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Avignon Luxury Homes Pleasanton – A “Zero Net Energy Homes” Community Built by Centex Homes was one of the first “green” community in Pleasanton of its kind. This luxury neighborhood’s builder, Centex Homes, began building in 2006. The project included building 32-custom homes exuding energy efficiency. The homes were built in a manner projecting a savings of up to 70% in energy bills and, at that time, thought to possibly get a Federal tax credit of $2000. According to Builder/Architect, June 6, Vol.12 No.6 article, the California energy codes were surpassed by 25% beyond the requirements set forth. To name a few of the many features meeting or exceeding the standards for these homes:

SunTiles from PowerLight – These tiles are created to blend with almost any roof line.

Solar electric was a standard feature at the time of building and was not charged as a premium to the buyer.

Attic insulation of R-49 material & above garage insulation of R-30 material.

Anderson 400 Series HP Windows, and so much more.

At completion, the homes were inspected by either CalCerts or The California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System (CHEERS), both of which are certified and qualified by California Energy Commission.  All of these features and benefits to both the homeowner and the environment enable this development to be labeled “Zero Net Energy Homes”.

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These homes are situated off East Vineyard Avenue, just outside the West Ruby Hill gate as shown in the map above. Since the time the builder sold the new homes, below is a chart of the activity in the 32-home development.

For more information about Avignon Luxury Homes Pleasanton – A “Zero Net Energy Homes” Community built by Centex Homes, feel free to email me at rhonda@rhondafee.com

How to start my Pleasanton short sale process is a common question these days. With the many different banks involved and the government programs available, it can be a bit overwhelming. Before thinking of short selling your Pleasanton property or any other property,  you most likely have been in touch with your lender already. Here is a quick rundown of the process:

• Contact your lender and let them know you are having financial difficulties.
• Go to their website as instructed by their customer service representative you speak with and print the necessary forms.  Don’t be shy about asking your lender for help completing the forms, they are now more interested in allowing sellers to short sale than they were even a year ago.

• Be diligent and timely; if the required list of documents is a list of 10 items, SEND ALL 10 ITEMS! It will slow the process if you send in partial documentation and then find a week later that they are still waiting for the other items to start your loan modification application. Remember, they won’t call you to say they are missing paperwork. You will likely get a letter in the mail, but again, that wastes time.

• Follow-up with the modification process at least 2 times per week! This is crucial. The banks aren’t reaching out to consumers. They too are overwhelmed with the amount of files they are trying to process. 

IF you get a denial for your modification, you really only have 2 choices. Before you make your choice, be sure you are informed. Seek the advice of an attorney and CPA. Yes, this will cost a bit of money, but you need to know if you will have tax consequences on the forgiveness amount; peace of mind is important.

If you qualify for the HAFA program to short sell your Pleasanton property, you will get $3000 at the close of escrow to assist with relocation costs and you will received debt forgiveness as outlined in your Short Sale Approval Letter. In this case, you could feel confident that you know what the future holds.Some lenders such as Citibank Mortgage for one, are offering substantial incentives to sellers to Short Sell their properties. Wachovia (for World Savings originated loans) and Chase are also offering financial incentive programs to encourage clients to short sell as well. These lenders are encouraging Realtors to make consumers aware of the incentive programs. Just this week, I saw a Short Sale Approval Letter giving $30,000 to the seller at the close of escrow! This was a loan that had been originated with WAMU, a lender that was purchased by Chase. That’s quite an incentive! For now, most of these incentive programs expire at the end of 2011.

If you need the name of a good Real Estate attorney, you can call Ellen Rosenbueth, Attorney in San Ramon. She is a very good and will be able to answer all of your legal questions. If you don’t have a CPA you feel confident with, let me know or ask the attorney for a referral.

This post was originated at http://activerain.com/blogs/rhondafee

Listingbook.com; Search the MLS for Current East Bay, Tri Valley Real Estate Information is the most accurate way for any buyer or seller to search up-to-date (every ½ hour) MLS information. Ever found a property on Trulia or Zillow & felt frustrated that your agent had not brought this property to your attention only to find out it had actually sold 3-months ago and had not been updated? This happens all-to-often for many of my clients. I try to explain that these websites, though extremely beneficial in so many ways, can and do have outdated information from time-to-time. Sometimes agents will not mark their properties sold just so they can continue getting buyer leads. Yup, it’s true!

www.Trivalleyhomes.listingbook.comis your answer. The MLS has provided each Realtor, as a part of their membership fees, a free Listingbook account. The thing is; many Realtors have not yet caught onto the idea or taken the time to learn about this great feature! I attended the first class offered by our MLS association. I immediately realized how helpful and beneficial this could be to my clients  searching the MLS for current East Bay, Tri Valley real estate information.  That’s when I created my www.Trivalleyhomes.listingbook.com  account.  I still have to tell some clients from time to time that other sites are outdated, and they still will send me a property and say ‘hey, what about this one?” only to hear me say, ‘It’s sold and not updated on that site!’  Its okay, everyone will catch on soon enough.
If you’d like your own TriValleyHomes.ListingBook.com account to search the MLS for current east bay Tri Valley Real Estate information, all you have to do is either go to the website and sign up, or let me know and I can send you an invitation. Then just log in and you will get a user name and password. You can view all the same information I do with the exception of the confidential remarks that clients are not privy to receive without the assistance of a Realtor. Check it out, you’ll probably love it. Oh, and I forgot to mention, you can even get accurate SOLD information! Yes, that’s right.
Searching the MLS for Current East Bay, Tri Valley Real Estate Information has never been more accurate! You can be assured that what you see is what I see, just not all the other details. Thanks Bay East Association of Realtors! What a great tool you’ve provided to us!

Shadow Cliff Homes Pleasanton CA Update (edit/delete)

 Shadow Cliff Homes Pleasanton CA Update, January 2010 – March 11, 2011. As a resident of Shadow Cliff Homes and a full-time Pleasanton Realtor, I like to keep track of the neighborhood market. Shadow Cliff Homes Pleasanton CA is a great place to live. Having lived here more than 20-years and raising 2 kids, I speak from personal knowledge.

We are blessed in Pleasanton CA to have Award Winning schools in a safe community with a very low crime rate. As of this writing, there are 141 detached, single family homes for sale ranging from $383,400 – $7,850,000; something for every taste! Additionally, there are 22 Condo/Townhomes ranging from $101,250 – $595,000 currently for sale on the market.

In the nearby shopping center located at the corner of Bernal Ave. and Vineyard Ave, businesses are continuing to move in. We now have a hair salon, cleaners, nail salon/spa, yogurt shop, sushi restaurant, jeweler, dance studio and more! Things are looking up with this center!

The chart shows the difference in the Shadow Cliff Homes Pleasanton CA Update market from 2010 to present. Last year at this time, we had quite a bit of activity; this year…not so much!

 

The short sale process is ever-changing; literally what is acceptable procedure this month may be a thing of the past next month. Here is a list of what I have encountered over and over again. This is the only guarantee I can give you regarding your short sale.

• The lender will claim they’ve not received a fax even when I have fax confirmations sheets showing it was sent.
• Once they do receive a fax, it takes 48-hrs to ‘upload’ to their system.
• Since it takes them 48-hrs to upload to their system, by the time they “lose” it twice, we’ve lost a week of time.
• Every person you or I talk to up and until we have a negotiator assigned to the file is “reading off a script”. They are uneducated ‘phone representatives’ hired to divert us from pestering them. This is my personal opinion, not a fact.
• Every time we call, up and until we are assigned a negotiator, we will never talk to the same person twice. There are hundreds of ‘phone representatives’ located in different states. We can ask the same question of 3 different phone representatives and get 3 different answers. Yes, they have a script, but each individual can throw their own twist on what they believe the script means.
• Once a foreclosure date is set, they will NOT allow us, you or anyone else to postpone the date unless they have an offer in hand that they deem acceptable and MUST be at least 7-days prior to the sale date.
• Once we have a negotiator assigned it can still be an additional 30-days before we have concrete information from them.
• Expect the unexpected.  Iwork so diligently on my clients’ short sale and sometimes when it makes all the sense in the world for them to work with us to complete the short sale, they will move forward with the foreclosure.
• There is nothing I can say with exact confidence that will put your mind at rest other than my promise that I make your transaction just as important to me as it is to you. There are no regulations in place that I’ve found to be consistent and the lender can choose their path at any given time without regard for your feelings.

 All of the above are my own personal experience with many different lenders and should not be considered fact across the board with regard to all short sale lenders. There are some outstanding lenders, such as HSBC and Wells Fargo, but for the most part, these are the exception to the rule.

You may wonder why many Realtors® do not do short sales. They are so much work on the part of the Realtor and there is no assurance of being paid since the lender can foreclose instead of short selling.

About the Author: Rhonda Fee is a licensed Realtor, ABR, e-Pro serving the Tri-Valley and beyond. For more information about Rhonda, please visit her website: www.rhondafee.com

According to an article recently posted by Andrew Taylor (AP), there is good news about the extension of the First Time Home Buyers Federal Tax Credit. I’m looking forward to more clarity regarding the exact qualifications. I interpret this to refer to clients already in contract by the cut-off date of April 30, 2010, having an extended period of time (September 30, 2010) to close escrow. That is great news for those who have been in contract for months purchasing a short sale property! Comments are welcomed; more news to come.

Most of us have been wondering for over 3 years when we will know we’ve hit the bottom of the market. I’ve written about this before and I still hold to the fact that if we wait to see the bottom, it will be too late and maybe we are already there! Especially if you are a buyer, don’t let that ship sail without you!

Pleasanton Real Estate is my specialty and I particularly pay close attention to Shadow Cliff Homes as I am an original owner and resident of the neighborhood. We have seen some very difficult times and are by no means on our way to smooth sailing, but there is some bright news. The chart below shows history from 2008 through today.

This chart is evidence of one neighborhood in Pleasanton, CA but I can surely tell you, activity and multiple offers are the norm in many parts of Pleasanton. In working with my buyers recently we made an offer on a home priced around $675,000. There were 9 offers on the property after only a few days on the market and shortly thereafter, we offered on a property that came on the market on a Thursday and by Saturday afternoon was already pending and also had multiple offers. Rates are low, inventory is low and sellers are seeing good prices for their homes.

If you’d like this kind of detail on another neighborhood, I’d be happy to provide it.

As both a Pleasanton Realtor and resident of Shadow Cliff homes, here is an update of what is happining in my neighborhood. At this same time period last year, January – April we did not have even one sold property! In my opinion, 2009 was a very good year considering 2008! This update shows that the market has most definitely improved.

Shadow Cliff continues to be a great place to live. If you’d like further details about this report, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Jan – April 2010

Many Real Estate owners in Pleasanton, CA and everywhere in the country are facing difficult decisions regarding what to do with their mortgages.  Some of the more common reasons people are finding themselves in these stressful situations are:

1.  They were talked into financing 100% of their mortgage due to the “thinking” that within a few years, the market value of their property would increase, thus they could then refinance because they would have instant equity.

2.  The type of loan the borrower got to purchase or refinance the loan has met it’s short “intro rate” term and has now adjusted to a rate the borrower cannot afford.

3.  Someone refinanced their home back when “No Doc Loans” were available for, let’s say for the sake of example, a 5-year term. Now the term is up, there is no longer the “No Doc” option and they are stuck without a way to remain in their home.

And I’m sure the list goes on as to the reasons why many find themselves in this situation. The one thing to know is that You Are Not Alone!!

What can you do if you find yourself wondering how to move forward?

First, (A) Act upon your situation. Don’t sit around hoping it will get better, burying your head in the sand. That won’t help. You can get through this; many people have gone through it successfully and are beginning the process right now.

Second (B) Believe…find a professional you believe you can trust. ASK for references from their past clients. Make your professional prove to you they know what they are doing. If you hire someone to guide you that doesn’t truly know how to get through a short sale, you’re going to be in deep trouble.

Third, (C) Cooperate. Cooperating with your Real Estate professional makes ALL the difference. How can we do our job if you are not providing the information the bank requires? The process is what it is. And what is that you might ask? It is tedious, time consuming, monotonous, wearisome, and the list goes on. Your professional knows exactly what to expect and how to get through it. They should set your expectation right up front as to the path to a successful end.  This is not a short process and you should expect it to take at least 4-months to a successful close. Once an offer is received and sent to the bank, this process alone can take up to 90-days to get an approval. Once the approval is completed, let your 30-day escrow begin!  That’s the less complicated part.

Pleasanton CA, as of January 4, 2010 there are only 116 TOTAL Properties on the market in Pleasanton according to the Multiple Listing Service. This includes Single Family Homes (SFR), Condo and Townhomes!  Just before the holidays we had 102 Single Family Homes alone!!  Here’s how the market is currently stacking up:

• 86-Single Family Homes priced from the low of $399,000 up to the high of $8,888,888
• 15-Condos priced from the low of $170,000 up to the high of $395,000
• 14-Town Homes from the low of $189,000 up to the high of $468,000

The shortage of homes available on the market continues to be the trend. We are beginning to see a trickling of Bank Owned (aka, REO, Foreclosed) properties come to the market; one being in the Shadow Cliff neighborhood of Pleasanton, located on Whitney Drive.

 The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is still in affect until April 2010 and FHA loans continue to be accessible allowing for down payment Requirements (as low as 3.5%).

If you’ve been on the fence about selling, this is most definitely a good time to make a move. The market is begging for more properties!

For specific questions or housing information, please feel free to contact me direclty.