What is MCC PROGRAM?The Mortgage Credit Certificate Program for First-time Home buyers is available for first-time home buyers purchasing their first home anywhere in

The Maximum Income Limits are:
1 or 2 person household = $94,500, low-income=$63,300 and for a

3 or more person household = $108,675, low-income=$72,795.
The Maximum Purchase Price Limits forResale homes are: $570,000 and New home (never been occupied) Units= $630,000

Note: MCC Programs CANNOT be combined with CalHFA first mortgage loans, but may be combined with other CalHFA second and third mortgage programs; ask your loan agent for details).

The realtor will help the 1^st home buyers go through the home buying process of finding their homes. The lender will determine if the applicant is eligible based on income, credit score, prices, property location and tax liability. This lender

determine if the applicant is eligible based on income, credit score, prices, property location and tax liability. This lender will help the buyers to apply the loan. If you have any question regarding the MCC program, you may contact the office of affordable house at sccgov.org.

Grace Keng, CRS, Rated number #2 featured Cupertino Realtor on Activerain.com and Localism.com. California relocation, local events, homeowner information and fun! Contact Grace at For more information on Grace Keng 408 733-8887, RE/MAX RES, Santa Clara County, San Mateo County of California 

This Sunnyvale Bank own home just cute as a button.

It has two bedrooms and one bath plus an office in the fornt part of the house. It will be perfectly for the home office. I like the large opened living room with fireplace and remodeled kitchen with granite countertops and oak cabinets, nicely landscaped in front yard. You will fall in love with granite. Move in ready.

Another Incredible bank owned

A family is looking for the Lynbrook school area home, I found this home on our local reil.com. It is a 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on Johnson Ave small 1100 sf (approx) with 6327 sf.(approx).The asking price is $800K. It is on the market also for a while. Th Johnson Ave is a bit busier but the owner’s kids can go to the excellent Fremont Unified School District such as Dilworth Elementary, Miller Middle and Lynbrook High. In year 2005 I helped my buyer to put an offer at Johnson Ave for $825K then it sold for $830K in 2005. One year early 2004 the same kind of the small Johnson home asked for $649K then sold for $743K.

You may wonder:”Why buyers pay more than asking price?” because the family kids can go to the famous Lynbrook High School. Let us find out why Lynbrook High School area is so attractive to buyers? The Lynbrook High school has built the great reputation by different measurement:

1).The Lynbrook High school is one of the National Blue Ribbon School 2008

2). The Lynbrook High School was listed as one of 7 best public high school in South bay (Silicon Valley) to be 100 top high schools in USA by U.S. News & World Report 2007. Those are based on the percentage of students taking advanced-placement or international baccalaureate exams. The U.S. News seeks a way to measure how well those high schools educate their students. The rest bay area high schools made in the list of 100 were Mission San Jose in Fremont, Monta Vista in Cupertino, Gunn and Palo Alto High in Palo Alto, Saratoga in Saratoga and Lynbrook in San Jose.

3). Another way that family search good school us the API score. What is exactly the API scores are? According to the California Department of Education web page that the API score is Academic Performance Index (API) which measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of academic measures. The Lynbrook High School’s API score is amazingly high as 920. The API system is designed to provide a view of test scores through a two-year, before and after cycle. The Base score is for the first year (before) and the Growth score is for the second year (after). The Growth score indicates whether the school improved or met its target. The results below show how much this school’s API grew between 2007 and 2008 (as reported in October 2008). Higher API numbers mean higher test scores. The goal for all schools is 800. The Lynbrook High’s API score is 920 (2008 Growth) 911 (2007 Base)

The buyers like to buy the homes with excellent schools so their children will receive the best education. On the other hands some buyers want them for the home appreciation.
Grace Keng, CRS, RE/MAX RES Silicon Valley, Northern California Real Estate Residential Specialist 408 733-8887

Rated number #2 featured Cupertino Realtor on Activerain.com and Localism.com. California relocation, local events, homeowner information and fun! For more information on Grace Keng Silicon Valley homes

Before                                                                     After

A Santa Clara  investor  flipped a home in 3 months and walked away with profit.This home is 1865 CABRILLO AV, Santa Clara 95050. It was a bank owned home on May 30, 2008 which is an extremely lowed price for $375,250. It was a clean flat-top roof home with 3 bedrooms and 1 bath the 1 car garage converted to another living quarter with living room and 1 bedroom plus1 bath. The lot size is 7140 sf. I showed it to my client. He did not like the add on. Little I know…It sold in 3 days with 38 offers for $382,000 and it closed on July 2 2008. Two months later the house is painted in and out with new window covering. It is back on the market again for $499K on September 4 2008. It is sold again and closed on October 10 for $490,000.

Let me put the dates as follows:

5/30, 2008 listed $375,250

7/2/2008 closed & closed $ 382,000

9/4/2008 listed again $499,000

10/10,2008 sold & closed $490,000

It is pretty good for an investor to walk away $108,000 (before the cost) in short 3 months. I see the investor are flipping the house but the buyers are waiting.If you are have questions, please email or contact me.

Grace Keng, CRS, Silicon Valley, Northern California Real Estate Residential Specialist 408 733-8887

Rated number #2 featured Cupertino Realtor on Activerain.com and Localism.com. California relocation, local events, homeowner information and fun! For more information on Grace Keng Silicon Valley homes

First time home buyers who purchase a home on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009 are to receive a tax credit of 10% of the purchase price, up to $7,500 from the federal government. Check on http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/ for more detail

Who Qualifies for The First Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit.· Home was purchased between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009.

· Single taxpayers with the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI defined by IRS) up to $75,000 and married taxpayers with incomes of $150,000.

· The home you have purchased or plan to purchase has to be your principal residence supportLists

· You have not owned a home in the past 3 years.

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

· The tax credit is available for first-time home buyers only.

· The maximum credit amount is $7,500.

· The credit is available for homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009.

Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. The tax credit works like an interest-free loan and must be repaid over a 15-year period. The $7,500 is a one time credit and is applied to the year in which the home purchase was made. However, this Tax Credit has to be repaid, interest free over the next 15 years back to Uncle Sam, starting 2 years after the home was purchased. Hence this government credit functions more as an interest-free loan. After receiving the Tax Credit if you decide to sell your home, the balance of what is not paid back to the Federal Government becomes due at the time of sale. If you are interested in receiving this tax credit, You can simply claim this $7,500 tax credit on your Federal Income Tax Return.If you have more question, regarding this please check with your tax consultant.

Grace Keng, CRS, Silicon Valley

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.

October 4, 2008 my daughter & her dog “Honey” invited me to join the annual walk-n-wag at the San Jose Kelley Park. We gathered in the morning at the main square near the fire house lawn. I have never seen so many dogs and owners. We walked the prepared walk Route through Kelley Park. I enjoy the beautiful fall colored foliage and peaceful the Japanese friendship garden. It is funny to see the dog ate the dog treat that is the hot dogs soaked in the water. Those puppies loved it! There is one little cute dog with yellow colored rain coat. Pretty soon we finished the 45 minutes walk. We wondered around the park afterwards. I saw a lot the vendor booths like dog spa, dog food, dog manicuredog photographers and dog Agility Demonstrations. The most funny show is the owners and dogs look alike contest. The last photo is from Robinett photos

“This is the most interesting 12 to 18-month period in Silicon Valley real estate that I’ve ever covered. It has been really challenging to accurately cover this market.”

When it comes to finding stories to print about real estate, McAllister looks for stories that are timely and affect a great number of people,also they are original. “I get a lot of my best stories from my readers,” McAllister said. “I absolutely welcome those kinds of calls from all of you.”

With the number of stories about foreclosures and declining prices, McAllister has heard many complaints that her headlines are too scary or misleading. However, she encourages people to read the whole story before jumping to conclusions.

McAllister has received a lot of criticism from general readers and the Realtor population, and shared that it is nearly impossible to make everyone happy. An agent asked her why she wrote only negative news. She said: “I really do try to not paint the market with too wide a brush, I have to tell the both sides of the story” she said.

The circulation of the newspaper has gone down in the last two years. In light of this change, However,if we include both print and online media , the number of people reached in 2007 is actually 1.223 million which has gone up.

  Yes!

Before we know the October is here. It is time for sellers to decorate the home to reflect the fall season.

1. Place a fresh fall color plant box or flower pot near the front entrance . Clean up the deck and patio. Rake the leaves.

2. Add a fall wreath at the front door.

3. Add new fall color pillows on sofas and chairs. Add a warm tone throw or accent piece on the coffee table.

4. Add fall scents  (pumpkin or apple spice favor) candles to the living room . Don’t leave candles lit when you are not there.

5. Fresh up you decor to break up the dull and dark days coming such as adding an area rug or changing your bedding. Place an extra woolly blanket at the foot of the bed.

6. Have some new luxurious towels or just hang them for the showings. Change your shower curtain, liner and matching bathmat.

7. Don’t forget to clean up the windows and regular maintenance