Santa Rosa, CA

The people at Google just amaze me.  I always think"too bad there isn't anything left to invent"  It seems that way until a new product comes on the market and we think "Oh, I could have thought of that!"  It seems obvious after somebody else introduces us to something new. 

Anyway Google launched a new application recently that I had just heard about.  It's called Goog411.  A cell phone or land line is used to call 800-GOOG 411 or 800-644 6411 for free business telephone listing!  When you call the number a person states: "what is the business you are looking for, and what city and state are you calling from?"  You say Pizza, Santa Rosa, CA.  And the voice gives you the top 10 listings.  You say what # your choice is and Google connects you.  Very nice but if you say "Map it", Google sends you a map to your smart phone.  You can also say "Text it" and you'll get a text message with the listings address and phone number. 

One more useful tool for the real estate agent on the go!

VA Home Loans, Santa Rosa, CA - Top 10 VA Home Loan Benefits for Sonoma County Home Purchases

One of my fondest memories comes from growing up in Santa Rosa where my father purchased his first family home using the VA home loan program. As a Veteran who served two terms in the Navy during the Vietnam war, my dad deserved all of the benefits the Department of Veterans Affairs has to offer. One of them was the Va Home Loan Guaranty. With his DD214 in hand, my father was able to by our family home with no money down and with little closing costs. If it wasn't for this program, we probable would have lived in a tiny apartment somewhere until my parents could save up enough money to buy a home. Well, as a way to give back, I learned to originate VA home loans once I became a mortgage loan officer in the early 90's. Unfortunately, the real estate market values in Sonoma County and everywhere else grew so rapidly that the VA home loan became obsolete. The Department of Veterans Affairs couldn't guarantee the increasing loan amounts that were in demand until a few years ago. It wasn't until 2007 when the government authorized higher loan limits for VA Home loans to help revise the declining housing market.

I know there are a ton of resources out there about VA loans, but I thought I would create a short and sweet list of all the benefits the VA home loan has to offer for my team of Realtors in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County. So, here's the list that I think should make up the Top 10 VA Home Loan Benefits:

1. VA Home Loans require no money down
2. VA Home Loans Limit the Closing Costs allowed to charged against the qualified VA Home Loan buyer
3. VA Home Loans will finance the funding fee. It can also be reduced if VA buyer puts 5% down
4. VA Home Loans have no prepayment penalties. The VA buyer can pay the loan off early without incurring additional fees.
5. VA Home Loans allow less than perfect credit to be used for qualifying.
6. VA Home Loans have no Monthly Mi. Other loans require a monthly mortgage insurance payment if you put less than 20% down.
7. VA Home Loans qualify the buyer by using one debt to income figure. I've seen loans with a 48 to 52% DTI get qualified.
8. VA Home Loans are assumable with VA's permission, but seller loses the ability to buy another home until the loan is paid off.
9. VA Home Loans required an inspection to protect the Veteran Home buyer from any potential harm.
10. The Department of Veterans Affairs raised the maximum loan limits to match the demands of the Nation.

Here are the numbers for my area:

2009 VA Loan Limits for Northern California

County- VA Loan Limit

• ALAMEDA $1,094,625.00
• CONTRA COSTA $1,094,625.00
• MARIN $1,094,625.00
• MONTEREY $525,000.00
• NAPA $643,750.00
• SACRAMENTO $516,250.00
• SAN FRANCISCO $1,094,625.00
• SOLANO $435,000.00
• SONOMA $566,250.00

I recently helped a client write an offer for a condominium. The other agent sent me documents that had been signed with e-signatures.  It looked very impressive.  I was interested in using the service, but was really ignorant as to how it worked, what it cost, and how difficult it was to use. 

I called the other agent who told me that she really like it, it was easy to use, and the cost would pay for itself in savings on gas, and my time.  I signed up with DocUsign by going to www.docusign.net  and for about 18.00 a month was able to download their software.  I found it incredibly easy to use, and wish I had signed up for it years ago.

I highly recommend this software for anybody who has multiple transactions, or clients who live out of the area.  My clients think very highly of it.  Feel free to contact me if you would like anyother information about DocUsign.

hA KATHLEEN BONHAM

COUNTRY AND VINTAGE HOME SPECIALIST SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Top Santa Rosa Real Estate Agents and Realtors Maximize MLS Searches with Staged Homes

Yesterday, I went on a Real Estate Agent MLS tour of the latest open houses in Bennett Valley in Santa Rosa, California. As a Sonoma County home mortgage consultant, I like to be familiar with the latest inventory in my area so I can work more effectively with my top real estate agents and Realtors, and their buyers. It's always nice to be familiar with a property that's listed on the Multiple Listing Service, otherwise known as MLS.

What really caught my eye was a property that was beautifully staged. At first glance, I thought someone still lived in the house. Then I noticed the photos in the house were quite generic and asked the listing Realtor if the house was staged. It was. The Realtor told me a staged home was one of the best ways real estate agents and Realtors can present a home when it's no longer lived in. Home buyers have an easier time visualizing themselves in a house full of furniture and things vs an empty house. For this particular house, it was important for the Realtor to highlight the home's space. This Realtor staged the home first before he took the photos of the home to submit to the Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. Multiple Listing Service or BAREIS MLS. It's important to him that the future home buyer sees this home in it's most ideal setting when the buyer finds the home for first time through an MLS Search or internet searches. As we all know, pictures are worth a thousand words. 

Will a staged home sell better than an empty home? Will a home buyer stop to see a home physically that he or she finds on MLS searches because it's staged? I think it would help, but might not be the end all answer. There are many other factors that make homes appealing to a buyer such as location, price, size, shape, utility, etc. What's your opinion? When is the idea time to stage a home?

BTW- in the interest of education, I've embedded the video below that was shared by Tara Jones on activerain to share a few basic ideas on staging a home.