Archive for August, 2008
Lowest-Priced Condo in Encinitas: Pacific Pines
August 30th, 2008 Categories: Encinitas
We have a great couple looking for a San Diego condo near the beach. They were hoping to locate second-home with a price under $250,000–and were more concerned about a coastal location than the size of the unit.
We looked at condos in Oceanside, in Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach. What we didn’t expect to find was a lovely one-bedroom condo in Encinitas–at the gated community of Pacific Pines. It offers granite surfaces, brick fireplace, dishwasher, refrigerator, stove/microwave and washer/dryer. It is small at 650 square feet, but the price was remarkable at $195,000.
The gated community of Pacific Pines offers a pool, spa, tennis courts, club house, BBQ areas, picnic tables, sandy volleyball court, racquetball court, nearby hiking trails, and a location exquisitely close to the San Elijo Lagoon and Cardiff by the Sea.
We quickly wrote a full price offer on this Encinitas condo and submitted it this morning. It’s another one of San Diego County’s real estate foreclosures, so we are prepared for the inevitable bank and bureaucratic delays.
Below is the quick video I made for the clients prior to their drive down to Encinitas:
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San Diego Disaster? Use Twitter
August 18th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad Real Estate, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, Real Estate News, San Diego
I started using Twitter a few months ago, and at first had trouble understanding how it could be of benefit to me or my family.This online site allows a maximum of 140 characters for users or “Twitterers” to post their ideas, activities and breaking news. Based on relationship, the value of their Twitters–or simple curiosity, just about anyone can “follow” anyone.
At first it mostly seemed like social chatter, with some interesting links to stories and photos. But when an earthquake rumbled through Southern California a few weeks ago, there were immediate Twitter reports. Those following Twitter probably had a better handle on what was happening than the news media. A couple of San Diego Realtors were reporting via Twitter the gentle shaking, while reports from Long Beach and Los Angeles reported something stronger.
We knew within minutes that there was likely no real damage from this quake, this time.
But what if this were the big one? What if a major hurricane hits the Southern coasts? What about tornadoes? Or terrorist attacks?
Experience has shown that in times of regional disasters, cell and telephone networks often break down from everyone calling at once. This leaves anguished families and friends worrying about the safety of their loved ones.
It might be wise to now go set up a Twitter account and encourage your friends and family to do the same. That way, you will be able to instantly check on each other via cell phone texting (dial 40404) or the internet. If you do sign up, be sure and follow me on Twitter at: RobertaMurphy
This YouTube video by David Stephenson explains how Twitter could work if San Diego were to be hit with a major disaster–and it occurs to me that we should also ask our fire, police and safety officials to set up their own Twitter accounts so that we could get official reports and updates.
–Roberta Murphy
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Quick Search for San Diego Luxury Homes
August 13th, 2008 Categories: La Jolla, Luxury Homes, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego
I fell in love with RealBird’s mapping technologies a few years ago, and just about flipped when I saw how we could create a mapping site devoted solely to San Diego’s luxury home market–with prices starting at $2 million: Luxury Casas
As the maps on LuxuryCasas show, the majority of these San Diego luxury homes are in the La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe areas, but are also scattered throughout the county, with a total of 826 results.
The RealBird wizards have a number of products, including their new Search on Maps tool that allows the viewer to not only get instant property valuations, but to also read restaurant reviews and pick up a coupon at the same time. Think of it as an interactive and virtual Yellow Pages.
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Tips for San Diego Home Buyers
August 12th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad Real Estate, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego Foreclosures, San Diego Real Estate
This may be the worst San Diego real estate market (for sellers) in recent history, but it surely creates some of the best buying opportunities of a lifetime as well.
We are seeing smart money aggressively buying in our San Diego real estate market, and hear reports of the same elsewhere. The properties, many of them San Diego foreclosures or short sales, are being bought as fix-and-flippers–or are being held as longer term rentals.
People inquire about these distressed properties almost daily; but more recently, we are being consulted about strategies for buying even luxury homes at bargain prices. These buyers may not have to sell their existing home to buy another, are cash buyers, or are open to exchange possibilities.
Below are some strategies we use to help our San Diego home buyers (and others) get some of the best real estate bargains on the market.
- Study Market Time: Luxury homes in particular may take longer to sell because of pricing, custom features and a more limited pool of buyers and jumbo loans. But that doesn’t mean sellers are any less motivated to move on with their lives. At one time, we thought little of $million-plus homes sitting on the market for 90 days or more. These days, we seek buying opportunities if a home has been on the market over 60 days and are seeing some heavy price discounting if days on market goes over 90 days.
- Check Tax Records and other Sources: Is there more debt on the San DIego area home than what it is worth? Has a Notice of Default been filed that would indicate a looming foreclosure? If so and if this is a home of interest for our buyer, we submit an offer contingent on the successful negotiation of a short sale (where the lender sells the property for less than what is owed). In this case, either we or professional negotiators deal with the lender(s) to reach the best possible price for our buyer.
- Did Owners Pay Cash or Have They Owned Their Home for Longer than 10 Years? These sellers may be in a position to sell at a discount or may be motivated to do so because of life transitions or other investment opportunities. They may also be open to owner-financing for all or part of the home mortgage.
- Are You Open to Remodeling? Homes sold in as-is condition are more likely than others to sell at a substantial discount. Owners, especially when the home has been on the market for some time, are often overwhelmed with the thought of remodeling and updating–and fearful that their decor choices will not suit potential buyers. Especially in the San Diego coastal real estate market, older or outdated homes are sometimes sold at land value.
- Foreclosoure Sales: The f-word (foreclosure) is occurring even in the luxury home market. Highly leveraged homes purchased in the last few years are more frequently ending up on the courthouse steps. Foreclosure purchases, which require cash and carry no disclosures or guarantees, offer both great potential for profit–and dire dangers for the uninformed. Bidding should be non-emotional and it is best to have a professional bidding for you–but only after thorough-as-possible research has been done regarding the home’s condition, its history and resale potential. Cracked slabs, structural defects and boundary line encroachments are unwelcome surprises.
- Home Exchanges: This is a rather novel strategy for those trying to sell their home in San Diego’s current real estate market. Life transitions encourage homeowners to make moves. Empty-nesters may wish to relocate from their large suburban home to something equally nice, but far less demanding in upkeep. Others may have expanding families that crave acreage, pools, tennis courts or equestrian facilities. In the Southern California market, Owner-Broker Bob Dyson and Villa Sotheby’s International Realty have set up a property exchange platform that allows homeowners to directly exchange properties and ownership. It is a tactic that helps to support neighborhood values and removes many of the pressures involved in having a home on the market for an extended period of time.
- If the property you want is listed, have your agent check the other real estate agent’s listing history. If that agent tends to have listings on the market for a long time, you may consider lowering your offer. On the other hand, if the agent prices properties aggressively and has short “days on market,” you may consider coming in near, at–or even over– list price. You will likely find the listing is already priced at or below market to attract multiple offers.
A combination of patience, perseverance and the ability to move quickly will serve all astute buyers of real estate these days, but the greatest potential of all may lie in with those well-located properties where replacement value could far exceed the purchase price.
To search San Diego foreclosures, do so below. To search the San Diego MLS, click on the home search button at the bottom of this article.
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Michael Aguirre: San Diego a Foreclosure Sanctuary?
August 4th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego, San Diego Real Estate
by Roberta Murphy
I maintain a few Google Alerts, and one of them is for embattled San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre and his positively stupid amazing idea of turning San Diego into a Foreclosure Sanctuary.
He intends to stop foreclosures in San Diego, and to prove the power of his convictions has sued Bank of America–and has other banks in his myopic sights.
I was in San Francisco at a real estate conference when the news hit, and even Golden Gate liberals there were rolling their eyes. All tongues were wagging about San Diego real estate falling off the edge of the earth if Aguirre prevails in halting foreclosures in San Diego.
Imagine the possible consequences if such political grandstanding succeeds:
1. What lender would even consider offering home loans in San Diego, without at least a 50 percent down payment (perhaps)?
2. What incentive would any homeowner in San Diego have for keeping their payments current? Foreclosures would be outlawed in San Diego, remember?
3. If you think San Diego real estate and homes are a bargain today, just wait–at least if you are a cash buyer. Prices would fall through the floorboards for sure if lenders are blocked from securing their investments, and abandon the San Diego real estate market entirely.
This is a scenario ripe with possibilities and consequences. We can only hope that courts throw out Aguirre’s folly quickly and that San Diego finds a replacement for City Attorney even faster.
All just my opinion, of course….
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