Archive for the 'Hot Tips & Advice' Category

Pricing Your Home to Sell – No, You Cannot Party Like It’s 2005.

Money Mistake #5 – Getting Stuck in the Past & Overpricing Your Home For Sale

(Money Magazine) — Remember what your home was worth in 2005? Wipe that number from your memory. When you let an old value — of a stock or a fund or your house — get in the way of a smart financial decision, what might seem like harmless nostalgia can become a costly mistake.

Investors have long suffered from this problem, refusing to sell underperforming stocks and funds in the hopes that the price will bounce back. Today home sellers are the ones having trouble letting go of the past.

June 2011 Money Magazine cover story is “Fix Your 5 Biggest Money Mistakes” and lists overpricing your home for sale as Money Mistake #5 and they are right.

Just as in the rest of life, you’ll be happier, richer, and live with more joy, if you focus on the present moment and leave the past in the past. The value of your home today is the value that a buyer today is willing to pay for it. Period. Bottom line. End of story.

How to know if you’ve overpriced your home.

If your house has been on the market for 3-4 weeks and has not sold (assuming that offers have not come in that you have refused), it is time to reduce the price…significantly. Usually, this means at least a 5% price reduction. If another month goes by & still no offers, it’s time to reduce it again. Unless your listing was totally mis-marketed (not on the MLS, not online, no public showings, no photos), the reason your home has not sold is almost always because the asking price is too high.

Tags: money magazine, pricing your home

The 5 Most Important Factors Affecting the Sale of Your Home in San Francisco

When you are ready to sell your home in San Francisco, it’s important to keep perspective. If Sellers wear “rose-colored” glasses, today’s home buyers are sporting a darker shade. If there’s a problem, they’ll notice it so if you are serious about listing (and selling your home), I recommend you consider the 5 most important factors that will affect the outcome of your San Francisco home sale.

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Tags: Factors affecting the sale, home seller, listing

Insider Tips for San Francisco First Time Buyers

Insider Secrets for San Francisco Bay Area First Time Buyers – A Must-Read for ALL Prospective Home Buyers

Trulia published a very helpful blog post about the process of buying your first home. I devote a lot of blog-time to first time home buyers in San Francisco because helping you is a particular passion of mine. My impression is that the more information and insight you get up-front, the more you understand what to expect and when, the more enjoyable and successful your home purchase will be.

Here are the highlights but please read the entire post on The Suprising Insider Secrets for the 5 Stages of Buying Your First Home.

The 5 Stages of Buying a Home per Trulia Advice that, of course, we agree with! (Note my personal emphasis in parenthesis. Kind of rhyme intended.)

Stage One: Deciding Whether It’s The Right Time to Buy.
Insider Secret: (Whether you are in Bernal Heights, Noe Valley, or Pacific Heights,) the market is the least important factor you should consider when deciding whether and when to buy a home.

Stage Two: Getting Pre-Approved (at the beginning of your house hunt).
Insider Secret: Working with a mortgage broker referred by your real estate broker or agent may save you money.

Stage Three: House Hunting
Insider Secret: “Distressed” doesn’t always equal “discounted” – in some cases, a “regular” sale can be a deeper deal. (And to this that the majority of so-called short sales will never close escrow. We work in the distressed home market & have negotiated plenty of short sales, foreclosures and bank-owned REO properties. We can spot the situations with the best and worst chance of working out for the buyer.)

Stage Four: Negotiations
Insider Secret: Your family and friends can cause you to lose your dream home.

Stage Five: Escrow, Inspections and Underwriting
Insider Secret: It’s critical that you attend your home inspections. (And have them! With very few exceptions, we recommend that a buyer have their own professional home inspection.)

More posts related to San Francisco first time home buyer tips & advice:

• 10 Things to Remember When Buying a Home
• The Process of Buying a Home in San Francisco, Specifically
• 2011 Home Buying Resolutions
• Loan Preapproval Process – What documentation is needed for a home loan application
• How Many Homes Should I See Before Making an Offer?
• Loan Preapproval Before Open Houses
• A Brief History of the 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

Tags: 1st-time buyer, First Time Buyer, first-time home buying, trulia

Want the lowest interest rate when buying your first home in San Francisco? Don’t do these things.

When it comes to buying a home, there is one word that becomes more important than almost all others: CREDIT.

Unless you just cashed out your Google stock (and we’re an early hire), you’ll probably need to get a home loan in order to buy your first home in San Francisco. As a San Francisco first time home buyer, in order to get a mortgage with the lowest interest rate and the best terms, you’ll need to have CREDIT, and good credit at that!

Let’s say you have good credit*. You’ve done the right things, some of which may seem illogical…

Side note: For example, did you know that in order to have good credit, you need to actually have some debt (and pay it regularly and on-time)? Over the years, I have helped more than a few clients who thought that by staying credit card and debt-free, buying what they need in cash or with their debit card, that they were doing the financially responsible thing…and that their reward would be the so-called good credit of the debt-free. Think again. If you don’t have an unsecured credit card, go get one. You don’t have to use it regularly and certainly, this is not an invitation to go crazy shopping at Barneys. Think always, “What would Suze Orman do?” But, go get a credit card, use it, and then pay it monthly and on-time.

Back to the topic at hand.

You have good credit.
You’re employment is relatively stable.
You saved a down payment.
You are ready to buy your starter home in Bernal Heights or your designer condo in Mission Dolores.
You got preapproved for a great home loan through a local, reputable mortgage broker or banker.
You’ve chosen your SF Realtor.You went house-hunting.You made an offer.You are now in escrow.
Think you’re sliding into home (pun intended), don’t you?

Think again and do not, we repeat, do not do the following things when you are purchasing a home.**

1. Avoid moving you money around from one account to another.  If you need to move money, establish a complete paper trail of the money leaving one account and entering another.
2. Any deposits of large money (including gift money from relatives) into any account need to be sourced by making a copy of the check and deposit receipt, or the wire transfer order.
3. Avoid making a large purchase on credit or allowing your credit to be run, i.e. by a car dealership. Just wait to buy that Mini until AFTER the close of escrow.
4. Do not close any credit card accounts or credit lines – call your mortgage broker before doing anything regarding your credit.
5. Avoid changing jobs – especially if you are in escrow.
6. Avoid extensive travel during your escrow period. (Although, in our experience, when you are buying or selling a home, especially in a jet-setter locale like San Francisco, one of the main characters (buyer or seller) will go out of town. Don’t fret. We can coordinate home purchases or sales from anywhere in the world. It’s real estate 3.0, yo.)

Of course, life goes on even when you are in escrow to purchase your first pad (Noe Valley condo, Soma loft, Bernal Heights house, Mission Dolores duplex, etc) so just keep your team (Realtor and Mortgage Broker) informed and don’t make any major financial decisions without letting us know.

* Don’t have good credit…yet. Here are some tips on how to build good credit so you can qualify for the best home loan rates and terms when you decide to buy a home in SF.

** At Zephyr Real Estate, we’re blessed to have the ongoing help of some of the most experienced, knowledgeable, and competent mortgage brokers in San Francisco. Our Guarantee Mortgage team of home loan specialists rock and you’ll be well-served to work with any of them. They help us stay informed and provided us with this list of what NOT to do when buying your first home in San Francisco.

Tags: credit, First Time Buyer, Home Buying Tips, mortgage broker

Green Living for Homeowners

Everything now a days is “green” friendly.  Even SFHotlist is green (have you received our fun SFHotlist reusable bag?).  Here are some great resources for finding out how you can live green and some green living tips for homeowners.

FYPower.org/Flex your power: Enter a zip code and search for local rebates, energy audits, etc.

Cheers.org/California Home Energy Efficiency Rating Services: Rates and certifies home builders on energy-efficient construction

Green.CAR.org/California Association or Realtors: Has information for homeowners, Realtors and the general public on how to green their living spaces

EasyEcoBlog.com: Blog posts with tips that are doable with minimal effort

NARI.org/National Association of the Remodeling Industry: Facts about green remodeling

EnergyStar.gov: Offers guidelines for energy audits and management, green construction and rebates

Tags: Green Living

San Francisco Real Estate – Buyer Beware or Get a Professional Home Inspection

Part of an ongoing series of San Francisco real estate & related guest bloggers, here is one of San Francisco’s top residential home inspectors, Bill Thomson of the Thomson Builder Group, letting you know all about the home inspection process when buying a home in San Francisco.

“ASK THE INSPECTOR… ABOUT HOME INSPECTIONS

One of the most important processes in buying a home is having it properly inspected.  The inspector can give you information about the property so that you will be more familiar with it and as a result have a better understanding of it. (SFHotlist – This is true whether you are buying a Bernal Heights single family home or a Mission Dolores condo.)

FINDING A HOME INSPECTOR:

Your real estate agent is a good resource for recommendations of home inspectors.  (SFHotlist – We keep an updated list of reliable local home inspectors for our clients to choose from. Other San Francisco home resources & service providers) Be sure to choose an inspector who is a licensed general contractor.  There is no licensing body for home inspectors themselves.  Choosing an individual who is a licensed general contractor can ensure that your inspector has reasonable qualifications.  Your inspector should at least have 10 years experience as a licensed general contractor

Be sure your home inspector has specific experience in expecting homes in the part of the Bay area in which the building is located.  If you’re purchasing a home in San Francisco, for example you want an inspector who has specific experience with the types of problems and repairs that typically occur in buildings of the type you’re purchasing. (SFHotlist – For example, are you buying an Inner Mission loft, a Duboce Triangle TIC, or maybe a Forest Hill single family home? Make sure your inspector knows the type of architecture.)

Your home inspector should not only be making specific recommendations for repairs but should also provide advice on the maintenance of the building and the installations with in it.

It’s a good idea to choose an inspector who has specific experience with the building department that has jurisdiction over the area in which the building is being purchased.  Most of my experience is in San Francisco.  I’m very familiar with the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection and the codes that they apply.

Your home inspector should have appropriate insurance.  They should carry errors and omissions insurance of at least $500,000.  This can protect you in case there is a serious mistake.  An example would be the report indicates that the furnaces in good condition, but two months later the furnace causes fire that damages the property the inspector’s errors and omissions insurance could come into play regarding that damage.

If you are using one of the larger San Francisco real estate companies such as Zephyr Real Estate, Pacific Union, McGuire, Paragon, Coldwell Banker, Prudential, Vanguard Properties or any of the other larger companies they will likely insure that a “Certificate of Insurance” by the inspector is on file with them.  However, it never hurts to ask.

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Tags: bill thomson, Home Inspection

FAQ: Considering Selling a Home in San Francisco? What Factors Will Affect Your Home Sale?

Q: We own a home in San Francisco and are considering selling it. What are the most important factors to consider as we make our decision to sell?

A: This question is about control. Who controls what in real estate? There are many factors, both global and local, that will affect your results when it is time to sell your San Francisco home, whether it’s a Bernal Heights single family house or a Mission Dolores condominium.

Here is our Cheat Sheet to the 6 most important components that will affect your results (both sales price and time on the market) when it comes time to sell your home. I hope you find it helpful. Buzz us if you have questions!

• Location, as in where your property is located.

  • Are you on a quiet block or a loud thoroughfare? Are you convenient to public transit and local restaurants & shops? Or, must you drive everywhere? Do you have a view or a pleasant outlook? Or, do you look out onto a parking lot or into another unit? You can the drift.
  • This item is FIXED. Neither you, nor I, can control the location of your property. It is where it is.

• Financing, as in what financing will be available for the home buyer.

  • Depending on the economy, interest rates may be high, low, or in-between. Financing guidelines may be loose or strict. It may be very hard for a home buyer to qualify for a home loan or it could be easy. How much down payment will be required of the buyer? Is the property a single family home, a condo, or a TIC?
  • There are many issues to consider. While we are not mortgage specialists, we make it a point to stay current on financing conditions. We want to know what types of home loans are available and what it takes to qualify.
  • Current financing options has a direct impact on your home sale but, you guessed it, this item is also FIXED.

• Property Condition, as in what shape is your home in?

  • A real estate professional will advise you on the condition of your property. We take the time to help our home seller clients decide what is important and what would be a waste of money when it comes to fixing up your property for sale. Generally speaking, you want your home to show as well as possible because it will mean that you will sell your property for more money in less time.
    • Some combination of cosmetic repairs, wood floor refinishing, painting, garden clean-up, and staging (both clearing clutter and furniture staging) are often on the to-do list.
  • The property’s condition is controlled by THE SELLER and property owner. We’ll give you our best advice based on what works in the marketplace to drive up the sales price but, ultimately, it is your home and your decision.

• Market Exposure, as in getting the right offer to the right people at the right time.

  • Real estate marketing is about targeted exposure. What’s most important about marketing a home for sale is promoting your home’s listing to serious, qualified home buyers and the local San Francisco real estate agents who work with them. Although we do want some degree of broad exposure because we don’t know who will be that right buyer, we want to pin-point our efforts to create buzz amongst the folks who are most likely to buy and qualified to make the purchase at a price that will be acceptable to you as the seller. Marketing a home for sale in San Francisco is an art and will be specific depending on location, say Noe Valley real estate or Pacific Heights.
  • Aha, finally, something controlled by yours truly! Yes, in real estate, proper marketing and exposure is controlled by THE AGENT.

• List Price

  • Choosing a correct list price from the start of marketing a home is crucial and will have a direct impact on your net proceeds or walk-away money. Correct pricing requires your real estate consultant to have savvy market knowledge. We will consider relevant properties (your home’s competition) and how many real buyers exist for a type of home like yours. We also want to consider the other items on this list: location, financing, condition, and exposure. How much home preparation and staging you agree plays an important role in choosing a list price.
  • Alas, as much as I wish I could say that the agent controls the list price, it is actually controlled by THE SELLER. We’ll do our best to help you choose a smart list price, but it is your house and your decision.
  • CAUTION: Please do not choose your agent based on the list price they promise you. This is called “buying the listing” and is a totally ineffective way to sell your home. Typically, the agent who promises you the moon is, as fellow Texan Laurie Moore-Moore would say, “All hat and no cattle.” This leads me to the final factor affecting your San Francisco real estate sale….

• Final Sales Price

  • Real estate is a capitalist market and is governed by the Law of Supply and Demand. Ergo, the final sales price is controlled by the Market. The Market speaks through THE BUYER and it is THE BUYER who controls the sales price of your home. Of course, there is a lot that a trained real estate professional and a cooperative home seller can do to positively affect the sales price (and your net proceeds which is more important) but we don’t control it.

Tags: control, Factors affecting the sale, Home Selling, selling a home

San Francisco Real Estate – Is it smart to trade up to a nicer or bigger or ideally-located home in a buyer’s market?

San Francisco Real Estate Conundrum: Is it smart to trade up to a nicer or bigger or ideally-located home in a buyer’s market?

Under many circumstances, it is smart to trade up in a buyer’s market. How can this statement be true? Let’s look at an example.

Example:  Let’s follow two San Francisco properties from peak to trough of a SF real estate market cycle.

• Home #1 – The starter home: Inner Mission 1 Bedroom Loft Condo
• Home #2 – The desired trade-up home: Noe Valley 2+ Bedroom Single Family Home

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Tags: Buyer's Market, trading up

Buying a home in San Francisco? Why it’s crucial to get preapproved for financing before beginning the house hunt.

If you are buying a home in San Francisco, it is crucial to get preapproved for a mortgage before beginning the house hunt.

Why?

1. You’ll know exactly what you can afford. Understanding your purchasing power and any limitations * is integral to an efficient, focused home search. Spend your time looking at homes you can afford to actually buy. By focusing on homes that meet your needs, you’ll get a sense of market value for yourself and be able to make a smart decision as to which home to buy. There are many advantages to loan preapproval when SF home buying.
2. Real Estate Agents will take you seriously. (At least, the experienced ones will.) Working with a great buyer’s agent is key, and a great agent will insist that loan preapproval is one of your first steps.
3. Sellers will take you seriously. In SF, your offer on a home will simply not be taken seriously unless accompanied by a preapproval letter from a reputable mortgage broker or banker.
4. All in all, you’ll get a better deal. The best deals in the competitive SF real estate market go to focused, preapproved home buyers working with credible, assertive agents.

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Tags: loan preapproval, preapproval letter, preapproval v prequalification

I want to sell my current San Francisco home and buy another one either here in SF or in another area. How does this work? Is there a way to time it so I am not “in-between” homes? How do I know how much I can afford in my next home?

Question: I want to sell my current San Francisco home and buy another one either here in SF or in another area. How does this work? What is a good time line for buying and selling? Is there a way to time it so I am not “in-between” homes? How do I know how much I can afford in my next home?

Answer: Whether you want to sell your home right away or just sometime in the next year, there are some simple things which, when done ahead of time, will increase your chances of getting the highest return on your investment.

Here are the 5 main steps involved in selling a home and buying a new one.

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Tags: buy and sell a home, time line of buying and selling