clear how important it is to have your taxes in order before putting your home on the market.To help lower the cost of capital gain tax, the primary home exemption will help drastically. For your property to qualify as a primary residence, it will have to meet the following requirements.How long have you owned your home? To qualify, you'll have to have owned your home for a minimum of two years; therefore, anyone who had purchased a house for a quick profit will have to look for another option.How long have you lived in your home? A primary residence is categorized as a home that you've lived in year-round for a minimum of two years out of the last five. For those with multiple places of residency, it's worth noting that the two years do not have to be consecutive.Have you used this tax exemption before? Keep in mind, this tax exemption can only be used every two years. For those with multiple homes, you may have to speak with a tax advisor to know what's best for your situation.What is Capital Gain Tax?The amount you make after accounting for the cost of acquiring and selling the property is known as your capital gain. You will also include in your calculation the cost of any permanent improvements you made around the home; for example if you had built an addition to the property. For additional information, it's advised you contact your local CPA or review IRS Publication 523.When selling your home in San Diego, any capital gain above $250,000 -- $500,000 for couples filing together --- can be taxed up to the rate of 13.3%.Selling as a Non-ResidentWith the high tax rates Californians face, it's not a surprise to hear that a 2014 report from the IRS had reported over 250,000 residents leaving the state. It's also not surprising to hear that more than 10% of those moved to Texas, a state known for its low state tax. For those moving to lower tax states, it might seem like the perfect plan to sell your California home after you've settled into your new state. Unfortunately, California taxes may follow you to your next state when deciding to sell your home.It's worth keeping in mind that if you are in California for more than nine months, the state will presume you are a resident. In addition, you will be considered a resident of California for up to 18 months after leaving the state, resulting in you being charged taxes as a resident.Offering a Home Warranty When Selling a HouseUnderstanding what a home warranty entails will help you to decide whether you want to offer it when selling your home. A home warranty ultimately provides financial protection to the person purchasing your home. Oftentimes this can lead to a faster sell as it gives the buyer peace of mind that they won't have unexpected expenses soon after moving in.What Would a Home Warranty Cover?A home warranty is not homeowners' insurance as that is something the buyer would need to purchase for themselves. However, offering a home warranty that covers all repairs or replacements for systems or appliances that are included in the sale, maybe a great idea.A home warranty generally covers:Plumbing systemsHeating and cooling systemsElectrical systemsWasher/dryerKitchen appliancesHow much do these warranties cost?Basic coverage would start around $300 and go up to $600 for more comprehensive plans. Warranty plans are offered at the time of the real estate transaction and most often are given the best price at this time. That's why as a seller, it is important to consider whether you will be offering this feature to the buyer of your home or commercial building.This home warranty can even cover these items during the listing period. This means if something breaks while you're selling the place, it is covered. Talk about a win-win. By offering to cover the first year of the warranty, you may entice buyers to bite faster than they would have without this bonus.Read the fine print closely to ensure that everything is covered as you would like. Each appliance will be covered up to a certain dollar amount or replaced with one that is the same size/efficiency. Understand items aren't replaced by the brand solely. Also, in some instances, the warranty company may even require you to upgrade an appliance before agreeing to cover that appliance in the warranty. This will vary on a case-by-case basis.Also, as the homeowner, you're responsible for all maintenance and the warranty company may ask for proof of any service/maintenance records before they agree to a repair should it be required of the home buyer.How a Home Warranty Benefits SellersUltimately whether it is worth it for your home depends on the age of your home and the age of the systems and/or appliances involved. If most things are new, there really isn't much risk for the buyer. However, if you have older elements to your home and people have been unsure of whether to purchase or not, this warranty may seal the deal. By increasing the buyer's confidence, you're more likely to sell your home faster.Also, this home warranty will create interest in your home especially for first-time homebuyers who may not be prepared for future repair expenses after saving up for their down payment.Ultimately, anything you can do to garner more interest in your home while it is on the market is a benefit for you as a seller.How to Choose the Right Real Estate AgentReal estate agents play a role in the successful sale of residential properties, but they’re not all created equal. Some agents excel in some areas while others have a more relaxed approach. The agent you choose to work with will be a deciding factor in how much money you can earn for the sale of your home, and how quickly your house will sell.Referrals, Recommendations, Ratings, and ReviewsStart simple. Ask. Check with your friends, family members, co-workers, and associates to find out if anyone has a real estate agent they can recommend. Social media networks have made it super simple to garner recommendations online. Eliminate any agents from your list whose ratings or reviews leave a sour taste.Location is ImportantYou can narrow down your list of potential real estate agents by refining the possibilities to a location. It’s important that the agent representing your house for sale is familiar with your community enough to be able to highlight selling points such as nearby schools, parks, access to public transportation, and other nuances. An agent who is an expert in your area will also be more familiar with real estate trends, prices, and competition in your community.Specialties and DesignationsReal estate agents hone in on and specialize in specific niches within their industry. For example, some real estate agents focus on luxury properties, others on waterfront homes, single-family homes, condominiums, and townhouses. There are even agents who specialize in short sales and foreclosure properties. Reduce your list once more to only agents who specialize in the type of property you’re selling.Interview Potential AgentsYou’ve now crafted a list of real estate agents in your area who specializes in the type of property you’re selling. You’ve read the ratings and reviews and you’re ready to move to the next step. You’re ready to interview potential agents to find the agent who can sell your house for the most money in the shortest amount of time.When interviewing agents, is by asking about the asking price versus the sales price of the last three homes sold. This can help you understand how close the agent’s estimate is when suggesting a sales price for your home, as well as giving you a realizing idea of what you might receive.Another question to ask agents is how many times the price was reduced between list and close for the last three homes sold. Knowing what’s “normal” for price reductions can help eliminate frustration during the process when the agent calls and suggests a price drop.Next, ask the agents how long each home remained on the market from the list to close. Creating a timeline of the agent’s productivity can help you gauge how long it will take you to sell your house from start to finish.Other questions to ask involve communication preferences, expectations, marketing strategies, termination policies, commission rates, etc.When you’re finished conducting your interviews, you should be confident in your selection of an agent who knows your neighborhood like the back of his or her hand, specializes in your type of property, has an excellent track record, clear communication skills, a direct marketing plan, and policies with which you can agree and work.Giving Your Agent the AssistMany sellers make the mistake of hiring an agent and then washing their hands of the process. Realistically, the more involved you are with the preparation of your home for sale, the higher the chances are that you’ll sell fast and for top dollar.Your agent will advise you on how to price your home for sale. Pricing is important because if you miss your mark and the price too high or too low, you could lose thousands of dollars and find your home on the market for extended periods of time. Next, your agent may suggest ways you can improve the perceived value of the property through staging. When you stage your home, you dress it for success by getting it into the best condition possible for showings.When you take the time and the steps to find the right real estate agent, and then you work with your agent as a team with the goal of selling your house, you’ll sell quickly and for top dollar.Do Open Houses Sell Houses?The concept of successful open house showings is debatable. While it's true that many real estate agents use open houses to grow their database of buyers, there is some success with open house offers. For an open house to be successful, you need to prepare for and market your event. The attraction for home-shoppers is the ability to walk through and get a feel for the environment without the pressure of a potential sale. It's a window-shopping, browsing opportunity that can and does convert to sales when properly conducted.Work with your agent to determine the best course of action for marketing your open house to the right audience. Stage your home, so shoppers view it in its best condition.Back Yard and Curb Appeal Affect ValueDressing your home's exterior appearance could increase its value. From flowers and trees in the yard to exterior doors and windows, yards and curb appeal increase a home's value to buyers.Some projects like swimming pools and decks, do not provide such a return on investment. Before digging into your yard and changing your home's exterior, talk with your real estate agent and research to determine which projects are right to increase your home values with landscaping and curb appeal.How to Buy a Home While Selling AnotherWhen you need to sell your existing home before you purchase your next property, there are several options to consider.You may choose to obtain a new mortgage on your next house while still carrying your existing on your current house. While this may pose some risks, it also provides the benefit of being able to move into your new home, so you focus on selling a house that's vacant.You may consider listing your existing property as a lease with an option to buy. This method of "try it before you buy it" could be a smooth transition from rental to purchase while still covering your mortgage payments.Renting your house is another option, but that idea also comes with pros and cons.Should I Rent My Home or SellWhen you choose to rent your home, you may be able to recover your mortgage payment and a potential profit without having to concern yourself with selling the property, but at what risk? There are some situations where renters do more harm than good by causing damage to the property.You may also find yourself responsible for maintenance and repairs on a rental property. However, there are rental managing companies that can take care of the hassles of finding renters, evicting tenants, and overseeing maintenance and repair projects. Of course, that comes with a fee.No one can tell you for certain if you're better off selling your house or renting it out. Do the research, talk with your real estate agent and financial advisers before making your decision.What Happens During an Open HouseOnce you've decided to sell your home, you may want to think about hosting an open house. This will allow potential buyers to swing by at their convenience to check out your home. An open house provides many benefits to you and the potential buyers.What is an Open HouseAn open house gives potential buyers the opportunity to casually view your home without needing an appointment. It is an excellent way to have many showings at one time. Buyers can walk through your home and take their time. They don't need to feel rushed and can determine what they like about your home without having you or the realtor there which could make them feel pressured.Benefits of Having an Opening House Open HouseThere are many benefits to having an open house. The most obvious benefit is being able to show your home to many buyers at one time rather than having to prepare your home each time someone books an appointment. Traditional appointments often give the homeowner little time to prepare for the showing. Other benefits include:The hustle and bustle of many buyers congregated at your home at once will motivate them to buy.You can assure your home is "show ready". You set the date and time for the open house allowing you to prepare.Most open houses take place on the weekends which allows buyers to attend several open houses to compare. You can take this opportunity to make your home stand out.Preparing for an Open HouseGive your home a good cleaning. Make sure the floors are clean and the beds are made. Declutter so that space looks bigger. You will also want to straighten up the exterior by making sure the grass is cut and the landscaping is well-kept. If there are any small repairs, either inside or outside, take care of those before buyers have a chance to notice.Unique Open House IdeasYour main goal should be to attract buyers to your open house. Some creative ideas to accomplish that include:Provide drinks and refreshments for your potential buyers.Spotlight a local business such as having a mortgage lender on-hand to prequalify buyers.Give your guests a clipboard with a checklist to allow them to highlight features they like and provide you with valuable feedback.Have a garage sale while you host the open house. You are sure to get more visitors and you'll be able to sell items you no longer need, making packing a little easier.Open house ideas are endless. You want to make your open house an event that people will want to attend, and sometimes that takes a little extra incentive such as the previously mentioned ideas.What is a Broker's Open House?You should consider hosting a broker's open house. You'll want to prepare as you would for a regular open house. But, the difference is who is on the invite list. You'll be inviting real estate agents and other real estate professionals. The purpose of this type of open house is for those in the real estate industry to view your home to determine if they have clients who may be a good fit for your home.When selling your home, you should certainly take advantage of an open house. You'll be able to cluster buyers together and get them motivated in a relaxed environment. It's an ideal way to show your home at your convenience. But, it is also convenient for the buyers as they do not need an appointment. Everybody wins with an open house.Backyard and Curb Appeal to Improve Your Home’s Value When SellingCurb appeal and landscaping are essential components of whether or not your home will sell for the amount you hope it will. When a prospective buyer pulls up to the home, he or she instantly forms an opinion of it. Is it a fixer-upper? Does it need a lot of work? Or, is it well maintained, organized, and neat? To get the very most for your home, invest time in staging not only the interior but also the exterior of the home.How much of a return you get from what you put into landscaping depends on who you ask and your location. Generally, you can get as much as a 100 percent return on your investment. However, what you invest in is critical. It's not necessary to have a complex, detailed landscape. On the other hand, a boring grass yard may be limiting as well.Why Should I Stage My Home Before Selling?The goal of staging is to create a blank canvas from which homebuyers can visualize themselves within the space. For example, removing items of personal importance to you – such as plaques from the grandkids or personalized statues is important. It allows a person to see the space as something they can be a part of or make their own. The more specialization a property has, the more limiting it will be to your potential buyers. Instead, create a space that is:Easy to maintainEasy for homeowners to see the benefit ofClean, organized, and beautifulWhy Is Curb Appeal Important When Selling a House?Curb appeal creates that initial spark of interest. If someone looking for a home they can step into pulls up to a home with overgrown landscaping, an un-mowed lawn, and piles of debris, he or she already thinks the property is too much work for them. It does not matter what is happening inside – they already see the home as a project.With good curb appeal, your visitor wants to step inside to see and experience more. They are intrigued by the home. It's welcoming to them. Most of today's homeowners are not looking to fix or clean another person's problem before they can make a home their own. That's why it is important for you to ensure the landscape and overall curb appeal is set before listing.How Do I Create Curb Appeal Before Listing My Property?Creating curb appeal means working to achieve an attractive exterior to the home. This should be specialized to your home's needs as well as to what is expected in the neighborhood. If your home is lacking landscaping, but is overall orderly, in a neighborhood where homeowners are spending $20,000 or more on landscaping, your buyer is going to look the other way. To create curb appeal, consider the following:Declutter and clean up any area in need. This includes flowerbeds, driveways, curbs, and foundation areas.Trim trees and shrubs. Let the home's structure show.Paint the exterior of the home if it is faded, damaged, dirty, or not a neutral color. Be sure the gutters are clean.Keep the front door vibrant – it should be a focal point welcoming people into space.If desired, invest in new plants and flowers – add color, spacious depth, and contrast.Limit big projects requiring a lot of ongoing work, such as fountains or complex tree designs.How Do I Improve My Backyard When Selling My Home?Do not forget the backyard. Instead, treat it as an extension of your home. It can add a lot of value to the home when this space offers function. This could be an outdoor kitchen, a patio with ample dining space, a meditation area, or even a simple garden with a pathway. The key here is to keep specialization to a minimum. Get rid of an old hot tub – it is not adding value. Above ground, pools take away from a home's value as well. If you have raised planters or gardens, ensure the space is very organized and cleaned out.How Can a Real Estate Agent Help with Staging?Work closely with your real estate agent to pinpoint areas of concern. Talk about the types of investments you should make to improve the property's overall attractiveness and curb appeal. There is no value in adding a lot of detail, but you will benefit from simplifying, cleaning, decluttering, and maintaining the home. Make it attractive, perhaps even a home creating instant attention for its beautiful landscaping when someone pulls up to the curb. You want them to smile and step inside for more.How to Buy a Home When You Need to Sell Your Current HomeIn today's marketing, selling a home can happen quickly. However, in some markets, the property remains for sale for weeks or months before an offer is received. This brings up several good questions. Should you buy a home before you sell your current home? Or, should you list your home for sale and wait for offers before you find your home? This really depends on the market conditions, but there are a few key things you should know about the process and the options available to help you sell and buy effectively.How Long Do I Have to Live in The House Before Selling?Everything comes down to the contract. When you list your home for sale, your real estate agent will talk to you about your plans for moving out:Do you plan to buy a new home?Do you plan to leave the home before you list it for sale?Do you need time after you list the home before you can show it?Do you need time to move into a new home? Will renovations at a new home require you to need more than usual time?Once this is understood, the agent will work closely with you to find the best terms for your contract. You can specifically note what is important to you in the listing. For example, if the home is vacant, you can entertain a fast close. If, on the other time, you need 30 days to move out, be sure to include this in the listing as well.How Can a Real Estate Agent Help Me Understand the Market?Your agent will talk to you about your market. This isn't just the city's conditions, but also what is happening in your neighborhood. Together, you will determine what your options are for listing and expectations for length of time. Your agent will discuss days on the market with you, for example. This is a calculation of the average days a home is on the market before it sells within your area. The shorter this time is, the more likely you are to get an offer on your home once you list it.Your agent also needs to discuss the demands most buyers in your area have. For example, in a buyer's market – which means buyers are more in control over closing circumstances. In these areas, meeting the buyer's goals is important to ensure you get offers and can close on them. In other areas, seller's markets exist in which buyers are scrambling to find homes, and homes are typically selling at higher rates than previously. In this case, you have more control over what you can demand of the buyer, including a longer period of time before you move out.What Is a Contract Contingency, and Do I Need One?A contract contingency can help you with these gaps. It is wording included in any contract specifying the length of time you have to move out. For example, if you need 30 to 45 days to move out, you can include this language in your contract. The buyer can agree to it or move on. At the same time, buyers can also put contingencies in contracts. They may need the home to be vacated within 30 days, limiting your time.You always have the ability to determine what is right for your needs. If you do not want or need a contingency, don't accept one. At the same time, if you need more time, you cannot promise to move out before it is possible to do so. Violating the terms of a contract like this can void the sale.Do I Need a Bridge Loan?The other component of this process is the financial side. While you may be reached another component of this process is the financial side. While you may be ready and willing to move out within 30 days, your lender may put the brakes on the process. Most people cannot financially carry and afford the mortgage on their existing home and a new mortgage on a new home. Many times, you need to be able to pay off your first loan to pay for the second home purchase.Bridge loans can provide some help here. They can help you to create a bridge from selling to buying by providing the necessary funds to help you with a new down payment before the previous loan is sold. With a bridge loan, you do not have to use a contingency to sell.There are very specific areas of concern with selling timelines. Be sure to work closely with your real estate agent to ensure they are addressed.Should I Rent My Home or Sell?Financial ConsiderationsDetermining if renting your home will be a good investment requires analyzing and research. It is a rule of thumb not to rush this process. You will be forced to examine your financial situation and your vulnerability to risk.Carefully examine your home's current property condition and its location. Figure out the demand for properties for rent like yours in comparable neighborhoods. Consider contacting your real estate agent to conduct a comparative market analysis.The report can help in two ways,1. Determines the value of properties in the neighborhood.2. Prices properties like your home that rented within the last six months.What Does it Take to Be a Landlord?Before you can go any further in this process, you must determine if you are prepared to be a landlord. If your tenant's heat pump fails at 2 AM on the coldest day of the year, are you ready to handle that? The burden of responsibility to solve the problems will fall on you. If your tenant breaks the lease and does not pay you, will you be ready to evict a tenant that cannot pay?Renting your home is more than just a financial decision. Becoming a landlord means making a personal time commitment, and not everyone is able or willing to step up to that responsibility. It is the inconvenient phone calls in the early hours of the morning, or it is an appliance that is now broken and needs immediate repair. Events like these are often occurrences for landlords.You can consider hiring a property management company. Be careful that could be an expensive decision. It may be necessary in cases where you must move to another state or travel extensively fora job.Can I Afford to Rent My House?Determine whether the costs are worth the trouble. Miscellaneous fees can multiply fast - expenses such as lawn services, insurance, and HVAC service, to name a few. Add up approximately how much time are you willing to spare on your property as a landlord and determine if the ROI will be worth the time sacrifice. Keep in mind that single-family homes usually demand your attention at some point in time.Before turning your residence into a rental property, there are significant tax considerations to consider. As a landlord, you will have to report the rental income you receive as taxable income, even if there is a mortgage on the property. If you decide to sell the rental property, the basis for calculating a loss or gain is a bit different from a primary residence sale.As a landlord, the IRS will allow you to claim depreciation deductions on your income taxes. It helps to use the deduction to offset the income the rental property generates. Let's look at possible deductions of rental properties:Maintenance and repairsUtilitiesHOA feesInsuranceProperty TaxesMortgage InterestWhen it comes to depreciation, there is a specific formula for a rental property converted from a personal residence. Generally, the primary residences' adjusted tax basis is the price of the purchase plus any amount spent on capital improvement. Capital improvements to the property are enhancements that add value to the home, such as adding square footage, fences, or even notable improvements to the landscaping. Please note, the IRS does not include maintenance and repairs as a capital improvement.Taxes are complicated whether selling your home or choosing to rent it out. Make sure to speak with an accountant to get a clear understanding of how tax laws may impact you.When possible, take your time when it comes to deciding on whether to rent or to sell your property. Always seek guidance from professionals like local realtors and accountants to get an accurate understanding of your options and to assist with making the best-educated decision possible. ;Your real estate agent is the best source of information about the local community and real estate topics. Give the Team Macias a call today at 619-995-5792 to learn more about local areas, discuss selling a house, or tour available homes for sale.