If you are planning to install a new fence. The chances are you will need some type of review or permit before you begin.

1). Front Yard femces: Most people dont know any fence in the front yard requires location and design review by the city of Sunnyvale planning Division and may also need a permit. The city has the design guidelines for front yeard fencing that encourage residential style and strongly discourage industrial plain cement blocks.      

2). Good Neighbor fences: The fence that separate properties along the side and rear.  A very popular and attractive good neighbor fence design is a six foot solid fence with a foot of attice along the top for total of seven feet. Any fence more than 6 feet high requires planning division review, a building permit and agreements signed by all affected neighbors. A cpy of the agreement os available at the planning division.

3). A few other tips: Fences taller than 7 feet will require consideration at a public hearing. If you live on a corner lot, there will be special fence setback provisions for your property. Aslo, fence codes change over time, and it cannot be assumed that any fence that has been in place for year, don’t need the permit. If you need more information, you may email to planning@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us

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

The Fannie Mae has sent out a new update on February 6 2009, to allow the investors to own up to 10 investment properties. Wow! It will start March 1, 2009 to replace to old guide line of 4 properties. In anther words, the investors and 2^nd home buyers can purchase up to 10 investment properties. 1). The borrowers has to purchase those invest properties on or after March 1, 2009.2) The Borrowers must maintain a credit score FICO  at least 720. The maximum L/V to be 70% to 75%.3). The borrowers cannot did not file the bankruptcy or foreclosure. The borrowers do not delinquencies of 30 days or more within a year.

With the new updates it will be a perfect time to load up investment properties.

1).  There are still many REO homes, Short sales and distress sales in

 2). The Silicon Valley rental market is still strong. Due to the side effect of foreclosures is climbing that there more renters then ever need to rent. From the rental survey sources of  Marcus & Millichap Research Services, Real Facts Online. It is still a landlord’s market. 

*Buildings with five or more units. Average rent includes units that range from studios to four-bedrooms. 

Grace Keng, Silicon Valley real estate agent,  member of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR) and memberships in the National Association of Realtors, (NAR),
the California Association of Realtors, (CAR) and PhD of Realtor - Certified Residential Specialist (CRS).

Have you think how to decorate your home to be romantic home?

Happy Valentine’s Day! The Valentine day will be a perfect day to find a romantic home. 

She managed to change a 1000 sf in  Campbell 4 plex apartment to be a beautiful French villa. Cindy Kihn-Santiago  is not a professional interior decorator by all means. She is a 48-year-old single mother of two kids who loves gardening, decorating, knitting, cooking and drawing. She shares her passion at the blogs of  my romantic home  .    After posting a photo on the network’s Rate My Space, the HGTV has found her also.   Cindy’s apartment was used as an HGTV inspiration for a couple who wanted a romantic bedroom. JCPenney handed her a $500 shopping spree for the home decor.Earlier this week she told her audience that she is hoping to land a spot on a new HGTV show, “HGTV Designer for a Day,” to work along with a host to make over a room.

The www.lookiloos.com did a story of her. If you look this web site you can find our local Silicon Valley realtors pay $75.00 to buy a spot to advertising a listing as long as the listing is alive. The aboved photo is Cindy’s kitchen window which is the courtesy from today’s  San Jose Mercury News .

Fall is here now. It is important to prepare for the winder months. Below a fall home maintenance checklist for all the homeowners:

Outside of the house:

*Roof, Gutters and Downspouts:

1). Check for any sign of leaking of roof and downspouts then reapair it as soon as possible.

2). Check for any possible leaking of the flashing on vents, chimneys, and sklights.

*Walls and windows

1). Check for any cracks and holes out side wall and repair it as needed it.

2). Inspect around the windows and doors to repair any broken frames.

*Landscapes

1). Trim trees and shrubs. Keep away from the power line.

2). Fertilize and reseed your lawn. *Chimney and Fireplace1). Call a professional to inspect and clean the chimney. 2). Test the fireplace flue to a tight seal when it is closed.

Interior of the house:

Alarm System

1). Test the smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detectors.

2). Change the batteriers.

Heating Systems:

1). Replace the filter of your furnace. Have a heating system serviced.

2). Check the heating vents are not blocked by any furnature.

Plumbing Systems:

1). Check of all the faucets in the house to see the possible leaking.

2). Replace the washers if it they are needed.

The “short sale” begins when the seller has trouble of making mortgage payments and the potential sale price is less than the mortgage amount. The seller or their agent approaches the lender asking if the banks or lenders are willing to settle for less if and when a purchase contract is signed. There are good tips for sellers.

1. Select an experienced agents have done short sales. It is not like the normal sale. The seller needs to understand that the bank is the REAL decision maker. If gatekeepers listened your case, you have are much chance to close.

2. Seller prepares to disclose:

The sellers must disclose and produce all liens on the property, taxes (income tax, property tax…), back taxes, HOA dues, financial statements, letter of hardship, proof of income, proof of potential income, proof of future income, etc.

3. Make sure the buyer’s loan and down payment is place.

Short sales can drag on for months. Some of the buyers could buy it now may not do it later. If the buyer has a hard time getting a loan, it could cost the sale and become more expensive. Some lenders could charge $100 per day of delaying fee till closing.

4. Make sure you and your agent get to see all bank documents.

5. Work with a detailed minded title officer. It could make all the difference in the world.

6. The Best scenario of escrow duration is 27 days, but it many last 30-45 days even 2 and three months long.

Thank for SILVAR realtors: Donna Dawson-Schwartz, Neal Schwartz and Scott Fleming to contribute to the valuable short sale information.

The credit score (FICO) score is a number based on the information of your credit profile to show how likely you are going to pay a loan back on time. Obviously, the higher the better. The score can be in between 300 to 850. The higher score you get a better interest rate. What is a good credit score made of? The 35% score is made of the payment history, 30% amount owed and 15% is the length of the history. To start this process, you need to know your credit score.
You may obtain one free copy of your credit report annually. Try the following links: www.annualcreditreport.com or http://www.freecreditreport.com/
or you can call 1877-322-8228 to obtain your own copy.

Once you know your score and you decide to boost your credit score. You may following the tips from the MSN 7 fast tips to improve your credit score:

1. Pay down your credit cards and pay your bills on time. The longer you pay them on time, the better your score will be. The late payments are the major problems. If you have an average score, you can raise it by as much as 20 points by paying all bills on time for 2-3 months.

2. Use your card lightly: What typically report IS the last month payment. If you can lower the charge of the credit cards do help.

3. Check you limit: The credit bureaus typically use your highest balance as a proxy for your credit limit.

4. Dust off the old card: The older your credit history, the better. But if you stop using your oldest cards, the issuers may stop updating those accounts at the credit bureaus.

5. Get some goodwill. If you have been a good customer, a lender might agree to simply erase the one late payment from your credit history. You usually have to make the request in writing, and your chances for a “goodwill adjustment” improve the better your record with that company and credit in general.

6. Dispute old negatives. If you fighted with your phone company over an unfair bill a few year ago resulted in a collections account. You can continue protesting that charge to your credit company also.

Another great article about boosting credit score is do and don’t to boost credit score.

“Short sale” becomes a buzz word nowadays but what is that?

According to About.com the short sale is

A short sale occurs when a property is sold and the lender agrees to accept a discounted payoff, meaning the lender will release the lien that is secured to the property upon receipt of less money than is actually owed.

For example: In 2004 said Lisa bought a townhouse in Campbell for $344Kwhen the market is up in either 2005 and 2006. Liza taps into her equality. She borrowed $425K from the home. Something happened she cannot make the payment. The lender filed the notice of default and the lender requests she to pay. Lisa sells her home on the market for sale as $380K. The lender receives less then what was loaned out.

There are a few steps to short sale a home:

1). Contact lenders: To find the exactly what you need to get out the loan and home.

2). Do everything the lenders needs:

That the owner need to provide a personal financial hardship letter, proof of income and assets, Preliminary Net sheet etc.

3).The accepted offer. You have to hire the realtor to sell the home.

4). Submit the offer to the lender and wait for the lender to accept this offer.

The whole process could take up to 2 to 3 months to finish a short because backlog the lender and or asset managers to handle the demands. In the beginning of 2008 the success rate of short sale was about 12%. Now it went up to 40% because the handlers are more experience to do so.

When the homeowner cannot make the monthly payment. The lender can place a notice of default to this home. The home owner usually can make the following 3 actions:

1) Make the payment

2) Hire a realtor to sell the home

3) Do nothing.

If the home owner hire a realtor to sell the home. a lot of time it is a short sale case due to the homeowner owes more money then he can sell it for example the home owner bought this home with 100% loan and the market is not as much as it used to be.

The lender will receive less then the loan. The owner’s realtor need to negotiate the sale with the lender(s) to get the offer accepted. If the short sale is not successful.

If the short sale is not successful, then the lender can auction it or place it for sale again as a bank owner property. Any buyer can hire a RE agent to buy it. Usually at this time the price is well below the market price. Last two bank owned homes in Santa Clara were sold with 38 and 46 offers because they are such as good deals.

I found a 3 bedrooms 2 baths home for 1203 sqft home with lot 5978 sqft at901 Gerard way San Jose was closed for $620K August 1 2006 now at the market as the bank owned property since June 24 2008 only asking $310,000.

If you jump the conclusion that the Silicon Valley homes dropped 50% then you are totally wrong.

If you jump the conclusion that the Silicon Valley homes dropped 50% then you are totally wrong. Just look at another home at 10674 GRAPNEL  PL CUPERTINO, CA 95014 was closed 11/27/06 for $1.252 Millions. The owner put on the market April this year for $1.399 Millions. No offer is received for 2 months. As June 20 the asking price dropped to 1.15Million then the owner received 12 offers and sold for much over asking price.

The real estate market really depends on the location of the homes. Some area the prices went up and some area value goes down significantly. You may wonder how come some homes price can goes up and the other goes down.

This Cupertino homes is at the best Cupertino schools area ( Monta Vista High ). The homes at the better neighborhood preserved the value.