Owner: PropertySolutionSF : the San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate Blog URL:http://www.PropertySolutionSF.com Join Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2007 01:46:57 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: the Blog for news, information, and updates for buying, selling, and renting homes in the San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate Market. Site statistics:Click here
What You Need To Know About Homeowner’s Insurance 2007-09-14 11:55:05 A lender will not sign-off on your mortgage loan unless you have secured adequate homeowner’s insurance. The policy protects your financial interests and the lender’s investment in your home. Don’t wait until the last minute to begin shopping for a homeowner’s insurance policy. Annual premium costs and coverage options vary widely between insurance companies.
A typical homeowner’s insurance policy provides protection for casualty, liability and personal property. Your insurance broker can help you determine how much coverage you need for each of the three standard protections.
Casualty coverage provides protection for common hazards including fire, wind, lightning or other incidents that can cause structural damage to your home. If the house is damaged or destroyed by a covered peril, the casualty insurance should cover the cost to rebuild.
“Ask your insurance broker about a guaranteed replacement cost provision. The provision ensures that
Contingency 2007-09-13 09:43:08
A condition that must be satisfied before a contract is binding. For instance, a sales agreement may be contingent upon the buyer obtaining financing.
San Francisco’s Lead Hazard Control Program 2007-09-12 11:37:24 On the topic of Lead-Based Paints in the recent post yesterday, the city of San Francisco
at the Mayor’s Office of Housing has a program that “seeks to protect children in San Francisco
from lead poisoning by controlling lead based paint hazards in their homes.”
How exactly does the city of San Francisco does this you may wonder? Well, what they do that they provide FREE LEAD INSPECTIONS, RISK ASSESSMENTS, PROJECT MANAGEMENT REMEDIATION, and CLEARANCE SERVICES to owners of “properties that are occupied by low and moderately-income renters” in the city.
The city itself has said on its website that “most of San Francisco’s housing stock was built before 1940 and contains lead based paint. When this paint becomes deteriorated, because of lack of maintenance or improper work practices during renovations, it can cause serious health risks”
If you are interested to find out more, you can either contact Salpi or Michael for assistance, or you can go directly to t Read more:Program
, Control
, Hazard
Want to Stay Informed with Market Updates? 2007-09-12 10:49:29 Sign-up to get the latest market updates from PropertySolutionSF and Prudential California Realty by signing up with our Special Market
Update Newsletter.
If not, you can always come back here and read up on the market, although, we keep the market updates exclusive for a period of time to our subscribers.
Does Your Home Still Have Lead-Based Paint? 2007-09-11 15:31:14
Believe it or not, Lead-Based paint is still out there and on the walls of homes in the San Francisco Bay Area and within the nation. I read in a report in USA Today that 24 million households still have the toxic lead-based paint covered in some captivity within their homes.
If you don’t know anything about Lead-Based Paint
and the harmful toxins that it releases, here’s some information by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the poisons of Lead-Based Paint.
Banned in the late 1970’s, if you own a building that was built prior than 1980 (just to be safe) that hasn’t been repainted within the last 30 years (yes, chances are slim in the Bay Area in most parts, but you never know), that it is always advisable to have a professional expect look to see if your home’s exterior or interior has any.
The EPA has also warned homeowners and contractors against using belt sanders, sandpaper, propane torches, dry scrapers, and high-temperature
President Bush Sets-Up New FHA-Secure Plan 2007-09-07 15:32:16
Photo by Eric Draper
It’s good to see that our President
isn’t completely lost in the war in Iraq to notice the waking rollover of banks closing, the subprime mortgage going crazy, and that letters of foreclosures are being sent throughout the nation.
President Bush
just announced a new plan, dubbed, FHASecure
that allows the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to help what they estimate to be around 240,000 families avoid foreclosure by “enhancing” its refinancing program right away.
With the new FHASecure plan, families with good credit history and have been able to make their monthly mortage payments before their loans reset, but are now in default to qualify for refinancing.
To qualify for FHASecure, eligible homeowners must meet the following five criteria:
A history of on-time mortgage payments before the borrower’s teaser rates expired and loans reset;
Interest rates must have or will reset between June 2005 and December 2009;
Three pe
DRAFT Proposed Zoning Map in Eastern SF 2007-09-07 10:56:30
Map courtesy of SF Planning Department
The Eastern
Neighborhoods Community Planning Process just released its proposed plans for the Eastern side of San Francisco that consist of sections of South of Market (SOMA), the Mission District, Potrero Hill, and the Central Waterfront.
With that part of San Francisco still in “development,” the future of what the city may become will lie within these new plans along with the eventual new Transbay Area that just was announced a few weeks ago. San Francisco will become more high-tech, more progressive, and from what the plans are looking like, San Francisco will take one step closer to what Sci-Fi movies have envisioned our future to be.
Of course, these are just proposals for now, and these plans haven’t been ‘finalized’ yet, but watch this space when we find out when the Eastern Neighborhoods Community will schedule its community meetings for the public to attend and voice their opinions on the
Is It Better To Buy Or Sell First? 2007-09-25 10:21:09 Should you buy or sell first? The answer to this question depends on a number of variables specific to your situation. Whether you can afford to buy first and can financially manage two concurrent mortgage payments will most likely answer this question for you.
Real estate market conditions also may factor into your decision. Your Real Estate Advisor is an invaluable source who can tell you approximately how long it may take to sell your current home and provide you with information about homebuyers’ market conditions, the inventory of for-sale homes and estimate how long it may take for you to find and close on your next home.
Professional help is particularly useful if you are selling and buying in two different markets. Your Real Estate Advisor will be able explain and help you with the differing market conditions that could affect the transactions.
“Selling first does have its drawbacks. If your current home sells before you find or close on your next Read more:First
Contra Costa County Real Estate Market Report (Q2 2007) 2007-09-23 13:18:53
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Market Report (Q1 2007)Santa Clara County
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Free Electronic Waste Collection and Recycling 2007-09-19 10:24:22
Anyone of you have a lot of clutter in your home? Want space back from all the old television sets, computers, or electronic devices that you’ve always said you were going to get rid of, but didn’t know how or where to?
Well, the city of San Francisco “Clean City” program is having another one of their E-Recycling
events this Saturday from 9-2pm. This is a great time to clear out all that old equipment, while doing so in a safe and environmentally-friendly way. Best of all, it’s FREE – no charge to get rid of your old electronic equipment!
Sadly, the only things that “Clean City” program can’t accept are appliances of any kind or microwaves or the boxes you use to bring the electronic equipment.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Lake Merced
Sunset Circle Parking Lot on Lake Merced
9:00am – 2:00pm
Drop off free of charge any of the following items:
>TVs and Monitors - Cell Phones - Telephone Systems
>Computers and Laptops - Fax Machines - VCRs and DVD Players
&g Read more:Electronic
Bad Mortgage Market = Higher Rents? 2007-09-17 09:17:46 Apparently so, from a study done by the Center for Housing Policy a week ago – Noelle Knox from USA Today reported that the study said that “one in four renters are paying more than half their income on rent, the highest level in two decades. It projects that rents will rise about 4 percent this year and next because of a shortfall in apartment construction.
At the same time, more renters are renewing their leases because they can’t qualify for a mortgage. That demand threatens to drive rents still higher.”
The question that every renter in San Francisco and in the Bay Area should be asking is “will this affect my rent?” The short answer is “maybe” if this study is accurate. I’ve spoken with my fellow REALTORS and a few Real Estate Investors and one of them said that she had notice rental increases within the Sunset District in San Francisco.
When you see and read reports like this, it makes you wonder why isn’t everyone who’s a renter not look into their o Read more:Market
, Mortgage
, Higher
, Rents
Santa Clara County Real Estate Market Report (Q2 2007) 2007-09-17 08:20:11
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Sacramento County Real Estate Market Report (Q2 2007) 2007-10-07 11:26:50
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Below Market Rate (BMR) 2007-11-04 13:27:07 BelowMarket
Rate (BMR) are part of most major cities “affordable housing” programs that helps renters become first-time homeowners. For a city like San Francisco, the Mayor’s Office of Housing Program developers to sell a certain percentage of units in new developments at a “below-market-rate” price that is affordable to low to moderate income households. The program is governed by the Inclusionary Affordable Housing Program Ordinance of 2002 and by Planning Code 315
There are basic requirements that must be meet in order to purchase a BMR (i.e. you must not exceed a certain income limit, that you must be living or working in the city that you wish to purchase the BMR, etc).
and can usually be found through the city’s website or you can always contact your local Real Estate Advisor for help as buyer’s don’t pay any Real Estate Advisor’s earnings as the sellers does.
If you would like to get more information about BMR’s or would like help in your
Home Ownership Pays 2007-11-02 13:26:47 For many Americans, the best way to build wealth is to pay down a mortgage. The multipurpose investment essentially is a ‘forced savings account.’ The homeowner lives in the house and pays down the mortgage, over time the property appreciates, and eventually it can be sold and potentially net a tidy profit. In the meanwhile, mortgage interest rate and property tax payments are tax deductible.
Mortgage payments help build a homeowner’s net worth because a portion of the payment goes toward building equity. The hard-earned equity can be saved for the big sale, or it can be tapped to obtain low interest home equity loans. The lower interest loans can be used for a variety of expenses including college tuition, home improvement or car payments.
Mortgage interest rates and property taxes quickly add up and, the combined itemized deductions can result in a hefty tax deduction. In some cases, the amount could elevate the taxpayer beyond the minimum itemized ded Read more:Ownership
, Home Ownership
Sonoma County Real Estate Market Report (Q2 2007) 2007-11-02 13:16:59
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Marin County Real Estate Market Report (Q2 2007) 2007-10-20 13:17:14
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Market Report (Q1 2007)Contra Costa County Real Estate
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Lunar New Year Parade In SF 2008-02-01 09:17:25
It’s 2008 and it’s the month of February and if you live in and around San Francisco, you know that this month is the beginning of the Lunar
New Year. This will be the year 4706 with the first day on the 4th of February in the Lunar calendar. It will be the year of [...] Read more:Parade
Closing Statement 2008-01-29 18:16:44 The financial disclosure statement that accounts for all of the funds received and expected at the closing, including deposits for taxes, hazards insurance, and mortgage insurance.
Yahoo’s Foreclosure Option 2008-01-26 09:19:34 If you’ve been looking into home prices online, you’ve probably have come across using Yahoo
’s Real Estate section in their website. Much less, if you’re looking for bargains in the real estate market and if your real estate advisor hasn’t mentioned this to you, but looking into foreclosed, probate, and short sale properties is always [...] Read more:Foreclosure
Desperate Homeowners doing anything to save their Homes 2008-01-25 10:43:44 Being in the Bay Area, especially in San Francisco, most homeowners have the luxury that the real estate market here is still healthy compared to the rest of the nation. The city hasn’t become less desirable because of the market crash, in fact, it’s made it more so because of the sound investment it is [...] Read more:Desperate
, Homeowners
, doing
, anything
, Homes
How Many Mortgage Lenders Have Shut Down? 2008-01-24 10:59:50 Believe it or not, my Mortgage
Broker told me that nearly 150 U.S. mortgage lenders have shut down last year in 2007. The year before that, there was only about 18 of them compared to the whooping 150 closers.
This year, there have been seven. So for you potential homebuyers and current homebuyers in the market [...] Read more:Lenders
And the Biggest Winners in this Housing Market are… 2008-01-23 12:59:39 The landlords…of course. With the mortgage crash that happen a few months back and the increase difficulties for new homebuyers in getting pre-approved for a loan, most potential homeowners who may have wanted to get into the buyer’s market found that it they couldn’t become homeowners, they had to stay in the rental market as [...] Read more:Winners
, Housing
, Market
Sunset Idea House 2008-01-21 01:17:26 For anyone interested in converting their home into a more eco-friendly environment, Sunset
Magazine’s current Idea House
in San Francisco’s Mission District is one that you MUST check out! It’s been open for the public to view since November and it’s still open until the end of January.
The Idea Home, located at 2500 274th Street [...]
Homebuyer’s Remorse 2008-01-19 10:27:00 Now you’ve done it – the legally binding purchase offer you’ve submitted has been accepted and you’re officially committed to closing on your dream home. What have you done? Did you overpay? Did you overlook some ghastly and expensive structural flaw? Is this really the neighborhood you want to live in for the next several [...]
President Bush’s Mortgage Freeze 2008-01-18 18:04:53 If you haven’t heard, President
Bush has put in place a five-year mortgage freeze on rates for homeowners facing sharp increases in their monthly payments as the plan would cover subprime loans taken out between January 1, 2005, through July of 2007 with rates that are due to reset within the next 2 years.
The issue [...] Read more:Mortgage
, Freeze
, President Bush
Tonga Room Restaurant and Lounge 2008-01-18 17:35:50 I just went here 2 weeks ago with a friend and it was great. It’s a lounge inside the Fairmont Hotel on top of the hill in Nob Hill and it’s a fun little place. The second you think of a restaurant and lounge, you’d think of men and women drinking and chatting – and [...]
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