Carol Wedemeyer’s “In With The Tide”

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Ruby’s Clay Studio & Gallery
is located at
552A Noe Street (between 18th & 19th)
San Francisco, CA 94114

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OPENING
Saturday the 6th, 6 – 9

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Open 10AM – 7PM daily Ruby’s Studio # 415-437-1642

www.carolwedemeyer.org

Carol is a member of the

Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California

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Pat Kapowich for the San Jose Mercury News

Q: We arrived home after last Sunday’s open house to find the listing agent had removed his signs, fliers and the Realtor key safe with the spare key to our home still inside it. We feel this is a breach of contract as we are only five weeks into a four-month listing. Granted, we had complained about the substandard marketing, poor grammar in the listing materials and a general lack of professionalism. But, this still came out of the blue. We have already enrolled our son in a private grade school out of state, so this really puts us in a bind. What recourse do we have against this agent? More important, how do we quickly get the process of listing and selling back on track?

A: Real estate attorneys feel there really isn’t a case when a listing agent picks up his toys and goes home. However, definitely file a grievance at your local board of Realtors and the Department of Real Estate. Demand a release of contract from your Realtor’s managing broker while you’re asking friends and neighbors for their favorite agent. By the time the release arrives you will probably have an excellent agent sitting with you at the grown-ups table.

7-2-09

The December 2009 Completed Sales Report for the city of Milpitas Single-Family Homes saw a closing of 27 sales receiving 100.83% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $560,000 and an average price of $591,683. There were 40 new listings reported reported for December.
Total Sales: $15,975,452

The December 2008 Completed Sales Report for the city of Milpitas Single-Family Homes saw a closing of 21 sales receiving 99.53% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $430,000 and an average price of $487,314. There were 35 new listings reported reported for December.
Total Sales: $10,233.600

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December 2009~ Milpitas Condos/Townhouses had 7 closed sales receiving 97.52% of list price. These closings represented a median price of and an average price of $255,000. There were 19 new listings reported for December. Total Sales: $2,050,000

December 2008 ~ Milpitas Condos/Townhouses had 2 closed sales receiving 98.34% of list price. These closings represented a median price of and an average price of $502,500. There were 7 new listings reported for December. Total Sales: $1,005,000

December 2009 ~ Single-Family Homes in Milpitas had an average of  DOM.39 Condos/Townhouses had an average of 108 DOM.

December 2008 ~ Single-Family Homes in Milpitas had an average of 95 DOM. Condos/Townhouses had an average of 107 DOM.

KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE derives many benefits from its
memberships in the National Association of Realtors,
the California Association of Realtors, the Silicon Valley
Association of Realtors. Not the least of which is
their statistical information on real estate transactions.

Real Estate Attorney Sam Chuck
Real Estate Attorney Rick Gullen

(408) 261-4252

Rossi, Hamerslough, Reischl and Chuck
1960 The Alameda, Suite 200
San Jose, CA 95126

Pat Kapowich for the San Jose Mercury News

Q: Recently, during the showing of our home, a buyer’s real estate agent broker the key off in the deadbolt. This agent has repeatedly refused to pay the locksmith’s bill. The lock had worked fine for years. Who should pay for the locksmith’s bill?

A: Do you think the buyer’s agent purposely broke the key while he or she was trying to show your home? I don’t. Sellers and their representatives commonly expect buyers agents to work with keys and locks that are older than their client.

Access is absolutely critical in showing and selling property. Yet, many sellers/listing agents go out of their way to hinder the showing process. Often, a listing is marked as by appointment, restricted hours or do not disturb occupants. If, after all that, the buyer’s agent is met with a note attached to the keys stating, Press in and jiggle to the right, the seller has just lost a customer.

Market Wise column
Saturday, June 21, 2008

Do you have a question for the new real estate Q&A Market Wise column in the SJMN? If so, please email them to: pat@SiliconValleyBroker.com

KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE – Sunnyvale, CA 94086 – Silicon Valley Broker.com Video

Pro & Cons of Reverse Mortgages
As a HUD Certified Counseling Agency, Project Sentinel provides state mandated neutral Reverse Mortgage counseling at no cost to seniors. Shareen Kilgore and Martin Eichner of Sunnyvale’s Project Sentinel are local experts on Reverse Mortgages.

Topics included in their recently appearance on Kapowich on Real Estate, included the pro & cons of Reverse Mortgages, financial elder abuse in the form of predatory lending practices and the goverment program Don’t Borrow Trouble.

Project Sentinel Sunnyvale Office
1055 Sunnyvale/Saratoga Road
Suite 3
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Martin Eichner, Director
(408) 720-9888

The Q4 2009 Completed Sales Report for zone Cupertino Single-Family Homes saw a closing of 129 sales receiving 99.00% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $1,030,000 and an average price of $1,103,123. There were 109 new listings reported to the MLS during Q4 2009. Total Sales: $142,302,894

The Q4 2008 Completed Sales Report for zone Cupertino Single-Family Homes saw a closing of 65 sales receiving 97.22% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $995,000 and an average price of $1,014,192. There were 142 new listings reported to the MLS during Q4 2008. Total Sales: $65,922,492

Q4/09 Zone Cupertino Condos/Townhouses had 47 closed sales receiving 99.38% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $620,000 and an average price of $614,483. There were 68 new listings reported to the MLS during Q4 2009. Total Sales: $28,880,717

Q4/08~Zone Cupertino Condos/Townhouses had 35 closed sales receiving 98.23% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $625,000 and an average price of $606,325. There were 52 new listings reported to the MLS during Q4 2008. Total Sales: $21,221,388

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Q4/09~Single-Family Homes in Cupertino had an average of 57 days on
market (DOM). Condos/Townhouses had an average of 42 DOM.

Q4/08~Single-Family Homes in Cupertino had an average of 57 days on
market (DOM). Condos/Townhouses had an average of 59 DOM.

KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE derives many benefits from its
memberships in the National Association of Realtors,
the California Association of Realtors, the Silicon Valley
Association of Realtors. Not the least of which is
their statistical information on real estate transactions.

Pat Kapowich for the San Jose Mercury News

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.

4-4-09

Pat Kapowich, SiliconValleyBroker.com, owns Kapowich Real Estate in Sunnyvale. Send questions to pat@siliconvalleybroker.com.

KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE – Sunnyvale, CA 94086 – SiliconValleyBroker.com Video

Pat Kapowich for the San Jose Mercury News

Q: We are selling our house and the buyer’s home inspector is recommending further inspection of the sub-area by an appropriate professional. We don’t feel this is warranted, as our pre-sale inspection noted basically the same observations and comments. Should we grant an extension to the buyer for the inspection of the foundation of a 48-year-old house in the suburbs? It’s an as-is sale.

A: Location, location, location? Consumers especially sellers, should follow this rule: Disclose. Inspect. Disclose. Buyers file the majority of lawsuits, many of which are often referred to as Bad House Cases. What sellers feel e.g., basically the same observation is moot. Until buyers are completely satisfied inspecting a home (often to the dismay of the agents involved), a seller should not sell them their house.

Foundations are the most neglected area of residential sales. Sub-areas should be inspected and maintained every seven years. This is news to the real estate community and consumers alike. But consider: downspouts and sprinklers annually dump gallons of water against the house. Insist on a foundation inspection report, plus an estimated cost of renovations that shall be delivered to all parties. Only then let the buyer proceed with the sale, or, conversely, let the buyer cancel the transaction. Either way, you’ll greatly reduce the likelihood of interviewing real estate attorneys

Market Wise Column
Saturday, July 18, 2008

Do you have a question for the new real estate Q&A Market Wise column in the SJMN? If so, please email them to: pat@SiliconValleyBroker.com