Apartment Investment Update for San Jose and Silicon Valley

San Jose fourplex investments - short sales, REOs or regular sales?

We just toured 7 fourplexes in west San Jose and Campbell - short sales, bank owned and regular sales. The highlights?

1. Best price - $799,000 for 3,984 square feet on a 10,000 square foot lot. Awesome old growth tree landscaping in lieu of tacky patio area.
2. Best location - $770,000 for 2,986 square feet in west San Jose. Corner lot, private access to parking area and a garage for the owner's unit.
3. Worst price - the short sale in Campbell that had the best attributes. Why ask a lofty, over- market price on a short sale that needs to move?
4. Worst comparison - the regular sale identical building $68,000 under the short sale across the street.
5. Best after tour meal - La Pizzeria in downtown Campbell - 4 solid stars on Yelp.

Call us for great deals in the duplex - fourplex market. In San Jose, where there has been sub-prime, low down or no down lending, there is opportunity of short sales and bank owned property.

Santana Row Condos for Sale Update - Bank & Short Sales

Wow - there are condo homes to choose from on Santana Row! Amazingly there are homes on the market in an area where there has not been much to choose from in the last couple years. Both the De Forest and Margo buildings have units for sale - studios, one bedroom lofts and a couple larger units. If you want to own a pied-a-terre on the Row, an investment property or a principle residence, call us today to see the rare homes that are now on the market in Santana Row.

Bay Area Investment Real Estate - Mario Pinedo, CCIM Investment Update O...

Investment Property update for Silicon Valley. Single family home sales and commercial investment opportunities from www.MPIRES.com and Intero Real Estate.

Bay Area Investment Real Estate - Mario Pinedo, CCIM Investment Update

Foreclosures Halted - Bank of America and Wells Fargo in Review

The current issue of reviewing the legality of banks foreclosing on borrowers is going to be a very long mess to unravel. Bank of America halted their foreclosure activity until they can review their procedures. Wells Fargo Bank is also reviewing all its pending foreclosure properties and those that it recently acquired. Does this mean that Bank of America and Wells Fargo are the only banks with liabilities to review? Heck no! Every bank is scrambling on how to best manage this mega mess. The Title Companies are sweating this too. And the real estate attorneys are salivating.
This will have a major impact on the market because home buyers and investors will not have certainty on a large segment of the housing inventory. This segment - bank owned homes in California - accounted for over 43% of sales in the last year!
A winner in this mess will be new home developers and owners of homes that have not been foreclosed on. The short sellers will also benefit because the banks will give them more time since foreclosure is essentially off the table for now. Short sellers may be cautious too because they will be dealing with banks that have more on their mind than the short selling of one person's particular home.
And this too shall pass, but when, that is to be seen...
What do you think this will do?

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.