I just got a look at the new Motorola Droid phone available through Verizon.  The much hailed device was released to the public on November 6, 2009 and my son, who works at a Verizon retailer, was one of the first in our area to get one.  Naturally, dad had to spend a few minutes playing around with it just to "see if I need one"!  I think there is one of these in the near future, as I recently signed a 2 year contract with Verizon so buying an iPhone and signing up for another cellular service would not be prudent. 

Still in the early stages, there are tons of "apps" already available with more on the way.  The operating systems is Android, which has already been used on the Google phome from T-Mobile, and is the improved 2.0 version so it has many of the early kinks worked out.  As with the iPhone, the apps are what really make the phone useful.  Along with the GPS system built into the phone, applications are available which incorporate Google Maps to plot your current location and then help you find your way to any destination.  There's even an app that lets you virtually walk down many streets in conjunction with Google Earth.  I can see this as a valuable tool for real estate agents and their clients and I'm sure there are many more apps ready to go or soon to be developed that will make our jobs even easier.

For a complete review, visit our friends at ZDNet.  I will keep you informed as I get to spend more time with this great new piece of technology.

This video is a good place to start to understand the capabilities of Century 21's updated web site including tools to search for homes, help with selling your home, international buyers and sellers, map searching, open house tours with mapping and a connection to the C21 mobile phone site connected to GPS! After you have viewed the video, jump over to the site at www.centuty21.com. Look around a bit and send me some feed back. I'd like to know if you found the site helpful, easy to navigate, etc. (not that I can do much because it is a corporate site, but it would give me something to work with. Thanks.

Here are the top ten most expensive homes in Mission Viejo, CA.  Eight of the 10 are on Lake Mission Viejo, which has consistently been the most expensive real estate in the city.

• $1,599,000 - 5 bed, 5 bath, 4700 sq ft, 8200 lot
• $1,699,900 - 5 bed, 5 bath, 5800 sq ft, 10,000 lot
• $2,350.000 - 4 bed, 5 bath, 4000 sq ft, 6700 lot
• $2,375,000 - 4 bed, 5 bath, 4500 sq ft, 75000 lot
  
• $2,399,000 - 5 bed, 7 bath, 4200 sq ft, 7200 lot
  
• $2,400,000 - 4 bed, 5 bath, 6850 sq ft, 9800 lot
  
• $2,599,900 - 3 bed, 4 bath, 4200 sq ft, 7280 lot
  
• $2,650,000 - 5 bed, 4 bath, 5300 sq ft, 7800 lot
  
• $2,895,000 - 5 bed, 5 bath, 5500 sq ft, 7800 lot
  
• $2,999,000 - 4 bed, 5 bath, 5400 sq ft, 7245 lot 

Average DOM (days on market) = 123

Click here to view these listings.

Short Sale - A short sale occurs when real estate is sold for an amount less than what is owed on the property's loan.  The financial entity holding the loan accepts less so it is referred to as "short" of the amount due.  A short sale requires agreement of both the seller (the person who originally purchased the real estate) and the financial instution holding the note of the short amount.  While these types of sales are currently VERY popular, they are usually anything but short in terms the time required to reach agreement of all parties.

Since there is no standard procedure for a financial institution to settle a short sale, it is often difficult to to determine if the sale will be successful.  While some have completed the transaction is a relatively short period of time, other have dragged on for months, while others have ended in foreclosure even after an extended period of negotiation.

Let' s begin this series with terms that are the topic of nearly every real estate conversation these days.

REO, Foreclosure and Bank Owned are terms that refer to the same thing; a property (also referred to as an asset) that has been taken back by a bank or financial institution due to default on a loan or debt that was secured by that property.  While a foreclosure is actually a legal process, it is also used to describe a property that has been through the foreclosure process and is aslo referred to as a REO (Real Estate Owned) or Bank Owned.

When these properties are listed for sale by real estate agencies, the title is usually clear and there are no liens.  As a good consumer, you should verify the status of the title and not assume anything.  Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware.

Please use these definations for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.

While viewing a REO listing this weekend I found this rather unusual (and humorous) recessed outlet setup in a kitchen.

This may be a little difficult to see but here's what is in place.  Thick tile was added over the original wall surface, causing the outlets to be recessed too deeply to be usable.  The "genius" tile worker then pressed two ground lift adapters (AKA 3-prong adapters) into the outlet and then tiled and grouted around them to finish the permanent installation.  Could this be a fire hazard?  Probably.  Is it up to code? Not likely!

This is a good example of why buyer's need competent home inspection while in the contingency time frame.  This could likely have been passed over during a cursory walk through by the buyers but would definately be red-flagged by an inspector.

Just a few days ago, LinkedIn announced that they have hit the 50 million membership mark.  While it pales in comparison to Facebook's 300 million+ members, the company feels very upbeat because they have about 14% of the approximately 360 million white collar works worldwide.  To demonstrate their growth, it took LinkedIn sixteen months to reach one million but only 12 days to get their last million!

So why are professionals joining LinkedIn?  Many feel it is a way to take control of their employment destiny as well as a place to network with professionals in their own or other fields.  Members can post a resume-like profile, past employment history, links to off-site documents and websites, slide show presentations and even their Amazon.com book list.  It is definately NOT the place to play "Mafia Wars".

Many times as agents, we are asked to submit our offers by email and to combine all documents into one PDF file.  Unless you own Adobe Acrobat (expensive program) combining several files is difficult.  Just today I received an email with 12 individually scanned pages which comprised the purchase contract and additional documents.  I know the seller's agent would go ballistic if I sent the offer over with so many pages so I hit the web to find a solution

Enter A-PDF Merger, a utility to solve the problem.  This program easily and quickly installed on my Vista 64 bit laptop and functioned flawlessly.  You simply select the files you wish to merger, ADD them to the list, click MERGE and the completed file is ready to be saved.  You can easily change the order of files to be merged by clicking up and down arrow to get the perfect sequence of pages. It can't be any simpler!

There are a variety of other PDF utility products available at their website: www.a-pdf.com.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, Octoer 2, 2009 interest rates are near the all-time low (for rates tracked by Freddie Mac), if you have a solid credit rating and are able to put 20% dow. 30-year fixed rates last week were 4.94% with 0.7% upfront for points and fees.  A POINT is equal to 1% of the loan, so 1 point on a $300,000 loan will cost the borrower $3000.

The lowest rate recorded by Freddie Mac was 4.78 with fees and points at 0.7%, recorded in April of 2009.  By comparison, the same loan was 6% one year ago.

If you situation allows you to use a 15 year loan, rates were at 4.36% with 0.6% points, an all time loan.

Feel free to contact me for additional information or with any questions.  To accurately access your ability to ourchase a home, contact your preferred lender and ask to be pre-qualified.