Buyers… Buyers… Buyers, Here’s a little food for thought for you…
Working on a day to day basis with buyers can be rewarding most times; however, at times working with buyers can be tedious, tiring, relentless, and at times down right exhausting! Does this mean I’m doing my job? Yes, but it also means buyers need to change with the times. There’s been a drastic change within the real estate world just in the last few years. Competition in the market continues. Now buyers should be jumping out of their seats with overwhelming joy that our INTEREST RATES and PRICES are the bomb right now! WHY are you waiting? I couldn’t even tell you how many times I have encountered buyers who THINK they are ready to buy until they actually get out there and look. Then it’s like most of the buyers out there turn into kids in a candy shop whose parents told them they are limited to just one, only worse, they not only can’t choose but they turn the candy over to look at the calories and fat content on the nutrition information only with houses. Could you imagine what that’s like for your agent?
Now that I have your attention, humor me just for one minute, Read more
Is Rental Real Estate the Next Big Opportunity?
It could very well be. Residential rental vacancy rates are below the 10-percent mark, where they had been lodged for most of the past three years. Peggy Alford, president of Rent.com, predicts that by 2012 the vacancy rate will hover at a mere 5 percent.
Since 2002, rental rates have been flat, and down of late (inflation-adjusted). If Rent.com projections are anywhere close to expectations, we could see a rise in rents of 15 percent over the next two years. That would be a significant reversal of fortune: rent hikes have averaged less than 1 percent annually over the past decade, according to Commerce Department statistics.
Pent up demand appears real: More than 1.2 million young adults moved back with their parents from 2005 to 2010, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Many others doubled up together. Now that the recession is over, many of these young people are ready to find new living quarters, mostly as renters. Where there are renters, there must be property owners (even if they are not occupants). As rental rates increase, the capitalized market value of property increases too – that means rising real estate prices.
We’ve frequently noted that opportunities always abound, regardless of the perceived direness of current circumstances. The outlook in the rentals is another reason we think they abound in the residential real estate market.
Dean Rizzi
www.drlending.com
How to refinance your property with little or no equity
I’ve recently taken an application for a veteran who will be refinancing their two purchase loans from a couple years back. She will be saving about $700 per month with her new 30 year fixed rate of 4.75%. It reminded me that there are still a lot of folks out there who may not have taken advantage of the low rates available because they thought there was not enough equity in their property to refinance. Without getting into too much detail, I thought I would share three great options to consider if this is the case for you:
Freddie/Fannie option
If Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae own your mortgage, it may be possible to refinance your current loan even if it’s underwater. Have you checked to see if your loan is Freddie/Fannie? Here are the links.
Click here to see if Fannie Mae owns your mortgage
Click here to see if Freddie Mac owns your mortgage
FHA
FHA will insure mortgages up to 97.75% of the home value. The maximum loan amount is $729,750 here in San Francisco County. This loan limit is slated to be decreased at the end of 2011.
VA
If you or your spouse is a veteran, you can borrow up to 100% of your home value. This is a great option for veterans because mortgage insurance is not required for VA loans. The current VA loan limit for San Franciso and San Mateo County is $1,000,000.
Jay Sondhi
http://www.jaysondhi.com/
A Prop 60 Case
I have a client who wants to sell his house and buy a duplex and wanted to know if he can benefit from Prop 60. Prop 60 allows one to transfer his current property tax to his new residence. This is a complicated matter and does not have one simple answer. It depends on many factors such as county of property, age of the property owner, market value of the duplex and more specifically the unit he would be occupying. According to County appraiser, my client may transfer his property tax if he is over 55 years of age, and the property he sells is less than or equal to the portion of the duplex he will occupy. Of course these properties have to be primary residence. If the duplex has 2 identical units, then it’s easy, the price of the new primary residence is half of the total appraised value. But, what if the units are different in size and value. It is up to the county Appraiser to individually appraise the units after the transfer of the property. One way to do that is to distribute the total value of the duplex by its square footage. Sometimes, the appraiser may look at the comparable properties in the neighborhood and evaluate the units individually that way. Read more
2011 Easter Activities in SF Bay Area
Just incase you were looking for Easter festivites for the kids, courtesy of SF Bay Area on the Cheap’s website (http://www.bayareaonthecheap.com/bay-area-easter-egg-hunts/)
Easter Egg Hunts & Bunny Opps – Free/Cheap
It’s that time of year again, so here are just a few of the 2011 San Francisco Bay Area Easter Egg hunts and Bunny opportunities. There are others around the Bay, but these are all free or cheap, so hop to it.
San Francisco
San Francisco – Spring Eggstravaganza
WHAT: Egg hunts, carnival rides, giant inflatables, arts & crafts, entertainment, food for sale. $5 per person.
WHEN: April 23, 2011, 11am – 3 pm.
WHERE: Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. (Valet bike parking provided by the San Francisco Bike Coalition (Located near 2nd entrance).
More Events: Read more
Fiesta de Trituracion
Prudential California Realty San Bruno estará patrocinando el 4to Evento Anual de Trituración de Documentos. Este es un servicio gratuito que la compañía provee como servicio a nuestra comunidad en forma contribución. Debido al éxito y evolución del evento, tendremos dos camionetas que se aseguran que hasta el último documento sea triturado en una manera segura por que queremos para poder asistir a más miembros de la comunidad. ¡El año pasado trituramos más de una tonelada de papel y esperamos triturar más esta año!
El Proceso no podría ser mas fácil. Usted simplemente se estaciona en nuestro estacionamiento donde uno de los agentes de Prudential lo recibirá and recogerá sus documentos.
Un beneficio adicional es que las camionetas tienen un monitor con video donde usted podrá ver cuando sus documentos sean levantados hasta la camioneta. Esto le dará una seguridad extra de que sus documentos son destruidos seguramente. También para su disfrute vamos a proveer un lonche ligero y bebidas. En verdad que es un evento muy agradable.
Prudential San Bruno patrocina este evento anualmente, marque su calendario cada Abril, normalmente hacemos este evento cerca del Día de La Tierra.
Para que tenga una idea de como es y cómo se organiza el evento por favor presione en la cadena que esta abajo para ver un video del evento anterior.
La información de La Fiesta de Trituración es la siguiente:
Sábado 23 de Abril
10AM-2PM
180 El Camino Real
San Bruno, CA 94066
(Prudential San Bruno Parking Lot)
Con especial agradecimiento a los creadores del video, Annie Chang, Jay Sondhi, Jean Joh & Shokoofeh Nowbakht
Lupita Fernández-Terlau
http://www.lterlau.prucal.com/
Prudential San Bruno’s 4th Annual Shredding Party
Prudential California Realty San Bruno is hosting it’s 4th annual shredding event. This is a complimentary service we as a company provide to our community as a way of giving back. Due to the success and evolution of the event, it has has afforded us the opportuntity to assist more of the community by providing two trucks to ensure every last document gets shredded safely. Last year we shredded over 1 ton of paper and hope to shred even more this year!
The process couldn’t be anymore easier. You simply pull into the parking lot where a Prudential agent will greet you and off load your documents for you.
An extra added bonus is that the truck has a video monitor that you can view as your documents are being lifted into the truck. This gives you the extra assurance that your documents are being safely destroyed. We also provide refreshments for your enjoyment. It truly is a wonderful event.
Prudential San Bruno holds this event annually, so make sure to mark your calendars every April, we typically schedule the event around Earth Day.
For your viewing pleasure and to get a sneak peak of how the event all goes down, please click the link below of a video of last years event.
The Shredding Party info is as follows:
Saturday April 23rd
10AM-2PM
180 El Camino Real
San Bruno, CA 94066
(Prudential San Bruno Parking Lot)
A special shout out to the creators of the video, Annie Chang, Jay Sondhi, Jean Joh & Shokoofeh Nowbakht
San Bruno Farmers Market Is Comming Back…..
The San Bruno Farmers Market is coming back. The Farmers Market located on the historical San Mateo Avenue between Jenevein and Sylvan starts on May 1,2011 and is scheduled to go thru September 25, 2011.
The farmers market has a wonderful selection of the freshest picked fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries and much more.
This wonderful market is a memeber of the Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association.
Curious what else you can find at the farmers market? Visit http://www.pcfma.com for more information and event locations!
Happy Shopping:)
Bernadette Ramirez
Prudential California Real Estate
www.barforu.com
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