All posts tagged home buyer
Home buyers’ interactive, online tool sorts 230 CA home buyer asssitance programs
The California Association of Realtors (CAR) is helping qualified home buyers tap into more than 230 home buyer down payment and assistance programs offering millions that go unused every year because home buyers are unaware of them.
VA home loan appraisal standards strict, but not insurmountable
Q: Veterans Affairs loans? Aren't those impossible to get through escrow? A: Not according to the 540,000 people who obtained VA loans in 2012. Q: Doesn't a home have
Home much home can you afford? Redux
CHIP POLI – As long as Americans have had enjoyed the opportunity for homeownership, they've had to consider how much they can afford to spend on what's likely
How to house hunt with kids in tow
HANS BRINGS - Buying a house is equally exhilarating and nerve wracking. Unless you have that perfect house just waiting for you, financing ready to go, and no competing
Need a school to go with that new home? Do your homework
KRISTIN BROWN - If you're planning to move and you have children, you certainly want to learn all you can about the school districts in your desired home
First-timers, existing homeowners driving the housing recovery
Forget the golden goose investor-element that's helping fuel the housing recovery. Potential buyers? Your fence sitting days are numbered. Many investors are largely bottom feeders (buy low, rent and or
Pause for the clause; a little something extra for sales contracts
Even in a sellers' market as hot as it is today, contractual risks lurk, but there are ways sellers can contractually protect themselves. Conventional home sale contracts typically include
Is your real estate agent really working for you?
"You need to use a little truth serum to get prospective real estate agents to come clean." BECKI SALTZMAN - Before you sell your home, agree to a listing
California’s home prices at highest level in 5 years; competition intensifies
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS - Strong sales in higher-cost coastal regions and heated market conditions drove California's median home price to its highest level in March since May
South SF Bay Area market remains short on supply; sales mixed, prices rising
"For sellers, stick with the comparables and don"t be overzealous in pricing your property. For buyers, get yourself pre-approved for a mortgage before you start looking and be
Jekyll-Hyde real estate agent force closes deal
There's something both benevolent and sinister about this real estate agent. You'd like to join him for a spot of tea, but you wouldn't want to meet him in
Gen Yers buying homes sooner than expected in Silicon Valley
Generation Y or Gen Y, also known as the Millennial Generation, is poised to be the next big demographic to enter the housing market. Gen Y elders are already
Silicon Valley nonprofit buys, rehabs homes for first-time, moderate-income home buyers
NHSSV - Allen and Erin Johnson were more than a little discouraged in their attempts to buy a home. Time after time, they would make an offer on
Many consumers not buying into housing recovery
Housing affordability is up! Interest rates are at record lows! It's cheaper to buy then rent! Home prices are rising! The housing recovery is on! Buy now! Conditions are
How much home can you afford?
CHIP POLI – The last decade of housing market uncertainty has left many prospective home buyers wary and confused about how much home they can afford. Many home buyers
An open house can close the deal
KIM CLARK – Spring is in the air and right now, many homeowners begin to consider putting their homes up for sale. If you are one of those homeowners,
California home sales slump with short supply; demand boosts median price 21%
DATAQUICK - An estimated 28,719 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide last month. That was down 0.5 percent from 28,871 in January, and down 3.1 percent
SF Bay Area home sales droop with tight supply; median price off the hook, up 24.6%
"The last time the number of homes sold exceeded the historical average for a given month was back in 2006." DATAQUICK - San Francisco Bay Area home sales eased
South SF Bay Area’s low housing supply stifles sales, inflates bubble fears
The South San Francisco Bay Area's tumbling supply of homes for sale is causing prices to skyrocket, sales to crash and some market watchers to, well, see bubble. With
A good real estate agent speaks your language
LILLIAN MONTALTO - When you're buying a new home, you can't afford to have your needs lost in translation. However, it can be difficult to put into words exactly






















