The Palo Alto Children's Theater A Palo Alto Tradition

The Palo Alto Children's Theater started in 1932 and has grown to be a mainstay of the Palo Alto community by being one of the first and only children's theaters in the nation that has a fully-equipped theater exclusively for young people. It is located at 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, 94301. The Palo Alto Children's Theater has so much opportunity for youth in Palo Alto.

The Palo Alto Children's Theater hosts Hot Dog Suppertime shows for their summer shows. It is when you can bring a picnic for your family or the Friends of the Children's Theater; a volunteer organization; will have food to purchase which includes hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, chips and soft drinks at the show. The shows are performed at the Roy Ginsburg Magic Castle Stage at Children's Theater and the gates to Secret Garden open at 5:45 pm. Performances run approximately one hour. Children ages four and up are recommended. Tickets are $10 for children and $12 for adults. Tickets can be purchased over at the box office either in person or on the phone at 650-463-4970.

The next Hot Dog Suppertime Show is The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs and is performed by the Wingspread Company. This parody challenges the truth of the story of the three little pigs by putting the Big Bad Wolf on trial and letting the audience be the jury by deciding if he is guilty or not guilty. It runs from July 31, August 1-4, 7, 8-10 at 6:30pm.

The Wingspread Company is Palo Alto Children Theater's summer stock program. You may audition if you are 16- 24 year olds or if you have completed all four levels of the Summer Conservatory.  The auditions are typically held in April and May and scheduled by appointment.

Palo Alto Children's Theater presents The Playhouse shows one weekend of each month from September to May for 3-6 year olds by local high school students. These folk or fairy tales are performed on Saturdays at 10:00 am & 12:00pm and Sundays at 12:00pm where audience participation is always encouraged. The shows are 45 minutes. Tickets are $10 for children and $12 for adults at the Magic Castle Stage.

The Playhouse shows are sponsored by the Teen Arts Council, An organization and initiative of the Palo Alto Children's Theater, whose focus is to provide teens with creative arts programs to express themselves. They even have a grant board that offers financial assistance to teen's creative projects.

Palo Alto Children's Theater Mainstage Season will be announced in August. The season runs from November to March. Tickets are $10 for Children and $12 for Adults.

Something to keep in mind for next summer are the classes that Palo Alto Children's Theater offers. The summer classes are available for preschool to teens of 18 years of age. Most summer classes begin in the beginning of June and end in August. Space is limited so calling as soon as possible to reserve a spot is suggested. This includes Private Vocal sessions available for teens.  For more information you may also call 650-463-4930, Tuesday - Saturday, 9:30-6:30 pm. http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/theatre/classes.asp They also offer classes throughout the year.

If you have a child that would like to audition for a play, they normally have to be 8 years old to high school age. There are scheduled audition dates for each play that are posted online. No experience or appointment is necessary. All that is needed is a memorized one minute monologue. If it is a musical, you will also need a short song and be dressed to dance at the audition.

If you wanted to Volunteer for Palo Alto Children's Theater in sewing, set construction and painting, baking & selling brownies at performances, assembling programs or inputting computer data you can call 650-463-4930. They would be more than happy for your generous help.

If you have any questions about other great activities for children on Palo Alto please feel free to contact me.

If you would like to search for homes in Palo Alto click here

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

BRE 01191194

650-619-9285 

Santa Clara Trust Sale Goes Very Wrong! (Not My Listing)

I got a call this morning from a very sweet but distraught woman about a home in Santa Clara that belonged to her grandmother and was supposed to be a trust sale. However the home is now 2 weeks away from a foreclosure sale and this did not have to happen.

Here is the situation:

1. Grandmother owned the home and took out a reverse mortgage with Wells Fargo. 

2. After Grandmother got her reverse mortgage and before she died she put the home in a trust and did not inform Wells Fargo she had done this.

3. Grandmother dies and the successor trustee, grand daughter is in charge of dealing with the house. 

4. Granddaughter tells Wells Fargo she is the successor trustee and will be selling the house which is a requirement with in 3 months of the owner passing or leaving the house.

5. Wells Fargo tells Granddaughter they were never informed that the house was in a trust and they 

can not speak with Granddaughter because Grandmother never gave them permission and never transferred the reverse mortgage into the trust with their permission.

6. In April Wells Fargo records Notice of Default.

7. Granddaughter calls a lawyer who says he does not know why this happening but does nothing.

8. In July Wells Fargo records Notice of Trustee sale for Aug 13.

9. Granddaughter call me for advice. 

10. I tell her to call my lawyer, Rebeccah Miller at Lakin Sprears in Palo Alto to try to get this sorted out.

I have no idea what the legal issues are here with the home being put in a trust without Wells Fargo knowledge. I do know that this sort of issue comes up often and can not be ignored. If you do not act in a timely manner the estate can lose a home to foreclosure. I have written about this before. http://actvra.in/P75

If the home were in Probate then the Probate lawyer could go to a judge for an emergency postponement of foreclosure. I am hoping this can happen in a trust as well. Or maybe they can open a Probate since it looks like maybe the loan/house can not be in the trust and they need to probate it. In that case if someone works quickly enough a judge could stop the foreclosure.

The point I will make again is: IF YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF A HOME OF SOMEONE WHO HAS DIED EITHER AS A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OR A SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE DO NOT PUT YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND. DEAL WITH THE MORTGAGE WHETHER IT IS A TRADITIONAL OR A REVERSE AND MAKE SURE THE HOME DOES NOT GET FORECLOSED BECAUSE SOMEONE, INCLUDING YOUR LAWYER DROPPED THE BALL.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Probate or Trust in Santa Clara or San Mateo County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

DRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto, Ca. Specialist in Short Sales and Trust and Probate Sales

Menlo Park Ca Real Estate Market Update 7/27/2013

As a Menlo Park Real Estate Agent I am always being asked, "How's the market in Menlo Park?" The answer is simple:

Not enough inventory, plenty of buyers.

There are currently 34 single family Menlo Park homes for sale down from 39 last week..

There are currently 9 Menlo Park town homes/condos for sale the up from 7 last week.

There are currently 26 pending sales of Menlo Park single family homes down from 29 last week.

There are currently 6 pending sales of Menlo Park homes/Condos down from 7 last week.

In June of 2013 there were 33 single family Menlo Park homes sold down from 47 in May.  The prices ranged from $540,000 to $4,375,000. The lowest priced home in Belle Haven is up $100,000 from May. I thought we may have been leveling off but this number does not prove it. If you look at just the Menlo Park homes with Menlo Park schools the lowest price in June was $975,000 up a little form May but the only home with Menlo Park schools sold under a million. In June of 2013 there were 10 Menlo Park Town Homes/Condos sold.   The prices ranged from $395,000 to $1,800,000. This is a high starting price point for condos, but not as high as Palo Alto. The lowest price condo that is not senior only housing was $551,00 for a 1 bedroom in Sharon Park which is similar to a one bedroom condo in Palo Alto.

The inventory of single family homes for sale in Menlo Park is still at historically low levels, and like Palo Alto and Mountain View down from last week, again. I am hoping that as the summer progresses we will have more inventory and that this week is not a trend.  If you would like to search for homes for sale please feel free to visit my website 

for a custom search.

http://marcymoyer.com/OnlineSearchRequest2?operation=choose_mls&timestamp=1359953266454

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

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

Santa Clara Ca Real Estate Market Up 7/27/2013

As a Santa Clara Real Estate Agent I am always being asked, "How's the market in Santa Clara?" The answer is simple:

Not enough inventory, plenty of buyers.

There are currently 44 single family Santa Clara homes for sale, down from 46 last week.

There are currently 44 Santa Clara town homes/condos for sale, up from 39 last week.

There are currently 56 pending sales of Santa Clara single family homes, down from 61 last week.

There are currently 43 pending sales of Santa Clara town homes/Condos, down from 59 last week.

In June of 2013 there were 61 single family Santa Clara homes sold, up from 47 in May, ranging in price from $420,000 to $1,240,000. This shows a decrease in price range of 10% for the lowest priced home sold in May, but it was a short sale that took a long time to close so the market at time of sale was lower. The lowest price traditional sale was $550,000 which is $100,000 higher than the lowest price in May. 

In June of 2013 there were 33 Santa Clara Town Homes/Condos sold, the same as in May.  They ranged in price from $230,000 to $790,000. This is 20% lower than the lowest price in May and 5% lower than the highest price in May. Has the appreciation started to slow down? I think so.  

Santa Clara single family home listings are not up from before the holiday.  Condos are up another 10% from last week.  Hopefully as more homeowners come out from being underwater (owing more on their home than it is worth) more sellers will be able and willing to sell. However, there was not an increase in condos for sale and this is important as there are so many young people trying to buy their first homes and so few condos for them to buy.

If you would like to search for homes for sale please feel free to visit my website for a custom search.

http://marcymoyer.com/OnlineSearchRequest2?operation=choose_mls&timestamp=1359953266454

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

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

Mountain View Ca Real Estate Market Update 7/27/2013

There are currently 12 single family Mountain View homes for sale,  down from 15  last week.

There are currently 14 Mountain View town homes/condos for sale,  down from 19 last week.

There are currently 31 pending sales of Mountain View single family homes,  up from 28 last week.

There are currently 34 pending sales of Mountain View Town homes/Condos, the same as last week.

In June, 2013 there were 31 single family Mountain View homes sold ranging in price from $765,000 to $1,510,000. 

The volume was up 30% from May.  The prices ranged from $770,000 to $2,498,000. this does not include sales in the new development in Waverley Park.

In June, 2013  there were 35 Mountain View Town Homes/Condos sold ranging in price from $351,000 to $1,215,000. These numbers are very similar to May. Are we starting to level off in appreciation? I think so. 

The inventory is down this week in single family home listings as well as condos. I would like to see at least 40 single family homes for sale and at least 60 condos for sale at any given week, but that is not happening. One problem with so few single family homes for sale is that there are not as many single family homes in Mountain View as there are condos. With few homes and more buyers it is a difficult market for buyers.  I think as the summer goes on it may still be possible to get a healthier number on the market, but the structural problem of not enough single family homes is not going to be solved this summer. In some communities such as Palo Alto and Menlo Park there are many empty nestors who would be selling, but do not because their grown children come back to live with them; this is not the case for a Mountain View condo. Many condo owners who would have sold to move up were not able to when prices were below their original purchase price. Appreciation has wiped out that problem so hopefully we see more condo sellers soon.

If you would like to search for homes for sale please feel free to visit my website for a custom search.

http://marcymoyer.com/OnlineSearchRequest2?operation=choose_mls&timestamp=1359953266454

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

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

Palo Alto Ca Real Estate Market Update 7/27/2013

As a Palo Alto Real Estate Agent I am always being asked, "How's the market in Palo Alto?" The answer is simple:

Not enough inventory, plenty of buyers.

There are currently 29 single family Palo Alto homes for sale, down from 35 last week.

There are currently 6 Palo Alto town homes/condos for sale, down from 9 last week.

There are currently 45 pending sales of Palo Alto single family homes, up from 42 last week.

There are currently 7 pending sales of Palo Alto Town homes/Condos, the same as last week.

In June of 2013 there were 29 single family Palo Alto homes sold, a big drop from April and May sales. The prices ranged from $1,141,400 to $5,750,000. No homes under a million is significant. This is getting to be a common occurance in Palo Alto.

In June of 2013 there were 15 Palo Alto Town Homes/Condos sold, a nice increase from earlier in the spring. The prices ranged from $535,000 to $1,521,000. This is not a high starting price point for condos in Palo Alto, but it was ony one bedroom. 

We had decrease in single family homes for sale, as well as condos. We were in the 40 home range for a few weeks and I hope we get back there again this week. Anything between 40 and 60 is typical seller's market for Palo Alto and over 90 is a buyer's market.   As you can see, the chances of a buyer's market in the near future look slim, but if we could just have enough inventory that all the serious buyers could eventually win a bid I would be happy and seller's would still reap their appreciation. If you would like to search for homes for sale please feel free to visit my website for a custom search.

http://marcymoyer.com/OnlineSearchRequest2?operation=choose_mls&timestamp=1359953266454

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

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

Mountain View Ca: How Much Over List Price Are Homes Selling?

Anyone trying to buy a home in Moutain View right now knows that it is tough out there. There are many more buyers than sellers and many Mountain View homes sell with multiple offers way over list price. Some homes go as much as 30% over asking, but some do not. How does a buyer make the decision about how much to offer to have the winning bid in a Mountain View home multiple offer situation and not overpay?

The answer is not simple, and sometimes it is not a question of price, but terms, like contingencies, length of escrow, length of rent back, etc.

But for right now, let's just discuss price. Here are some things to keep in mind when you make an offer on a Mountain View home in a multiple offer situation.

1. In my opinion the most important thing is, how much is this condo worth to you? In other words, what price would you offer so that if it sold for $1000 more you would not be sorry because you do not want to pay that much. It may be that you would pay more than your offer if you could, but you can't so you are just doing your best. But if that is not the case you need to decide how much the house is worth to you so that if you do not get it you will not have regrets.

2. How is the asking price of this home compared to market value? If the condo is listed low it will get multiple offers and sell for much more. If it is listed at or above market value it will not. This is not rocket science. Figuring out market value can be a little tricky since there are many variables, and the market is a moving target, but a good Mountain View real estate agent should be able to help you analyze comps. Once you know the market value you will have to offer more in an appreciating market like we are in now. Sorry, but that is the truth. the good news is the amount over asking seems to have peaked is is now down a little from the 12% over average in March.

3. What is the style of the listing agent? Does he or she like to list homes very low to get as many multiple offers as possible on their Mountain View listings? Does the agent over value a home to try to get more money for their client, or just try to win out on a competitive listing? Does the agent like to work with multiple counter offers, or accept the the first best offer?  Your agent should be able to give you insight into what other Mountain View real estate agents like to do.

In the end, the final offer price and terms will be your decision, but if you have a great Mountain View real estate agent he or she can help guide you through the murky waters of Mountain View home multiple offers.

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

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty 

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

Palo Alto Ca How Much Over Asking Do I Need to Pay?

Anyone trying to buy a home in Palo Alto right now knows that it is tough out there. There are many more buyers than sellers and many Palo Alto homes sell with multiple offers way over list price. Some homes go as much as 40% over asking, but some do not. How does a buyer make the decision about how much to offer to have the winning bid in a Palo Alto multiple offer situation and not overpay?

The answer is not simple, and sometimes it not a question of price, but terms, like contingencies, length of escrow, length of rent back, etc.

But for right now, let's just discuss price. Here are some things to keep in mind when you make an offer on a Palo Alto home in a multiple offer situation,

1. In my opinion the most import thing is, how much is this home worth to you? In other words, what price would you offer so so that if it sold for $1000 more you would not be sorry because you do not want to pay that much. It may be that you would pay more than your offer if you could, but you can't so you are just doing your best. But if that is not the case you need to decide how much the house is worth to you so that if you do not get it you will not have regrets.

2. How is the asking price of this home compared to market value? If the house is listed low it will get multiple offers and sell for much more. If it is listed at or above market value it will not. This is not rocket science. Figuring out market value can be a little tricky since there are many variable, and the market is a moving target, but a good Palo Alto real estate agent should be able to help you analyze comps. Once you know the market value you will have to offer more in an appreciating market like we are in now. Sorry, but that is the truth.

3. What is the style of the listing agent? Does he or she like to list homes very low to get as many multiple offers as possible on their Palo Alto listings? Does the agent over value a home to try to get more money for their client, or just try to win out on a competitive listing? Does the agent like to work with multiple counter offers, or accept the the first best offer?  Your agent should be able to give you insight into what other Palo Alto real estate agents like to do.

In the end, the final offer price and terms will be your decision, but if you have a great Palo Alto real estate agent he or she can help guide you through the murky waters of Palo Alto multiple offers.

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

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

Anyone trying to buy a home in Palo Alto right now knows that it is tough out there. There are many more buyers than sellers and many Palo Alto homes sell with multiple offers way over list price. Some homes go as much as 40% over asking, but some do not. How does a buyer make the decision about how much to offer to have the winning bid in a Palo Alto multiple offer situation and not overpay?

The answer is not simple, and sometimes it not a question of price, but terms, like contingencies, length of escrow, length of rent back, etc.

But for right now, let's just discuss price. Here are some things to keep in mind when you make an offer on a Palo Alto home in a multiple offer situation,

1. In my opinion the most import thing is, how much is this home worth to you? In other words, what price would you offer so so that if it sold for $1000 more you would not be sorry because you do not want to pay that much. It may be that you would pay more than your offer if you could, but you can't so you are just doing your best. But if that is not the case you need to decide how much the house is worth to you so that if you do not get it you will not have regrets.

2. How is the asking price of this home compared to market value? If the house is listed low it will get multiple offers and sell for much more. If it is listed at or above market value it will not. This is not rocket science. Figuring out market value can be a little tricky since there are many variable, and the market is a moving target, but a good Palo Alto real estate agent should be able to help you analyze comps. Once you know the market value you will have to offer more in an appreciating market like we are in now. Sorry, but that is the truth.

3. What is the style of the listing agent? Does he or she like to list homes very low to get as many multiple offers as possible on their Palo Alto listings? Does the agent over value a home to try to get more money for their client, or just try to win out on a competitive listing? Does the agent like to work with multiple counter offers, or accept the the first best offer?  Your agent should be able to give you insight into what other Palo Alto real estate agents like to do.

In the end, the final offer price and terms will be your decision, but if you have a great Palo Alto real estate agent he or she can help guide you through the murky waters of Palo Alto multiple offers.

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

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

The Green elephant In Palo Alto is still Fantastic!

The Green Elephant is a combo Chinese/Burmese Restaurant on Middlefield Rd. in the Piazza Shopping Center at the corner of Charleston. I’ve never actually eaten in the restaurant, but get take out from there all the time.  There are many wonderful dishes, but I just want to give you my person favorite.

Nutty, fruity, shrimp.  This dish is so good it deserves its own blog post. This is the most wonderful combination of shrimp, mangos, pineapple, papaya, peppers, cashews, and some kind of sauce. You can order it with brown rice, white rice, or pineapple fried rice. This is my comfort food.

Also available are nutty fruity chicken or nutty fruity tofu. If you are in south Palo Alto it is worth a try. I have never seen this dish anywhere else, but I don’t get out much, so maybe it’s available in lots of places. If so, trust me, try it!

I wrote this blog in 2009 and it is as true today as it was then. But there are some updates to my obsession with this fabulous restaurant.

First of all The Green Elephant has just instituted a new way to obtain this delicious food. They have a new website: http://www.greenelephantpaloalto.com where you can order your food from your computer or smart phone.

Another change is my favorite dish. While I still love nutty fruity shrimp, I have recently discovered my new favorite dish, 

Tea Leaf Salad	$10.25
		Salad prepared with imported Burmese tea leaves, tomatoes, lettuce, fried garlic, Fried onion, fried split peas, sesame seeds, and peanuts

Forget what you know about salads from any American menu and try this fabulous concoction! You will not be dissappointed.

Recently one of my neighbors passed. We had a goup of neighbors go to the Green Elephant for a mini memorial dinner. He would have been happy to see if his close friends and neighbors remember him at his favorite restaurant.

Bon Appitite!

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

BRE 01191194

650-619-9285

Santa Clara County Real Estate Market Update 7/21/2013

As a Santa Clara Real Estate Agent I am always being asked, "How's the market in Santa Clara?" The answer is simple:
Not enough inventory, plenty of buyers.

There are currently 46 single family Santa Clara homes for sale, the same as last week.
There are currently 39 Santa Clara town homes/condos for sale, up from 34 last week.
There are currently 61 pending sales of Santa Clara single family homes, up from 59 last week.
There are currently 59 pending sales of Santa Clara town homes/Condos, up from 51 last week.

In June of 2013 there were 61 single family Santa Clara homes sold, up from 47 in May, ranging in price from $420,000 to $1,240,000. This shows a decrease in price range of 10% for the lowest priced home sold in May, but it was a short sale that took a long time to close so the market at time of sale was lower. The lowest price traditional sale was $550,000 which is $100,000 higher than the lowest price in May.

In June of 2013 there were 33 Santa Clara Town Homes/Condos sold, the same as in May.  They ranged in price from $230,000 to $790,000. This is 20% lower than the lowest price in May and 5% lower than the highest price in May. Has the appreciation started to slow down? I think so.
Santa Clara single family home listings are not up from before the holiday.  Condos are up antoher 10% from last week.  Hopefully as more homeowners come out from being underwater (owing more on their home than it is worth) more sellers will be able and willing to sell. However, there was not an increase in condos for sale and this is important as there are so many young people trying to buy their first homes and so few condos for them to buy.

If you would like to search for homes for sale please feel free to visit my website for a custom search.

http://marcymoyer.com/OnlineSearchRequest2?operation=choose_mls&timestamp=1359953266454

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

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