Author Archives: Mirjam

About Mirjam

Sonoma County Real Estate Specialist.

Deficiency: shortage, deficit… or paying back what you owe…

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Mirjam

The majority of people who buy a home need a mortgage or a loan. The home is yours, you pay the mortgage back over the life of the loan. When you sell the home you pay off the remainder of … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosure, HAFA, Mortgage, Sellers, Short Sale, Sonoma County info | Tagged | Leave a comment

Earthquake Fault Zones and due diligence…

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Mirjam

Looking for the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood? There is a little secret I need to share: there is no such thing as the perfect home/perfect place … Ouch… The home might be a great match, the neighborhood might … Continue reading →

Posted in Buyers, Disclosures, Sonoma County info | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Banks not supporting Energy Independence Program

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Mirjam

As Kermit in Sesame street sang: ‘It’s not easy being green’ Sonoma County in general has been promoting lowering our dependence on fossil fuels for a while now. Not only in big things but also in small things like using … Continue reading →

Posted in Around the house, Buyers, Disclosures, Sellers, Sonoma County info | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

To Buy or not to Buy…

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Mirjam

Operation Twist is the economic policy from the FED:  at their last official meeting in August, the policy making committee decided to keep interest rates low until 2013 … This is good news for buyers… There is a time window … Continue reading →

Posted in Buyers, Economy, Interest rates, Investing in Real Estate, RE by the numbers, RE Investing, Wine Tasting | Leave a comment

Title Insurance: a Scam?

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Mirjam

When you buy a home and use a mortgage you pay for at least 3 insurance policies: Home Owners Insurance, Home Owners Title Insurance and Lenders Title Insurance. For an average home in Sonoma County, Title Insurance is around $1,800 … Continue reading →

Posted in Buyers, Disclosures, Economy, Investing in Real Estate, Sellers, Short Sale, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine Tasting | Leave a comment

Insurance and Real Estate on Sale

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Mirjam

Right now it is common in Sonoma County to buy a property below the value of what it would cost to rebuild… OK let’s read this again: it is more expensive to build a home than to buy one that … Continue reading →

Posted in Around the house, Buyers, Sellers | 3 Comments

Housing Shortage?

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Mirjam

Posted in Buyers, RE by the numbers, Sellers | Leave a comment

Foreclosures… how are we doing in Sonoma County?

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Mirjam

Foreclosures… it might feel that every home sold must be a foreclosure. But all real estate is local and despite what you may think we have a pretty consistent real estate market in Sonoma County. About 50% of the sales … Continue reading →

Posted in Sonoma County info | Leave a comment

Adverse possession… a home for $16?

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Mirjam

My dear friend Gini sent an interesting link to a video about a man claiming an abandoned home trying to acquire title through adverse possession. An interesting concept. In Netherlands, the adverse possession of property is called ‘Kraken‘ it started … Continue reading →

Posted in Buyers, Sellers, Short Sale, Sonoma County info | 2 Comments

Latest Short Sale News for California residents

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Mirjam

LATEST NEWS : A lot of home owners have 2 mortgages against their property, we call that a senior and a junior loan. These second loans may be a home equity line of credit or a regular loan. This second … Continue reading →

Posted in Buyers, Sellers, Short Sale, Sonoma County info | 1 Comment