Archive for September, 2007
San Diego Real Estate a Bargain for Foreign Investors
September 29th, 2007 Categories: Encinitas, San Diego
A client we’ll call Armando decided to retire to Encinitas a couple of years ago. He was very specific in what he wanted in his North San Diego County luxury home. He wanted a home with a pool, outdoor entertaining areas, enough bedrooms to accommodate a couple of guests, a spacious office and a serious kitchen for cooking. He also wanted no houses looking into his back yard.
And why Encinitas? He wanted to be close to San Diego beaches, close to La Costa Resort and wanted perfect weather that was second to none. Armando wanted nothing more than to escape the gloomy skies of Northern Europe and spend the rest of his days basking in San Diego sunshine.
But Armando was also a very clever businessman: He knew he would be collecting his retirement pay in Euros and even at that time, was enjoying a favorable exchange rate with the dollar.
These days, when we run into Armando around Encinitas and the North Coastal area, we are greeted with an enormous smile and bear hug. He loves life here, loves the great buy he made on his luxury home and is ecstatic about the increasingly favorable US exchange rate for Euros.
More and more with the weakening dollar, we are hearing of foreign investors who are drooling over real estate in San Diego. Not only have our real estate prices softened to very attractive levels, but foreign currency will now buy far more than it would have just a couple of years ago. As an added inducement for buying U.S. properties, European real estate prices have reached very lofty levels, even by Southern California standards. That creates an even better comparative bargain here.
Because of this favorable foreign perspective on San Diego real estate, more and more of our marketing resources will be directed overseas.
The months ahead promise to be interesting ones!
Read also:
Welcome the Wealth to San Diego
San Diego Real Estate Market Wearing a Halo?
What Do Luxury Home Buyers Expect from Their Agents?
United States a Bargain for Luxury Homes?
Richistan Home Prices Continue to Soar
| Currently 3 Comments »
Carlsbad and Encinitas Hazardous Waste Solution
September 22nd, 2007 Categories: Carlsbad, Encinitas
Preparing the Carlsbad or Encinitas home for sale involves not only staging, debulking and depersonalizing, it also involves reaching under sinks and deep into garage shelves to clear the way for new owners.
And almost without fail, hazardous waste will materialize.
What to do with those old cans of paint, bug sprays, automotive products, cleaning solutions, lawn and garden and pool chemicals, rodent poisons and box of mothballs? And what about old electronics, car batteries, mercury thermostats and thermometers and fluorescent bulbs?
Please don’t even think of adding any of these items to your regular trash. This is hazardous waste that requires special handling and disposal. The area wastewater treatment plant is unable to process toxic substances, so never put any hazardous material down any type of drain, whether inside or out. These are materials that do not belong in landfills, either.
Disposal of hazardous waste for Carlsbad and Encinitas residents is wonderfully simple. They may bring all types of hazardous material (including biomedical waste) to the Regional Solid Waste Association, located at 1145 E. Taylor Street in Vista. The facility is open for drop-offs on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Disposals are limited to 125 pounds or 15 gallons (per trip, I would presume).
Carlsbad and Encinitas residents have the added convenience of door-to-door pickup service for a current fee of $10.00 with the same quantity limitations mentioned above. To inquire about drop-off and pick-up services, call 1.800.714.1195.
If this service is not available to you because you live outside this service area, there is a hazardous waste facility operated by the County of San Diego in Ramona at 324 Maple Street. The Ramona operation may be reached at 877.713.2784.
As an added service to our clients and community, we schedule and pay for pickup of hazardous waste on behalf of our Carlsbad and Encinitas real estate sellers. For additional information, call Mike or Roberta Murphy at 877-818-8197.
| Currently No Comments »
Mortgage Rescue for San Diego Homeowners
September 19th, 2007 Categories: San Diego
We field questions all the time from frightened homeowners whose mortgages are resetting, whose homes are worth less than what they owe, or who simply wish to lock in future security and peace of mind. And we are not alone in trying to solve these problems.
Yesterday afternoon, I spoke at length with William Johnson, author of the wonderful Real Estate Textbook and former president of the San Diego Association of Realtors. We were discussing the San Diego real estate market in general, and mortgage solutions in particular. He suggested that I write, once again, about the Acorn Loan–especially as it applies to our local markets.
I’ve written about the Acorn Loan program before, but this time will specifically target San Diego County homeowners who are seeking affordable mortgages, mortgage relief and some degree of financial security and predictability. It is a program that can be used for either purchasing or refinancing a San Diego home or condo.
Benefits of the Acorn Loan are near-amazing:
1. Market rate with no points. Can pay points to buy down rate
2. No PMI (private mortgage insurance)
3. Very liberal debt-to-income ratios.
4. Very low down payment required (0-5%)
5. Underwriting will credit some cash income and alternative sources of credit.
6. Credit and FICO scores are not as important with the ACORN Loan as they might be with other financing.
7. No pre-payment penalties.
8. No loan points.
9. Choice of terms include 10-year interest-only mortgage that automatically converts to a fully amortized 30-year loan.
10. A certain amount of “soft” income can be counted for loan qualification.
And what are the requirements for the San Diego Acorn Loan program?
1. Applicants adjusted gross income must be less than $92,000 per year.
2. Home loan must be $500,000 or less.
3. Applicant can only own one parcel of real estate. The Acorn Loan is good for not only first time homebuyers, but any San Diego home buyer who owns only one property.
4. Also an excellent tool for refinancing (out of riskier mortgages, perhaps?)
5. The San Diego home can be purchased for more than $500,000, but the mortgage loan amount cannot exceed that amount.
The program is offered exclusively through Bank of America and Chase. It is not a program offered through brokers (at least in the San Diego area), and we have personally used Judy Miller at Bank of America Mortgage in Carlsbad. She understands the program thoroughly–and can be reached at 760-943-6124.
(The benefits of the ACORN loan now reflect market rate and the ability to pay points to buy down the rate. Additionally, the 10-year interest-only option converts to a 30 year fully-amortized loan at prevailing rates.)
| Currently 4 Comments »
Carlsbad Home Sales: Exposing the Truth
September 15th, 2007 Categories: Carlsbad
We keep hearing that Carlsbad real estate and homes will sell if they are priced well and are in excellent condition–and that Carlsbad prices are still increasing year-over-year.
We also keep hearing that the real estate market is in the tank and that recovery is years away.
So what are we to believe?
One of the best ways to check market conditions is to calculate the absorption rate, or roughly how many week’s or month’s inventory is on hand.
As the following calculations show, Carlsbad has 30.39 weeks worth of single family home inventory, which if current levels of sales continue, will take seven months to absorb.
Carlsbad attached homes and condos fare somewhat worse. There is a 38.8-week supply of inventory, which equates to an absorption period of just over 9 months if market conditions remain the same.
We calculated the latest absorption rate for Carlsbad using the following information, taken directly from Sandicor:
[table=2]
* Includes pending sales because they have not yet closed.
Given the current 5 percent annual appreciation rate for Carlsbad real estate as a whole (zips 92008,92009,92010,92011) and the relatively lengthy absorption rate, it would appear we have a standoff between buyers and sellers.If more buyers enter the market because of lower interest rates and greater inventory selection, the market time for Carlsbad properties will decrease. If buyers remain on the sidelines, market time will continue to increase and sellers will begin to capitulate on pricing.
Anecdotally, we are already seeing some of the latter with homes that are in less-than-prime condition and sellers who need to sell quickly.
So what advice do we offer Carlsbad home sellers? Try to view your home from a buyer’s perspective. Is your home competitively priced (preferably at or just under recent comparables)? Is your home in good repair, clutter-cleared, and ready for a relocating buyer’s discriminating eye? Are you ready to start treating your property as a house instead of a home? This can be painful, but if the other steps are taken it will hopefully be a shorter selling process than what the statistics predict. Well-priced and show-ready homes are selling fairly quickly. It would also be advisable to have a seasoned real estate professional representing your interests–because it is likely your buyer will be represented by the same (see advice below).
And what advice do we off Carlsbad home buyers? Be prepared to look at more homes than you would have two years ago. Have a current lender pre-approval letter in hand–and make sure it comes from a direct lender or other very reputable source. This will be a strong negotiating tool in today’s market. Make sure your Realtor has current market information and has a good handle on current market conditions. These can be treacherous waters, and market understanding and sharp negotiation skills have never been more critical. So do not be fearful. This is the market Carlsbad home buyers have been awaiting–and buying conditions have never been better with our current low interest rates and high inventory levels.
To paraphrase the Chinese wish: May we live in interesting times….
| Currently No Comments »
