Peter Nielsen

I recently represented a first time buyer who purchased a home in Greenbrae. He asked me whether he needs to wait until he files his 2009 income taxes to be able to claim his $8000 tax credit. The answer is no, he can claim it right now. To do this, he needs to file IRS Form 5405, which can be done as an amendment to his 2008 tax return that was filed earlier this year. This and other information regarding this credit is available from the IRS at www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206291,00.html.

Remember, this credit is available only through Dec 1, 2009, so if you are a first time homebuyer, and plan to have a 45 day escrow period, that means that you need to be in contract on a home no later than October 16th!

Peter Nielsen, www.MarinRealtyExperts.com, 415-472-6243.

I have a client who was able to purchase a duplex in Richmond, CA in January of 2009 at the height of the bank failures debacle for only $25,000. It was sold at this price by Lehman Brothers, now out of business. They had foreclosed on it in Sept 2008 for $248,169. The previous market sale was for $450,000 in March of 2006. That's how far things had fallen at time time in this area with this investment bank.

Unfortunately, because of this "cents on the dollar" purchase, this buyer thinks he can pick up another such bargain and has had me submit the following offers with these results:

1) He offered $25,000 cash on a mobile home in Marin County that was listed for $44,500. The seller said no way, and it sold for $43,500.

2) He offered $20,000 cash on another mobile home in Marin listed for $39,500. The seller didn't bother to respond. He increase it to $25,000. Still, not even a counter-offer.

3) He offered $100,000 on a condo listed for $144,900 in San Rafael. There were 2 other significantly higher offers, so he did not receive a counter.

4) He offered $80,000 cash on a condo in Richmond listed for $149,000. He received a counter at $140,000.

Now he wants to submit an offer for $30,000 on a duplex listed for $85,500 in Richmond.

Any ideas on how to get across to him that buying a duplex in the Bay Area for $25,000 was a fluke and he can't expect to get that kind of bargain again? Or should we keep trolling for another such bargain even though it seems like we're "charging after windmills"?

Today's local paper, the Marin Independent Journal, carries the front page headline "Marin schools shine in state tests." As a REALTOR, I'm pretty well acquainted with the local schools, which are for the most part thought of as excellent, and are often a reason that young families are eager to relocate here from San Francisco and elsewhere. The article, written by Rob Rogers, states in part that Marin students "continue to out-perform the state average on the annual Standardized Testing And Reporting exams, with a much higher percentage of students achieving proficiencies in English and math." That sounded good, reinforcing the notion that Marin County has excellent public schools. The next paragraph goes on to say that "About 70 percent of the county's sudents are proficient in English, compared with only half of California's students. In addition, 62.3 percent of Marin's students in the second through seventh grades scored at or above proficient in math, compared with 46 percent statewide."

These numbers were pretty shocking to me and seemed, rather than reinforcing the headline, to contradict it. If 70 percent of our students are proficient in English, that means that 30% are not. This could perhaps be explained by the fact that Marin, like most of California, has a significant immigrant population. But to be proud of the fact that 62.3 percent of the students are proficient in math seemed to me like we must have pretty low expectations.

I began to wonder just what "proficient" meant in the context of these standardized tests, so I went to the California Deptment of Education site at http://star.cde.ca.gov to find the answer. What I learned there is that the student scores are broken out into 5 levels, defined as "Far Below Basic," "Below Basic," "Basic," "Proficient" and "Advanced." So the term proficient in this context is actually a name give to a score band and may not mean what we typically think of as the meaning of the word. I also learned that the scores on the tests range from 150 - 600 and that to be considered proficient in a subject, the student must achieve a score of at least 350. And in most cases, a score over 400 is considered "Advanced." That site also informs us that "The state's target is for all students to perform at the proficient or advanced level."

So, does that make me feel better about the education that our Marin County and the State of California students are receiving? Maybe it's naive to think of it this way, but if the 5 levels of scoring results translate to what most of us can relate to from our school days -- that is, A-D and F, then maybe "Proficient" equates to a "B" grade, and if about 2/3 of the students are getting a "B" or better, that's more encouraging.

However you interpret the numbers, though, it's clear that in California and yes, even here in Marin, we still have a long way to go to insure that all of our students are receiving a quality education.

The complete article can be found at http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13153772. And ror more information on the schools in Marin, visit my website at www.MarinRealtyExperts/Marin_County_Schools.

Peter Nielsen (415) 472-6243 Peter@MarinRealtyExperts.com

I am handling the sale of a mobile home located in a Marin County, California mobile home park. Because it was built in 1969 and is not on a permanent foundation, it is not considered real property. Instead, it is personal property and the owner pays no real property tax.

In the FAQ section of eFannieMae.com, definitions are as follows:
- A "manufactured home" is any dwelling this is built on a permanent chassis and installed on a permanent foundation system. These need to meet the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards of June 16, 1976 (the HUD code).

- A modular home is one built in modules at a factory and transported to the home site and installed. Unlike manufactured housing, modular homes "conform to the same state, local and regional codes that apply to site-built dwellings." These also are taxed as real property.

In Marin County, based on information published by the assessor's office, "all new manufactured homes purchased afer June 30, 1980, and those on permanent foundations, are subject to local property taxes. Those purcahsed before June 30, 1980 are licensed and under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Housing and Community Development.

Presumably then, at least for purposes of property taxation in Marin County, as I interpret this, a "mobile home" is any manufactured home that is not affixed to a permanent foundation and was built before June 30, 1980 or is one not affixed to a permanent foundation and purchased as a used home after June 30, 1980.

Peter Nielsen 415-472-6243, Peter@MarinRealtyExperts.com

I've noticed a tendency lately for agents to price short sale properties below what they know that the bank will accept, to stimulate multiple offers. As a case in point, I have a client who has been looking for a home for months. He is stretching his budget, willing to pay up to $500,000. Then he saw the perfect home -- only 3 years old, located within commute distance etc. priced at $459,000. He jumped all over this, excited that he had finally found what he and his wife had been looking for. I did a CMA and it validated that this was a killer deal, so I suggested that he shouldn't fool around, and should offer full price.

Before writing up the offer, I checked into the history of the listing and called the listing agent to get whatever background he was willing to share. What I learned is that the home had been priced at $499,000 and that it had been in contract for $520,000, but the Buyers backed out after waiting to get that price approved, and bought a brand new home nearby instead. He said that he knocked the price down to $459,000 to attract offers and that he had 2 coming in and mine would be the 3rd. He also said that he expected that the bank would only approve a price in the low $500K range, since the new homes nearby are selling for the mid-$500Ks.

At this point, I had to go back to my client and tell him that to have any chance of getting this home, esp. since his will be an FHA offer, he will need to offer the maximum that he can afford, which is $500,000. I doubt that he will win this bidding contest and even if he does, it sounds like the bank won't agree to a $500,000 price. If things unfold this way, his hopes will have been dashed, I will have wasted his time and mine and he will be that much more discouraged in hopes of finding the home that he wants that is within his budget.

What do you think? Is this a fair business practice, or one that we should speak out against? It seems like bait-and-switch to me?