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Here is a selection of my recent posts:

Calling all Teachers… Incase you didn’t know, CalSTRS is the California State Teachers Retirement Program that provides retirement related benefits to teachers in public schools and community colleges in California. Back in 1984 CalSTRS developed a home loan program which was designed for an additional option for home financing for it members and retirees. Giving its members and retirees additional mortgage loan options at competitive rates. This is a great option for you first time home buyers as it only requires a 3% down payment. You can compare this program with an FHA loan as it requires a 3.5% down payment.   A big thank you to Dean Rizzi of Guarantee Mortgage for sharing this program with us. Click on the flyer for additional info and qualifications (Once you have clicked on the picture click once again to see a clear copy or to print out the flyer)

 I received this information from one of my brokers, John Gieseker and thought I would share it…
State Senator Leland Yee has provided a program for middle to low income families to receive tax assistance. There will be special attention to those over the age of 60.  Chuck Finney, San Mateo District Attorney of Consumer Affairs will be on hand to answer questions about identity theft, senior scams and provide information and forms related to consumer complaints.

I have spoke with Senator Leland Yee’s office who has told me to let everyone know it is important to call and make an appointment to secure the assistance provided. Please contact Suzanne Dunwell at 650 340 8840 ext. 25 to schedule your appointment.

Tax Assistance Day will take place on Wednseday March 25th from 9:00am-3:00pm, please click on the picture below for full details and contact info to schedule your appointment. Please pay attention to the “what you need to bring with you” box on the invitation, so you are prepared for your appointment.

Just a quick post on a funny note… I have encountered a “runaway” buyer at two of my open houses in South San Francisco, two months apart from each other in two different neighborhoods. The first time I met her; she was so nice and friendly and seemed genuinely interested in the home. She said she liked it so much she wanted her husband to see it (he was waiting in the car). I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but once she went out to the car the husband slammed on the accelerator and took off down the street. I thought it was strange, but in this business nothing fazes me. It was about two months later Read more

Get on your boxing gloves and jump in the ring, but don’t wait for the bell to ring or you’ll be knocked out of the competition.  In the past few weeks homes in SSF have been flying off the market. I have been working with first time home buyers for about a month now that desperately want to purchase a home in SSF.  They are solid buyers that have excellent credit and a good down payment, however they keep getting beat out on properties by all cash offers. The two most recent homes they bid on had a tremendous amount of activity. One had 18 offers and the other had multiple offers within a few Read more

 I recently entered escrow on an REO property (Foreclosure) representing the buyers. With any escrow you enter you want to make sure you have your ducks in a row, but when it comes to REO transactions make sure you read the fine print. Some include passive contingencies which mean that if you don’t pull contingencies in writing on the said date written in the contract, they will pull them for you. This runs the risk of potentially forfeiting your client’s good faith deposit, if for some reason you have to end up canceling the transaction. Read more

I was reading the January/February 2009 edition of the California Association of Realtors Magazine and came across this article I thought I would share. The article has good facts with a positive economic forecast for 2009 and the graph is a great visual representation of the history of the market.

To read the full article click on the thumbnail image of the article below, then click once more on the article to make the content larger.

With the Holidays behind us, buyers are back on the Real Estate scene scoping out the latest inventory. This weekend I held a home in SSF open. I had over 65 groups come through and even ran out of fliers & ended up staying well after 4pm as buyers kept showing up. I can’t remember the last time I ran out of fliers or had to stay longer then the open house was scheduled. I felt like I was at a department store on Black Friday and everything was 50% off!
The home was a single family fixer, in a desirable neighborhood. I figured there was an abundance of buyers because it was the first weekend of scheduled open houses, come to find out it wasn’t just my open house that faired well to the buyer’s scene, it was everyone’s.
Every Monday morning my office has its sales meetings. In the meetings we take count of how many people came through our open houses. Today the count was 400. Those are huge numbers which gives us all something to ponder… Buyers are out in droves, prices have come down and interest rates are historically at all time lows, has the market hit its threshold? What are your thoughts? All I can say is when it’s your time to buy or sell, it doesn’t really matter what else is going on around you. That’s the beauty of Real Estate.

As 2008 wraps up and we all grasp onto our crystal balls to determine the fate of 2009… I wanted to end the year on a positive note with some statistics from the San Mateo County Multiple Listing Service that may help to give us all a positive outlook on the Real Estate market for 2009. South San Francisco was one of the Peninsula’s hardest hit cities with short sales and foreclosures, but by the looks of it, SSF seems to be bouncing back just fine. Read more