NorCal Realty Team - Serving the Sacramento Region

Economic Development Workshop in Davis, Yolo County on Sept. 23

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:06:28 -0700

Interesting workshop in Davis coming up on Sept. 23, on creating an economic development strategy and action plan for the city. It's sponsored jointly by the Davis Chamber of Commerce, the City of Davis and UC Davis. These are groups that don't always play well together so it's encouraging to see the groups co-sponsoring the conference.

It's a public workshop from 8 am to 3 pm at the UC Davis Conference and Visitors Center. UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi will be the workshop's keynote speaker.

As an agent I have mixed feelings about attending - it's a topic I'm interested in and since the University is an engine that drives our local economy I feel as if I should attend. Without the University, Davis would not be such a great place to be a real estate agent. Our high home prices are dependent on the University. But - I'm not selling any homes if I'm sitting in a meeting all day! Guess sometimes you have to take the long view.

More info from the Davis Chamber of Commerce is available at 530-756-5160.

Gordon Lane is a Woodland resident and Yolo County real estate agent who works in Woodland, Davis and the surrounding communties of Dunnigan, Esparto, Winters and Dixon. His family has lived and farmed in Yolo and Colusa Counties since the 1870s.

Buying in Yolo County - What Comes With The House? Part 1

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:52:16 -0700

A common area of dispute in a home sale is what stays with the house and what can the seller take with them when they move. The California Residential Purchase Agreement from the California Association of Realtors (used in most home sales in Yolo County) is quite specific about that in an attempt to prevent disputes.

The level of detail can seem absurd but I'm sure that for every item mentioned in the list of items that are to stay there has been at least one serious dispute. (Ask any agent in Yolo County and I'm sure they have their own horror story.) The contract specifies that the following remain with the house:

Existing electrical, mechanical, lighting, plumbing and heating fixtures, ceiling fans, fireplace inserts, gas logs and grates, solar systems, built-in appliances, window and door screens, awnings, shutters, window coverings, attached floor coverings, television antennas, satellite dishes, private integrated telephone systems, air coolers/conditioners, pool/spa equipment, garage door openers/remote controls, mailbox, in-ground landscaping, trees/shrubs, water softeners, water purifiers, security systems/alarms. Whew! Quite a list.

Additionally, there are boxes to be checked for stoves and refrigerators.

Note what is not on the list - washers and dryers.

So what happens if the agent writing the offer doesn't check the box for the stove or refrigerator? Those *don't" come with the house and the seller is within their rights to take them with them. And if you hope to get the washer and dryer be sure your agent writes that into the contract.

The latest revision to the California Residential Purchase Agreement was released in April of this year - and has an addition that was made necessary by technological progress - that's in Part 2.

Buying in Yolo County - What Comes With The House? Part 3

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:46:41 -0700

When an agent is working on getting a seller's home ready for market one of the things we ask our clients to consider is if they wish to keep any of the attached items. Sometimes a seller is determined to take their drapes or blinds, one buyer in Davis discovered that the seller had removed all of the custom light switch plates in the house. Adding insult to injury they didn't bother to replace the light switch plates! But the most common horror story involves chandeliers. A chandelier is attached to the house and will be sold with the house, unless it is specifically excluded from the sale. It doesn't matter if you inherited it from your grandmother and it has tremendous sentimental value - unless it is excluded in the contract it is legally the buyers.

And what if a seller tries to exclude the chandelier and the potential buyer threatens to cancel the deal because of that? How much simpler to prevent this in the first place - if the seller has such a chandelier the best thing to do is to replace it before the house is put on the market.

Buying in Yolo County - What Comes With The House? Part 2

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:10:55 -0700

When the revised California Residential Purchase Agreement was released by the California Association of Realtors this spring there was a change that reflected technological progress and the resulting conflicts.

The previous contract and the current contract specify that fixtures and fittings that are attached to the property are included in the sale. However that became part of the California Residential Purchase Agreement *before* wall mounted flat screen TVs! Now imagine that a buyer makes an offer on a house, with the contract stating that fixtures and fittings that are attached to the property are included. Does the buyer have a right to expect that the TV remain - after all it is attached to the wall. How does this get decided?

The new contract clears up the confusion. The wording is clear:

Unless otherwise specified, audio and video components (such as flat screen TVs and speakers) are excluded if any such item is not itself attached to the Property, even if a bracket or other mechanism attached to the component is attached to the Property.

So brackets or other mounting mechanisms are attached to the property and need to remain. TVs and speakers may be removed from their brackets and mounting mechanisms and go with the seller.

Breaking into a Garage takes.....6 seconds (Video)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:59:48 -0700

I don't know how paranoid to feel about this info that Joni Kerley posted. I don't think of Davis or Woodland as being high crime areas, but there are always people out there who are ready to take advantage of an unlocked door. If this really is as easy the video clip makes it seem then a garage door might as well be unlocked.

Guess I will have to try this on my own garage door and then think about the preventative measures outlined below.

Via Joni Kerley (CENTURY21 Real Estate Center):

It Only Take 6 Seconds to Break into Your Garage!

A fellow agent emailed me this video to pass on to my clients and I couldn't believe how easy this is.

Here is what you have to do to make this even harder for someone to break in to your home is.

Cut off the Pull Cord

Push the lever UP and zip tie to the slider bar. This way they need to cut the zip tie to lower the lever.

Pass this helpful information on to all your clients and remember the next time you are doing a home inspection you might point this out to your home inspector.

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If you are looking for a home in the Everett

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Joni Kerley

CENTURY21 Real Estate Center

425-343-4545

jonikerley@yahoo.com

Wine and Jazz in Davis, CA at Rominger West Winery

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:26:14 -0700

Thursday Sept 2nd I hope to break free from showing real estate and get a chance to drop by Rominger West Winery in Davis to listen to jazz vocalist Natalie Armstrong, performing with her guitarist Nahum Dyzbel. Rominger West "Happy Thursdays", from 4-7 pm, are a chance to listen to music and taste wine from grapes grown in the Winters area of western Yolo County.

Appetizers are provided, the music is free and the special by the glass prices on the wine make it possible to inexpensively taste some of Yolo County's own wines. Check out Rominger West's event calendar or learn more about their winery and wines.

Woodland Chili Throwdown & Brew-off in Yolo County, California

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:02:09 -0700

Friendly competition is on the menu September 18th at the Woodland Chili Throwdown & Brew-off at the Yolo County Fairgrounds in Woodland. Businesses and civic organizations sponsor teams for the chili, salsa and beer competitions. Our team - Coldwell Banker Doug Arnold Real Estate Woodland office - is entering for the first time in the chili and salsa contests.

I volunteered for the grunt labor subteam - since I'm 8 inches taller and 100 pounds heavier than most of our office that seemed appropriate.

The event starts at 11 am, with winners announced at 3:15 pm. Should be fun!

Tour of the Gable Mansion in Woodland, CA benefits Red Cross

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:12:10 -0700

One of the most photographed houses in Woodland, California is the Gable Mansion. Central Woodland is known for it's lovingly restored Victorians and the Gable Mansion is perhaps the best example. Usually we can just admire these beautiful homes from the street but on Sept. 11 the home will be open for a tour, benefiting the American Red Cross of Yolo County.

The house will be open from 11-3, tickets are $20 and can be purchased here or by calling Yolo County Red Cross at 530-662-4669.

The home, at the corner of Cross Street and First Street in Woodland, was built in 1885 for the brother Amos and Harvey Gable. The cost was $16,000. It is a a California State Landmark, as "an outstanding example of 19th century Victorian Italianate architecture".

Stanley Davis Homes in East Davis

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 01:00:15 -0700

One of the main builders in Davis during the 60s and 70s was Stanley Davis Homes. In East Davis it sometimes seems as if *every* home is a Stanley Davis model. There are six models, all named after California counties. The Alpine is the only two story model, the El Dorado the only with a detached garage. One of the most common in Davis is the Sonoma, a 3 bedroom, two bath that features a sunken living room.

The company is no longer active - I recently tried contacting them to see if there were illustrations available of the different floor plans. The number was inactive and I was redirected to a number up in the Capay Valley. Although I thought I would probably be disturbing some private individual with no connection to Stanley Davis I tried the number and reached the long time bookkeeper for the company, who is performing this last duty for the company, answering silly questions from people like me. I was saddened but not surprised to learn that any illustrations or floor plans had long ago been discarded.

If you are looking at houses in East Davis you will soon start to see these recurring plans, and start to feel a sense of deja vu. I recently had that sensation when I had an open house in Woodland and the following day an open house in Davis. - both in Sonoma model homes. The East Davis home was in spotless condition, updated through the years and obviously loved. Sadly the Woodland home was a foreclosu re and had not been updated and not been maintained.

Short Sales in the Davis, CA Housing Market

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:26:56 -0700

I recently wrote about the Woodland, CA housing market and the role of short sales in that market. Homes in Active Short Sale or Contingent Short Sale status make up more than half of the Woodland housing market. Now let's look at Davis, 10 miles to the south. What a difference 10 miles makes!

In Woodland well over 50 percent of the homes on the market are short sales. In Davis less than 12 percent are short sales, 25 homes out of 212 total. Of those 25 short sales, 20 are Active Short Sales and 5 are Contingent Short Sales. That's another difference between communities as in Woodland 60 percent of the short sale homes already have an offer on them and are in Contingent status.

Why the difference in these communities? In Woodland we had many new homes built from 2003 to 2007 and so many people bought at a time when house prices were at their peak. Because of that we have many people who are underwater on their houses and are giving them up via short sales. There are enough short sales that they dominate the market, and when a buyer is looking for a deal they know that short sales offer that, if they are prepared to stick out the wait. In Davis however, there were few homes built during that time, and the total number of Davis homeowners underwater is much lower than in Woodland. So short sales are not dominating the market, most of the homes on the market are conventional sales, and buyers are staying away from short sales because of the length of time required and the difficulty of negotiating with the bank.

New Homes Coming to Woodland, CA

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:57:37 -0700

When the bubble burst new home building in Yolo County just about disappeared. Of course there have not been many new homes built in Davis for sometime (although the Willowbank Park project under way will bring some new and highly energy efficient homes to the market) but Woodland boomed with many new homes built up through 2007.

But for the last three years the only new homes built in Woodland had buyers already lined up - builders couldn't get the financing otherwise. Now though we have two projects underway. Pulte Homes is doing ground work on their recently acquired property on Gibson east of Pioneer, with 79 approved lots. They may have model homes available by November. And Standard Pacific Homes has a project underway with 160 lots, with the model homes perhaps available by February.

So those buyers who have been wishing for a chance to buy a *new* home in Woodland will soon have that opportunity again!

Checking out Davis, CA schools

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:31:32 -0700

The quality of the public schools in Davis in Yolo County, Ca are a lure to parents concerned about the education of their children, and one of the factors keeping Davis home prices much higher than surrounding communities. A useful tool for those considering buying a home and wondering about the local schools is the school performance map, a useful example of what can be done with Google Maps and a bit of creativity. Public schools show up on the maps as color coded pins with the colors indicating recent API scores. Click on the pin and more detailed information about the school and it's performance comes up.

Woodland short sales and contingent short sales

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:07:39 -0700

In Woodland (in Yolo County, CA) over half of the homes available are short sales. We have 279 homes currently in an active status on our MLS, 146 of those are short sales. But what agents understand and most home buyers don't is that not all of those short sale listing are equally available.

Of those 146 short sale homes, 58 are in Active Short status and 87 are in Active Short Contingent Status. Those in Active Short Contingent status have had an offer accepted by the seller and negotiations are underway with the bank that has to approve the short sale. Although those homes are technically available - another offer could be submitted - the hopeful buyer will not only have to deal with all the headaches of the short sale process but they will also be competing with the buyer who got there first.

So I explain this to my Woodland buyers and encourage them to consider short sales that don't yet have an offer accepted. And if they need or want to buy a house *now* and not months down the road I encourage them to consider a conventional sale or a foreclosure.

Breaking News: SB 931 Bans Deficiency on California First Mortgages After a Short Sale

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:55:27 -0700

Fantastic news for Yolo County homeowners considering a short sale, via Elizabeth Weintraub's blog. I follow Elizabeth's blog because she is so on top of what is happening in short sales in California.

In Woodland short sales are a large part of our business. I have had to tell potential sellers that they could possibly have a deficiency judgment against them, and that unless we can get the bank to clearly state that they are forgiving the deficiency and waiving the right to pursue a judgment in the future that a short sale may not be the best solution. If the Governor signs SB931 sellers who do a short sale will be protected from a deficiency judgment - this is going to make short sales easier for the homeowner.

Via Elizabeth Weintraub, Sacramento Short Sale Agent, Land Park, Sac 916-233-6759 (Lyon Real Estate):

In the most exciting news since Pop Cap introduced Peggle, it's possible that California short sale sellers with a first mortgage may no longer have to worry about a deficiency judgment after a short sale. I've been following SB 931 with great interest and discovered it just passed the Senate on Thursday unopposed. It's already cleared the Assembly.

California sellers who are granted a short sale by a lender holding a first mortgage will now be exempt from a deficiency judgment, even if that first mortgage was a hard money loan, providing that Governor Schwarzenegger signs it. And why wouldn't he? Nobody at the Capitol seems to have opposed it.

I can't count the number of Bank of America short sales I have negotiated and closed in Sacramento in which sellers had refinanced into one loan at some point. Bank of America has been unrelenting in its short sale approval letter verbiage on refinances, saying it would follow state laws to pursue a deficiency judgment. Some California lawyers argue that even if the loan was purchase money and exempt from a deficiency, such language allowed the bank to pursue sellers after closing a short sale because the approval letter changed the status of the loan.

On a refinance, though, the law is jumbled. It says if the bank forecloses on a first mortgage under a Notice of Default, it waives the right to a deficiency. However, it doesn't address what happens after a short sale. Short sales are different from foreclosures. Lawyers say a bank would need to pursue action most likely through an appellate court, and it's too costly, but it doesn't mean a bank wouldn't do it.

Now that we have SB 931 on the horizon, all of that is likely to change. Change is good. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I have clients who can't sleep at night because they have refinanced and closed escrow on a short sale. They are always looking over their shoulder, wondering whether they will get served with a collection notice or lawsuit.

SB 931 applies to one to four-unit dwellings, non-owner or owner-occupied. You can thank Sen. Denise Ducheny, a San Diego Democrat, for SB 931.

Illustration: Big Stock Photo

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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. DRE License # 00697006.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.

How much to offer - East Davis in Yolo County

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:32:06 -0700

Several times in the past few months people coming through an open house have mentioned that their agents are not willing to make offers for less than about 2 percent below list price. Last week one of these people said her agent made her feel like an idiot for wanting to make an offer 7 percent below list price.

This isn't surprising - Davis is a desirable community and our agents generally do an excellent job of pricing their listings. But is it true that making an offer more than 2 percent below list is a waste of time?

The buyers I was talking to were looking in East Davis, which has most of the affordable (by Davis standards) homes and so is a place that first time home buyers consider. People use different definitions for East Davis, but mine is Davis east of L Street, west of Mace Ranch, north of 5th Street and south of Covell. In July, 7 houses sold in this area - how did the buyers do?

List Price Selling Price Percent below List

$300,000 $274,000 8.67

$299,900 $280,000 6.64

$347,000 $335,000 3.46

$384,900 $378,000 1.79

$427,900 $419,000 2.08

$439,900 $430,000 2.25

$518,000 $519,000 0

Judging from this very limited sample buyers might be able to get a good discount on low end houses that need substantial work and a limited discount off list for mid range homes in good condition. But since these numbers show that a 2 to 3 percent discount off list is possible buyers in this market shouldn't hesitate to offer 4-5 percent below list price for these homes but be prepared for a counteroffer.