Judith Brickman, CRS, SRES, e-PRO

I don't know about you, but I'm working harder and making less money. It's all the contracts I'm writing for short sales and who knows which one will get accepted. This afternoon I am meeting a client to sign a contract and look at a similar home that owned by the BANK. Quicker acceptance there.

Then lost a potential listing because I told them the truth! Showed them the comps and explained that the home had a problem that in this market would make it harder to sell. They did not like that. Oh, well.

On an up note, I sold a condo in Rossmoor that will close within 30 days. And I have a number of buyers who are anxious to buy. I do have a wonderful listing coming on in Castlewood Country Club for $2,000,000. It is beautiful.

This is a copy of the article I posted on my blog Topdealreator.com on March 8, 2009

Today was a busy Saturday with three groups of clients. Two were for Rossmoor, Walnut Creek, CA. and one was for Livermore! I even wrote a contract for the house in Livermore! But back to Rossmoor. I've been working with one of the clients and there was only one home for her to see. The other clients were new and I had told them to allot at least two hours so that we could walk around and really see the community. Both of the Rossmoor clients are looking at homes in the lower price range - under $300,000 that are co ops. They are questioning why the HOA is so high (ranging from $615. to $825.).

Co ops are a different form of ownership. You don't ‘own' your home, but a ‘share' in the HOA. There are a number of HOA's, called Mutuals, in Rossmoor and each of them have different budgets, reserves, etc... Since you don't ‘own' your home, how does that work? It is kind of like owning a share of stock in a company, but your share is designated with an address. You get a ‘stock certificate' at the close of escrow instead of a DEED.

If you upgrade your home what happens when you sell? You will get a higher price and that works just like selling a condo or a home. However, here are some differences.

Since the Mutual ‘owns' the home, they will come in and inspect it prior to the sale to make sure that everything is working and that any improvements were done to code and with permits. In addition, the Mutuals also cover the following items: water, garbage, basic cable, exterior maintenance, interior components such as furnace, air conditioning, hot water heater, oven, refrigerator, wiring, etc. If these are not functioning, the Mutual will repair or replace them. They also check your smoke detectors and change the batteries every year, vacuum the back of the grills on your refrigerator.

For the co ops, the HOA also includes your property taxes. You are assessed by the price you pay for the co op, plus if you upgrade it the assessment goes up. Just like normal real estate. In January, the Mutual will send the owners a form that shows how much of the HOA went for property taxes and that gets filed with your incomes taxes as a deduction.

The basic HOA fees for everyone in Rossmoor range from $518 to $550/month. What does a resident get for this? Several pools that are heated and open year round. The Aquatics center is amazing with lap pool, exercise pool (water aerobics) and spa. The Gym has an incredible array of machines and equipment along with trainers! There is also a large room for exercise classes of all kinds. There is a large tennis center. My next door neighbor plays almost every day! The Lawn Bowling courts are pristine with the lawn bowlers all dressed in white. National events are play there! If a resident wants to sew, there is the sewing center with tables for laying out patterns, sewing machines, dress forms, patterns and lockers to store your project. The Lapidary center has everything you would want to make jewelry, the same for the ceramic studio, the wood shop has all the tools and equipment for beginners to expert furniture makes. The camera club has a dark room. The Art Studio is very large for anyone who wants to paint or draw. They even have live models! Most of the clubs have classes because a lot of residents take up new hobbies when they move here. The dues in the clubs are minimal i.e. $10 a year.

There is a movie theatre that shows movies for free. The Foreign Film Club brings in their own films and they usually charge $1 to see their films. There is a Computer club and there is Wi-Fi in the Gateway Club House. There is a wonderful library for books, DVDs, jigsaw puzzles and pianos in a number of the club houses for anyone to play. In the warmer months, there is a Farmer's Market on Fridays also.

In addition, there are free buses that traverse Rossmoor throughout the day and go out to the Safeway shopping center where residents can do their errands or pick up a regular bus to go to BART or downtown Walnut Creek. Rossmoor has a bi-monthly bus to Trader Joe's also. There is a Rossmoor Newspaper that comes out every Wednesday with all the news about Rossmoor plus a list of activities and events. Since there are over 200 clubs, there is something for EVERYONE. There is a golf course (27 holes) pro shop, driving range and putting green. The golf is extra, but extremely reasonable as are the greens fees.

All this is set in the southwest corner of Walnut Creek bordered on the West by Lafayette and the South by Alamo. There is only one entrance into and out of Rossmoor and that is manned by security gates 24 hours a day. The former Walnut Creek Police Captain just started to oversee public safety at Rossmoor. So are the dues high? I don't think so when you consider the location and what you get. You can view a video of Rossmoor on my website. Go to www.Rossmoorfact.com to see this community. The new clients from today, though, said they couldn't believe how beautiful everything was and that it really needed to be seen in person.

Both the San Ramon Unified and Pleasanton Unified school districts are going to have parcel taxes on the local ballots this year to make up the short falls of income from the State!

Members of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved placing a $144 parcel tax measure on the ballot this spring. A new school parcel tax will be going to vote in the Spring. The current $90 tax will expire in June. Last year the residents were not able to pass a tax of $166, so this year they are trying for $144. This money is sorely needed especially with some of the cuts that are coming from the State. Please vote for this because that is what attracts people to our communities - good schools and stable communities.

Pleasanton is considering a parcel tax also to avoid some major cuts that will have to be made. They are trying to decide how much to vote on: $100, $200, or $300 per parcel.There will be a very important Board of Trustees meeting on February 10^th to discuss the $4 million short fall.

Meanwhile in Alamo the major topic for conversation is Incorporation: The Pros and Cons for Measure A - Incorporation! Last week there was a presentation by Vicki Koc for and Cecily Barclay against at theSan Ramon Republican Women federated meeting. Financial stability is a major concern along with affordable housing, horses, and policing, which is currently handled by the Sheriff's Dept. For more information please e-mail me at judithbrickman@gmail.com. In the meantime absentee ballots are going out for the March 3^rd election. About 78 percent of residents prefer absentee!

Over in Danville: The Veterans Memorial Building is going to be renovated! Danville has committed $5 million, the Viet Nam Veterans have raised about $35,000. So another $3 million needs to be raised from the community. This is a community facility right in the center of Danville on Hartz Avenue. By the way, there is a beautiful Viet Nam war memorial in Oak Hill Park next to Monte Vista High School. The park has been totally renovated and there is a wonderful children's playground, duck pond and exercise trail. The Viet Nam veterans are very active and helpful to our returning Iraq veterans.