show episodes
 
Robert 'The Rebelbroker' Whitelaw has been a real estate broker and Realtor® in Silicon Valley California since 1988! His show discusses some of the best ways to achieve your real estate goals and build wealth for buyers, sellers, investors, entrepreneurs or just real estate watchers - from an insiders perspective. Over the years, Robert has been lucky enough to work with successful entrepreneurs from all walks of life and industries. Get a chance to hear what he has learned from these amazi ...
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show series
 
The NAR settlement is in the final stages of approval and will likely go into effect in the middle of July 2024. It is not an understatement when I say that this change to how buyers agents are being compensated will introduce chaos into the real estate world until the systems in place adapt to this new reality. BUYERS HIT HARDEST These changes wil…
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Things are looking rough for California residents in 2024. A nearly $100 billion dollar surplus has been turned into $73 billion (and growing) deficit. Sadly, the solution from Sacramento seems to be doubling down on the policies that are causing many of these issues. New changes to the law have been proposed that will be voted on later this year d…
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Welcome to "Real Estate Realities with The RebelBroker" – your go-to podcast for expert insights into the dynamic world of real estate. In this episode, we delve into a crucial aspect of selling your home: digital curb appeal. In today's digital age, first impressions are made online. Potential buyers scroll through listings, making split-second de…
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In this episode, dive deep into the intriguing world of real estate data with Robert Whitelaw, the seasoned real estate broker from Morgan Hill, California. Join us as we unravel the disparities between pending home sales on a national scale and the dynamic market of Santa Clara County. 📊 Key Takeaways: Analyzing the latest trends in pending home s…
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Welcome to "Real Estate Realities with The RebelBroker," your go-to podcast for demystifying all things relating to real estate, including the status of homes for sale! Join us as we navigate the dynamic world of real estate, providing valuable insights and expert analysis. 🏡 Unlock the Secrets: Delve into the nuances of home listings – from active…
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Welcome to another eye-opening episode of "Real Estate Realities with The RebelBroker"! Today, we're diving deep into a topic that affects both seasoned and aspiring real estate agents—the real problems plaguing today's real estate professionals. Join me as we explore the notion that bad agents are made, not born. Many agents are trained to priorit…
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Welcome to another edition of Real Estate Realities! Today we are covering the FHA loan for multifamily purchases that just got WAY better. In fact, it makes it possible for much easier house hacking! Don't know what house hacking is? Not sure why I am so excited about changes to a loan? Then make sure to check out todays show and realize that this…
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In this episode of Real Estate Realities with The RebelBroker, we delve deep into the crucial topic of compensating real estate agents when selling your home while keeping in mind the recent court case where Sellers won a $1.8 billion judgement against the National Association of Realtors and a number of real estate brokerages. Finding the right co…
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As interest rates snuggle up to 8%, we find ourselves in a place that we have not been in 23 years! An entire generation of business people, home buyers and home sellers have become comfortable with interest rates in the sub 5% range. So what will this interest rate mean for home buyers, sellers and investors? Could this be the element that finally…
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Welcome to "Real Estate Realities with The RebelBroker," the ultimate destination for in-depth explorations of recent California rent control real estate law changes. With our finger on the pulse of recent California legal changes, todays podcast serves as your comprehensive guide to understanding the nuances of the ever-evolving legal landscape go…
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Each year I suggest that real estate investors evaluate their holdings to determine if they should sell their investment property. In todays show, we will cover the basics of this effort so you can decide if 2023 is the right time for you to sell your investment property. —————————————————————————————————————————————————— ➡️ Instagram: https://www.…
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Lets get a handle on the 13 BEST tips to prepare for your home buying experience! With an understanding of these tips, you will give yourself the power to engage in your home buying search in a way that will likely save you money and stress! —————————————————————————————————————————————————— ➡️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebelbroker/ ➡️ T…
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In addition to some other news, this week we review some recent escalations in the application of artificial intelligence in the real estate world that will just make it even more difficult for buyers and sellers to focus on competent real estate professionals. We also talk a little about debt profiles and what that might mean for real estate. We w…
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Subprime lending is still out there, and the mainstream take on it is totally wrong. Instead of solving what causes borrowers to be subprime, the system simply bends the rules and allows those borrowers to get burdened with debt that are not equipped to manage. This leaves them very vulnerable to market shifts or other bumps in their financial road…
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This week we review the types of properties you will find in California. We will cover single family homes, condominiums and townhomes. What are the legal differences and what are the benefits and limits of each. —————————————————————————————————————————————————— ➡️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebelbroker/ ➡️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/r…
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Join me as we get a chance to sit down with Pacific Legal Foundation Attorney Christina Martin to chat about her victory in the Supreme Court in the fight to defeat state equity theft. This amazing unanimous decision by the highest court is only matched by the astonishment that this case ever needed to go to the Supreme Court of the United States i…
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If you are someone trying to find the right real estate professional to help you with buying or selling real estate, AI is making your life harder rather than better. We will discuss that and how to deal with it in todays show! #ai #chatgpt Why Files video on AI - https://youtu.be/brQLpTnDwyg —————————————————————————————————————————————————— ➡️ In…
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The national trend, according to the headlines, is that rental rates are declining. What we are seeing here in Santa Clara County is a little different. In fact, even rental property types are seeing different performance in terms of rent growth or decline. Today, we are going to calibrate ourselves to what is actually happening in some key Santa C…
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California has lost hundreds of thousands of residents. Tax revenues are down. Higher income earners are increasingly leaving the state. Those losses accumulate and have increased every year since at least 2017. Today we will run down the problem, how we got here and how the state government is completely botching the way forward to not just stop t…
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Join me for a special interview episode of Real Estate Realities as we sit down and chat again with Brent Bowers! He is still out there crushing it through investing in vacant land. Let's walk through his strategy and give you the tools you need to get started in this segment of the real estate market. ——————————————————————————————————————————————…
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From home insurance to car coverage, insurance companies are deciding to just not do business in California any longer. So what has to happen to force companies to abandon a huge market? Well, despite the headlines, it is not just weather issues and corporate greed. Today, we take a look at the latest news that State Farm decided last week to stop …
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In this thought-provoking episode, we delve into the often overlooked drawbacks of low-income buyers availing themselves of 1% down loans. Today we will specifically be talking about the Rocket Mortgage ONE+ loan program. While these loans may seem appealing on the surface, they can harbor hidden pitfalls that can leave borrowers vulnerable. Join u…
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Business bankruptcies are up 216% and we are not even half way through 2023 yet! What does this mean for unemployment and the world of real estate? Let's take a minute to chat about all that! —————————————————————————————————————————————————— ➡️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebelbroker/ ➡️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebelbroker ➡️ Faceboo…
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The headlines today sure do seem to be sending out a positive message relating to real estate. Many tell us the great home value drop is over. The most recent numbers prove we are out of the woods. Do they really? In todays show we will take a closer look and see if we should be optimistic or not. —————————————————————————————————————————————————— …
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Fasten your seat belt folks, today we get a classice Rebelbroker rant podcast! Let's play pretend for a moment. You find yourself in a situation where you are behind on your property tax payments. You owe $5,000 dollars. One thing leads to another and the state is going to take your property and sell it to pay your tax debt. The state does its thin…
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Are you a responsible borrower? Have you saved diligently for that 20% downpayment on your first home? Did you educate yourself and work toward improving your credit score so that you reached your goal of a score higher than 680? Well, then the FHFA (Federal Housing and Finance Association) would like to take this opportunity to completely screw yo…
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The media at large seems very excited about FHA loans being able to be adjusted to 40 year terms in cases where the borrower is in a tight spot. But does it make sense to extend the indebtedness of someone that is already in financial trouble? Extending a mortgage out to 40 years takes all the worst elements of a loan and makes them worse. In today…
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In todays show we will take some time to review the latest buyer and seller sentiment data. We also take some time to consider what the data says about buyers vs what we are seeing buyers actually do in the marketplace. We will also talk a bit about thoughts relating to when to buy and what might be good options relating to taking advantage of the …
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If you think of predatory lending as any borrowing scenario that has a high probability of causing issues for the borrower, I think that there is a good chance we should chat about the "California Dream For All" loan program from CalHFA (California Housing Finance Agency). Schemes like this are predicated on the idea that the price of real estate w…
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If you are desperately searching to find your home or to uncover a great investment property - you just might want to consider looking for an off market property! Finding off-market homes can be a great way to gain access to properties that are not available through traditional real estate channels. These are often properties that the owner is look…
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I came across an article a little while back on Redfin where they were discussing the pros and cons of living in San Francisco. As someone that is pretty familiar with San Francisco, I was surprised more by what they left out than what the included. San Francisco has long been considered a desirable place to live, thanks to its stunning architectur…
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The recent increase in national interest rates has caused quite a stir in the real estate industry, and it is not surprising that many prospective homebuyers are feeling the pinch. With interest rates hovering around 6.97%, it's no secret that home sales will decline. The real question, however, is how buyers and sellers can navigate this situation…
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When headlines imply things are better than they feel, it is always good to take a closer look. January home sales headlines are a good example. The Latest Headlines In the most recent headlines for the home sales number in January, you could be forgiven for thinking that things are looking up. Sadly, that is not the case. At least, it is not givin…
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One of the more strange points of contention in the world of real estate is open houses. How does something so simple result in so many different opinions? Today, I want to take you on a journey to discover the bottom line truth about open houses using some common sense - which frequently seems to be left out of the discussion - and 30 plus years o…
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For almost a decade, the momentum of the real estate market has nearly guaranteed that if you list a home it will sell. The quality of your real estate agent could definitely help you make more - or less. But in the end, your home would sell. Today, things are different. Sellers need to make sure that the key elements that influence the sale of the…
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The data is clear, rent control does not work. Pushing for national rent control just makes a bad idea worse as the federal government attempts to impose a one size fits all policy for the wide variety of markets across the country. Unintended Consequences National rent control policies, while appearing to be a solution for the affordability crisis…
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It is hard not to see all the media outlets painting a tolerable picture of what to expect in 2023. Most of the mainstream folks point to a possible 4%-6% value drop over 2023. When this comes up, the favorite line seems to be "2023 is very different from 2007". What is interesting is if we actually take a look at the points they use to support thi…
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As the market shifts, inventories grows, sales prices drop and the the time it takes a home to sell stretches further out. It has been years since we have seen a market like this, and many of todays agents have never even seen a market like this. So now more than every, you need to make sure you are finding a real estate agent that can deliver the …
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Dealing with big egos in a real estate transaction can be challenging, but it is important to remember that at the end of the day, the goal is to close the deal and have a successful transaction. Here are some tips on how to handle big egos in a real estate transaction: Keep the focus on the deal: It is easy to get caught up in personal egos, but i…
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Determining how honest the people you are interacting with can be critical in protecting your interests. In real estate, where you are usually selling your greatest asset or buying your biggest asset - being able to root out the truth can save you thousands and a big pile of headaches. Today we will discuss the truth about lies, how to spot them an…
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Any time a market starts to pivot in a new direction, you will find folks trying to sell you on ideas using data that seems relevant, but isn't. I have recently encountered this reality and I wanted to share ways to understand the concept and to avoid being taken in by it. So join me in the conversation to help buyers and sellers avoid being taken …
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As we wrap up 2022, it is a good idea to think about what you would like to accomplish in 2023. If you are considering selling your home in 2023, you should get started right now to get ready so that you will achieve the highest price and best terms! So lets do a quick rundown on what should be on your checklist to prepare for a successful home sal…
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On todays show I wanted to cover some topics about immigration out of Silicon Valley. What could this mean for our local markets in San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and more broadly in Santa Clara County? Check out todays show for more! Articles You Can Check out: https://www.siliconvalley.com/2022/10/02/bay-area-exodus-residents-still-want-out-new-po…
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Alameda County and San Francisco both extended the COVID related evictions moratorium. That is over two and a half YEARS that landlords have potentially gone without getting paid rent. Is that fair? What would be fair? In todays show, I want to hear back from you on what you think! I offer what I think makes sense, but that does not mean it is the …
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I came across an interesting article where the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors suggests that home prices in 2023 will go up by about 1%. We will chat about that and offer up an alternative viewpoint - particularly regarding what is likely to happen right here in Silicon Valley. ——————————————————————————————————————————————…
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I get so many questions about where to begin when buying a home, I thought I would put together a show that really does start at the beginning to get you headed in the right direction. There will be more shows to follow that cover other aspects of the home buying experience, but this should get you off to a good start! —————————————————————————————…
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Even when rates drop a bit, we are not seeing an uptick in new mortgages. What does this mean for the market? Where do we go from here? This is likely just one more element that will force home prices down! Join me in discussing how this might shape up in todays show! —————————————————————————————————————————————————— ➡️ Instagram: https://www.inst…
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Redfin published an interesting (if not a little bit suspect) list of destinations for San Francisco home sellers. The real headline should probably be more about where they have searched rather than where they actually end up going, because frankly, some of the cities on this list seem like a stretch. In any event, we will do a quick review of thi…
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The last time home buyer sentiment was this low it was 2011. Things were NOT good in 2011. We were still right in the middle of the last real estate downturn and huge inventories. If this is where buyer expectations are now, imagine how that will effect our market. Well, you don't have to, because we discuss that on todays show! ———————————————————…
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Let's try something new! This will be the first in a regularly monthly show where we review the previous months data on the first Monday of the month - a 'real estate hot take'! The reason we usually don't use data this early in the month is because the MLS systems take about 3 weeks to review the data and correct it. Which frequently results in bi…
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