Bank of America Closes the Door on High-Balance Conforming Loans.

$729,750 Conforming Loan Ends.

Bank of America has informed its clients that as of July 1 (tomorrow),  they will no longer write applications for high-balance conforming loans up to the $729,750 limit.   This move was made in anticipation of the September 30 deadline for the U.S. government to once again extend the terms of the Economic and Housing Recovery Act of 2008 for another year.   As I wrote in this post, it is widely expected throughout the industry that government will not extend the upper limit of $729,750 for the upcoming year, as they believe the housing recovery has enough momentum to survive without this crutch.  But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not abandon the extended loan limits entirely — if things go as anticipated, the upper limit for a conforming loan after September 30 will drop to $625,500, not back to the original limit of $417,000 that was in place before the economy imploded.

But this does mean that any conforming loan that was approved in the range of $625,500 – $729,750 must close escrow before September 30th, or it will not be funded — hence the impetus behind B of A’s move.

Update:

As of the original writing of this post, Bank of America has slightly revised its position on conforming loan limits.   It will still process loan applications at the $729,750 loan limit only for conforming loans with a minimum of 20% down.  That means that any FHA loans up to $729,750, or any loan with less than 20% will be capped at the anticipated limit of $625,500.

>>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Just Listed in San Carlos: 81 Cedar Street.

An Outstanding Value.

If you’re a first-time buyer looking to for great home value in the western part of the city, then I just listed a house that should be of keen interest to you.  81 Cedar Street in San Carlos is a charming 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom home with a very clean 2-car garage.   This is the first time this home has been on the market in 55 years, so it needs a new family who will put some TLC and their own personal touches on it.   The home is 1,330 square feet and is situated on a 5,700 square foot lot on a great stretch of Cedar Street.   The price?  $699,000.   Yes, you read that right.

Location is Everything.

81 Cedar Street is located on a great block of Cedar, just up from the corner of Hull.   For those of you who watch the school district boundary maps with an eagle-eye, you already know that this neighborhood feeds into Arundel Elementary School, Tierra Linda Middle School, and Carlmont High School — which is high on the priority list for many San Carlos buyers.  (Of course,  you also know that admissions to any of these schools is based upon the availability at the time of admission, too.)    The home is also close to the northern stretch of the downtown San Carlos shopping district — just a few blocks from your favorite restaurants like Town, Piacere, and that new indio-asian restaurant Red Hot Chili Pepper on San Carlos Avenue (former site of Vic’s).

Open This Weekend.

81 Cedar Street will be open both days this weekend from 1-4 PM, rain or shine.  Stop by and check it out –  if you’re looking for an affordable place in San Carlos to call home, you don’t want to miss this one.

 
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Rolling the Dice on San Carlos Real Estate.

Managing Your Risk in Multiple Offer Situations.

Last night I was involved in yet another bidding frenzy on a San Carlos home for sale.  In this particular sale, we were one of 8 or 9 offers that were competing.  A couple weeks ago, I represented a different client in another San Carlos transaction that fetched 6 offers.  And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the home on La Mesa that sold a few weeks ago with somewhere between 14-16 offers (depending on who you ask.)   Say what you want about the economy folks, but multiple offers are back with a vengeance in San Carlos.

When a home buyer makes the decision to forge ahead in a multiple offer purchase, the first question that always comes up is “How do I make my offer stand out?”   The obvious answer to that question is to throw more money at the offer — either a high offer price, or a bigger down payment, or both   But you knew that already!   And frankly, in a hotly contested multiple offer your first offer should be your best offer, because you may not get a second look.  So short of hitting the lottery or robbing a bank, throwing more money on top of your best offer is not an option for most people.

So setting the financial part of the offer aside for now, what other part of the offer can be altered to make it more attractive to the sellers?    The next likely target are the contingencies.   Obviously, the fewer contingencies that are in an offer, the more attractive that offer is to the seller.   But before you think about waiving your contingencies, it’s important understand what you’re giving up, and whether it’s worth the risk to do so. >>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Appliances: They Don’t Make ‘em Like They Used To.

Higher Price, Shorter Life.

Is it just my bad luck, or does it seem like home appliances aren’t built that well anymore?   We remodeled our home back in 2000, so I have an easy time-line to measure the life of all of those expensive new  appliances that we put into the house.   In the span of 10 years, this is what we have had to repair or replace:

• Refrigerator (replaced).
• Dishwasher (replaced).
• Clothes dryer (repaired and finally replaced).
• Microwave (repaired and replaced).
• Double Oven (repaired twice, and is now on its death-bed).

What’s left? Only the clothes washer and gas cooktop!  And the latter doesn’t have any moving parts, so you’d think it should last a few years.   Granted, with a family of 5, we use our appliances quite a bit.   But we didn’t buy crap when we remodeled — we went for high-end GE, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Thermador…  Not Bosch or Sub-Zero mind you, but still expensive stuff.   So what’s going on? >>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

San Carlos Home Buyer’s Tip: Pay Close Attention on Mondays and Fridays.

The Busiest Listing Days.

If you are in the market for a home and you’re using an automated email alert system that informs you whenever a new listing hits the market that meets your criteria, congratulations — you are doing the single best thing you can do keep yourself abreast of new opportunities as they come on the market.  (If you’re not using an email alert, just shoot me an email and I can set you up.  Can’t beat the cost — free — and there’s no obligation.)

You may also notice as you ferret through the listing emails during the week that your inbox gets a little more listing activity on two particular days:  Monday and Friday.   It’s no accident that you see more listings on those two days than any of the other days during the week, and it’s important to understand what drives this phenomenon — and why you should pay particular attention on those two days.

Broker Tour and Open House.

Monday and Friday listings usually coincide with two key event in the home selling process:  The Broker’s Tour and the Open House.   Let’s take a quick look at how they impact when homes are listed.

• Broker Tour.   The broker tour is basically the “Open House” for Realtors.  It allows them to conveniently see all of the new listings in a particular area on the same day.  It also allows them to show off their tremendous skill of aimless driving, blocking driveways, and parking 6 feet off the curb — but that’s another story altogether.    In San Mateo County, the broker tour is customarily done on Tuesdays.   So for a listing agent to get his/her listing on the Tour Sheet for that particular Tuesday, they have to have their listing loaded into the MLS no later than 11:00 AM on Monday. That’s why you often see a spike in new listings on Monday.
• Open House.    Some homes are held open on both Saturday and Sunday, others on just Sunday.    If the agent missed the deadline for the Tuesday  broker tour but still wants to hold it open that following weekend, they’ll often put it on the market on the Friday right before the weekend.  This allows enough time for the listing to propagate to the various real estate websites that people search to find open houses.    The timing is good for maximum visibility too, since buyers are starting to gear up for the weekend of house hunting.  And that’s why you see an extra spike of listings on Friday.

So now you know another little tip about how and why homes hit the market when they do.  In a competitive market like we’re still seeing in San Carlos, that little extra insight can give you a few days head start on your competition!
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

All-Cash Buyers and Multiple Offers: Changing the Face of San Carlos Real Estate

They’re Out There…

Since the outset of this recession, we’ve been inundated with negative news about stagnant economic growth, high unemployment rate, foreclosures, etc…   After listening to this drab news for so long,  you start to question why anyone would ever consider buying a home in this climate — or more important, how they could afford to do so.   It’s interesting talking with people lately — it seems like many have the impression that everyone around us is living on Top Ramen like starving college students.  That’s the power of negative news.

For those home buyers who are confident enough in their own financial situation to forge ahead in this market, it’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of complacency that the poor economy has weeded out much of their competition.    After all, just listen to all of that dire news!   But anyone shopping lately in San Carlos has quickly realized that a) they’re not alone, and b) there are some well-heeled buyers competing with them for the same homes.    One thing is for certain — the recession has done little to quell the occurrence of multiple offers… and yes, all-cash buyers in San Carlos.

Cash is King.

Since the beginning of this year, there have probably been a dozen or more homes sold in San Carlos where the buyer paid for the purchase in cash – no bank loan whatsoever.  And these are not just starter homes — the prices for these purchases ranges from the $700,000 to well over $1M.   That’s alot of cash!  This phenomenon is not unique to San Carlos, either; if you follow other hot markets like Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Los Altos, it’s happening there as well — only with even more staggering amounts of cash.   It’s pretty mind-blowing.

Unless you’re putting down a substantial amount of cash yourself, it’s pretty much “game-over” if you’re competing against an all-cash offer, regardless of what price you’re offering for the home.   Why?

Contingencies?  Nah…

The biggest reason that cash is king in these situations is that it removes the financial contingency entirely from the purchase contract.  There’s no need for the seller to worry about whether the buyer can qualify for the loan, or if the home is going to appraise at the sales price, which significantly lowers the risk of the offer.   And some sellers are more than happy to pay a price for this lower risk — if you’ve been in this situation, you’ve found that the all-cash offer is not necessarily the highest offer, and yet they win virtually every time.

Another interesting phenomenon is that some all-cash buyers aren’t even requiring a property condition contingency either.  So if you’re a first-time buyer who has scraped together your 20% down payment and you’re up against one of these completely non-contingent (or “naked”) offers, unfortunately it’s lights-out. It’s that simple.

The Proper Perspective

It shouldn’t really be a surprise that this is happening.   After all, even if unemployment is running at 12%, that means that 88% of the population is still gainfully employed.  And let’s not discount the vast amount of personal wealth that was pocketed before the bubble burst a few years back.   There’s still alot of money out there.   That’s a fact.

But rather than marvel at where everyone is coming up with these mini-fortunes, it’s simply important to accept the fact that all-cash buyers are active in the market today.  And if anything, the recession has narrowed their focus toward communities that are better suited to withstand a recession — communities whose school district hasn’t been decimated by budget cuts, or whose downtown area is still thriving despite all of the bad economic news.

Places just like San Carlos…
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Where to Find Permit Information on San Carlos Homes.

Need Permit History?

If you’re buying a home in San Carlos, it’s sage advice to spend a little time researching the permit history on the place before you get too far down the road with your purchase.  Why?  Since much of San Carlos was developed in the 1940′s through the 1960′s, there’s a very good chance that some level of work has been done on the home — anything from simply replacing the roof, to remodeling a kitchen, and all the way to adding significant square footage.  It’s good to know whether this work was done with the blessing of the City Building Department, or whether it was done without their consent or knowledge.

A big reason why the City requires permits for home projects is that they want to ensure that the work is being done correctly.   If you look at a typical permit card, you’ll see that there are various sign-off points by the City’s building inspector that shows they have been monitoring the project from the beginning.  So a fully-permitted project will likely adhere to the building code that was in place when the job was completed, and minimizes short-cuts that the contractor might have been tempted to take.
>>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

A Great Opportunity in San Carlos: 1412 Howard Avenue

Great House, Outstanding Value

If you’ve been keeping track of homes that are selling lately in White Oaks and Howard Park, the 3BR/2BA configuration has been the “bread-and-butter” of the sales activity for the past 6 months.  This is partly due to the fact that there are so many 3/2′s in the area, but also because of the widespread “cross-over” popularity of this size home.  On one hand, it’s very desirable for first-time buyers (especially those with school-age children).   But it’s also a great stepping-down point for those who are looking to downsize but still remain in San Carlos.  I’ll be posting some prices in the coming weeks that will demonstrate how this surge in demand for 3BR/2BA homes in the flats has pushed pricing up to nearly $1M (and in some cases above) for this hot commodity.

Which brings me to my new listing at 1412 Howard Avenue.    It has many of the key features that today’s home-buyers are looking for:

• 3 bedrooms. Including a master bedroom suite.
• Extra permitted room. Ideal for a 4th bedroom or home office.
• Updated kitchen.   New countertops, cabinets, and appliances.
• Beautifully landscaped yard.  Newly stained deck, and the property borders the creek in the back!
• Extra storage.  Both front and back
• Outstanding location.   Just 2 blocks from Laurel.  An easy jaunt to Skinny Sippin’, Flight Lounge, or Refuge.
• San Carlos Schools.   Of course!

It’s a great opportunity for those families looking to land in San Carlos before the new school year kicks off.  And attractively priced at $850,000, it should fit nicely into the budgets of either first-time buyers, or the down-sizers.

Check it Out

Click here to see more pictures of this great home:   1412 Howard Avenue Virtual Tour.   The house will be open both Saturday and Sunday this weekend from 1-4 PM.  Hope to see you there!
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________