Multi-Family (Apartment) Investment Seminar February 12th in Mountain View

Yulin Lee of Residential Pacific Mortgage and myself - Mario Pinedo, CCIM of Intero Real Estate are speaking at Michael's in Shoreline Park, Mountain View, CA on Tuesday February 12th from 6:30-8:30pm. The topic of the seminar will be on apartment investments in the Bay Area. Yulin is an expert in lending on apartment investments. She will bring a great amount of knowledge to this forum. I will be speaking on market conditions, rates of return, investment strategies and more.
We will be providing appetizers and drinks to keep you focused! If you are interested in attending, please RSVP with me via email. The class will be limited due to room size to 40 people.

Mobile Home Financing from Bank of the West

Mobile Home financing is slightly different than financing the typical home. Rates and terms are different. Qualification standards are differ also. One of the largest lenders in the San Jose market is Bank of the West. My favorite officer at Bank of the West is Leo Ortiz (408-998-6800)who specializes in mobile home loans.

The typical loan scenario is something like this:
80% loan amount - 20% down payment
minimum 620 FICO score with lower rates at 720
1977 construction or newer
no prepayment penalties
20 year amortization
double wide homes or larger
Rates at approximately 8% with 1 point in fees
escrow and other closing costs may be financed too
46% overall debt to income ratio
1-2% points for the loan fees

For my current listing on Monterey Road, the payment would be $1,070 per month plus $850 approximate space rent with 20% down payment on a $159,900 purchase price.

Let me know if you want to see this wonderful home.

San Jose Apartment New Laws & Regulations Seminar

New Laws and Regulations for San Jose Apartment Owners and Managers

The City of San Jose Housing Department is hosting a free seminar well worth attending.

Legislative issues that impact how you manage your rental units
The City of San Jose's rent control ordinance
Renters insurance
Code enforcement
Fair housing
Reasonable accommodation and modification
and much more...

Thursday, January 31st, 6:00-8:45pm
San Jose City Hall, Wing, Room W-120
200 E Santa Clara Street, San Jose, CA 95113

RSVP Robert Lopez 408-975-4402 or robert.lopez2@sanjoseca.gov

Short Sale or Foreclosure - What is Best?

Why consider a short sale of a property in lieu of giving the property back to the bank via a foreclosure? The biggest advantage is to avoid a foreclosure mark on your credit report. Also, this is a more cooperative approach with your lender. The lender may be more forgiving by giving you more time to market your home. This means you can stay in your home longer. There also may be equity in your home which can be saved if you sell your house (this then would not be a short sale). If there is equity and you are just not able to keep up with the payments, then your net may be more than if the property sells at a trustee sale auction. The trustee sale auction will almost always yield a far lower sales price than what the normal market would bear. If you are facing the strain of higher payments, please do the first thing, talk to your bank and be honest about the situation. If you need help in the sale of your home, I'd be glad to review some scenarios for you.

Stunning Bank REO in Saratoga

4,700 square feet of gorgeous 5 year old home in the hills of Saratoga on 5+ private acres. Saratoga schools. Views of the entire South Bay up to San Francisco. This is a fantastic opportunity. This home was for sale in 2002 for $5,500,000. Call for a private tour at 415-269-6249.

Lake Tahoe Area Shopping Center for Sale

There is a very well located shopping center for sale on the way to Lake Tahoe. Offered at $2,950,000 with a very attractive assumable loan. 6.5 cap rate. Fully occupied. Shadow anchored by Safeway and Long's. Call us for this great opportunity.

Downtown Los Gatos Homes Caliente

Los Gatos - the cats in Spanish - hot - caliente... never mind. I'll come up with a better tag line next post.
The significant message here is this: homes are selling briskly in the Los Gatos market. We are tracking a couple homes that just sold quickly after coming on the market. One of which got a "preemptive offer". These are homes with everything you need and then some. Over 2,000 square feet, 3 and 4 bedrooms, good parking, great locations, nice lots, etc in the $1,800,000 and higher price ranges. This spike in activity is evident in the last week. As is the spike in real estate activity all across the west valley. The lower price ranges, in Los Gatos and in other parts is not springing back as quickly, but it will.
I see the confidence and the acknowledgement of the true scarcity of good homes in the higher income/asset buyers. They know the valley is solid and they want to get in before the window of opportunity slams shut.
It is already too late for that in Palo Alto, parts of Menlo Park and Atherton. Put on your track shoes, the spring is near and we will all be running.
By the way, any takers to run with me at the Bay to Breakers or the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego in June?

Palo Alto Homes - High Tide - When Will it Ebb?

A mere 10 homes on the market in all of Palo Alto under $1,500,000!!!
AND of these:

two are under 900 square feet and on 2,000 square foot lots
one is under big power lines
one needs to be finished or torn down to rebuild new!
two just came on the market - so they will sell this weekend
one is on a very busy street
one is really a triplex
one is essentially on HWY 101
only one Eichler is truly on the market for a few weeks and available

Compare this to Campbell, West San Jose, Santa Clara and other neighborhoods east. A tale of two cities perhaps?

Santana Row Loft - Very Good Deal - $541,500

1 bedroom unit with a den below, 1.5 bath, 1151 square feet, overlooking the east valley foothills - a very good deal at $541,500. It does need some TLC - but nothing that cannot be overcome. The Margo building is a very nice location to live in. Underground parking is a short elevator ride down. This is a price lower than when the units started selling 2 years ago. When the sub-prime mortgage seizure stabilizes - these units will appreciate quickly to where they were last year - in the $600s. This is a great opportunity.

Seller Financed Silver Creek Valley Country Club Home

Great deal for 2100 square feet within the gates of Silver Creek Valley Country Club. Offered at $1,038,000. This home sits on the 13th fairway and is in great condition. Seller is motivated. I think this is the best deal in the country club at this very low price point. Call me for a tour.

Los Altos Short Sale Home Opportunity

Hurry - this is a very nice home in a great area of Los Altos. 1,220 square foot home, with 2 bedrooms & 2 baths offered at $1,150,000. Possible short sale situation, but may not be with the right offer. To break in to the Los Altos market at this price is rare. Call to see this great house and great opportunity.

Bank REO Apartment Building in Downtown Mountain View

Check out this great apartment building near downtown Mountain View. All 1 bedroom units. Offered at $1,415,000. The bank took this building back and will want to sell it soon. 4,076 square feet on an 8,276 lot. This could be a very good deal. Call to tour or to make an offer.

Westfield Oakridge Mall Short Sale Duplex San Jose

2291 square feet, 7,840 square foot lot, duplex, 3 bedroom, 2 bath owner's unit and 2 bedroom, 1 bath rental unit. Great location near Westfield Oakridge Mall and all the additional shopping areas at Blossom Hill and Santa Teresa Blvd. This wonderful duplex is listed at $750,000. It is a pre-foreclosure/short sale situation. This can be a very good investment deal in a strong San Jose location. Call for a tour and to make an offer on this great deal.

New Years Eve (Already!) and Real Estate Goals for 2008

Another fast and furious year is coming to an end. I have an additional climatic event nearby too - my 40th birthday at the end of January - big party to be announced! The end of the year and the end of a decade make me think about life. What have I accomplished? Where am I going? What do I want to achieve?
This afternoon, the immediate family and I are taking an afternoon break to write our goals for 2008 - appropriately or not - at the luxurious lobby of the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose. It would have been better at Hotel Valencia if they had anything that resembled a lobby! Hotel V - I love you - you know that.
Some say less than 10% of the population has ever written their goals. I find the process to be very rewarding. It also helps greatly to review these goals often. Daily is best. My company guru and CEO - Gino Blefari - sets a wonderful example of setting (and keeping) goals for his day, month, year and life.
Another effective strategy to achieving goals is to make your goals public - tell a friend, tell a stranger - strangers are much more honest than friends - tell your lover. So, in that light, here are a few of my goals for 2008:
1. Buy another rental home in the Bay Area.
2. Make my real estate blog rank in the top 50 in the country (currently at 110).
3. Teach at least 12 classes in 2008
4. Learn to snowboard as well as I can ski in the next 3 months (IE: not to bruise my butt!)
5. Take two one-week vacations with my kids and leave the BlackBerry OFF
6. Run a marathon with Team in Training in the summer - oh crap!- OK, yes, run a marathon.
I hope you all have a great 2008 - let me know what your goals are and let's achieve them together - Happy New Years!!!

Silver Creek Country Club Home for Sale

Come visit my stunning listing in Silver Creek Valley Country Club at 5230 Birkdale Way, San Jose, CA 95138. 4 bedrooms plus an office, 3 full baths and one half bath, black bottom pool and spa, two story vaulted ceilings in the dining and living rooms, former model home, valley views, large master suite, spacious kitchen, two car garage plus offset one car garage - perfect for the prized weekend sports car, over 3,100 square feet, just painted, great flooring, etc, etc, etc. Come check it out! This is the best deal within the gates of Silver Creek CC - $1,349,950

Evergreen Area Listing for $799,000

This gorgeous 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home is in the quiet Evergreen foothills of San Jose. This home was rebuilt in 1994 with custom improvements throughout. There is approximately 1,960 square feet of living space plus a large 2 car garage. It's conveniently located around the corner from Laurelwood Elementary - a blue ribbon school of distinction. This is truly a wonderful home to be enjoyed by a deserving family. Come and see for yourself. Offered at $799,000.
2632 Peartree Lane in San Jose

New listing located at 1061 S. Almaden

Very solid apartment investment property at the gateway of booming downtown San Jose. This well-located apartment building has been very well kept as well as upgraded over the last few years. All units have newer central HVAC systems, double pane windows, new doors and other upgrades. There is good parking for the building both in the front and back. Fully occupied investment property, great financing rates available - come look! Offered at a realistic $895,000

Gorgeous Home in West San Jose for $825,000

-4 bedrooms and 2 full baths
-Approximately 1,585 square feet of living space
-A thorough and stunning renovation was just completed
-Huge master suite with office adjacent and two large closets with organizing systems in the dressing area.
-Master bath with new spa tub, new tile floors & tile surround, new double sink vanity and stone vanity top with new faucets & light fixtures.
-Kitchen with large island, granite counters, all new Kenmore stainless steel appliances (side by side refrigerator, dishwasher, trash compactor, microwave, wall oven & 5 burner gas island stove top), custom cabinets with roll out drawers, 6 glass display doors, new sink & Price Pfister integrated spray faucet and herb garden window above sink.
-Central gas forced air heating and central air conditioning
-New Kenmore washer & dryer in garage
-Wood burning fireplace with gas starter, new tile face & skirting
-Skylights in both bathrooms, office and kitchen
-Dining area with custom built buffet, granite top & glass display doors
-All new sod, new trees, plants, sprinkler system front & back, tile front porch, painted rear patio and redwood bark ground cover.
-New six panel interior doors, new hardware throughout & new lighting
-Excellent Moreland Schools - Baker Elementary - a California Distinguished school, Moreland Middle & Prospect High School all nearby
-Nearby great shopping and dining at Westgate Mall and El Paseo de Saratoga shopping center
Call for a showing of this hot home

Manufactured Home in South San Jose for $159,000

You will love this spacious one year old home in a great park off Monterey Highway in San Jose. This home has many upgraded features which the owner added when it was built. The master suite and bath are gorgeous. Vaulted ceilings in the living room, kitchen and dining areas. 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths. Great access to highways 85 and 101, close to shopping centers and restaurants. Located at 6130 Monterey Highway Space 119 San Jose 95138. Call to see this great listing.

Single Family Home in San Jose for $415,000!

Just south of downtown San Jose is a very well priced home for sale. A 1940's 2 bedroom, 1 bath, with a partial basement and a 2 car garage for a virtually unheard of price of $415,000. It does need some tender loving care, although at that price it is well worth looking at. It also has a very decent lot size of over 6,000 square feet. Want to make your first entry into San Jose real estate? Or, how about a very good rental property? Call me to see this very fleeting opportunity.