Labor Day Weekend Fun on the Peninsula
For those of you staying home this Labor Day weekend and enjoy eating great food, here are two great events going on you may want to check out… I have attached flyers to the events and a coupon for admission to the Belmont Greek Festival. Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!
Belmont Greek Festival
Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 3-5
With the aroma of luscious barbecued lamb and the strains of upbeat bouzouki music, the 41st Annual Belmont Greek Festival swirls into the mid-Peninsula on Labor Day weekend, Saturday, September 3, through Monday, September 5, at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross, 900 Alameda de las Pulgas (corner of Ralston Avenue), in Belmont.
The three-day extravaganza is expected to draw nearly 20,000 visitors for the homemade Greek meals, specially-prepared desserts, nonstop entertainment and fun children’s amusement area, according to festival organizers.
“We want our guests to sample Greek hospitality at its best,” said Festival Co-chairman Gary Brenner.
“When Greeks entertain, they put out their finest of everything, and first and foremost, that means their best cooking,” Brenner said, “which means a lot of labor and a lot of love.” Read more
What is a Reverse Mortgage?
A reverse mortgage is a special type of loan made to older homeowners to enable them to convert the equity in their home to cash to finance living expenses, home improvements, in home health care, or other needs.
With a reverse mortgage, the payment stream is “reversed.” That is, payments are made by the lender to the borrower, rather than monthly repayments by the borrower to the lender, as occurs with a regular home purchase mortgage.
A reverse mortgage is a sophisticated financial planning tool that enables seniors to stay in their home or “age in place” and maintain or improve their standard of living without taking on a monthly mortgage payment. The process of obtaining a reverse mortgage involves a number of different steps.
The first most widely available reverse mortgage in the United States was the federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), which was authorized in 1987.
A reverse mortgage is different from a home equity loan or line of credit, which many banks and thrifts offer. With a home equity loan or line of credit, an applicant must meet certain income and credit requirements, begin monthly repayments immediately, and the home can have an existing first mortgage on it. In addition, there is no restriction on the age of borrowers. Read more
Good News Finally!!! – New Energy Rebates
Most of us living in San Mateo County are living in homes forty or fifty years old. Older homes are always in need of some repairs or upgrading. I recently heard that San Mateo County is announcing on Monday that they will match some of PG&E’s energy rebates. You can get up to $8000 in rebates. Not sure if you have to rebuild the entire home to get $8000 but here is the info.
These will double the currently offered rebates. Some upgrades might even qualify for Federal tax Credits. I have read there is even low cost financing with income qualifications.
Attic insulation, furnace and water heater replacement, roof, solar energy and more may qualify. It is certainly worthwhile to look into if you are considering doing some work.
Follow the links for additional information.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=164559&title=Homeowners%20eligible%20for%20big%20energy%20rebates
https://energyupgradeca.org/county/san_mateo/action_plans/property_type
ATTEND AN UPCOMING WORKSHOP:
San Bruno – Tuesday, August 23 rd 7-8:30 p.m.
Burlingame – Wednesday, August 24th 7-8:30 p.m.
Half Moon Bay – Wednesday, September 14th 7-8:30 p.m.
San Carlos – Wednesday, September 28th 7-8:30 p.m.
Lee Ginsburg
www.leesellsmore.com
“It is Better to Own Real Estate Than Wait To Own Real Estate”
Split MI: A great alternative to FHA mortgage insurance
With the increasing costs of FHA mortgage insurance, it is nice to see that private mortgage insurance companies have been offering new alternatives. Split MI offers the option for lower mortgage insurance factors in exchange for an upfront fee much like FHA. The program requires 720 credit scores, and 5% down for loans at or below $417k and 10% down for loan amounts to $729,750.
Split MI becomes even more attractive for borrowers with higher ficos and larger loan amounts. It is possible to get monthly mortgage insurance factors down to 0.22%. This is great news, because FHA “annual premiums” have increased from 0.55% to 1.15% in one year!
Unlike FHA, you are not required to pay private mortgage insurance for 5 years. Every lender has its own rules, but most have processes that allow you to petition for mortgage insurance removal when home prices rebound. This is not the case with FHA. FHA mortgage insurance is required until the principal balance reaches 78% of the original purchase price.
I’ve put this table together to show you some different MI options with today’s rates. You can see here that Split MI can save you a lot of cash.
| Monthly MI | Split MI | FHA | |
| First Loan Amount | $450,000 | $450,000 | $454,500 |
| First Note Rate | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.25% |
| LTV | 90% | 90% | 90% |
| MI Premium Rate | 0.74% | 0.43% | 1.05% |
| Monthly MI Payment Year 1 | $278 | $161 | $394 |
| Monthly P&I Payment Year 1 (First Mortgage) | $2,280 | $2,280 | $2,236 |
| Total Monthly Payment Year 1 | $2,558 | $2,441 | $2,630 |
| Monthly Savings Or Loss | $0 | $116 | ($72) |
| MI Cancellation Eligibility Month | 45 | 45 | 60 |
| Total Interest Paid During 10 Years | $184,013 | $184,013 | $174,874 |
| Total MI Paid During 10 Years | $12,488 | $11,756 | $23,006 |
| Principal Reduction | $89,598 | $89,598 | $93,430 |
Jay Sondhi
Guarantee Mortgage
http://www.jaysondhi.com/
San Bruno Music in the Park 2011
It’s that time of year again! Hooray for San Bruno Music in the Park! This is a FREE event sponsored this year by Artichoke Joe’s, San Bruno Cable, San Bruno Rotary Club, the Shops at Tanforan, La Petite Baleen, Inc, and Lunardi’s Supermarket! The City of San Bruno Community Services Department is the one who put it together as well as some help from the San Bruno Chamber of Commerce. It should be a great experience this year with some new twists, I hear! Are there going to be food trucks?? I don’t know but it sounds like a great idea!
I enjoy this event every August with my family and friends! My kids usually walk around with a bucket of home made popcorn for sale! I’m trying to teach them to be entrepreneurs!
Anyways, here is the 2011 schedule for Friday evenings 6:00 pm, Music in the Park!
July 29 Just For Kicks & West Bay Rhythm (Classic Rock & Soul)
August 5 Houserockers (Rock & Roll and R & B)
August 12 The Plastic Onion Band (Beatles Cover Band)
August 19 Tin Man (Classic Rock)
August 26 Groove Kings (Rock & Soul)
By the way, if you have been thinking of buying a house lately, you are on the right track! Two bedroom condos on the San Mateo peninsula are starting in the $200,000′s and single family homes are starting at $350,000! I am a full time real estate agent, if you didn’t know, and I would love to help you find a deal! It costs more to rent these days than to own your own place! We have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. Call or email me! I’d love to help! Thanks!
Karin Cunningham 650-438-3504 karinc@prucal.com
All You Need is … Patience!
I recently celebrated the close of an escrow for my clients’ purchase of a beautiful home in South San Francisco. This transaction was one of the more meaningful ones for me due to the nature of my relationship with these clients. We actually met back in July 2008 at my company’s kiosk at the Serramonte Mall in Daly City. At the time, this couple was just looking into the possibility of purchasing their first home, and weren’t quite sure if they were ready to purchase a home just yet. Still, we kept in touch occasionally over the years, going out to see homes of interest and even submitting a couple offers that didn’t go through.
Monte Verde Student Wins Doodle for Google
Our very own Monte Verde School wins big. Monte Verde is in San Bruno but is part of the South San Francisco School District. It serves Monte Verde area of San Bruno and a portion of Westborough area of South San Francisco. What did they win? Monte Verde Elementary School won a $25,000 technology grant and 7 years old, second grade student, Mateo Lopez won $15,000 college Scholarship. This is the results of “Doodle for Google” contest. 107,000 entrants ranging from Kindergarten to twelfth grade and a second grader from our back yard won. San Bruno and South San Francisco residents should be proud of the Monte Verde School and home grown Mateo Lopez. Hurray!!! Congratulations!!!
For additional information please click on the link: http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/05/20/6676677-doodle-4-google-winner-matteo-lopez-7
Lee Ginsburg
www.leesellsmore.com
“It is Better To Own Real Estate and Wait Than Wait To Own Real Estate”
San Bruno Park Swimming Pool 2011
“The San Bruno City Park Pool is located at Crystal Springs and Oak Avenues in San Bruno City Park, adjacent to the Veterans Memorial Building. The pool is a seasonal pool open from June-September. The pool is an “L” shape, 25×20 yards, 3 to 10 feet deep, and heated to approximately 83 degrees. The facility also has a toddler pool approximately 1 foot deep. Only coastguard approved flotation jackets are allowed. Parent must be in the water with the child if they are wearing a lifejacket. Before June 1st the contact number is (650) 616-7184, after June 1st the pool office number is (650) 616-7191. ”
http://sanbruno.ca.gov/parks_sbpool.html
Rec Swim is Mon-Fri 1-3:30 and Sat. and Sun. 1-4:00 It’s only three bucks! You can’t beat that!
I love bringing my kids to the pool because they always run into other kids from school. It’s also right in the park so we can hang around afterwards and picnic. The staff is also very nice and friendly!
Being a Realtor in San bruno is a pleasure when you get to talk about all of the city’s ammeneties, the pool being in the top 10!
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