Prosper Real Estate

I am standing in my backyard on Memorial Day and I want to say something that has nothing to do with real estate.

What I do every single day is help families find a place to call home. And I have been doing it on camera now for 57 consecutive days without missing one.

But home is only possible because of the sacrifice of men and women who never got to come back to theirs.

I have clients who are veterans. I have clients whose spouses are deployed right now. I have clients who bought their first home the year their son or daughter was serving overseas. Every one of those transactions meant something different to me because of that context.

I also want to be honest about Day 57 specifically.

There were days in these 57 where I did not feel like filming. Where life was heavy and the camera felt like the last thing I wanted to face. But I showed up anyway. Because the commitment was made. And because somewhere out there someone was watching who needed to hear something real.

If the men and women we honor today showed up under conditions I cannot even imagine, the least I can do is show up here.

To every veteran, active duty service member and Gold Star family watching this — thank you. There are not enough words for what your sacrifice actually means.

Hug your people today. Remember what all of this is built on.

Happy Memorial Day.

Rory Ellis
Prosper Real Estate
DRE 01884546

I have been thinking about a question someone asked me early in my career.

Why did you choose real estate?

And I remember sitting with that question because the honest answer was not as simple as I expected it to be.

I had other options. Other directions I could have taken. Paths that felt safer or more predictable on paper. And I looked at all of them and kept coming back to the same thing.

I wanted to do work that felt personal. Work where my effort and my character were directly connected to the outcome for the people I was serving. Work where showing up with integrity every single day actually mattered and was not just a nice idea.

Real estate gave me that. Every single transaction is personal. Every family trusts me with something enormous. A decision that affects their finances, their stability, their daily life and the home their kids grow up in. And every single day I get to decide what kind of agent I am going to be. Nobody sets that standard for me. I set it for myself.

That is both the hardest part and the most meaningful part of this career.

I want to be honest about something else though. There have been seasons in this business that were genuinely hard. Markets that slowed down. Deals that fell apart at the worst moment. Times where I questioned whether the path I chose was the right one.

But every single time I came back to the same answer.

I am built for this. Not because it is easy. Because it is meaningful.

And meaningful work is worth showing up for. Every single day.

DM me anytime. I love talking about this stuff.

Rory Ellis
Prosper Real Estate
DRE 01884546

Real estate contracts in California are long. We are talking 10 to 16 pages for the standard purchase agreement before you even add the addendums and disclosures.

Most buyers sign them feeling slightly overwhelmed and trusting that their agent covered the important parts.

I want to change that. Here are the five sections of the contract that I focus on most and that every buyer should understand before they sign.

The first is the contingency section. Inspection contingency, appraisal contingency, loan contingency. These are your exit doors if something goes wrong. Understand what each one protects you against and what the timelines are for removing them. This section is your safety net.

The second is the earnest money deposit terms. How much, when it is due and under what conditions it is at risk. We talked about this recently but it is worth knowing exactly where in the contract to find it so you can read it yourself.

The third is the closing date and possession terms. When does the transaction need to close and when do you actually get the keys? Sometimes the seller needs time to stay in the home after closing and these are the terms that govern that arrangement including the daily rate if applicable.

The fourth is the personal property section. What stays with the home and what goes with the seller. Refrigerators, washers, dryers, window treatments, outdoor furniture. I have seen deals almost fall apart over a chandelier. Get it all in writing before you close.

The fifth is the liquidated damages clause. If you default on the contract this clause typically limits the seller’s damages to your earnest money deposit. Understanding your maximum exposure before you sign matters.

I go through every contract with my buyers page by page before they sign. That is non-negotiable for me every single time.

DM me before your next offer and let me walk you through it.

Rory Ellis
Prosper Real Estate
DRE 01884546

One of the questions I hear most often from first time buyers before they make an offer is this one.

If the deal falls through, do I lose my earnest money?

The honest answer is it depends. And understanding when you are protected and when you are not is one of the most important things you can know before you sign anything.

First, what is earnest money? It is a deposit you make when your offer is accepted, typically one to three percent of the purchase price, that goes into escrow and signals to the seller that you are serious. On a $650,000 home in Temecula that is $6,500 to $19,500.

Here is when you are fully protected and can get it back. If you have an inspection contingency and the inspection reveals something material that you and the seller cannot resolve, you can exit the contract and get your full deposit back. If you have a financing contingency and your loan is legitimately denied, you can exit and get your deposit back. If the home does not appraise and you have an appraisal contingency and cannot bridge the gap, you can exit and get your deposit back.

Here is when you are at risk of losing it. If you remove your contingencies and then walk away for a reason not protected by any remaining contingency, the seller may have a legitimate claim to your deposit. Removing contingencies is sometimes the right strategic move in a competitive offer situation. But you should never do it without fully understanding exactly what protection you are giving up.

My rule is simple. No buyer of mine ever removes a contingency without knowing precisely what they are giving up and what still protects them. That conversation happens before every offer goes in.

DM me before your next offer and I will walk you through your complete protection.

Rory Ellis
Prosper Real Estate
DRE 01884546

One of the most common decisions buyers in the Temecula Valley wrestle with right now is this one.

New construction or an existing home?

And most people go into that decision without a clear framework for thinking through it. So here is the honest comparison that I walk my buyers through before they start their search.

New construction gives you everything brand new. Systems, appliances, finishes, roof. Builder warranties typically cover major defects for the first one to two years and structural issues for up to ten years. You can sometimes customize finishes and features during the build process. And in most cases you are not competing against other buyers in a bidding situation.

The trade offs with new construction are real though. Builders in Temecula and Murrieta are far less negotiable than individual sellers. You are buying their product at their price. Lots in newer developments tend to run smaller than what you find in established Temecula neighborhoods. And many new construction communities carry Mello-Roos taxes that can add $200 to $400 per month to your housing costs on top of the mortgage. That changes the real cost of the home significantly.

Existing homes offer larger lots in many cases, mature landscaping, established neighborhoods with roots and history and often more negotiating leverage with an individual seller than you will ever get with a builder. The trade off is older systems that may need attention, no builder warranty and the possibility of deferred maintenance that needs to be factored into your total cost.

Here is how I help my buyers think through it. New construction makes sense when certainty and newness are the priority and the Mello-Roos math still works for your budget. An existing home makes sense when space, lot size, established neighborhood feel and negotiating room matter most.

There is no universally right answer. There is only the right answer for your specific situation.

DM me and I will help you figure out which one fits where you are right now.

Rory Ellis
Prosper Real Estate
DRE 01884546