The market is still going through minor ups and downs with a minor downtrend the  last few weeks. Still, a person who bought a home eight years ago is looking at a 24% gain if they choose to sell today. Better yet, homeowners who bought 10-15 years ago are looking at a gain of 40%, accoring to the NAR’s recent survey of home buyers and sellers. A home is still an excellent way to preserve capital and I continue to believe in it.

Just make sure to work with a professional who knows the business and please remember the fundamentals when purchasing or selling your home.

Just because the economy isn’t booming doesn’t mean that you should defer maintenance. In fact, you should pay even more care of your home. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, it’s said. Visualeconomics has a nice graphic chart with some simple basic maintenance tips. You can check it out right HERE.

We had french doors installed by Alexander Company based in South San Francisco. The installation went smoothly and everything was fine.

The true test of a company is what they do after the installation is done and they are paid.

We’ve had a couple service issues with the doors, which overall have been great. Once a screw broke. They sent another right away.

Now, after 6 years, the door we used the most, has a stripped spindle, the metal rod that goes between the outside and inside door handles.

We called for service and once again, like champs, great friendly service, no hassles and new spindles and locking hex bolts are already on the way at no charge.

If we EVER need new windows or doors, guess who we’re going to call?

5/5 stars.

It’s been a very busy April & May. What I’m seeing is that homes in the $300,000 – $500,000 range, which consist of many distressed REO, Short Sale, and pre-forclosure homes, mostly ~1,000sf 2-3 bedroom sfr, are moving hot and heavy.

Recent bids my clients have made faced 10, 12 and up to 20 competing offers. Sure, some of the competition is low balling and fishing, but in my humble opinion, it’s getting a bit late in the game to do that (although if it makes them and their agent happy, they can do it all they want).

There’s two groups that seem to be out right now. First time home buyers who are perhaps struggling to get into their first home and mom-and-pop-investors. The mom and pop’s are going in with substantial amounts of money. In many cases they are playing with all cash.

This puts alot of pressure on the first time buyers who are struggling to meet the 20% (or more) down payment requirements.

All is not lost for first time buyers, though. If they have an agent who understands the market and is willing to work hard and strike fast for them, it can still be done. Everyone needs to be realistic about the market, though. I don’t mean throwing away silly money. I DO mean if you’re like a competing bid we faced that bid $350k on a home that was listed at $430k and sold near $500k you’re dreaming and wasting your time.

More than ever fundamentals apply:

- Keep your credit squeaky clean. If you want to buy a home, now is not the time to slip on a payment.

- Don’t buy luxuries until AFTER you buy your home (no cars or furniture on credit!)

- Location, location, location!!!! If there’s *** anything *** buyers should have learned from this cycle, it’s to see how fast homes in poor locations dropped, how much further they dropped, and how long they’re taking to come back.

- Do your own homework. All the tools are at your fingertips. The internet is so powerful now. You can check schools, neighborhoods, and home comparables online. Insist on making your own inspections, even if you are planning to remodel. It’s under a thousand dollars (often much cheaper) to get both pest and contractor’s inspections and I wouldn’t buy a home without doing it.

- Read your contracts. Make sure you understand your contracts. Read them again. Timeline your deals. Agents are good. Some agents are excellent. Still, you should make sure you handle *your* business. Right now, especially with distressed properties, there’s new rules, changing rules and some (banks or lenders who own properties) making up and adding their own rules in. If you agree (contractually) to do business with them and buy their home, there are many concessions you may be agreeing to. Not every deal is the same. In fact, if you get an agent who tells you not to worry all deals are the same, then you better think twice.

- Working with distressed properties is not evil, but it IS different. There were always a few agents who used to get their clients into contract and making demands on their behalf afterwards. I’ve never believed in doing that as part of the deal making process, as to me it’s a bit dishonest and unethical if you go into an agreement without intending to honor the original agreement and have an agenda from the get-go to make demands later. Sure if you find in the course of your inspections that you are looking at $20,000 in termite damage or something AND your contract stipulates that you have an inspection contingency then you need to do what you need to do. But some agents used to take their clients into a deal and say “we’ll get you another $10,000 in credits later”, that’s not good.

Banks are having none of those shennanigins and are making quite clear. Everything is to be negotiated beforehand, the contracts written once, and then everyone follows the contract. I for one, appreciate that. Everyone is clear. Everything is above board.

Bottom line is if you are a first time buyer and have been getting ready. It’s a good time to move on it. Get a great agent who returns calls promptly and knows the market. Don’t let yourself be discouraged. If you’re looking at distressed property look beyond the stained carpets and minor damage and see the house for what it can be. In the end you can be a homeowner. Good luck!

I can only tell you with certainty what I see here with boots on the ground. The last couple of weeks I’ve seen a dramatic rise in the number of buyers out. Further I’m seeing buyers BUY, which after all is the important thing when you want to sell something

Unfortunately (or fortunately if you want to look at it that way) it also means the return of the multiple offer scenario. Worked well for my sellers of course, but I’ve got some buyers I’d like to help get settled.

In all seriousness, though, fairly “balanced” markets are a good thing.

If you’re not clear on how investment banking worked and how subprime debt was bundled and sold and resold, then you really should see this video. It’s a comedy sketch by Bird & Fortune but is really genius. Trust me. Watch to the end okay?

For many recent home buyers, property values have plummeted. Unless your city auto adjusts downwards for you, you might be interested in this do-it-yourself property tax reduction kit. For more information hit the [link to the AHA site].

It’s a good sign when the investors start shopping. There’s no crystal ball & I don’t feel we’re at the bottom, but we may well be close enough to make it worth shopping. As I’ve been telling my buyers lately, bottom line is if you are renting, your job is secure and you’re planning to buy a home to live in, it’s probably not a bad idea to be shopping now. Some homes are quite reasonable and even entry level buyers can find homes that are at least “okay” in the most important criteria. Location.

It’s coming & it’s coming very soon. Personally, I think it’s going to be good for the business as a whole, it’s going to be good for the market, and ultimately it’ll be good for you – the buyer or seller of real estate.

What is it? It’s the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. That’s a new set of rules that applies to all loans sold to Freddie and Fannie Mae.

Short Version: It’s a set of rules to reduce outside influence and pressure on home appraisers to value a property at a specific value (also known as  ‘hitting a target’)

Long Version:

• People involved in lending can no longer order the appraisal or choose the appraiser.
• Specific types of influence are listed and forbidden.
• There will be a quality control program in place to assess and monitor appraisal quality.
• Lenders will have a “hot line” phone number for appraisers to call to report inappropriate influence.
• Lender must provide a copy of the appraisal three days before closing (subject to waiver by borrower)
• Appraisers cannot bill clients, nor can they take cash payments.

The new process will allow lenders the choice of using an outside AMC (Appraisal Management Company) or use an in house appraisal ordering department, but the internal department must be separate from origination and will be federally monitored.

Why is this good? During the height of the last boom, I saw quite a bit of crazy escalation of prices in the market (ok, we ALL saw it). As a result, it was difficult for appraisers to always find com parables to support the higher prices borrowers were willing to pay. Therefore there was quite a bit of pressure for people in the system, borrowers, realtors, mortgage officers to let the appraiser know they needed to reach a certain dollar value. In some cases, it went even further, with either implied or outright pressure being put on the appraiser. This of course helped to put everyone on the treadmill and “chase balloons” with regard to ever raising prices.

I’ve told my sellers in the past to set prices that were within reasonable value so that they would appraise and buyers to be prepared to restructure the price on, or walk away from a deal that didn’t appraise. I tend to be somewhat conservative with my advice because I want the client to be happy years down the line looking back at their purchase or sale and not look over their shoulder. Really, to me, it’s just the right way to do business.

So with regard to the HVVC, I welcome it. So should you. It’s a good thing.

In California, appraisers are regulated by the California Office of Real Estate Appraisers. Their website is here [LINK]

For more information, see this PDF [LINK] from the California Office of Real Estate Appraisers.

Our Tin & Associates webpage has been moved to a new server and we’re revamping it to closer reflect our image and personality.

We’ll still have web based MLS searching and even better, have more control to update frequently with our open homes and links to our custom web pages for our listings.

It’s all part of our growth and adaptation to the market and to our environment, and I think it’ll help to serve our clients better.