When selling a house, it is important to understand that the market determines the sold price, not the real estate agent.

Download the FREE REPORT: Understanding Fair Market Value and List Price to learn the basics of real estate valuation and pricing. This information will be invaluable when you interview real estate agents to sell your home and review their Competitive Market Analysis.

Johhny Sandhu and his wife, Amarinder Kaur, have opened Johnny’s International Deli in downtown Clayton.

As soon as you walk in the door and the delicious scents hit your nose, you realize this is no ordinary deli.  Yes, they offer high quality Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, deli sandwiches prepared to order and all natural gourmet salads……..but their international dishes will make your mouth water.

Clay Oven Creations
Chicken or Lamb Seekh Kabob laminated in ginger garlic and herb
Tandori Chicken or Prawns marinated in a mild spiced sauce
Paneer Tandoori – soft, juicy chunks of home-made cheese marinated in tandoori masala and then baked in the clay oven

Curries and Vegetable Dishes
If you have only had curry from the grocery store, do yourself a favor and try a real curry dish!  There are 18 Curry and Vegetable Dish options so I will only mention a few:

Chicken Dhan Saag – Milk masala spiced chicken tossed with fresh spinach
Fish Tikka Masala – Ginger lemon marinated fish cooked in a tart curry sauce
Roghan Gosht – Tender cubes of lamb cooked in a spicy curry
Matter Paneer – Home-made cottage cheese blended with peas in a spiced sauce

Freshly Baked Flat Breads
Plain Naan – white flour tandoori bread
Garlic Naan – garnished with freshly roasted garlic
Keema Naan – Naan stuffed with mildly seasoned lamb
Tandori Roti – Full whole wheat bread baked in the clay oven

Rejuvenating Rice
Vegetable Biryani – a medley of vegetables and rice, cooked with nuts and raisins
Murg Biryani – Richly flavored rice with chicken, nuts and raisins.
Lamb Biryani – Basmati rice and mildly spiced lamb cubes, garnished with nuts and raisins

This doesn’t represent the entire menu but it is certainly enough to encourage your visit to Johnny’s International Deli.  Consider stopping by for a bite to eat before the Free Concert in the Grove on Saturday night, August 22^nd.

For more information about Clayton events or Clayton businesses, please visit Everything Clayton.

I have received dozens of phone calls from California home owners as a result of my post Clarification Regarding California Non-Recourse mortgages.

Based on these phone conversations, I have come to the conclusion that there is a very frightening trend: real estate professionals (both loan officers and real estate agents) are offering advice based on "real estate urban legends" i.e. information that has been passed from person to person and is treated FACT but is completely unsubstantiated.

Three examples of these calls are:

A homeowner has lost 60% of the value on his investment property which has negative cash flow. The mortgages (a 1st and 2nd) were refinanced so they are no longer non-recourse. He doesn't have a hardship situation. His loan officer told him to to stop making the payments and let the home go to foreclosure to get out from under the mortgage debt. Urban legend advice. Foreclosure will release him from the obligation to repay on the 1st mortgage only (assumed to be the foreclosing lender) but the 2nd lienholder will have the right to collect a whopping $180k for up to four years - and they are pursuing these collections.

A homeowner with a valid hardship is selling his home as a short-sale. The home had been refinanced multiple times with some level of cash-out each time. His real estate agent told him not to worry about income taxes on the deficiency because "there is a federal law that says he doesn't have to pay". Again, urban legend advice. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act very clearly states that income taxes don't have to be paid on the "acquisition indebtedness" for a primary home. Income taxes DO have to be paid for the unpaid balance above the original purchase mortgage. In this case, the amount of phantom income will be over $250k.

Another homeowner with a short-sale. The approval clearly states that the 2nd lienholder retains their right to collect the balance due. The real estate agent told him not to worry about it. If the lender tries to collect, he can always file bankruptcy. Urban legend advice. In California, you must pass a "means test" to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you earn in excess of approx. $75k per year. Most people will not pass the means test without their mortgage and will be forced in to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy (repayment plan).

To be treated as professionals, we must act as professionals. Due dilligence and research on the information we offer as fact should be the bare minimum standard of conduct. Equally important, clients making these crucial decisions should be emphatically urged to consult with the appropriate legal and tax professionals or the financial repurcussions could be devasting.

Wendy Cutrufelli
Your Real Estate Advocate

I shudder when I read blanket statements that California mortgages are Non-Recourse. Why do I shudder? Because people BELIEVE IT and are making decisions about whether to let their home go to foreclosure based on an incomplete understanding of the facts.

So what ARE the facts?

Under California law, a mortgage debt is considered "non-recourse" when the mortgage was made under the following two circumstances:

- The mortgage was made to purchase a 1 - 4 unit property and the borrower occupies at least one of the units.

- The Seller financing for all or a portion of the purchase price of the property.

A mortgage with Recourse is one in which neither of the above two exemptions applies. Examples of recourse debt are:

• Refinanced mortgages
• Home equity lines of credit and/or 2nd mortgages obtained after purchase
• Mortgages for non-primary properties (including vacation homes and investment properties)

Given the previous run-up of property values combined with low interest rates, the number of people who DIDN'T refinance their homes and, in many cases, add a Home Equity Line of Credit is extremely low. Only those owner-ocuppant homeowners who retained their purchase money mortgage(s) on their primary residence have non-recourse debt, everyone else has recourse debt.

The second important part of this recourse equation:

• the foreclosing lender waives their right to recourse unless they choose to pursue a Judicial Foreclosure instead of a Trustee Sale. Given that the homeowner has a Right to Redemption in a judicial foreclosure, lenders rarely pursue this option.
  
• the non-foreclosing lender - typically the 2nd or Home Equity lienholder - still has the right to pursue the deficiency for up to four years.

Homeowners should always consult with an attorney regarding their personal situation.

As a proud Clayton, California resident and a Realtor, I am pleased to announce the new Clayton community website: EverythingClayton.com

This website was designed as a centralized internet site to bring all of the community resources together:

• Community calendar of events
• Clayton Business pages
• Clayton Groups, Clubs and Recreation
• FREE Classified Ads
• Local phone numbers
• Volunteer opportunities
• Clayton Schools
• Links to Clayton government and services
• Clayton real estate