Q ~ We sold our house in August 1998. Before the sale, an inspection
of the bathroom floor revealed some water damage. The inspector
did not find structural damage. We replace the vinyl and wood under
the floor. Later the inspector cleared the bathroom and the buyer
signed off on it. In June this year, the buyer returned and said the
work was unsatisfactory. He wants us to pay for additional work.
Should we?
A ~ If you completed the work, the termite company only states the
home is free of infestation and will not warranty any of the workmanship
or materials. Your contract should hold your answer. Did the contract
have a repair clause? If so, did it say all the work must be completed by
a licensed contractor, using good materials, workmanship, building codes
and permits? Did the buyer have a right to inspect the work and approve
the completed results? Home sellers often try to save money on repairs
that often come back to haunt them. More than 90 percent of real estate
disputes involve buyers going after sellers in a case similiar to your own.
Let your contract be your guide.
by Pat Kapowich, Broker/Owner
Excerpted from the San Jose Mercury News, SJMN
Real Estate Virtual Forum
Saturday, September 18, 1999
Do you have a question for the new real estate Q&A Market Wise column in the SJMN? If so, please email them to: info@SiliconValleyBroker.com
The May 2009 Completed Sales Report for Zone 9, Central San JoseSingle-Family Homes saw a closing of 48 sales receiving 96.89% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $324,000 and an average price of $345,955. There were 83 new listings reported reported for May.
May 2009~ Zone 9 Condos/Townhouses had 33 closed sales receiving 98.04% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $359,100 and an average price of $343,501. There were 31 new listings reported for May.
Total Sales: $11,335,544
May 2009~Single-Family Homes in Zone 9 had an average of 48 DOM and 98 CDOM. Condos/Townhouses had an average of 33 DOM and 93 CDOM.
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE derives many benefits from its
memberships in the National Association of Realtors, (NAR),
the California Association of Realtors, (CAR), the Silicon Valley
Association of Realtors, (SILVAR), and the Santa Clara County
Association of Realtors, (SCCAOR). Not the least of which is
their statistical information on real estate transactions.
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE is a leading real estate brokerage for buyers and
sellers in Silicon Valley, providing an unparalleled level of research, education
and service. The father/son team has extensive experience in single-family
and townhouse/condo buying and selling. Their specialty is “move-up” and
“down-size” transactions for clients who wish to sell a home and buy a
replacement simultaneously.
The May 2009 Completed Sales Report for SaratogaSingle-Family Homes saw a closing of 19 sales receiving 94.15% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $1,515,000 and an average price of$1,502,404. There were 57 new listings reported reported for May. Total Sales: $28,545,688
May2009~ SaratogaCondos/Townhouses had 3 closed salereceiving 97.97% of list price. These closings represented a median and an average price of $446,000.There were 5 new listings reported for May. Total Sales: $1,393,000
May2009~Single-Family Homes in Saratoga had an average of 19 days on market (DOM) and 80 cumulative days on market (CDOM). Condos/Townhouses had an average of 3 DOM and 161 CDOM
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE derives many benefits from its
memberships in the National Association of Realtors, (NAR),
the California Association of Realtors, (CAR), the Silicon Valley
Association of Realtors, (SILVAR), and the Santa Clara County
Association of Realtors, (SCCAOR). Not the least of which is
their statistical information on real estate transactions.
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE is a leading real estate brokerage for buyers and
sellers in Silicon Valley, providing an unparalleled level of research, education
and service. The father/son team has extensive experience in single-family
and townhouse/condo buying and selling. Their specialty is “move-up” and
“down-size” transactions for clients who wish to sell a home and buy a
replacement simultaneously.
“Buying/Selling Real Estate in Today’s Market: What You Really Need to Know”
Guest Speaker: Real Estate Attorney Julia Wei
Date: July 11th, 2009
Time: 11AM to 12PM
Q&A/Refreshments to follow!
Description: The number one mistake made when negotiating a residential real estate transaction is when participants lack understanding of the responsibilities of all of the parties and their representatives. Learn how to negotiate a state-of-the-art sales transaction from A to Z.
Dedicated Seminar Room
Location: KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE
RSVP ~ Complimentary Event
Art Filled Seminar Room
Tell a Friend!
408.245.7700
404 East Evelyn Avenue
Downtown Sunnyvale!
(3 Blocks East of Historic Murphy Avenue)
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE is a leading real estate brokerage for buyers and
sellers in Silicon Valley, providing an unparalleled level of research, education
and service. The father/son team has extensive experience in single-family
and townhouse/condo buying and selling. Their specialty is “move-up” and
“down-size” transactions for clients who wish to sell a home and buy a
replacement simultaneously.
Q:We made an over-list price offer on a short-sale listing that was still occupied by the sellers. Our offer collected dust for more than seven weeks on the desk of the lender’s loss mitigator. Frustrated, we pulled our offer. Sure enough, the poor family went through the foreclosure process. Now it’s been relisted as a “bank owned” home with a different realty company for $30,000 less. once again, we put in an over-list price offer, which is also collecting dust on someone’s desk. What is going on?
A: Loss mitigators supposedly know all about real estate financing and can help prevent a foreclosure. They think they are saving their bank thousands of dollars in additional losses on the disposal of each property by employing deft negotiating skills.
Unfortunately, every day these individuals convince the real estate community and their clients that they actually cost banks big money. Their delays result in losing the best buyers and sale prices, which also repeatedly create lower prices in a given neighborhood. The vanguard of this housing mess was the army of commission-only loan officers who were handing out the bank’s lousiest loans. This resulted in the lender’s having to pay for outside asset management companies or in-house loss mitigators. It is bad business to engage in risky lending. It’s also bad business for the banks that should have hired a small force of better-trained loss mitigators. Had they done so, neighborhood values would have improved and so would the bottom line of lenders.
The May 2009 Completed Sales Report for Zone 3, EvergreenSingle-Family Homes saw a closing of 63 sales receiving 98.19% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $410,000 and an average price of $519,877. There were 92 new listings reported reported for May. Total Sales: $32,752,288
May 2009~ Zone 3 Condos/Townhouses had 17 closed sales receiving 97.67% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $245,000 and an average price of $320,143. There were 29 new listings reported for May. Total Sales: $5,442,440
May 2009~Single-Family Homes in Zone 3 had an average of 107 DOM. Condos/Townhouses had an average of 73 DOM.
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE derives many benefits from its
memberships in the National Association of Realtors, (NAR),
the California Association of Realtors, (CAR), the Silicon Valley
Association of Realtors, (SILVAR), and the Santa Clara County
Association of Realtors, (SCCAOR). Not the least of which is
their statistical information on real estate transactions.
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE is a leading real estate brokerage for buyers and
sellers in Silicon Valley, providing an unparalleled level of research, education
and service. The father/son team has extensive experience in single-family
and townhouse/condo buying and selling. Their specialty is “move-up” and
“down-size” transactions for clients who wish to sell a home and buy a
replacement simultaneously.
The May 2009 Completed Sales Report for Los GatosSingle-Family Homes saw a closing of 20 sales receiving 95.62% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $1,012,000 and an average price of $1,111,275. There were 58 new listings reported reported for May.
Total Sales: $22,225,500
May2009~ Los GatosCondos/Townhouses had 4 closed sales receiving 97.03% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $587,475 and an average price of $643,737. There were 12 new listings reported for May.
Total Sales: $2,574,950
May2009~Single-Family Homes in Los Gatos had an average of 75 days on market (DOM). Condos/Townhouses had an average of 75 DOM.
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE derives many benefits from its
memberships in the National Association of Realtors, (NAR),
the California Association of Realtors, (CAR), the Silicon Valley
Association of Realtors, (SILVAR), and the Santa Clara County
Association of Realtors, (SCCAOR). Not the least of which is
their statistical information on real estate transactions.
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE is a leading real estate brokerage for buyers and
sellers in Silicon Valley, providing an unparalleled level of research, education
and service. The father/son team has extensive experience in single-family
and townhouse/condo buying and selling. Their specialty is “move-up” and
“down-size” transactions for clients who wish to sell a home and buy a
replacement simultaneously.
Q: We have a foreclosure on our street, which has become a blight in this once quaint neighborhood. Needless to say, the agents handling this property are unresponsive and uncooperative. My husband is handling the 4-foot weeds and even picked up nine weekly newspapers from the front lawn. Why is he weeding the front yard of this eyesore? What can be done at this point?
A: The actions on the back end of this housing meltdown should be a cure, not tons of salt in the wound. Banks have actively decided that skeleton crews should handle the avalanche of negotiations they knew were and are coming down the pike. Incredibly, these overworked loss mitigators have chosen fewer than a third of 1 percent of the nation’s Realtors to handle these distressed properties as listing agents. These overwhelmed agents are unable or unwilling to hold open houses or even return phone calls. Because of the agents’ burden to pay the expense of these properties, many bank-appointed listing agents will forgo the rental of a sign post.
To think that bank lobbyists spent years seeking to enter the real estate brokerage business is scary. Now, in a time of crisis of their own making, the banks’ supervision of “liquidating toxic assets” from their books is staggering in its ineptitude. Not just neighbors like you, but politicians, bankers and taxpayers have no idea of the financial disasters happening behind the scenes. The extremely small contingent of loss-mitigators and their listing agents let both offers and properties languish. Their response is recurring price reductions often in the tens of thousands. This unnecessary economic damage to our neighborhoods and economy is unforgivable.
If only the lenders would hand the million sidelined Realtors a listing or two a month, then you would see traditional servicing in spades. The wide-reaching results would not only be visual, but immediate and game changing.
Pat Kapowich, SiliconValleyBroker.com, owns Kapowich Real Estate in Sunnyvale. Send questions to pat@siliconvalleybroker.com.
