Category

Sellers

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 09
0

Short Sales and every changing guidelines

By | Foreclosure, Making Home Affordable, Sellers, Short Sale, Visit WineCountry, Wine Tasting | One Comment

This week there were 2 interesting updates: BofA is going to announce a major change in the way they work with agents. They are changing their systems to approve short sales within 2 weeks of an offer. Currently I am working on 2 short sales with BofA and am waiting for approval of the authorization letter for 4 days now. CDPE will have an interview with a Short Sale Exec on January 20.

Next, the Making Home Affordable HAFA guidelines are changing per February 1st. The servicer is no longer required to verify any financial information as to monthly income exceeding 31%. The property can be vacant or rented out for up to 12 months prior to the Short Sale application -> still had to be your primary residence. The other changes have to do with release of subordinate liens, timing to respond, timelines and deed-in-lieu programs.

Short Sales are a dignified way to get out of a financial difficult situation, a seller stays in control, also as to the financial consequences, is able to negotiate to a certain degree and able to anticipate the consequences.

In 2010, about 50% of all the sold properties was either a short sale or a foreclosure. It is expected that the coming year will be about the same. It will be interesting to see what will happen this year.

On a  happy note: next week is the 19th Winter Wineland, check out the website. A great event with 140 wineries participating.

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