Fremont Real Estate Blog

I first read this story probably around 1988, when I was graduating from Berkeley. It's as inspiring today as it was for me then. The Hot Dog Vendor A Man lived by the side of the road...and sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes, so he had no newspaper. But he sold good hot dogs. He put up a sign on the highway, telling how good they were. He stood by the side of the road and cried, "Buy a hot dog, mister!" And People bought. He increased his meat and bun order, and he bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade. He got his son home from business school to help him. But then something happened. His son said, "Father, haven't you been listening to the radio? There's a big depression on. The international situation is terrible, and the domestic situation is even worse." Whereupon the father thought, "Well, my son has gone to college. He listens to the radio and reads the newspaper, so he...

This came to me from CAR, and I always wondered about what to do with dirty paper. C.A.R. GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK: RECYCLING NO-NOS Here are five things that, according to http://www.earth911.org/ , will contaminate or thwart paper mills' attempts to recycle paper and cardboard: - Oil and water don't mix. That large pizza box with the oil imprint will become recycled paper with an oil stain. - Did your napkin or paper towel blot up a water spill or nail polish remover ? It could have been the latter, and, for this reason, napkins and paper towels are not recyclable. - Plastic linings added to paper products ; a perfect example is paper cups. - Wet newspapers . - Pressure-sensitive adhesives , such as sticky notes, postage stamps, and address labels.

highlights are: AMT Patch. Currently, a taxpayer receives an exemption of $33,750 (individuals) and $45,000 (married filing jointly) under the AMT. Current law also does not allow personal credits against the AMT. At the end of last year, H.R. 3996 increased the exemptions to $44,350 and $66,250, respectively, and allowed the personal credits against the AMT to hold the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT at bay. The provision expired December 31, 2007. The proposal increases the exemption amounts to $46,200 (individuals) and $69,950 (married filing jointly) for 2008. The proposal will also allow the personal credits against the AMT. The estimated cost of this proposal is $61.817 billion over ten years. Qualified Tuition Deduction. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) created an above-the-line tax deduction for qualified higher education expenses. The maximum deduction was $4,000 for taxpayers with AGI of $65,000 or less ($130,000 for joint returns) or $2...

the city councill will be voting on a ban to developing "monster homes on Tuesday at 7pm at City Hall. Homes with predominantly single story homes will have the chance to block construction of two-story homes adn additions for as long as 7 years. This is a big issue for the Glenmoor and Mission Ranch community, where existing owners want to preserve the look and feel of their neighborhood.

White roofs are energy savers. I took a picture of this home in the Cabrillo neighborhood of Fremont. It's not totally white, but it'll be a better job of reflecting heat than a black roof. pros and cons If you're considering re-roofing, consider doing a ligher/whiter cooler to save money in cooling the home in the summer.

Short sale is a common tool for home owners under a mortgage stress to sell property, with the lender's permission and relief of a mortgage which may exceed the sale proceeds. In this mortgage crisis, often the loan amounts which are obligated against the property exceed the value. Many are unwilling or unable to continue to pay on the mortgage and default on that obligation. The lender's remedy is foreclosure. Foreclosure is a very serious stain on the credit and will remain for many years. There is generally a belief that a short sale, which is also a form of mortgage forgiveness, is not as serious a blot on the credit as one that would be caused by a foreclosure. A foreclosure process takes a minimum of 4 to 6 months to complete, and is very costly to the lender. At the end, if the property reverts to the lender for its defaulted obligations, the lender must keep, maintain and eventually sell the property via the real estate brokerage market. In a short sale, the lenders com...

It's been a crazy last three weeks. It's a good thing I run a small shop, or the government would have had to bail me out with a couple of billion dollars too. The thing I can't understand is why were all these so called "smart people" investing in such junk. Hell, I could have hired a hockey mom to run these companies. I know a lot of you are waiting for better rates on conforming jumbo loans, but you have to ask yourself, if we have fewer and fewer banks standing, will rates go up or down? Get it done, before there's no one left to do it with. -Sunil p.s. How do you like the new site for SMA Financing. Yes, I know I need new pictures, but like I said, I run a small shop and can't spend billions on professional photo shoots like Stan O'Neal formerly at Merrill Lynch . Call me (510) 793-8600 to get set-up for my new rate alert system. Testimonials Our Mortgage Loan Officers Always Put the Customer First, Taking You Forward

Rate got better when Fannie & Freddie got taken over ( which no one really understands why), and then they got even better with the collapse of Lehman. So you’d have thought there would have been a mad rush of refinances for all those 5/1 ARMs expired and expiring in the next 6 months, but no most borrowers remain optimistic that rates will get better. Unfortunately, the last time we had great rates was in May 2008 and they were good for 2-3 days and then crapped out, which is what the pattern has been this year. Rates get good for 1 or 2 days,a nd than jump back up. You need to take advantage of lower rates when they appear.

The Following are Refinance Rates are for 9/17/08:: Conforming 30 Year Fixed 6.250% Rate 6.253% APR No Points. No Closing Cost. Refinance rate. Pricing based on 720 credit score, 40% Debt to Income Ratio, 80% Loan to Value Ratio, $400000 Loan Amount, 21 Lock Days, Qualified Borrowers Only. APR does not include Mortgage Insurance costs. Conforming 15 Year Fixed 5.875% Rate 5.875% APR No Points. No Closing Costs. Refinance Rate. Pricing based on 720 credit score, 40% Debt to Income Ratio, 80% Loan to Value Ratio, $400000 Loan Amount, 21 Lock Days, Qualified Borrowers Only. APR does not include Mortgage Insurance costs. Conforming 5 Year ARM 6.500% Rate 6.502% APR No Points. No Closing Costs. Refinance Rate Pricing based on 720 credit score, 40% Debt to Income Ratio, 80% Loan to Value Ratio, $400000 Loan Amount, 21 Lock Days, Qualified Borrowers Only. APR does not include Mortgage Insurance costs. Conf Jumbo 30 Year Fixed 6.750% Rate 6.751% APR No Points. No Closing Costs. Refinance rate....

I've eaten there 3-4 times now. It's as good as Sala Thai (close by), and Simply Thai (Newark). My Thai which was a favorite has been too inconsistent so I've stopped going there. It's in the same shopping center as Smart & Final and Shalimar ‎ . The uniqueness of this place is you could host a part for 60-80 people here. It's well lighted and the decorations are tasteful.

The Following are Refinance Rates:: Conforming 30 Year Fixed 6.000% Rate 6.004% APR No Points. No Closing Cost. Refinance rate. Pricing based on 720 credit score, 40% Debt to Income Ratio, 80% Loan to Value Ratio, $400000 Loan Amount, 21 Lock Days, Qualified Borrowers Only. APR does not include Mortgage Insurance costs. Conforming 15 Year Fixed 5.625% Rate 5.625% APR No Points. No Closing Costs. Refinance Rate. Pricing based on 720 credit score, 40% Debt to Income Ratio, 80% Loan to Value Ratio, $400000 Loan Amount, 21 Lock Days, Qualified Borrowers Only. APR does not include Mortgage Insurance costs. Conforming 5 Year ARM 6.375% Rate 6.377% APR No Points. No Closing Costs. Refinance Rate Pricing based on 720 credit score, 40% Debt to Income Ratio, 80% Loan to Value Ratio, $400000 Loan Amount, 21 Lock Days, Qualified Borrowers Only. APR does not include Mortgage Insurance costs. Conf Jumbo 30 Year Fixed 6.375% Rate 6.377% APR No Points. No Closing Costs. Refinance rate. Pricing based o...

I spoke out the $100,000 limit on the cash-out conforming jumbo recently. Let me share something one Chase lender rep just sent me. Borrower had purchase money 2nd HELOC (the money used to buy the house). The borrower went back to SAME lender to modify from HELOC to a fixed loan. No cash was drawn. Lender issues new loan number, a new note and records a new deed. Now he's trying to refinance the 1st and 2nd into a new conforming jumbo. The new loan was submitted to Chase as a rate-term refinance because the existing 1st and 2nd were purchase money loans. Chase's Underwriter countered the loan to be treated as a cash-out refinance as the current 2nd was no longer a purchase money, because it had a new loan #, note and deed or trust. The broker and I pushed all the way up Chase Management and the answer was no. Then I had the broker call FNMA and when we got a positive answer asked Chase to call FNMA to confirm. FNMA said if the broker can provide the purchase money HUD1 and the ...

we've had the new conforming jumbo since about April 2008, and lot of you have been asking to consolidate your existing 1st and 2nd's into this product which until 12/31/07 has a max limit of $729,750. Unfortunately, if your 2nd is greater than $100k, your out of luck since the guidelines don't allow more than a $100k consolidation (cash-0ut). For example if you had a: 1st loan of $350K 2nd loan of $80K 3rd loan of $100K Total debt of $530k it would be nice to get one new 30 yr fixed for $530k, unfortunately the way to get their involves multiple refinances. 1st you'd refinance to $417,000 on the 1st and choose to subordinate the existing 3rd for $100k. Since the current 1st and 2nd = $430k you would need to come up with $13K to close. All of this assume your FICO and LTV are within the lender's guidelines (think FICO 720 min and LTV So now after you complete the 1st finance you move on to the 2nd one. This time you get a new loan for $517,000 (remember we're ca...

This press release was released today by CAR. The synopsis is that the two GSE's are expected to increase funding of loans until 2010, which is good for the industry since they're currently the only funding game in town, but don't expect looser guidelines and a return to stated-stated loan program. -sunil ------------- Monday, September 08, 2008 Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Sept. 8, 2008Dear C.A.R. Member:This weekend, the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), into a conservatorship. The federal government is authorized to take up to an 80 percent stake in the companies, and, as part of its duties under the conservatorship, will review both Fannie’s and Freddie’s financial condition quarterly, as well as inject money into the operations as needed. Under the conservatorship, both GSEs will be allowed to increase their mortgage funding over the next year and a half, then, beginning i...

If you have an interest in New Haven's School's Please Join this new Yahoo Group! ------ THE FOLLOWING IS INFORMATION ABOUT A NEW YAHOO GROUP CREATED BY PARENTS FOR PARENTS WHO WISH TO DISCUSS ISSUES RELATED TO THE NEW HAVEN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT ______________________________________ We have set up a new Yahoo group for the purpose of discussing any and all issues related to the New Haven Unified School district. This group will not be limited to Ponderosa Cove residents, and can include anyone in Union City who has an interested in talking with other parents about these matters. If you are interested in subscribing, please send a message to: parents_nhusd- subscribe@ yahoogroups. com We are hearing many horror stories about the effect of dimishing budgets and questionable decision by the district. If you know people outside of our neighborhood who are concerned about the school district issues, please invite them to join the new group.For those of you in P. Cove who are in...

of note New Haven Unified (Union City schools) Hillview went up 71 point to 778. That's a heck of an improvement. 3 cheers to administration and students and to the district for the accomplishment. Delaine Eastin is still the best performing elementary in Union City with an API of 889 down slightly form last year's 895. Alvardo Middle school jumped an impressive 38 points to get a score of 806, making it New Haven's 1st school to score above 800. If New Haven can break 900 I'm buyer's will start buying in Union City for schools, which can only help raise prices.

Pizza and Curry signage off of Fremont Blvd. my eye and I stopped into to see what it was about. They just opend and are a combination Desi Pizza and Curry restaurant (limited seating). If you like Desi pizza (like you get a Kid's Castle), they this looks interesting. Unfortunately I wasn't in the mood for pizza so I'll try it another time. However if you do try it, please let me know what you thought.

Try to make tonight's kick-off rally for Measure UU which will be on this November's ballot. what follows is the invitation email I received. I plan on being there. -Sunil Date: September 8, 2008 Time: 7:00 PM Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Union City In the November 2008 election, Union City voters will see a very important public safety measure on the ballot. We know that you are concerned about this issue and we need your support. In 2004, voters overwhelmingly approved a public safety parcel tax that provided huge benefits to our city. Soon, those services will cease to be available, as the tax comes to an end. Violent crime has dropped, but losing the funding provided by the tax measure may reverse that trend. Voters must again come through and provide support for these vital, life-saving services. We need volunteers, donations, endorsements, and sign locations. Please attend the September 8 meeting, and learn how you can help protect Union City. We are counting on you to h...

check out my mom's neighbor's garden. They tore-out the existing non-productive garden and put in a full production garden. All passerby's in the community have been marveling at it. We've been getting some amazing tomatoes and squash from it.