An agent friend was recently involved in the sale of a foreclosed house. She was the listing agent. The house is in a newer neighborhood of San Ramon, Ca. surrounded by many houses that have been built within the last few years. The house was built in 2006, sold and resold in 2007 for $870,000. […]

continue reading.....

Last Wednesday, Oct. 16th, at the California Association of REALTORS State Meeting in Long Beach, CAR Chief Economist, Leslie Appleton-Young, released her “2009 Housing Market Forecast”. I was there. It is always worthwhile to hear Leslie speak. She is well regarded and well respected in the field of economics. The event was covered by the […]

continue reading.....

I wrote an offer on a property that is a short sale. Now short sales are not a REALTOR’s dream transactions—nightmare, maybe—but there was a compelling reason to write the offer for these clients.
They are renters. A while back, their landlord stopped making payments on the mortgage for the house they are renting. Sooner or […]

continue reading.....

I was sitting at an Open House. A prospective buyer came in. She looked around. She asked some questions about the house. She liked the school district in which the house is located. She guessed that the high school is within walking distance of the house. Then she told me that it was her sister […]

continue reading.....

I have a questi0n for you. Ask around for the answer. It may be revealing.
Do you know any homeowner who has owned their home for ten years or more who says that buying was a mistake? I suspect that the answer is ’no’. I suspect that they will say that they are glad that they bought when they did.
How […]

continue reading.....

I am working with a couple who wants to buy a house. Not a townhouse or condo. They have two dogs—pretty good sized dogs—and the dogs need room to run around a bit.
Problem is that the amount for which this couple is qualified by a quality lender severely limits their ability to purchase most single […]

continue reading.....

So you thought that multiple offers on homes was a thing of the past…
Recently, I saw a newly listed house that defied description.
I have seen houses that were “dated”. I have seen houses that needed “work”. I have seen houses that were described as needing TLC (tender loving care). I have seen houses that were […]

continue reading.....

A little over a month ago, I wrote about a rare event in the Mission San Jose area of Fremont—an bank-owned property (REO) was listed for sale. This is a rare event because the excellent schools in the Mission San Jose attendance area of the Fremont Unified School District makes this the most sought after area in […]

continue reading.....

My wife was happy when I told her that I was writing an offer for a client.
“The property is a ’short sale’ ” I told her.
 ”Great!” she said. “That means that your commission check will  come quickly. Why don’t you do more transactions like that?”
 Well…she assumed that ’short’ meant short-time-wise. Not so! Short, in this […]

continue reading.....