First Time Home Buyers

Jan

FHA Appraisal Facts

Are you going to be obtaining an FHA loan to do your next home purchase? If so, read below. An FHA appraisal is simply a conventional appraisal but with more detail paid to, and more documentation of, the subject property’s characteristics, overall functionality, and condition (noting any deferred maintenance). An FHA appraiser will actually perform what amounts to a smaller, [...]

Jan

Krista’s list of what to read in 2009

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, For the Heck of It, Foreclosures & Short Sales, Good ol' Fashion Humor

This just in, the ultimate reading list. I love to read. I love to be inspired. I love to learn. This list, in no particular order, combines a little bit of each. 1. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. This sly and lucid book discusses why we make the decisions that we do, including why headaches disappear after [...]

Dec

Fed Cuts Short-Term Rate to Nearly Zero

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, General Real Estate News, Mortgage & Finance

Now that the world has admitted that we are in a recession the Fed thought they should step in and do their part. Yesterday, in an attempt to fight the recession and the downword pressure on consumer prices, the Fed cut the key rate to the bone. Huh? This is the rate which affects how much [...]

Nov

Berkeley bungalow cute as a button

Posted In: Berkeley, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, Listings, Neighborhood Businesses

Broker’s Tour today didn’t produce much. Inventory is down, WAY down. Perhaps people are wanting a place to live to cook their turkey’s. I don’t blame them! But I did see something worth mentioning: 2705 Mathews in West Berkeley. This 1 bedroom Craftsman bungalow is located on a wonderful tree-lined street in Berkeley’s Left Bank. It has been remodeled with [...]

Nov

New Conforming Loan Limits set for 2009

Posted In: First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, Mortgage & Finance

Word on the street is that the new loan limits have arrived for 2009! (I know you just can’t contain yourselves!) For Alameda and Contra Costa Counties: 1 unit-$625,500 2 units-$800,775 3 units-$967,950 4 units-$1,202,925 Now go buy a house!

Sep

Real Estate is like the San Francisco 49ers

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers

I love the 49ers. I’ve been a Niner’s girl for a long time. Each week I watch with hope, excitement, and anticipation…anticipation for that almighty touchdown. Of course, most weeks they don’t come through. But look at the history of football…football can be categorized in cycles: some weeks you are up, some you are down. Some seasons you are up, [...]

Sep

Ode to the stock market cloud

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers

The stock market went bonkers today. I hope you aren’t flipping assets. How does someone who is looking to buy or sell a house decipher what is happening on Wall Street? How will all of this turmoil affect them? Sure, it could, and probably will, mean lower interest rates, but any benefit on the housing market could be shadowed by [...]

Sep

Struggling homeowners worry about credit score

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, Foreclosures & Short Sales, Mortgage & Finance

Aye aye aye. It’s a sign of the times. Over the last year and a half, the mortgage market has undergone more changes than in any comparable period since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The current housing market malaise has some homeowners up in arms. With the threat of losing their house on their shoulders, the idea of burning [...]

Jun

Website rates “walkability” of a home

Posted In: First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, For the Heck of It

With gas prices reaching an all time high (last week I paid $4.89/gal) people in Seattle are turning to a new website called http://www.walkscore.com. The creaters of Walk Score measured the Walk Score of 77 Seattle neighborhoods and created a walkability map to help you find Seattle’s most walkable places to live. The site sizes up restaurants, schools, parks, shopping [...]

Jan

Welcome back

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, General Real Estate News

After returning to work from a nice, long holiday vacation, what do I see in the headlines? 1. “Feeling Misled on Home Price, Buyers Sue Agent.” 2. “Foreclosures are up by 67.8% nationwide.” 3. “World Braces for Subprime Fallout.” 4. “Hold on for a Recession.” Wow, this is depressing. No wonder the housing market is in trouble. Look at what [...]