real estate: 1844 Cannon Drive, Walnut Creek, California
- 07/14/08 01:10 PM
1844 Cannon Drive, Walnut CreekLocation: Walnut Creek, CACOMPLETELY UPDATED 2 story townhouse in the h ighly desirable Skywest complex in Walnut Creek. New carpet, new paint, new floor tile, new granite counters and new stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. New washer and dryer. Updated bathrooms with granite counter tops, new shower stall, tile floors. The attached 2 car garage is unusual in this price range!The main floor has a family room with sliding glass doors to the front patio, the kitchen and living and dining rooms with additional sliding glass doors to the rear patio, large back yard and a … (0 comments)
real estate: BUY OR SELL FUTURES TO HEDGE ON YOUR RESIDENTAIL REAL ESTATE
- 12/10/07 12:53 PM
It's been 18 months now that you can, through the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, trade futures based on house price indexes for each of the top ten largest US cities. You can sell futures, buy puts or sell calls all designed to hedge losses that might be occurring on the value of your home. Each of these futures contracts are trading on an ongoing basis-- for example, the house price index in Los Angeles is trading with the underlying assumption of an 11.5% drop over the next two years. With that index trading at $57,000, one could hedge the price drop of … (1 comments)
real estate: Heads up on remodel and home improvement bids
- 12/03/07 11:49 AM
I recently gathered several bids for some work for a listing that i hope to have on the market in January. On the floor coverings bid, as with the other contractors on other jobs, i previewed approximate costs on the phone and got the ballpark figures i was looking for. The floor guy come out, we met at the house, he did some measuring and said he would get back to me. Per his phone converstation ballpark quote, i expected the job to cost $1650 so yes, i was rather disappointed and surprised when the bid came in at $3777. What happened? … (2 comments)
real estate: TREASURY SECRETARY PAULSON RESCUE PLAN FOR MORTGAGE MARKET
- 12/03/07 03:08 AM
In case you missed the 7:30 am (PST) broadcast, Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson, described in a fair amount of detail a mortgage bail out plan for those ARMs that are causing so many foreclosures and financial unrest. The proposed solution will not impact those that are handling their payments but will be addressed to those that will be able to show that they will not be financially capable to handle increased payments. Please look for the deails on www.cnbc.com for this story and related houseing market information. It is difficult to surmise whether this will be the key to fixing our ailing mortgage … (1 comments)
real estate: SHORT SALES GROWING AND GROWING
- 11/30/07 07:00 AM
CCAR (Contra Costa County of Professional Realtors) sponsored a panel of speakers that addressed the world of short sales this morning and here are several of the take away messages that i want to share: 1. Approx. 30% of listings in our county are short sales. 2. Closing rate is 2-8 times lower than non short sales. 3. Short sale sellers (and foreclosure candidates) must be very careful to use all the same information on all docs that were on their original loan docs and avoid fraud charges and other legal issues. 4. Technically, a loan can go into default after one missed payment but most … (1 comments)
real estate: business plans for realtors and growth into the beyond
- 11/30/07 06:02 AM
I recently had the good fortune to meet with Brad Andersohn. It was truly an amazing learning experience for me. The primary topics at hand were constructing my business plan for 2008 and growing my business into the future. Brad has written a full suite of software products that directly and intuitively take you down the path of your future business activities and projected results. He breaks the tasks down to monthly, weekly, and daily activities. Once one or several deals get done, the program updates and recalculates new target levels for contacts, appointments, and closings needed to stay on target with … (5 comments)
real estate: FHA REFORM AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
- 11/28/07 09:56 AM
The National Association of Realtors is regularly communicating with us to do our part in being more vocal with our Washington representatives. Specifically, legislation to make FHA single family mortgages and loans more competitive and viable again has been a major initiative of the NAR. Although we have recently learned that the nationally proposed increased FHA mortgage limits and lower FHA downpayment requirements have not been passed for 2008, these initiatives must stay on our front burners and our Washington reps need to hear from us. The higher cost areas around the country have the same Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan … (1 comments)
real estate: ECONOMICS 101- STOCK MARKET AND REAL ESTATE MARKETS
- 11/19/07 03:43 PM
Recent gyrations of the stock market seem to resemble the vicissitudes of the stock market. With the stock market dropping hundreds of points in a single trading day, it is starting to get some negative press like the real estate market has been getting over the past year or so. The key point to understand is that the recent, brief correction in the stock market is normal and, in fact, healthy for future price appreciation to take place. The overall market is several percentage points off the all time highs set recently. There are many compensating balances pushing and pulling on equities such that the market remains … (2 comments)
real estate: SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT REALTOR SKILL- ART OF NEGOTIATION
- 11/17/07 05:58 AM
Having asked many buyers, sellers, agents and brokers their opinions of the most important skills to be a successful Realtor, as you might expect, i have received a wide range of answers including - good people skills, attention to detail, knowledgeable about the market, good listening skills, persistence and many others. Anyone who has been in the business for any length of time will tend to have their own formula for the keys to success. The one overriding skill set that the top Realtors have that set them apart from the others is the fine ART OF NEGOTIATING. The skills of negotiating start early in … (5 comments)
real estate: HOME PRICES-- GET THE REAL FACTS AND SPREAD THE WORD
- 11/15/07 08:08 AM
The article below is a succinct statement of the real price changes that have occurred around the country over the past several years. It does a good job in keeping recent price action in perspective. We need to share this dose of reality with our buyers and sellers. The erosion of equity that hs taken place over the past two years is relatively modest in light of price levels of three or five years ago. Carry a few copies of this expose in your car or briefcase and share it with someone who is moaning and groaning about the terrible real estate market. … (0 comments)
real estate: It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know
- 11/03/07 12:54 PM
After many weeks of door knocking, calling and emailing people i do not know and that do not know me, flyering neighborhoods near and far, and feeling very light on the business that has come my way as a result of all that effort, i decided to share some of my findings and conclusions: 1. Since many of us have spheres of influence ranging from several dozen to several hundred, we need to recognize that there is gold right there in our own backyard. The impact i have on people that know me is incredibly more profound than the one in a hundred … (2 comments)
real estate: Seller Credits is the closest thing to a Magic Bullet
- 10/29/07 01:32 PM
It is a very exciting as more and more agents recognize that seller credits (when used to buy down rates and lower closing costs) are critical parts of the transaction recipe and are responsible for getting the cake, not only baked, but baked on time. It is the closest thing to smoke and mirrors when we can show buyers that with some cooperation and cash from the sellers, our proposed offer is not actually $100k away from the seller's listed price. And when they buy that house for $1 million, the closing costs and ongoing payments will look and feel like they paid … (0 comments)
real estate: CONTACT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
- 10/29/07 04:32 AM
Do I really need Top Producer to run my real estate business or can i do it with the updated version of Outlook? I would like to hear from the Top Producer users out there and learn what it is about that product that can't be done with Outlook. Organizing the broadcast emails seems doable with Outlook, and mail merging is not a problem. The Outlook synchs with my Balckberry so what would be the main adantages and features of the Top Producer that makes it worth $45-50/month plus extra one time charges for the extra applications? Do you use the TP on your listings or … (5 comments)
real estate: Legal Update from CCAR seminar with Shannon Jones
- 10/18/07 05:07 AM
CCAR sponsored a half day seminar yesterday at the Roundhill Country Club with Shannon Jones, a well known Bay Area attorney. My broker manager, Joe Cutrufelli, and I have summarized the key take aways for your perusal. These summary points are our own work and should not be quoted as official or legal opinion. With that disclaimer out of the way, here are the key points: Consider loan contingency to funding when using unfamiliar lenders. Never give advice as to potential disposition of Liquidated Damages as this constitutes legal advice. Violent death or suicide should be reported past the three year death on premises … (1 comments)
1844 Cannon Drive, Walnut CreekLocation: Walnut Creek, CACOMPLETELY UPDATED 2 story townhouse in the h ighly desirable Skywest complex in Walnut Creek. New carpet, new paint, new floor tile, new granite counters and new stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. New washer and dryer. Updated bathrooms with granite counter tops, new shower stall, tile floors. The attached 2 car garage is unusual in this price range!The main floor has a family room with sliding glass doors to the front patio, the kitchen and living and dining rooms with additional sliding glass doors to the rear patio, large back yard and a … (0 comments)
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