Tag: The Caton Team

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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

Feng Shui and Real Estate

I have to say – Real Estate introduced me to the art of Feng Shui 10 years ago. I was walking through a home that didn’t feel right. My client mentioned it had bad Feng Shui as she looked out the window to the intersection that was heading straight at them home. Before she even finished her sentence she was out the door. I looked Feng Shui right away and have been reading about it ever since.

When we were remodeling our home, I took out my trusted Bagua to choose colors. When I look at homes I consider the front door, the homes position etc. I have truly enjoyed learning about Feng Shui. Enjoy this article I read through the California Association of Realtors.

8 Staging Tips Using Feng ShuiThe ancient Chinese art of feng shui (pronounced “fung shway”) is over 3,000 years old, and has been known to help many REALTORS® sell homes when applied to their listings. This method of arranging inner and outer environments so they consistently support the possibility of all the good things in life encourages health, wealth, great relationships, career, and wisdom – just to name a few. Karen Rauch Carter, author of the bestselling book Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life, works with many REALTORS® who swear by her techniques. Here are a few easy fixes to help prepare your listings for sale the feng shui way.1. Create a happy front door. According to feng shui principles, the easier it is for people to bring opportunities to your front door, the more you’ll have. Make the walk from the car to the front door a delightful experience. That means no thorny plants nearby, no sidewalk trippers, and no cobwebs to walk through. Next, add details that draw people to the front door, such as a welcome mat and flowers. You might even consider painting the front door a shade of red to attract positive energy, especially if it’s positioned in shadow or under an overhang or porch. Make sure the doorbell and outdoor lights are in good, working order. Clean the door and stoop thoroughly — shine the metal on the knocker, wash any windows — make it the prettiest front door on the block!

2. Fix the leaks. This is, of course, basic common sense, but in feng shui leaking water is equivalent to leaking money. When a leak is fixed, the money stays, and you may just end up selling the home at a higher price.

3. For every room, a true function. When buyers see a treadmill in the bedroom, a computer on the kitchen counter, or a bike in the hallway, it may appear that the house doesn’t seem to have enough room for all the necessary functions. When staging a home, make sure every object in the room matches the room’s function.

4. Manage outdoor plants. Plants, especially dead ones, can block positive energy when physically touching the outside of the house. When the limbs of a tree are in direct contact, they may even transfer negative energy into the home. Remove worry and excess debris, and the house may sell faster.

5. Place furniture in a commanding position. This means different things for different rooms, but the feng shui basic premise is that furniture should be arranged so the back and head are protected. Don’t have your back to a door or window when you’re on a couch, chair, or bed, and avoid directly facing a wall, especially when sitting at your desk.

6. Keep the energy flowing. Doors and windows are the entry points for energy to enter or escape, so make sure all are in good working order to encourage positive energy flow. All doors (including closets) should open freely with nothing blocking their way. Windows should be easy to open – make sure none are painted or nailed shut. If they’re stuck, you might get stuck with a listing that’s hard to sell. If possible, open curtains and blinds before a showing to invite energy into the home.

7. Let the buyer find the view. When a home is designed to give you that big WOW view upon entering the front door, consider creating a bold, dramatic design statement to compete for that attention somewhere inside the home. This may seem counter-intuitive, but if buyers are immediately drawn outside, that means nothing inside is holding their attention. The more you can keep attention INSIDE the house before the eyes slip outside, the better energy and “greater likeability” you are creating.

8. Employ the power of red. Homes lacking a fire element may be more difficult to sell. This problem can be addressed with a quick fix of adding red or hot orange colors where appropriate. Place a vase of red flowers on the counter, or toss a few red throw pillows on the couch or bed if the décor allows. A bowl of red apples is another easy solution. Pointy, triangular shapes are also considered fire elements in feng shui, so consider filling a vase with flowers like birds of paradise. Animal prints can also provide a fire element, as can actual fire, such as candles. Try adding a few splashes of red here and there, and see what it can do for your next listing.

Remember to follow our Blog at: https://therealestatebeat.wordpress.com/

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.

Email Sabrina & Susan at: Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522

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Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ 01499008

Roaring Rentals…

When Susan read this article one morning over coffee – I just about dropped my cup. As full time Realtors we are well aware of the hot rental market – having just rented a unit out for a client in under a week. However, when I heard this – even I was surprised. Enjoy this article from the SF Chronicle – I enjoy Carolyn Said.

Rents soaring across region

San Francisco rentals were a different world when Chuck Post became a leasing agent – just four years ago.
“In 2009 we were actually discounting rents, offering things like a free month’s rent when you moved in, perhaps throwing in free parking,” he said.
Those days are long gone.
Now as the economy roars back, his listings draw long lines of wannabe tenants, and apartments get snapped up in less than a week.
Rents in San Francisco are escalating at breakneck clips this year, largely driven by an influx of tech workers. Oakland and San Jose likewise are seeing steep run-ups.
San Francisco’s bigger apartment complexes saw average asking rents break the $3,000 mark in the third quarter, hitting a record $3,096 across all size units, according to data service RealFacts. That’s an 11.9 percent bump from the same time last year.
Median asking rents for San Francisco apartments listed on http://www.livelovely.com clocked in at a record $3,398 in the third quarter, up 21 percent from 2012, said apartment-finding company Lovely.
“Rents are rising faster in San Francisco than almost anywhere else in the country,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist with housing service Trulia. “Rising rents are a bigger challenge than rising home prices, especially in a place like San Francisco where buying is out of reach for many middle-class and lower-middle-class people.”
Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of the think-tank San Francisco Planning and Urban Research, said the city is facing a “crisis of affordability.”
“What happens when you let a city get this expensive, is that over time, only the wealthy can live there. You lose everyone else,” he said.
A spike in evictions has spurred protests of gentrification, including one at City Hall on Thursday. Activists say San Francisco must act to maintain a diversity of income levels.
The root cause is simple, Metcalf said: “The growing regional economy coupled with decades of under-building housing.”
San Francisco’s construction boom is helping to increase inventory. But to really make a dent on the housing shortage, Metcalf said, the city would need to deliver 5,000 new housing units a year for quite some time. It’s averaged 1,500 units a year over the past 20 years.
New buildings in Mid-Market and the Mission have a two-faceted impact on rents.
They command a pretty penny, driving up the median and average rental costs.
However, some experts said the new buildings are forcing some older units to drop their prices to compete, thus giving prospective tenants some relief.
“There’s a lot of brand-new Mid-Market stuff with nice amenities and high prices competing for the well-paid tech people,” said Laura Gray, a leasing agent with Paragon Real Estate Group. “The not-brand-new units are left struggling a little bit.”
For instance, she’s listing for $2,900 a one-bedroom at a 6-year-old luxury building near AT&T Park and Caltrain.
“A year ago, this would have rented for $3,500,” she said.
Other agents said that there remain plenty of wallflower apartments, either because they’re in undesirable areas or overpriced.
But that’s cold comfort to the folks engaged in the blood sport of apartment hunting in San Francisco.
Rosie Simeonova and Jay Dillon thought they were prepared when they moved here from Los Angeles last month.
“We knew San Francisco would be expensive, so we upped our budget,” she said. “We knew it would be competitive, so we were very prepared with our renter’s resume, employment confirmation, credit reports, pay stubs, anything you could possible ask for.”
They quickly discovered that their $2,500 limit for a one-bedroom near Dillon’s new job at the University of San Francisco didn’t go far.
“We must have seen over 30 places,” Simeonova said. “We’d go to an open house for a little tiny apartment and there’d be 20 people on the stairway frantically filling out applications. The landlords had no leeway for renters; a lot of times they would just offer 15-minute windows to see places. It was intimidating.”
They got more aggressive. When they spotted an Inner Richmond place that seemed to fit their needs, they called the leasing agent and asked to meet before the open house, offering to sign a lease on the spot. That did the trick.
Lovely said that rents for studio apartments rose the most, with the $2,370 median up 24 percent from last year and 16 percent from the second quarter.
For all sizes of apartment complexes, Oakland clocked in at $1,595, a 15 percent increase, while San Jose was at $2,180, up 13 percent from last year, Lovely said.
For buildings with 50 or more units, RealFacts said Oakland’s average rents of $2,124 in the third quarter were up 10.3 percent from 2012, while in San Jose the $2,015 average was a 9.2 percent bump.
By Carolyn Said

I read this article at: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Rents-soaring-across-region-4924282.php

Remember to follow our Blog at: https://therealestatebeat.wordpress.com/

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.

Email Sabrina & Susan at: Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522 Office: 650-365-9200

Want Real Estate Info on the Go? Download our FREE Real Estate App: http://thecatonteam.com/mobileapp

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Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:
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Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors
Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ 01499008

Negotiate Your Best House Buy

Negotiate Your Best House Buy

I love to share articles I find interesting – I’ve added my 2 cents in italics…

Keep your emotions in check and your eyes on the goal, and you’ll pay less when purchasing a home.

Here are six tips for negotiating the best price on a home.

1. Get prequalified for a mortgage

Getting prequalified for a mortgage proves to sellers that you’re serious about buying and capable of affording their home. That will push you to the head of the pack when sellers choose among offers; they’ll go with buyers who are a sure financial bet, not those whose financing could flop.

This is so much the first step towards home ownership – any Realtor worth their salt won’t even take a buyer out until they are pre-approved and understand their budget and constraints. In the San Francisco Bay Area – don’t bother writing an offer until you have a pre-approval in hand – or proof of cash.

2. Ask questions

Ask your agent for information to help you understand the sellers’ financial position and motivation. Are they facing foreclosure or a short sale? Have they already purchased a home or relocated, which may make them eager to accept a lower price to avoid paying two mortgages? Has the home been on the market for a long time, or was it just listed? Have there been other offers? If so, why did they fall through? The more signs that sellers are eager to sell, the lower your offer can reasonably go.

The Caton Team also finds out the big picture so we can tailor each offer for the best fit. When faced against multiple offers – information is key and structuring your offer is imperative.

3. Work back from a final price to determine your initial offer

Know in advance the most you’re willing to pay, and with your agent work back from that number to determine your initial offer, which can set the tone for the entire negotiation. A too-low bid may offend sellers emotionally invested in the sales price; a too-high bid may lead you to spend more than necessary to close the sale.   Work with your agent to evaluate the sellers’ motivation and comparable home sales to arrive at an initial offer that engages the sellers yet keeps money in your wallet.

The Caton Team will provide a buyer with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) when we sit down to write the offer. We take into account the current state of the market, what homes have sold for in the recent past, what they are going for now, and the amount of competition for each home. Try to maintain an open mind when writing your offer.

4. Avoid contingencies

Sellers favor offers that leave little to chance. Keep your bid free of complicated contingencies, such as making the purchase conditional on the sale of your current home. Do keep contingencies for mortgage approval, home inspection, and environmental checks typical in your area, like radon.

Contingencies are what protect the buyer. Talk closely with your Realtor on which contingencies should stay in and which you can omit to improve your offer. Each client and offer is different. That’s why it is so important to work with a Realtor you trust.

5. Remain unemotional

Buying a home is a business transaction, and treating it that way helps you save money. Consider any movement by the sellers, however slight, a sign of interest, and keep negotiating.   Each time you make a concession, ask for one in return. If the sellers ask you to boost your price, ask them to contribute to closing costs or pay for a home warranty. If sellers won’t budge, make it clear you’re willing to walk away; they may get nervous and accept your offer.

This strategy works great when you are the ONLY offer. So much time is wasted by buyers who think they hold the reigns in negotiations. In the San Francisco Bay Area we have low inventory right now and high demand. Setting the stage for a Sellers Market. Each listing will entertain multiple offers. So it is best to write your best offer up front because chances are you will NOT get a counter offer or the chance to change your offer once submitted. It is imperative you work closely with a Realtor you trust. Each offer opportunity is unique and will require a new strategy.

6. Don’t let competition change your plan

Great homes and those competitively priced can draw multiple offers in any market. Don’t let competition propel you to go beyond your predetermined price or agree to concessions—such as waiving an inspection—that aren’t in your best interest.

Great advice. The Caton Team will not push our clients to do anything they are not comfortable with. I would rather change our purchasing strategy and shop in a different market or price point than overextend our clients reach just because the housing market is competitive.

Buyers must be aware that they cannot control the market or the volume of competition. All a buyer can do is educate themselves on the market, understand their budget and their max and shop within their parameters. Nobody said it would be easy – but The Caton Team does strive for a smooth overall experience.

By: G. M. Filisko

I read this article at: http://members.houselogic.com/articles/negotiate-best-house-buy/preview/

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.

Email Sabrina & Susan at: Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522

Visit our Website at: http://thecatonteam.com/

Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sabrina-Susan-The-Caton-Team-Realtors/294970377834

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Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

Thanks for reading – Sabrina

Will The Mortgage Rate Spike Slow Market Recovery?

I love finding articles with timely information – had to share this fabulous article by Jed Kolko, Chief Economist on Trulia…

Enjoy and I would love to hear your insight and comments as well!

Will The Mortgage Rate Spike Slow Market Recovery?

Ever since mortgage rates started their steep climb in early May, we’ve all been on high alert, watching how higher rates will affect the housing market. For a would-be buyer calculating the mortgage payment on their dream home, the effects are obvious: the increase in the 30-year fixed rate from 3.59% in early May to 4.73% at the end of August (according to the Mortgage Bankers’ Association, or MBA) means a 15% increase in the monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage. That should deter homebuyers and reduce mortgage applications, sales, and prices, right? In theory, yes, but of course the real world is much more complicated. Mortgage rates aren’t rising all on their own: other housing and economic shifts are happening at the same time.

Fortunately, the recent past is a useful guide. The 30-year fixed rate jumped .47 points in May 2013 and .51 points in June 2013, comparing the levels at months’ end (MBA). (Side point: the 30-year fixed reached 4.80 this morning, September 11, .22 points higher than at the end of June, which means July, August, and early September have seen much milder increases compared with the May & June spike.) But this year isn’t the only time when mortgage rates have jumped up: they also climbed at least .4 points in seven other months since 1999. With some simple time-series regressions, we traced out the typical paths of mortgage applications, sales, and prices in the months immediately after a mortgage rate spike.

The Month-by-Month Impact of a Rate Spike Our analysis of mortgage rates and other housing data from January 1999 through April 2013 – just before the current spike – shows that mortgage rates hit refinancing applications (MBA) earlier and harder than any other measure of housing market activity. (Not all of the data series are available back to 1999.) Here’s the timeline of what typically happens when rates spike by half a point in a month:

The month when rates spike: Refinancing applications typically fall by 45% in the month of a spike, with further falls one and two months after mortgage rates jump, compounding the effect. The drop in refinancing applications this year was roughly 50% cumulatively over two months, which actually looks small compared with similar rate jumps in the recent past.
1-2 months after the spike: Pending home sales and home-purchase mortgage applications typically decline slightly, though the effect isn’t statistically significant. New home sales also decline modestly.
3 months after a spike: New home sales and existing home sales drop. That means that the May mortgage rate spike should show up most strongly in August new home sales and existing home sales, both of which will be reported later this month (on September 25 and September 19, respectively).

Compared with the impact on refinancing, the impact of a rate spike on home-purchase mortgage applications and sales volumes is very small and not always statistically significant.

Refinance mortgage applications (MBA)	Same month as rate spike (plus additional impact 1-2 months after)	-45%	Yes	May data (already reported)
Pending home sales (NAR)	1 month after	-1.1%	No	June data (already reported)
Home-purchase mortgage applications (MBA)	2 months after	-2.6%	No	July data (already reported)
New home sales (Census)	3 months after (plus modest impact 1-2 months after)	-2.4%	Yes	August data, to be reported Sept 25
Existing home sales (NAR)	3 months after	-1.7%	Yes	August data, to be reported Sept 19
Sales prices (Case-Shiller, FHFA)	No short-term impact	N/A	N/A	N/A

Note: The “effect in month of biggest impact” equals the month-over-month change in the indicator for a 0.5 point rate spike, relative to when the mortgage rate doesn’t change, in percentage points.

The Longer-Term Impact of Sustained Rate Increases Even if the immediate impact of mortgage rate spikes is small – aside from the huge effect on refinancing – shouldn’t sustained rate increases should depress housing activity? Again, recent history tells a more complicated story. Since 1999, mortgage purchase applications and all measures of sales activity – NAR pending home sales, NAR existing home sales, and Census new home sales – have actually been higher when mortgage rates were higher. Sales prices were also the same level or higher (depending on the sales price index) when mortgage rates were higher compared to periods of lower rates. Of all the measures of housing activity, only refinancing applications were lower during periods of higher mortgage rates.

Here’s the missing piece of the puzzle: over the past decade and a half, mortgage rates have been higher when the economy was doing better. Since 1999, the correlation between the monthly unemployment rate – a good, if imperfect, measure of how the economy is doing overall – and the 30-year fixed rate was -0.8, making it a very strong relationship.

Furthermore, every measure of housing activity (except refinancing activity) improved when the overall economy did better. That means that a stronger economy is associated with BOTH higher mortgage rates AND more sales, higher home prices, and more home-purchase mortgage applications. That’s why these measures of housing activity go up when mortgage rates are higher.

If we statistically remove the effect of changes in the overall economy (by including the unemployment rate as a control in a simple statistical regression), then we see exactly what we’d expect: mortgage applications, sales, and home prices are all lower when mortgage rates are higher. In other words: all else equal, higher mortgage rates do depress housing demand.

As Rates Rise, All Else Won’t Be Equal When it comes to mortgage rates, all else is never equal. Three other factors will complicate or even offset the impact of the recent rise in mortgage rates, even if rates continue to climb: the strengthening economy, expanding inventory, and looser mortgage credit:

A post-recession economic recovery tends to push interest rates higher as demand for credit increases and if investors start to worry more about inflation. Furthermore, the Fed has said it will taper its bond-buying only if the economy seems strong enough to weather it. Both through market forces and the actions of the Fed, rising rates should be accompanied by a strengthening economy.
Inventory has been expanding for the past six months on a seasonally adjusted basis. More for-sale inventory on the market slows price gains: in fact, the Trulia Price Monitor and other price indexes have been slowing down before the May rate spike could have affected prices, pointing to expanding inventory as a likelier explanation for the price slowdown. While rising rates and expanding inventory should both slow down prices, these same two factors should pull sales in opposite directions. All else equal, rising rates should slow sales, but expanding inventory should boost sales – since more homes can be sold if there are more homes for sale. Therefore, even though this month’s sales data should be slowed by sales, it could be lifted by rising inventory.
Mortgage credit, though still tight, shows signs of loosening for two reasons. First, as they face diminishing demand for refinancing, banks might look to expand their home-purchase lending instead. Furthermore, new mortgage rules coming into effect next year will give banks more clarity about which loans are considered risky, hopefully making banks more willing to write mortgages deemed to be safer. The negative impact of rising rates, therefore, could be partially offset by looser mortgage credit.

All told, the housing market and the economy have a lot of moving parts. Aside from the sharp and immediate effect that rising mortgage rates have on refinancing, the impact of rising rates on the housing recovery is hard to pinpoint. This month’s sales reports, covering new and existing home sales from August, should show some decline from the May rate spike, but mortgage rates are just one of many factors affecting the housing recovery.

I read this article at: http://pro.truliablog.com/news/will-the-mortgage-rate-spike-slow-market-recovery/?ecampaign=tnews&eurl=pro.truliablog.com%2Fnews%2Fwill-the-mortgage-rate-spike-slow-market-recovery%2F

Remember to follow our Blog at: https://therealestatebeat.wordpress.com/

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.

Email Sabrina & Susan at: Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522

Want Real Estate Info on the Go? Download our FREE Real Estate App: http://thecatonteam.com/mobileapp

Visit our Website at: http://thecatonteam.com/

Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sabrina-Susan-The-Caton-Team-Realtors/294970377834

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LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6588013&trk=tab_pro

Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

Or – http://thecatonteam.com/MyListings?operation=MorePictures&listing_id=1713024610

Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218/ 01499008

For Sale by The Caton Team – 1 Bedroom Condo in Santa Clara – Open Sat & Sun 1-4pm

Check out more photos at – http://instagram.com/sunshinesabby

Your home is your sanctuary, your retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. 151 Buckingham Drive Unit #226 is located on the south end of Santa Clara bordering Campbell and Cupertino – just down the street for Santana Row and Valley Fair Mall. The property is within the Cupertino School District.

But you wouldn’t know you were living in the heart of Silicon Valley when you look out your 2^nd story, wrap-around balcony. This corner end unit is nestled in prime real estate country. Close to the front of the complex so your friends and family can easily find you – though tucked away to enjoy lovely views of the treetops and lagoons of the Vista Del Lago condominium complex.

Upon entering this home from the exterior hallway, you are welcomed into a great-room style living area. Ready for your taste and palate with warm toned carpet and neutral paint. This allows a buyer to move-in and take their time to decorate their new home.

The updated kitchen with granite wrap-around breakfast bar opens to the great-room so the chef is never left out of the party. A full size dishwasher, oven-range with microwave hood and refrigerator complete this kitchen. Imagine hors d’ oeuvres sprinkled over the counter while guest lounge on the sofa or enjoy the sun and trees off the balcony.

The living area is spacious and with two sliding glass doors that open out to the balcony – there is ample natural sunlight throughout the day. When the gorgeous California weather heats up, the convenient air condition unit makes this home quite comfortable as you relax to the sound of the water features and birds.

The master suite adjoins the living area and features ample storage with two large closets and a separate linen closet. The carpeted bedroom has a floor to ceiling window, ceiling fan and mirrored closet doors.

The bathroom features a large vanity with single sink, enclosed tub with overhead shower, ceiling fan and ample lighting.

This unit comes with a tandem two-vehicle carport and adjoining large storage unit.

Ownership at Vista Del Lago includes a refreshing pool, spa, gym, clubhouse and coin operated laundry in each building. Home Owner Association dues are approximately $367 a month.

A complete disclosure package is available. The disclosure package includes a complete set of Home Owner Association documents, Home & Pest Inspection, Natural Hazards Disclosure and all California mandated disclosures. Click below for disclosure access.

http://thecatonteam.com/PDisclosures?id=1713024610

This unit is a fantastic investment, currently listed at $300,000 for a 1 bedroom at 599 sqft.

For more information – please contact The Caton Team – Susan or Sabrina. MLS # 81319710

http://thecatonteam.com/PropertyDetails?fl_hook=1713024610&show_description=yes&show_address=yes&presented_by=&show_virtual_tour=yes

FOR PHOTOS CLICK:

http://thecatonteam.com/MyListings?operation=MorePictures&listing_id=1713024610

Remember to follow our Blog at: https://therealestatebeat.wordpress.com/

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help.

Email Sabrina & Susan at: Info@TheCatonTeam.com

Call us at: 650-568-5522 Office: 650-365-9200

Want Real Estate Info on the Go? Download our FREE Real Estate App: http://thecatonteam.com/mobileapp

Visit our Website at: http://thecatonteam.com/

Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sabrina-Susan-The-Caton-Team-Realtors/294970377834

Yelp us at: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-caton-team-realtors-sabrina-caton-and-susan-caton-redwood-city

Or Yelp me: http://www.yelp.com/user_details_thanx?userid=gpbsls-_RLpPiE9bv3Zygw

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6588013&trk=tab_pro

Please enjoy my personal journey through homeownership at:

Thanks for reading – Sabrina

The Caton Team – Susan & Sabrina – A Family of Realtors

Sabrina BRE# 01413526 / Susan BRE #01238225 / Team BRE#70000218

4 Tips to Determine How Much Mortgage You Can Afford

I had to share this article – with our Fall Real Estate Market starting now – it’s a good time to think about your budget if you are planning on becoming a home owner! I find so many buyers thinking about the house they want before they consider the impact of home ownership on their day to day finances. Taking time now, before you house shop, to put your financial house in order – will help your chances in this competitive market today! Enjoy – Sabrina

4 Tips to Determine How Much Mortgage You Can Afford

By knowing how much mortgage you can handle, you can ensure that home ownership will fit in your budget.

1. The general rule of mortgage affordability

As a rule of thumb, you can typically afford a home priced two to three times your gross income. If you earn $100,000, you can typically afford a home between $200,000 and $300,000.  To understand how that rule applies to your particular financial situation, prepare a family budget and list all the costs of homeownership, like property taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, and community association fees, if applicable, as well as costs specific to your family, such as day care costs.

2. Factor in your downpayment

How much money do you have for a downpayment? The higher your downpayment, the lower your monthly payments will be. If you put down at least 20% of the home’s cost, you may not have to get private mortgage insurance, which costs hundreds each month. That leaves more money for your mortgage payment.

The lower your downpayment, the higher the loan amount you’ll need to qualify for and the higher your monthly mortgage payment.

3. Consider your overall debt

Lenders generally follow the 28/41 rule. Your monthly mortgage payments covering your home loan principal, interest, taxes, and insurance shouldn’t total more than 28% of your gross annual income. Your overall monthly payments for your mortgage plus all your other bills, like car loans, utilities, and credit cards, shouldn’t exceed 41% of your gross annual income.  Here’s how that works. If your gross annual income is $100,000, multiply by 28% and then divide by 12 months to arrive at a monthly mortgage payment of $2,333 or less. Next, check the total of all your monthly bills including your potential mortgage and make sure they don’t top 41%, or $3,416 in our example.

4. Use your rent as a mortgage guide

The tax benefits of homeownership generally allow you to afford a mortgage payment—including taxes and insurance—of about one-third more than your current rent payment without changing your lifestyle. So you can multiply your current rent by 1.33 to arrive at a rough estimate of a mortgage payment.  Here’s an example. If you currently pay $1,500 per month in rent, you should be able to comfortably afford a $2,000 monthly mortgage payment after factoring in the tax benefits of homeownership.   However, if you’re struggling to keep up with your rent, consider what amount would be comfortable and use that for the calcuation instead.  Also consider whether or not you’ll itemize your deductions. If you take the standard deduction, you can’t also deduct mortgage interest payments. Talking to a tax adviser, or using a tax software program to do a “what if” tax return, can help you see your tax situation more clearly.

By: G. M. Filisko

I read this article at: http://members.houselogic.com/articles/4-tips-determine-how-much-mortgage-you-can-afford/preview/

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The Importance of Working with a Good Lender

The Importance of Working with a Good Lender – by Sabrina

Buying a home is serious business; especially on the San Francisco Peninsula where even a one bedroom condo can run about half a million bucks.

And in an industry where time is money and money talks, from time to time I will encounter a lender – that offers great rates and low fees – upfront. And no customer service when you really need it.

Much too often a buyer is tempted to get the best rate – without really considering the whole picture.

Unless you are paying cash – the home loan is the most important aspect of buying a home – aside from the home itself.

So when taking into account that a home is generally the largest purchase of a person’s life – shouldn’t we work with a bank that treats it with the same respect? YES!

There are hundreds of steps from finding the home to getting the keys. The loan is probably the largest hurdle aside from home inspections.

Once a buyer’s contract is accepted by the seller – it’s rush time. Most offers have a time frame – called a contingency period – to have the bank do their appraisal and have the loan/purchase terms reviewed and approved by underwriting. It can be as long as 17 days in a buyers market – or as short as 5 days in a sellers market. And this is where we separate the men from the boys. Some of these out of state or on-line lenders are not located here – where one is buying – and it can be extremely difficult to get information and approvals done when they close shop at 5pm and it’s only 2pm here!

That friendly voice that quoted a buyer a fantastic rate isn’t calling us back anymore…..and when they do it’s often not what we were hoping to hear. For example, they need more time to review the file – therefore we need to push back the close of escrow date – which seems easy – but again – time is money. The seller is expecting the buyer to perform to the terms of the contract and it’s not worth losing a home due to a lackluster lender…..and changing lenders mid way is generally not an option.

So – what can a buyer do to be competitive? Work with a local lender. Once your credit is pulled the first time – a consumer has 30 days to loan shop without hurting their credit score. So do it! Loan shop the whole month and find the best rate, the best fees and make sure the lender is attentive, local and can move at the pace the current market is dictating.

The Caton Team has a list of Client Approved Lenders – so please reach out to us and we’ll introduce you to the team.

Got Questions? – The Caton Team is here to help. What can we do for you?

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6 Wills, Won’ts and Worries of 2013 Home Buyers…. great article – had to share…

When I read this – I just had to share….

6 Wills, Won’ts and Worries of 2013 Home Buyers

Trulia Article By Tara-Nicholle Nelson

If you’ve ever taken up running, you might know what it’s like to strap on your new shoes, head over to the track and take those first few strides, then feel a pain in your chest, heaviness in your feet and possibly, actually see stars. Maybe your last steps off the track were accompanied by the thought process: “Either I’m crazy, or runners are.”

Until you have talked to a legitimate, dyed in the wool runner and told them your story, explaining why you detest running with every iota of your being you won’t know the runner’s secret: everyone feels that way at first. It’s the normal physiological adjustment to the increased load you’re putting on your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems, this pain you felt when you took those first few steps. It goes away in just a moment, if and only if you keep on running.

Sometimes, knowing that others react to a tough situation by feeling the same emotions, thinking the same thoughts, or doing the same things you do flat out helps you feel less crazy, panicked and out of control of your situation. It’s the concept behind support groups but, last I checked, there really isn’t such a thing as group therapy for home buyers. (Well, some would say that’s what Trulia Voices is for, but I digress.)

Today’s rapidly rising prices and generally volatile market does make things tough for buyers, so we thought we’d systematically explore – and then share – what’s going on inside the minds of the buyers on today’s market. Hopefully, sellers will find some insights for marketing their properties, too.

Fresh off the presses, here are some of the insights and takeaways from our latest American Dream Survey, pinpointing the things today’s buyers worry about, will and won’t do in their quest to get their own corner of the American Dream: a home.

Worry: Mortgage rates and prices will rise before I buy. Trulia’s Economist Jed Kolko reports that “the top worry among all survey respondents who might buy a home someday is that mortgage rates will rise further before they buy (41%), followed by rising prices (37%).” The worry is valid, given the fact that the market was depressed for so long and has a long recovery road ahead of it. It’s compounded by the fact that buying a home has gone from something that used to take a month or two and now routinely takes 6 months, 9 months, a year or even longer!

Here’s the deal: you can’t stop prices from rising. And fixating on this particular fear poses the potential pitfall of rushing to buy or making compromises that will turn out badly in the end. Don’t dilly dally, if you’re ready and in the market, and don’t mess around making lowball offers with no chance of success. But otherwise, don’t let this fear drive your buying and timing decisions.

Will: Be aggressive. B. E. Aggressive. Economist Kolko explained, “among survey respondents who plan to buy a home someday, 2 in 3 (66%) would use aggressive tactics such as bidding above asking, writing personal letters to the seller, or removing contingencies, to name a few.” What buyers do and don’t do in the name of aggressively pursuing their dream homes (and, consequently, what sellers expect) is slightly different in every town.

Knowing that other buyers are facing down the same challenges you are and coming up with similar, aggressive solutions can help you feel a little less crazy about your thought processes and emotions and the desperate measures that come to mind when you hear how many others think “your” home is their dream home. And that puts you back in control of what can sometimes feel like an out-of-control situation. Reality check: you are 100% in the driver’s seat when it comes to how aggressive you want to be in your pursuit of any given home, and which specific tactics you leverage in the course of that pursuit.

Worry: I won’t find a home I like. Forty-three percent of people who plan to buy a home in the next 12 months expressed the concern that they might not be able to even find a property they like. Perhaps these people were just seriously persnickety, but I suspect there’s a bigger issue at play here. All of us can find a home we like, but whether there’s anything we like enough to buy in our price range is a completely separate issue.

This worry, then, seems to be closely related to the fear of rising prices – buyers are rightfully fearful that home value increases will put their personal dream homes out of their price range. This is why it’s super important to:

be aggressive about seeing suitable properties as soon as they come onto the market
work with an agent whose offer pricing advice you trust
adjust your house hunt downward in price range if the market dynamics include lots of over-asking sales prices, and
not to let months and months go by while you make lowball offers or otherwise be slow to come to the reality of what homes are actually selling for in your area.

The sooner you put yourself seriously in the game and make reality-based offers, the more likely you’ll be able to score a home you like in your price range.

Worry: I will have to compete with other buyers for the home I like. Twenty-seven percent of those who plan to buy at some point in the future and 32% of those who plan to buy in the next year said they feared the prospect of facing a bidding war. This worry is well-grounded. In California, the average property receives four offers – but stories of dozens of offers abound. And it’s not just a West Coast phenomenon: buyers from coast to coast trade tales of getting outbid and having to throw in their firstborn child, lastborn puppy and most precious earthly possessions just to get into contract.

Truth is, market dynamics vary from town to town, and even neighborhood to neighborhood, but if you’re buying on today’s market or planning to buy anytime soon, bidding wars, multiple offers and over-asking sales prices are a reality you will probably have to factor into your house hunt.

Won’t: Bid way more than asking. Only 9 percent of wanna-be buyers said they would bid between 6 and 10 percent over the asking price for a property. This finding surfaces the uber-importance of checking in with an experienced local agent to get a briefing on precisely how much over asking homes are selling for in your area. This empowers you to tweak your online house hunting price range low enough that you can make an over-asking offer and be successful without breaking the bank. And once you’ve gotten a reality-based estimate of the over-asking norm, it will loom less ominously in your mind’s eye as a potential American Dream-killer.

Worry: I won’t qualify for a mortgage. Thirty percent of all people who identified themselves as planning to buy a home in the future said they were worried they might not be able to qualify for a home loan. (Interestingly, only 25 percent of buyers in hot markets like Oakland and Las Vegas expressed this concern – rapidly rising prices and knowing lots of other buyers are closing transactions in your town seems to ease this fear.)

Of all the worries on the list, this is the one over which a smart buyer has the most power. So exercise it! Work with a mortgage broker who was referred by friends, family members or an agent you trust. And ideally, work with them months – even a year or more – before you plan to buy. They can help you put an action plan in place around boosting your savings and credit score, and minimize your debt and credit dings, that you can work to minimize mortgage qualifying dramas when the time is right. They can also help give you a stronger sense of what you can afford vis-a-vis your income, to help you anticipate any challenges related to what sort of home your dollar will buy in your market.

ALL: What worries do you have about today’s market? Which steps are you willing to take in your quest to achieve the American Dream?

I read this article at: http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson/2013/07/6_wills_won_ts_and_worries_of_2013_home_buyers?ecampaign=cnews20+and1308A&eurl=www.trulia.com%2Fblog%2Ftaranelson%2F2013%2F07%2F6_wills_won_ts_and_worries_of_2013_home_buyers

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Let’s Make Things Harder for the Bad Guys!

Easy ways to make it harder for burglars

You’ve probably seen the clever TV ads featuring Professor Burke as he educates customers on the finer points of insurance and offers informative risk-prevention tips. In one ad, Burke asks: What if you didn’t know that boxes by the curb make you a target for thieves? Burke and a customer walk by a home with expensive electronics boxes by the curb. The home’s door is open and we see a burglar walk out with an expensive flat screen TV followed by another wearing 3D glasses.

If you’ve ever been burglarized however, you know what an awful feeling it is to have your home violated and to lose your personal property. Unfortunately, burglary is the crime of choice for many criminals but for a minimal investment, you may be able to make your home potentially less appealing to burglars.

Trim your shrubs — Don’t offer unwanted intruders a safe place to hide, albeit unwittingly. Make sure your home’s windows, porches and doors are visible to neighbors and passersby and not shrouded by vegetation.
Close the blinds, shutters or shades — Burglary is often a crime of opportunity — if you don’t offer one, burglars will typically move on. Closing shades, blinds and the like may help to prevent burglars from window shopping at your place.
Install motion sensors and use them — Dark or poorly illuminated areas make it easier for a burglar to move about unseen. Motion-sensing security lights are fairly inexpensive and readily available at home improvement stores. They are activated when motion is detected and the sudden change from darkness to bright light will typically startle intruders and may provide a visual alert to you and your neighbors.
Use indoor timers to control lighting — Timers hooked up to indoor lights and TVs that switch on when it gets dark make it appear as if someone is home and may serve as a deterrent to thieves.
Install deadbolts — Consider installing a deadbolt on every exterior door; the bolt should have a throw of at least one inch.
Don’t post your travel plans or whereabouts on social media sites — Sharing your vacation plans and checking in can be fun, but doing so is a public declaration of your whereabouts and a potential invitation to thieves.

Use common sense
Always lock all your doors and windows whenever you leave your home — even if you’re just running out for a few minutes. It’s a simple and smart thing to do. At Farmers, we make you smarter about insurance — because as Professor Burke will tell you, when it comes to insurance, what you don’t knowcan hurt you.

Thanks to my faithful Insurance Agent Gary Neely – I found this article on his newsletter. THANK YOU!

I read this article at: http://farmersinsuranceemail.com/ffv/201306/02.html

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