805 Local

If you haven’t guessed by now, my partner, Greg Ricci, is Italian.  And I am a Southerner of German decent (who has lived half of my life in Ventura County).  What does this have to do with real estate?  Nothing.  But it does have to do with the 805Local “Food Finds.” 

With Greg being Italian and having grown up with the fertile soil of Thousand Oaks, he loves fresh vegetables especially salads.  So coming from the South where salads consisted of head lettuce or cole slaw, I had a lot of catching up to do! 

Greg’s dad, Tom, introduced me to arugula several years ago and I immediately fell in LOVE.  This year I decided to grow my own patch of arugula.  It is easy to grow, thank goodness. 

One of our favorite ways to eat arugula is simple.  Place arugula in a large bowl with grated Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, red onion, Kalamata olives and toss with olive oil and rice vinegar.  Now this is a Food Find!  MMMMMM

Recently I was asked to provide a “mission statement” or a “value” statement, if you will, which spoke of what special services I could provide, and who was my target market, etc., etc.  As a loan officer, I was asked to think long and hard to come up with something unique that might set me apart from the rest. 

I offer it to you now, for your consideration.  I believe it captures some of my creativity as well as the absolute perseverance needed to successfully close any loan that I originate.

Here it is- (with apologies to Emma Lazarus)

“Give me your tired of misleading lenders, your poor and rich of cash, your huddled masses yearning for home ownership,

The stretch-ed current homeowner of your teeming shore who longs for guidance in a sea of muddy financial waters.

Send these, the homeless, and the FHA, Jumbo, and Conforming loans to me,

I lift my lamp and steady hand of expert mortgage knowledge beside the golden door of your new or previously owned home.”

If I can be of any service to you, please don’t hesitate to call me.  Thanks for letting me share the love.

We are proud and excited to welcome Rory Hernandez of Inspect Pros as a contributor to 805Local.  Rory has extensive experience in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties with over 15,000 satisfied customers!!

Rory is a certified CREIA Inspector, the most widely recognized inspector credential in the state of California.  Look for Rory’s posts covering home repairs, improvements, codes and more in upcoming months. 

Your comments and questions are always encouraged for Rory to answer.

Welcome Rory!

Many homes built prior to the 1980’s have their ceilings covered with an acoustic spray commonly referred to as “popcorn” ceilings due to their appearance.  Many homeowners would like to remove this material to give their home a more contemporary appearance.  There are several things to be aware of regarding this process –

Typical acoustic ceiling surface

•  Some acoustic ceilings applied prior to 1979 may contain asbestos.
•  There are several different types of acoustic ceiling materials.
•  Removal is not always necessary to resurface a ceiling.

Steps for deciding what to do

    1. Determine the type of material you have.  This requires lab testing from an authorized site.  You can search for an accredited lab at the state by state approved list.

     2.   If you find that the material has more than 1% asbestos content, then it is considered a “hot” sample and should only be removed by a qualified abatement contractor.

     3.  If removal is too expensive, another option may be encapsulation.  This is a method that requires the asbestos contain material to be fully enclosed, but not removed.  The most common method is to install thin sheets of drywall (usually 3/8″ to 1/2″) over the existing ceiling and then texturing the new ceiling as desired.

     4.   If the material is not asbestos, then the material can be scraped off using standard methods and tools including a light sprayer and scraping tools available at the local hardware store.

The removal job is a very messy and time consuming.  It is usually necessary to seal off the work area to avoid spreading the material to other areas.

The fixtures that need to remain such as lights and smoke detectors should be protected from damage.

Don’t be surprised to find “hidden” surprises as one of the reasons builder’s used acoustic was to conceal minor defects in workmanship.

Start with a small area or room to make sure this is a project that you wish to take on.

Good Luck!  More information on asbestos can be found at the INSPECTPROS website.

Removal of Acoustic Material

Check out the updated list of bank-owned properties currently for sale in Camarillo and the Conejo Valley.  It has been two weeks since 805Local has posted the REOs; let’s see what has changed.

This week Camarillo (includes Mission Oaks, Santa Rosa Valley, Village at the Park, Leisure Village, etc.) has a total of 23 bank-owned properties on the market.  Two weeks ago the total stood at eighteen bank-owned properties on the market. These bank-owned properties range from a one bedroom condo to over a one million dollar estate.  Quite the variety.  Click here for the Camarillo REOs.  The total number of properties for sale in Camarillo is currently at 297. 

The Conejo Valley (includes Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Oak Park and Agoura) has a total of 58 bank-owned properties on the market.  Two weeks ago this number was 55.  This list of REOs spans the price range from a one bedroom condo to a North Ranch custom home.  Click here for the Conejo Valley REOs.  The total number of properties for sale in the Conejo Valley is currently at 873.

Are you thinking about purchasing a bank-owned home?  Read a post we wrote a few weeks ago about lessons we have learned about making offers on REOs.  It helps to clarify issues we see repeatedly when representing buyers on a REO.  Each bank is a bit different and they seem to play by their own rules. 

Please give us a call to help you through the maze of REOs.  We can help.  We know the ropes.

Last night we witnessed at the Camarillo Community Center an outpouring of residents of Ventura County regarding the proposed prison hospital at the existing Youth Correctional Facility.  The crowd amounted to nearly 1000 people plus dozens of security personnel and staff of the California Prison Health Care Receivership.  Tempers ran high as people shouted out “we don’t want you!” and “not here, not now!”

The site in Camarillo is just one of seven throughout the state in the planning and environmental review stages.  “In 2006 - after four years of non-compliance - the court appointed a federal receiver to take over and run the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitaton’s medical program.  The Receiver has developed a “Turnaround Plan” which will create 10,000 new medical and mental health care beds by 2013.”  (For more information, visit:  www.cphcs.ca.gov)

Residents of Ventura County have gathered to stop the building and have formed the Prison Hospital Action Committee (www.PHAC.org).  It appeared from last night’s discussions that the issues of the residents centered around: (1) Security (2) Property values decreasing (3) Shortage of medical personnel (4) Shortage of law enforcement personnel. 

The envirnomental review process begins on or about December 1, 2008, and the receiver has scheduled the legally required public meeting for December 10, 2008.

Stay tuned and stay involved.   This is a big issue and it is not going away any time soon.

So here we were were — sitting in the client’s dining room completing the stacks of listing paperwork along with the necessary California disclosure requirements.  Mrs. Seller starts telling us about the wallpaper she recently had installed.  In order to get the full view of the wallpaper, we move to the entry with 12 foot ceilings which were all covered in more wallpaper.  Mrs. Seller was so proud of the wallpaper, too.  So then she shows us that even the closet had the same wallpaper!  Did we mention that Mrs. Seller paid $50 a roll for the wallpaper?  And there were matching drapes and valances?

We move on to other rooms in the house — all with wallpaper plus the closets were wallpapered, too.  The whole time we are thinking about a future prospective buyer wanting to remove the wallpaper and discounting the price of the house because of the time, mess and expense of wallpaper removal plus resurfacing the walls and repainting…..

Time for a Real Estate Lesson

Today’s lesson deals with the difference between an IMPROVEMENT and an ENJOYMENT.  Even though Mrs. Seller’s house was tasteful, the majority of buyers would not have the same type of furniture to share enjoyment her personalized wallpaper.  The wallpaper was definitely an enjoyment, not an improvement.  So hopefully Mrs. Seller enjoyed the wallpaper while she lived there.  The next owner would more than likely get rid of it.

Improvements add lasting value and appeal to a broad audience such as the installation of dual-paned windows.  Appraisers look for improvements to increase the appraised value of a property.  Enjoyments are more personal and bring a sense of happiness or pleasure to the homeowner such as purple carpet.  Of course a home improvement can be labelled both an improvement and an enjoyment.  An example would be replacing a heavy, old garage door with a roll-up garage door plus an opener which would improve a property and would offer enjoyment as well. 

If you are a homeowner and thinking about doing some home repairs, stop and ask yourself “Is this really an improvement or is it an enjoyment?  Does this add lasting value?”  If you are planning on staying in your house and NOT moving, knock yourself out with your enjoyments. 

Remember if you are moving in a few years, those enjoyments you might be adding won’t add to the bottom line when you go to sell.  In most cases those personalized enjoyments actually decrease the saleability of the house and ultimately the sales price.  Be careful!!

Back up to Mrs. Seller — every Realtor that showed the house commented on the extent of the wallpaper but we eventually did sell the house. Thank God it was a seller’s market at the time.   Yes, the new buyer did remove all of the wallpaper.

We have this great buyer who wants to purchase a home in a certain school district.  He is well qualified, nothing to sell, and pre-approved for his loan.  With that said, we have been showing him properties all throughout the area of this particular school district.   And believe me — we have seen lots of homes! 

So this past week we were out with him looking at the new crop of inventory.  (Inventory in ‘Realtor speak’  means houses for sale) 

There were several to see but this one house really stood out.  Not because it had a view.  Not because it had a brand new kitchen or baths.  Or a huge yard with a pool.  Or an addition.  This house stood out because of its list price.  The list price was way, way higher than any other house in the neighborhood.  So he asks us,  ”What’s the deal?  Why is this house so much higher?”

We did our normal checking again to see if either one of us missed something.  Maybe new dual-paned windows and French doors or maybe did they add a basement?  No and of course not.  How about tile or wood flooring?  Zip.  Nada. 

We looked at each other and both said, “gold nails.”   There must be “gold nails” since nothing else appears to account for the list price.  It is a phase we discover when listening to a national real estate speaker years ago.  He used the term to identify a seller who was asking too much but for no reason except that they wanted or needed that sales price. ”Gold nails” are not visible to the naked eye; only to the eye of the seller. 

We all chuckled and went on to the next house.  And thankfully the house did not appear to have any “gold nails.”

The new Conforming loan limits have been announced for 2009!!  What does that even mean??  Well, if you are thinking of buying a home soon, it could mean a lot to you.  As of right now, the Conforming loan limit is $417,000 for Ventura and Los Angeles County.  That means that the “cheaper” money (lower rates) can be found on loan amounts up to that Conforming limit.  Once you exceed that $417,000, the rate goes up substantially!  To put it in other terms, if you wanted the best rate right now and you wanted to put down 20%, your maximum purchase price would be $521,250.

The new Conforming loan limit for Ventura County will be $598,000.  Using the above scenario, your best rate at 20% down would then let you now buy a home up to $747,500.  That’s a pretty big jump!  Los Angeles county is even higher with a new limit of $625,500 which translates to an 80%LTV purchase of $781,875.  This will ultimately help more people qualify for more house, so it’s a pretty big deal in our industry.  Last year, the Conforming loan limits did not increase at all from the previous year, so this will be a nice improvement. 

If you’re looking for the new Conforming loan limits in your area, you may click on the link below.  All states are shown alphabetically and then alphabetically by county as well.  2009 should be a better year for real estate on all fronts.  Go make your best offer on a home now and if you need financing advice, I happen to know a very knowledgeable loan officer who’s been in the business for 28 years. That’s right, it’s me! Give me a call. 2009 Conforming Loan Limits