Posted by Maura on May 27th, 2008 — Posted in real estate
We are getting a strange low pressure system for this late in Spring…dropping from high 80’s/low 90’s down to 45 and drizzly. It feels more like Alaska then California, but rain is always a welcome site in these parts.
I came across this article regarding contingencies in the California purchase contract (RPA-CA) written by the California Association of Realtor’s Legal Department titled Contingencies and Contingency Removal. Generally when an escrow gets fuddled up, you can bet it is surrounding the contingencies in the purchase contract. This is a great read, complete with questions that are commonly asked during the escrow process. I have done a number of transactions at this point and I still come across new and strange hiccups surrounding the specifics of contingencies. Read this, and save yourself the worry.
Happy rainy Tuesday…this too will pass.
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Posted by Maura on May 20th, 2008 — Posted in real estate
This past weekend was really really hot for Truckee. Especially for mid-May. In some outlying areas, there are reports of breaking the previous high-temp record by 12 degrees. Truckee clocked low 90’s on Saturday and Sunday, which isn’t scorching hot, but when the temperature jumps from the high 50’s to the low 90’s within a week’s span, your body is not ready yet. Thus the strange sunburn spots on my back, ankles, one calf, and my nose.
One great thing about Lake Tahoe and Truckee are our gorgeous lakes. On Wednesday, my son and I hung out at a quiet beach on the east end of Donner Lake. We had the beach to ourselves for almost the entire afternoon. The sun was shining and there was no wind. It was a perfect day for swimming and hanging at the beach. On Sunday, we cooled off by the shores of Lake Tahoe at Commons Beach .
Located in Tahoe City, this beach is spectacular and perfect for a family beach day. Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful sites in the world, and Commons Beach is a great vantage point to experience this majestic place. Forget Springtime, summer has made its first appearance, and it will be a hot one.
Another quick tidbit, I was blogging this morning and found this post on Active Rain. It was a really helpful post in these tough real estate times about keeping your buyer focused, titled How to Sell a Home in Three Seconds. Give it a read. For the handful of us who have real buyers on the line, it has been a frustrating process . One week they might be motivated to take advantage of the excellent rates and plummeting prices, and the next week they change their mind, waiting for the supposed bottom, or decide to put their money in some emerging market because their Uncle Al had a hot tip . UGHHH! This article is a simple how-to approach for quick and affective marketing to get your buyers to buy now.
Happy Tuesday, enjoy the day.
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Posted by Maura on May 5th, 2008 — Posted in real estate
I was at a womens’ dinner party at my friend’s house who lives in North Lake Tahoe. Over a glass of wine and some chit chat, my friend told me that her home equity line of credit (HELOC) with Bank of America was frozen. They had the line of credit in place for several years and had never tapped into it; they had it “just in case”.
I had been hearing of this lately in the real estate world- a lender I have worked with in the Sacramento area had had his HELOC frozen too, and he was a lender with the company! I thought this very strange but wrote it off to those poor souls who had bought at the top of the market in areas that had lost 20% or more.
When my friend here in Tahoe told me this happened to her, I panicked. That is literally hitting close to home. Yes, Truckee/North Lake Tahoe home values have dropped in price over the past three years, some areas as much as 10-15%. But during the booms years of 2000-2005 when my friend and many others have bought, there was enough gain to make up for the more recent loss. Why would banks be freezing HELOCs to people that have plenty of equity in their homes?
I stumbled upon this article in CNN’s Money Magazine entitled When a HELOC Freezes Over. I found it to be very informative regarding this new and scary phenomenon in real estate. It spells out what your risk is if you have a HELOC That is currently open and what to do if it might be frozen soon (including drawing a lump sum of cash ASAP) and what to do if you have already received the letter from your bank holding the note for the line of credit, namely, fight it!
Give it a read. I can attest that this is not happening in some far away place like in Southern Florida where practically everybody has lost their equity in their homes and hung themselves out to dry with a risky loan, it is happening to, well, people I know who live in my own back yard.
Arm yourself…knowledge is power.
Happy Monday:)
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