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| OC Real News |
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| Oak Creek Social Network Homeowners and Homebuyers interested in the Oak Creek,can post their wants and needs here! http://oakcreek.ning.com |
| Quail Hill Social Network Homeowners and Homebuyers can use this online social network to post their wants and needs! http://quailhillhomes.ning.com |
| Oak Creek Home Sales Available Properties in Oak Creek, Irvine CA. http://idx.firstidx.com/Results.aspx?SaveSearchID=3010&Domain=504 |
| Quail Hill Home Sales Available Properties in Quail Hill, Irvine CA. http://idx.firstidx.com/Results.aspx?SaveSearchID=3009&Domain=504 |
Articles and Advice |
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| Contingencies frustrate buyers, sellers By Dian Hymer There are many frustrating aspects associated with buying or selling a home today. One is that contract contingencies -- such as inspections, financing or the sale of another property -- often aren't removed on time. It's not uncommon for closings to be delayed, usually due to the buyer's lender. Your purchase contract should include a provision to deal with deadlines that are not met on time. For example, in the home purchase contract used by many REALTORS® in California, sellers can give buyers a 24-hour notice to perform. If the buyers don't meet this deadline, the sellers can cancel the contract. This notice can't be delivered earlier than 24 hours before the contingency is due. You might want to issue a 24-hour notice, or some similar remedy included in your contract, if you're in contract with buyers who don't remove their inspection contingency on time and have made no effort to line up inspectors, especially if the buyers' agent thinks her clients are flaky. If your contract doesn't provide for a simple remedy for missed deadlines, consult with a knowledgeable real estate attorney. In most cases where buyers can't remove contingencies on time but they're serious about moving forward, there's just a glitch that needs to be addressed. A seller wouldn't want to jeopardize the deal by invoking a demand to perform if there's a good chance the delay is just that. Recently buyers who were applying for a jumbo mortgage hit a roadblock when the house didn't appraise for the purchase price. The loan and appraisal contingencies were due 14 days from acceptance -- a near impossible time frame in the current lending environment. The buyers were committed to buying the house, and the sellers were committed to selling to these buyers. The buyers requested an extension of time for the loan and appraisal contingencies; the sellers agreed. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: At the first indication there could be a delay in a contingency removal or closing, your agent should let the other agent know so that it doesn't come as a surprise. Your agent should be as specific as possible about the situation, without violating your privacy rights. If it turns out that there will be a delay, make a written request for an extension so that there is no question about whether or not the contract is intact. Some residential purchase contracts include a passive form of contingency removal. In this case, if the contingency is being removed, the party removing the contingency does not need to do so in writing. However, the preferred method for contingency removal is the active form where the party removing the contingency gives written notice that the contingency is lifted from the contract. This avoids any ambiguity as to whether or not a contingency has been satisfied. Sometimes a contingency or closing is missed by a day. In this case, a written request for extension might not be made because the delay occurs at the last minute. For example, a final, unanticipated condition of loan approval required one buyer to prove that her Social Security number was, in fact, her Social Security number. The buyer, a busy doctor, had to take off work and go to the local Social Security office to get the documentation the lender required. The loan contingency was removed a day late. But the escrow closed on time. THE CLOSING: Patience and flexibility are a necessary part of getting through current home-sale transactions. However, if a delay is going to be more than one day, it should be agreed to in writing. Oral agreements are not binding. Dian Hymer is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Water conservation tips By Amy Westervelt It seems you can hardly open a newspaper these days without reading the headline "Water is the new oil." But what does that mean exactly? In fact, water shortages may cause more severe problems than oil shortages: our lives literally depend on water, plus there are several alternatives to fuel but none really to water. We can technically "make" more water through techniques like rainwater catchment and desalination, but few individual homeowners have their own catchment tanks and even fewer are likely to rig up their own desalination plant. Even if such things were easy, it would still behoove us all to reduce our water usage first, not only because water is scarce, but also because we could all stand to shave a few dollars off our water bills. With that in mind we compiled the following tips to help you do exactly that. In the Shower Install water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors. Readily available at any hardware or home store, low-flow shower heads deliver 2.5 gallons of water per minute while traditional shower heads use 5 to 7 gallon per minute. Take a Shorter Shower. You don't have to be a hero, just shave off a couple of minutes. According to the EPA, even a one or two minute reduction in shower time can save up to 700 gallons per month. Use the Cold Water. If your shower takes awhile to warm up, catch the cold water in a bucket and use it on your lawn or in the garden. In the Bathroom High Efficiency Toilets. If your toilet is from 1992 or earlier, you probably have an inefficient model that uses between 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. New and improved high-efficiency models use less than 1.5 gallons per flush - that's 60 to 80 percent less than their less efficient counterparts. According to the EPA, over the course of 10 years, one high-efficiency toilet can save a family of four roughly $1,000 without compromising performance. Displace Water. Here's an old-fashioned trick: Put a plastic bottle or bag weighted with pebbles and filled with water into your toilet tank. Displacing water in this manner allows you to use less water with each flush, saving between 5 and 10 gallons per day. Check for Leaks. To check your toilet for leaks, put dye tablets or food coloring into the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there's a leak that should be repaired. To check showers and faucets for leaks, read your water meter before and after a two-hour period during which no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak. Fixing a leaky toilet saves up to 400 gallons of water per month, while fixing a leaky faucet can save up to 225 gallons per month. Brush and Shave Efficiently. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving. Fill the bottom of the sink with a few inches of water to rinse your razor. Turning off the water while brushing and shaving saves six gallons of water a day. In the Yard Timing Is Everything. Sprinklers running when it's raining? Not cool. Put your irrigation system on a weather-based schedule. If you set it to water in the early morning, that's even better. Using weather-based irrigation scheduling on a moderate-sized yard can save up to 37 gallons of water per day Maintenance. Make sure a leaky sprinkler head isn't costing you dollars and gallons. Go Native. Use native plants in your landscaping that are adapted to the local weather, and you won't have to water them as much (if at all). Native plants in the yard can reduce residential water use by 20 to 50 percent. |
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| Finding middle ground for home repairs By Dian Hymer Today's home sales are all about negotiation. Negotiating the purchase price is the first step. A second round of negotiations can occur after the buyers complete their inspections. For sellers who negotiated to their rock-bottom price, this can be disappointing and a possible deal-breaker. Buyers who are willing and able to buy in this market need to feel they are getting a good value. Property condition is a big consideration. Correcting defects adds to the cost. If the buyers still want to buy after completing inspections, and the sellers need or want to sell, an attempt should be made to reach an agreement on inspection-related issues. First, sellers should carefully review the buyers' reports and their request for repairs, price concessions or credits. Keep in mind that there is a certain amount of subjectivity in inspectors' opinions. For example, one roofer might think a roof needs to be replaced. Another may feel that the roof is serviceable with routine maintenance and is not at the end of its life. HOUSE HUNTING TIPS: Sellers have the right to get another opinion for repairs. A second opinion could result in a lower estimate, or it could be higher. Seller disclosure requirements vary from one state to the next. Even if it's not required, it's a good idea for sellers to give all reports and estimates to the buyers. In California, sellers who concealed reports they didn't like have been successfully sued by buyers. Sometimes sellers have work done before they put their home on the market. Occasionally, a buyer's inspector finds damage that was to have been repaired but was not. In this case, the sellers should have the original inspector visit the property to make sure the work was completed. Recently, an Oakland Hills, Calif., homeowner had a wood-destroying -- commonly called "termite" -- pest inspection done and had the damage corrected before marketing the property. When a second pest company inspected the house, damage was found at some areas where the previous pest company had done work. The first pest company agreed that the job hadn't been completed. The company agreed to finish the job at no additional cost. This eliminated an inspection issue at no cost to the sellers or buyers. Defects in items that are under warranty may be corrected at the company's expense. Sellers can get bogged down on principle, particularly if the buyers make an "as is" offer, had reviewed presale inspection reports before making an offer and then asked the seller to repair defects included in those reports. Some sellers feel this is not playing fair. The buyers may not have intended to make repair requests when they initially negotiated the purchase agreement. But, after researching costs to repair defects, they may find themselves outside their financial comfort zone. Buyers should focus on health and safety issues when they approach sellers for help repairing defects. Sellers will often take care of these. However, buyers shouldn't expect sellers to pay to upgrade the property. It's hard for some sellers to repair items they have lived with for years with no adverse consequence. At some point, defects need to be corrected to prevent further damage to the property. Buyers should prioritize their request for repairs. Then buyers should ask for help with the most pressing issues, unless they already factored the cost into their initial offer price. Before walking away from a sale due to inspection-related defects, sellers should seriously consider if they will do better pricewise if they put their home back on the market, particularly if prices in the area are declining. THE CLOSING: Before giving up, buyers should consider how easy or difficult it will be to find another home they like as much. Dian Hymer is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Sellers think twice about high offers By Dian Hymer Sellers who are lucky and receive more than one offer should carefully consider all aspects of the offers before accepting the one with the highest price. Even if you receive only one offer and it's lower than your asking price, you might want to consider bending some on your price in exchange for a transaction that is likely to close. Ideally, you want a committed buyer who has a good credit score and financial resources, and who has been preapproved for a mortgage, as lenders have tightened their qualifying criteria considerably. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Your real estate agent should ask the buyer's agent for permission to contact the buyer's mortgage person directly to find out if there is any reason the buyer wouldn't receive credit approval. An offer from a gold-plated buyer at a lower price may be a better deal than a higher-priced offer from a marginally qualified or low-cash-down buyer. Another issue to consider if you receive more than one offer is the likelihood of the property appraising for the higher price. Appraisals have become a problem recently, particularly in declining markets. Appraisers make downward adjustments for properties that are deemed to be in declining markets. Are there at least three comparable sales that closed within the last three months that can be used to justify the buyer's offer price? If not, the appraiser might have difficulty appraising your property for the purchase price. Buyers usually include an appraisal contingency in their offer. If so, the buyer usually has the option to withdraw from the contract if the property appraises for less than the contract price. Some buyers won't buy a home that appraises for less than they've agreed to pay. A buyer who is committed to making the deal work is more likely to be able to accept an appraisal that is lower than the purchase price. In this case, the buyers and sellers negotiate a mutually acceptable resolution. For example, the sellers could agree to accept a lower price if the buyers agree to increase their cash down payment. Many buyers don't have additional cash. In this case, if the seller wants to keep the deal together and the buyers won't or can't complete the purchase at a price higher than the appraised value, the contract price will need to be reduced or the deal will fall apart. There are a lot of uncontrollable elements in a home-sale transaction. One is that you have no control over who represents the buyer. That is, unless you receive more than one offer. In some cases, it may be worthwhile to accept a lower-priced offer from a buyer who is represented by an agent with a good track record in your area -- one who is experienced, trustworthy and diligent. A clean offer is one that is not loaded up with contingencies. Typical contingencies are for inspections, and loan and appraisal approval. An offer that's contingent upon the sale of another property is riskier than one that's not. A noncontingent offer, even at a lower price, might be the best offer because it has more certainty of closing. An offer that is contingent upon the close of another escrow may be worth the risk, particularly if all contingencies have been removed from the buyer's contract. Request confirmation from the buyers that contract contingencies have been removed and find out from the closing agent or escrow officer when the closing is likely to occur. THE CLOSING: The uncertainties in the current market make it important to carefully consider the terms of an offer, not just the price, before you accept it. Dian Hymer is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
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| Learn More About The Oak Creek Community in Irvine http://myagent4oc.com/default.asp_Q_f_E_cpg_A_pg_E_OakCreekCommunity Learn More About The Quail Hill Community in Irvine http://myagent4oc.com/default.asp_Q_f_E_cpg_A_pg_E_QuailHillCommunity |
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