The Roomate Phenomenon….Become the landlord (pt.1)

Living here in the Silicon Valley it great. The weather, the social scene, the artist community the edge of technology at your doorstep. The biggest draw back about living here is the price that it cost to live here. Things are expensive and living costs are very high. The “Roommate Phenomenon” is of epic proportion in the valley. Since now one really wants to live in a 1 bedroom 1 bath apartment at the average rental rate of $1400-1500 a month plus utilities. The promise of sharing a larger home with 2-3 roommates and paying $600-$700 is much more appealing. The larger home with a yard and indoor laundry, maybe off street parking and a garage. And you are sharing the space with 2-3 friends or people who just need the roommate.

Here is were the fun truly begins. You are all existing and enjoying the space until….things start to change. The dishes are no longer being put into the dishwasher, the clothes that are not yours are on the floor in the hallway, and the sharing of main living space is becoming more and more a scheduled event. If this situation describes you…then leave it… become the Landlord. That word may evoke a bad image of your last landlord, but recognize it yourself as the king or queen of the castle. This can be you and you can be making the investment and choosing very closely who will live with you or not. Stay tuned on how to stop the making your landlord rich and become the landlord.

The Price is Right.

In todays market if you are selling your home price is the golden ticket.  It is imperative to understand the market in your neighborhood. Your real estate agent will help to show you the current market prices. Pricing in a competitive nature to sell your home gets you noticed in the market and creates activity around your home. This helps to generate and pull buyers in and when buyers are interested the offers soon start to appear.

Overpricing is a true killjoy.  The worst part about over pricing is that you was a buyer continue to chase the market.  In chasing the market you home then looks like a fire sale special.  This will not bring top dollar for you home and you will not feel that your agent has done the best  for you. Usually by the time the close of your homes happens you are tired, worn out and angry.  So remember listen to your agent  that is why you hired them.

A Winter Beach

One of my favorite activities is to go to the beach. Here in Northern California the beaches are quite nice in the winter time! Sunshine and what a view!!! Surfers up for a few waves as well.

Stable to Short Sale… Where does your neighborhood stand?

What is happening in the real estate market where you live? In your neighborhood? If you live in north Sunnyvale/Cupertino there are homes for sale and they are holding their prices rather well. Homes in this specific area maintain their value because of the school district. The average price of homes is this area is in the upper 800’s to the lower 1M price range. In obtaining a loan for those priced homes one must be well qualified and have a sizeable down payment. A buyer with this purchase power usually has been well qualified by the lender and therefore short sale is unlikely.

In saying this there are homes that in north Sunnyvale area that are all in short sale. This is because the buyers were not really qualified to take out the loan on the purchase price of the home. These homes usually sell in the higher 500’s to the higher 600’s. The buyers that get into these homes with no money down and the adjustable rate mortgage really pay the ultimate price. The adjusting of the rate causes the short sale to come into play and wreaks havoc on the their life as well as the real estate market itself.

Another view of this is phenomenon is written by Arn Cenedella of Coldwell Banker in Menlo Park.

Where is the good housing market?

We hear such doom and gloom about how bad the housing market is all the time. Are there any good markets out there and what is determining a good market. Here in the Sunnyvale/Cupertino area there are varied markets as well. There is interesting data that supports a good housing market with having a good school district tied to it.

When an home is in a school district such as Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) it sells well above a home with the same square footage in San Jose Unified School District. This causes the trend that we have seen in the Silicon Valley area for the past few years. As markets slide elsewhere education keeps the home value up and sometimes pushes it beyond the true value of the home. Is it actually worth more to be in the desired school district or to have a lower mortgage, possibly a larger home and send your children to private school. This is where things begin to washout for the buyer and seller the housing market. The seller is wanting to draw on the prestige of the public school district, but if the buyer is looking at private school the value of the school district is mute in the purchase of the home.

Along this same line of thought is Miri Bialik with Intero Real Estate in Cupertino.

Errant Golf balls….DUCK!!

We love our home, the green space that surrounds it is great, this is the most manicured green space we have seen. The Realtor tells the buyer, well it is actually a golf course. This home is located on the longest and most difficult hole. While looking out through their window a Titleist is coming in for a crash landing!! CRASH!!!  The new home owner wants to know, is this someones errant golf ball.? The Realtor says, “Didn’t you understand that your home is just to the south side of this difficult hole?”

This is just an example of a possible lawsuit that could arise if the proper disclosure was not filled out. Disclosures are most of the paperwork that you as a seller or buyer have to fill out. Each year there are more and more disclosures to fill out. As a seller or a buyer at what point are you understanding where the house is located, the school district and availability for each of your children, possible flood potential, oh and what about the rowdy neighbors that barbecue in their front yard every Saturday. Yes, even that must be disclosed to the potential buyer. The seller is responsible for all of this knowledge. Aren’t you as a buyer going to be aware of the surroundings in which you are buying. We all need to take the proper responsibility for what we buy and sell. So if you have a nice manicured lawn around your home that is not yours…. check your errant golf ball disclosure.

Incentives are what are selling….

According to 3 major new home builders here in the bay area it’s all about the incentives. What type of incentives are they giving the buyers? The article written in SJ mercury newspaper

was a conversation with builders of Taylor Woodrow Homes of the UK, Summer Hill Homes of Palo Alto,CA and Warmington Homes out of Costa Mesa, CA. All three builders stated that the new builds that are going on in the San Jose area are all selling well. Homes are not selling like hotcakes, but there are still quite a few interested in the incentives that are being offered by the builders. What do incentive programs look like from a builder….well how about no payments for 6 months, that is an offer by Taylor Woodrow builders. Not too bad. The no payment for 6 months offers time for the buyer to sell their other property and still move into their new home. The builders may offer to buy down the loan by a point or so if that fits your situation better.

The buyers are not talking price but, what can the builders give them. If you are looking to buy check out these newly built areas in San Jose and Palo Alto. You may be surprised at what you find.

The deal almost fell apart….

The deal did fall apart because the for sale by owner didn’t understand the contract correctly. The time for a response came and went without a response from the seller. I called the seller the following day to ask for my clients offer package back. The seller wondered “where did your buyers go?” “They haven’t gone anywhere”, I said. I said we waited for your reply. In that moment he realized that he was not as capable as he thought to go through this transaction on his own. I talked with my clients. They loved the house and wanted to purchase it as their first home. Without further ado we went back into contract. The seller was happy to still have us in the ballgame.  With lively skills of negotiation and a desire to get my clients the house of their dreams I was on a mission.  After another 24 hours of negotiation’s the contract was signed.  Granted we did have a 55 day close to escrow, but what a great close it was!! The seller was happy and the buyers thrilled!! My clients had their first home and the sellers were able to move out of state.  And now my clients are a very happy family and have increased by one baby girl since they moved in!! Welcome home!

The joys of Birdland living.

I really enjoy living in the Birdland neighborhood in Sunnyvale.  Down our street there are huge ginkgo trees. At this time of the year the leaves all turn yellow and start to fall off the trees.  This is as close to fall colors as we get here in Silicon Valley.  Panama park is filled with kids playing soccer, baseball,  or maybe a pick up football game on the weekend.  In the early evening at Panama Park the dogs come out to play.  The dogs and their owners are a quite an inviting group of people.  The diversity of people is wonderful.  We walk, run and play with a world of nationalities all in our Birdland neighborhood.  Most of the homes owners have been there for 10+ years.  It is a very settled community.  With Cupertino Square building adding a 16 screen movie theater and bowling alley…well fun has just moved in down the street.  Come by…. enjoy the park and the feel of home!

Top Ten Ways to Not Sell Your Home!!!

1. Lack of motivation to sell your home.

2. Over pricing

3. Not listening to your trusted Real Estate Agent/Consultant

4.  Being to attached to your upgrades.

5. For Sell By Owner???

6.  Not understanding the market of today…right now.

7. Not listing your home with a proactive real estate agent

8. Not wanting to put money into the home to make it more appealing to a buyer.

9.  Not being open to negotiating.

10. Again….Over pricing…..