For me, the choice was a relatively simple one because I have always hated the idea of a landlord telling  me what I could and couldn’t do in my home, so I always knew I would try to do whatever I could to purchase my own home.       

In the end it often comes strictly down to the money.   Sometimes, it simply doesn’t make sense to purchase a home, particularly if it means that you will be struggling to make the payments each month, let alone pay for property insurance and taxes.    When my son and his wife were trying to decide whether to continue renting or buy a home, they went to this website and found it to be very helpful:  http://www.decisionaide.com/MPCalculators/Menus/MP_Calculators.asp.     When you get there scroll down the page and you will find a link for Renting vs. Buying.    

I have found home ownership to be a very empowering thing….In tough times, it can be hard to keep things going, but the rewards of owning your own home are many, including really good tax deductions.

If you do decide to buy, I know that there is a wealth of information available about homes on the web, but I highly recommend getting yourself a good Realtor to help guide you through the very complicated process of writing offers, reviewing seller disclosures, etc.   A good Realtor will be your advocate all the way through the purchase negotiations and and long after you own the home. 

Kathy Wall
Prudential California Realty
(415) 608-4168
DRE #01163766

In today’s world I am regularly asked by folks whether they should just give up, walk away and let their home be taken by foreclosure or try to “hang in there” until they can find another solution.

This is a really difficult question to answer.   There are so many factors involved.   Ethicially and morally, I believe that you should do everything you possibly can to honor the contracts that you entered into when you purchased the property, even if the property is no longer worth what you paid…as long as you can still afford to make the payments.

However, the incredible stress of trying to hold on when you can’t afford to make the payments can be all consuming and emotionally destructive.     When all else fails, sometimes the only possible answer is to walk away.   Before doing that, however, you should explore all other possible options, such as:      

Loan Modification – This is a very difficult process and is not always successful but if you are tenacious and don’t give up,  it is possible.    It requires constant follow up with the bank.  They will keep switching you from person to person.  They will lose your documents and you will have to re-send them, but if you hang in there, you can very possibly get your interest rates and payments lowered.   

Whatever you do, however, don’t fall for one of those scams where they say they will get you a loan modification if you pay them a bunch of money up front.  This is something you can do yourself.  You just need a lot of patience and time to make phone calls.

If getting a loan modification fails, you should then try to “short sale” the property.   This is one step before the foreclosure process.    Basically, you put the house on the market and when you have an offer, try to get the bank to accept the offer price.   Your real estate agent will help you through this process.    It is not nearly as painful as the loan modification process because you have someone helping you with the paperwork and with contacting the bank.

The good thing about a short sale is that it usually doesn’t affect your credit as badly as a foreclosure would and some banks will give the sellers some money at the end to use towards moving expenses.   Short sales and foreclosures will be discussed in greater detail in future blogs, but please don’t hesitate to call me if you have questions prior to that time.

Kathy Wall
Prudential California Realty
(415) 608-4168
kwallprudential@aol.com
DRE License #01163766

I did everything that I could to be upbeat while meeting with all of them, but two of them wanted $1,500,000 for homes that were either in much need of updating or that had been updated in a particular style that would not be appealing to a large number of buyers.   Both of those homes were cluttered and had several pets roaming around, which would make them hard to show.   The owners said they “sensed a lot of negativity” when I made a few recommendations about things they could do increase the value of their homes.  

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am about the least negative person around….I always try to put a positive spin on everything…but it’s my job to try to help owners get the best possible price for their home, so I have to tell them things that would help them or I wouldn’t be doing them justice.      

One of the owners was at least $500,000 too high in their asking price, the other was at least $300,000 too high and the last one, a small condo, ended up being priced with someone else for $30,000 higher than it should have been.  

Needless to say, just like everyone else, I need business and don’t want to lose out on listings.   That being said, what’s the point of taking a listing that won’t sell or that will stay on the market for months & months?  

Any thoughts from my fellow professionals or recent home sellers?

Kathy Wall
http://www.kwall.prucal.com/

This is the first of a series of articles that will highlight various neighborhoods in San Francisco and on the Peninsula.     In this article, I will talk about a couple of San Francisco neighborhoods….West Portal and Bernal Heights.     Both are thriving areas and that has caused me to wonder:  

Why are some neighborhoods so popular?   

West Portal, as an example, is busy every day and every night.   It has tons of restaurants….everything from Mediterranean (Bursa Kabob) to Peruvian (Fresca) and even a Polish restaurant (Old Krakow).    They have a lovely, old fashioned neighborhood movie theater that seems to do quite well and the most popular “boutique” Goodwill store around, as well as other more high end shops.   And, of course, there’s your requisite “Starbucks”.     People come to the neighborhood from all over for it’s charm and warmth.   

Although not quite as popular as West Portal, Bernal Heights is also a thriving neighborhood.    It doesn’t have the movie theater as a draw, but it certainly has it’s share of good restaurants…Piqueos is fantastic for Peruvian food,  Chez  Maman, Liberty Cafe and many more.    

Bernal is famous for it’s  many staircases winding through the neighborhood.   The architecture is amazing with Victorians next to ultra modern homes (see photo above)  and homes that are located on “paper streets”  (streets that are streets on paper only and are really staircases).   A wonderful home that I have listed right now is located on one of those streets and is quite beautiful and unique.   (21 Rutledge…see photo below)

All of this brings me back to the question of why these neighborhoods are so popular?  What made them change from plain old neighborhoods to vibrant communities where people stroll the streets shopping and dining?    In the case of Bernal Heights, I know it wasn’t always like this, because I lived there in the lates 60′s and early 70′s.    At that time, it was genuinely a ghetto (the most wonderful ghetto in the world, because I made many great lifetime friends there, but a ghetto nevertheless!)    Now, it’s considered a very desirable neighborhood.   What changed?

It’s possible that these changes are brought about by good economic times…When the market is hot, new people come to neighborhoods that they might not normally have checked out and then their friends start coming, too.   

Or, it could be that one or two nice businesses move in and then others follow, with the people moving in once they see the nice businesses and begin to explore the areas.  Throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area, there are popular areas and not not so popular, even though some of the neighborhoods have great weather and nice homes, as well.  

I don’t really have an answer…Any thoughts?  

Kathy Wall
Prudential California Realty
(415) 608-4168
kwallprudential@aol.com
Licence #01163766

Since this house has always been immaculate, I knew that something was radically wrong, so instead of entering the house, I first called the owners.   When I was unable to reach them, I decided to call the police.    Although it turned out that the intruder had already left, I’m so glad that I did call them, because it turns out that they were able to get really good evidence of who had entered.

This home had previously been “staged” and furnished, but the owners had requested that the staging be removed due to cost concerns, so it is now completely vacant.    Although we kept the front drapes closed so that people would not notice that it was vacant, someone clearly noticed, broke a downstairs window and spent at least one night in the property, apparently ripping down one of the drapes and using it as a blanket.     

He left behind a baseball hat, a tee shirt, a mess in one toilet, a small amount of blood in the other bathroom and, quite foolishly, an envelope with his name and, believe it or not, his inmate #.   Scary…  It terrifies me to think what would have happened had he still been in the property and I been foolish enough to go in.   The police think that he spent the night, probably did his drugs and then took off.

My reason for writing this is to give a couple of hints to real estate agents and, especially, to owners of vacant properties.    

For owners of these properties and their agents, I would suggest the following: 

1)      Keep the curtains and/or blinds closed

2)     Have a few lights set on timers in the house, so that during the evening, it appears that someone is    living in the property.

3)     You may even want to leave a radio in the property that is set on a timer, so that voices can be heard from outside the house.

4)      If you’re a Realtor or the owner of the property and, when you open the door something looks odd, do not enter the property.   Call the police.   

My story had a safe ending, but had the bad guy still been there, it could have been an entirely different situation.    Be careful.    There are an awful lot of desperate people in the world right now.

Kathy Wall
Prudential California Realty
(415) 608-4168
www.michaelandkathy.com
DRE License #:   01163766

For those unfamiliar with carbon monoxide poisoning, it is known as the silent killer.   It is a colorless, odorless gas that is nearly impossible to detect without a CO detector and seeps out through gas heaters and appliances, as well as through engines left running in garages off homes.    

It can cause nausea, headaches, dizziness, chest pain and vomiting and is really hard to diagnose because the symptoms are so similar to other illnesses that occur during the winter months.     It can and does kill.     Just one example are the 5 teenagers in Florida that died in December.      According to Wikipedia, on average 170 people die every year due to this killer.         

While we’re still all making our New Year’s resolutions,  let’s make sure that we all get detectors for our homes now, rather than waiting for July.     And, while you can’t smell carbon monoxide, please never discount any gaseous smells in your home…If you even think you smell gas, please call the local power company.   They are more than happy to check for leaks.   

Kathy Wall
Prudential California Realty
(415) 608-4168
www.michaelandkathy.com
DRE #01163766

While doing my open house yesterday, I had plenty of time to contemplate, since it was pouring down rain and absolutely no one came.   Fortunately, the house I was holding open was warm and cozy, so it was pretty comfortable.    Since I had so much time, I began thinking about the whole open house process.  

I thought it might be helpful for all of the buyers out there if I shared a few thoughts about the etiquette of open houses.   A few helpful hints are:       

Negative Comments:    If you hate the house, please don’t make super negative comments to the agent.    As agents, all we are trying to do is the represent the house to the very best of our ability and it hurts when people are say mean things about the properties we are representing, even if they are dumpy.  Believe me, when they are ugly, we already know it and are simply trying to stay positive.

Photos & Videos of the Properties:  Taking photos or videos of a property is a gray area.    In homes that are owner occupied, you should always ask the agent if it’s okay.   If it is a property that is occupied by a tenant, you should probably never take photos, because of their privacy rights.     When in doubt, I always try to put myself  in the other party’s shoes and ask myself if I would want strangers taking photos of my stuff.  

Open House Times:   With regard to open house times, please try to get there at least a few minutes before the open house is scheduled to end.    Inevitably, right at 4:00 p.m. and after I have turned off all of the lights and am heading out the door, a whole bunch of people arrive.   I certainly don’t want to turn them away (and don’t), but by the time they arrive, I’ve now been there for 2 or 3 hours and am very anxious to head home.

Pricing Commentary:   If you like a house, but feel that it is over priced, don’t hesitate to tell the agent.   In most cases, they will tell you that you should go ahead an write an offer at a price that feels comfortable for you.     And, if the house is truly worth the asking price, they can then show you the comparable sales that justify the asking price or direct you to other homes that might fit your price range a bit better.

Look-E-Loos and Neighbors:   Agents differ in their opinions of neighbors or non home buyers coming to their open houses.    In my case, I am almost always happy to have these folks come, because they might have friends or relatives that are looking and can then tell them about it.    Or, they may have a house in the neighborhood and be thinking of selling.  

The one thing that I would caution, however, is that neighbors should not try to pry into why the owners are selling.   I was doing an open house the other day and the owner happened to stop by.   While he was there, one of the neighbors came by and began asking him why he was selling.   It’s a divorce, so it was an upsetting situation for the seller.    Agents are uncomfortable with these questions, as well.   Again, it comes back to whether you would want someone prying into your personal affairs?

If you have an agent:     If you already have an agent, please let the Realtor holding the open house know.    It’s good for everyone involved if you make us aware.   In that way, if we get price changes or have new listings that you might like, we can share the info with your agent.    It is helpful to carry a few of their business cards with you to the various opens you attend.

Happy house hunting!!

Kathy Wall
Prudential California Realty
(415) 608-4168
http://www.kwall.prucal.com/

While answering phones  in the office this weekend, I received a call from a man who wanted to see one of our listings in San Francisco.   I agreed to meet him at the listing at 11:00 a.m. the next day.

That night, I was involved in a relatively minor car crash and when I awoke the next morning I felt exhausted and unwell….still a little in shock from the accident, I guess.    Even though I didn’t feel well, I planned to do my job and attend our scheduled showing, as well as doing my open house later that day.

I called the person to confirm the time and discovered that the number they gave me didn’t work.   At that point, I had a feeling I would be wasting my time, but didn’t want to take the chance that they would show up and I wouldn’t be there.   So I drove the 1/2 hour to the house and waited for them for at least 15 minutes.   No show.  No call.   No nothing.   I then drove the 1/2 hour home, wasting well over an hour of my time for nothing.

This is not the first time this has happened and I know that it won’t be the last.   I do my very best to confirm times, qualify the buyers, etc., but still it happens.   And, it infuriates me.    Why do people feel that they can value our time less than their own?

To anyone out there looking at properties I ask you to please, please remember that Realtors have lives, too.   Please treat us with respect.   Please show up as close to on time as possible and, if  you’re not going to be able to make it, please let us know.

It’s just common courtesy and decency.     We are living, breathing human beings, too.   We have families and lives, good days and bad, but even on our worst days, we show up for our meetings with you….Please do the same for us.

Kathy Wall
Prudential California Realty
(415) 608-4168