Shirley Kistler's Real Estate Blog: Serving your Real Estate Needs in Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado Counties

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Harris Interactive, a market research firm’s bi-annual survey on purchasing a home found the following from a recent online survey: 

Among renters, 59% said they aspired to own a home, but of those, 51% said saving enough for a down payment was their biggest obstacle. 

Those in the 18-34 age group cited the following concerns:   62% saving down payment, 36% qualifying for a mortgage, 34% having poor credit, 31% in ability to pay off existing debt, 29% not having a stable job and 13% declining home values.  

Both the 18-34 and over 55+ age groups expressed preferences that indicate they prefer to live in urban centers:  The younger group preferred short commutes to work and the older group preferred the proximity to restaurants and shops. 

The majority, 70% of respondents said owing a home is part of their American dream.  This attitude toward homeownership rose with age, from 65% of 18-34 year olds to 76% of those 55 +. 

Among current homeowners, 80% said they plan to buy another home in the future and 57% said owning a home is among the best long term investments.

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The Sacramento Beepublished an article September 26, 2011 with the following statistics compiled by RealtyTrac and Foreclosure-Response.org.  They placed our region’s shadow inventory at 53,256 homes in the four surrounding areas of Sacramento, Yolo, Placerand El Dorado counties.

They included in this number three categories of distressed properties:

• 12,285 houses already owned by banks but not sold
• 19,367 units whose owners have received an initial foreclosure notice, or notice of default, but have not been foreclosed on
• 21,604 homeowners who are 90 days or more delinquent on their payments but have not received a notice of default

Lenderare starting to pick up the pace on repossessions once again.  The figures provided by RealtyTrac show foreclosures in the area soared 76% from July to August, the highest number in 11 months.

Based on this “shadow inventory” it would take a year and a half to sell these distressed homes.

To read the complete article by Rick Daysog of the Sacramento Bee click here

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With married couples comprising less than 50% of all US households, home buyers are changing.  A growing number of non-family households, according to a report from John Burns Real Estate Consulting are on the increase.  Non-family households where no one is related to the house holder have increased nearly five times in the last 50 years from 7.9 to 39.2 million. 

A lot of non-family households are looking at SMALL HOMES: preferring a home under 2500 sf with three or fewer bedrooms.  LOCATION:  the proximity to work and entertainment over home size and they are less interested in media rooms and pools.

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Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 771, on September 1, 2011.  This bill prevents home buyers in a common interest development, such as a condominium or townhome, from being charged excess document fees. 

Current law requires this information come from the Homeowner’s Association “HOA” and prohibits it from charging fees in excess of what is “reasonable,” not to exceed the actual cost of processing and producing these documents.  HOA generally have provided the document for approximately $75 to $250.  In the past HOAs have been delegating document preparation to third party vendors or contractors who, under a 2007 court decision, are exempt from this fee limitation.  This delegation of responsibility by HOAs sometimes resulted in home purchasers being forced to pay additional fees, as much as $1000, for other documents which were “bundled” with the required documents. 

AB 771 addresses this by specifying that only fees for the required documents may be charged when such documents are provided, effectively prohibiting any “bundling” of fees for other documents with these fees.  The bill also creates a new form detailing which documents are required, and requires the provider to disclose the fees that will be charged for the documents before they are provided.  The seller of the home must complete this form and transmit it to the prospective purchaser along with the required documents.  This will eliminate any uncertainty for the prospective purchase as to exactly which documents are being provided and the precise fees being charged in those documents. 

Mildew, a form of mold is often seen as black, white or greenish growth on siding, drywall, roofing and other areas.  

Mildew likes organic materials like drywall, wood, paper, wallpaper paste, cotton, linen, leather, wool to name a few.  In addition to food, it will grow best in moist and warm areas with lack of air circulation or light. 

One of the most common areas is the bathroom.  Usually the only thing needed here is the installation of a ventilation fan.  Make sure it is ducted to the outside and not just into the attic.  You should use the fan during and after taking a bath or shower.  If you find your family can’t seem to remember to turn the fan on, you might think about having it wired to the light switch.  If you use the fan regularly, it should remove the moisture and circulate the air.  If you find this isn’t enough to combat moisture then you may have moisture generated from somewhere else.  Hidden moisture problems include, leaking valves or supply pipes, loose and/or leaking drain lines, bad wax rings below the toilet, and water around the tub or shower from excessive splash. 

Other areas inside the home include closets, behind beds & other furniture (especially those placed against an exterior wall, combined with high humidity).  Silica gel can help in closets, as well as making sure your clothes are not densely packed in the closet.  Also, moving furniture away from the wall so air can circulate helps alleviate mildew. 

Outside the home you may see mildew on the siding and roof shingles.  If you have widespread areas of mildew this may indicate a larger moisture problem, one that can usually be traced back to lack of ventilation.  Cut back trees, shrubbery or other landscaping that is overgrown that can be the cause of some problems, as well as adjusting your sprinklers not to hit the side of the house. 

If you think you have hidden moisture you should contact a contractor who has a moisture meter and specializes in water damage restoration.

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