12 Hidden Costs of Homeownership

July 29, 2010 · Rommel Yema · 3 Comments

Hi everybody! I know, it’s been awhile..but here’s an awesome article I found earlier this year that would benefit first-time home buyers especially!

-via Luke Mullins, USNews.com (April 8, 2010)

As the selling season gets underway, many Americans will be looking to take advantage of the lower real estate prices, attractive mortgage rates, and federal tax credit by purchasing a home. But remember: Not all of the costs associated with homeownership are reflected in the listed price. Indeed, many buyers — particularly first-time buyers — may be surprised by the amount of cash they’ll need to set aside for housing-related expenses that they hadn’t previously considered. These often-overlooked expenses can include everything from title insurance to lawn mowing. To give would-be home buyers a better sense of the budget they’ll need to buy and maintain a home, U.S. News spoke with a handful of real estate experts and compiled a list of 12 hidden costs of homeownership:

1. Home inspection. Since a home purchase is likely to be the largest financial investment of your life, it’s a good idea to have it professionally inspected beforehand. A home inspector can point out areas of the property that may need repairs. Buyers can use this information as leverage during home-price negotiations or simply to determine whether or not the property is worth purchasing. “It’s not required, but certainly I recommend it to buyers,” says Judy Moore of Re/Max Landmark Realtors in Lexington, Mass. “It is actually very helpful in that [buyers] learn about the property and how to maintain it and it also alerts them to any potential issues that may be coming up in the near future or need to be taken care of.” The cost of a home inspection, which can run several hundred dollars or more, is typically incurred by the buyers before they go to closing, Moore says. Read more

Loan Modifications – They Can Be Done! Lots of Patience Required!

July 14, 2010 · Kathy Wall · 3 Comments

I haven’t blogged in a long time, partially because I’ve been super busy with work, but also because I’ve been so wrapped up and worried about a loan modification that I had been trying to get on my house since 2008. Yes… I said 2008!

This has been one of the most frustrating and stressful experiences of my life. As mentioned, I started talking with the bank in late 2008. Around July of 2009, they told me that I had qualified for a certain type of loan modification. They gave me my new payment amount and I started paying that amount. I paid them faithfully every month thereafter. I was concerned, however, because I never received any formal paperwork and, because real estate is my job, I knew something had to be wrong. I called them constantly and they kept telling me there was no problem, everything was “in process.”

I believe it was in January this year that I returned home to find a letter from the bank in my mailbox. The letter indicated that I was in default and that if I didn’t pay them $35,000 by a certain (very near) date, they would start foreclosure proceedings. Needless to say, I freaked out. Read more

Tony’s Auto & Katrina Recovery

July 8, 2010 · Shokoofeh Nowbakht · 3 Comments

5 years ago Hurricane Katrina hit Gulf of Mexico. As a category 5 hurricane, with estimated winds of 175 mph became one of the most destructive storms. August 24-28, 2010 is the 5th Anniversary Build-a-Thon in New Orleans. 100,000s of volunteers have donated their time and money to rebuild New Orleans. New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) plans to build 5 homes for 5 families during this 5-day period. Jessica Harders, daughter of Dave Harders of Tony’s Auto, along with 4 friends, are headed to rebuilding the city. Their trip will cost them $700. You can help by taking your car to Tony’s Auto on Sundays from now till August 10, 2010. You’ll get a free smog certificate (usually charged $8) and the total proceeds will go toward this trip.
Tony’s Auto is located at 601 Kains Ave. in San Bruno. (MAP). (650) 588-6719.
See how easily you can help!

Shokoofeh Nowbakht
www.shokoo.com

A Quick Snap Shot Of Daly City

May 11, 2010 · Adam Chinn · 2 Comments

I took a quick look at some of the Real Estate Trends in Daly City and found the statistics to be quite encouraging. These statistics are comparing April of 2010 to April of 2009.

Median Price Of Properties Sold: +6%
Properties Under Contract: +69%
Properties For Sale: -16%
Average Days On Market: -7%
Average Monthly Supply Of Inventory: -63%

The numbers are very encouraging, it appears, while prices are slightly up, so is interest in them. Inventory has decreased and so has the amount of time properties are staying on the market. Simple supply and demand, demand is up while supply is down, means the prices properties are selling for have risen.

It is still a great time to buy or sell in the current market, much of it depends on your own personal needs.

Adam Chinn: Visit my website at http://adamchinn.com

Sorry, Your House DIDN’T Go Down in Value

April 23, 2010 · Jean Joh · 3 Comments

I had an interesting experience the other day. A homeowner came into my office and asked if I could help him fill out a “Decline in Value” Reassessment Application Form in order to request a reduction in property taxes based on a decline in property value. I agreed to help him and began to do the necesssary research on prices for homes sold within the last three months of 2009 in order to come up with a market value opinion for January 1, 2010. The result? It turned out that there was no significant decline since the last time the house was reassessed for 2009-2010 taxes, such that there would only be about $100 in yearly tax savings.

So, the bad news – the decrease in property tax will be minimal. But the GREAT news is that Read more

FHA? Ready..Go!

April 20, 2010 · Shokoofeh Nowbakht · 4 Comments

My client, James is in contract for a really nice townhouse in Hayward. He is using FHA financing. Townhouse complexes, unlike Condo complexes, apparently, don’t need to be FHA approved. The pest inspection was few days ago and the inspector said it was free of section 1 items! Great! What’s the problem, then?

There may be no problems at all. But, I wanted to make sure there will be no issues from the FHA appraiser. I know “Peeling Paint” is a safety item and has to be fixed before the FHA approval. So, with the sellers permission, my client and I decided to get ready for the appraisal and bought some spackle and paint and spend a couple of hours working on the property. I pulled out the nails and screws off the wall, James filled in the holes with spackle and then painted over them. Oh, we also cleaned the tub and the shower, so there will be no dirty spots that may be mistaken for mold.

Everything looks good, or at least looks good to us. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for the FHA approval!

Shokoofeh
www.shokoo.com

To Rebate or Not to Rebate? That is the question…

April 10, 2010 · Kathy Wall · 9 Comments

Over the last month, I have had 3 different situations with buyers where they have said they will only use me if I give them a ”rebate” at the end of the transaction. Most common, has been the request to credit them a percentage of my commission.

I realize that a lot of this is happening because so many of our clients (even the very loyal ones,) are spending a great deal of time on the websites of our cut rate competitors, but I need to find a solution.

I try to counter their requests with the very valid logic that you get what you pay for in this world, and that my many years of experience, negotiating skills and industry knowledge are well worth paying full price, but this is less and less successful. Nor, do they care that I need to share my commission with the company. Read more

Bay Area Prices up 20%????

April 7, 2010 · Lee Ginsburg · 1 Comment

The headline reads Prices Up 20%.

What do these numbers mean? I am sorry to tell you, your home did not increase 20%. Buyers don’t get scared off and sellers don’t put your home on the market for 20% more than you paid last year.

These numbers are totally misleading. Prices are increasing in some areas and in some price points but not by 20%. Possibly 3-5%.

You can make numbers do whatever you want. First you need to know if the numbers are for Single Family homes or Condominiums or both. Then are they comparing it to the same month in a previous year or just the previous month. Are they talking about median price or average price. The Median price is the price that is in the middle; there are an equal number of transactions above and below. These numbers are very general. It is interesting and might give a slight indication as to the market in the country, in your state, in your city but Real Estate is very localized down to the neighborhood in the city. If you want to know the value of your home call your Real Estate consultant. Read more