Here’s the feel-good story of a home I recently sold in Redwood City – a family that sold their longtime home to move closer to family and take advantage of serious tax benefits!
I met the clients in 2021, after reaching out to them when they failed to sell their home with their previous agent. The agent wasn’t a longtime Bay Area resident and wasn’t familiar with what needed to be done to transact a successful sale in the Bay.
We anlayzed their situation to understand what they didn’t do right so we could position the home to be sold.
Side note: What’s amazing is, the previous Realtor’s deficiencies weren’t just a lack of area knowledge: They didn’t even run any inspection reports on the home when it was listed previously! Wild to find that sort of negligence in the most expensive market in America, but choosing a Realtor can be a wildcard. You need to make sure you’re picking the right one.
The clients wanted to find a new place to live while selling their current home. Having represented hundreds of successful Bay Area buyers, I suggested we get started. So we set up a specific strategy in line with their budget and started looking in areas suitable for their goals.
The clients were near retirement age and wanted to utilize the tax benefits of California’s Prop 60/90. For those of you who don’t know, if you’re over 55 in California you can – and this is quoted directly from the California State Board of Equalization’s website – “sell [your] principal place of residence and transfer its base year value to a replacement dwelling of equal or lesser value that is purchased or newly constructed within two years of the sale.” The law is a wonderful opportunity for people to keep money that would otherwise go to property tax, make greater equity gains, and use that money to take care of family or pass it on to the next generation.
In order to benefit from this option, however, my clients needed to find their next home. We looked for places in Hollister, Gilroy, the Sacramento area, Tracy – all over. They decided they liked the community in Hollister, because they had family in Gilroy, San Jose, and Santa Cruz; Hollister provided a nice, central location while also being a bit further away from the bustle, allowing them to buy a bigger, newer home for less money.
We found a new construction property and got into contract. The property was 6-7 months away from being ready, so we secured them a reservation in the community subject to the sale of their home in Redwood City.
Their home wasn’t the easiest to sell, because a lot of foundation work needed to be done. We put in the effort and found the right buyers at the right price; these buyers were willing to put in the necessary work on the house, and my clients were happy the new owners plan to build their life in a great part of Redwood City.
After that, we closed on the new property, and in a few weeks my clients will move into their lovely home in Hollister. I offer the sincerest of congratulations and best wishes to them.