Halloween Foreclosed House

November 13, 2008 · Shokoofeh Nowbakht · 2 Comments

I know Halloween is over, but I just remembered to share the photo of an interesting and very creative costume with you. As you know our San Bruno Prudential participated in giving candies out to children at Serramonte and Tanforan Malls as before on Halloween. It was a lot of fun. I saw the “Foreclosed House For Sale” walking and just had to ask him for a picture. The turbulence in housing market has affected many aspects of our lives, including our holidays. I wonder what kind of real estate Christmas ornaments we will see this year.

Who is the winner in today’s real estate market?

November 6, 2008 · Dean Rizzi · 3 Comments

The First Time Buyer….

They are buying homes today that don’t have inflated equity…
They don’t have to wait for their home to sell…
They have sellers willing to pay their closing costs and buy-down already good interest rates…
They are in the first “Buyers” Market in nearly 8 years… Read more

Pricing Homes to Sell in the Bay Area

November 2, 2008 · Lee Ginsburg · 2 Comments

Pricing homes to sell. Please note I said “To Sell” not just “For Sale”. Correct Pricing in today’s Bay Area’s Real Estate Market is more important than ever. To review market value please check out, http://www.pruvoices.com/2008/10/what-is-market-value/ Overpriced homes do not get viewed. They remain on the market for a long time, become stale and even after chasing the market with price reductions usually sell below market value. Buyers think something is wrong with it; the sellers are frustrated and desperate. Read more

Opportunity Knocks

October 29, 2008 · Florie Vasquez · Comment here

What an exciting time this is. Full of opportunity, yet challenging. It is imperative to do your homework. Line up all your ducks… Remember it can take upwards of 45-60 days to get loan approval. Timing is essential. It would be wise to start the ball rolling and get pre-approved for your loan. Avoid any hiccups standing in the way of your dream when you have found the perfect home. At years end conforming loan limits will decrease and it could end up costing you more money to borrow the same amount. Take advantage, opportunity is knocking, answer the door.

Who is responsible for the expense of a new fence?

October 28, 2008 · Francis G. Bautista · Comment here

Who is responsible for the expense of a new fence? It can be negotiated between the buyer and seller at the time of sale. If you’ve owned your home and your fence needs to be completely redone, it could be discussed between neighbors and each could contribute if they want a finished look on their visible side. Though it may be the responsibility of each owner to contribute to the cost of a fence, neighbors are not always willing to contribute to that responsibility. When we bought our house it had a fence that was partially functional. By partially, I mean that the very back section of the fence was new and sections of the side fence were “original” (kind for dilapidated. Read more

What is Market Value

October 28, 2008 · Lee Ginsburg · 1 Comment

To determine pricing first one should determine present market value. When assessing residential property four major factors account for I’d say about 75% of the value:

Location · Living area size · lot size· condition/renovations of the property.

Other factors that come into play are the number of bedrooms, baths, bonus areas, in-law potential, color scheme, floor plan, pool, fireplace, single or multi story, attached or not plus more. Read more

Ratified or Terrified?

October 25, 2008 · Shokoofeh Nowbakht · 1 Comment

My first time home buyers became terrified when their offer ratified! They had submitted few offers on other properties and were overbid every time. Is it the market we’re in today? Is it not expected for the first offer to get accepted?
What has been your experience?

Remodel or Remodeled?

October 22, 2008 · Shokoofeh Nowbakht · 3 Comments

Would you buy cheaper and remodel or buy remodeled? Does it make sense for the first time home buyers to try to save money by buying a property that needs some TLC and remodel it themselves? How much TLC is reasonable? Just some thoughts and concerns! Do you have to be a good handyman to buy a fixer upper? Why do we realtors use “Contractors’ Special” comment on MLS? Should a non-contractor buy a fixer upper? Ok, what are your thoughts?