Business Brokerage

Steve Zimmerman, Intero Commercial's Business Broker, spoke today at Provizio in Sunnyvale. He is Intero's and probably the south bay's expert on business sales. He specializes in businesses that have gross sales over $300,000 and up to $2,000,000. These businesses include auto repair facilities, grocery stores, printing companies and other "main street" businesses that almost every community needs. So, if you are looking to buy yourself a business or to sell one, call Steve.

South Willow Glen 4 Bedroom Short Sale 599K

I just toured a wonderful 4 bedroom, 2 bath home just south of Wilow Glen in San Jose. This house was on a perfect street, good curb appeal, nice lot and just needed some tender loving care on the inside. For $599,000 - a price point that hasn't been broken in a long time - it is a very good opportunity. The market is soft right now and more so because it is the end of the year, best to buy now and watch the spring that will happen in the Spring!

Loan Down Payment Assistance in San Jose

I am having a client pre-approved for a loan to buy a house in the Valley. The loan program that my lender is using will give him a cash down payment to assist him to qualify for the loan more easily. This program depends on the client's income vs. the amount of people he supports in his family. In his case, the top income threshold is over $100,000! This is a fantastic program for first time home buyers and well worth asking about. For more information, drop me a line.

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot Race in San Jose

For all those who are looking for something to do while the turkey is cooking, think about the Applied Materials annual Turkey Trot 10K in downtown San Jose running through the Guadalupe River Park. It starts at 9am and is an easy run along the river walk. Look for me - I'll be next to my beautiful girlfriend huffing and puffing from the strain of the race. It benefits a great cause and we can always use the extra company. It's also good justification for the gluttony to come later in the day.

Tulare Strip Mall

We are tracking a retail strip mall in Tulare that is a solid investment offered at $3,000,000. The center is occupied by several national tenants, as well as being shadow anchored by McDonald's and Chevron. The center is just a few years old and almost fully occupied. If interested, please call right away as there will be good activity on this property.

Open House This Sunday

This gorgeous 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home in the Evergreen foothills of San Jose is going to be open on Sunday November 10th from 1:30-4:30pm. 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 $825,000.

Dear Lee,

You called today and we talked about a condo in Saratoga.
I'd love to help, although the phone number I took down was incorrect.
Please call when you can.
- Mario

First Time Home Buyers to Reap Big Rewards

There are very few times in the history of Silicon Valley where it is a great opportunity to buy homes. This is definitely one of them. Those who will gain the most are the first time home buyers and those who are buying investment single family homes. This is because that group will not have to sell something in the valley to buy another. Move up buyers will also do very well. Have you thought about buying a local home to rent out yet? You can get a very decent 3 bedroom, 2bath in west San Jose for under $600,000. Then, rent the house out for $2,000 per month. This is a great long term asset to own.

Silver Creek Valley Country Club Open House This Sunday

Come visit this Sunday my new stunning listing in Silver Creek Valley Country Club at 5230 Birkdale Way, San Jose, CA 95138 open house from 1:30-4:30. 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 Sunday! $1,349,950.

Awesome Russian Hill San Francisco TIC Opportunity

My dear friend from Sperry Van Ness - Kevin Chin, CCIM - just listed an awesome three unit building in Russian Hill for 1.995M - the opportunity is that it is in a great location and it only has two residential units - the ground floor is a commercial space - therefore it can be fast tracked to condo conversion if the two residential spaces are owner occupied or vacant. More impressive is that it has parking and extra storage space. This is a perfect partner deal which can be comprised of investors or owner occupants both. Call me to tour.

Great opportunity Bank -Owned 4-plex

With lots of potential this 4plex has 2bed/1bath units approx 800sqft per unit with separate laundry room for added income source.
Call me if you are interested in taking advantage of this income producing opportunity.

Trading Up or Downsizing - Strategies

I was having a conversation with a buyer today who owned a condo and wanted to trade up to a larger house. The difficulty was she needed to sell her condo first to buy the new home. Then of course she would have a very short window to buy a new home. This probably reduces her chances of finding a good deal or the perfect home. What's the solution? She can refinance out the downpayment of her condo, buy the new home and then sell the condo. She can also rent the condo after buying the house. Finally, she can buy the house as a rental for a while and then move into the house in a few years when her income will better support it. There are always good solutions if you do some brainstorming.

Fourplex San Jose for Sale

We are tracking a fourplex in San Jose that is a good value. It is offered at $695,000 for two 2 bedroom units and two 1 bedroom units with $52,000 in annual rental income. Total loans on the property are over $800,000 so obviously this is a short sale. The neighborhood is a bit rough and will require an experienced owner or a good property management company. If interested, give me a call right away.

Palo Alto Real Estate Still On Fire

I just toured all 6 single family homes for sale in Palo Alto under $1,100,000. It did not take long... all were small 1,000 square foot homes with 2 or possibly 3 bedrooms and 1 bath - on average. All were on the market less than 7 days - which means everything in that price range is selling after the first open house weekend. Palo Alto has not missed a beat - while the east valley is having a major coronary event - two very different worlds.

Gorgeous Silver Creek Valley Country Club Home for Sale

5230 Birkdale Way in the fabulous Silver Creek Valley Country Club just went on the market. 3,114 square feet, 4 bedrooms plus a den, 3.5 baths, huge vaulted ceilings, pool, jacuzzi, valley views, large kitchen, great living room and dining room. Offered at $1,349,950. This is a very good value.

Cupertino Short Sale Home on Market

There is a 1,500+ square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on the market with a Cupertino address and Cupertino schools that may be a short sale situation. The home is listed for $915,000 and is very possibly a good deal in this strong Cupertino market. Let me know if you want to tour.

50 Short Sales in Campbell, West San Jose, Sunnyvale

I am tracking 50 single family home listings in the western part of Santa Clara County that are currently available for sale in a short sale situation. These are just the single family homes in that area. There are many more condos and townhouses available too. If you are interested in working with us on buying a good deal, please contact me as soon as possible.

Short Sale Consumer Protection Laws

There is a California state law that limits investor purchases of short sale homes. The limitation affects those sales when the home is owner-occupied and the investor does not intend to live in the home he purchases. The exclusions from this situation would be if the home is vacant, tenant occupied or if the purchaser intends to use the property as his principal residence. There are teeth in this law too. Realtors can be held financially and criminally liable as well as the investor.

Fourplex Stats Santa Clara County - Dismal

Courtesy of TIC expert John Reyes of Welton Street Investments comes startling data on the fourplex market for the month of September 2007.
In Santa Clara County (excluding Los Altos and Palo Alto) there are:
Active Listings 137
Average Days on Market 88
4plexes In Escrow 10
Months of Inventory 13.7
Closings !!!!2!!!!

The values below are not just for September as only 2 closings skews the averages:

Average sales price: $980,000
Average price per unit: $246,000
Average price per square foot: $275
Average GRM: 17.5

I'll just let you think about the closing number - I hope it goes up next month...

Writing Multiple Offers

A Trulia Voices question that came up today was whether a buyer can make multiple offers on different homes at the same time. Of course they can. This is a good strategy in a seller's market as well as in a buyer's market. It give better chances to a buyer when normally the seller is holding all the cards - or information. Normally a buyer will receive counter offers from all his bids. Then the buyer can weigh the best value vs. the different amenities and locations of each house. At this stage the buyer is closer to knowing that each seller's true motivation is in reference to the price they are willing to sell.