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| Tracy, Central Valley and East Bay Real Estate News |
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Articles and Advice |
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| Pay attention to home inspection By Paul Bianchina For just about anyone, a home is the single-most expensive and single-most complex thing that you'll ever own. So when making that purchase, you certainly want to do everything possible to be an informed buyer and to protect yourself and your investment. One of the ways to do that is to have a home inspection prior to closing the deal on the purchase. A home inspection will give you a lot of information about the physical condition of the home you're considering buying, and should alert you to any potentially serious problems. But as a potential home buyer, it's important that you understand what a home inspection includes and doesn’t include. There are certain things you legitimately can expect your inspection to provide for you, and certain things that it won't. And you also need to understand that the more you participate in the inspection process, the more you'll get out of it in return. Finally, understand that just like there are good and bad contractors, there also are good and bad home inspectors. Expect to have to do a little homework to find one of the good ones. What is a home inspection? A home inspection is a visual inspection of the home you're thinking of purchasing, performed by an objective third-party inspector. The inspector will examine the physical structure of the home from top to bottom, as well as the home's operating systems. Typically, a home inspector will look at the following things: • Outside: The exterior home site; general condition of the foundation and basement walls; condition of the exterior walls, including the siding, exterior trim, windows, exterior doors and exterior paint; type and condition of the roofing; condition of gutters, downspouts, flashings, and vents. • Inside: The condition of the attic, roof support structure, attic insulation and attic moisture issues; condition of the basement and crawl space, including insulation and moisture issues; garage and carport; electrical system; visible plumbing system; heating, cooling and ventilation system; general interior condition of the home. A short time after the end of the inspection you'll receive a written report detailing the inspector's findings. Any defects the inspector identified will be noted. Inspectors never should attempt to sell you anything, such as their services to come in and fix anything that was identified in the report. To do so would be a clear conflict of interest. It's important to understand that inspectors do not do what is known as "destructive testing." In other words: they don't cut holes in walls or otherwise open up inaccessible areas to look inside. Everything is based on their visual inspection of whatever they can access. They're also not there to comment on anything that's readily apparent from a cosmetic standpoint, such as a sloppy paint job. What types of things does the inspection not cover? It's equally important to understand what a home inspection doesn't cover, because this is where you need to be sure that you continue with your due diligence when you're buying your home. For example, your home inspector will point out any obvious signs of visible mold or mildew in the home. However, he will not be performing any type of actual mold inspection. If you suspect a mold infestation in the home, you need to have testing done by a trained hygienist. Home inspectors will point out structural problems that have been caused by insect damage. But they're not there to perform a complete termite inspection. They also don't do inspections for the condition of the well, septic tank, or any type of soil contaminants. You also need to be very aware of the fact that a home inspection has nothing to do with code violations or zoning issues. You need to check those things out for yourself with the local building and planning offices. It's up to you to assure yourself that any prior work on the house was done with the necessary building permits. It's also up to you to check that there are not any issues when it comes to how the house is currently zoned, or how the current zoning might affect your use of the property in the future. What do you need to do? You have a couple of other responsibilities in this process as well. First of all, know who your inspector is, and what's required of him. Different states have different regulations pertaining to how home inspectors are regulated, so find out what's required. Interview the inspector before you hire him. Be sure he complies with all those requirements, including whatever license, insurance and bond is needed. Ask for and verify references. Ask for and read a sample report. Be sure it gives you the type of information you need, in a format you can understand. Find out if the inspector belongs to any professional trade organizations, and what their standards and codes of ethics are. The other important thing is that you need to attend the inspection. Follow the inspector around, even up into the attic and into the crawlspace if you're physically able to do so. See what he's looking at. Understand the potential problems. Ask questions and take notes. When you get your report, read it over from cover to cover at least twice, and be sure you understand it. You paid for it, and it's one of the most important documents you'll ever have. So if you don't understand any of it, be sure someone explains it to you. |
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FREE Buyer's Packet You could save thousands. By Jeff Green You can save more money than you may realize on a purchase. Let Jeff Green show you how. 24 Hour Recorded Information 1-888-240-4522 ext. 553 Please call about my FREE buyer's packet that could save you thousands.What You Get With JeffSavings: As your buyer’s agent, Jeff will negotiate the best price and terms possible for you. Jeff will also disclose to you any known information about the seller concerning an urgency to sell a property so that you can act quickly.Best Use of Time: Most agents have a large inventory of listings which they are obliged to show first. Rather just selling his own listings or merely providing automated lists of homes, Jeff will sit down with you and determine what type of home best suits your needs, and then search the Metrolist and other sources to locate only the homes that meet your criteria. Jeff has the key to all the homes listed on the Metrolist. Confidentiality: Any personal/private information about you that could hurt your negotiating position will be kept confidential. Only material facts will be disclosed. Free Representation: From negotiations through closing, Jeff will always look out for you best interest. Jeff will represent you n your purchase at no cost to you the buyer. Protection: Most real estate contracts are written to protect the seller; Jeff will write contracts to protect you the purchaser. This is why you want to use a buyers agent. Information: Jeff will provide you all the pertinent information about the property including how much the seller paid and what all the other homes in the neighborhood sold for. Loyalty: With Jeff Green as your buyer's agent, you will always know his loyalty is to you. Jeff only works with 4-5 buyers at a time. You will have his exclusive attention in your price and geographical search parameters. Peace of mind: Selecting Jeff as your buyer's agent means any known facts which could adversely affect the value of a property will be disclosed to you the purchaser. Buying or Selling a Home...Green Means Go! |
| Playing the real estate waiting game By Dian Hymer Buyers often are reluctant to make an offer to buy a home they find early on in their search. After looking for months and not finding anything comparable, some buyers regret not having moved quickly on a listing even though they saw it early on. In most cases, you should consider yourself lucky if you find the home you want to own for years relatively quickly. It's not uncommon in some low-inventory markets for buyers to look for a year or more before they are able to buy. For the last few years, sellers who haven't had a pressing need to sell have been waiting for a better market before putting their homes on the market. In one case, the inventory was so paltry that buyers who purchased in the Upper Rockridge area of Oakland, Calif., looked for four years before finding the house that would work for them in the long term. In high-demand niche markets, there can be a shortage of listings and a lot of buyers waiting for the same kind of home. A couple who purchased in the Oakland Hills looked for more than a year in an area where not much that suited their needs was available. They made two offers during that time and ended up losing in multiple-offer competitions before they were finally able to secure a new home. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Buyers who find the right home soon after starting their search need to get a quick education about the local market in order to be able to keep from making a bad decision. You don't want to pass on a house and kick yourself later for doing so. You also don't want to buy a house that doesn't work out for you, particularly in the current market. You'd be unlikely to sell the home again soon and break even. Find out how often a listing like the one you're considering comes on the market. High-quality, well-located homes in coveted locations come on the market infrequently in some areas. Ask your real estate agent how many listings like the one you're interested in came on the market in the last six months or one year. How long did it take them to sell? Were there multiple offers? In other areas that have lots of homes for sale similar to the one you like, you have the luxury of shopping the market awhile. If someone else buys this home, you'll be able to find another in a reasonable period of time. There's no urgency, unless interest rates are rising and locking in a low rate is key to being able to afford the home you want. To ease your concern about buying a home before you've seen many, scour the Internet for other similar homes for sale in the area. Ask your agent to show you any other homes currently on the market that might work for you. This is how to determine the range of housing options in the area as well as understand local pricing. Buyers from out of the area are at a disadvantage if they are not familiar with the housing market in the new location. The Internet helps buyers gain information about what kinds of homes and how many are available in the new location. THE CLOSING: Although no one likes to make an interim move to a rental before buying, it does have the benefit of letting you live in the new community and decide which neighborhood will work best for you. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist. |
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Buying or Selling a Home? Green Means Go! By Jeff Green Thanks for taking time to read my newsletter this month. If you are consider buying or selling a home now is a great time. Please consider the services that I offer. The key to effective investment is information. You probably have equity in your home in, the question is, how much equity. It’s possible that you can sell your investment now and position yourself for a greater equity gain over time. Free Services for Investors/Homeowners: Know your Home’s Worth: If you are interested in knowing your home’s current value in today’s market I can prepare a free report for you at no obligation. Sell for Top Dollar: Free marketing consultation. If you are considering selling your home and/or purchasing another let’s talk about how you can get top dollar for your home, even in today’s market. Instant Neighborhood Updates: If you would like a regular update on what is happening in your neighborhood, I can notify you via email whenever a house sells with information on it’s price and features. Free buyer’s package that could save you thousands. High tech property search tools. My search tools can help you find what you are looking for. Free home buyer’s representation. Reduce your exposure to legal hassles and hidden expenses. |
| Pricing to sell in today's market By Dian Hymer Putting yourself in the right mindset to sell is essential. It's the most difficult aspect of selling for most sellers. Your home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay, which may not be what you think it is worth. Detaching yourself emotionally from your home is difficult. Clearing out years of clutter, depersonalizing your home by removing personal memorabilia, and staging your home for sale can help you step back and view the home as a commodity that needs to be sold rather than as your personal sanctuary. Putting your home on the market at a price that reflects what you want and not what the market will bear can cost you time and money as it sits on the market unsold. The home-sale market is a localized phenomenon. The only way to get a clear picture of what your home is likely to sell for is to find out which listings are selling in your neighborhood and for how much. The most recent sales -- those that closed within the last three months -- will be the most informative. Be sure to take a hard look at the list prices of homes that are new on the market. If the list prices are lower than they were two or three months ago, this indicates that prices are declining. This needs to be taken into account when you select a list price. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Pay close attention to your competition. Don't fall into the trap of pricing your home higher than your neighbor's home because yours is better. If your neighbor's price is too high for the market, neither of your homes will sell. Ask your listing agent to call the listing agents of properties similar to yours to find out what kind of showing activity they are receiving. Have they had offers? If so, why weren't they accepted? Were the offers too high? If so, you should set your sights lower. Some listing agents recommend that you list considerably under market value in order to stimulate multiple offers. In some cases, this can be an effective strategy. For example, in the low-end foreclosure market, this was common practice at the end of 2009. Some listings priced way below market value received more than a dozen offers. However, it can be risky to price significantly lower than market value on a more expensive property for which the demand is lower. You could end up with more than one offer, but you could also receive under-market price offers. Your home needs to be perceived as a good value to a buyer to sell in this market. However, you could shortchange yourself by discounting the price too much. Your home is most marketable when it is new on the market. Buyers wait anxiously for the new crop of listings. Listings that don't sell relatively quickly often languish on the market. Price reductions often follow as the sellers try to find market value. A listing that has been on the market for months is likely to receive a low offer -- if a buyer makes any offer. A listing that receives a lot of showing activity when it first hits the market but gets no offers is probably overpriced for the market. In this case, it's best to lower the price to market value as soon as possible while the listing is still fresh in agents' and buyers' minds, even if this is within two to four weeks of the listing date. THE CLOSING: Listings in neighborhoods where sales activity is slim require a longer marketing period. Even so, pricing right for the market is imperative. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Attic ventilation makes a healthy home Does your house have enough vents in the right places? By Paul Bianchina If you're like most folks, you've probably never given any consideration to how well ventilated your attic is. But proper attic ventilation is very important to your home's good health, both in summer and winter. In the summer, a good flow of ventilation will remove unwanted heat that is trapped in the attic. That heat can damage the roofing, and it also makes it that much more difficult to keep your home cool. In the winter, removing attic heat allows the underside of your roof to stay closer to the ambient temperature of the outside air, which helps prevent ice damming. And throughout the year, good attic ventilation removes excess moisture before it can accumulate and create the potential for mold growth or damage to wooden structural members. Properly installed, attic ventilation works on the natural passive movement of air. For the typical attic, this means a combination of low vents along the eaves of the roof, and high vents along roof's ridge. Since the air in the attic is warmer at the ridge than it is at the eaves, lower temperature air is drawn in through the low vents, pushing the higher temperature air out through the high vents. While the movement of air is more dramatic in the summer when attic temperature differentials are higher, this movement actually occurs at all times and in all temperatures. VENTILATION REQUIREMENTS How much ventilation your attic needs depends on the size of your house and, to some degree, its shape. To determine ventilation requirements, most building codes rely on a simple mathematical formula of 1 square foot of ventilation area for every 300 square feet of attic area. For example, if your home has 1,500 square feet of living space, you would need 5 square feet of vent area to provide an adequate amount of air flow (1,500 square feet divided by 300 = 5). Since it is the passive movement of the air through the attic that creates the ventilation, the placement of the vents is a very important consideration in how effective they will be. They need to be installed so that roughly half are in high locations along the ridge or in the gable ends, and half are placed low along the eaves. Attached garages can add to the ventilation load of the home as well. If your home has an attached garage and the attic of the garage is continuous with the attic of the house, then the square footage of the garage needs to be included as well. For example, if your 1,500 square foot home has a 500 square foot attached garage and the attics are continuous with one another, then the required vent area goes from 5 square feet to 6.67 square feet (1,500 square feet + 500 square feet = 2,000, divided by 300 = 6.67). If the garage is attached to the house but the attics are not continuous, you have a slightly different situation. Because the attic of the garage is still going to get warm (even if the garage does not have a ceiling), that heat is still going to have an impact on both the garage roofing and the heat being transferred to the house, not to mention on the garage itself and all its contents. Therefore, the garage attic needs to be ventilated as well. You can use the same 1:300 formula, but the square-foot requirements and the layout of the vent locations for the garage should be considered independently of the house attic. NET-FREE AREA If you were to purchase a vent that is 12 inches by 12 inches (one square foot) in overall size, you would not actually be getting one square foot of ventilation area. The framework of the vent and especially the insect screening in it reduces the overall amount of area that the air can actually pass through -- sometimes by as much as half. For that reason, vents are rated in net-free area (NFA), which is the actual amount of open ventilation area that the vent contains after deducting out all of the space taken up by the frame and the screening. The exact NFA will be printed directly on the vent by the manufacturer, and it's important to utilize this number as opposed to the overall size of the vent in making your calculations for how many vents you will need. With whatever type of vents you use, remember to keep them free of insulation and other debris that reduce their effectiveness, and to be certain that all bathroom, kitchen and other exhaust fans in the house are vented all the way to the outside, not into the attic. |
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| Foreclosure rescue scams on the rise States make headway, provide victims relief By Tom Kelly Are the usual suspects returning to mortgage-related scams as a result of the subprime lending fallout? Does the practice of illegal "foreclosure rescue" operations extend even into the second-home market? It always seems that when a large group of consumers are in trouble with their home finances, bad guys are around to help the unsuspecting homeowner dig their hole a little deeper. The latest attempt at the age-old practice of equity skimming is foreclosure rescue where scammers peruse county records to find properties that are facing foreclosure for nonpayment of mortgages or taxes. "Foreclosure rescue scams have overtaken illegal property flipping as the most common scam; however, illegal property flipping is still a problem," said Rebecca Jacobsen, Washington state assistant attorney general. Two months ago, the attorney general's office settled a foreclosure rescue case against three Washington-based businesses and their owners accused of taking unfair advantage of homeowners facing foreclosure. Unlike consumers who had fallen behind on their mortgages, these homeowners were targeted because they were in arrears on their property taxes. "They (the defendants) told property owners that they would solve their foreclosure problems," said Rob McKenna, Washington state attorney general. "But often, their real intent was to let the property go to auction and take any excess proceeds from the sale -- money that would have gone to the property owner if the defendants hadn't 'helped' them." Under the settlement reached and filed in King County Superior Court, Tacoma, Wash.-based Fiscal Dynamics Inc. and Cumulative LLC, along with Seattle-based Northwest Assets, denied the state's allegations but agreed to pay a total of $290,000 in consumer restitution. Two individuals -- Walt Scamehorn, who owns Fiscal Dynamics and Cumulative, and E. Arliss Morgan, who owns Northwest Assets -- also denied the allegations but agreed to the settlement terms. The money will be used to provide refunds to consumers who would have received proceeds from the sales of their homes or land had the defendants not diverted the proceeds for their own use. Based on current information, more than 100 consumers may be entitled to receive restitution. Foreclosure rescue scams have made national news the past month in Massachusetts, Colorado and New Jersey. According to the Massachusetts Attorney General's office, the defendants in its case not only obtained the title to the homeowners' residences but also stripped most of the homes' equity though inflated mortgages, false fees for fictitious services and false certifications by closing attorneys. In certain cases, the defendants resold the homes amongst themselves, thereby extracting any remaining equity. While some second homes in Colorado have been selling at a significant loss, rescue scams typically strike only single-property owners. "Many times people who have second homes are more sophisticated and understand that foreclosure rescue operators are offering something too good to be true," Jacobsen said. "The typical target that we are seeing are people with no other assets who really are in a desperate situation." Tom DiMercurio, a veteran of 37 years in the foreclosure business, agrees with Jacobsen about the second-home market. "Some of the wealthy people in this country are looking at the $2 million vacation house they visit two or three times a year," DiMercurio said. "Many have put them on the market and will not get out of them what they put into them, but they don't draw the rescue plans you are talking about. "Obviously, the very rich never worry about anything, but there were instant millionaires a couple of years ago who paid cash for expensive homes who now wished they hadn't." According to Jacobsen, consumers who think they are being scammed should not sign anything until they get the documents looked at by a neutral party. They should contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office or their lender for suggestions on who would be an appropriate neutral party to review the documents. If someone offers to bail you out, do your best to make sure they aren't simply tossing more water into your sinking boat. Law enforcement officials believe most of the people offering the help are out to help you sink. |
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| What's causing my mold infestation? By Bill & Kevin Burnett Q: I have mold developing underneath a window in my bedroom. The window faces north-northwest and never has sun on it. I wonder if the mold could be caused simply by moisture accumulating in the room, or is it a more serious problem, such as a leaking window frame? I have no idea whom to consult. One inspector wrote in his report that the paint job was poor, but didn't say why. There's a contractor in my neighborhood, but how do I know he knows what he's talking about? I'd like to get someone who could determine what is causing the mold, and why the paint splits off my front window sills within months of being applied. The wood is not soft, and the tip of a knife does not penetrate. Any tips on what kind of expert I should be consulting and how to recognize a reliable person would be greatly appreciated. A: The mold on your window is either the result of too much moisture and too little ventilation or it could be symptomatic of a more serious problem. The peeling paint on the front window sills likewise could be a sign of excess moisture or it may simply be that the top coat of paint is incompatible with the undercoat. If there is a structural problem, it is possible that it's caused by termites, but we doubt it. More likely it's caused by a fungus infestation, also known as dry rot. Fungus flourishes in moist conditions. We recommend that you employ a licensed professional structural and pest control contractor to determine whether you have a problem and if so, its extent. The inspection you had done seems to have been deficient. A "bad paint job" tells us (and you) nothing. If, for example, exterior caulking was substandard, that may be the cause of water infiltration and the mold. If it's been going on awhile it could also cause rot. A general building contractor might be of help in identifying structural defects but generally does not have the specialized training necessary to ferret out and identify specific pest control problems, such as the cause of the mold under your window. As for finding a reliable structural and pest control inspector, we suggest you inquire with the people who use them the most: real estate brokers. A structural and pest control inspector is part of almost every home sale. Most brokers have a number of pest control operators they use regularly. Tell the broker up front that you're not thinking of selling (unless you are) but that you have a problem and are looking for some guidance. We think the broker will be happy to recommend a licensed pest control company. Once you have a name, schedule an inspection. Also ask to talk to the inspector and tell him your concerns. We recommend that you have the entire home inspected and that you be there during the inspection. It's possible that the inspector will suggest that he open a test hole or two in the exterior walls to determine if there is hidden damage. This is the case especially if the house siding is stucco. Our experience is that inspectors do not recommend this unless they suspect trouble. Allow him to do it, but ask him to patch the holes when he's done. After the inspection, ask the inspector to talk to you about his findings and ask questions. He'll probably be happy to take you around the house and show you any problems he uncovers. A week or so after the inspection you will receive a written report detailing the damage he's found and the cost to repair it. At this point you can choose what, if anything, to repair. You can also put any suggested repairs out to bid. The cost of the inspection should be no more than $200. We think this is a bargain for the knowledge you'll get. If what you have is merely mold, the cause is a lack of sunshine and inadequate ventilation on your north-by-northwest windows. This is especially true if you live in a foggy area. Mold needs three things to thrive -- moisture, food and a temperate environment. The moisture is provided by condensation; the food is the paint or plaster; and the temperate climate is provided by the warmth of your home's interior. If the mold is not too severe, clean it up by wiping the area with a 25 percent solution of chlorine bleach and rinsing with cold water. Keeping the curtains open and the promoting ventilation by opening the door and windows (weather permitting) will help keep the mold at bay. |
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| Home mortgage provides array of tax breaks Rules on deducting loan interest, points By Tom Kelly If you feel better knowing you can deduct the mortgage-interest portion of your huge annual housing expenses, make sure you know exactly how much you can deduct. One of the more popular topics I've had with accountants this year is regarding mortgage interest. You can deduct only interest on the original amount of the loan at the time you refinance, plus $100,000. For example, let's say you purchased your home 10 years ago for $100,000 and took out a loan for $80,000. Since then, you have paid the loan down to $20,000. The house is now worth $275,000 and your oldest child needs college tuition. The house definitely has equity to tap, but your mortgage interest deduction would be limited to the first $120,000 ($20,000 old loan at the time of "refi," plus $100,000). It is important to remember that home-loan-interest deductions simply reduce your taxable income. They are not dollar-for-dollar tax credits that are subtracted from your tax bill. If you have a $1,000-a-month mortgage payment and are in the 15 percent tax bracket, only about $150 a month escapes being taxed in the early months of the loan. You can deduct the loan fees ("points") paid to buy or improve your main home in the year of purchase. You cannot deduct these fees in the year you refinanced if you refinanced only to obtain a lower interest rate on your loan. The term "points," once used to describe only prepaid interest on government loans, now is used to describe charges paid by a borrower to secure any mortgage. These points can be loan-origination fees or prepaid interest to "buy down" an interest rate. To be deductible, these charges -- or points -- must represent interest paid for the use of money and must be paid "before the time for which it represents a charge for the use of the money." According to the Internal Revenue Service, most points paid when you are refinancing an existing mortgage must be written off over the life of the new loan. However, if you sold a home in 2006, you can still deduct several items, including title insurance costs and excise tax. For guidance on closing costs, the best source may be the settlement sheet from the original loan. Points on refinance are not fully deductible in the year in which they are paid because they were not paid in connection with the improvement or purchase of a home, even though the original loan met the requirements for deductibility. What many home sellers forget to factor at tax time are the fees remaining from a previous refinance. All of those fees can be deducted in the tax year you refinanced a second time. For example, let's say you jumped at a 30-year, fixed-rate loan at 4.5 percent in May 2005. In order to get that lower rate (conventional rates were hovering higher), you had to pay at least 5 discount points. If the loan amount were $80,000, one discount point would amount to $800, and five points would be $4,000. Points paid to buy, build or improve your principal residence can be deducted in the year they are paid, as long as they were not rolled into the loan amount. However, because you refinanced to simply obtain a lower interest rate, nearly all of the $4,000 must be written off over the life of the loan. That's because the IRS sees refinancing points as repayment of existing debt. Let's say that last month an unexpected need to send Dad into an assisted-living home necessitated another refinance to pull some cash out of the home. You decide on an adjustable-rate mortgage with a very low starting rate and pay no fees. Now that the existing loan is paid off, the remaining balance of the fees from the previous loan is deductible in tax-year 2007. The tax rules and deductions for second-home owners who rent out their properties on a short-term basis depend on many factors, including how often you personally use your second home, how many nights or a percentage of the nights you rent out your home, and your personal adjusted gross income (AGI). The details can be found in IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property (including Rental of Vacation Homes). Now, I need to do a better job of recording all of my deductible expenses that often slip through the cracks. It seems I might have to counter the loss of some mortgage interest for 2007. |
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| Presale inspections can give sellers advantage By Dian Hymer It's becoming more common for sellers to hire inspectors to inspect their property before it's put on the market. The reports are then made available to buyers to review before they make an offer. From a seller's perspective, presale inspections accomplish two goals. One objective -- particularly in states such as California that have seller disclosure requirements -- is to make sure that property defects are disclosed to prospective buyers in a timely fashion. Sellers who order inspections often do so to ensure that defects they might not be aware of are disclosed before, not after, the sale closes. However, presale inspection reports should not be viewed as a substitute for a seller's disclosure obligations. For example, if you are aware of a roof leak, you must disclose it, even if the inspector misses this defect. Another benefit to sellers from presale inspections is that they tend to cut down on renegotiations that can occur after buyers complete their inspections. If the buyer is aware of a defect before an offer is made, it can be factored into the offer price. This way, the seller has a better idea of how much he is likely to net from the sale at the time the offer is accepted. The more a buyer knows about the condition of a property before an offer is made, the better. If minimal information is available when the purchase contract is negotiated, and big surprises revealed are in the buyer's inspection reports, the transaction could collapse. In this case, the seller has to start over. And, the reports that were generated by the first buyers will probably need to be disclosed to future buyers. Sellers who understand the wisdom of ordering presale inspection reports should use inspectors that are well known and respected in the local area. Your real estate agent should be able to recommend the best local inspectors to you. Some sellers and listing agents mistakenly order reports from inspectors who are known for being less critical than others. This can defeat the seller's purpose and raise a suspicion in the buyer's mind if the inspector overlooks an important defect that the buyers uncover when their inspector examines the property. The seller of a Crocker Highlands home in Oakland, Calif., recently hired a pest inspector who issued a benign report on the property. The inspector recommended no further inspections. When the buyer's home inspector looked at the house, he saw evidence of dry rot under a bathroom. So, the buyers asked a second pest inspector to inspect the property. The inspector recommended that test openings be done to determine if there was damage behind the finished walls. These further inspections revealed damage to the wood framing and a cost of more than $5,000 to repair it. So this particular presale inspection did little to mitigate further price negotiations. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Before you rely on an inspection report that was ordered by the sellers, make sure that the inspector who prepared the report is well respected for thoroughness and impartiality in the local marketplace. If this is not the case, plan on having another inspector look at the property. If the report is out of date, ask the inspector to update the report before you sign off on it. Read the report carefully. Call the inspector yourself for answers to any questions you might have about the report or the property. Schedule a meeting with the inspector at the property to do a walkthrough of the property with you so that he can explain the report and answer any questions you might have. THE CLOSING: It's never a good idea to forego inspections just to save money. |
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| Making an attractive home-purchase offer By Dian Hymer It's easy to assume that negotiating is adversarial. You, the buyer, are on one side -- the side that wants to buy a property for the lowest price possible. The opposition on the other side is the seller who wants to sell for the highest price possible. You're locked in a tug of war to see which side will win. It's more productive to look at a negotiation as a problem-solving process. You and the seller may have different ideas about what price the property should sell for. However, you're united in a common goal of consummating a deal. The challenge is to resolve your differences through a process of give and take until you either reach your common goal, or decide to go your separate ways. Of course, you have to arrive at a mutually agreeable selling price for a sale to go through. Sometimes this will happen quickly; sometimes it's a drawn-out process that can last over days or even weeks. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Patience can be your ally. Sometimes rushing the process can quicken its demise. In fact, you may be better off waiting before starting the process if you think that the asking price is too high. For the first time in years, we are in a market where some home sellers -- typically those who bought recently -- won't be able to sell their home for a profit. But, they may need to test the market to be sure. If this is the case, the best negotiating strategy may be to offer nothing until the sellers are close to reducing their asking price. There can be a benefit to making an offer just before a price reduction is made. If you wait until the price is lowered, you could end up paying a higher price if other buyers suddenly become interested. In order to make sure you know that the sellers are contemplating reducing the price, ask your real estate agent to talk to the sellers' agent and make sure that the sellers are made aware of your interest. Don't be bashful about the fact that you are interested, but not at the current price. This way, you may receive a call when the sellers decide they'd like to see an offer from you. When you make an offer and there's no competition from other buyers, your initial offer price should leave you room to move up in price. But, it should not be so low that it's insulting to the seller. Otherwise he or she might not respond at all. An offer that's much lower than the market would give the seller the impression that you can't afford more, so there's no point in issuing a counteroffer. Buyers often think that if they start too high initially, they'll end up paying too much. Your initial offer price should be good enough to entice the seller into a dialogue. It's a price to get the ball rolling. From there, you can move up in small increments, if necessary. Don't get so caught up in negotiating the price that you overlook other opportunities for consensus building. Most good negotiations have a sense of fairness about them. During the process of your negotiation, you and your agent should brainstorm all the possible ways that you can accommodate the sellers. Do they need a quick close? If so, they might be willing to give more on price for a speedy close. However, you might want to hold up offering this information at the beginning of the dialogue. That way, you have something more of value that you can offer the sellers in exchange for a further price concession. THE CLOSING: When you get close on price, offering to split the difference can put a seal on the deal. |
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| Best deck material: Douglas fir or redwood? Both require long curing process, but one costs much less By Bill & Kevin Burnett Q: I'm building a small deck in the backyard and for cosmetic reasons am painting it rather than finishing the wood. So, being cost-conscious, I am wondering whether using a Douglas fir 2-by-6 versus a con-heart redwood makes sense. The lumber cost is less than half. A friend said that the redwood really ought to cure 90 days and then be washed with oxalic acid to leach out the tannins so the paint doesn't peel and crack. Whichever wood I choose, I was figuring I could buy it, prime it and screw it down prior to applying the top coat. I didn't factor in any period for curing, and 90 days is a long time (just because I was in the mood to see my creation finished). But it sounds important to let it cure for some time before doing any of that. A: Cool your jets. Your friend's right about allowing redwood to cure prior to painting. The same thing applies to fir if you go that route. Moisture levels in lumber must stabilize prior to painting for the paint to successfully adhere to the wood. Construction-grade lumber has a relatively high moisture level. The wood must acclimatize before you seal the surface with paint. Excess moisture must evaporate to give the paint its best chance to stay on the wood. Buy the boards, and stack them with sticks between each board to allow air to circulate. We can't overemphasize the importance of this step, as it allows air to get to all sides of each board. Let the boards cure for two to three months to allow the moisture content to stabilize. If you can stack the boards out of the weather (under a patio or in the garage), that would be best. If that's not possible, and they get rained on, the curing time will be extended. When the curing is complete, plan on priming all six sides of each board. Pay special attention to the ends because the end grain is the most susceptible to moisture penetration and the resultant paint peeling. If you don't precut the decking, you'll have to prime them once you've screwed them to the joists. Speaking of joists, we strongly recommend using pressure-treated material for the framing to inhibit the possibility of rot. Consider applying two coats of primer to the decking for extra protection. It's more work, but it will make the job last longer. This is especially important if you choose to go with fir, as it doesn't take paint quite as well as redwood. As to the choice between Douglas fir and con-heart redwood, we'd save a buck and go with fir. The extra work involved is offset by the cost savings. We know this is heresy to lumber dealers, but if you select vertical grain fir, cure it properly and prime and paint it thoroughly, it will perform. An added bonus is that fir is harder than redwood and will resist heavy foot traffic and dings a bit better. Lowe's and Home Depot will allow you to go through the "stacks" to select boards without charging a premium. Lumberyards allow it also but generally charge a premium for the "select" grade. Look for vertical grain as opposed to the flat grain. It holds paint better. Use good quality primer and deck paint and you'll get many years of use from your new deck. An alternative we'd consider for a painted deck is a composite product we saw a couple of years ago at the Pacific Coast Builder's Conference. Generally, we're not big fans of composite decking, but a product called CorrectDeck CX caught our eye. It's a manufactured plastic/wood product and has a paint-like surface that is impervious to staining. Check it out at www.correctdeck.com/products/decking/cx/default.htm. |
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| A television in every room The latest home accessory craze By Katherine Salant Once upon a time, about half a century or so ago, the choice in televisions was limited. Only black-and-white sets were available, and the largest screens were only 24 inches. The set was encased in its own cabinetry and nestled in among the other pieces of furniture in the living room. How things have changed. Today a homeowner who wants to purchase a new television confronts mind-boggling choices. There are different types of television sets, an enormous range in screen size, nuances in picture quality, and resolution to satisfy the most persnickety movie buff and the sports nut who wants to watch football games and instant replay with minimal blurring. And there's a set and a price to fit every homeowner's budget, no matter how large or how small. The old-style, picture-tube set, now called a cathode ray tube, or CRT, is more compact that it was 50 years ago, but relative to the newer sets, it's heavy and bulky with a 24-inch depth, and it still occupies floor space, either on a table or in a sizeable armoire. A liquid crystal diode set, usually called an LCD, and a plasma set are, by comparison, extremely compact. With circuitry tucked in behind the screen and a depth of about 6 inches, they can be hung on the wall like a piece of art (some would say that these new sets are pieces of art). Between the two types of sets, screen sizes can range from 7 inches to 60 inches. A rear-projection set is bulky and big, but it's the most affordable option if you have your heart set on a super-sized 61-inch screen. If you're building a new house, a critical difference between the old and new types of televisions is the wiring. It can be concealed behind the walls if you plan ahead and tell your builder where to locate your cable outlets. Where might you want a television in your new house? A recent interview with Dave Wilson, a home technology integrator based in Orlando, Fla., suggests that there's a set for every household activity. The only thing keeping you from having a television in every room is a lack of imagination or perhaps a streak of practicality -- while you could have one everywhere, some locations are more sensible than others. For example, the laundry room is one place that you will be spending a fair amount of time, especially if you have young children or a large household and do laundry every day. A television can be a welcome diversion that makes the time go faster as you sort loads, fold clean clothes, and, most of all, while you iron (surely the most odious chore of them all). As most laundry rooms are compact spaces, Wilson recommends a wall-mounted, 15-inch LCD. Another spot for a television and a room where you probably don't have one now is the master bathroom. Wilson's clients often want one there so they can catch the news and weather as they start their day. In the past he rarely did it because of the challenges and cost involved in trying to install one of the old-style clunkers -- you had to steal space from an adjoining room to create a niche big enough to house it. With the new, compact, wall-mounted sets, however, you can put one almost anywhere in a bathroom, including behind a mirror, Wilson said. The question for today's homeowners is how many sets in your master bathroom and where? In some bathrooms, one set will suffice because you can see it from both vanities and the soaking tub. But Wilson said it's not uncommon to install three because the vanities are quite separate and the tub is off in its own alcove. To avoid cacophony when both spouses get ready for work at the same time, they have to agree on the same station, he added. The set by the tub would be watched during a relaxing soak on the weekend or at the end of a work day. No one would watch an entire movie, but it's a nice place to watch the evening news or perhaps one show, Wilson said. He uses a 15-inch LCD in the vanity area. For the tub area most homeowners want a bigger screen, and he's installed LCDs as large as 46 inches. A television for your home office is another increasingly popular option, Wilson said. Though some homeowners engage in solitary pursuits in their home offices and regard a television as an intrusion, others need to follow the news and stock quotes throughout the day. The challenge is placing the screen so that you can frequently glance at it without being distracted as you work at your computer. Wilson has tucked an LCD into a bookcase by the desk or placed one on the wall so that you can see it by swiveling your chair or looking up. A television for the kitchen is also becoming increasingly common. Although it's the center of family life in most households, it's also a room where the cook is likely to spend a lot of time alone, especially if he or she gets home from work first and starts the meal prep before the rest of the household arrives. In those instances, a television can be good company. Because you'll be listening more than you're watching -- chopping vegetables, stirring sauces, and all those other tasks require your full attention --a small screen can work well, Wilson said. He likes to tuck a 15-inch LCD that flips down for viewing under a wall cabinet by your food prep area or, where possible, position a wall mounted LCD so that family members sitting at the kitchen counter can also see it. The one place where most people want a set with a big screen is the family room, and most want the biggest size they can afford. But, Wilson advised, to maximize your viewing enjoyment, you need to consider other factors as well, including the viewing angle, the proportions of the screen, the degree of contrast, glare, and the sharpness of the image, which can vary from one type of set to another. The salespeople in locally owned upscale appliance stores or national chains such as Best Buy are generally quite knowledgeable on the technical end of things. But they can't predict how well a particular set will work for you without seeing the space where you want to view it. For example, a big screen in the store will often look even bigger in your family room and overwhelm the space, Wilson said. To see if the size you want is a good fit, he suggested making a mock-up of the actual screen size and tacking it up on your wall. You'll quickly decide if it looks right or ridiculous. Another consideration for a family-room space is viewing distance. The bigger the screen, the farther back you must sit to watch it comfortably. The rule of thumb, Wilson said, is that the viewing distance is 1.5 to 2 times the width of your screen. For example, a 56-inch screen size has a width of 46 inches to 48 inches and a viewing distance of about 6 feet to 8 feet. For most family rooms, a 50- to 60-inch screen works best, he said. Another issue with the big screens in family rooms is where to put them. Bowing to the tradition of "home and hearth," most homeowners want to arrange their furniture around the fireplace. But they also want to arrange the furniture for maximum comfort while watching television. You can have both if you hang the set above the fireplace, Wilson said. Some homeowners think this looks terrible when the set is turned off. In these instances, he covers it with a retractable piece of art. For this arrangement to look right, he added, the size of the fireplace and the television screen should be similar. If your fireplace measures 42 inches on the diagonal, you would want a 42-inch LCD or plasma set. But he hastened to add, other factors can also come into play. If you have a long mantelpiece, a 50-inch screen might look OK. |
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| Smart home sellers opt for pest inspection By Dian Hymer No one wants to buy a house that's riddled with termites. So, a termite inspection -- technically an inspection for damage by any kind of wood-destroying organisms -- is usually done at some point during the course of a home sale. Loosely referred to as a termite inspection, an inspection for wood pests covers such organisms as dry rot, fungus, wood-boring beetles, carpenter ants -- to name a few -- in addition to termites. Who pays to repair the damage varies, often depending on market conditions. For example, during soft markets that favor buyers, sellers are usually more willing to pay for pest repairs than they are when houses sell quickly. However, in a hot seller's market, buyers are more likely to overlook these defects and buy properties in their "as is" condition, without asking the sellers to pay for repairs. Even if a seller doesn't have to do pest repairs in order to sell, there are times when it makes sense to do so. Buyers look favorably on a house that has little, if any, pest damage. It's one less thing for buyers to worry about after moving in. A pest report with little or no damage is a big draw. Although it's not custom everywhere, it's wise for sellers to have their homes inspected for wood pests before selling. Actually, it's a good idea for homeowners to have their homes inspected every few years, even if they're not planning to sell, so that problems can be dealt with before they become major. In some areas, sellers don't pay to have their homes inspected for wood pests until they have accepted an offer from a buyer. This approach can be problematic. If the pest inspection reveals more damage than anticipated, the contract could end up in renegotiation. And, if you can't come to terms with the buyers, the listing will be back on the market. There's another advantage to having a wood pest inspection done before the marketing begins. Even if you don't have the time or inclination to have all the work done, it might enhance the marketability of the home to have selected items done. For example, let's say the bathroom floor not only looks bad, but there is dry rot underneath it. The pest report calls for removing the old floor, repairing the damage and installing a new floor. If you do this work before you put your home on the market, you not only eliminate one of the items on the pest report, but your home will probably look more attractive to prospective buyers. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: As nice as it is to move into a house that needs no work, there are benefits to having the buyers oversee corrective work. The sellers are on their way out of the property. They could be involved in a job transfer or a divorce, and have little time to devote to making sure the job is done correctly. The buyer has a vested interest in making sure the job is done right. It may be advantageous for the buyers to take responsibility for wood pest repairs if they plan to make improvements to the property. For instance, a buyer could factor deck repair costs into the price and accept a dry-rotted deck in its present condition, without asking the sellers to make repairs. That is, if the condition is not an urgent concern. This way, the buyers can redesign the deck to meet their own specifications. THE CLOSING: Buyers who agree to take on the pest work can either factor that in to the price or ask the seller to credit money to them at escrow. Check with your mortgage representative to determine the best way to structure the transaction taking your financial situation into account. |
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| Real estate contingencies make comeback By Dian Hymer During the recession of the early 1980s, when mortgage interest rates hovered near 18 percent, few home buyers could qualify for financing, particularly if they already owned a home that needed to be sold before buying a replacement home. Offers made contingent on the sale of the buyers' current home were popular. Contingent-sale offers are increasing in the current housing market. Most buyers who want or need to make a move to a home that better suits their current lifestyle can't qualify to buy before selling their existing home due to stringent mortgage-qualifying criteria. Sellers don't like offers that are contingent on another property selling because it increases uncertainty. If the buyers don't price their house right for the market and it doesn't sell, the sellers are back to square one searching for another buyer. Most buyers aren't keen on selling their current home before they know where they will be living next. This can limit buyers' prospects because many sellers won't accept contingent-sale offers. The best houses at the best prices usually sell quickly, sometimes with multiple offers. Sellers usually reject contingent-sale offers if there's another qualified buyer who doesn't have to sell a home. As always with homebuying and selling, compromises must be made. In areas where home sales are slow and there are many homes on the market, a contingent-sale offer may be better than no offer. A drawback is that once the sellers accept a contingent-sale offer, this fact must be disclosed to other interested buyers. This can slow the showing activity. Aggressive marketing, like continuing to hold Sunday open houses, can counteract this to some extent. Sellers who accept contingent-sale offers can continue to entertain offers from other buyers for backup position, subject to the collapse of the primary offer. But when there is plenty of inventory for buyers to choose from, there's not much incentive for a buyer to make an offer on a listing that already has an accepted offer -- even though it is contingent on the sale of another property. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Sellers who accept contingent-sale offers can maximize their chance of selling by including a release or escape clause in the contract. This clause allows the sellers to notify the contingent-sale buyers that they have accepted another offer in backup position and that they are invoking the release clause. The release clause has a time frame -- often 72 hours, but it's negotiable -- within which the primary buyers must remove the contingent-sale contingency and provide evidence that they can close the sale of the replacement home without having their home sold. If they are unable or unwilling to do so, the first contract is canceled and the backup buyers move into primary position. Recently, buyers who were in contract to buy a home contingent on the sale of their home were delivered a 72-hour notification. The buyers who were kicked out of contract had their home on the market but hadn't found a buyer in time. It's tempting for buyers who lose a home they want to another more qualified buyer to pull their home off the market and wait for a better time to sell. However, it's near impossible to buy contingent on the sale of another home in a seller's market when buyer demand is high. THE CLOSING: It's inconvenient for most buyers to move to an interim rental if they sell their home before they find a suitable replacement home. But, with cash in hand, they have the luxury of waiting for the right house. They can make a stronger offer and probably receive a price concession compared to the premium usually paid to entice sellers into accepting a contingent-sale offer. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
| Seller financing for today's market By Dian Hymer During the recession in 2001, a strong home-sale market was instrumental in pulling the economy back on track. The opposite may be the case now. The economy, particularly employment, needs to improve before the housing market stabilizes. Low interest rates are helping the home-sale market today, but the housing market is far from stalwart. Unemployment is high; mortgage qualification is difficult; and most buyers can't afford to buy a new one without selling their existing home first, creating a logjam in the repeat homebuyer segment of the market. Interim or bridge financing that buyers used routinely in the past to buy a new home before selling their current home is virtually nonexistent in today's market. An interim loan is a loan secured on your current home to generate cash for a downpayment on a new home. Homeowners who have a home equity line of credit (HELOC) secured against their property can tap unused funds to convert equity to cash in order to buy a new home before selling first. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Seller financing could be the answer for some homebuyers. One possibility would be to ask the sellers of the home you want to buy to carry financing until you sell your home. If the sellers have no mortgage secured against the property -- i.e., they own it free and clear -- they might be willing to carry a first mortgage. Compared to other investment options, 5 percent or so from a buyer with good credit and a decent downpayment could be attractive if the seller doesn't have an immediate need for the proceeds from the sale. As with all terms of a purchase agreement, the terms of seller financing are negotiable -- everything from the interest rate, when the loan is due, how and when payments are made, the amount of the late fee, etc. Interest on the mortgage can accrue and be due when the loan is paid off. Or payments can be amortized and paid monthly. Particularly with a first mortgage, sellers will probably want to receive periodic payments. However, it lowers the buyers' carrying costs while they own two homes if the seller will defer payments until the note is paid off. A more common scenario than a seller-carry first mortgage would be to find sellers of a home you'd like to buy who have enough equity to carry a second mortgage secured either against your current home or on the home you are buying from them. This wouldn't work if the sellers have already committed their proceeds from the sale, like to the purchase of another home. If the sellers carry a second mortgage on your home, it should not require approval of your first mortgage lender. However, you would need to be able to qualify for a first mortgage on the new home. In order to be approved for that loan, your overall debt-to-income ratio will be scrutinized by the lender's underwriters. The underwriters will factor in the cost of the seller-carry financing into your overall debt. Most lenders will also want the term or due date of the seller's loan to be not less than five years from closing. Check with your mortgage broker or lender before making an offer that will include seller financing to find out what the first lender on the new home will require. The sellers will want their loan paid off when your current home sells. The first mortgage lender might allow a seller-carry second mortgage with a due date in five years or when your home sells, whichever occurs first. THE CLOSING: The lender wants to make sure the buyers aren't faced with a large balloon payment due months after closing. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
| Is “do it yourself” in your DNA? By Paul Bianchina In many ways, this is a tough time to be a homeowner. Finances might be tight, but that doesn't stop the roof from wearing out, or the plumbing from starting to drip. Or perhaps you're thinking of selling your home, and you need to add a deck or replace some windows or siding in order to be competitive in a tough real estate market. But you can't really afford to hire a pro. That may have left you giving some serious thought to undertaking some do-it-yourself projects that in the past you might not have considering tackling. There are some pros and cons to that. Doing things yourself saves money and adds value to your home. It can also bring a lot of personal pleasure, and a definite sense of pride. But there are risks. A poor job can actually detract from the value of your home. In some cases, you can even end up paying more for wasted materials and correcting mistakes than you would have paid to have a contractor do it right in the first place. So before you break out your tools and head to the home center for a stack of lumber and paint, take a moment for some honest assessment. Do you know how to do the work? This is the obvious first thing to ask yourself. Do you know what steps are involved in the project? All of the steps? There are lots of great columns (you're here, right?), books, videos, TV shows and other sources of information that will help tell you how to get from point A to point Z in a project. Take the time to check out a few of those sources. Understand what's involved. Then ask yourself if you know how to do those things. If you don't, can you learn them? Do you have the right skills and abilities? OK, you figured out the steps involved. Now, do you have the skills and the physical abilities to accomplish those steps? Remember, they're two different things. You might easily read about how to re-roof a house, and fully understand all of the steps involved in doing it. But if you're not able to handle the rigors of working for hours at a time on a steep roof, then understanding the theory of how to do it won't be enough. Can you commit the necessary time? This is a tough one for a lot of homeowners. For one thing, it's really hard to understand just how long some of these projects are going to take -- especially if you've never done them before. For another, the time commitment to the project means time that's going to be taken away from something else. It may be that re-siding the house takes the entire summer, simply because you can do it only on the weekends. Will that work for you? Will that work for your family? If the purpose of doing the re-siding work is to sell the house, will you end up missing the prime selling season? Time creates other risks, as well. Take re-roofing, for example. If you can commit only small chucks of time to the project, you may be leaving your home vulnerable to sudden rain storms if the roof isn't adequately protected. Or your home may not be secure if you're taking windows or doors out, but temporarily replacing them with plywood or, worse yet, sheets of plastic. Have you thought about the physical side? Most building projects, even the simple ones, require some amount of physical labor. Are you up for that? Climbing, crawling, lifting, carrying and all the other things that go along with getting the work done? Then there'll be those times when, despite your own willingness to do the work, another set of hands is going to be necessary. Do you have a helper you can call on? What about getting the materials? Can you pick them up at the home center or the lumber yard by yourself? Can you get them delivered? Once they get to the house, can you get them where they need to go: onto the roof, into the house, or into the basement, attic or crawl space? And don't forget that once things get under way, there's the obvious need for tools and equipment, which you'll need to buy, rent or borrow. You might want to go back to the first question, and look at all of the steps involved in the project. That might help you better understand the physical side of things, as well as those times when a helper might be needed as well. Do you want to do it? Be honest here. Your real estate agent may have said that your house will show better with a fresh coat of paint. You can't really afford to hire a painter, so you decide to do it yourself. Unfortunately, you hate painting more than root canals, and the only thing you want to do is hurry up and get it over with. Do you really think that the appearance of the finished product is going to help you sell your house? None of this is meant to dissuade you from tackling a do-it-yourself project. Just the opposite. Taking responsibility for their own homes is something I encourage people to do every day. But so is honest assessment. So just take a moment before you start, and make sure your eyes are open before you get started. You'll end up with a better finished project as a result. |
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| Northern California Property Searches http://www.pmz.com/mypmz/search/searchForm.asp?lid=sgreenje Facing Foreclosure - Short Sale Alternative http://sites.google.com/site/alternative2foreclosure/home What's Happening in My Neighborhood? http://www.pmz.com/mypmz/neighborhood/default.asp?lid=sgreenje Buyer's Instant Notification of New Properties http://www.pmz.com/mypmz/default.asp?lid=sgreenje PMZ Short Sale Information http://www.jeffgreen.pmz.com |
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