Silicon Valley Real Estate

CaBRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Where Do Palo Alto Buyers Come From? Mostly the Internet!

As a Palo Alto real estate agent I am often asked by potential sellers about my marketing plan. While it is true that it is probably easier to sell a home in Palo Alto than most other places, marketing is very important. However, the type of marketing that works in today's market is not the same as the type that worked 20 years ago, and this change should be reflected in your Palo Alto agent's marketing plan.

While over 80% of buyers start their home search on the internet, 40% actually find their home on the net. This is critical! Almost half of all buyers find their home in the internet and then go to see it. So how and where your home is on the internet is the most important thing you can do to get your Palo Alto home sold for the best price price and term. Since these numbers are national, I suspect that in this tech savvy area the figures are even higher.

Not all Palo Alto agents are equal when it comes to internet marketing. Just putting a Palo Alto home for sale on the MLS and letting it get picked up by other sites does not cut it in the wild west of the internet. Your Palo Alto real estate agent should put your home and as many pictures as possible on as many sites as possible. There is a service I use called List Hub that syndicates to 900 real estate sites. It is also important to add as many pictures as possible to the internet because some sites rank the order of the home by the number of pictures. Even sites like Trulia and Zillow needed to be massaged by your Palo Alto real estate agent in order to make sure there are as many pictures as possible, that the open house days and times are listed, and that as much detail on the information about the home is included.

Marketing a home you are selling in Palo Alto should revolve around the internet, but I will talk about other paths tomorrow.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Palo Alto please feel free to contact me,

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Monday, December 16, 2013

There Are Some Great Reasons to Buy a House In Half Moon Bay

If you have been looking for a home in the bay area you may find yourself frustrated with multiple offers and 10-20 other people all going after the same homes you are. Homes sell quickly and for huge amounts over asking in most cases. It is hard to know how much to offer, and what makes your offer stand out.

There is no easy solution, but the best advice I can give people is to expand their horizons. This can mean try to be more open minded about the style, price, or location of what you are willing to buy. The area where the buyer has the most discretion is location.

One excellent location to get away from the maddening crowd of buyers is to go to the coast, look into buying a home in Half Moon Bay.

There are some great reasons to think about buying a home in Half Moon Bay, a fantastic coastal town just 6 miles off of 280 and 92.

1. There is more inventory.

This chart shows months of inventory in Half Moon Bay. Months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell all of the current homes on the market based on the current rate of sale. It is one of the major ways economist use to determine how good or bad the housing market is. 6 months or less is generally considered a healthy market. More than 6 months is a slow market. In 2013 Palo Alto was always around 3 weeks so as you can see buying a home in Half Moon Bay means the buyer has more choices and more control over the situation.

2. There are fewer Multiple Offers

While most cities in the bay area are seeing crazy spikes over asking prices, Half Moon Bay home prices have hovered around asking for most of the year. If you offer on a home in Half Moon Bay you will not have to guess at how much over asking to pay, 10%? 20%? Figure out the market value, what the home is worth to you, and use the lost art of negotiation.

3. Traffic, it is no worse than most freeways. While driving on 92 to get to 280 or home at night can be slow it is not much worse than other major transportation routes. It is just as hard to deal with 85 and 101.

4. Half Moon Bay is a great place to live!

From the fantastic beaches, including the dog beach at the Harbor, or the famous Maverick's for surfing, fantastic restaurants, cute shopping areas, great golf courses, and of course the famous Pumpkin Festival Half Moon Bay offers plenty of activities to keep most people occupied, happy, and relaxed in their spare time.

So if the rat race of Silicon Valley real estate is getting you down, maybe you should think about buying a home in Half Moon Bay.

If you have any questions about buying a home in Half Moon Bay feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

CABRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Should You Sign A Buyer's Broker Agreement With A Palo Alto Realtor?

Let me start by saying I know this post is going to evoke some strong reactions from both other real estate estate agents in Palo Alto as well as around the country. It may also evoke some strong reactions from home buyers in Palo Alto and around the country. Please let me explain that in my 19 years as a Palo Alto real estate agent I have learned that there are many right ways to do things. I do not use buyer brokers agreement. This is how I like to run my business. How other people do it is their business. If it feels right to a future home buyer who is reading this great, if not then feel free to contact someone else.

Ok, so what is a buyer's Broker agreement? Some Palo Alto real estate agents will ask their clients to sign a contract saying that during a specific period of time the client agrees that if they buy a house from anyone, the Palo Alto real estate agent they have this agreement with will get paid a commission of no less than x%. So even if the buyer finds a for sale by owner home, a new home where the builder is not paying the buyer's agent a commission, or decides to use a different agent the Palo Alto real estate agent who signed the agreement gets paid by the buyer.

In exchange for this financial obligation the Palo Alto real estate agent will promise to do a number of things. The most import is usually work diligently to find a home, get the best deal possible, and pledge allegiance to the buyer.

The pluses on this agreement are that both parties are contractually committed to each other so the buyer knows the Palo Alto real estate agent has put in writing how hard he or she will work. There will be no slacking.

The Palo Alto real estate agent knows the client will be loyal and his or her work will not be wasted because if the buyer finds a home the agent will be paid.

I do not work like this. I always tell my buyers this relationship is like living together, incredibly close and mutually beneficial, but we can split up easily. First of all, I don't even consider that we are in a relationship until we have a few dates. We need to spend some time together, see some house, see if we get each other. Do I understand what you want? Do you like the way I communicate, my hours, my way of helping you? If so then we can become exclusive. I am your only Palo Alto real estate agent and you promise not to cheat on me. If during our "living together time" something goes wrong and you don't like me anymore I just ask that instead of suing me to get out of the contract, just fire me. We will both be much happier.

If that works for you then we can go on a date, if not, it was great meeting you and best of luck on your home search!

If you ask me to be your agent there will be no buyer broker agreement in writing. if you meet a Palo Alto real estate agent who wants you sign a buyer broker agreement I hope this has given you some food for thought.

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

Marcy Moyer

Keller Willliams Realty Palo Alto

http://www.marcymoyer.com

CA BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

209 Market Place Menlo Park Ca Is Getting Ready For Market

As a Menlo Park Realtor I specialize in selling ugly duckling homes that are begging to turned into swans, like this upcoming listing at 209 Market Place in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park. I have a team of experienced contractors who help me get the most increase a home's value for the least amount of money. I thought you might be interested in hearing about what we do.

In the case of this home in Belle Haven we had a house with a roof that was way beyond need of replacement, ugly laminate kitchen counters, old carpet over hardwood floors, a poorly painted interior, very old fashion red brick fire place, no landscaping, ugly kitchen cabinets, ugly bath vanity and fixtures, and ugly closet doors.

My contractor started work about a month ago. We tore out the old fashioned Home Depot kitchen counter and replaced it with a sleek new counter from Ikea that is still laminate, but looks great and only cost $150 for the material. The entire inside was painted a color called Sierra White which has a hint of grey in it, today's it color. The kitchen cabinets were painted a darker shade of grey called Malibu Beige and an incredibly dramatic slate backspash was added.

The bathroom got a new vanity in a dark chocolate color with vinyl tile squares, a beveled glass medicine cabinet, new light, and new towel bar, toilet paper holder set.

All three bedrooms got new beveled mirror closet doors.

The red brick fire place was panted with a chalk paint in the same grey as the kitchen cabinets.

The old carpet was removed and the original oak hardwood floors were re-finished and stained a dark color called spice.

A new roof was installed in a bright green color to match the newly painted front door and pale green house color.

Staging was done yesterday, and landscaping will happen today.

This Belle Haven ugly duckling home for sale is about to become a swan.

I will show you the finished results in a few days.

If you have any questions about buying or selling a home in Belle Haven please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

http://www.marcymoyer.com

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Palo Alto 3 Bedroom Homes Under $1,500,000 Are Like Dodo Birds

One and a half million dollars is a lot of money to spend on a home almost anywhere except if you are buying a home in Palo Alto. If that is your budget, then I suggest you look somewhere else.

The chart above is a breakdown of all homes sold in Palo Alto from June through November of 2013 with at least three bedrooms and at least 2 baths. There were a total of 187 sales of these homes during this time period. Of these 187 homes a total of 8 sold under 1.5 million, and a total of 17 sold for 1.6 million or less. so as you can see if you want to buy a home in Palo Alto your chances are slim if you your budget is less than 1.5 million. The bulk of the homes sold in Palo Alto were over 2 million, 63 homes. What is interesting is that there were more homes sold over 3 million, 36 of them, than between 1.8 and 2 million 31 homes.

So if you want to buy a home in Palo Alto with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and your budget is 1.5 million or less what should do? Here is my advice:

Examine very carefully why you want to buy a home in Palo Alto and look for those attributes in another city. In other words, cast a broader net. Buying a home in Palo Alto will get you a lot of wonderful things, but maybe you can get what you want somewhere else.

1. Schools: Many people want to buy a home in Palo Alto for the great schools. There are other excellent school districts including Menlo Park, San Carlos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino.

2. A vibrant downtown area: Many people want to buy in Palo Alto to be close to University Ave. There are also thriving downtown areas in San Carlos, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Burlingame.

3. Charming older homes: If you want to buy in Palo Alto because of the character of homes in Professorville or Old Palo Alto you can also find this type of home in Willow Glen, the Rose Garden, or Burlingame.

I am not saying to stop looking to buy a home in Palo Alto, but if you want to buy a home in the next few months, you will need to expand your search because the numbers are not in your favor if you limit your search to just buying a home in Palo Alto.

If you have any questions about buying a home in Palo Alto or any of the surrounding areas please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Don't Pay For Termite Repairs On A Palo Alto Home In Escrow

As many of my blog followers know I sell a lot of Palo Alto homes in trust and probate. The owners were often very old, as are the homes, and frequently in need of repair. While it is often a good idea to keep repairs at a minimum in order to decrease the liability to the estate, sometimes it is necessary in order to allow buyers to be able buy and move into a home safely, or in order to increase the value exponentially.

I am currently sellling a Palo Alto home that needed some major bathroom repairs since it was unclear an adult could stand on the bathroom floor without falling through to the crawl space. No amount of staging was going to fix that problem. The second bathroom in this Menlo Park home was not much better.

The seller of this Palo Alto home decided to redo both bathrooms and Preferred Termite company was generous enough to allow the $15,000 payment through escrow.

The house went on the market generating plenty of interest and multiple offers. The seller of this Palo Alto home chose a nice couple who were pre-approved for a loan and felt comfortable enough with the reports and repairs done by the seller that they waived the property condition contingency, knowing that there was still more work to be done on the termite report. They could use the new bathrooms and felt the rest of the termite work and replacing the roof could happen over time.

Unfortunately their lender did not agree. There was no problem with the appraisal or underwriting. However, one day before we were due to close the funder looked at the seller's HUD1 (final closing statement) and saw that there was a $15,000 payment going to Preferred Termite. They said that all work called for on the termite report, including providing more access to the crawl space by making a new opening, had to be done before funding the loan.

Lesson learned. Fortunately neither the seller of the Palo Alto home or the buyer were trying to meet a deadline so the buyer switched lenders, the Palo Alto home seller will pay the termite company out of escrow so it is not on the closing statement and we will close in 2-3 weeks.

So remember, when selling a Palo Alto home do not put payments for inspections or termite repairs in escrow or the buyer's lender may ask to see them and muck up the sale.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Palo Alto please fell free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Selling Palo Alto Home With Really Ugly Kitchen Counters?

If you are going to sell an older home in Palo Alto which has really ugly counters you may be in a quandary about whether to leave them the way the are, or replace them so the house does not look so bad. Since so many of our older homes are being purchased as tear downs, or at a minimum for major remodel you may wonder if it is worth spending the money if the house and or kitchen are going to be demolished anyway.

I actually think that unless your home is red tagged by the city and unsafe to enter, it is a good idea to make it look livable, and as welcoming as possible when you are selling a home in Palo Alto.

The reason is simple. While it is true that many older and especially smaller homes in Palo Alto are sold and torn down, it is not true for all of them. There are still Palo Alto buyers out there who want to buy a home in Palo Alto and live in it. Some of them will eventually remodel or tear down, but they still plan on spending time living in the Palo Alto home you are selling.

Also, even if the plan for the home in Palo Alto you are selling is to tear it down and build a new one, this process takes time, often a year or more. During that time period it is very common to have the home occupied, either by the person who purchased it, or by a renter. the more livable the home in Palo Alto you are selling the more it will be worth to a potential buyer.

Ikea sells counter tops that are laminate, but look very nice and are cheap. It is about $60 for an eight foot counter plus installation.

The improvement in look is worth much more than the cost to do it.

Remember, when selling a house in Palo Alto the goal is to get as many people as possible interested in your home, no matter what the condition. My making some inexpensive cosmetic improvements you can appeal to end user buyers, people who want to remodel, and people who want to tear down.

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

Marcy Moyer

CAl BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Why You May Need To Put A New Roof When Selling A Menlo Park House

The market is hot in Menlo Park, inventory is down to almost nothing, homes get multiple offers, and Menlo Park home sellers are in the driver's seat. So Does this mean it is ok to just put a home on the market in any condition and you will get offers 20-30% over list price? Unfortunately not always.

While it is true that there is a lot of cash out in the world, assuming that you will have multiple excellent cash offers to chose from when selling your Menlo Park home is not always the case. I recently listed a home that had 12 offers, and not one was all cash.

Very often cash offers are not the best offers. Many investors as well as end users feel if they are going to pay cash they want something back, that is a lower price.

A financed offer may be the best or sometimes only offer you get when selling your home in Menlo Park, so your home needs to get through the appraisal process as well as underwriting. This means more than just being worth what the buyer offers. It also means that there can not be obvious health and safety issues.

So while an appraiser will not know if your bathroom shower pan is leaking, they do look at and take pictures of the house. If the roof on the Menlo Park home you are selling looks like this, a buyer will not get a loan. I once had a client who was buying a Bank of America foreclosure using Bank of America for their lender. The appraisal came back saying that Bank of America would not lend on the home that Bank of America owned because the roof needed replacing. We managed to get Bank of America to put a new roof on. If that can happen on a foreclosed home, if should happen on the Menlo Park home you are selling.

The basic concept here that unless the home you are selling in Menlo Park is really not livable it is best to appeal to as wide a group of people as possible. This means that the home must have a roof that looks like it will make it through a rain storm and not collapse in a little wind. It does not have to be new, but if it is obviously failing then it should be replaced before going on the market.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Menlo Park please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Don't Pay For Termite Repairs on a Menlo Park Home In Escrow

As many of my blog followers know I sell a lot of Menlo Park homes in trust and probate. The owners were often very old, as are the homes, and frequently in need of repair. While it is often a good idea to keep repairs at a minimum in order to decrease the liability to the estate, sometimes it is necessary in order to allow buyers to be able buy and move into a home safely, or in order to increase the value exponentially.

I am currently sellling a Menlo Park home that needed some major bathroom repairs since it was unclear an adult could stand on the bathroom floor without falling through to the crawl space. No amount of staging was going to fix that problem. The second bathroom in this Menlo Park home was not much better.

The seller of this Menlo Park home decided to redo both bathrooms and Preferred Termite company was generous enough to allow the $15,000 payment through escrow.

The house went on the market generating plenty of interest and multiple offers. The seller of this Menlo Park home chose a nice couple who were pre-approved for a loan and felt comfortable enough with the reports and repairs done by the seller that they waived the property condition contingency, knowing that there was still more work to be done on the termite report. They could use the new bathrooms and felt the rest of the termite work and replacing the roof could happen over time.

Lesson learned. Fortunately neither the seller of the Menlo Park home or the buyer were trying to meet a deadline so the buyer switched lenders, the Menlo Park home seller will pay the termite company out of escrow so it is not on the closing statement and we will close in 2-3 weeks.

So remember, when selling a Menlo Park home do not put payments for inspections or termite repairs in escrow or the buyer's lender may ask to see them and muck up the sale.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Menlo Park please fell free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Why December 26 Is a Great Day To List a San Jose Home

I know what you are thinking, I am going to wait till after the first of the year or the spring to sell my San Jose home. It would be stupid to list a home during the holidays, no one does that. Or no one is looking for a home during the holidays.

I need to respectfully disagree with those sentiments. I believe December is a great month to sell a home in San Jose , especially right after Christmas.

Here are the reasons I think selling a San Jose home on Dec 26th this year is a great idea.

1. The inventory has never been lower. As of today there are only 409 homes for sale in San Jose. A buyer's market doesn't even happen until there are over 1000 homes for sale. List this month and you will have little compettion.

2. There are many people who are planning on moving to San Jose who are using winter break to come and look for a home. When there are only 51 homes for sale it is not hard to see how much your home will be apprectiated.

3. If you list your home on Dec 26 or there abouts, you could get the out of towners who are here over vacation looking for homes. Kepp it on the market 2 weeks with an open house the first week in Jan and then take offers the following week. This way you can also get the locals who were out of town Christmas week.

4. Registration information for School Choice programs begins in February so there are many people with school age children who want a San Jose address when school choice options open. Selling a San Jose home at the end of December would work perfectly for these families.

So in my opinion if you are ready to sell your home in San Jose then my sugestion is don't let a great opportunity pass you by. If you are ready to list in December, wait until after Christmas day, and then get it on the market. Your results will be very satisfying.

If you have any questions about selling a home in San Jose please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Why Dec 26 is a Great Day to Sell Your Santa Clara Home

I know what you are thinking, I am going to wait till after the first of the year or the spring to sell my Santa Clara home. It would be stupid to list a home during the holidays, no one does that. Or no one is looking for a home during the holidays.

I need to respectfully disagree with those sentiments. I believe December is a great month to sell a home in Santa Clara, especially right after Christmas.

Here are the reasons I think selling a Santa Clara home on Dec 26th this year is a great idea.

1. The inventory has never been lower. As of today there are only 51 homes for sale in Santa Clara. A buyer's market doesn't even happen until there are over 100 homes for sale. List this month and you will have no compettion.

2. There are many people who are planning on moving to Santa Clar who are using winter break to come and look for a home. When there are only 51 homes for sale it is not hard to see how much your home will be apprectiated.

4. Registration during Open Enrollment for Santa Clara schools is Jan 9-Feb 6 so there are many people with school age children who want a Santa Clara address before open enrollment ends. Selling a Santa Clara home at the end of December would work perfectly for these families.

So in my opinion if you are ready to sell your home in Santa Clara then my sugestion is don't let a great opportunity pass you by. If you are ready to list in December, wait until after Christmas day, and then get it on the market. Your results will be very satisfying.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Santa Clara please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Why It Is A Great Idea To List Your Redwood City Home on Dec 26

I know what you are thinking, I am going to wait till after the first of the year or the spring to sell my Redwood City home. It would be stupid to list a home during the holidays, no one does that. Or no one is looking for a home during the holidays.

I need to respectfully disagree with those sentiments. I believe December is a great month to sell a home in Redwood City, especially right after Christmas.

Here are the reasons I think selling a Redwood City home on Dec 26th this year is a great idea.

1. The inventory has never been lower. As of today there are only 40 homes for sale in Redwood City. A buyer's market doesn't even happen until there are over 90 homes for sale. List this month and you will have little compettion.

2. There are many people who are planning on moving to Redwood City who are using winter break to come and look for a home. When there are only 40 homes for sale it is not hard to see how much your home will be apprectiated.

4. Priority Enrollment for Redwood City Schools of Choice begins Jan 10 so there are many people with school age children who want a Redwood City address early in the enrollment period. Also neighborhood schools are enrolled based on date of enrolllment so if your home is in one of the more popular school boundaries Selling a Redwood City home at the end of December would work perfectly for these families.

So in my opinion if you are ready to sell your home in Redwood City then my sugestion is don't let a great opportunity pass you by. If you are ready to list in December, wait until after Christmas day, and then get it on the market. Your results will be very satisfying.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Redwood City please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Why Dec 26 Is a Great Time To List Your Sunnyvale Home

I know what you are thinking, I am going to wait till after the first of the year or the spring to sell my Sunnyvale home. It would be stupid to list a home during the holidays, no one does that. Or no one is looking for a home during the holidays.

I need to respectfully disagree with those sentiments. I believe December is a great month to sell a home in Sunnyvale, especially right after Christmas.

Here are the reasons I think selling a Sunnyvale home on Dec 26th this year is a great idea.

1. The inventory has never been lower. As of today there are only 17 homes for sale in Sunnyvale. A buyer's market doesn't even happen until there are over 80 homes for sale. List this month and you will have no compettion.

2. There are many people who are planning on moving to Sunnyvale who are using winter break to come and look for a home. When there are only 7 homes for sale it is not hard to see how much your home will be apprectiated.

4. Registration for Sunnyvale schools begins Feb 1 so there are many people with school age children who want a Sunnyvale address when registration begins so they are assured of their neighborhood school. Selling a Sunnyvale home at the end of December would work perfectly for these families.

So in my opinion if you are ready to sell your home in Sunnyvale then my sugestion is don't let a great opportunity pass you by. If you are ready to list in December, wait until after Christmas day, and then get it on the market. Your results will be very satisfying.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Sunnyvale please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Cal BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Why It Is A Great Time To List Your Mountain View Home On December 26

I know what you are thinking, I am going to wait till after the first of the year or the spring to sell my Mountain View home. It would be stupid to list a home during the holidays, no one does that. Or no one is looking for a home during the holidays. -

I need to respectfully disagree with those sentiments. I believe December is a great month to sell a home in Mountain View, especially right after Christmas.

Here are the reasons I think selling a Mountain View home on Dec 26th this year is a great idea.

1. The inventory has never been lower. As of today there are only 7 homes for sale in Mountain View. A buyer's market doesn't even happen until there are over 50 homes for sale. List this month and you will have no compettion.

2. There are many people who are planning on moving to Mountain View who are using winter break to come and look for a home. When there are only 7 homes for sale it is not hard to see how much your home will be apprectiated.

4. Registration during Open Enrollment for Mountain View schools is Jan 28-March 1 so there are many people with school age children who want a Mountain View address before open enrollment ends. Selling a Mountain View home at the end of December would work perfectly for these families.

So in my opinion if you are ready to sell your home in Mountain View then my sugestion is don't let a great opportunity pass you by. If you are ready to list in December, wait until after Christmas day, and then get it on the market. Your results will be very satisfying.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Mountain View please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer