It seems some lenders are now asking for a complete review of the HOA documents and what they are looking for may surprise you. We have a pending sale where the buyer is putting over 50% down so we fought hard for an exception to this new rule.  What the lender was looking for, they found!  And it was a shock.  What they were looking for was this – in the bylaws of the HOA docs, there are some clauses pertaining to foreclosures and what happens with any unpaid liens against the property.  Some HOA doc bylaws spell out that the lenders are responsible for any unpaid liens and for that reason they may not fund/lend in that community.  Be sure to allow yourself enough time to read through the entire HOA package and ask your lender upfront if they are looking for any specific language in the bylaws.   It seems like everyday some lenders are changing their guidelines, and in their minds for good reasons, as they do not want any unnecessary risky loans.

Magnificent Custom Blackhawk Estate w/ Panoramic Views of the
Surrounding Hillside! Click here to learn more about this home!

5 Bedrooms
3.5 Bathrooms
3,878 SqFt w/ an additional 1,000 SqFt Bonus Room (non-permitted)
Approx. 1.78 Acre Homesite
3 Car Garage

New realty Web site offers future valuation of San Ramon Real Estate as well as all homes in California.  There are plenty of Web sites that will tell you how a home is worth now.  But now a Pleasanton based company has launched smartzip, a free web site designed to help investors and everyday home buyers assess the future value of homes for sale in California.

It is pretty interesting to see some of these new value models in action.  There is no guarantee that a rating estimate of a property’s future value is accurate but it sure gives one hope that real estate long term holdings do pay off.

Summer is almost here and there are many things to do around San Ramon that are actually free!  If you have not ever been to the summer concert series at Central Park, I highly recommend going.  Listed below are the dates of the events as well as who is playing.

Sundays at 5:30pm

San Ramon Central Park
Free Admission

Bring the family for a perfect summer evening in Central Park. Enjoy great music, talk with friends and neighbors, bring a picnic and let the kids enjoy dancing barefoot in the grass. This is one of life’s simple pleasures relax and enjoy the moment. Bring a picnic, blanket and/or lawn chairs. Wine, beer, soda and ice cream available for purchase.

July 12th
David Martin’s House Party
San Ramon Central Park
One of the Bay Area’s premier party bands. Music from the 70s, 80s, 90s and today!

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July 19th
Aja Vu
San Ramon Central Park
Steely Dan tribute band playing rock and jazzy blues that will take you back to the 70s.

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July 26th
Garratt Wilkin & the Parrot Heads
San Ramon Central Park
Take a tropical “stay-cation” and enjoy hits like “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise”.

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August 2nd
Mersy Beach
San Ramon Central Park
From the Beatles to the Beach Boys. Go back to the “Summer of Love” with this 60s band.

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August 9th
Orchesta d’Soul
San Ramon Central Park
Hot Latin Salsa dance music and R&B grooves will heat up the night at our final Summer Concert.

Appraisals are becoming one of the biggest obstacles for Americans trying to sell their homes, refinance their mortgages or tap into home-equity credit lines.

During the housing boom, appraisers often complained of pressure from lenders to inflate home-value estimates to justify dubious mortgage lending. Now, some people in the mortgage business — and some borrowers — say the pendulum has swung too far the other way.
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“IT’S A RECESSION WHEN YOUR NEIGHBOR LOSES HIS JOB; IT’S A DEPRESSION WHEN YOU LOSE YOURS.” Harry S. Truman. The big headlines of the week had everything to do with job losses…and some surprising twists within the monthly Jobs Report that arrived on Friday, and caused home loan rates to worsen yet once again. Despite their efforts to improve early in the week, Bonds and rates ended the week .375% to .5% worse than where they began.

Friday’s Jobs Report showed that 345,000 jobs were lost in May, far better than expectations for 520,000 jobs lost. And adding to the positive tone were revisions to the two prior months, showing 82,000 fewer jobs lost than previously reported. So all in all, about 260,000 fewer jobs lost than had been forecast.

Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. Bonds have traded lower recently, causing home loan rates to move higher. The reasons are many, but certainly due in part to all the extra Bond supply in the market. The Treasury has to have some way to pay for all the massive government stimulus plans, so Treasury auctions have been increasing dramatically – but the added supply is driving prices lower, with home loan rates moving higher. I will be watching closely to see if this trend continues.

We have been writing about 424 Marsanne Court for the past month knowing that it would not be long before Danville’s best buy would be sold. Scheduled to close in less than 30 days, this home was a terrific value. Congratulations to the lucky (and smart) homebuyers.

Dublin Ranch is still the very active with home buyers. This past weekend we held open our new listing at 5020 Shapleigh Court. This home is now in contract after the first weekend. We had about 30 groups of buyers come through our open home, many are looking to buy in Dublin Ranch. There are not many homes on the market to chose from AND the best ones still sell fast.

$8,000 Down Payment for First Time Buyers!

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that first time buyers using FHA approved lenders can now get an advance on the $8,000 tax credit created by the stimulus package and apply it toward their down payment or closing costs.

First time buyers should check with their mortgage lender for more details on how to make use of this tax credit on their home purchase.