A Few Bad Pennies….

April 26, 2009 · Kathy Wall · 12 Comments

About 3 weeks ago, I wrote an offer on a bank owned property in Hayward for a client of mine. I tried contacting the agent representing the seller to let her know that I was sending an offer, but wasn’t able to reach her. So, I emailed the offer and, also, faxed it to make absolutely sure that she received it by the deadline.

Over the course of the next 3 weeks, I tried diligently to reach this agent. I tried both calling and emailing. Sometimes when I called, I would get her voice mail. Other times, I got her husband who was listed as the co-lister, but knew nothing about the property. He indicated that he had “taken the phone away from her, because if she kept taking calls, she would never get anything done.” Read more

Real Estate Jargon…What Do All of These Terms Mean?

April 6, 2009 · Kathy Wall · 11 Comments

We Realtors often bandy about tons of real estate jargon. We talk to our clients and friends about short sales, REO’s, contingency periods, etc. I have come to realize, however, that just because we know what all of this stuff means, not everyone does, so I thought it would be helpful to describe some of the terms we use. Hopefully, this will give you some idea of what we’re talking about as we rattle on and on and your eyes are going bleary! Here goes:

Contingency Periods: We, generally, refer to these when doing our contracts. As an example, we tell you that you will have a 10 day period to “remove your property condition contingency” or 20 days to remove loan and appraisal contingencies. What this really boils down to, is that these are the time frames during which you will have the right to get your deposit back if you cancel the contract. Once you “remove these contingencies,” you are no longer entitled to get your deposit back, unless you can prove some sort of fraud. Read more

Housing Stimulus – An Open Letter to the Politicians

February 10, 2009 · Lee Ginsburg · 6 Comments

To Congress Woman Jackie Spier, Senator Diane Feinstein, and Senator Boxer

I am a local realtor specializing in San Mateo and San Francisco Counties. I do not think the $15,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit in the Economic Stimulus Package is making best use of Tax Payers money. Read more

How much do I offer?

July 16, 2008 · Shokoofeh Nowbakht · Comment here

Ok, you find a house and now like to make an offer, but how much? Don’t think just because it’s a short sale or REO that you can offer 20% or so lower than the asking price. Do your homework, study your market, and find out what the market value of the property is. Discuss it with your realtor. Generally, if the property has been on the market for months and specially if it hasn’t had a price reduction, you would have a stronger position to negotiate. Don’t be surprised to see multiple offers and overbidding on short sales and REOs in today’s market. Sometimes, the listing agents list the property at lower than the true market value to create activities and multiple offer situations. So, talk to your realtor and make a reasonable and realistic offer.

GOOD LUCK!

20 homes under $500,000 in San Bruno

July 16, 2008 · Shokoofeh Nowbakht · Comment here

First time home buyers and investors, what are you waiting for? I just checked the multiple listings and found 20 homes in San Bruno for sale, listed under $500,000. WOW!!! These include regular sales, shortsales and bank owned.

This is the time to buy real estate!

Shokoofeh Nowbakht, Realtor