SAN MATEO VILLAGE SEWER LATERAL / HEALTHY HOME PROGRAM
Hello everyone, Tuesday night I sat in on the discussion regarding the new sewer lateral upgrade in the Village.
The event was sponsored by B Street. & Vine ( located at 320 S. B St. in San Mateo) who provided a very nice spread of delicious food for all the guests.
The Village is the first neighborhood in the City of San Mateo that this is being offered to because quite frankly, it’s the leakiest.
For a limited time, the City of San Mateo is offering a free inspection, with no obligation, valued at $250 to come out and take a TV inspection to determine if your sewer lateral is defective
If you do not take advantage of this now, it will move on to the next neighborhood in San Mateo.
This outreach program is to promote the efforts and assist single family home owners with repair of deteriorated private sewer laterals. These efforts to help the Village home owners will span 5 years and will utilize $750,000 of the fines assessed as part of the March 11, 2009 Cease and Desist Order as a funding source for grants and loans to homeowners in the Village for the private sewer lateral upgrade program.
Because times are tough, the City is offering reimbursement grants ( up to 50% of the replacement cost) or very low interest loans will be available to qualifying residents who want to replace their sewer lateral because of root infiltration, breaks, cracks, failed pipe, “ orangeburg” pipe, and alignment problems.
The grants are for up to 50% for families with less than $81,573 combined income. If you earn more than that, there is financing at extremely low interest rates under 2%, financed up to 3 years. (If you earn less than the $81,573, you may also be able to finance the rest.)
In regards to real estate, one thing you may want to keep in mind is that if you are thinking of selling your home in the near future, having the inspection can also create more value if your home has been upgraded.
But, if you decide to get the inspection and not do the upgrade if it’s needed, this could reduce the value of your home, and will also be a disclosure issue that will need to be exposed to any potential buyers.
From my experience, it’s only a matterof time before this becomes mandatory, just like the cities of Burlingame and Hillsborough. As a matter of fact, that’s the question I posed at the meeting and was told that the City Council may take a vote on this in the Spring.
The main speaker, ( Sheri Costa-Batis) with the Dept of Public Works did a terrific job explaining the project and answering everyone’s questions. If you have any questions, please call Sheri direct at 650-522-7334 or you can email her at scosta-batis@cityofsanmateo.org.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
David “Tap” Tapper
HOW’S THE RENTAL MARKET?
I’ve received a lot of calls from investors and past clients asking how the rental market is doing? Over all, I would say that the market is down 10-15% in some areas. Less in better locations where the schools are best.
I’ve had no problems renting my listings as long as you are realistic and pricing it right. Kind of the same rule of thumb as when you sell.
The reason is twofold. There are more rentals to choose from and a lot of tenants are trying to take advantage of the low interest rates and tax breaks for first time home buyers and would rather pay for their own mortgage instead of someone else’s.
If you are thinking of renting your property, make sure it’s light , bright and very clean. It won’t hurt if it smells nice too.
Happy Holidays
Fay
Should We Try To Purchase A Home During The Holidays or Wait?
Purchasing a home during the holidays could be a real blessing because a lot of buyers have other priorities like Thanksgiving,Christmas and New Years.
Timing is everything and sometimes things fall through the cracks and there is a home just waiting to be plucked. As I said, buyers have other things on their minds and a lot of agents take a good portion of December off figuring that there won’t be any new inventory coming up and they will have some downtime.
Agents are also burned out a little. So, if you are in the market to purchase near the Holidays, it could be a stroke of luck.
For me, it’s time to put the pedal to the metal and make some things happen for my buyers.
Have a Safe And Happy Holidays.
Cheers,
Tap
Top 5 Reasons To Live on The Peninsula!
There are some reasons why it is so expensive to buy real estate on the San Francisco Peninsula. Here are five:
#1 Conveniently Located to two Large Cities/Areas:
The Mid-Peninsula is just 20 minutes south of San Francisco and about 30 minutes north of San Jose/Silicon Valley. Being located in close range to two large cities allows our suburbs to be a stone’s throw from local grocery stores, downtown shopping areas, movie theaters, parks, and restaurants.
#2 The Weather:
Our weather is AMAZING! Rarely is it extremely cold or extremely hot. It rains enough to keep our reservoir stocked and our faucets working.
#3 We’re Hiring:
Always. The Bay Area is home to jobs even during the bad economy. Such renowned companies include; Genentech, Oracle, Google, Twitter, Hewlett Packard, Gap Inc., Adobe, Cisco Systems, and MANY MORE!
#4 Close to “Weekend Getaways”:
No matter where you live, every once and a while everyone needs to escape. We are close to Lake Tahoe and Reno where you can Ski/Snowboard, Go Gambling, Hiking, etc.
We are close to Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Paso Robles; home to world class wine producers. Sonoma County is also home to Sears Point/Infineon Raceway where you can watch many national race events. Or you can shoot over to Monterey home of Laguna Seca Raceway another world class race track. Monterey boasts one of the best aquariums on the west coast: Monterey Bay Aquarium is a great place to see marine biology at its finest.
Like the water? Love to surf? We have that too! Half Moon Bay is home to Mavericks – one of the world’s most extreme surf spots. We have milder waves for beginners to learn how to surf on too. But, don’t forget to wear a wetsuit, our Pacific Ocean waters are a bit chilly.
#5 The People!
Something about the people in northern California gives for great friendships. A little bit of respect and kindness goes a long way. In San Mateo/Burlingame people say, “Hello” as they pass each other walking in the morning. “Thank You” when you open a door for them, and “Happy Holidays” during the season. Needless to say, I never feel uncomfortable asking my neighbors for sugar or milk.
These are just my five reasons, Why do you like living on the Peninsula?
Bay Area Fall Events in October!
Howdy Readers,
Check out 5 of my favorite fall events! All in the month of October!
October 11th, 2009 - The 13th Annual Roosevelt Elementary School (Burlingame, CA) Chili Cook-Off and BBQ www.rooseveltchili.org
October 12th, 2009 - The 36th Annual Safeway Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay www.miramarevents.com
October 16th & 17th - Saint Paul’s Nursery School Annual Halloween Fun Faire http://www.stpaulsnurseryschool.org/ Friday from Noon-5pm and Saturday 10am-4pm!
October 17th-18th, 2009 - The 39th Annual Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival www.miramarevents.com
October 23rd, 2009 - California Certified Organic Farmers’ Fourth Annual Organic Beer & Wine Tasting Event @ The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Building www.ccof.org
Please attend and enjoy these events. Feel free to provide feedback via comments!
