Fremont Real Estate Blog

it's was interesting to read the guy's behind Zillow still believe in selling real estate through traditonal brokers. http://360digest.com/2007/03/30/some-real-estate-20-execs-still-choose-the-old-fashioned-way/

Just got off the phone with a lender, pitching a new variant on the option ARM. This one allows the minimum payment to based on 0.25% interest only payment. So on a $800,000 this program's minimum payment would be only $167 vs. a traditional minimum payment of $2,761 vs. the interest only being $4,583. Scenario # 1 2 3 Primary Loan $800,000 $800,000 $800,000 Loan Program minimum pmt minimum pmt @1.5% interest only Rate 0.250% 1.500% 6.625% Payment $167 $2,761 $4,583 The bank wants a 660 fico and the borrower can go stated or full doc. The interest rate fully indexed he quoted me was 6.875% fixed for 5 years, with a 3 year pre-pay and 1 point charged. Again as most you should know by my slogan on my business card "Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Options ARMs", I'm not a proponent of Option ARMs and todate have yet to originate even one. I still like to see the iterations that keep beng made of these produc...

I joined Union City's new sport center last week. They got state of the art exercise equipment, a great gym room to pay basketball, volleyball and badminton and free exercise classes. I attended the Sunday yoga class. It was okay. The facility is not as nice as Newark's Silliman center with it's mammoth indoor swim center, but it's way better than not having it. I love the fact it's only a 2 minute drive from the home. In the United Kingdom, city provided recreation centers are common place. Even when I visited Toronto, communities had massive indoor recreation centers to encourage active healthy lifestyles. My wish is that Union city annex the adjoining parcel of ancient industrial space and build that indoor swim center and additional parking. Fremont is planning a 10+ million outdoor swim recreation center where the old lagoon used to be in central park, which will be available to use 3 months out of the year. i think that's a huge waste of money, but hey I g...

Come by and visit on Sunday 1-4pm. at 34855 Starling Dr. #4, Union City, CA Year Built 1972 Sq Footage 798 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 1 Covered spaces Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $240 per month DESCRIPTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 BR/1BA Well-lit, inviting home. When you see this house you'll think: New! New! New! as in Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliances, Granite Countertop, sink, pergo flooring, ceiling fan, tub, bathroom vanity, bathroom window, and much more. You'll be proud to own this starter home.

Every week some new bank rep will come to my office telling me about their bank, and their products. Most of these folks are usually pitching sub-prime products (how low a FICO score they can qualify for) or Option ARMs (how many points I can make originating them). In the end I usually give them my business card and ask them to read my tag line on back of the card -"Friends Don't Let Friends buy Option ARMs ". Well, a couple of months back, a rep came in talking about a new product called a Hybrid ARM. On the surface a H ybrid ARM sounds great - (the marketing guys, who came up with the name, probably thought they could ride-share on the euphoria over Hybrid cars). Well in this case what you're buying is an Option ARM with a fixed rate. The argument these reps always gave me about Option ARMS, was that you get four options- 1. the option to pay the low monthly payment calculated using start rate of 1%-1-1.75% 2. the option to pay interest only 3. the option ...

this article on the risk of high-risk borrowers was published on Sunday. In general I am worried about the excess easy lending that took place in the sub-prime market. In the last 5 years sub-prime lenders we're offering loans to anyone with a pulse: 1 day out of bankruptcy - "no problem", mortgage lates - "no problem", in foreclosure - "no problem". Bankers with their loose guidelines were no worse than a prison warden who decided to hand out guns to every murderer upon completion of their term. However real estate pricing is determined locally. Palo Alto will always be Palo Alto. Similarly, Fremont's Mission School District is rated the top ten in the state, and the homes in its district are scarce. I'm not seeing price deterioration in prime neighborhoods but I am scared about the less desirable communities. I expect further price erosion in outlying areas (Tracy, Stockton, Modesto, Merced , Bakersfield, Redding ) neighborhoods with l...

Fremont Investment and loans - another subprime lender is exiting the business . The rate of fall-out of these sub-prime lenders seems to be accelerating. The marginal home buyers will definitely be forced out of the home buying business. I would definitely avoid buying property in outlying areas till you see investors come into the market. They'll be looking for break-even cash flow with 20% down. If you haven't done so already, you should all be putting your home equity lines in place to take advantage of the investment opps we'll be seeing this summer and fall.

There are currently two listings available in the Cambridge Way neighborhood. The older listing is at 4391 Cambridge Way. The listing agent is MICHAEL NUBLA from Pacific Coast Realtors. The home has been on the market since December 1, 2006. It was originally listed for $848,000 but reduced to $828,000 on 2/23/07. However given the last comp closed at $810,00, and prices in this neighborhood have been flat for the last year, I see it selling close to the comp, around $805K-$815K. The other home located at 30751 Oxford Way listed by Onnie Picart of Picart Realty is similar in size to the above home, and was listed on 2/17/07 for $845,800, and reduced on 3/1/07 to $835,800. This home is directly facing the mixed-use development sandwiched between Oxford Way and Union city Blvd. Because of the uncertainty of what the traffic might be like, as well as, the new neighbors that'll be living in the condos about the retail, I'd prefer the interior unit over the one on Oxford and wou...