Here’s a quick note to let you know how much we appreciate the people you refer to us.

Dave and I were just getting our paper work in order for tax time and looking closely over last years business and realized that approximately 75% of our business had come from referrals from excellent clients like you. When you refer people you care about to us, we can spend more of my time focusing on their needs while also working with clients like you. Now, that’s what we call a win-win situation!

Our goal is to build strong, lifelong relationships, one person at a time. Your heartfelt endorsement to others is the lifeblood of our business and we want to thank you.

Dave and Carla Higgins
www.DaveandCarla.com
510-595-7699


P.S. Who’s the next person you know who wants to work with a consultant who’s focused on their needs? Be sure to give us a call to discuss how we can be of service!

One of the most important, if not the most important, criteria for obtaining a mortgage and the lowest possible interest rate is by having an excellent credit scores.
We found an excellent article on how to improve your credit score.

10 tips for improving your credit standing
By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MW) -- There are about as many personal-finance resolutions as there are Americans to resolve them, and yet few of them are as wealth-enhancing as improving one's credit standing.
Over a lifetime, getting lower rates on mortgages, auto loans and credit-card debt can lead to hefty savings, enough to fund a good portion of any retirement
"Those who are A-credit vs. those who are D-credit throughout their work-life span will pay approximately $250,000 less in interest," said Paul Strassels, author of Credit When Credit Is Due, a financial-education program offered by consumer credit counseling agencies for about $50.
"You can pay a quarter of a million dollars to the credit card company or you can keep the quarter of a million and use it as you please and invest it in your own retirement," he said, adding that his estimate is based on an average 30-year home mortgage, car loans, and credit card debt.
And increasingly, even the types of jobs and rental housing available to you can depend on your credit score. "Credit has much further reaching implications than it used to," said David Chung, vice president of business development at CreditXpert, Inc., a maker of credit-assessment technology tools used by businesses to aid consumers, based in Towson, MD.
Credit reports are "used in many different ways outside of financial transactions, including employment screening," Chung said. "Even if you're going to rent an apartment, one of the first things they're going to do is check your credit. Based on that, apartment complexes will determine how much or whether or not you have to pay a security deposit."
To polish your creditworthiness and jump-start your savings, the first step is to determine your long-term financial goals. A consumer planning to buy a new car and a house should consider the order of those purchases carefully, Chung said.
For instance, it's beneficial to have at least one installment account on your credit file. A consumer with only revolving accounts might want to purchase the car first, so that installment loan boosts the credit score and improves mortgage offerings.
But if an auto loan is going to end up lowering your score -- perhaps by saddling you with a high level of debt -- wait until after you've gotten the mortgage, so you don't end up paying a premium on that longer-term debt.
The following are some more tips for ramping up your creditworthiness.
Be wary of credit scoring's hidden levers. Every time you apply for a new retail store credit card, your credit score takes a hit. And negative information that's old is sometimes better left alone, Chung says. A 5-year-old collection account loses its punch as it ages. When you pay it, "it goes from being a 5-year-old account to being a current collection account," he said. "It's better that it's paid, but it's worse that it's current and not 5 years old ... I don't want to advocate that people not pay back money that they owe, but it's important to understand what's going to happen when you pull which lever."
Don't consolidate credit-card debt and then close out old cards. Consumers who consolidate all cards into one are "effectively killing their credit history from other cards," said Steve Rhode, president of MyVesta.org, a nonprofit consumer-credit counselor. "If you're trying to improve your credit report, your credit history is one of the biggest factors."
Find your weaknesses. It's likely tattooed on most readers' brains by now, but checking your credit reports at all three reporting agencies -- Experian, Equifax, TransUnion -- remains crucial to understanding what credit-repair work lies ahead for you. Also, married couples should get individual reports, and consumers should collect FICO scores from all three reporting agencies. Among her clients, not one person has received the same score from all three agencies, said Deborah McNaughton, president of Professional Credit Counselors, a consumer-credit counseling firm. "Some of the creditors may only subscribe to one or two and not all of them, which would make a difference on the reporting (and) sometimes there may be inaccurate negative information on one report and not the other."
• Learn more about your credit score and credit reports• Get your credit score and your credit reports
Prioritize your debt. "Total up the damage from the holiday season and the previous year," said Kelly Rote, spokeswoman with Money Management International, a consumer credit counseling agency. "Write down the names of your creditors and how much you owe each and what interest rate they are charging. It gives you a sense of where you are. You need to assess where you are financially today before you can make goals for where you want to be tomorrow."
Consider consolidating your debt by refinancing your home.• Check out the E-LOAN Refinance mortgage calculator• See the latest rates at E-LOAN
Pay your bills on time, religiously, another key to improving credit scores. "The biggest impediment people face is not knowing what their debt is and when it is due on a monthly basis," Strassels said. "By prioritizing those bills that have to be paid, and then divvying up the balance of what you can afford to pay -- with a calendar of due dates -- you can prioritize the debts and you can get them paid in a timely manner every month." Also, married couples should pay bills together, so any divergent goals can be discussed each month, he said.
Pay credit-card debt down to about 30 percent of available credit limit. Exceeding that percentage of your credit limits can lead to a lower credit score.
Get visual. If you're determined to pay off credit-card debt in order to up your credit score to enable, say, a future home purchase, remind yourself why you're working so hard. Paste photos of your dream house -- or at least an affordable house -- near your computer or on your bathroom mirror.
Ease up on your charge card. "A lot of resolutions are 'I'm going to pay off all my credit cards' ... But they're still charging on the cards," McNaughton said. "If you're going to have a New Year's resolution of paying off all your credit card debt, then you need to quit charging. It sounds so simple, but that's what happens: They keep charging.
Negotiate with creditors. If you're struggling with debt and worried about late payments, get on the phone. You might say, "I know I owe you $200 this month, I can only pay you $20 and I need you to eliminate the interest and eliminate the late fee. What can you do for me?" Strassels said. "Learn to negotiate your way through the maze.
Weigh your debt load. If more than 10 percent of your income is going to pay off debt each month, get cracking on a budget. "Fifteen percent means red flags are going to start flying," McNaughton said. "Twenty percent and you've got problems." But remember: Don't include your mortgage payment in that debt calculation
Finally, don't let credit problems in the past stop you from planning for future goals, such as buying a home or car.
And remember that a bad credit

Here is an article we thought was interesting on buying a home without representation.

Are You a BUBBA?
Most people, whether in the real estate industry or not,have heard of a FSBO, For Sale By Owner, seller. The acronym has been used for quite awhile as there has always been a segment of the market that chose to sell their home directly to a new buyer. But, there's a new acronym being used by Realtors these days--BUBBA or Buyers Unrepresented By a Buyer's Agent. It is making it's way into the real estate agent vocabulary because this market segment is growing.
In 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors 2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, nearly a quarter of all sales (23%) were BUBBAs. Although many of these home buyers did work directly with a builder or at a sheriff's foreclosure sale, 9% purchased directly from the home seller.
The internet is probably the most contributing factor to the growth of this buying segment. Buyers are certainly more educated--shopping on-line for as many as 6 months prior to making their house purchase. The homes are listed on the web. There are guides as to how to purchase a home. The whole process is less mysterious and seemingly simple that many self-educated buyers are foregoing working with a Realtor.
Are You Considering BUBBA? Before you move forward unrepresented, here are a few things to consider.
BUBBA can cost more. Buyer's representation does not cost anything. But can save thousands. When you sign a contract for buyer representation, your agent owes specific fiduciary duties to you to work in YOUR best interest. They are required to keep your information confidential. A Realtor does this as a profession, not once every 10 years like most buyers. They are experienced in negotiating a deal on a home that is in your best interest.
So how does a buyer's agent get paid? Every home listed in the MLS states a commission agreed upon by the seller with his agent to be paid to the buyer's agent of the particular home. Yes, the seller pays the fee for you to your agent.
But this does raise the question, "If I buy directly from the seller and he doesn't pay a commission, won't I get a better price?"
Probably not. Think about it this way, the seller set the price in the first place. If he is not working with an agent, how can you be certain that you received a good price on the home? And why would a seller, who doesn't know you, give you the savings he intended to pocket by not hiring an agent.
In this buyer's market, with so many different homes to choose from, it is easy to be overwhelmed in the purchasing process. What if the seller is has a charasmatic personality who uses a three year old refinancing appraisal to set his price? Is it a good deal?--Probably not.
Buying a home is not as simple as walking into a discount store for a new computer...And that can be overwhelming. There are details to a purchase that many home buyers just don't anticipate. How old is the roof? When can we take possession after closing? Is the septic system in compliance or does it need to be replaced? Are there encroachments, like a neighboring fence or driveway sharing issues? Are there assessments pending and who will pay for them?
All of these are situations an experienced Realtor will try to anticipate and resolve in writing as the transaction moves toward the closing.
Some people are accidental BUBBAS. They start out in a "learning" stage...That time period of six months to years where they are "dreaming" of a new home but don't want to commit or be pressured into a contract. They wander into an open house and it IS their dream home. Since they didn’t have an agent when they first came in, they feel uncomfortable informing the seller that they want representation and just move forward without one.
As a Realtor, I try to coach potential clients into developing a relationship with an agent early in the process. If you want to see a home, contact that agent and sign a contract for a specific house. That way your interests would be represented, if the house is perfect for your family. But you would not be locked into a 6 month contract, if you are not ready to make a decision.
Before becoming part of this growing trend in home purchasing, do research and carefully consider your options. You may be giving up more than you think to when making the one of the most important financial decisions of your life.

For Sale By Owner

In all markets you hear people say ”I am going to sell my home myself and not waste the money I would spend on realtor commissions.” Is there really a savings? We have clients who learned, first hand, the hard way that “For Sale by Owner” may actually cost the home sellers much more than the commissions saved.
The fact is that Real Estate professionals do more for their sellers than just make the transactions go easier; They make them money. On average a seller that uses a real estate professional makes 16 percent more on their sale than those that go at it alone. This statistic is from the 2005 NAR profile of Buyers and Sellers.


Recent clients of ours learned that “For Sale by Owner” can actually cost sellers money as opposed to saving commissions. Our clients decided to uproot from Idaho and move to Oakland to be closer to other family members after the birth of their second child. Having been shrewd investors they decided to spend $600 on a “Sale Your Own Home” class and set out to do just that. The next 10 months were a hideous saga of spending hundreds of dollars to advertise the home, being available to show the home to mostly, unqualified “deal seekers” and not securing any offers. After feeling discouraged, they eventually, met with a real estate agent and allowed the agent to take control of all the details of the home prep and sale. Within 3 weeks that had an offer from a qualified buyer and were finally able to make the move to the Bay Area.

A seasoned agent knows best on how to properly prepare a home for show, maximize value and to market it accordingly to make sure that it has as much exposure to potential buyers. A real estate professional is going to have a more objective approach to showing a home than the seller who may be offended by critical comments. A real estate agent will also prescreen potential buyer’s financial capabilities via pre-approval from a lender to ensure that all offers that come in are viable. The majority of buyers do choose to work with a real estate agent, however, most agents prefer not to work with a “For Sale by Owner” due to potential legal ramifications due to lack of disclosure from the seller and having to virtually regulate both sides of the transaction for minimal pay.

This Rare Corner Unit in the Sierra features walls of glass surrounding two sides of the main living area. Dramatic 18 foot ceilings, open kitchen – entertainment area, in-unit laundry with top of the line Bosch Washer & Dryer, upper plus room overlooking the living area, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops in the kitchen and limestone vanities in both bathrooms. Additionally, you have a lower patio off the entrance and an upper deck of your master suite. Truly a must see! The Sierra offers a chic two-story lobby and the buildings third floor offers an outdoor heated pool, sauna and sundeck as well as a media room w/flat screen TV and pool table. Fitness center and cardio theater, business center, conference rooms and library are also part of the buildings top rated amenities. Take the video tour! Get all the other details!

Labels: Real Estate

This sweet Berkeley homes offers a three bedroom, one bath layout with warm hardwood oak floors through-out the cheerful living and dining rooms. The kitchen has an attached laundry room and features many upgraded appliances and plenty of cabinet space as well as a side exit out to the right of the house. The back bedroom which is considered the master has wonderful doors that walk out on to a large exotic hardwood deck with its own sunken hot tub, perfect for use year around with Berkeley’s mild climate. The lower portion of the house can be accessed from an exterior side door where you will find a cement floor and room for lots of storage. A large portion of the foundation on this home has been replaced and you can see the quality craftsmanship that went into the job when underneath the home. Also below is a top of the line On Demand Hot Water System, which will virtually allow you an endless supply of hot water and a newer high efficiency Bryant forced air gas heating system. The lot this home sits on is well over 5000 square feet and shows via the enormous grassy back yard. Fenced in and private, this yard is ideal for most every homeowners needs with automatic sprinklers and fabulous plants such as Meyer Lemon & Kefir Lime trees as well as rose bushes, Jasmine plants, Morning Glories and more. Also located in the back is a large, detached two car garage. Currently being used for storage, this garage could be used for cars by simply altering the fence configuration leading back across the driveway. Located just blocks from many different Berkeley shops and restaurants including Berkeley’s renowned 4th Street area this home speaks the words of opportunity! Take a Virtual Tour!

Labels: Real Estate

OVER 55? CALIFORNIA PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

Since its passage, Proposition 13 prohibits property tax increases until property ownership is changed.
If either spouse is over age 55 (when the old home is sold), PROP 60 allows replacement of a primary residence with a new home of equal or lesser value (but see below) within the same county and transfer of the Prop 13 assessed valuation from the old home to the new property. This is allowed once in your lifetime, and a spouse who has done it before 'taints' both spouses.
PROP 90 allows counties to elect to accept transfers of Prop 13 values for moves from other counties when a primary residence is replaced with a less expensive (but see below) home. If you are over 55 and move into a county which accepts Prop 90, you may take your old, lower Prop 13 value, regardless of from which county you move.
Using Prop 90, you can sell your $400,000 San Francisco home [assessed value $80,000] and move to a new $300,000 home in San Mateo; the new San Mateo assessed value will be $80,000!
7 COUNTIES WHICH ACCEPT PROP 90 (Current as of 6/1/2005)
Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Ventura. [Contra Costa, Inyo, Kern, Riverside, Modoc, Monterey, and Marin have dropped out of the Prop 90 program.]
Props 60 and 90 apply if you "trade down" (i.e. the new home costs less than the sales price of the old home).
> If you buy New Home 1st; then sell the Old Home, you must go down in price.
> If you sell the Old Home1st; then buy the New Home:
In 1st 365 days after the sale of Old Home, you may go up 5% in the purchase price of New Home.
If you buy New Home more than 1 year from the sale of Old Home, but less than 2 years, you may go up 10%.
Some buyers can pay the commission outside of escrow to lower to sales price. Example: I sold for $100,000 and then want to buy next week for $120,000. The seller will owe a commission of $7,200. The seller will owe $2,800 of other expenses
I sold 1st so I must buy for no more than $105,000. If I pay the seller's expenses of $10,000, the price is down to $110,000.

Here is an article we found on how "Do it Yourself" Online Home Evaluations can be Inaccurate

Determining home's market value

If only there was a foolproof method for figuring out what a property is worth on the open market. Then it would be easy to know how much to offer so that you wouldn't overpay, or risk losing out because you offered too little. Home sellers could price to sell without having to endure a series of price reductions and months on the market.
Some buyers and sellers turn to Internet sites like Zillow.com to help them through the valuation quagmire -- with varying degrees of success. A San Francisco home buyer recently got caught up in this approach when he made an offer on an attractive new listing.
The seller's agent advised the seller to list under the $2 million mark to stimulate interest. The seller, who understood that the market was challenging, took this advice and listed the property for $1.895 million.
The buyer relied on Zillow.com for pricing information when he made his offer. As it turned out, he offered too little. The seller received two offers and the property sold for $2.1 million.
The problem with Internet sites that purport to tell you what a property is worth is that they usually derive their data from the public records. This data might include such things as the last recorded sale price, the square footage or numbers of bedrooms and baths.
The sale price alone can be misleading in neighborhoods where there is a lot of variability in the size, price and condition of houses. Also, the square footage figures and room counts recorded in the public records are often wrong, either because they're out of date or they weren't right in the first place.
For example, a home recently sold on Trestle Glen Road in Oakland, Calif. The information provided by Zillow indicates that the property sold for $951,000. The additional information indicates that the house has two bedrooms, one bath and 1,470 square feet. If you were to rely on this information and pay around $950,000 for another two-bedroom house in the neighborhood, you would probably pay too much.
Actually, the house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a usable basement. There is also a detached studio on the property with a two-bedroom, one-bath guest cottage attached that was built with a building permit. The two-bedroom, one-bath, 1,470-square-foot house really has a lot more to offer for $951,000 than was indicated on Zillow.com.
Before the recent sale of the Trestle Glen property, Zillow gave it a value of $726,683. If you'd used this information as a guide to the appropriate offer price, you'd have been out of luck. The sellers listed their property at $849,000 and received six offers.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: The best way to find out what a property is worth is to consult with a real estate professional who is knowledgeable in the area in which you want to buy or sell. The Internet has revolutionized the real estate business in a positive way. But you can't expect the Internet to factor in the nuances of pricing that can only be understood through years of experience selling homes in the area.
It's helpful to visit Sunday open houses to get a feel for local property values. Keep track of what sells and for how much, and what doesn't sell. The key is to see the listings before they sell. Then you'll understand why the three-bedroom house that had been completely remodeled sold for so much more than the house next door that hadn't been touched in 30 years.
THE CLOSING: It's hard to find this kind of information on the Internet.

Is Now The Time To Buy? by Dave and Carla Higgins

We were recently asked to contribute to an article being written for Money Magazine about how now is actually and excellent time to be a buyer in the Real Estate market. Several of our clients who have recently entered the market had been sitting on the sidelines, some as long as 4 years, waiting for the right timing to make a real estate purchase. So, many do agree that there are several reasons why now may be one of the best times to purchase real estate.

Interest Rates are Still Low

The media has given a lot of attention to interest rates being on the rise. The fact is that even with a little fluctuation they still remain at near historic lows. When Dave and I made our first joint real estate purchase in the early 1990's rates for a Non-Jumbo, Good Credit score were nearing 8.5%. With current stabilization in housing prices with interest rates still near historic lows this create an excellent opportunity for real estate purchases.

National Trends

Much is made of national trends and with good reason: National trends are easy to track, get lots of attention, and provide useful benchmarks.
That said, national trends do not reflect a baseline reality: Real estate is local. If the local population is growing, if the nearby job base is increasing, if nearby new home starts are not sufficient to meet demand, and if mortgage rates are low then you can logically expect local home values to rise over time. It's not a guarantee -- there are no guarantees -- but price increases in such situations are at least reasonable.

Perspective

We live in an era of measures, numbers and statistics. For instance, the January jobless rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reached 4.6 percent, .03 percent higher from a year earlier.

But did you also know that in January the total number of (non Farm) job holders increased by 111,000 positions? Did you know that while 7 million people were unemployed, 146 million had jobs? Did you know that a 4.6 percent unemployment rate is considered "full employment" by many economists?

As a nation we've been having several economic concerns and with past experience any blip on the economic radar tends to get noticed. That's fair and we should be concerned. At the same time, let's not ignore the whole picture. Most people are doing well -- and will continue to do so.

A Look At The Whole Picture

Most people have jobs today and will have jobs tomorrow. Will there be tough times in certain industries? Absolutely. Will some communities be hurt? Yes. But you need to ask what realistically is your own situation. Have you lost your job? Is your job in jeopardy? Is your household income about to decline?

If no, then what about your housing needs? If you need to buy a first home, if you would like to move-up, what objective barriers stand in your way?

It's true that some prospective buyers will delay purchases because of the current slow-down -- and for some buyers postponement makes sense. But the issue is not what other people are doing, it's the question of what's best for you given your particular circumstances.

At the very least, review your personal finances, check mortgage rates, take a look at your local marketplace, and consider your needs. You may find that now is indeed a very good time to be a buyer.