Silicon Valley Apartments - is there an opportunity to invest?

Most Silicon Valley apartment owners are very happy these days - read: not motivated to sell - because their rents are stable or up and their vacancies are down. Why?

1. Banks have foreclosed on many home owners and this makes them new tenants.
2. Many young people who normally would be buying their first homes are still in the rental market because home financing is more difficult than before.
3. Apartment building financing over 4 units has always been based on the building's net cash flow (not on the owner's income). Therefore, most 5 unit building and above have required 40+% down payments which makes the investment properties very stable.
4. Low turn over in apartment building sales in Silicon Valley - so few buildings sold at the peak of prices a few years ago.

This is why we see so few apartment buildings on the market and especially so few good deals.

Ok - then where shall we invest?

1. duplex - fourplex market has had foreclosures and short sales because financing was loose and investors made uninformed decisions in the last 5 years.
2. Secondary markets to Silicon Valley: East Bay, Napa, Sonoma, Solano Counties - softness in the newer built single family homes has put pressure on rents in apartment buildings.
3. Non-performing note sales of buildings that were over-leveraged based on relationship lending. Many smaller banks lent on buildings outside of the traditional 5+ unit financing guidelines.

Where do you see opportunities in Silicon Valley apartment investments?

Should I sell now or next year?

A friend of mine just posed this question to me. Here is my reply:

That is a question that I cannot answer definitively without knowing more info. Aside from that, here are some things that I know:

1. Between Thanksgiving and NYE is the highest historical average sales price percentage of the year for a seller. (August is the lowest)

2. The market is slow in some areas and some price points and is hot in others. I would want to know what you have and where it is.

3. I am seeing a shift in the bank's strategies as to their defaulting home owners - some major banks are pushing more inventory to foreclosure sooner rather than "extend and pretend". This will start to have a negative impact in the 1st quarter of next year.

- the market cannot be defined in a generality. Each home, neighborhood, city, price point has a different selling strategy. More details helps me guide you to what is best for you, your home, your family and your finances. I hope this helps.

Cupertino Townhouse for Sale in Northpoint complex

See this gorgeous Cupertino townhouse for sale in the fabulous Northpoint complex.
1,060 square feet
End unit, 2 bedroom, 2 bath townhouse model.
2 car garage
Private patio & master bedroom balcony
Wonderful complex off Homestead and Blaney.
Cupertino elementary schools and Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.
Offered at $509,000!

Open house this weekend - call for details

Santana Row Condo New Listing - Hot Buy!

Wonderful one bedroom Santana Row condo for sale in the Margo building. If you are looking for a great deal on a 1 bedroom loft unit in Santana Row, this is it! $499,000 for a unit overlooking Santana Row, great quiet location above LB Steakhouse and facing Burberry. The newly constructed building at 300 Santana Row will most likely have a Spa as the anchor tenant. Perfect place to have a home and walk to your massage. Call for a tour.

Bank Owned Gas Station Coming Soon

We are bringing to market a very new, large, freeway exposure gas station & mini mart in the Pleasanton area. Bank owned facility. Fully operational. Excellent money producing asset. Stay tuned for details!

Just Listed! Bank Owned 4plex in Santa Clara $599,900

Very good deal from Bank of America just hit the market. All 2 bedroom, 1 bath units, 2,888 square feet building with 4 one-car garages. Offered at $599,900. Building is vacant now. Units were all most recently rented for $1,250 per month. It is common for banks that foreclose on rental properties to evict the tenants to eliminate the liability of management. Solid rental neighborhood in Santa Clara and the garages are a great amenity. This deal will go fast.

Non Performing Residential Notes in San Jose - Silicon Valley

Banks are far less apt to sell their residential non-performing or under-performing notes to investors. The world has shifted to hedge funds and other investment groups that are buying bulk notes from banks. These true investor oriented groups see value in parceling off some of their purchases. The arbitrage is won by the local investor who understands more clearly what final sale value a home will have. Typically the hedge fund is making a decision on a geographical area of which it is not familiar. The reliance is on a Broker Price Opinion which may or may not be very good. The typical BPO provider is paid $40 per report - not enough to stimulate precision and accuracy. So, if you can buy a residential non-performing note either at a discount or a par - if your asset's value is clear, then a rational investment decision can be made. Let us know if you are looking for this type of investment.

Bank Owned Commercial Office Condo For Sale in Mountain View

JUST LISTED:

3,600+ square foot commercial office condo for sale in Mountain View. Full office build out. 5 year old property. Property consists of two commercial condos (with separate parcel numbers)built out as one contiguous space. These units can be demised and sold or rented by themselves. Gorgeous commercial business park community.

Configuration as follows: 6 private perimeter offices with glass side panels and top windows, twelve 8x8 cubes, two ADA bathrooms, a server room, lobby entrance, large meeting/conference space and spacious kitchen.

Last comparable sales in the complex are over $220 per foot for simple shell condition space. This well designed and built out space is offered at $699,000 or $192 per foot.

If you run a business in the lower Peninsula or Silicon Valley - this will be a great deal for you. Commercial distress in this location is rare. The high quality of the property adds even more value. Call us for confidential details on this asset.

We expect to have this on the multiple listing services by August 28th.

The MPIRES Group works with banks, servicers and investors to bring commercial/investment opportunities to the market. If you are looking to invest in distressed commercial investment property, let MPIRES Group show you the way. www.mpires.com

Single Tenant NNN Sacramento for Sale

A new construction, twenty year ground lease Taco Bell in Sacramento just came on the market. With a ground lease - the owner of the land has no maintenance obligations - the tenant maintains the building, parking lot and landscaping. This is a great investment 1031 tax deferred exchange replacement property for surety of income and no maintenance responsibilities. 6.5% cap rate. $95,000 in annual rent. Offered at $1,462,000. Call me for details 415-269-6249.

Short Sale Fourplex in Excellent Campbell Location

A great opportunity just hit the market in Campbell. Four units, all 2 bedroom & 1 bath, 3,150 total square feet of living space, common laundry room, carport parking - the building is in good rentable condition. Sold most recently for $930,000 in 2006 - now on the market as a short sale for $680,000! Two units renting for $1,250 each and the other two at $900 per unit. 13.1 GRM. Solid rental street in non-rent control Campbell. Call me as soon as possible to make an offer on this property - it was in escrow before at a higher list price - now back on the market to move.

Commercial REO & Non-Performing Note Sales

The commercial real estate bank owned opportunities will not materialize as did the residential REO market of the last couple years. Most commercial banks have taken a completely different strategy to reducing their bad debt. Few commercial banks are even starting the foreclosure process because they do not want the bad commercial assets on their books. This necessitates increasing cash reserves to offset the bad debt. In lieu of this, the banks would rather sell their non-performing notes to investors, who then can foreclose on the properties without incurring FDIC triggers.

The commercial distressed property opportunities will be even more attractive to investors than the residential deals were. The challenge is how to participate in these opportunities.

My partner, Julie Duong and I have the solution. We are pairing investors with banks to facilitate these transactions. Call us for a consultation so that we can deliver to you the best deals available.

Short Sales Don't Solve All Credit Score Problems!

I spoke to a seller of a home yesterday. She had not paid her mortgage in TWO years! (Actually this is not that unheard of) Interestingly enough, the bank has not wanted to foreclose on the property - think "shadow inventory" here. She decides to move back in to the home to offer it for sale as a short sale in order to "save her credit". Ummm... hello... a short sale will not save your credit if you haven't been making payments for 2 years - I imagine the credit is devastated at this point. The difference between the points hit on a short sale and a foreclosure for this client are minimal. For someone who just missed his first payment on a mortgage and is concerned to limit credit score hit - then a short sale would be preferable over a foreclosure. Keep in mind, the right kind of short sale is what we strive to achieve. The right kind would be a non-deficiency statement from the lender which states that no further collection will happen and the bank is satisfied with the short sale proceeds. Each case is different and each is worth taking the time to review with an attorney, CPA and an experienced foreclosure alternative Realtor.

Commercial Office Property Condo Mountain View Short Sale - Non Performing Note Sale

We have an exclusive opportunity to purchase a non performing note on a commercial office condo in a great park in Mountain View. Approximately 3,650 square feet, 5 year old property, well built out 100% office space, great value in the mid $100s per foot. Great deal for an owner-user in a park that is convenient to 237, the mid Peninsula and south to Silicon Valley.

Short Sale Duplex San Jose under $200 per foot!

Very good deal in San Jose for a short sale duplex. Large 1,936 square feet on a 7,000 square foot lot offered at $380,000. One 3 bedroom unit and one 2 bedroom unit. Central gas heating, building is only 40 years old - comparatively to most duplexes in the Valley which are 50-60 years old. Good roof, fenced patios, strong rental area of south San Jose. This is a very good deal to own.

Santana Row Bank Owned Condo for Sale

Just listed yesterday a Wells Fargo owned condo loft that faces Santana Row. Sitting on the 3rd floor of the DeForest building is a A-1 model, 1099 square feet, no large red "X" structural support in the living room, blond kitchen cabinets with granite counter,washer, dryer, fridge all in the unit. And get this - FOUR parking spaces! Somebody went overboard with parking purchases! Unit is directly over Cocolat and Straits. Offered at $424,900. This unit will sell very, very fast.

Blossom Valley San Jose Large Bank Owned Duplex for Sale

$539,900 for a duplex on a great street in Blossom Valley near Westfield Oakridge Mall. Over 2,100 square feet, 3 bedroom & 2 bath unit and 2 bedroom and 1 bath unit. Large lot, newer roof, open floorplans. The unit would do well with upgrades to the dated kitchen and baths. Perfect investor unit or owner occupant.

San Jose Commercial Property for Sale - Willow Glen $699,900

Excellent owner user building in an excellent area of Willow Glen. Space has high ceilings and roll up doors. Full usable basement. Large lot with very flexible zoning area for redevelopment potential. Possible medical, dental use. Motivated seller - make an offer!

Stunning Santana Row Villa for Sale

Only 21 of these exist and this very well may be the best unit of the lot. Facing directly at the Hotel Valencia's VBar is the main covered balcony of this home. There are 3 other balconies/patios for this unit also! 3 master suites, a spacious living room, dining room and kitchen. All upgraded to the highest standards. If you love the lifestyle and the energy of Santana Row, then you must view this home. Offered at just under $1.9M for 2,288 square feet of luxurious living.

Santana Row Luxury Rental Available

There are only two of these units at Santana Row for lease. Both are amazing 2,900 square foot flats in the heart of Santana Row. They were designed and built to be ultra-luxurious apartments for an amazing lifestyle. One of these flats will be available for move in within the next 2 weeks. Asking rent is $13,000 per month. Definitely a steep rent until you see what you get for the money. Anybody would be impressed. Perfect views of both the pool and Santana Row. A stunning kitchen, living room, family room and balcony. Impressive master suite plus 3 more bedrooms. A private elevator opens directly into the unit. 3 car private garage parking and a 4th space on the pool deck. If urban, luxury living is your thing, then call us for an appointment to view this flat as soon as possible.

Santana Row Short Sale New Listing

2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1,513 square feet on two levels in the DeForest Building. Two parking spaces. $599,000 short sale price subject to bank approval. Currently rented for $2,500 per month. This unit has an outdoor balcony facing West. Great unit and an excellent price. Call to tour.