Duplex vs Condo in Sunnyvale or Mountain View

It may take a little more guts and a bit more downpayment to buy a duplex over your first "standard" purchase in Silicon Valley (ie: the condo). A decent 2 bedroom condo in Mountain View will run you $500,000 while a duplex in the same area could be $900,000. For the extra $400,000 you will receive approximately $1800 in rent which wil almost cover your additional debt. The benefits? How about not having to pay monthly homeowners dues, having a private garage, having a backyard, collecting rent, getting tax sheltering from the rental unit, paying less in income taxes, benefiting from a larger appreciation base or getting rent increases? There are many benefits to doing this. I also know that five years from now, you will have a vastly better financial picture than if you had bought a condo.

New Cupertino & San Jose Home Listings

Address City Zip Price Beds Baths Square Feet

11487 LINDY PL Cupertino 95014 $2,395,800 4 2 1/2 3980
1053 JACQUELINE WY San Jose 95129 $1,599,999 4 3 1/2 2500
22438 CUPERTINO RD Cupertino 95014 $1,498,000 3 2 1/2 2450
21912 ALMADEN AV Cupertino 95014 $1,360,000 3 2 1746
18460 FARMINGHAM WY Cupertino 95014 $1,349,950 4 3 2741
10197 FINCH AV Cupertino 95014 $1,098,000 3 2 1691
20077 LA RODA CT Cupertino 95014 $1,089,950 3 2 1564
810 ALDERBROOK LN Cupertino 95014 $974,950 3 2 1201
10022 MOSSY OAK CT Cupertino 95014 $799,000 2 2 1/2 1413
22921 LONGDOWN RD Cupertino 95014 $789,950 3 2 1/2 1500
22661 QUEENS OAK CT Cupertino 95014 $788,000 3 2 1/2 1341
10594 WHITE FIR CT Cupertino 95014 $729,999 3 2 1172
10605 GASCOIGNE DR Cupertino 95014 $729,000 3 1 1048
4772 RASPBERRY PL San Jose 95129 $629,888 4 2 1/2 1408
4813 ALEXANDRIA LN San Jose 95129 $550,000 3 1 1/2 1230
1549 BROOKVALE DR #4 Cupertino 95129 $520,000 2 1 1000
1549 BROOKVALE DR #3 San Jose 95129 $490,000 2 1 895
4671 ALBANY CI #00123 San Jose 95129 $365,900 1 1 813

If you want information on any of these homes, please call Mario at 415-269-6249.
Thanks!

San Jose Silicon Valley Commercial Real Estate Very Hot

Office vacancies are down significantly this year. Office rents are rising across the board, even in the larger spaces - last year the move was most significant in under 3,000 square foot spaces. Now larger users are demanding more new space.

Retail rents are very strong and have been for the last few years. Try locating a new restaurant in this Valley - it may be a difficult requirement to fulfill. Household incomes are very high and every retailer wants to be in the Valley.

Warehouse and industrial spaces are in very limited supply. I recently had a moving company looking to move themselves - finding a fenced yard near decent freeway access was a bear.

A lot of defunct industrial buildings are also going the way of mixed-use developments or shiny new townhouse complexes.

Where is the valley that I knew back in 1969 - when I was a tiny 1 year old?

REO - Bank Owned Homes - Foreclosures San Jose Area

This is a partial list of homes already foreclosed on and owned by a bank. If you want information on them, please give me a call or email.

ADDRESS PRICE BR/BTH/SF
1351 3RD ST, GILROY $710,000 3/2/2036
162 CORONADO AVENUE, SAN CARLOS $889,900 3/2;1990
311 S. 22ND STREET, SAN JOSE $446,500 2/1.5;684
5468 TYHURST WALKWAY #3,SAN JOSE $345,000 2/1;903
101 RANCHO DRIVE, SAN JOSE $344,900 2/1;822
1390 SADDLE RACK, #314, SAN JOSE $493,400 2/2;1258
3025 THREE SPRINGS, SAN JOSE $1,476,900 5/3.5;4553
40 SILCREEK DRIVE, SAN JOSE $459,900 2/2;1313
1940 TRADAN DRIVE, SAN JOSE $379,000 2/2;988
1798 PARKDALE WAY, SAN JOSE $593,000 4/2;1353
4970 GAZANIA DRIVE, SAN JOSE $594,900 3/2;1384
1815 OCALA AVENUE, SAN JOSE $559,900 3/2.5;1410
3266 LANTERN WAY, SAN JOSE $609,900 3/2;1152
1464-1466 POMPEY, SAN JOSE $738,900 5/2.5;2180
53 MILLAR AVE, SAN JOSE $559,900 2/1;1000
1382 S.WOLFE ROAD, SUNNYVALE $639,900 2/1;875

Condos in Mountain View, CA - good inventory

It's a great time to be selling a single family home in Mountain View. Quite a different story if you are selling a condo. There are many units on the market and some have been on the market for quite a few weeks, if not months. Very good consideration when rents in Mountain View are quite steep. One bedrooms walking distance to Castro Street and my favorite restaurant Xanh starting at $349,000. This is an excellent price to be in the heart of Yahoo and Google.

Palo Alto Investment Property Rents High

I just got a call back from the leasing agent at www.vrent.com about a 2 bedroom apartment near downtown Palo Alto. I had requested the info because a Trulia.com question came up about renting in PA. $2,500 for a "remodeled" 2 bedroom, 1 bath unit walking distance to University Avenue and all the wonders of Stanford Univesity. Wow! Rents are approaching the dot com days. This is especially true in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos and Cupertino. The rent vs. buy analysis starts to look very buy favorable.

The Real Estate Bubble

I see this as an opportunity to buy. Why does everyone rush on the bandwagon and buy when everyone else is buying? Does this make any sense? Merril Lynch's defunct ads with the herds of bulls running gave way to their ads with one loan bull confident in his strategy - or his peice of turf. Real estate is a great asset to own. Ask anyone with a memory. The rougher times are better for buying. Rents are up too. Find a way to buy a house and rent it out. You'll be amazed what that one move will do to your fortunes 10 years from now.

Cupertino Real Estate Homes for Sale

Address City Zip Price Beds Baths Square Feet
22031 RAE LN Cupertino 95014 $2,350,000 5 4+ 4727
10670 LARRY WY Cupertino 95014 $1,700,000 6+ 4+ 3200
1031 CRAIG DR San Jose 95129 $1,598,000 5 3 1/2 3022
10200 BYERLY CT Cupertino 95014 $1,495,000 3 2 1/2 2252
10895 DRYDEN AV Cupertino 95014 $1,450,000 3 2 2480
11171 BUBB RD Cupertino 95014 $1,399,000 4 3 2248
18650 CRABTREE AV Cupertino 95014 $1,395,000 4 2 1/2 2600
10620 S TANTAU AV Cupertino 95014 $1,268,888 4 3 1/2 2400
1779 LARK LN Cupertino 94087 $1,100,000 4 2 2168
10205 PASADENA AV Cupertino 95014 $998,000 3 1 1092
1141 FAIRFORD WY San Jose 95129 $998,000 4 2 1540
1168 SCOTLAND DR Cupertino 95014 $988,000 3 2 1190
17300 STEVENS CANYON RD Cupertino 95014 $950,000 1 1 786
807 SPRINGWOOD DR San Jose 95129 $889,000 3 2 1456
922 BROOKGROVE LN Cupertino 95014 $879,000 4 2 1432
18868 HUNTER WY Cupertino 95014 $799,000 3 1 1/2 932

These single family homes just came on the market in West San Jose and Cupertino. If you want any help with these or the rest of the market, please call or email me.
Thanks!

Trulia.com vs. Zillow.com

The head to head real estate titan clash of the year is about to erupt! Inman is having their annual conference on real estate in San Francisco this Wednesday. The real battle is the night before in SOMA (South of Market Area). In the first corner is Zillow with "Beer with Bloggers" at Thirsty Bear at 5pm - 7pm. This is the official Inman drink-a-thon sponsored by Zillow. Then Trulia answers from the second corner with "Tinis with Trulia" from 7pm to 9pm at John Collins just a short stumble away. My early odds are on Trulia. Martini's - come on man, that's way more hip than beer AND I heard the swag at Trulia will be very cool. Want an evite...?

Starbucks, Panda Express & Verizon

I just taught a real estate practices class at De Anza College and the above example came up. On the corner of Stelling and Stevens Creek Blvd in Cupertino there stood a Warehouse Records store of approximately 5,000 sqft. Nice hard corner, great demographics. Unfortunately for the owner Warehouse succumbed to technology and declared bankruptcy. The building owner then tried in vain to lease the space to another tenant although no one was biting on the 5,000 square feet. Along came an investor group that offered to buy the building for approximately $200 per foot. She agreed to the sale. They then demised the space into three and brought in Starbucks, Panda Express and Verizon. Then were able to sell the building for approximately $700 per foot within a year. Nice profit! Lesson to be learned - hire competent Realtors to advise you on what your best strategy is. In my humble opinion!

One Rincon Hill Condos - Prices Rising

All the two bedroom units in the first tower are in escrow. Only units left are junior one bedrooms and a three bedroom unit. There will be some fall out - and there is a waiting list forming - though the project is a financial success. 2 bedroom units - if they come back on the market will be from $1.1M - $1.5M with decent views. This is a few hundred thousand more than when they were released. The second tower will be priced 15% higher due to demand and also higher construction costs. The fear of a glut of condos in San Francisco is unwarranted. Developments like this will spur demand and quality. Waiting list for the 2nd tower in early 2008.

Capital Gains

The capital gains exclusion for a married couple is $500,000 ($250,000 for a single person)if they have lived in the home two out of the last five years. In many expensive neighborhoods of the San Francisco Bay Area, this still leaves someone with a large capital gains bill. A solution is to convert the property into a rental for at least a year. Then, sell the property, take the exclusion and 1031 exchange the rest. This shelters all of the capital gains that remain and with the right planning, you can avoid the gains in the future too.

FICO credit scores and how to improve them

I just answered a question on Trulia.com about FICO credit scores:

"There are many ways to raise your credit score if you know what the formulas are that calculate FICO. One valuation is based on what your total debt is compared to your total credit lines on credit cards. If her aggregate credit line is $10,000 and she owes $10,000 then she's at 100% debt - which does not rate well. If she can request a credit line increase to $20,000. She quickly goes to 50% debt - which is a much more favorable FICO score."

My guru on credit scores and how to improve them is Robert Childs in the city of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area. His website is www.ProFamilyFinancial.com
For some reason the link is not going through tonight. He can also be reached at 925-551-4990.

Stunning Duplex Sunnyvale Just Listed

Perfect owner occupant quality duplex just listed in Sunnyvale at 382 S Bernardo Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. Offered at $955,000. The building includes a 3 bedroom, 2 bath owner unit and a 2 bedroom, 2 bath 2nd unit. The larger unit is vacant and shows incredibly well. Location is excellent. North Sunnyvale on the Mountain View border. Great access to 85. Close to both Castro Street in Mt View and Murphy Street in Sunnyvale. Check it out.

1031 Exchange Strategies

45 days is not 45 days. Prior to putting your investment property on the market, please see what is realistic to trade in to. I educate my sellers on what is available with their sales proceeds in the investment market they are trading to. If they want a NNN property, then I provide them a list of conservative, good quality properties. These may not available when they come to write offers in the future, but similar properties will be. This base line confidence of what they can purchase, helps them move forward with the marketing and sale of their relinquished property. Once we have a buyer in escrow, and let's assume a 45 day close of escrow, we start making offers on replacement 1031 exchange properties. This gives my clients approximately 90 days to be in escrow. More so, it allows multiple offers to be made and due diligence to be accomplished way before anyone starts sweating. When you fill out the identification form for your intermediary, I want you to have one rock solid property in escrow with contingencies removed and two available back ups - just in case. That's how to manage an exchange.

Commercial Real Estate & Cheap Dollar

The Euro just hit $1.40!!!! This trend is not going to change for a while. That makes US real estate very attractive to those with Euros. Read Pat Kitano's blog for more info on how this affects commercial and high end residential real estate (transparentre.com). On a personal note, I bought a Spain condo back in 2001 when the Euro was $.85!!!! I should have bought a whole block. Oh well, next cycle.

Conduit Commercial Lenders - Rate Changes

Beware the final loan committee review when wanting to close your commercial real estate financing. The resale/secondary market for the conduit lenders is less attractive than what it was months ago. Recent last minute issues coming out of the final review have been less loan dollars and higher spreads. This even after giving a loan commitment with specific spreads weeks ago. This is a very unethical and crappy way to conduct their business. Buyers are stuck in this situation when they have deposits in jeopardy and exchange clocks ticking. Consumers (even shopping center buyers) have memories - as do real estate brokers..like an elephant.

Just Listed Homes for Sale in Cupertino

The following homes, townhouses & condos just hit the market in the Cupertino and West San Jose areas. If you need any help on any of these homes, please call me at 408-342-3155. Thanks!

10280 PHAR LAP DR Cupertino 95014 $2,399,000 5 4+ 4000
10411 BEARDON DR Cupertino 95014 $2,098,000 5 3 1/2 3500
15595 SWISS CREEK LN Cupertino 95014 $1,825,000 5 4+ 3641
10913 LEAVESLEY PL Cupertino 95014 $1,799,000 5 4+ 2700
10145 CAMINO VISTA DR Cupertino 95014 $1,198,000 3 2 1790
5521 CASTLE GLEN AV San Jose 95129 $1,150,000 4 2 1720
1151 CORDELIA AV San Jose 95129 $1,150,000 3 3 2009
10514 ORANGE TREE LN Cupertino 95014 $1,098,000 3 2 1/2 1740
5091 MITTY WY San Jose 95129 $899,000 4 2 1655
1205 MARILLA AV San Jose 95129 $898,888 3 3 1659
8061 PARK VILLA CI Cupertino 95014 $828,000 3 2 1224
10618 N BLANEY AV Cupertino 95014 $828,000 3 2 1/2 1564
5162 PARKFIELD AV San Jose 95129 $769,000 3 2 1323
10720 CULBERTSON DR Cupertino 95014 $768,000 3 1 932
21053 RED FIR CT Cupertino 95014 $699,950 3 1 1/2 1265
19960 BRENDA CT Cupertino 95014 $698,000 2 2 1/2 1343
4800 LA FIESTA PL San Jose 95129 $698,000 3 2 1/2 1496
20488 STEVENS CREEK BL #1102 Cupertino 95014 $650,000 2 2 1177
4425 NORWALK DR #00010 San Jose 95129 $390,000 2 1 924

Stock Market or Real Estate

...which to invest in? People make money in real estate investments every day AND people make money in the stock market every day. Also true is the opposite. Real estate took a long rise up over the last few years and people made a lot of money. The real estate market that most people talk about is single family residential. In growth areas, these new homes kept rising in value. Now the pendulum is swinging back. The stock market also has made huge increases this year. Does it keep going forever - please know the answer is no. Divercity is tauted as the answer. I say quality is a better answer - both in property and in stocks. Google, Yahoo, HP - all strong performers which will weather the storms. San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Los Angeles - also strong metros that will stay healthy long term. Not necessarily their suburbs - those areas are like the front and the back of the roller coaster - more excitement - more green faces. Same goes for growth stocks, small cap stocks, emerging markets, etc. Stay in the middle, stay in quality - do better.

Santa Cruz Apartment Building for Sale

This is a very nice, renovated building near the world famous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Nine units, all one story, on a decent sized lot. $1,395,000 which is a 12.9 GRM! Very good gross rent multiplier for the area and for the relatively low price point. I'm a big fan of one story apartment buildings. Leaks don't disrupt two units, tenants don't bang on their ceilings and railings cannot be fallen over. There tends to be a better chance of a land play in the future too.