Dominic Tartaglia, GRI SLO first-time homebuyer specialist

Dominic Tartaglia touches on the broad realm of buying your first house. This is an introduction to a series soon to follow… Stay posted at www.dominictartaglia.com/blog

Join me in a brief discussion about the current market trends in San Luis Obispo, the SLO County plastic bag ban and the decrease in foreclosure activity in 2011.

Dominic Tartaglia addresses local SLO real estate trends and market data, the county's plastic bag ban and the national decrease in foreclosure activity in 2011.

It's fair to say that a large majority of folks love that big round, red suited, old man... you know SANTA CLAUS! I mean how can you not love a jovial old man that travels the world doing fly-bys in a sleigh driven by reindeer. The guy has swagger. Starting this weekend children around the world are going to start writing down all kinds of wants and desires for what they want to find under their Christmas trees and in their stockings on December 25th. It is also a month of the year when parents have a bit of leverage over their kids to be 'nice' not 'naughty.' Win for parents!

Where am I going with this? I'm going to Santa's House. That's right, I have a very close personal relationship with Santa. It makes sense my office and his house are just a block away, literally. I know there's that old wive's tale that he lives at the North Pole. Well I'm going to drop a bomb shell on you all, Santa moved. His primary residence may be the North Pole but he winters in SLO. TRUE STORY! Trust me, I hang with the big man while he stays over here and help him with his winter chores like feeding reindeer, taking family pictures in his living room, handing out candy canes and making sure that his naughty and nice list is as organized as the real estate transaction files in my desk. It's a hobby, nothing big really.

What's super exciting for many of the children of SLO is that they get to hang with Santa from Black Friday all through Christmas Eve. This year Santa flies into SLO-Town at 9:45 AM on Black Friday and arrives at my office at 968 Monterey Street. I swear it! He literally is flying in from the big NP and freshening up at Tartaglia Realty before taking a short stroll down to his home at Mission Plaza. So please help me welcome the big man at my office this Friday morning and walk down to his home with him. Bring your kids. Bring your neighbor's kids. Bring your nephews and neices. Bring your dog. Bring your sweetheart. Heck, I don't care, bring an ugly holiday sweater. You know I'm going to be wearing one.

Details:

Santa Claus comes to town at Tartaglia Realty at just before 10 AM on November 25th.

Come to Tartaglia Realty at 968 Monterey Street to help Tartaglia Realty welcome Santa and escort him to Santa's House in Mission Plaza. He will be available for consultation daily from Friday through Christmas Eve with the hours listed here. Guests can take pictures or have pictures taken with Santa for a small cost and go into his back yard and ride the classic carousel too.

This morning I got out of bed and looked at my iPhone for a quick idea of how cold it was outside. 41 °

41 ° may not be concerning to many people across the country but in San Luis, that's really cold. My thoughts raced forward to Thursday, you know... Thanksgiving Day. Some of you that read this blog may already know that this is my favorite holiday of the year next to St. Patrick's Day (also my B-Day) and that I plan my entire day around being full on turkey and fixin's. Historically, Thanksgiving in SLO is pretty warm but this year's forecast; well, it's looking pretty bleak.

A high of 60 ° with a 20% chance of rain. Now, I'm sure all of you folks from out of the area are fixing to reach through the Internet machine and smack me for saying that and expressing any concern but in my defense I like my warm Thanksgivings and I don't like the thought of having to put a sweater on for the best holiday ever. Nonetheless, I have prepared a disaster preparedness list for all of the locals so that they will be safe for this Thursday. We don't want anybody freezing to death in SLO.

Dom Tartaglia's SLO Thanksgiving Disaster Preparedness List

1. Don't wear the usual shorts to Thanksgiving events. I recommend jeans.
2. Do wear a long sleeved shirt at minimum. I will likely stick with the tee-shirt but also accessorize with a hoodie or sweater of some sort.
3. It may rain a bit, prepare to be inside for a few minutes. We all know how those 15 minute downpours can ruin an entire day of eating.
4. Be a good guest and wear slip-off shoes. You may face the awkward muddy shoe dilemma and have to bend over to put your shoes on after dinner where upon you split a seam in your shorts jeans.
5. Eat plenty of turkey and gravy. It's going to be cold so eating those warm servings of deliciousness are a good preemptive measure to freezing on your walk to your car.
6. Between the showers take a hike on one of the local trails. It might rain a tenth of an inch but don't let that stop you from hiking Bishop's Peak or South Hills etc. Remember: it's important to keep moving when temperatures drop to an extreme 60 °.

As winter falls upon us here in San Luis Obispo there is the increasing realization that having a heater is a good thing. What many first-time homebuyers might not know, however, is that a functioning heat source is also REQUIRED for the purchase of a home. While there may not be an explicit call out for a heater in the standard real estate contracts, there is indeed a requirement for a permant and functioning heat source in the appraisal report. Without that appraiser's signature you stand a pretty bad chance of getting a loan to fund.

As a first-time homebuyer your purchase price may range a bit and be on the lower end of the spectrum and as a part of that you may start finding homes that don't have that necessary heat source or if it has the heater, it's not functioning. It's important to make a note of the heater issue in your decision to buy because while you may be cozy renting and singing Let it Snow buying a home without a heater is most likely a "No go," in as-is condition at least.

Don't despair, there are options for you to still land your dream house that doesn't have a heater that doesn't past the muster. Here are some ways to do it.

1. Decide if that house is really perfect for you and if you decide that you have to have it proceed...
2. Prepare an offer with a condition that requestst that the seller remedy the heater problem. This is the cheapest and easiest method for buyers.
3. Prepare the offer as normal but save some money back to have the repairs done prior to funding the loan. If this is the case you will also have to pay the appraiser to come back out to sign off on the condition for the repaired heater.
4. Prepare an offer as normal and split the cost with the seller to have the heater issue remedied.
5. Find a lender that can get you a loan without the heater being a required condition.
6. Pay cash.
7. *Win the lottery, prepare an all cash offer and put in the sweetest heater that you can find. You might even start out with the iPod inspired NEST Thermostat...