The real estate is heated up even the weather is cooling off now.

Yesterday I showed a REO home there are 5 groups with their realtors to check it out.
If you like to see from the San Jose Mercury News regarding the market you can click this link. http://bit.ly/R6AYz This Sept 2009 shows 17% gain of from last year to this.There are mutiple offers and all cash buyers to purchase the homes especially under $500K.
I think all the buyers finally woke up and find out they have to compete with the all cash buyers for a San Jose only 3 years new for $400K and about 2000 sf. Those KB homes were sold in between $650K to 700K.

The left side  Sunnyvale Bank owned home garage converted to a big living room. The right side of Sunnyvale REO home garage coverted to 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. The non-permitted construction is an issue in any home sale. The bank owned home sellers do not disclose anything and it will only sell it “AS IS” condition also. On top of this some lenders don’t even give loan to  the homes with non permitted construction, so many those homes end up sold to the all cash buyers. 

The new buyers will assume all the responsility. If the neighbors complain to the city for this addition. then  the city  building code inspector  would decide if the structure stays or goes. Some of the cities will require the buyer to convert the garage back as an orginal garage. Some cities will allow you to  retrofite up to the current building code and issue you a code compliance.

Buying a Unpermitted alternation homes do have some risk involved.

We all know we in a buyer’s market, the buyer’s have a buffet to choose from all kinds of the homes. There are a lot of good deals now I found a good REO (Real Estate Owned) home at 418 S Mary Ave in Sunnyvale asking price is only  $420,750. It is a 3 bedrooms 2 baths 2 car garage home. The schools are Cumberland, Sunnyvale Middle, Homestead High. This home is listed by REO group of RE/MAX Real Estate Services. Last spring there was a home at the Mary Ave sold for $692,000.  This home is about $270,000 lower then last home. This home is a REO home. What is the tips to buy a REO home?

• Finding a good realtor: A good realtor will help you find the home and assist you to submit the offer.
• Prepare the financial statement: Unless you can pay all cash home then you need a direct lender to write a pre-approval letter . You meet with a few lenders to find out one can offer you the best interest rate and term and just work with one.
• Determine the market value of the home: Ask the realtor to prepare a Market Analysis for this home. You use the current available homes, pending homes and sold within 1 years near by homes. Don’t low ball the home. Usually the bank owned home are low. If you think you can still negotiate on top of them you will not get it.
• AS IS condition: Most of the bank owned homes sold “AS IS” condition and without seller’s disclosure either. It is very important to allow yourself time to inspect the home before you commit to buy. That means what you see is what you get. The biggest rish of buying “AS IS” condition home: there are hidden damage to the home. It could be the broken foundation, leaky roof, or unpermitted addtion etc.  You need to look carefully before you submit an offer.

• Sweeten the deal: You may shorten the inspection period. Offer to pay half the title insurance cost. Make sure the buyer’s agent follow what  requirement was set up by the listing agent. If the listing agent required using BOA to qualify you, you have to do so. This home a work sheet is required, then your agent has to prepare the work sheet.

Wow! Is it possible to buy a home without money?
As the loan guide line is tough now, it is very difficult to buy any home without down payment. Today I come across an interesting infromation that city of Santa clara. This city of Santa Clara Below Market Price Housing Program administered by neighborhood housing services silicon valley (NHSSV). It offers a 5 year deffed secondary loan of $125K with zero interest during the deferrment period, for the first time home buyers. You may contact NHSSV for a list of preferred lenders.

The applicants must not exceed the following income limits:

• Household of 2 persons = $101,300
• Household of 3 persons = $113,900
• Household of 4 persons =$126,600

Income limits are  based on the total gross before taxs annuyal income per household
You will need the proof of employment, residency and other list of preferred lenders, The applicants must submit a pre-qualification or preapproval letter froma direct lender for a 30 year fixed rate conventional loan.

It is a difficult task to save money any time but if you determine to buy a home why don’t you follow my money saving tips:

1. Create a budget : You start writing down your monthly living budget such as rent, food, gas, insurance etc.  Put down your monthly income as next page. Figure out how much extra money do you have each month.  From the real number you create a realisic budget goal and maintain the budget as it goes. If you click the link of “create a budget” then you can find a budge builder tool from www.thebeehive.org to create a budget.

2. Put the extra income to an interest bearing account. You can set aside 10% of gross income in that account. In this way you wrould never know you have this money. You put the extra income like birth gife or raise to the saving also.

3. Cut down your living expense: Cut down the buying need can save money. Find ways to cut down expense: I remember my parent used to say:” A penny saved is a penny earned.”. Skip reading the “On Sale” advertising from the newspaper will be a good way to avoid the temptation. Have you heard about the “Latte effect”?  If the latte cost $3.00 a day then one month will be $90 and 10 years will be $18,559 based on the USA today. You will be amazed that how much money you can save.
4. Stick to your budget plan: the saving goal could $1,000 monthly or 10% of your monthly income. You have to keep on saving month after month.
5. Increase your income: Do you have extra time and energy to find a part time job?or sell your stuff that you don’t need on www.ebay.com

Tips

• Tell your friends and family member that you are going to buy home and you are cut down the unnecessary expense.
• Put your budget near computer screen so you will see it daily.
• Ask help from your family members or spouse to save together.

I found a Cupertino  short sale homes asking only $499K today. I rubbed my eyes to see if I come cross a mistake. It is not a mistake! This small 2 bedrooms and one bath fix upper home with over 6000 sf lot. Considering the  median sales price of $927,500 for 95014 , this small fixer upper is a steal. A real estate short sale is a type of pre-foreclosure sale in which the lender agrees to sell a property for less than the mortgage owed by the owner.

Yes! This Rancho Rinchonada area of Cupertino home price just like the price durning the year of 2002 or 2003. Accordining the Wikipedia that “Rancho Rinconada is a residential neighborhood in the eastern part of Cupertino, California. It is bordered by Saratoga Creek (just west of Lawrence Expressway), Stevens Creek Boulevard, Miller Road, and Bollinger Road. Cupertino High School, Sedgwick Elementary School, and Hyde Middle School.” There are many large newer home up to 1.5 Millions and small home as this one for only $495K. There home owners and flippers built larger homes in this area.

Rancho Rinconda  is a unique area. It is the most affordable area in Cupertino . This area  has blocks and blocks of  inexpensively built homes. As the time goes by some of the larger and newer homes were built in between of those small homes. We all know the value is in the LAND. If you buy this home you can either redevelope or add roomes  to it.

Really? Uncle Sam helps First-Time Homebuyers to buy home!

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan on May 29 announced the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will allow homebuyers to apply the Obama Administration’s new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit toward the purchase costs of an FHA-insured home. He said this action will help stabilize the nation’s housing market by stimulating home sales across the country. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers homebuyers a tax credit up to $8,000 for purchasing their first home. Families can access this credit after filing their tax returns with the IRS. The new announcement detailed FHA’s rules allowing state Housing Finance Agencies and certain non-profits to “monetize” up to the full amount of the tax credit (depending on the amount of the mortgage) so that borrowers can immediately apply the funds toward their down payments. Home buyers using FHA-approved lenders can apply the tax credit to their down payment in excess of 3.5 percent of appraised value or their closing costs, which can help achieve a lower interest rate. You may visit the HUD web site to learn this new rule.Currently, borrowers applying for an FHA-insured mortgage are required to make a minimum 3.5 percent down payment on the purchase of their home. Now the lenders can use the tax credit as additional down payment, or closing costs, which can buy down the interest rate. In addition to the borrower’s own cash investment, FHA allows parents, employers and other governmental entities to contribute towards the down payment. This action permits the first-time homebuyer’s anticipated tax credit under the Recovery Act to be applied toward the family’s home purchase right away. The Administration’s homebuyer tax credit is estimated to stimulate 160,000 home sales across the nation -101,000 of will be first-time buyers to receive the credit. .Homebuyers should beware of mortgage scams and carefully compare benefits and costs when seeking out tax credit monetization services. For every FHA borrower who is assisted through the tax credit program, FHA will collect the name and employer identification number of the organization providing the service as well as associated fees and charges. FHA will use this information to track the business closely and will refer any questionable practices to the appropriate regulatory agencies, as necessary. This news source came from the SILVAR (Silicon Valley Association Realtors) Friday Fact.
If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property in Santa Clara County ( sunnyvale, Cupertino, Saratoga, Moutain View, San jose..), California please contact Grace Keng, REALTOR® at 408 799-8887

Have you heard of the REO homes? It is also known as Bank Owned property; and they are the investor’s golden dream. These Bank Owned properties (REO) offer many financial advantages while lowering the risk associated with the purchase of a foreclosed property. The REO property offers quick equity due the purchase price is low. You may check a home in SC the investor walked away $108,000 gross in three months of owning this REO home. Those properties will always be vacant. They are ready for rehab, rent and home ownership. There are one in Cupertino, CA. The address is at 10524 S TANTAU AV, Cupertino 95014 (Cupertino)
$579,000 Beds: 2 bedrooms Baths: 1 bath. It was listed by Lydia Kou Alain Pinel Realtors. If you like to buy the bank owned home in Silicon Valley, Please contact me.

Sunnyvale Bank Owned homeI just found out a great Sunnyvale Bank owned home or REO home at

Sunnyvale just on the market as February 12, 2009.  It is a 4 bedrooms, 3 bath and2 garage with about 1832 sf and 2 story home. Now I will believe there is a gem in REO home.  Some buyers thought there must be some thing wrong with bank owned home. I don’t think so. I do see you have to work with an experienced Silicon Valley Realtor who understands buy or sell a REO home. It is more then ever the buyers need to be aware.The buyer needs to hire an inspector to inspect the home because the bank seller will not and can not give out the seller disclosure. The realtor needs to provide the buyer a written visual inspection report about any visual issues the realtor had found.  Another red flag will be city permit. Is there an non permitted bathroom? I have a buyer almost going to purchase a Sunnyvale bank owned property. We found out that there are additions done without permit and the city knew about it. In another words, the lender will not offer a home like that.