NEW MLS Search Feature on TeamTapper.com
So, if you haven’t noticed we added a pretty cool new area onto TeamTapper.com. On the right sidebar beneath our “Featured Listings” we added a “Local Real Estate For Sale” almost every city in the Peninsula is currently setup with “pre-fabed” searches for each city. We established three common price ranges to make searching easier for you.
With these property profiles (for every home on MLS) we tried to include every piece of information that we are allowed to give the public access to. So you may find that our site as more information than other sites with similar features. So if you do find that you like our site for finding homes as you’re driving around. Go to google.com, type in the address followed by “Team Tapper” and click the first thing on Google’s list and all the information for that listing will be right there in front of you!
Click request a showing, request more information, etc. and it will send us all the information to our cell phones and a team tapper agent will contact you as soon as possible to setup a showing.
Pretty cool, huh?
SHORT SALES – PART 2
Why do short sales take so long?
When you see a large lender like Bank of America or Wells Fargo, you usually think it’s the bank that is losing money on the loan if they decide to sell the home for less than what is owed.
But the truth to the matter is that for “most” of these loans, there is an investor who has asked these lenders to loan out a block of money, usually in the hundreds of millions of dollars and the banks are just servicing them. It’s not the banks money, it’s the investors or a group of investors who have their money on the line. There is also Fannie and Freddie Mac government backed loans.
Remember, these investors have never seen the home. All they see is numbers. They are relying on the listing agent to get as much money back as possible for their investment.
The lender and investors are also worried about fraud. How do they know if the home owner is selling their home to a friend or relative for a lot less than what the home is worth? They don’t. They need to do their due diligence as best as possible.
It’s called an arms length transaction where all the parties sign a document that there are no side deals and that they don’t know each other.
Another reason the short sales take so long is because many times there is more than one loan and you are now trying to satisfy two or three lenders/investors. That’s very time consuming. Many lenders are also under staffed. They have thousands of delinquent loans, and only so many employees to service them. Remember, many banks have gone under and are on longer in business, so they have had to cut down on their payroll.
The home owner can also be the one who is delaying the time line. Either because they have failed to provide all their financial’s and a hardship letter, or maybe because they want to live in the home as long as they can without having to pay their mortgage. What lender(s) have done to take steps to shorten the time line?
Wachovia is the leader among all the lenders up to now. They have addressed this problem by setting up a system where they have a manager come out and meet with the home owner and listing agent and they determine what fair market value is.
Once they receive an offer, it only takes 45 days for them to make it happen. Wachovia is by far the most advanced up to now.
I’ve recently heard rumors that Wells Fargo is about to start a pilot program where after a home owner is turned down for a loan modification, they will agree to a short sale with the home owner.
If you have any question about short sales or any real estate related questions, please feel free to write or call.
Tap
David Tapper’s First Video Testimonial
Hello Readers,
Sorry, this video is a few months old. I posted it on my twitter account when it was uploaded to YouTube, but forgot to post it here! For those of you on the fence what Realtor to choose in your home search, hopefully this video of my clients will help you out 
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?
