New Federal Guidelines May Mean Hope For SF Bay Area Homeowners--Part 1

THE PROBLEM: Over the last few years, Americans have been made aware of what the words "Housing Crises" means.  All over the United States, due to the sagging economy, coupled with poorly regulated lending policies, homeowners are discovering that what they supposed their home's value to be is no longer correct. 

In the past, the American dream of purchasing a house, staying in it for a while, then selling it and using it's increased equity to move up to the next level of ownership was a realistic and reasonable expectation.  The simple fact is that, for quite a while now, this has been unattainable for a disturbing segment of the Oakland-East Bay homeowners. 

Complicating this issue are the huge amount of regulations and rulings at the Federal level…

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Famous Beverly Hills Mansion Is For Sale

A mansion is for sale in Beverly Hills that has an amazing history-and an amazing recovery.  It is located at 805 N Linden Street, and was designed by renown architect Wallace Neff. It is a handsome Spanish styled home, and is located in one of the most famous neighborhoods in the world. This neighborhood is unique, and one which is long renown to be the home of motion picture and television stars both past and present.  Approximately 40% of the homes here sell for 3 million to 10 million dollars.  This one is being sold for $6.995 million, and has a huge amount of space for use by the buyer.  It has a total of 6246 square feet.

This particular home has a very unique distinction.  In 1946, Howard Hughes, the famous millionaire and aviation pioneer,…

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A brief explaination of the 2010 California Tax Credit for First Time Buyers and New Home Purchases

2010 California Tax Credit for First Time Buyers and New Home Purchases

California has a new tax credit for New Home and First-Time Buyers who buy a home that closes May 1, 2010 to Jan 1 2001. A more realistic end date is until they run out of the $100 million budget. This might not be very long as the 2009 credit ran out of funds quickly. The credit could stimulate some home purchases in the lower-end Oakland real estate market but I am not sure if it will have much effect on Piedmont homes for sale.
The state credit is slightly different from the $8000 Federal Tax Credit that will expire at the end of this month. The refundable federal credit went directly to the buyer when they filed federal income taxes. The non-refundable California credit will be a…

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$799,000 4bd/3bth home for sale in the Willow Glen area of San Jose -- Cambrian Schools

I just listed a great home in the Willow Glen area of San Jose with the fabulous Susan Matthews. The four bedroom, three bath home looks and feels inviting with a great floor plan and listing at a very competitive $799,000. French doors open to the fully landscaped backyard from either the formal dining room or the expansive family room. The family room has warm and richly refinished Brazilian hardwood floors and is a perfect place to entertain friends and family. With large  formal living room and office/bedroom downstairs, the floor plan offers a variety of options. Cambrian schools are within walking distance. Please visit our website at www.1913Quebec.com for more pictures, info and a virtual tour! Call me with any questions or for a viewing…

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My 15 minutes of Fame -- The Internet and Real Estate on NBC channel 11 at 6pm

I just finished filming a feature story for NBC Channel 11 with Tech and Business reporter Scott Budman about the Internet and Real Estate. It should be on tonight at 6pm during the Business segment. Hopefully I don't end up all over the editing room floor. Scott is an old friend from Oakland, an award winning journalist and father of two. You can see the video here. Click Here

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1st Quarter housing figures are in for Bay Area home sales

The figures for the 1st quarter have come in with some predictable results. Housing sales are way up (almost 200% in Hayward!) with the bulk of these sales in the lower end markets. Foreclosures have been the bread and butter of this market with Short Sales and REOs bringing in buyers from all over. I've had one eager man in New Zealand who has been buying up properties in Richmond.

The low interest rates combined with the $8000 tax credit has made first-time buyers and investors dive into affordable East Bay and Oakland Real Estate. The median sales price of homes sold has dropped dramatically because of the focus on the lower end market. The median price of a Oakland home sale has dropped 70% since the same quarter last year. While many areas of…

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$8000 Tax Credit for new home purchases explained

I've been getting a lot of calls about the Governments First-Time home buyers credit. The newly passed legislation allows first-time buyers to claim a credit of up to $8,000, or 10% of the home's value, whichever is less, on their 2008 or 2009 taxes. This is a refundable tax credit meaning that you can actually have the money refunded to you even if you don't owe the full amount on your taxes.

The purchase must be made between Jan. 1, 2009 and Nov. 30, 2009 to qualify for the credit. Buyers must make less than $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples. To qualify has a first time home buyer you cannot have purchased a home in the last three years. They must also live in the house for at least three years, or they will be obligated to pay back the…

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Fake vs real property tax forms

I have received two different, very official looking letters wanting to "help me" with adjusting my county property taxes on my home. One is from the Homeowners Tax Review (HTR) and another from Property Tax Reassessment Co. Both letters try to resemble an official document from the county or state and come in envelopes that mislead.

Because of falling home prices in the last few years, Alameda county and others counties are willing to reassess the assessed value of your home. This can result is a significant savings on the property taxes you pay on your home.

The problem arises when these letters start appearing in my mailbox with headlines like ESTIMATED SAVINGS $438.74 or $1812.50!! That seems great, but the fine print says that they are going to…

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Former Warrior Latrell Sprewell is suing his old Hayward real estate agent.

I read an interesting article about former Golden State Warrior Latrell Sprewell suing his old real estate agent in regards to disclosure of water damage at a home he sold in Hayward CA back in 2002.

We all remember Latrell and the talented but troubled Warrior guard who choked his coach P.J. Carlesimo at practice back in 1997. While this was a black eye for both the team and the city, it seems that the Warriors have moved on to field another entertaining team, albeit on out of the playoffs.

Latrell is suing his agent for not disclosing a water damage problem costing Latrell $540,000 in repairs bills when an arbitrator decided in favor of the new owners. He is suing his agent to recover the $540,000. Wow. 

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Steal this Home! $299,000 auction home in Berkeley.

It's not every day that a nice home in the Bay Area is auctioned off. Usually auctioned homes are the dregs of the area, those that no one wanted to buy on the regular market, a cross between a fixer and a teardown. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to see such a 'perfect' home in Berkeley ready for auction. The owners had obviously taken care of the home, and had painstakingly addressed every detail. The roof and foundation were new. The floors were freshly sanded and finished. The bathroom had been remodeled and the large kitchen had been tastefully finished. In the well manicured backyard there was a studio trimmed with wood that was used as an office.
So why was the house being auctioned off? The owners had always paid their mortgage, their bank…

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