You can’t help but smile at this little guy.  Some how he managed to sprout up between the concrete of the center divide on San Tomas Expressway. He has a few strands of tinsel and several colored ornaments still manage to cling to his branches.  He has weathered the storms,the winds and the rains. 

Perhaps he is unaware that Christmas has long past us by.  Perhaps he stands as a sign of hope.  Maybe he’s there to inspire the daily motorists  that Christmas is more than just presents,ribbons and bows.   Maybe he is there for us to reflect on something so much more.

What ever he’s doing I say ………..Good job little Buddy!

Hang In there!

If you take a basic home in West San Jose near Saratoga Ave & Williams Road and compare it to a home off Bollinger and Blaney or which goes to Lynbrook High, you’ll find a wide gap over the past three years. Compare that same West San Jose Home to one with Monta Vista High School and watch the gap widen even more.

A typical 3 bedroom 2 bath home in West San Jose would have sold for approximately $675,000 in 2005. From 2006 through 2007 that same home would not have sold for more than $750,000.
If the home was located in San Jose with Lynbrook as the high school, it would have sold for approximately $875,000 in 2005. In 2006 it would have sold for $925,000 and in 2007 it would have most likely sold for $1,025,000.

If the home was located in Cupertino with Monta Vista as the high school it would have sold for $955,000 in 2005. In 2006 it would have sold for $1,000,000 and in 2007 it would have sold for approximately $1,150,000. Keep in mind that we are only talking about a 3 bedroom 2 bath home around 1400 to 1500  square feet.

Are the schools really worth that much more? What would it cost in additional mortgage and taxes to live in these areas just for the benefit of Cupertino schools? What would it cost to go to a private school instead?  Or, are the West San Jose homes perhaps just a bargain that have not yet been discovered?

West San Jose with Moreland Schools

San Jose with Lynbrook High School

Street Name Beds Baths SqFt City Zip Code Age CDOM List Date List Price Sale Date Sale Price LARKIN 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 44 8 01/26/2005 $768,000 02/03/2005 $838,000 WINDSOR 3 2 1361 SJ 95129 45 7 01/25/2005 $768,000 02/01/2005 $850,000 HANOVER 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 45 8 02/02/2005 $798,000 02/10/2005 $880,000 BLANEY 3 2 1377 SJ 95129 49 5 09/15/2006 $800,000 09/20/2006 $825,000 MCGREGOR 3 2 1357 SJ 95129 45 11 05/19/2005 $818,000 05/30/2005 $865,000 ARLINGTON 3 2 1340 SJ 95129 49 9 05/18/2005 $828,000 05/27/2005 $891,000 ALDERBROOK 3 2 1312 SJ 95129 48 6 07/08/2005 $835,000 07/14/2005 $825,000 MCGREGOR 3 2 1400 SJ 95129 46 13 06/16/2005 $838,000 06/29/2005 $885,000 BLANEY 3 2 1357 SJ 95129 46 51 09/09/2005 $838,000 09/16/2005 $825,000 DARTMOOR 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 47 55 08/11/2005 $848,000 10/05/2005 $820,000 ALDERBROOK 3 2 1371 SJ 95129 47 16 04/12/2005 $849,888 04/28/2005 $840,000 WINDSOR 3 2 1423 SJ 95129 40 11 05/31/2005 $849,888 06/11/2005 $840,000 MILLER 3 2 1430 SJ 95129 46 1 10/29/2006 $850,000 10/30/2006 $850,000 DARTMOOR 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 47 10 05/31/2005 $858,000 06/10/2005 $901,000 PHYLLIS 3 2 1438 SJ 95129 44 8 01/26/2005 $858,000 02/03/2005 $900,000 WINDSOR 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 47 13 06/14/2005 $858,888 06/27/2005 $860,000 BELVEDERE 3 2 1330 SJ 95129 49 8 01/17/2006 $868,000 01/25/2006 $922,000 DEVON 3 2 1357 SJ 95129 46 21 03/24/2005 $868,888 04/14/2005 $890,000 SHARON 3 2 1353 SJ 95129 21 15 07/27/2006 $869,000 08/11/2006 $866,500 BONNIE JOY 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 47 14 07/05/2007 $888,000 07/19/2007 $988,000 ALDERBROOK 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 45 10 04/04/2005 $888,000 04/14/2005 $928,888 BUCKTHORNE 3 2 1400 SJ 95129 47 14 07/05/2006 $889,000 07/19/2006 $910,000 ALDERBROOK 3 2 1371 SJ 95129 48 14 04/04/2005 $898,000 04/18/2005 $901,000 DANBURY 3 2 1371 SJ 95129 48 14 03/08/2006 $916,000 03/22/2006 $996,675 RAINBOW 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 47 7 02/09/2007 $918,000 02/16/2007 $992,000 PHYLLIS 3 2 1438 SJ 95129 45 10 10/23/2006 $919,888 11/02/2006 $950,000 Bretmoor 3 2 1410 SJ 95129 48 19 06/27/2005 $919,950 07/16/2005 $968,000 ALDERBROOK 3 2 1330 SJ 95129 50 7 03/02/2007 $928,000 03/09/2007 $1,020,000 ARLINGTON 3 2 1331 SJ 95129 49 36 07/18/2006 $939,000 08/23/2006 $885,000 ALDERBROOK 3 2 1371 SJ 95129 50 6 05/03/2007 $968,000 05/09/2007 $1,057,000 DARTMOOR 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 49 15 10/10/2007 $969,950 10/25/2007 $1,000,000 MCGREGOR 3 2 1400 SJ 95129 48 8 06/14/2007 $970,000 06/22/2007 $1,051,000 MCGREGOR 3 2 1400 SJ 95129 47 42 09/25/2006 $985,000 11/06/2006 $975,000 BELVEDERE 3 2 1371 SJ 95129 49 8 02/20/2007 $988,000 02/28/2007 $1,040,000 CORONADO 3 2 1342 SJ 95129 47 22 06/13/2006 $988,000 07/05/2006 $968,000 WINDSOR 3 2 1380 SJ 95129 45 336 10/09/2006 $988,800 04/26/2007 $1,051,000 DANROMAS 3 2 1300 SJ 95129 45 49 08/07/2007 $998,000 09/18/2007 $984,000

Cupertino with Monta Vista High School

It’s kind of like the disclosure about train tracks. It might read something like this–” There are tracks within 30 yards or your property. It might  be possible that a train learns about this fact and subsequently uses the steal rails.”

Any golfer knows that sometimes those stupid little white balls don’t always fly straight. Perhaps it is a design flaw in the titlist  factory or the imperfect form of the driving iron. Whatever the cause, balls do hit homes, and windows do break.

    The better disclosure might be that from time to time Mark Gissler might play a round or two on the course that faces your home. The odds are good that he will smack your homes with stray balls. He owns nothing but cheap, inexpensive balls that have not been breed to fly straight and true.

    Face it– if you face the green– face the fact that windows will break.

    Years back I was talking with Ralph Rambo, a famous pen and ink artist, as well as a local historian . Ralph was in his late 90′s at the time. He asked me if the cherry orchard was still in bloom. I answered with an excited YES!

    He said,” Do me a favor. Take a photo of the cherry blossoms and send me a copy.” He paused for moment, then he added, “It won’t be long before we’re  both gone… that cherry orchard and me…”

    It was only a year or two later that he past on. The cherry orchard is now a sparkling new Kaiser Hospital and Ralph Rambo is a wonderful memory of our past.

    To see the works of Ralph Rambo, please go to…..

           The number of buyers for Cupertino homes are overwhelming. In my office several agents have reported that over 40-50 groups have attended their open houses each day. There were multiple offers in our office listings located at Elm Court and Scenic Court last week. The property on Elm Court enthralled the most attention with 5 offers. It had all the features that buyers in this area look for, yet being priced attractively at $1,525,000.

             Elm Court had 2,370 sq ft  of living space with a 5 bedroom and 2 1/2 baths. This lot was appealing at 11,400 sq ft, and having the nationally recognized school Monta Vista High; I was not surprised that buyers swarmed all over this property.

             Scenic Court was a 4 bedroom and 2 1/2 baths with approximately 2328 square feet of living space, and the lot carrying 7,450 square feet. This property sold with multiple offers as well, and for much more than its asking price.

             Cupertino is still one of the highest demanded areas in the county . Is it real, or REALLY insane? You make the call. 

Whatever you do, don’t allow your home to show at it’s best. You might wish to have an early Superbowl bash prior to your next open house.

 Do you have a dog? Hopefully, it’s a Pitt-bull or a Rottweiler, be sure to leave them inside your home to greet all your potential clients. It’s a great technique. If you don’t have one, I’m sure you have a neighbor that would be more than willing to loan you theirs.

Paying close attention to these details will assure that your property  will NOT sell.

Oh and by the way, if you receive an offer, be sure to counter the offer for oh say… $75,000-$100,000 more than the asking price,”as-is” and free rent for the seller of not less than 120 days.

Yeah! That should do it! Best of luck in NOT selling your home!!!!!!!!!!!!

We sold one property earlier  this week and it appears that 2-3 buyers are close to making offers as well.  It truly is a  buyer’s market here in Castroville, Seaside, Marina and Salinas. Buyers are able to negotiate and in many cases get the seller to pay huge sums in buyers closing costs as well.

    If you are a buyer, I think now is an excellent time to make a great deal for yourself. There are a lot of good First Time Home Buyer programs out there and the rates are good as well.

    Judging from the open house traffic this past weekend, I feel that many buyers are beginning to feel that way too.   

           The rules are very simple. You sell the home you are currently living in and buy another home in the county for equal or lesser value and keep your old property tax basis.

           For example: let’s say you own a home that is 2000+ sq ft. 4 bedrooms, 2 stories and has property taxes of $850 per year. As the years pass by, you are getting older and climbing those steps might be taking a toll on your body. Maybe the upkeep is getting to be too much.  The simple solution is to sell it and down size.

          If you own your current home out right, all you need to do is simple pay cash for the replacement property and file the appropriate forms  with the county. The county even gives you 2 years to complete this task. You could even sell your primary home, rent somewhere temporarily and then find a replacement home. Remember that you have two years to close escrow on a replacement property of equal or lesser value.   

     ****** PLEASE.. DO NOT CONFUSE PROPERTY TAXES with CAPITOL GAINS TAXES*******

      A single person is allowed $250,000 of gain on the sale of your primary property that is tax free.  And if you are married you are allowed $500,000 of gain, tax free. Always remember to consult with an accountant or CPA for sound advice.

      There are many examples of clients who held properties in living trusts where one spouse had past away and the surviving spouse received a fully stepped up tax basis. In this case there might be no capitol gains at all on the sale of your home.  The owner then sells, keeps the old property taxes, and puts the rest of the money in the bank or invests it however they wish to invest it.

      There’s also proposition 90 which is very similar to proposition 60. In proposition 90 however, the seller is buying outside of the county transferring their current property taxes to another county. Currently, there are 7 counties that cooperate with Proposition 90. And the counties are as follows: 

                            Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Ventura

At one time, there were as many as 10 counties that cooperated with Prop 90–It’s always a good idea to check the list as it may change from time to time. The following links are for more information on Proposition 60 and 90: (Santa Clara County Government site)

For more information click here

And still more information

 Prop 60 and Prop 90 are excellent programs and very easy to do.

     Over the past 3 years or so sellers didn’t need to work with this kind of offer because most buyers just wrote non-contingent offers. Buyers would get a line of credit against their current property and use it for their down payment.

     If buyers couldn’t afford to do it this way they simply couldn’t compete with the other buyers who could. With recent changes to many loan guidelines and tougher qualifying rules “subject to the sale of the buyers property” makes a comeback.

    If a buyer has his/her  property on the market and it is currently sale pending, by all means work with them on a contingent offer.

     If the buyer’s home is not yet on the market my only concern would be :

1) How much would their property be listed for?

2) Where is it located?

3) How long do homes take to sell in that area?

4) Is the buyer willing to price their property aggressively  if it’s not sold in 30-40 days.

As an agent representing the buyer I like the verbiage from the California Association of  Realtors form titled (Form COP- Contingency For The Sale Or Purchase Of Other Property) better than it’s counter part in the Peninsula Regional Data Service form  also known as the PRDS form-Sale Of The Buyer’s Property Contingency Addendum.  The reason I prefer the California Association of Realtors version more is that it doesn’t force the buyer out of  contract with the use of a 72 hour release clause in the event another offer comes in.  It gives both options 72 hour release clause as well as a alternate clause.

” BACKUP OFFERS ONLY. Seller shall have the right to continue to offer the property for sale for backup offers only and shall not invoke the notice provisions in paragraph 5a during the term of this agreement” (*Note ..5a refers to the 72 hour release clause)

The PRDS version doesn’t have the verbiage as mentioned above. With the PRDS form the Seller would issue the buyer a notice to remove the contingency in writing or exercise the buyers contingency right to withdraw from the contract. 

     There is much to a contingent offer. They don’t have to be difficult, however sometimes they can become so.  Be flexible, patient and open minded. They can be a great tool for both the Seller and the Buyer.  

     By the way, is your water heater strapped correctly? If in doubt you might wish to view the City of San Jose website:

http://www.seismic.ca.gov/HOG/waterheaterbracing_08-11-04.pdf

A water heater that is improperly strapped can be a huge risk. In a rental property, not only is it dangerous it can also be a liability. You can easily have a licensed contractor strap your water heater for $125-$175.

       If you own a rental property, remind your renter to change the batteries in their smoke detectors. New batteries are cheap insurance for the safety and well being of all those in the household. The following link can help you with your smoke detectors:http://www.sanjoseca.gov/building/PDFHandouts/7-7SmokeDet.pdf