When Should A Buyer Do a Walk Through of a Palo Alto Home?

A buyer's final walk through of the home they are purchasing in Palo Alto can be done anytime before closing. It is ideal if it can be done after the seller has moved out, but not essential, and sometimes that is not possible.

The purpose of the walk through is to make sure the home is in a similar condition as when you made the offer. You want to make sure that nothing new has happened and that nothing new is broken. It is not a contingency of closing. So for example, if the stove has broken, you would still be obligated to close, but the seller would be obligated to have it fixed. You can do a walk through up to the day of closing but early that day.  It would have to be before recording, so that you could prove that if something broke it is the seller's responsibility. If something stops working after closing then the home protection plan will get it fixed, but if it is very close to closing then they may want proof that it was working when you closed. The walk through and the inspection reports can be used as proof.

Another purpose of a walk through is to allow the seller to show the buyer how certain things work that may not be obvious. Every house has its own little quirks, and sometimes there are complicated systems that need to be explained. I once had a client who bought a 900 square foot Palo Alto home where the walk through took 3 hours because the seller had installed so many complicated landscaping systems.

So, there is no absolutely right or wrong time to do the walk through, but they should be done. You do not want to close on a house and discover that the previous owners took the newly laid sod (true story) with them, or worse yet, your Palo Alto house burned down and someone forgot to tell you.


If you have any questions about buying or selling a home in Palo Alto please feel free to contact me.
Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194

What To Do When The Accepted Palo Alto Home Offer Does Not Appraise

This is a common problem. The market is appreciating and homes are selling for more now than they were 6 months ago. Good news for Palo Alto sellers, right? It can be, but there are pitfalls.

If the offer you accept is higher than the market value of closed sales, not the ones that are pending, and you know it sold for $300,000 over asking, then you may run into issues if that offer is contingent on an appraisal. The appraisal will look at closed sales in the last 3-6 months, not rumors about the house around the corner.

When you get your 10 offers, and one is higher than all the others but contingent on an appraisal, just remember it is not going to appraise at the offered value and there may be another round of negotiations.

There are several ways to deal with this that should be discussed with your Palo Alto agent at the time that you look at offers. You can:

• Take a cash offer that is not contingent on an appraisal. 
• Ask the buyer of an offer with a loan to agree to make up the difference between the appraised value and the offer price. 
• Cross your fingers and hope the appraisal comes in at the offer price and if it does not, negotiate the price you are willing to take and the buyer is willing to give. There may be other things about this offer you like so it may be worth it to take the most the house will appraise for even if it is less than another offer that does not have an appraisal contingency. 

What you should not do is pretend this is not an issue and not deal with it with your Palo Alto agent up front.

If you have any questions about buying or selling a house in Palo Alto please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty
www.marcymoyer.com
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194

New listing: Sunnyvale 4 Plex

Marcy Moyer | Keller Williams Realty | (650) 619-9285 1008 Helen Ave, Sunnyvale, CA Sunnyvale 4 Plex in a Superb Location Near El Camino and Lawrence 8BR/4BA Multi-Family, 4 units offered at $915,000 Year Built 1961 Sq Footage 2,910 Bedrooms 8 Bathrooms 4 full, 0 partial Floors 2 Parking 4 Covered spaces Lot Size 6,708 sqft HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Great 4 plex in a great location near Lawrence and El Camino. This large 4 plex offers the investor an excellent chance to take advantage of the HOT Sunnyvale rental market. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES - Tile floor - Living room - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven COMMUNITY FEATURES - Covered parking - Laundry on-site OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES - 4 units, 2 bedroom 1 bath each - Pretty garden area - Great location - Excellent upside rental potential - Room air-conditioners ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Front Side Rear Side Garden Carport Kitchen Kitchen floor Bedroom Bedroom Bath Bath Laundry Contact info: Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty (650) 619-9285 For sale by agent/broker Posted: May 25, 2012, 7:07am PDT

Sunnyvale Townhome Open This Saturday, 1-4PM

Marcy Moyer | Keller Williams Realty | (650) 619-9285 969 Asilomar Ter Apt 4, Sunnyvale, CA Elegant Sunnyvale Mediterranean Townhome 2BR/2+1BA Townhouse offered at $535,000 Year Built 1991 Sq Footage 1,553 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 1 partial Floors Unspecified Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 2,613 sqft HOA/Maint $411 per month DESCRIPTION OPEN SATURDAY 5/26, 1-4PM. Welcome to Expressions in Sunnyvale. This large 2 bedroom/2.5 bath townhome features 1553 square feet, 2 master suites, granite kitchen counters, walk in closet, huge master bath with a soaking tub and separate shower, 2 balconies and a patio, and a lovely gated complex with a pool and spa. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES - Central heat - Fireplace - High/Vaulted ceiling - Walk-in closet - Tile floor - Living room - Dining room - Dishwasher - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven - Microwave - Granite countertop - Laundry area - inside - Balcony, Deck, or Patio - Swimming pool - Jacuzzi/Whirlpool COMMUNITY FEATURES - Garage parking - Guest parking - Swimming pool(s) - Sauna/Spa - Playground - Gated property - Secured entry OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES - Elegant Sunnyvale Townhome ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Front Living room Living room Fireplace Dining room Breakfast Bar Kitchen Half bath Master bedroom Master bath tub Master bath vanity Bedroom 2 Patio Pool Park Contact info: Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty (650) 619-9285 For sale by agent/broker Posted: May 25, 2012, 8:40am PDT

Does The Amount A House is Underwater Matter in Menlo Park Short Sales

As a Menlo Park Short Sale Agent I get asked this a lot. My answer is a definitive sort of, especially if it is a Chase short sale. Here is how it may make a difference. Some homeowners owe more on their homes than the home is worth, the definition of being underwater. The home is not going to sell for what it is worth, it will sell at or around market value. The bank generally understands that. The bank as representative for the investor on the loan wants to lose as little money as possible, but knows there is going to be some loss. The banks have procedures in place to approve short sales. At Chase they have the number of people who have to approve a short sale broken down by the amount of loss, not by the value of the house. So if the loss is $250,000 or less, only one lowest level of negotiator needs to approve. If the loss is $250,000 to $350,000 the offer goes to the 1st negotiator and then a negotiator one level up. At $350,000-$450,000 it goes to the first 2 plus one level up in management. And so forth. So the greater the loss the more people have to approve before it even gets to the investor and/or mortgage insurance company. Each person who needs to approve can ask for more documentation or just ok the file. All of this takes time. The bottom line, the bigger the loss, the more time you should expect for approval and the more doumentation you may need to provide. So knowing that, don't try to keep up with the Joneses. Just because your best friend's short sale was approved in 3 weeks, and you are still waiting at 8 weeks, it does not mean you got the B team looking at your file. You just may have more managers that have to approve that are gumming up the process. If you have any questions about short sales in San Mateo or Santa Clara County please feel free to contact me. Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty www.marcymoyer.com marcy@marcymoyer.com 650-619-9285 D.R.E. 01191194

Sunnyvale Townhome OPEN Saturday/Sunday 1-4pm

Marcy Moyer | Keller Williams Realty | (650) 619-9285     969 Asilomar Ter Apt 4, Sunnyvale, CA Elegant Sunnyvale Mediterranean Townhome 2BR/2+1BA Townhouse offered at $535,000             Year Built 1991 Sq Footage 1,553 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 1 partial Floors Unspecified Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 2,613 sqft HOA/Maint $411 per month   DESCRIPTION Welcome to Expressions in Sunnyvale. This large 2 bedroom/2.5 bath townhome features 1553 square feet, 2 master suites, granite kitchen counters, walk in closet, huge master bath with a soaking tub and separate shower, 2 balconies and a patio, and a lovely gated complex with a pool and spa.   see additional photos below    PROPERTY FEATURES - Central heat - Fireplace - High/Vaulted ceiling - Walk-in closet - Tile floor - Living room - Dining room - Dishwasher - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven - Microwave - Granite countertop - Laundry area - inside - Balcony, Deck, or Patio - Swimming pool - Jacuzzi/Whirlpool     COMMUNITY FEATURES - Garage parking - Guest parking - Swimming pool(s) - Sauna/Spa - Playground - Gated property - Secured entry   OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES - Elegant Sunnyvale Townhome   ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Front Living room Living room Fireplace Dining room Breakfast Bar Kitchen Half bath Master bedroom Master bath tub Master bath vanity Bedroom 2 Patio Pool Park   Contact info:     Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty (650) 619-9285 For sale by agent/broker Posted: May 16, 2012, 6:25pm PDT