On this first day of the new year, I visited the Hotel Del Coronado to bring you a most unusual experience. Ice Skating on the shore of the Coronado Beach. It was 70 degrees in the shade and the activity was enjoyed continuously through the day and evening. As you can see, the warm weather created a wet but glassy image on the ice , reflecting the Grand Dame of Hotels, Hotel Del Coronado on the shore of one of San Diego’s finest, deepest and cleanest beaches.

So How’s Your Market?

There is good news and bad news , which would you like first?

Here is the Good News.

* During the month of August, there are 263 Active Listings in RB ( Rancho Bernardo). The Average Price is $899,718 and the Median Price is $668,880.  There were 53 Listings Pending Close of Escrow and 46 Sold Listings during the month. The Average Sold Listing was $694,993 and the median sold was $564,450.

A Recap of the Year to Date Sales shows we had 246 sold homes so far with the high selling price of $4,000000 and the low of $324,900. As you can see, we have a wide variety of single family homes ranging in size from 1200 sq ft to over 9,000.

On the Attached Home side of the housing market we have the following activity that took place in August. There are 58 Active Attached Listings through the end of August. The Average List price was $272,370 and the Median List Price was $278,000. There were 10 Listing Pending Close of Escrow ranging in price from $132,500 to $383,000. The 4 Attached Properties that Sold ranged from $145,000 to  $499,876.

A Recap of the Year to Date Sales shows we had 138 Attached Homes Sales with a High Selling Price of $689,000 and a Low Selling Price of $125,000 for 540 sq ft. The Average Selling price was 261,249 for 1,163 sq ft and the Median Sales Price year to date was 234,950 for 1092 sq ft.

That was the Good News! Ready for the Bad News? Home prices are tending up and there is strong evidence that interest rates will likely be going up as well. Sitting and waiting for a better deal in Rancho Bernardo is not likely to happen so if you are considering a new Home or Condo, now is time to get in the market.

*Data obtained from Sandicor MLS and believed to be correct but not gauranteed.

Padres ” OPENING DAY ” at Petco Park

TONY Gwynn ” Mr Padre”

All is in readieness as the Padres and Petco Park get set for Opening Day 2011.

While I was down taking photos of the new 550 foot Pedestrian Suspension Bridge ( Dedication Day) , one end of which connects to Petco park, I noticed the gates open for the “Park in the Park”. I can’t attend the homeopener game today against the 2010 World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants but I wanted fresh new photos from just two days ago of our wonderful ballpark.

In the foreground of this picture is the “Park in the Park” where families  and baseball enthusiasts can come in, bring blankets and enjoy the park, watch the game, have a Play by Play screen just for their use and enjoy the thrill of baseball. All that for $5.00

Well, baseball in San Diego wouldn’t be baseball without our long time hero and Hall of Famer, Tony Gwynn, A bronze statue of him rightfully placed at the top of the hill in our “Park in the Park”. He will be in the park today as he should be. The Padres won their first opening series away with the St Louis Cardinals  2-1.

Today is also designated “ Military Day” , honoring those of who served our country. When they sing the opening anthem, no doubt today, it will have an extra special meaning.

” GO Padres “

A Real Lesson in Spring Renewal !

When you read the news about all the tragedies that have befallen mankind, it is so heartening to read about something as innocuous as an annual Cherry Blossom Festival that transforms itself into being something so much more. In this case, a fundraiser for the victims that have suffered such terrible losses from the devastating earthquake and Tsunami that took the lives of many thousands of loved ones last week in Japan.

Tomorrow, an annual event celebrating the relationship of the sister cities of San Diego and Yokohama Japan, will become a fund raiser for relief efforts in Japan. It is what any true sisters would do, look out for each other. So tomorrow, the Japanese Friendship Gardens at Balboa Park that would normally be celebrating the life transformations of the over 160 Japanese Cherry trees in various levels of bloom will instead quietly and respectfully accept donations to assist with the horrific tragedy that has befallen our friends and neighbors in the Pacific.

I have shared my pride with all of you of how wonderful our San Diego city is and the many treasures it shares with citizens and visitors alike. But it is these special times when the people themselves share their own treasure to help mankind through it tragedies that makes me the most proud to be a citizen of this awesome community.

And this wonderful way of helping is certainly not unique to just San Diego but found throughout our America. The organizers of the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco as well as the one slated for March 26th in Washington DC will also move fund raising to the center of their activities.

It will be my mission to make my way sometime during the day to the  park and make my contribution as well. And don’t be at all surprised if I just happen to come away with a few beautiful photos of the blooming Japanese Cherry trees. These Cherry blossoms signify the beginning of Spring. No matter how harsh the season or severe the obstacle, these trees teach a real lesson in renewal. As they have for centuries, they bud, they bloom and after a brilliant show, wither and die but they leave behind a life that regenerates itself year after to year to remind us of the wonderful Spring Renewal.

I hope the citizens of San Diego will open their hearts and share their good fortune with those that so need our help as they begin their own Spring Renewal, not for the show of their beautiful flowers but for their very survival.

READ ALL ABOUT IT! When Passion Meets Opportunity | San Diego Real Estate|William Johnson!

# # #

If you are just tuning in to this series, this is Part 2 or 3 on your Path to Home Ownership. It would be useful if you read Part 1 first and here is the link. Your Path To Home Ownership   Part 1 of 3

Part 2 picks up with Step #8 through 14 of the 21 steps you will take with me guiding your way on the Path to Home Ownership.

 Step 8. ( Loan Officer and Home Insurance Agent)

As part of your request for your loan, your loan officer will need  you to select your home insurance carrier and have proof  of a binder guaranteeing that you have ample perils insurance to protect your investment. You might first call the company that insures your car.  Generally there is a discount if you insure both with the same carrier. As part of you purchase , we would have requested the mandated California Zone Report on the property. One of the optional reports that can come with that Zone Report which we requested is a Clue Report.  By ordering the C.L.U.E. Home Seller’s Disclosure Report, you will have a greater comfort level  on a property for which the loss history is known. This will be useful information at the time you are getting a binder on the property. If there is a loss history within the last five years, it can in some cases also impact on an insurers coverage.

Step 9.  ( Loan Officer )

Now that you have selected  the loan program that you will use  to finance your home purchase, the loan officer is required to present you with a GFE ( Good Faith Estimate). You may have already received this  and may receive them each time there is any change that affects the loan rate or costs associated with the loan. The GFE is supposed to given to you within 3 days of applying for a loan.

Step 10. ( Loan Officer)

While you and your loan officer have been in constant communication, one of the options your loan officer will advise you about is that it may be time to lock in the loan rate.  If this rate has changed ( higher  or lower)  than what was used as the rate on your Good Faith Estimate, along with the lock to secure the interest rate on your loan, you will be given another GFE, to sign off on.

Step 11. ( Loan Officer and Appraiser)

As part of loan qualifying process, the property you are purchasing also has  to qualify and that is determined by a licensed appraiser.  It used to be that appraisers were on call to the lenders, often employed by them or as independent contractors. When the housing market collapsed,, new rules were established  governing how the appraisal process  comes into play. The new rules require the appraiser and the loan officer or lender have an arms length relationship to prevent the possible influence  of the appraisers opinion of value . When the loan officer places the order for an appraisal, it will be to an appraisal management company and they will assign the appraisal in according to next available. In most cases you will pay for the appraisal fee prior to the appraisal being done. Your loan officer will discuss this with you.

Step 12 ( Loan Officer and Underwriting)

Once appraisal has been released and confirmed the Loan to Value ratio is adequate, the Loan Officer will prepare all the documents  in the loan folder  to be sent over to the underwriting department  who verifies  all the terms and conditions  of the loan are known and disclosed and that you and the property are fully qualified  for the loan or that conditions  are  required  for your final loan approval.

Step 13. Loan Approval , (Loan Office and Underwriting )

Once the loan has been under written, you and I will receive notice of final loan approval. The approval approval will confirm the interest rate, the term of the loan ( how many years until the loan is paid off- typically shown as 30 years or 360 months) )

The loan approval while called final is often actually conditional approval. The underwriting department may state conditions they need met for drawing the loan docs and funding the loan.

Step 14. Conditions ( Loan officer )

You will likely receive a call form the loan officer and he will present you with a list of conditions usually by e-mail for you to complete. These conditions  can be anything from documents  that were incomplete, to missing documents or needed explanations by underwriting. It can a request for a letter of explanation about overtime income, missing or incomplete tax returns, missing pay stubs, undocumented income or a myriad of other items that are needed.

The conditions will generally fall under two categories. Those items needed “Prior to Loan Documents ” or “Prior to Funding“.  Most of the examples above are prior to Loan Documents issues. While all the conditions have to be met, the items are critical and the other conditions are generally easier to complete.

You are now in the home stretch in you path to home ownership. But there are still some steps to go, so stay with me here.

Steps 15 through 21 will be in Part 3 – The steps in this last part  discuss the loan docs themselves, signing loan docs and the balance of down payment, funding the loan, removal of remaining contingencies, close of escrow and finally  getting the keys to the property and moving in. Becoming your REALTOR® for life. You are almost Home now.

by William Johnson, GRI, CRS, E-Pro, CDPE

Copyright ©2011

As part of my counseling process when I am working with a San Diego home buyer, I will take you through the home buying process here from start to finish. I will also familiarize you with the team of other professionals that may be assisting you along the way in this process consisting of 21 steps on your path to home ownership.

In our first get together, I think it is most important for you to know that you have connected with the real estate professional with the experience, credentials and the patience to help you through these 21 steps to home ownership in a professional and personalized manner.

Thank you for selecting me.

I am listing here the 21 steps  you will take in order and the title of the person you will be working with in each one of these steps. A number of these steps will be underway at the same time and they will require your attention and assurance that we have open lines of communications at all times. I will be there to guide you every step of the way.

Step 1.  The Loan Officer

Consulting with the loan officer that will help you in the loan pre-approval process. He will help you determine what you qualify for and also how much  payment you will be comfortable with. Once you are pre-approved, the loan officer will provide a pre-approval letter that we will use later  to accompany any offer you want to make on a home. I have several loan officers I work with and we will discuss my experiences with them. You are not obligated to use a particular lender that I may recommend  and know that I always respect pre-existing relationships. The key here is getting the best guidance and the best service to get the transaction closed on time with as little stress as possible.

Step 2.  My Real Estate Team

This is where I come in again. I will or one of my team will send you the available properties  that need meet your general or specific criteria in both location and price that you will  first preview on-line.  You will narrow these properties down to the ones that actually interest you and send me the list of properties to set -up for showings. As we pursue these properties, we will coordinate the plan to physically see both the home and the neighborhoods that interest you.

Step 3. Working With  Me to Prepare The Offer

Once we have found the right property I will prepare for you a CMA ( Comparative Market Analysis ) that will help you determine the relative market value in the area of the chosen property. You will determine it’s value to you. REALTORS® never tell you what you should offer. Once you have determined the price, it is time to prepare the offer. I will have provided you by this time a blank offer so you will already be familiar with the many paragraphs to be completed. I will explain your many options in the offer including specifying the amount of Earnest money, time frames and closing date, identifying title and escrow services, any personal property that is to be included without Seller warranty, a Home Warranty to cover the mechanicals of  the property and any additional disclosures you are asking of the seller, etc.

Step 4. The Listing Agent and the Seller

After we have prepared the offer, typically I will submit the offer to the Listing agent and they will present to the offer to the Seller. In some cases I will ask to present the offer directly to the Seller with the Listing agent in attendance. This is more today but can happen if need be. In any case the Seller will review the offer with the listing agent and determine if the offer is workable for them. The seller will be instructed that they have 3 options.

1. The Seller can accept the offer as written     2. The Seller can reject the offer    3. The Seller can counter the offer.

The Seller will consider your offer  and if they disagree  on something you have asked for,  be it price, terms , personal property etc, they may counter offer your offer. #3 happens frequently and the listing agent will prepare a counter offer detailing  each of the things the Seller disagrees with for your consideration. If you get a counter offer, you are presented with the same three options. To Accept, to Reject, or to Counter the Counter Offer.  If and when there is agreement, we go on to the next step and either I or the Listing agent will open escrow, depending on which one us recommended the service.

Step 5. Open of Escrow  (Escrow Officer )

Once we have a completely signed agreement, it is time to open Escrow. The escrow company that was agreed to by all parties will receive the signed offer , counter offer( s) if any and any other pertinent addenda affecting the purchase of the property. The escrow officer will cause the opening of the title order  to research  the ownership  and any recorded liens or easements  on the property. They do this in preparation to insure the title . The earnest money deposit that was agreed to  in the contract will be sent to escrow according to the way it was agreed in the offer. The funds will be deposited in a non-interest bearing account. If this is a subdivision ( most homes in San Diego are in subdivisions) the escrow officer will order the association documents for your approval. They will also order a “Pay Off ” demand on the Sellers loan (s). Other recorded liens on the property also have to be reconciled.

Step 6. Home Inspector and Me

Once escrow has been set up and all the documents are in, it is time for you to begin your “Due Diligence” of the property to ascertain to the extent possible the true nature and condition of the property.  In the offer to purchase agreement, you would have specified  to the seller  that you are to receive all the Sellers disclosures by a time certain. Most often you will  have possession of these disclosures by the time  the inspection appointment arrives , meeting with the licensed contractor or engineer that you will select at time of acceptance of your offer. Home Inspectors are not licensed but are certified. A Contractor or Engineer is licensed by the state which is why I recommend a Buyer to strongly consider having them do your home inspection. At the time of the inspection, I will present to you a form called the “Buyers Election of Inspections” and based on the preliminary findings and recommendations of the contractor or engineer, more inspections may be called for to ascertain a more detailed condition of the property by other experts, including licensed roofing contractors, pool and spa inspections, Electrical and Plumbing inspections, soils engineers or licensed landscapers, etc..

Step 7. Buyer’s Request for Repairs ( The Buyers and Me )

Very often things are discovered about the condition of a property that you may want to address to the seller, asking them to explain their experience with the issue or condition, request they make the repairs to the property during the escrow period or provide you with an ” In Lieu Of” credit through escrow. The lenders never allow for the credit to be in the form of cash. The credits that you may obtain can only be used up to the extent of your closing costs or reducing the sales price or both. Sellers are not obligated to make repairs or provide the Buyer with credits. If the seller opts out of making the repairs or providing you a credit, your only recourse would be to accept the property in its present condition and deal with the needed repairs yourself  or cancel the purchase.

Should a request for repairs be made to the Seller, I will provide you with a form that itemizes the requested repairs or an ” in lieu of credit ” for these repairs. In California, if you accept a credit or accept the Seller’s response to your itemized request for repairs, the inspections contingency is then removed upon that agreement. There may be other contingencies still remaining such as receipt and approval of HOA documents, loan funding, appraisal etc. Those remaining contingencies will be dealt with in later steps.

Suffice it say that inspecting the property and being comfortable with the condition to the extent that you can ascertain it’s condition requires careful consideration of the findings. Homes of various ages while they were most likely built to the building code at the time of construction, that code changes and the inspection will usually call out these items as not being to current code. These items are best reviewed with the person doing the home inspection and they will advise you accordingly. As your real estate agent I am not qualified to advise you on these issues should they come up in the inspection. This is your “due diligence” period and other top quality professionals are needed to advise you.

Steps 8 through 14 will be in Part 2 – These steps include involve securing property insurance, lenders disclosures,appraisal, underwriting and loan conditions.

Steps 15 through 21 will be in Part 3 – The steps in this last part  discuss the loan docs themselves, signing loan docs and the balance of down payment, funding the loan, removal of remaining contingencies, close of escrow and finally  getting the keys to the property and moving in. Becoming your REALTOR® for life.

Stay with me here as once you have my 21 steps complete, you are a new homeowner and now my newest past client. Our relationship doesn’t end here, in some ways it is just beginning. Stay tuned.

Is the original 2nd bedroom with no window still a bedroom? The space has a door into it from the hallway which is original. The closet remains and the operable skylight as added for light and ventilation. There are 2 minimum requirements that defines a bedroom. Ventilation and secondary egress ( emergency exit) . Since there is no secondary egress, ( an operable window large enough to crawl through and no higher than 48” or a door that opens to the outside for emergency exit)  it would be my opinion that this space is a secondary room and should not be marketed as a bedroom.