Open House Etiquette
For the last 17+ years, I have been selling real estate and, for the first 16 of those years, have hated doing open houses. I love meeting new customers, but if it is a slow day it can be incredibly boring. Nowadays, I enjoy them a lot more, because I bring my computer and can accomplish quite a bit (well, alright, sometimes I play word games and don’t actually accomplish too much, but I’m a lot happier!)
While doing my open house yesterday, I had plenty of time to contemplate, since it was pouring down rain and absolutely no one came. Fortunately, the house I was holding open was warm and cozy, so it was pretty comfortable. Since I had so much time, I began thinking about the whole open house process.
I thought it might be helpful for all of the buyers out there if I shared a few thoughts about the etiquette of open houses. A few helpful hints are: Read more
What is the Fair Rent?
I worked at our Prudential California Realty kiosk at Tanforan Mall today. Someone asked how much rent I think he should pay. He explained the situation that he just rented an in-law in Daly City 3 months ago. Landlord did not sign a lease with him and asked that he pays only in cash. After 2 months he found out, not from the landlord but from a realtor friend that the the owner has received a Notice of Default or NOD from his lender. That means he had not paying his mortgage for the past few months. The property is now on the market as a short sale, but no ”For Sale” sign is posted. Landlord failed to disclose this to the tenant at the beginning and tenant is very disappointed about this. He now feels that he should not pay the full rent since the owner is not paying his mortgage and also because he was not told about the situation.
What do you think the fair rent is?
Thank you,
Shokoofeh Nowbakht
www.Shokoo.com
Don’t Let Them Buy Your Love…Or Your Listing!
There is a phrase related to home selling that has always struck me as a bit odd, even before I got into the business of real estate. “I chose my Realtor ® because they said they could get me XX amount of dollars” is often the refrain of a home seller. Really? They can tell you precisely what your house is going to go for in the future. If a Realtor tells you that, you ask them why they aren’t in Vegas making themselves rich with that skill.
The practice is called “buying a listing” and it can be an effective way to get business. The problem is, it doesn’t serve the seller. Read more
Is the Giants Victory Similar to Buying a Home?
How can the baseball World Series be anywhere related to Home Buying you may ask. Let me explain…
The San Francisco Giants won as a team, and that is the only way to successfully buy a home. You need a team. A great mortgage broker; Tim Lincecum. An excellent Realtor, who is not just a real estate agent (follow this link: http://ow.ly/39GSe); Cody Ross. A hardworking assistant; Edgar Renteria, an experienced inspector; Aubrey Huff, a dependable escrow officer; Busty Posey, and of course a reliable management team; Bruce Bochy.
Now you see the importance of a team. Without one player you may not get the home. A good Realtor has a good team.
Another correlation to the Giants TEAM Victory is the Team of Low Interest Rates, Low Prices, and Motivated Sellers. That leads to the Victory of Closing on a Home; Brian Wilson.
Miss The Federal Housing Tax Credit? Here Is Your Chance!
Many people missed the federal housing tax credit that ended a few months ago at the end of April this year. I personally met a good amount of potential buyers that were interested in purchasing a home and according to them they were motivated by the possibility of receiving the federal housing tax credit. It seems that now that the tax credit is no longer being offered many of those people are no longer interesting in purchasing home or at least would like to wait a little bit longer. Why I ask?
During the time that the tax credit was offered, Jan 1st 2009 to may 1st 2010 the interest rates did fluctuate. From my research I found the interest rates were at a high of about 5.75% and a low of about 4.75%. During this period I’m not sure how many of the people who purchased homes were waiting for the rates to go down or if they were mainly focused on closing before the tax credit deadline, My guess is the latter. Read more
Foreclosure Baloney
I don’t get this foreclosure moratorium stuff. I don’t understand why the press and politicians are putting so much into it. I can assure you the banks are not foreclosing on anyone current on their homes. Many of these home they are foreclosing on are vacant and some inhabitable. 
A sad fact I heard recently is many homeowners are losing their homes due to medical bills. That should not be.
Making the banks review additional papers, re-file, and delay the inevitable is only getting revenge and that is not healthy. No good comes out of that.
We should be putting pressure on the banks to modify the loans of homeowners who are good, honest, hard working people. Many of these people for whatever reason can’t make payments at the current payment but can and want to make modified payments. I don’t understand the need for a bank to go to the expense and foreclose on a home with a $500,000 loan and a month later sell the home to someone else for $300,000. The original owners would have been capable and extremely happy to make payments probably on $350,000. The banks would have been $50,000 + expenses better, with less property on the market values would be up protecting their equity in all their portfolio.
I have another idea to deal with this foreclosure cancer. Equity Share. Read more
2nd Annual Prudential San Bruno Pumpkin Patch
Prudential San Bruno will be hosting our 2nd annual pumpkin patch this weekend, Saturday October 23rd from 10am-2:00pm. Please join in on the festivities that include face painting, a complimentary pumpkin, a souvenir picture of you and your family taken in the pumpkin patch and goody bags for the children. We will also be serving hot chocolate & donuts from 10am-11:30am (don’t worry parents, we will have coffee for you in case you were wondering) and barbecued hot dogs & refreshments from 11:30am-2:00pm. Costumes aren’t mandatory but are encouraged. We look forward to seeing you and making this year’s pumpkin patch another success.
Prudential California Realty, San Bruno is located at:
180 El Camino Real, San Bruno Ca. 94066
MAP
Nicole Machado
http://www.MVE2DAY.com
What is in the “TRENDS” of California Real Estate?
Success in today’s Real Estate Market depends on people, technology, and a competitive edge! As a successful REALTOR®, I have to keep up with the latest information on the California housing market. At the same time, I also feel it is imperative to share this knowledge with my clients and provide with good information so they can make an informed decision when they are ready to make an investment. Let’s take a look at what’s going on in the real estate market now…
Recently, TRENDS Newsletter (published by the Economics Department of The California Association of REALTORS®) issued an article titled “Good for the Buyers and Good for the Economy” that mentioned a few interesting points:
First, the bad news (for the market but not so for the buyers)… Read more
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