Tired of the Time Behind the Wheel?

As the economy gets stronger in the Bay Area, the highway commute picks up in direct relation.  More jobs = more workers = more cars taking those workers to the jobs.  With home prices increasing rapidly near the San Francisco city hub, more and more people are seeking housing in more affordable areas.  Thus the commute increases!

Why not Look for a Home Near BART?

On Demand Realty has just added a new feature that maps homes that around the BART East Bay stations.  so now you can select a station and see all the most current listings of homes available for sale.  Plus, if you then Save the Search, you will get daily updates to your email of all new listings, price changes, pending and sold properties.

 Give the new feature a try and let us know what you think?

We've just added a Revolutionary New Search Feature - Map Searching! 

Simply draw a map of the areas you want to search in and all the available homes appear both on the map and in a list.  Save the search and get Daily Updates!  That was Easy!

How to use this new feature:

Step 1 - Set your Criteria

Go to our home page: On Demand Realty and select the county, city of interest, and your criteria:

• Price,
• #Bedrooms,
• #Baths, etc,

Click Search to see the homes that match your criteria. 

Step 2 - Draw the Map

In the Search Results,

• Click the Interactive Map tab to view the listings on the map.
• On the top of the map you will see a small icon of a polygon shape with a pen.  Click it.
• Select your starting point on the map, click for the first point, draw, click, draw click, etc., until you get back to the beginning to close the loop. 

Step 3 - Save the Search

Once you save this search, you will get daily updates of any listing changes: New, Price, Sold.

 Let me know your comments and share with all your friends, family and associates. If you have questions, or would like us to create the map for you, let us know.  We'll be glad to help!

Shows the resulting map and the available listings in the map area.

This tool can be used to map  the following:

• Homes for Sale Near Bart
• Homes for Sale Near Schools or School Boundaries
• Homes for Sale Near Outdoor Areas: Parks, Trails, Golf Courses, Water, etc
• Homes for Sale Near Highways for commuters.

How will you use it?

Now what - The Home Did Not Appraise?

To know how to react to this you need to understand how the appraisal is done and what it means in the deal. The lender giving you the money for the mortgage wants to make sure their investment risk is minimized. To do this, they make a request to an Appraisal Management Company (AMC) for an appraiser to review the local market for similar homes that have recently sold in the area and compare those homes and sold prices to the accepted price of your deal.  The appraiser takes into account the features, age, condition, and proximity to the home you have decided on, calculates a value and shares it with the lender.  At this point there are two options:

1. it appraised for the value offered,
2. it did not appraise for the amount offered.

• Option 1  Home Appraises - means that the lender can feel secure that their investment will be protected by the current value and the amount of money you have placed down on the property.  For instance, if your offer was for $100,000 with a 10/90 (10%down, 90% mortgage) loan that would mean you place $10,000 down and the lender is at risk for the loan amount of $90,000 at some rate and for some term.  In other words, should you default on the loan and the lender should have to foreclose, there is $10,000 of equity in the home to protect the lender.

• Option 2 Homes Does Not Appraise - if the home does not appraise for the price accepted, then the lender will not lend on the offer amount, but still may lend on the appraised amount.  For instance, if your accepted offer on the home was for $110,000 and the home appraised for $100,000, the lender may still be willing to lend at 90% of the appaised value, or $90,000, but the buyer will need to make up the difference in funds to match the accepted offer price of $110,000.  This means that if the buyer wants to proceed with the contract they will need to bring $20,000 to the closing ($110,000 - $90,000) instead of the $10,000 in Option 1.

Appraisal Value vs Market Value

It is important in this discussion to understand the difference in the Appraised Value and the Market Value.

• Appraised Value - this value is generally based on local sales of comparable homes in a close proximity to the home being appraised.  Just by that definition you can see the "appraised value" is historical in nature as it is looking back in time for what homes sold for in the market.

• Market Value - this value is what the buyer and seller have agreed on as to the value of the home when the offer was made and accepted.  This is based on current market conditions.  In a market where the home prices are rising fast and buyers are willing to offer amounts over the asking price, it may be difficult for appraisers to find sold comparables to support the market value.  This means the buyer may have to bring more cash to the closing as described in Option 2 above.

Net/Net: if your home appraises for the amount accepted in the contract, congratulations!  But if the homes does not appraise, you can still proceed with the contract if you have the additional funds required and if your lender is willing to take the risk.  Your REALTOR, working with your lender can help guide you through this by explaining the options based on your case and setting the proper expectations!

Should You keep That Backyard Pool?

This is a common question that many homeowners have when they look into their backyards and see that pool that takes $ to heat, service and is seldom used. Even the cost to remove it and what to put in its place then develops and the paralysis sets in and nothing changes.  But what if you could modify that current pool into a "swimming pond", blend it into your landscape and still be able to take a dip?

I just read an interesting article: "The Backyard Pool is Dead" where they describe how you can take your current pool, turn it into a pond and still enjoy the cool waters but not the constant chlorine maintenance.  Seems like a very creative solution that provides some variation to your home to set it apart from others yet not reduce the functionality.

Check out the article and provide your feedback/comments.  Would you try it?

Does Buying a Home Have to be so Confusing?

The answer is NO.  Whether you are a first time buyer or an experienced buyer, there are really only 5 steps to buying a home.  Follow these 5 Steps and your house hunting experience can be fun and less stressfull.

Step 1 Know what you can afford - Speak with a lender, get Pre-Approved and know what you can afford based on your income and debt.  This helps you to target on homes in the right price range which will also help you in targeting the available locations.

Step 2 NEEDS vs WANTS - Make a list of both what you NEED in a home and what you WANT.  NEEDs are must haves, while WANTS are would like to have.  This will help you prioritize your searching and become more targeted.

Step 3 Location - Think about your lifestyle and the important things and then find a location that will support that lifestyle.  Things to consider are commute time, schools, green space, shopping, medical services, population density, urban, suburban, rural, etc.

Step 4 "Pic 3" Search - At On Demand Realty, we have a "Pic 3" program.  Pic 3 properties as "Favorite" on our site, select a date, time and starting address and we'll make arrangements to show the homes.  Go see 3-5 homes in a location and travel around to make sure it is the right neighborhood and the right home. If not, keep looking. You will know it when you find the right home because you will be planning where your furniture will be placed, where to shop, distance to the schools, highway etc.

Step 5 Make an Offer(s) - Once you have taken the first 4 Steps, you will be ready to make an offer.  Get information on recent sold properties from your REALTOR, check local growth rates, and set an upper limit on what is acceptable so you do not get caught up in the thrill and go over your financial comfort level. Then have your REALTOR present the offer with all supporting documents and wait for the response.  If accepted, GREAT, if not, keep looking and you will succeed.

See, Just 5 Easy Steps and You can be a Homeowner!

How do the SF Cable Cars Work?

San Francisco has one of the world's last operating municipal cable car systems.  You have all seen the pictures of people riding the cars, but do you really know how they work?

The next time you are in San Francisco and have some time to spare, take a trip to the Cable Car Museum located at 1201 Mason Street in San Francisco.  The admission is free and they are open every day from 10am - 5pm.  Here you'll see where all the cables converge and are turning on the huge wheels.  Based on the pull of the cars you can see the wheels move back and forth on their skids to maintain the tension of the cables. There is a car in the museum as well as some videos that show how the Grip grabs the cable to move along, you'll about the "The Slot" and how the Brakeman on the cars control the cars going downhill.  It has to be one the most interesting museums in the world and is a destination point for all my visitors. 

Cable Car Museum

What's the difference? 

This is a common question and you should understand the value of the answer and how it impacts your ability to win when making an offer. 

Being Pre-Approved is more powerful than being Pre-Qualified.

Getting Pre-Approved is more strenuous exercise with your lender.  You will need to complete a mortgage application, sometimes pay a fee, and provide physical documentation (proof) on your income, debts, and assets.  The lender will check your credit rating, verify employments, debts, etc.  Based on this, the lender can give you an approval for a specific amount of mortgage to help you find the right home for your budget. Using this you can feel more comfortable that when you make an offer your lender will grant a mortgage.  Once your offer is accepted, you will present it to the lender for final approval to their underwriters to confirm their Pre-Approval.

Getting Pre-Qualified is a rather simple process in the mortgage process.  A bank or lender will discuss, no documents required, an overall high level view of your financial position including debt, income and assets.  With this they will perform a simple mathematical evaluation using lending ratios of their company and provide you an idea on the amount of home you can “qualify” for in the market.  This will give you an idea on the price range of homes you may want to view but is not more than an estimate.

Why is this Important?  A Seller views an offer from a Pre-Approved Buyer as more valuable than a Pre-Qualified Buyer since the process has been more thorough in the review by a lender, therefore less risky for the Seller that the deal may not close.  Click here for an article by Brian O'Connell of Investopedia February 26, 2009

If you are serious about getting your Offer accepted, especially in a competitive market, make sure to find a lender and get Pre-Approved!