What You Need to Know Prior to an Appraisal

If you need an appraisal when buying a home or refinancing a mortgage, you'll want to be aware of these things beforehand.

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If you seek an appraisal to sell your house or refinance your mortgage, there are a few things about the process you need to know. To help me explain them, I'm joined today by Frankie Hartwelle of Midnight Appraisal Services. The first thing to expect is an invasive inspection process. As Frankie says, there's a lot of door opening throughout the entire property that happens so the appraiser can observe everything from the floors to the ceiling. It's a good idea to declutter the home so the appraiser can inspect everything in the home. Everything should be accessible to them. If you have the time, it's a good idea to make all the small repairs that make a house look average, like a door hanging off the hinges, for example. Fixing these items can take your house from the fringes of 'average' up to ‘good.’

The inspection process can be pretty invasive.

Since many people upgrade their house over time, having a list of the upgrades that have been done in the past 10 to 15 years is a great idea. This is especially helpful when you've upgraded things we can't see like insulation or the foundation. If you made a big home upgrade that might require a permit, it depends whether you should provide the permit. Many times, appraisers will come to a home to see an addition and the owner won't say whether it's legal for fear that its value won't be counted. The addition will always have some type of value; the lender just wants to know if there is a health or safety issue. If you have any questions for Frankie or you need an appraisal, you can reach her at 510-532-1755 or email her at Midnightappraisal@sbcglobal.net. As always, give me a call if you have any real estate questions or you're thinking of buying or selling a home. We're here to help!

Rivers Island Is Open for Homebuyers

If you’re looking to buy a home quickly in the $400,000 to $500,000 price point, River Islands has plenty of new home developments we’d like to tell you about.

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Today we’re coming to you live from inside the River Islands Welcome Center to talk about new home developments that are for sale within the River Islands community. Specifically, we’re looking at four different brand-new neighborhoods: 360 Lakeside, Crystal Cove, Tidewater, and Summer House.

If you’re looking for a home in the $400,000 to $500,000 price point, there are many great options available in these locations. Starting prices will depend on the home’s square footage and the lot it sits on, and there is a huge array of different types of homes available. The lowest price point can be found in 360 Lakeside, which features 4,000 to 5,000 square foot lots starting in the low $400,000 range. Crystal Cove and Tidewater both offer homes starting in the mid $400,000 range. Summer House features homes as large as 3,000 to 4,000 square foot that start in the low $500,000 range.

360 Lakeside, Crystal Cove, and Tidewater all have lakefront property available, but the premiums are different for each because the lakes in 360 Lakeside and Tidewater are different sizes and Crystal Cove has a shared lake.

There are many great homes available in this community.

River Islands is a master planned community, which means there are all kinds of parks, lakes, and schools built around the houses. River Islands is 5,000 acres in total, and by the end of the project—which they estimate will take 20 more years—they will have 11,000 homes built. They will also have a town center which will include restaurants, retail stores, apartments, condos, a grocery store, and a gas station.

The first facility they built was The Boathouse at River Islands restaurant, which offers lakeside dining and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can also rent the entire place out for events like weddings and other parties.

If you have any questions or are interested in buying a home in this area, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be glad to help you!

How Can a Buyer Consultation Help?

Our goal is to help our buyers prepare to be patient through the buying process. We do this through buyer consultations.

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Many of the first-time buyers we work with are starting to feel like they can’t catch a break. To avoid this type of situation, we like to go over all the situations that frustrate these buyers in our buyer consultations. By explaining the process from beginning to end, we are able to help our buyers set realistic expectations. We’d like to share some of those tips with you today.

Limited inventory is just one thing frustrating buyers.

Limited inventory, pricing, and mortgage rates are just a few things frustrating buyers in our market. The goal of our consultations is to help our buyers prepare to be patient through the process and understand that some homes just aren’t winnable in the end. However, if they stick to the plan we discuss in the consultation, they will enjoy the benefits of being a homeowner at the end.

If you have any questions for us or are looking to buy a home yourself, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Importance of a Pre-Sale Inspection Before Listing

With a pre-sale inspection, you can avoid a lot of hassle down the road. Instead of having to negotiate when a buyer comes back with a list of repairs from their inspector, you can provide a list of your own up front.

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The reason I chose this topic is because I’m finding time after time when I go to help buyers purchase a home there are no pre-inspections which is bad for the seller because we will be coming back to renegotiate after inspections are completed.
Without a pre-sale inspection, when the time does come for a buyer to inspect the home, they are going to come back with a list of repairs and we are going to have to end up re-negotiating the offer price midway through the contract, which is really not good for sellers.

With a pre-sale inspection, there is no second negotiation.

We get a property inspection, termite inspection, roof inspection, and sometimes even a sewer inspection for our homes before they go to market. That way, the seller is 100% sure on what repairs will need to be done and all those negotiations are done on the front end as opposed to midway through the contract. That’s crucial because it will give you a better idea of your net up front instead of halfway through the transaction. Pre-sale inspections are vital. That’s the most important thing to know.
If you have any more questions about pre-sale inspections, how they work, or anything else related to real estate, give me a call or send me an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

How to prepare your home for the spring real estate market

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When it comes to real estate, spring starts in January.

You might already know spring is the hottest season in terms of home sales.

Home buyers come out in big numbers with a lot of pent up demand from the long winter months.

The numbers bear this out — homes sold in the spring sell 15 days faster and for about 2% more money than the average listing.

However, in order to make the most of the spring real estate rush, you have to start preparing now.

Today, I want to show you how to do that in four easy steps.

The first step is to find out what your home is worth.  

Pricing your home correctly from the start will mean it sells more quickly. And homes that sell more quickly tend to sell for more.

To get an idea of the value of your home, check out the calculator on my site that takes into account recent East Bay sales.

Enter your street address here to find out what your home is worth

You can also give me a call at (510) 500-5428 and I’ll give you an even more accurate estimate based on the unique characteristics of your home.

The second step is to decide the right time to list.

March through May is the peak season — but this is a very broad range.

A home's listing is viewed five times more on its first day than even one week later, so it’s important to get this exactly right.  

In addition, the East Bay market has some quirks about the best time to list, depending on when you are hoping to close the sale.

If you’re thinking of selling, give me a call and I can give you specific recommendations for the perfect time to list your home.

Third, you'll want to maximize curb appeal.

The reason why is simple: 63% of home buyers will drop by a home they viewed and liked online.

Make sure you give them a good first impression by removing the lingering effects of winter.

Simple projects are often enough — pressure washing the outside, refreshing the landscaping, and cleaning the windows.

Occasionally, upgrades such as a paint job or roof repairs also make sense and can add thousands of dollars to the value of a home.

Finally, you have to prepare for the viewings.

Tidy up the inside of your home, declutter as much as possible, and start packing away non-essential things in anticipation of a sale.

And really, that’s it. By following these simple steps, you’ll be taking full advantage of the spring boom in the real estate market.

And if you need any advice — about pricing your home, about the best time to list, or about small projects that can bump up your sale price by 10% to 15% — just give me a call at (510) 500-5428. I'm here to help.

What Should You Know Before Getting a Home Loan?

We are answering all of your home loan questions today. Patricia Chavez is here to help us out.

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We are delighted to be joined today by Patricia Chavez of Pacific Funding Group. She is here to answer questions from some of our great viewers about home loans. 

The first question comes from Linda, who wants to know if it’s possible to use two different types of financing (VA and conventional) on one loan. Sorry to say, but that is not actually possible. When you are applying for a VA loan, the only other person allowed on the loan is a spouse. If you want to apply jointly, you have to be married or do it through a conventional loan.

Another question we got was about individual programs available for move-up buyers. While there aren’t specific programs for these buyers, there are a number of different options you have in how to proceed. You can sell your current home and use the proceeds for a down payment. You can also rent your current home and use the rental income to qualify for your application.

Now, which institution will give you the best access to a loan? In our experience, it’s less about the institution than it is about the lender themselves. If the lender doesn’t do everything they need to do correctly, it can cause delays in your transaction. This could ultimately lead to you not being able to purchase the home.

When you’re hiring someone to help you with your loan, make sure you trust them. That will ease a lot of the stress. Part of Patricia’s approach that I found so helpful when she helped me with a loan was that she tries to address any potential issues up front. That way, once your file is in the process of being underwritten, we can proceed as smoothly and painlessly as possible. 

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Answers to Your Home Financing Questions

We've received a lot of financial questions from first-time home buyers, so I brought in a financing expert to help me give some answers.

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We've received a lot of financial questions from our viewers, so today I'm pleased to be joined by Patricia Chavez from Pacific Funding Group to help me answer some.

Who is actually considered a first-time home buyer? This is somebody who has not owned a property for three years or has rented a property for three years.

Are there down payment assistance programs? Yes, there are plenty of down payment assistance programs. Some do require you to be a first-time home buyer. There are also plans that will allow you to own a home already and still qualify for down payment assistance.

Do you have advice for first-time home buyers with low credit scores? For starters, first-time home buyer programs don't have high credit score requirements. The minimum score required is 640, which is not very high. If you're nowhere near 640, it all depends on why. In some instances, buyers who don't have established credit could open credit cards and, within a couple of months, be ready to buy. In other cases, we have potential buyers with a couple of dents in their credit, and in most cases, those credit problems can be fixed.

Hopefully, you find this information helpful if you're thinking about buying your first home. If you have questions about financing for Patricia, give her a call at 707-361-4228 or send her an email at pchavez@pfgbayarea.com.

If you have any questions about East Bay area real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What Really Matters in Your House Hunt?

We see a wide range of buyers, from those who want homes of a very specific size, style and architectural design, to buyers who simply want four walls, a roof, and electricity for their next home.

Most clients are somewhere in the middle - they’re looking for a home that looks good and has most of the features they want.

You've probably looked at houses and checked off a few boxes, making sure it has the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you want, but have you ever looked at a home and really thought, "Is this house right for me?"

Not many do. That's why we wanted to share a Consumer Reports video with you that we recently found. It's a nice checklist to go through in order to make sure the home you're considering actually fits you and your lifestyle. Here are my favorite items:

1. Communicate with people at the local coffee shop or any place where locals hang out. Simply ask their thoughts on the area.
2. You can tell a lot about the sense of community in a neighborhood based on the sidewalks and porches. Seriously!
3. Proximity to places and amenities you frequent shouldn't be overlooked. Do you want to be close to restaurants and shops, the airport, or parks and trails?
4. Mortgage cost shouldn't be the only factor when considering affordability. Look at transportation and utility costs too, for example.

Remember, the average homeowner will stay in their home for about nine years. Don't ignore the important checklist items when considering the place you’ll call home for nearly a decade.

Now, this example is pretty broad. Each family has its own unique situation and its own unique checklist. We'd love to sit down with you and use our experience to help you come up with that all-important checklist of your own to help find the right home for you. Give us a call or send us an email and let’s talk soon.

How Can Sellers Prepare Their Bay Area Home for Sale?

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Is it time to prepare your home for sale? Check out these tricks to maximize profits and add value to your property.

1. Pre-sale inspection: This helps you understand what’s going on with your home. It can also prevent any further negotiations after accepting an offer. Buyers won’t expect more, since you already know of any issues with your property.
2. Curb appeal: Your home should shine for those first impressions. Spruce up the front yard, so your property looks its best from the curb.

3. Staging: Your home should be organized and cleaned from top to bottom. When you hire us, we’ll help you organize and stage your home, so it’s ready to be listed.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the surrounding area, give me a call or send me an email! I’d be happy to help answer any questions you might have.

How We Made Harry's Home Buying Process Flow

How was your experience with the Spivey Daniel Real Estate Group?

"They were the greatest group of people to help me personally as a veteran of the United States of America. She made the process so flawless and fluid -- it just flowed. Look at me now!"

What would you say to a first time home buyer?

"To me, you should really find the most experienced Realtor you can find based on reputation. [Spivey Daniel Real Estate Group] has that reputation, and I truly recommend them."

To contact the Spivey Daniel Real Estate Group, email info@spiveydaniel.com or call 510-500-5428. 

How Important Is Buyer Representation in the East Bay?

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Today, I’ll answer the question: “Do you need buyer representation when you’re buying new home development?” Yes, you absolutely do!

When you walk through new home developments, they have over $100,000 worth of upgrades inside. At Spivey Daniel, we can help you through the process for free.

Secondly, you are allowed to have buyer representation when purchasing a new home development. Most people aren’t aware of this.

If you have any questions about this topic or more, contact our office by phone or email. We’d be happy to assist you!

Introducing Our New East Bay Preferred Business Partner

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I’m so excited to announce that we’ve become preferred business partners with Home Loan Assist! This means if you have any credit issue, there’s a two-step process to repair your credit.

After conducting a detailed analysis of your financial history, Home Loan Assist can assist with clearing any derogatory information. This simple process will help you become a homeowner in the East Bay area!

If you’d like to learn more information, feel free to contact our office by phone or email. We’re happy to serve your real estate needs in the surrounding area and look forward to hearing from you soon!

Don’t Miss Out on This Wonderful Financing Option

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There is a wonderful opportunity for potential homeowners that we want to discuss briefly today.

NACA is a program that allows for either a 15-year or 30-year fixed mortgage. It allows buyers to finance a loan with no money down and a below-market interest rate. Additionally, there are no buyer’s closing costs or PMI associated with this product!

Anyone can purchase a NACA as long as they do not own a home at that time and they plan on living in the property for as long as they maintain NACA mortgage on the home. It’s a flexible program, as you can buy a single-family unit, condo, or an up to four-unit residential property. Another benefit of this loan is that there is no credit requirement to obtain it!

All NACA buyers go through a very detailed underwriting process. We verify their income, assets, liabilities, payment history, and their ability to afford the mortgage payment that they’re asking for before we give them an approval letter to go out shopping. In fact, it’s stronger than a traditional pre-approval letter from a lender! So, if you’re a seller who receives an offer from a NACA buyer, there is no need to worry!

The first step if you want to obtain NACA financing is to visit NACA.com. There, you can register for a free homebuyer workshop that is hosted two Saturdays every month! Of course, you can always reach out to us if you would like more information about this or any other real estate topic. We would love to hear from you!

Take Advantage of Our Wonderful Real Estate Programs in 2016

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Happy New Year! Today, we want to go over all the wonderful services we provide.

First of all, there's the referral directory. We mentioned this last week and we received so many wonderful referrals! Thank you so much, and keep them coming!

We also offer a vacation incentive program. If you buy or sell with us, you will qualify for a five-day, four-night cruise for two! More details to come, but we are very excited about this program.

Also, you should know that we have over 35 offices with Berkshire Hathaway home services, which entitles you to over 900 agents. Having so many offices helps if you are involved in multiple transactions or if you're buying in different counties. For example, if you're selling in San Francisco and buying in Oakland, our offices can handle both transactions. The whole process is streamlined so you don't feel like you're juggling too much at once!

Other services include first-time home buyer grant programs, assistance for closing costs, and a credit assistance program. We will go over these programs in more detail later, so keep an eye out.

Finally, we have a commercial real estate department, property management, and a pool of investors ready to purchase investment properties.

As you can see, we have a wide selection of services available to you. Thank you again for your referrals. We look forward to an awesome 2016, and assisting you in the new year.

As always, if you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

We Want Your Business in Our Referral Directory

Today we are going to talk about our referral directory. This is something we’ve put together to connect our clients with service providers and business owners in the area. 

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Today we are excited to talk about our referral directory. Our referral directory is an awesome thing we have put together in order to connect those in need of services with those who provide them. If you are a business owner or provide some type of home service, we want to make sure we give back to you.

You’ve been giving us referrals for the past 18 years, and we want to make sure we are giving back to you as well. If you’ve started a new business or have a product our clients should know about, let us know! We are here for you.

Just give us a call or send us an email, and we will get you added to our directory that we send to all of our clients! We hope to hear from you soon!

The Worthwhile Investment of Real Estate

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Today we are excited to be talking with a very special guest, Joe Fairless. Joe is an experienced real estate investor who has built his wealth through real estate investments and he hosts a radio show, “The Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever” where he offers his insight into the investment world of real estate. Joe knows and understands the importance of investing in real estate property, and he is here today to talk to us about why it’s such a great way to grow your money.

Generally speaking, investment property is a great way to diversify your portfolio of investments and offer many tax benefits as well. Paying down your mortgage payment each month builds equity and if you are renting your property out, the home can pay for itself in no time.

One easy way for someone to get started in real estate investment is by purchasing a 2-4 unit condo or townhome. You can live in one unit while renting the other out, effectively covering all your mortgage payment and even generating some positive cash flow based on what your rental rate is. Anytime you can be rent- or mortgage-free while also saving up money for your next purchase, you should do it.

Real estate investing isn’t as easy as buying a home, renting it out, and eventually buying another. It takes a lot of knowledge and discipline to be successful. When Joe was just starting to learn about investing in real estate, he dove deep into books like Investing for Dummies. It takes a lot of hard work to be as successful as Joe is, but if you have the right mindset and work ethic it can be lucrative.

We would like to thank Joe for taking time today to join us. If you have any questions about real estate investing or any other real estate related questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to speak with you!

Why Is Homeownership So Important?

According to the National Association of Realtors, most people don't understand the benefits of homeownership. Homeownership is very important, and there are three main reasons why.

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Why is homeownership so important? There are three main reasons.

• Owning a home gives you the opportunity to build equity.
• Homeownership gives you the opportunity to build family wealth.
• You choose where you want to live.

According to the National Association of Realtors, most people don't understand that as homeowners you build wealth. As a renter, you don't invest in a property.

There are several programs for first-time home buyers and too much information to share in one video. Please give us a call or send us an email. We'll sit down with you and determine your options for homeownership. We look forward to hearing from you!

We went above and beyond for Yolanda!

What was your experience with the Spivey Daniel real estate group?

Oh my gosh, it was awesome! Right at the beginning, when I realized my property was worth more than I paid for it, I wanted to sell it yesterday. Pamela got everything done in like five days so we could have an open house that weekend. We had a termite inspection and all the stuff you want to do before you put your home on the market. She really went for it. Then, we had the open house and only left bidding open for two days and she worked tirelessly to prioritize the top ten offers. She really busted her butt for me because she knew I wanted to retire and be gone, so I have nothing but praise for her. Her guidance and her ability to evaluate the bids that came in. She knew how to look at them and get me the surest deal. I wanted to accept an offer with the surest percentage it would close - I didn't want the deal to fall apart before closing. Her expert advice was fantastic; I think I did phenomenally in the sale. I also want to mention that the way she put together the virtual tour and presented my home for sale was so eye-catching.

How Can We Solve Dilemmas During a Transaction?

There are so many things that can go wrong during a transaction. There are too many to discuss in one video, but today we are going to alert you to some of the most common problems we face during the course of a transaction.

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Whether you are buying or selling, a lot of things can happen to derail a transaction throughout the process. Today we are going to talk about a few of the most common problems we run into, so you know what to avoid when the time comes. Here are a few of the most common problems we run into:

• Income verification failures- when what was stated on the application is not actually what the buyer is bringing in
• Difficulty obtaining verification of rent (we run into this one a lot)
• A surprise seller lien that we don’t know about until closing

These are just a few of the hundreds of things that can go wrong during the course of a real estate transaction. If you have any questions for us about this topic, or about real estate in general, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!