Coastal Real Estate and Lifestyles

Thanks to my colleague Jan Gray for sending this email to all of us at our Coldwell Banker offices yesterday -

“There was a house fire last night on 6th Street - everything is gone.  There is an urgent need for some clothes and shoes.  Her size is small; shoe size 7 or 7-1/2.  Husband is about a 34 x 32 (est) and we don’t know his shoe size yet.  They will also need some bedding and towels, and anything else you can donate that you think will get them through this.”

The family is staying in temporary housing right now.  Please drop off towels, bedding, and call about clothes sizes to 1415 Main Street, Montara, or 248 Main Street, Half Moon Bay between the hours of 8:30 and 5 Mon-Fri.

Thank you.

Premier Termite and Cameron’s Inn have come together (well, they’re related anyway - brothers) to offer a couple of Holiday Specials you should know about.

$50 off your next Structural Pest Inspection with Inspectors Kevin Palmer or Gabe Pack (650-726-7756)

AND

Buy ONE get ONE free at Cameron’s Inn - either a Burger or Fish & Chips Plate (650-726-5705)

Offer good through January 31, 2010

If you’re planning to list your property for sale in February, a January inspection is good timing.  This gives you time to decide if you want to take care of any of the necessary repairs yourself as part of your pricing strategy.  Or if you’re not planning on selling and it’s been five or more years since you’ve had an inspection, the winter is a good time and having a little discount is nice too.  Premier Termite is one of the local inspection companies that is well respected because they know the ins and outs of local pest, dry rot and construction issues, as well as being professional and timely.  (And no, we get no special favors…Realtors use the companies who provide the best service to our clients, period.)

Related article:

Bugs as Guests:  Orange Oil an Option - Fumigation may still be needed

You do.  We buy and sell homes in earthquake country.  We’re used to it and we advise sellers and buyers of their rights and obligations to protect themselves here.  Thank goodness we’re not dealing with tornadoes…I’ve lived in Michigan!  I’m going to break it down a little here for you.  Pay attention to compliance disclosures at a point of sale - here’s an example…

California Health and Safety Code 19211.

(b) The seller of any real property containing a water heater shall certify to the prospective purchaser that this section has been complied with. This certification shall be made in writing, and may be included in existing transactional documents, including, but not limited to, the Homeowner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety published pursuant to Section 10149 of the Business and Professions Code, a real estate sales contract or receipt for deposit, or a transfer disclosure statement pursuant to Section 1102.6 or 1102.6a of the Civil Code.

Two disclosures related to earthquake safety are the Residential Earthquake Hazards Report questionnaire and the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement.  Local purchase contracts (Item 4C on C.A.R. and Item 9 on PRDS) specify that the seller provide property disclosures that include environmental, natural hazard, earthquake and other compliance statements for the protection of both parties.

The Earthquake Hazards Report Form is included in the Homeowner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety booklet given to the buyer with their disclosure package.  The seller has checked off the boxes and signed it.  The seller will want to check to make sure he is in compliance and the Realtor will want to make sure they’re handing out the most current version of the booklet.

The Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement and Report is compiled by a third party company.  This report tells the buyer some important things about the house they are considering - such as whether the property is located in an Earthquake Fault Zone, a Seismic Hazard Zone for landslides, or a Seismic Hazard Zone for liquefaction.  It will also tell you what it means to be in these locations. 

In addition to these seller disclosures, the buyer is advised to get a home inspection.  The home inspector will discuss areas of the property that may be seismically unsafe and warrant further inspection by a specialist - two common discussion points are the foundation and water heater.  Most seller homes that I see have their water heaters strapped, however there are more than you would think that have them strapped improperly, as pointed out by home inspectors.

As an example, I stopped in Oceanshore Hardware on Tuesday to check on their water heater strapping kits for this post.  As I discussed the confusion that we sometimes experience between sellers and buyers, the owner, Larry Hassett, agreed that there is a “disconnect”.  A seller will honestly believe the water heater is strapped properly and a buyer will ask that it be strapped to be in compliance before they take possession.  A good listing agent will get it done pronto because it protects their client!

Back at the hardware store, Larry also pointed out that the marketing on the packages may be misleading when it comes to resale homes (water heater already installed).  So he graciously took the time to open the package… sure enough, there was a plastic “block” allowing the company to advertise “California compliant”, but as he points out and as I’ve seen firsthand, what’s in the package may not be the right piece for your house.  Bring in a plumber or contractor to have it assessed and sleep at night knowing at least your water heater isn’t going anywhere when the rumbling starts.

Water Heater bracing general instructions

Related Article:

Coastside Continues to Prepare for the Big One.

Some day, most listings will have the home’s green point rating number displayed along with the other features on its property brochure.  For now, I’m finally beginning to hear open home visitors mention the word “green” when referring to listings they’re visiting.

However, there’s a new phrase in town, and it’s called “green point rating”.  A California-based professional non-profit organization, named Built It Green started with a GreenPoint rating for new homes first.  They then added GreenPoint rating for remodels and multi-family homes.  It’s called “GreenPoint” because each system in the home is graded on a point system (between 1-4) on the level of energy savings, environmental friendliness, water conservation, and indoor air quality.  Check out their site at builtingreen.org for the checklists, what they’re working on now, local green raters, government ordinances and incentives by city/county in California, and much more.

San Mateo County Green Building Ordinance

In my opinion, listings that have green features, such as solar panels, FSC-certified wood, dual pane windows, low-flow toilets and shower heads, need to include a Features/Benefits sheet in their disclosure packages.  In other words, if the seller has already invested thousands of dollars in the property by installing solar panels to save electricity, show the buyer the savings!  In our information overload society, we need to point out the most advantageous features and how they will benefit the buyer if we want to get their attention.  Knowing your green point rating, or having a good rating is a feature that can easily be translated into cost saving and added comfort benefits to your buyer.

I’ll follow this up with a post about the most notable Coastside listings with green features.  Also, I made some great contacts at the Coastside Green Energy Fair a couple weeks ago.  All that’s to come also, when time allows!

You are invited to meet some interesting, fun, and knowledgeable local experts this weekend.  While you’re at it, you may end up saving some time and money as a result of stopping by.  Look for this ad in the Half Moon Bay Review Wed. 3/18 (tomorrow).

Coastside-Living Green Fair downloadable flyer for printing.

Please call your Coldwell Banker Realtor or our Half Moon Bay office at 650-726-1100.  Thanks to colleague, Kathy Rain, for coordinating this timely and fun local event, including the above flyer.  Thanks also to the local businesses who are presenters for donating their time and energy for our community.  Here’s links to the presenters:

Solar Universe Network

Harrell Remodeling

Solabrite

The Sustainable Center of SSF

Emerson Environmental

The Goddess of Garbage

CAL Pacific Hydronics

Green Intention Design

Sunrise Painting

Caccia Plumbing - Tankless Hotwater heaters

If you subscribe to the San Mateo County Alert system, you would have gotten this notice today like I did.

You can see the rest of the notice at smcalert.info.

In fact, I did receive this piece of mail from “Property Tax Reassessment” within the past week and it does look official.  I set it aside to read the fine print later.  When I read today’s alert while out on the new listings tour, I stopped at home to see if it asks for the $179 fee….yes, it does. 

To see if you qualify for a property tax reassessment for your coastside home, contact the San Mateo County Assessor directly or download the application from their website here.

This is a loan for someone wanting to build in rehab/renovation costs into the first mortgage.  This avoids a second loan.  It’s a great product for first time home buyers who plan to live in their new home and who may be tight on the extra cash needed to make small improvements.  The other loan associated with this product is the 203K loan which has higher limits but may require permits for the work if structural changes are involved.  Note that this is a different product form the Streamline loan.  From HUD’s fha.gov site:

FHA’s New Streamlined 203(k)
HUD has developed a new FHA insured mortgage, called the “Streamlined (K)” Limited Repair Program, that permits homebuyers to finance an additional $35,000 into their mortgage to improve or upgrade their home before move-in. With this new product, homebuyers can quickly and easily tap into cash to pay for property repairs or improvements, such as those identified by a home inspector or FHA appraiser.

This is also a worthwhile consideration for first time buyers who might not have considered a fixer.  Contact your lender about this option for financing.  Not all lenders will have this program available to them AND the lender will need to be FHA approved.  Ask for referrals.  I just completed an FHA Streamline transaction on an REO sale in the Half Moon Bay area.  Scott Hershberger, Lanning Financial, Guarantee Mortgage handled the loan.

The loan is based on the “after renovation” value of the home.  You find out the costs by getting bids from the professionals who will do the work (general contractor, window contractor, flooring contractor, etc.)  The appraiser looks at the bids.  I referred the buyers to local contractors and they also did their own research.  Most non-structural projects can be done; your lender can provide you with the list of authorized renovations.  The bid includes the written price estimate as well as a Bio/references.  None of the contractors had heard of this type of loan or been involved in one.  The lender advised us that the most time-consuming portion of this loan was getting the contractors to get their “paperwork” in quickly.  That was not the case for us.  All the contractors were timely and professional.  Of course, we stayed in communication with them to keep them in the loop about the timing and process.

The money is held in a separate escrow account after the close of escrow and two disbursements are made.  One payment shortly after escrow to give your contractors a deposit and the balance is paid at the completion of the job.  The contractors have six months to finish the job and be paid.  Then the escrow account is closed.

What a great way to give first time home buyers the extra cash needed to bring their new home up to par, increase the value in a neighborhood, and “stimulate” the local economy by giving our local contractors more work to do!

Image provided by Absolute Floors in Half Moon Bay, CA.

Sustainability.  Sustain a mortgage, sustain a city, sustain a home, and of course, sustain our planet.  This will require a shift in our collective thinking.  Sustainability has yet to reach a tipping point, yet many of us are beginning to make lifestyle decisions based on their sustainability factors.

Home vs investment.  The debate continues as to whether your primary residence real estate purchase is a investment, in the true sense, in addition to your home.  The coming year will see a shift based on the basic question:  “Is this the home I want to be in for several years?” versus “Could this property give me a good return on my investment?”  Those of us looking at retirement strategies are asking this question again.

Conventional wisdom will be questioned.  Buyers and sellers will begin to realize that lives cannot or will not wait for the big guns to get their act together.  We’re in unprecedented times and we’re all adjusting.  Rather, they are beginning to take a hard look at their current financial situation, and will begin to strategize on how to get to the next step in their lives.  Call it thinking out of the box, or tossing old “tapes” that no longer apply.

News source selection.  Consumers have control over where they get their real estate news, but many don’t know it yet.  They still read the newspaper headlines, web news headlines, or mainstream media.  More and more people will select their media sources and news feeds for additional information, or trends, or analysis on issues that they feel is pertinent to the decisions they need to make.  Select your information sources into a custom Reader, download podcasts from respected sources, read the blogs of industry experts.  These sources are becoming more respected and used.

Know your Neighbor.  It just seems like the more deregulated we became, the more isolated we became.  (This is not a political statement, just an observation!)  Connections is a keyword of 2009.  Whether it’s within a local community, neighborhood, office, or industry.  There are more ways than ever to connect; however, connecting will go beyond just adding a name to your “friend” list, or attending the annual picnic.  It will be more about what can we learn from each other, or create together, or share with each other on a regular basis.

Ok, so why did I come up with such a list and why this list of 5 topics?

I started this post because I’m reading articles with the word “sustainable” in them practically every day.  My realization that this concept will continue to evolve beyond just environmental concerns got me thinking about what else I think will change in 2009.  The other four quickly came to mind.  They are just my opinion.

There may be others, they just didn’t come to me this morning.  Share a comment if you have another thought or want to expand on one of the issues.  Let’s make 2009 a good year.  Thanks for reading.

Happy New Year.

Got a little red postcard in my office mail box yesterday from respected local structural pest inspectors, Premier Termite & Construction.  I called owner, Kevin Palmer, to see if it was okay that I post his special offer so that you can benefit from this also.

Premier is offering pest inspections for $50 off the normal price between now and May 31, 2009.  Mention “special” when booking your inspection.  Normal price for a single family home (under 3,000 square feet) is $275; regular charge for condos and townhouses is $200.

Premier is based here on the San Mateo County coastside (Half Moon Bay), and works throughout San Mateo County and some outlying San Francisco neighborhoods.  They’ve been in business for 20 years.

If you find a suspicious looking creepy crawlie while you’re doing your winter clean up, give Kevin a call and he can probably tell you what it is.  650-726-7756.

Related articles:

Munch, Munch, Munch:  Coastside Firms interrupt bugs’ lunch by Armadillosoft.com

Structural pest control treatment options:  Coastside Real Estate and Lifestyles post 2/7/2008

Repayment plans and loan modifications may become popular in the next twelve months.  We’re well into absorbing the unsustainable subprime loans.  Let’s hope the lenders have the foresight right now to be working on, that is, modifying, the Option-ARM (borrower has option of making lower monthly payments to their adjustable rate mortgage rather than the full principle and interest amount for a set period of time) loans that were popular in California a few years ago.

A loan modification is when one or more terms in the existing mortgage/deed of trust is negotiated, accepted and documented.  According to bankrate.com’s article, “Fending off Foreclosure”, the servicer actually adjusts the terms of the loan to make it affordable. It may lengthen the amortization schedule or lower the interest rate to cut the monthly payments, or roll the past due amount into the loan and re-amortize the new balance so the borrower can pay the additional debt back over time.

Coastside homeowners are not immune, and I also want to make local landlords, buyers, and would-be sellers aware of these trends.  Some long time homeowners may have refinanced between 2004-2006 and now find themselves in a financial bind.  I write this to give you, or someone you may know, direction and resources.

I began educating myself when I started getting about 3-5 “loan modification” bulk sent emails a day from xyz-business I had never heard of.  So I attended a seminar sponsored by another mortgage broker that I didn’t know.  It was packed with mostly mortgage consultants and a few real estate agents.

The program, which a mortgage, real estate, or even title professional could subscribe to, cost an annual fee to join.  (I didn’t join.)  It uses a network of specialists who take on a homeowner’s file and work to improve the current loan’s terms.  The charge (held in escrow until settlement) for the homeowner needing the loan modification is about $3500.  There are restrictions on how and when fees should be paid according to the Department of Real Estate (excerpt below), so educate yourself, and work with someone you trust…

“If a Notice of Default has not been recorded against your property, it may be permissible for a real estate broker to assist you in working out a loan modification or otherwise negotiate a possible resolution to your problem with your lender or loan servicer and ask you for payment in advance for their services. However, the broker must have you sign an agreement that tells you what services will be performed, when they will be performed and how much you must pay. The broker cannot have you sign an agreement until it has been submitted to the Department of Real Estate for review and the broker has received permission to use it and collect the advance fee.”

Homeowners can do it on their own.  In my continued education on this topic, I headed to my Reader and found Seattle Realtor Ardell DellaLoggia’s post on loan modifications.  Thank you Ardell for spelling it out in a real life scenario!  Read this post and numerous interesting comments!