I was recently visiting a house in Fremont that our real estate team was about to put on the market. It is a short sale. As I was headed for my car, the neighbor from next door hailed me. He asked if I had a couple of minutes to spare to talk to him. In […]

continue reading.....

We have long known that high performing schools drive real estate values upwards in the areas around those schools. In the Mission San Jose School District of Fremont, Ca. a buyer will pay more for their new home than they will for a similar home in surrounding communities or even other parts of Fremont. Why? […]

continue reading.....

It has been a good Christmas Season. I just got back from two days away visiting family in the Sierra foothills. Cold, but no snow. Warm inside with great-grandparents, grandparents (me included), parents and children all gathered for the holiday fun and joy. Lots of good food and love in several helpings. I got my […]

continue reading.....

If you answered the above questions by saying “A long sale” you are wrong. A short sale IS a long sale! (Of course, we are talking about real estate, not stocks and bonds.) When I say long, I mean as in a long time…months, in fact.
Some time back, I told my wife that I was […]

continue reading.....

Mortgage rates have been low for a while. They remain low. Unusually low. Attractively low. You don’t really expect them to stay this low forever…do you?
A recent article in The Business Journel, covering the Triad Area of Greensboro and Winston/Salem , North Carolina stated that ” Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.78 percent this […]

continue reading.....

Are you a real estate investor? How many properties do you own? Do you have a mortgage on these properties? Well…if you have 4 or more mortgages, then you better be ready to write a check for the full amount of your next purchase. Yes…it does not matter if your credit is good and you […]

continue reading.....

Aren’t we getting tired of short sales?
 Misleading prices…extremely long response periods from lenders…the necessity for way to many follow up phone calls-from buyer’s agent to listing agent and from listing agent to lender…buyers walking away from offers because they have (pick one) 1. bought another property, 2. got tired of waiting for a response, 3. […]

continue reading.....

An agent friend was recently involved in the sale of a foreclosed house. She was the listing agent. The house is in a newer neighborhood of San Ramon, Ca. surrounded by many houses that have been built within the last few years. The house was built in 2006, sold and resold in 2007 for $870,000. […]

continue reading.....

Last Wednesday, Oct. 16th, at the California Association of REALTORS State Meeting in Long Beach, CAR Chief Economist, Leslie Appleton-Young, released her “2009 Housing Market Forecast”. I was there. It is always worthwhile to hear Leslie speak. She is well regarded and well respected in the field of economics. The event was covered by the […]

continue reading.....

I was sitting at an Open House. A prospective buyer came in. She looked around. She asked some questions about the house. She liked the school district in which the house is located. She guessed that the high school is within walking distance of the house. Then she told me that it was her sister […]

continue reading.....