Jean Powers CRS,PMN,ASP Broker, Northern California

This summary I have put together has helped many of my clients when searching for the right home.

In today's San Francisco Bay Area market there are numerous properties for sale. I have been working with buyers and sellers in this challenging market. For the most part, prices ranging from $200,000 to $400,000 are being sold as Short Sale or REO properties. There are some being sold on Auction websites. Very few homes in the above price range are being sold by homeowners as what we call a Regular sale. Below are a summarized definition of these types of transactions.

Regular Sale - A sale where the seller has equity in the property. The buyer and seller will thenegotiate price and terms of the sale. The seller is required to provide Disclosures accordingto California Law and statute. The transactions in this type of sale are generally much easier to come together as there are timelines in which the seller needs to abide by in the transaction. The seller is motivated to sell and move on in his/her life.

Short Sale - A short sale is the sale of real property where the fair market sale price is less than the loan(s) on the property. A short sale means the seller's lender is accepting a less than the existing loans on the property. Just because a property is listed with short "sale terms" does not mean the lender will accept your offer. These properties must be purchased "As Is" without any repairs or warranties. Some are in need of repair. The lender is already taking a 30% to 50% loss on the property. This is why a majority of the time, they will NOT negotiate on the price. In fact, in most cases in our area, there are multiple offers on most properties that are in good condition and the price will higher than the listed price.

If the property in encumbered with more than one loan, there could be a problem. All of the lenders must agree to a short sale or a contract can never be ratified. There is no guarantee the lender will

approve of the sale. My buyers have waited over 4 months for the lender to respond to their offer. We are still waiting for an acceptance! I have heard of circumstances where it took the lender over 9 months to respond and did not accept the offer. Statistics show over the last six months that only 20 % of these sales have closed. The homeowner should consult their CPA or Tax Attorney before entering into a Short Sale agreement.

REO/Bank Owned Property - REO is an acronym for a real estate owned property that has been

foreclosed on or repossessed by banks or lenders. These properties are also sold in "As Is" condition without any repairs or warranties. The seller (lender) is exempt by law from completing any disclosures. The agents involved in the transaction are not exempt from completing their visual inspection as per California's disclosure laws.

Prior to these properties going on the market, the lender has had an agent submit a BPO (Broker's Price Opinion). So, just as in a short sale transaction, the lender is already taking a 30% to 50% loss on the property. This is why a majority of the time, they will NOT negotiate on the price. In fact, in most cases in my area, there are multiple offers on most properties that are in good condition and the price will higher than the listed price. Again, some properties are in need of repair. The process for bank approval can be anywhere from 3 - 10 days.

Pre-Foreclosure Property - A property where the homeowner has fallen behind in their payments or when a Notice of Default (NOD) has been filed against the property by the lender. May not have much flexibility in negotiating. These properties may be regular sales or potential Short Sales. The homeowner should consult their CPA or Tax Attorney before entering into a Short Sale agreement.

Online Auctions - Recently I have found that some of the REOs that have not sold were placed on an online auction website. Do not be fooled in thinking that you can purchase these properties lower than what they were listed for by an agency. The agency still has the listing. The website starts with a minimum bid and the buyer is made to believe that they can purchase this property for this amount if there are no other bidders. Not so, there is a reserve amount that the lender expects to get for the property. This price is usually what the real estate agency has listed the property for in the multiple listing service. There is a 5-10% fee paid to the auction house in addition to the final bid price. These properties are all "As Is" sales without inspections or warranties.

What are your plans for New Year's Eve? I am going to a wedding. My client, Michael, who is a friend now, is getting married for the first time. He is in his 30's. He has always enjoyed calling me just to talk. I met him quite a few years ago and sold him a condo. I then sold him a single family home on Thompson Avenue which is also known as Thompson Lane at Christmas. The entire block is lit up and decorated for the kids and Santa is there to listen to the children's requests. Of course a disclosure is signed regarding the electric costs during Christmas when a home is purchased on this street. I wish Michael much happiness and I am sure he will have a "Happy New Year".

Mexico was freed from the Spanish custody in 1821, which allowed it to go out of this earth by the North, in the direction of California. The Mexicans built several missions throughout their journey leading them to San Francisco..

Captain John Montgomery planted the American flag on Plaza, renamed Portsmouth Square. Today, in the financial district, a street was immortalized with the name of this national hero.

San Francisco was called at first Nova Albion by Francis Drake. Then when John Montgomery arrived on the lands of California, the city was renamed Yerba Buena. It was called San Francisco since January 30, 1847.

Sam Brannan was the first millionaire.

In 1850, California obtains its status of American state. San Francisco became an overpopulated city with the crime and corruption..

The streets of San Francisco go back to the time when the city was still named Yerba Buena. In 1839 Jean-Jacques Vioget a Swiss colonist, designed the plans of the city.

Chinatown was created in 1860

San Francisco was developed between 1870 and 1880. Golden Gate Park originated in 1870, cable cars in 1873.

The first big 8.25 earthquake of San Francisco happened on April 18 1906. San Franciscans took refuge in the Golden Gate Park after the tragedy.

.On October 17, 1989 was the strongest earthquake since 1906.

A long section of the Oakland Bay Bridge and a part of the Embarcadero Freeway collapsed.

Most of the latest movements started in San Francisco. The Beat Generation started in North Beach's district. Beatniks drank coffee and read poems.

The hippies settled in the Haight Ashbury district in the early 60's.

At the end of the war of Vietnam, San Francisco was known for its different demonstrations against this war. The homosexuals also demonstrated in the streets to assert their rights. A district, "Castro", is also known as being the district of the homosexuals.

Do you have a group of good friends and celebrate each other's birthdays? I do. Every year the group takes the birthday person out to dinner. Last week I have 2 friends, Michael and Sandra whose birthdays are in December. The group decided to take them out to lunch at Bing Crosby's in Walnut Creek. This restaurant opened a couple of years ago and became an instant hit. It's nostalgic with an atmosphere of the days that Bing was alive and a great place to eat. We all gave gifts to the birthday boy and girl and also exchanged Christmas gifts. Lisa's family makes their yearly tamales and we all received a batch! Umm Yummy! I can't remember whose birthday is next, but I do know we will find a wonderful place to go!

We had a lot of fun! Last Thursday night, it was cold and rainy and my daughter, son-in-law and I took my 2 year old grandson to the Sunol Train of Lights ride. We had friends come along too. We get to experience the 75 minute round trip ride through Niles Canyon to Fremont and back. My grandson Luc had such fun walking from the engine to the caboose during the whole ride. Last year Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus greeted the children with candy canes. This year it was only Santa. Children and adults love this magical ride every year. We plan on going again next year with more friends. Happy Holidays to all of You!!