Category

Windsor

Sep 03
0

USDA, Clint Eastwood and first time home buyers

By | Buyers, Financial news, Sonoma County info, Windsor | No Comments

When you see the acronym USDA you might think of meat, or farmers. USDA stands for United States Department of Agriculture. This organization is to support and improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. One way is through the USDA home loan program: a great mortgage for first time home buyers with limited income and very little down payment. It is a great alternative for the more expensive FHA loan programs: less down payment, no mortgage insurance.

When I think of rural areas, I think of the old western movies with Clint Eastwood, not necessary Sonoma County. And yet there are a lot of areas in Sonoma County eligible for the loan product. Because it is a low income program, only the ‘cheaper’ properties will qualify. Last year I was able to help a young couple buy their first home on Wall Street in Windsor. They love where they live and their monthly payment is much lower than when they would be renting.

Per October 1, 2012 this program is changing. In Sonoma County: Windsor, Healdsburg and Sonoma will no longer be eligible. The program will also become somewhat more expensive. Currently USDA loans don’t require mortgage insurance, only an upfront guarantee fee of 3.5%, this fee is added to the total loan balance and financed into the loan. Per Oct 1, the upfront fee will lower to 2% but there will be a new annual fee of 0.3% of the balance of the loan. This annual fee will be added to the monthly programs.

It’s still a great alternative for low income buyers in rural areas. It’s always best to talk to your lender about this program, for more information, please feel free to contact Seliga Financial :  707-577-8737

Mirjam

 

 

Sep 11
0

Open House!

By | Buyers, Sellers, Visit WineCountry, Windsor, Wine Tasting, Winery with picnic place | 10 Comments

It used to be that doing an open house wasn’t that effective for selling a home. A few years ago the numbers showed that less than 0.5% of the houses was sold as result of an open house.

But the market is constantly changing and recently I have been noticing a shift. Buyers go to open houses to look at them without their agents and homes do get sold that way. I am wondering what the current percentage is, I haven’t seen any research from the NAR yet, if it comes out, I will keep you posted.

And this weekend I will do an open house at 7922 Fox Hollow Place in Windsor CA. Great property, it burned down in 1992 and was rebuilt and the owner put about $80,000 in upgrades in the house. This is for sure not a distressed property, if you know someone looking for a home that is ready to go, no worries about maintenance, here it is.

Also this weekend, lot’s of fun at the Francis Coppola winery in Geyserville . Harvest has begun, and they are celebrating with a weekend of winery events. The festivities kick off today  with Festival Vendemmia, our annual Wine Family Harvest Party, and continue on Sunday with an Italian Street Fair (11am-2pm), Kid’s Grape Stomp (12-2pm), and a live performance by BROTHERCAT (4-7pm).

Have a great weekend,

Mirjam

Mar 22
0

New website for Windsor Schools

By | Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Windsor, Wine | No Comments

Windsor schools have unveiled their new website : www.wusd.org.

Great website, easy to navigate,  allows you link to the different schools in Windsor,  to pay fees online and  coming soon will also allow parent access to individual student records.

Windsor is a great place to live, did you visit the town green lately and sipped your latte at Caffe Noto or Starbucks?

Should you need the perfect hair cut, please visit Bella Nova Salon be, a great place to experience. They are always looking for better products with less toxins/healthier ways to treat your hair. They also offer online booking, tell them I send you and you will receive a 10% discount on your first treatment.

wov_main_icon.jpg  Last week barrel tasting…  our visit to Windsor Oaks Winery was perfect as was the last time, great wines, great location and they just started a wine club. Ask Regina for more info: Regina@windsoroaks.com.

 And by the way… should you decide Windsor is the place for you to live… there are a few houses right now on the market on just the perfect locations. Should you like to stay on top of these great deals, just let me know and I will put you on my special update list.

Mirjam (mirjam@c21alliance.com)

Sep 23
0

Open House Extravaganza!

By | Buyers, Windsor | No Comments

mirjamnew.jpg   Today CENTURY 21 Northbay Alliance has an open house extravaganza. We have 72 of our listings open and there are prices to win. Each house has a drawing for $20,00 giftcard and there will be a Grand Prize Drawing for $ 300,00 giftcard for Best Buy.

I will be at 164 Cordoba Way, a great 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home in Foothill Estates. I will have a drawing for a Home Depot giftcard. I look forward to see you there! Combine it with a hike in Foothill park, you will have a lovely Sunday afternoon!.

See you there!

Mirjam

Jul 16
0

Pre-approved or Prequalified: What’s the difference.

By | Bennett Valley, Buyers, Windsor | No Comments

mirjamxsmall.jpgRealtor Magazine today had an interesting article about something that is confusing for buyers and sellers. Confusing prequalification with preapproval can mean disappointment for both a home seller and a buyer.
It’s smart for buyers to become preapproved by their lender – not just prequalified.
To obtain a bona fide preapproval, you must submit a loan application with the necessary documentation and fee. After the lender verifies and analyzes the application, it will notify you -the applicant- of how much money you can afford to borrow. This usually means a few hours work for both buyer and lender. But armed with that information, the buyer can confidently go home shopping.

Prequalifications are simply an estimate of what a buyer can afford. A buyer who assumes that this estimate is accurate and chooses a home based on the information may, in fact, be denied a loan when he actually applies, a situation that wastes his time and can put a seller in an a bad position if they’ve already turned away a qualified buyer. And, of course it wastes the real estate practitioner’s time as well.

There are terrific buys out there right now. Anyone who has been thinking about purchasing a property should do so right now. Check out the following properties:2625 Spring Oaks in Santa Rosa, 164 Cordoba Way, Windsor, both are great homes in super neighborhoods.

Mirjam de Rijk