Mike’s Real Estate Show

 Land is almost scarce now days. I have a parcel I’m marketing for a client in Cloverdale and it has very little competition. One thing you need to remember–If you bring the property to market you must have the following done:

1. Percolation test: Not an old outdated test but a viable, “vested” test with system design in place. If you don’t have this and face a “wet weather” perc then you’ve created a major headache for ALL parties to the transaction as so many inches of rain has to fall before you can test and if you miss the “perc” date then you’re into the next year!! “Vesting” the system is the way to go. I’d contact the PRMD (Permit Resource Management Division http://www.sonoma-county.org/prmd/). Actually this would be your first stop to determine many facets of your properties marketability including but not limited to:  zoning, minimum lot size, density, land use, septic requirements, water zone, etc.
2. Water: If you’re in Sebastopol you could be in a zone 3 or 4 water area. Zone 4 means you MUST prove water before you can build. Buyer’s want to come in and have a complete package awaiting them. The two essentials are septic and well. Get these in place and you can move forward. Weeks’s Well and Drilling are the kings of Wells in Sonoma County.
3. Survey—know your property lines. I can’t tell you how many clients’ I’ve represented who bought their acreage years back and where told the “fence” is the property line!! Rarely is it the case! And remember, Assessor Maps state right on them for “Assessment Purposes Only!” I sold a huge parcel in the Sharps road area years back which was over 600acres on the AP Map but when surveyed came up 50 acres short!! I could go on and on about the lawsuits I’ve heard from Surveyors who are called in “after the fact” to determine property boundaries!
4. Is the land plantable for vines? Soils reports? Just because the neighbor has vines doesn’t mean yours will!! Don’t misrepresent!   And if you have plans for a home forget about the new owner giving them any value. Your 10 acres price and finished housing product push the overall estate into the custom built arena. Someone buying this property will want THEIR dream home—NOT YOURS.
5. Lastly, financing. Good opportunity for you to carry and try an installment sale. If not great financing actually exists for bare land. Will you be exchanging? I’ve heard rumors of IRS investigation into changing the “like-kind” status so you might want to get this puppy on the market and exchange while the exchange laws are still in place!!
6. And Listen to my local radio show: The Real Estate Hour, 1350AM, Sundays, 9 to 10am, KSRO. Thanks!

   I do a pest report here in the greatest state of California but insist the BUYER order/pay for the home inspection. I don’t want any whisper of “steering” (hey, I’m in California!!Land of lawsuits, disclosures ad infinitum!!) or handing a Buyer a home inspection I ORDERED. No, let them get dragged around by the home inspector and shown every nook and cranny of their new digs and be given THEIR OWN report with list of summary items to work on. We can then negotiate this through. Read the rest of this entry »

MAKING SENSE OF THE LATEST FORECLOSURE NUMBERS FOR CONSUMERS–This synopsis provided by the California Assoc. of Realtors

3.6 percent of borrowers were at least 90 days late on their payments in December – the highest percentage in more than five years, reported the Mortgage Bankers Association. Even so, it’s important to remember that 96.4 percent of borrowers were on time with their mortgage payments. And new foreclosures accounted for only 0.83 percent of all home mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from 0.54 percent in 2006. Read the rest of this entry »

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
Developments in the financial markets
Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
April 3, 2008
Chairman Dodd, Senator Shelby, and other members of the Committee, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss current economic and financial conditions and the actions the Federal Reserve has taken to stabilize financial markets and the economy.

Although the situation has recently improved somewhat, financial markets remain under considerable stress. Pressures in short-term bank funding markets, which had abated somewhat beginning late last year, have increased once again. Many lenders have been reluctant to provide credit to counterparties, especially leveraged investors, and increased the amount of collateral they required to back short-term security financing agreements. To meet those demands, investors have reduced their leverage and liquidated holdings of securities, putting further downward pressure on security prices. Credit availability has also been restricted because some large financial institutions, including some commercial and investment banks and the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), have reported substantial losses and writedowns, reducing their capital available to support increased lending. Some key securitization markets, including those for nonconforming mortgages, continue to function poorly if at all. Read the rest of this entry »