Oakland Ca Real Estate's Blog: Oakland Real Estate

With so much Bank Owned real estate on the market, us Realtors are starting to see certain "patterns" play out in term of how the Banks are pricing them. What I've been noticing is that they are not hesitating as much to lower the price if it's been sitting for a while. I often talk to buyers who have their eye on a bank owned property, but want to wait until they reduce it further before they write an offer. However, in most cases as soon as the Bank reduces the price to a very attractive one, multiple offers come in, and now all of a sudden you are in competition.

In some situations, it may be a better strategy to go ahead and write an under-asking price offer, cutting ahead of the competition that may jump out once the price is officially reduced. As…

I haven't done a short sale yet, but from what I hear I shouldn't be anxious to do one anyways. I mean it's already hard enough selling property right now, a short sale just adds layers and layers of uncertainty. The fact that offers on short sale properties must be reviewed by the lender is one of the biggest problems. It's not so much the fact the offers have to be reviewed, but it's the time that it takes for them to do it that's the problem.

I've spoken to several agents who have short sale listings, mostly because I get so many inquiries on short sale real estate, and I usually hear something like "well we've sent three offers to the lender but it's been over two months and we haven't heard anything".. WOW. Ok, so as a buyers agent I have to tell my…

The amount of Bank Owned properties on the Market in Oakland is crazy, and with more adjustable rate loans resetting soon there are sure to be even more of them. The positive side of REO property is that the banks usually price the homes well in order to sell them. On the other hand, the banks don't always get inspections done, so buyers have to go in blind and pay for their own inspections after they get into escrow.

It would be great if the banks would at least get pest or home inspections on their properties, that way us Realtors can help our clients determine the condition of the home before they consider submitting an offer. Then there is the issue of agents who are terrible about returning calls and emails. It seems that there are a handful of…

The City of San Leandro has contracted the BAHBA (Bay Area Home Buyers Agency) to help provide opportunities for first time home buyers in the Bay Area. Currently there are five to ten households per month getting approved for one of the various first time buyer financing programs, incentives and subsidies offered through the City of San Leandro. There are first time home buying seminars held twice a month to educate consumers about the home buying process.

Interest rates are still low and inventory is high, which means there are more opportunities for buyers than in previous years. There are incentives and subsidies being provided by the city, county and the some of the developers that can end up providing up to $150,000 in assistance.

I was suprised to hear that the Federal Reserve and other government entities are floating the idea of allowing the FHA to insure Jumbo loans at up to $1,000,000. This could potentially mean that in the near future, someone with average credit and no(or low) down payment would actually be able to get a loan of up to $1,000,000 at a favorable rate.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how that could help stimulate the market by allowing a huge pool of people to be eligible for loans who otherwise wouldn't qualify. There has already been talk of raising the FHA guidelines for high cost areas, but this is the first time there has been mention of FHA loans possibly going up to 1 mil. I think all these types of ideas need to be explored considering the…

With all the changes in the mortgage industry, first time home buyers in Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area should know that there is still a way for them to get 100% financing on single family homes up to $515k. Although the Acorn program no longer offers below market interest rates, it still offers 100% 30 yr fixed loans at very competitive prices with no pre-payment penalty or PMI.

The guidelines are as follows:

-Annual income cannot exceed $84,000

-Purchase price on the property must be $515k or under for single family homes (they do have loans for income property as well)

-The borrower also must attend a first time buyer seminar given by Bank of America

-Fico score is not critical, but income must be verified

All in all, this is still the…

Oakland Real Estate Seismic Retrofit Incentives

The City of Oakland California is now offering incentives to get seismic retrofit work done on homes that are resold. Basically the program works like this: After you close your home, you have 60 days to file an application with the city of Oakland for a rebate. Once the application has been approved, you have one year to get the work done.

The benefit is that the City of Oakland will rebate you about half of one percent of the price of the home for the work. So on a $400,000 home, you could get a $2000 rebate, which would cover much if not all of the work in many cases. Typically the work involves bolting the foundation to the home and installing "sheer walls" which help prevent the twisting motion of…

I hadn't known anything about so called "Living Roofs" until I saw a news piece on how they are starting to gain popularity. A Living Roof is basically a roof that is mostly flat, which has been covered with several inches of soil. This soil allows grass and other plants to grow on the roof, which provides several interesting benefits.

Because the soil absorbes much of the water that would fall, these roofs help drainage by not having as much water flowing through gutters down to to the foot of the house. Also, the soil acts as natural insulation, keeping the home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, thereby reducing heating and cooling costs. Another benefit is that because the roof itself is protected from the elements, it can be expected to…