Looking to buy a home or condo? Want to make it as easy and hassle free as possible? Want to help position yourself to be in a stronger position than other buyers?

There are two simple things people in the market to buy real estate can do to help make the whole process easier. The first is to get pre-qualified with a lender. Don't delay on this one! The lending market is undergoing dramatic changes, procrastinating can cost you the home of your dreams.

Many buyers start thinking, start looking, and when they feel that they're near to making a decision to purchase their home, then they contact a lender. This is ass-backwards - especially for first-time  buyers. Get pre-qualified first.

Pre-qualification gives the buyer the information they need about what they can afford. It takes the guess work and wishing out of the equation. In other words, it brings the whole process of purchasing a home into CPR - concrete physical reality - where it needs to be.

Getting pre-qualified, means having the ability to make a firm offer when finding the right home.

The other thing buyers can do to make finding a home a smoother ride is highlighted in this post from Elizabeth Weintraub:

How MLS Works - My neighbor, across the street, told me I did not need to send her MLS listings because she could access them online. For a moment, I wondered if maybe she was a licensed as a real estate agent or maybe as an appraiser. But no, turns out she thought she could find online listings through the Sacramento Bee.

Getting on an MLS Listing Alert service will save a buyer many hours of time, lots of confusion, and will help provide the opportunity to get there first with their offer. Listing Alerts are individual emails directly from the MLS datbase that are sent when new listings come on the market matching a buyer's criteria. Why spend hours searching through Craigslist or other sites. Each Listing Alert email has a link allowing the buyer to halt the process with a single click.

These are the two pieces of advice we constantly stress to buyers.  

Thanks to Jim Cronin over at The Real Estate Tomato for this introduction to Elizabeth Weintraub

I was so impressed that I have declared this to be Elizabeth Weintraub Day at The Harper Team Blog and am doing two posts to celebrate. This post is for Home Buyers and features some of Elizabeth’s great posts for home buyers.

If you are a looking to buy a home in San Ramon, Dublin or Pleasanton, CA., then you will want to read these posts by Elizabeth:

Buying Strategies for a Slowing Market

Forget the Year of the Boar, which is the Chinese New Year Animal for 2007. This is the Year of the Buyer. Many agents are saying, "If you are a buyer, come sit by me! You can relax on a soft leather chair, and I'll get the title guys to give you a foot massage. Would you like a glass of champagne?"

Yup. You real estate buyers can snap your fingers and everybody in the industry today will snap to attention. You run the show. And I don't mean YOU in a Times Magazine sort of way. The world of real estate, as we know it in 2007, belongs to the buyer. Buyers rule.

Before You Buy Your First Home - Tips for First-time Home Buyers

It's not uncommon for a first-time home buyer to say to me, "Gosh, just last week I called you about buying a home and now I'm in escrow! How did this happen so fast?"

The answer is it didn't. First-time home buyers start the search long before most even realize it.

When is the Best Time to Buy a Home? 

Which Days of the Year Are Buyers More Likely to Get Low-Ball Offers Accepted?

When is the best time of the year to buy a home? There are at least two days of the year that give buyers the edge. Would you like to guess which two days are best for buying a home? 

Buying a Home in a Down Market 

Should You Wait to Buy in a Down Market of Falling Home Prices?

Everybody wants to know how to best time the market when buying a home. It's just natural. Especially if you're thinking about buying in a down market where homes prices are declining. You wonder how low they will go and whether you should wait, right?

I'm also throwing in this post by Kent Palmer @ Realty Blogging as it is also on target.

The real estate market right now is, without a doubt, easier on buyers than it is sellers. There is an over abundance of property on the market, especially in the Denver market. This gives buyers hope that they will be able to find the perfect home, at the right price in no time at all. The problem is that there is an over abundance of crap. Abused, under appreciated, lender owned and abandoned properties. The kind of place nobody wants to call home.

Buyers quickly get frustrated. Viewing, property after property and finding nothing near the perfect home. And don't forget about, the always frustrating… "I'm sorry that just went under contract this morning." call that usually follows your client proclaiming "we finally found it!" All of these things lead buyers to wonder, is it really a buyers market?

The Harper Team specializes in residential real estate in the communities of San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton, CA. We work out of the Danville office of Keller Williams Realty.

You can chat with us in real time through the Instant Messenger widget in the side bar of our blog. 

Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, CA

Is there hope for first-time buyers of California real estate? 

“California has a limited supply of land in private hands that can be developed and very high costs of government regulation and impact fees, which means we really can’t see new home prices dropping significantly. While there remains great pent-up demand for lower-cost homes, government constraints now make it all but impossible to build homes for first-time buyers, so most builders have no choice but to build homes to meet the demand in the higher price ranges,” Robert Rivinius, CBIA’s President and CEO, said.

BusinessWeek.com

"In so many of these markets, housing became extremely unaffordable," says David Stiff, chief economist at Brookfield (Wisc.)-based financial data processor Fiserv Lending Solutions (FISV), who expects average U.S. home prices to appreciate only 0.1% overall in 2007. "Prices moving back in line with household income sets the stage for price appreciation in the future."

First-time buyers in San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton have been taking advantage of zero-down  financing programs to get into their first house. With foreclosures & lending fraud on the rise it is imperative that first-time buyers read the fine print and choose reputable agents to work with.

The Harper Team works with several highly qualified mortgage agents, all with proven track records. There are still some great zero down programs out there fro first-time buyers.

if you're looking for your first home in Pleasanton, San Ramon or Dublin, California, give us a call and see what a professional team can do to help you get into your dream home. 

The housing market is showing signs of stabilizing. We wrote about this less than a week ago. It's time for buyers to consider moving or losing - negotiating currency. As the real estate market returns to "normal" in San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton, negotiating leverage will also normalize.

Right now, many sellers are still feeling the crunch of too much time on the market, decreasing home prices, and too much inventory for too few buyers. This is about to change and buyers that thought they could wait a couple more weeks to make a better deal are going to experience the "Huh, what happened?"

Our advice continues to be - buyers & sellers - educate yourself. Keep abreast of the housing market trends in your areas of interest. The Harper Team monitors over 50 Real Estate and News Feeds daily to bring you information pertinent to the San Ramon Valley & TriValley real estate market including the communities of Danville, San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton, California.

Fortune.com - 6 Strategies to Survive the Bust

• Lower Your Expectations
• Drive a hard bargain
• Consider renting
• Step away from the exotic mortgage
• Shop for a rate drop
• Keep an eye on your equity

First-Time Home Buyers Look at Houses Again by Ruth Simon • The Wall Street Journal Online

Dow Tops 12,500 after Upbeat Housing Data • BusinessWeek.com

Another Sign Housing Slump May Be at End by Bob Willis • Bloomberg News

Search our blog articles via the Tag Cloud - just click on a word that interests you.

Condo Tips for Buyers in the communities of San Ramon, Dublin, and Pleasanton, California. 

Our fellow Keller Williams Realtor Michael Roess, of iMetroproperty.com is a condo expert with experience developing and selling condos in San Francisco, New York, and Minneapolis. Michael has put together a list of pointers for potential condo buyers.

Consider this your 2007 how to buy a condo primer:

Select the building(s) you are interested in very carefully:

Smaller Buildings (20 units or less)

• Be cautious of buildings that have too many and two few units.
• Buildings that have too few units can be difficult to manage and control the common area expense (association dues).
• It is difficult to find a property a property management company that will devote much time to a building that has fewer than 20 units.
• Property management companies also charge a minimum management fee of $15,000-$18,000 and this can become a big expense per unit if there are only 10 units and this fee is negotiable if the building has a large number of units.
• Be cautious of self-managed associations as this can cause conflict among resident and is uncomfortable (similar to a shared driveway).
• When a large capital assessment arrives (roof, parking lot, exterior maintenance or replacement or boiler expense) this can result in a large assessment per unit.

Larger Buildings (100 Units or more)

• Most loft and condo buyers are first or second time buyers and will live in the property 3-5 years so resale is a very important issue.
• At any point in time it is likely that 5-7% of the units in any building will be for sale in any particular building
• If the building has 400+ units like River West, River Station or The Towers you will be competing with 30 units when you decide to sell.
• When we show a Buyer a large building that has many units for sale we find that they have a hard time recalling any one particular units they saw that day.
• It is sometimes difficult to have a voice in a large building if you are concerned about homeowner’s dues or other issues as the association tends to be run by the management company (and their fee is often based on the expenses to run the building).
• These buildings tend to have a great amenities package (swimming pool, health clubs, business centers, etc.)

Over the years we have found the following to be a good safe bet:

• Mid size buildings that are well located (Warehouse District or Mill District).
• Buildings that are unique (warehouse conversions or well designed new construction where the developer has not repeated their work over and over).
• End units or units higher in the building.
• Ground floor units are good provided there is something special (larger deck/on a green space/not on a city street).
• Homeowner’s dues that are 20-30 cents per square foot when you pay your own heat and utilities; 30-40 when it is included (stay away from older large buildings with high dues).

 Pick the right tool for the job (get an agent that knows the market):

While friends and relatives are great they will often not possess the in depth knowledge of various buildings to help you make the best decision (an experienced agent will be able to tell you which buildings have been a success and why and which units were popular within a particular building).

• Have your agent run the market time for pending and sold units in the buildings you are considering.
• Have your agent analyze then number of listings that have been cancelled or expired as a percentage of listed by building.
• Have your Agent ask the property manager how many foreclosures there have been in the building you are interested for the past 24 months (seller could not sell and ultimately the property was foreclosed).
• Have your Agent determine how much the dues have changed over the past three to five years.
• Ask the property manager if they are expecting any special assessments for capital improvements and if there are funds in reserve to cover this type of expense should it occur.
• Weigh the possibility of increasing interest rates against a building that will not be finished for 12-24 months to determine if you would still want/qualify for the payment if it were higher.
• Educate yourself on recent mortgage practices/products (go to www.behindthemortgage.com for information).
• Interview three lenders and ask them for an example of a recent transaction for a loft or condo so that you can audit their fees.

The Harper Team has extensive experience in the sale and purchase of condos in the San Ramon Valley and TriValley areas of California. We keep abreast of new projects and conversion projects. We have had a great deal of success getting first-time buyers into their first home.