Category

Sonoma County info

Feb 27
0

Septic Systems

By | Buyers, Disclosures, Sellers, Sonoma County info | No Comments

A lot of people in Sonoma County have septic systems -including yours truly-. There are a lot of vacant parcels, or parcels that need a update on their septic system. Thought enclosed info about how the septic design process works might be interesting.Thank you  Jim Glomb, Geotechnical & Environmental Consultant for sharing this:

When constructing a rural property, or improving an existing property, the septic system is an integral component that requires a septic design professional who is up-to-date with regulations and health and safety requirements.

The first step in the Septic Design process for an undeveloped parcel is a Preliminary Site Evaluation. The Preliminary Site Evaluation evaluates the site?s potential to meet the homeowner?s goals and identifies the best areas for on-site wastewater disposal. The Preliminary Site Evaluation begins with identifying site attributes such as topography, vegetation, drainage and geology.  The Preliminary Site Evaluation also includes exploration of soil deposits to determine subsurface conditions relative to septic system use. This is followed by design level Soil Profiles using a backhoe in the presence of a County Health Inspector, if necessary, groundwater monitoring, percolation testing, and site mapping will also be performed.

The Percolation Test data, Groundwater Monitoring observations, and Soil Profiles are incorporated into a design report with recommendations and specifications for the optimal wastewater treatment for the parcel. This report is submitted  to the county for  review and concurrence.

There are many different septic systems and the requirements for septic systems have recently changed, the permit department of Sonoma County has great information.

When buying distressed property this is something to keep in mind: would you like to remodel that lovely fixer with the great views? Seems like a great buy, do your homework as to the septic system, might prevent you from unpleasant surprises.

Mirjam

Jan 23
0

Loan Fraud and Short Sale Fraud

By | Disclosures, Making Home Affordable, Short Sale, Sonoma County info | No Comments

An article in the SF Chronicle caught my attention this morning : 10 indicted in Calif. alleged real-estate scheme.

When money was cheap and pretty much everyone could get  mortgage, the so called ‘golden years’ (they were not golden by the way) some interesting schemes were going around. There were also rumors that special FBI units would go after all those who committed loan fraud in the 2004-2007 market place. Well the article above is proof that they are after the ones who did so…

Rachel Dollar has a great blog as to Mortgage Fraud: www.mortgagefraudblog.com.

Well right now we have new schemes going around, never a dull moment in real estate… I hear wild stories about short sales, interesting ones and even if half is true well it’s still illegal/fraudulent. One of them is short sale ‘flipping’ -> it is like the scheme mentioned in the article above but then with short sales. An other popular one is selling the home to a family member and not disclosing this to the bank. And at this point, in the ‘short sale flurry’ some short sales might be approved based on incorrect information -fraud-…

I discussed this with my broker and her prediction is that in a few years, when short sales are done, the banks will go back in the files and do an audit… Ask your attorney about the statue of limitations on fraud…

Please when you consider a short sale, be upfront with your real estate agent and the bank about your situation, should a real estate agent promise you a quick turn around or some other to good to be true story, be very leery and interview an other Realtor, preferably one that has the CDPE designation.

And READ the short pay approval letter: a Short Sale has to be an arm’s length transaction, you CANNOT financially benefit from the sale -except for cash for keys etc approved by the bank-, your Realtor CANNOT be a family member and there are a few more. If there is a special situation, disclose this to the bank, have their approval : for instance when you rent the house back from the person who bought the house.

And last but not least: selling the house on paper for $450,000 and on the couch selling the couch for $50,000… probably not a good idea either.

Still you can plan short sale carefully and there are many more benefits short sales offer, that is for a later post.

Have a great day, Sonoma County is beautiful this time of the year: the mustard  is starting to bloom!!!

Mirjam

Dec 26
0

Selling a home and your privacy

By | Broker open, ID Theft, Short Sale, Sonoma County info | 2 Comments

One of the blog postings a little over 2 years ago was about Streetview by Google. A great tool to learn more about a neighborhood and a property. As Realtors, when we put a house on the market, we want to feature all the special features about a property. One of the ways we promote a property is by doing an open house. About 8 years ago, open houses were part of the marketing mix but not that important. That has changed, 85% of buyers look at houses online and most of them visit open houses. More so than before, a sale might be the result of an open house.

A Man’s home is his Castle, the old castle had a moat around it. To protect against intruders. Now or moats ate created by voice mail, use of PO boxes, locks and security systems. When you put your house on the market you expose your house and a little of your life style to people you do not know. There is a fine line between marketing a home and your privacy. As Realtor we like to take lots and lots of pictures to show the home… look at the pictures: what do they show about you -not the house-.  When there is a showing… do not leave your credit card statement or your credit card on your desk in your home office: buyers will not go through your drawers but when it’s openly there… To name just a few.

With the increased popularity of Facebook and other networking sites, it is important to think about how much you want the outside world to know. Privacy has taken on a whole different meaning. Houses are being robbed after people stated very clear on Facebook that they were on vacation…

Back to selling your house, some examples: What about that precious collection of priceless art? The large collection of guns? The type and location of the security system? The super collection of kitchen knives?

When I list a house these things are important. Depending on the situation I advise my clients on issues regarding privacy. This is one of the reasons I am a firm believer of Staging a House and do have the ASP designation. Preparing a home for sale, sell the lifestyle that comes with the house/location and paint a picture for prospective buyers, keeping a target market in mind.

With Streetview, Google does things to protect your privacy, you have to think about your specific situation when you put your house on the market. When you decide to sell your house, think about what’s important for you and discuss this with your realtor who can give you great advise for your situation. You want to sell so expose your house as much as possible, it is good to address this beforehand.

Mirjam

Dec 12
0

Foreclosures… How is our market?

By | Buyers, Economy, Foreclosure, Sellers, Short Sale, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry | One Comment

Only articles with spectacular-read bad news- titles sell. Quite often the perception is that every home sold is a foreclosure or a shortsale.  Our MLS keeps track of this and guess what??? In 2010 in Sonoma County,  about 50% of all the sold properties were distressed. While that is still not the way we like it to be, it brings perspective. Other fact to share: we already have a pretty stable real estate market in the last 3 years. Prices have remained fairly stable and it looks like it will stay that way. The higher end might come down some more, but the lower end of the market has been pretty much the same in the last 3 years, as a matter of fact, it has gone up a little bit. Numbers to follow.

Other myth: buying a distressed property is a better deal. While that is true in some situations, a foreclosed property is appraised as to the market value and then put on the market by the bank. And as to short sales: when a seller accepts your short sale offer, the bank needs to approve the loss and guess what? They have the property appraised to make sure it is sold at market value. So with this in mind, a regular sale might up being a ‘better deal’

Coming on the market in JC area in a few weeks fro now: it is a foreclosed property, we are waiting for the valuation -price-. This means that 2 local realtors will do a market

 Foreclosure in JC area

analysis and give the bank their opinion of the market value of the house. I will keep you posted.

2010 is not finished yet, the stats for 2010 will follow in the coming weeks. There are quite a few agents who do not sell distressed properties. Yours truly has specialized in foreclosure alternatives so 80% of the homes I sell are distressed/short sales.

Fun restaurant to try in Santa Rosa: Starks Steakhouse. Great bar area, great ambiance.

Mirjam

Nov 28
0

I want to buy your house! But…

By | Buyers, Disclosures, Economy, Mortgage, Sellers, Sonoma County info | One Comment

Ahh the ‘buts’ or the contingencies. As a proud home seller, you received the offer and if everything goes well, you’ll close escrow  in 30 days…

99.9% of all offers are made with contingencies: Inspection contingencies and loan contingencies are the usual mile stones. While inspection contingencies are easy to negotiate, the loan contingency can be a very different story. About 5 years ago, acquiring a mortgage loan was a very easy process and just about anyone could qualify. Today, with more than 1 in 7 mortgages 60 delinquent or worse, banks have begun to tighten lending qualification requirements, making the simple loan approval a thing of the past.

What this means to buyers and sellers is a potentially longer escrow process with more challenges and hurdles to jump through along the way. Many buyers schedule the moving truck and pack their bags, only to come to a sudden and screeching halts days before closing due to additional pre closing lender conditions related to income, credit and appraisal. New last minute lender conditions have become especially prevalent with conforming loan amounts over $417,000 and Jumbo loan amounts over $655,000. Ironically in my personal experience, traditionally difficult FHA loans have become easier and quicker to close.

In our area, just about everything happens on the day of closing.  The loan gets funded on the eve of closing, the escrow closes/records, the sellers moved out and buyers move in. While that has been the traditional picture, sellers might consider a different strategy. One option to consider is to deliver possession to the buyers 1 or 2 weeks after close of escrow. This means that the seller has more latitude in coordinating their packing and moving process, with less pressure to vacate the day of the sale. While this may not be the ideal situation for all buyers and sellers, it does lessen the potential stress that could occur if there were any last minute lending or funding issues that delayed the closing date.

Of course, the above applies to a regular sale, in case of a short sale, the majority of the home owners have stopped paying their mortgage anyway so in their case it would mean that they can stay in a home ‘for free’ longer.

To keep everything in perspective, the above are just hurdles in the sales process, things to expect and opportunities to find good solutions for all parties. In the grand scheme these are minor.

Mirjam