I had fun making the Video Tour for 1890 Orchard Rd. in Hollister, CA. Why not take a few minutes to watch it? As you do you will notice 3 things: One, this fresh 3 bd. 2 bth. home is nicely appointed and quite comfortable: Two, it sits on a peaceful, flat 5 acre parcel and is all decked out for your horses; and Three, this home is only a 1/4 mile from the Santa Clara County line so it is perfectly located for a comfortable commute, shopping at the Gilroy Outlets, hitting the beach or walking along famed Cannery Row. 15 minutes South and you are in Hollister. Another 30 min. and you arrive at the Pinnacles National Monument and, in 40 min. to the East you are on Hwy. 5 heading for Yosemite or Disneyland. Give me a call for your own tour of this nice property. I promise – you will be impressed.
Hollister’s housing is HOT! Last month (5/09) saw 27 more Closings than 5/08′s 33. That is an increase of 81.8%! Each month this year our number of Closings has leaped ahead of ’08′s. To date there has been a 151% increase in Closed Sales! In fact, try to buy a home in Hollister now. “Multiple Offers” is once again a standard phrase reported to buyers by their agents.
Contributing to this hot market: New Listings of homes for sale in Hollister are down 27.9% so far this year over last year. Last month alone we saw a drop in New Listings of 29.5% over 5/08.
The Gilroy housing market is experiencing a similar recovery with a 128.9% increase in closings and a 32.7% decrease in New Listings.
Make sure your Realtor knows all the current methods in getting an offer accepted. You are going to need that if you want to buy a home here in Hollister.
If you have thought about buying a home in Gilroy, it’s time to act! May’s Closed Sales were up 75.8% over 5/08! This is the 5th straight month of increased Closings over the same period last year. Year-to-date Gilroy Closings are up a whopping 128.9% over the first 5 months in ’08!
The supply of homes listed for sale dropped 75.8% in May and was the 5th consecitive month this year where New Listings dropped. So far this year our Gilroy New Listings are down 32.7% from last year.
Similarly, Morgan Hill’s Closed Sales are up 59.4% and the number of New Listings is down 23.5% from 2008.
While the price levels and home loan interest rates are still low NOW is the time to come join us in the “Garlic Capital of the World” and buy your own home.
Have you noticed Morgan Hill’s housing activity? Wow! Recovery is well underway in our quaint town. In May there were 73.6% more Closings than in May ’08. This is the 5th straight month this year where our Closings have increased over last year’s figures. To date, Closings have increased nearly 60% (59.4%)!
On the other hand New Listings of Morgan Hill homes for sale were down for the 5th straight month. The number of May’s New Listings were down 55.4% vs. 5/08 and year-to-date the drop totals 23.5% over the same period last year!
In nearby Gilroy the same housing trends are happening! Gilroy’s number of Closed Sales is up 128% from 2008! 128%! Wow! Our New Listings were lower by 27.9%.
The affects of ‘Supply and Demand‘ are being felt here in Morgan Hill and Gilroy. While the interest rates are still wonderfully low I wouldn’t wait to buy.
I’m surprised how few Veterans know that their VA Home Loan Benefits can apply toward the purchase of a duplex. In fact, Veterans can also use their ‘VA’ to buy a triplex or fourplex.
I think part of the confusion comes from the blurry lines between a CalVET and Veterans Administration (VA) home loan. CalVET home loans are for those vets who enlisted while a California resident and are subject to Californians passing bonds to fund them. VA Loans are national loans guaranteed by the Veterans Administration. Unlike CalVET loans Veterans using their VA benefits can use their entitlement over and over again. VA loans do not expire 25 years after discharge, as CalVET loans do. VA loans are available to Veterans for their entire life. And, more to the topic of multiple units, Veterans can use their VA to buy a multiple family residence.
Some important points:
- Owner occupancy is a standard requirement for VA home loans, including multiple family units.
- The maximum, no down payment VA loan is currently $417,000.
- The maximum VA loan amount now is slightly over $1 million. On those sales prices over $417,000 the vet is required to put down 25% of the difference. For example, a sales price of $700,000 would require $70,750 down ($700,000 – $417,000 = $283,000 x 25%).
- You may use 75% of the other unit’s rental income to help qualify for the VA loan.
With today’s low interest rates and lower sales prices now would be an outstanding time for Veterans to buy a home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex. And…I just happen to know an excellant, VA Direct Lender. After all, it’s not only what you know but also, who you know.
A friend was in the process of buying his parents home when he asked me if there were any tax or insurance benefits resulting from this type of sale. I startled him when I blurted out a quick ,”YES!”
Thanks to a little-known section of the California Constitution (Sec. 2 of Article X111) or, more commonly referred to as “Prop. 58″ the sale or transfer of a principal residence between parents and children is NOT subject to reassessment. Translation: My friend could purchase his parents home and continue their low property taxes as his own. The savings was huge! With a sales price of $480,000 the taxes would have been $6,002/yr. but employing Prop. 58 the parents taxes: $1,876 became their son’s property taxes. In this case that is a whopping $4,126/yr. savings!
Not only did my friend experience a monthly savings of $344 in property tax but he more easily qualified for his home loan. He needed $905 LESS income to qualify because his Prin., Int., TAXES, & Ins. was so much lower.
There is a similar opportunity when grandparents are selling to grandchildren (Prop. 193).
Of course there are conditions but they are not difficult to satisfy.
So here is an opportunity to keep the good ole home in the family and bucks in the kid’s pocket.
San Benito County’s famous “Pinnacles National Monument” is joining 146 other national parks and monuments in offering free admission weekends this summer.
Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, said: “During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families.”
‘The Pinnacles’, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and dozens of other Parks will not be charging entrance fees on June 20-21, July 18-19 or August 15-16. The normal fees at ‘The Pinnacles’ are: $5 per vehicle (regardless of the number of passengers) and is good for 7 days; or a $3 walk-in fee for those adults entering the Park on foot or bicycle. The Park also offers an annual pass for $15.
On the national scene, 275 million visitors enjoyed the national parks last year. Those visits generated an estimated $10.6 and supported more than 213,000 jobs.
So, come and see the incredible Pinnacle National Monument this summer for free. If you buy a hamburger and soda too our local economy will appreciate it.
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<!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–><!–[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]–>For more information, go to pinnaclenews.com
In an attempt by Santa Clara County’s Transportation Agency to close a $10.1 million budget gap consideration of terminating Caltrain service to Gilroy has been discussed for some time. However, thanks to persistent lobbying by Lisa Rheinheimer, executive director of the San Benito County Council of Governments, commuter train service for Gilroy will continue. The Transportation Agency was also presented with a resolution from the Hollister City Council and San Benito County Board of Supervisors in support of continuation of the Gilroy Service. Additionally, nearly 700 comments from the public, most of which were in support of keeping Gilroy train services, helped the Agency to keep Gilroy in the loop.
Some changes in service will impact commuters. To save nearly $2 million in next year’s budget the mid-day service will run every hour rather than every half hour. Parking costs will go up $1 to $3 per day. The bulk ticket “Go” passes will also see a slight fee increase.
So, of the 39,122 riders on the Caltrain system (2/09), the 324 commuters from South Santa Clara County can keep their transportation plans on track.
Good work everybody!
For more information go to: pinnaclenews.com
Greatly Reduce Your Homeowner’s Insurance Premium
Talk to homeowners and most will tell you they have never had a claim against their homeowner’s insurance. So, their deductible remains low and their premium stays high.
We were in this group until one day we started talking about reducing our housing expenses. We asked ourselves how much we could afford to pay should we have a claim. The amount was higher than our homeowner’s deductible. We called our insurance agent for a quote with a new, higher deductible. WOW! It was a big savings! we sharpened the pencil and began shopping for insurance with a sizable deductible. We ended up reducing our insurance premium by nearly $500 a year ($1,300 down to $820). And guess what? We still haven’t had a claim.
Get Your Tax Refund in Every Pay Check
Did you get an income tax refund this year? Last year? Why not get your refund in every paycheck? Here’s how: Ask your tax preparer what your actual tax liability is and divide that by the number of your pay periods (52, 26, 12 etc.). Ask your preparer for a new W4 form. Then stroll into your Human Resources office and announce that you want them to ONLY withhold $X for Fed. Taxes and $Y for State Taxes (the amount of your actual tax liability per pay period). A few employers will allow you to withhold a percentage for Fed. and another for State. Most will struggle with how many exemptions you have to claim to achieve the dollar amount. Fill our your W4 and happily hand it over to HR. No matter how they end up doing it you will bring home much more of your check every payday! For example, if you got a $2,600 tax refund and get paid every week you could take home $50 MORE EVERY WEEK or $215 MORE EVERY MONTH! At the end of the year you break even – you won’t owe any additional taxes and YOU have had your refund left in your pocket every payday during the year. Pretty cool! (Be sure to coordinate this with your tax preparer).
Let’s see, what could you do with another, say, $255 CASH each month?
A prospective client is moving into our area from out of state and asked a rhetorical question: “Does the lack of pictures on the web indicate poor quality of those homes?” Well, yes and no.
No – “REO” and especially the “Short Sale” listing agents are often too busy to take more than one picture (sometimes none at all). Occasionally, a solo picture of the front of the home is all the agent could squeeze in. So the home might be fine.
Yes – there just may not be anything photo-worthy. Since most of the homes on the market currently are Short Sale or REO listings and since many of these financially challenged homes are pretty worn finding a compelling shot may be difficult.
However, some listings will show 8 or 9 photos of the front and back yards and none of the interior…MESSAGE: there probably is nothing INSIDE worth displaying. Also, have you noticed how forgiving a camera can be? We often turn to one another asking: “Yuck, is this the same house”?
So, after doing a Google Street Scene your best bet is to do your research on the location, statistics on the home(s) etc. from the web then, go out and look at several homes in the same afternoon. Your agent will put together an efficient tour of prospective homes for you. Not only will you see what the condition of the homes ARE and, could become, you will also get a feel for the neighborhoods. “Seeing (in real time) is believing”.
