Comment below and we will email you a list of Foreclosures in Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon and Danville.

Thinking about a Foreclosure in Pleasanton or maybe a Short Sale in Dublin? Sure you are, who isn’t. I say that because many buyers are looking at Foreclosures or Short Sales in the Tri Valley as a great deal opportunity. I wrote a post in February about Foreclosures in Pleasanton and Tri Valley where I said ‘bank owned homes in Pleasanton are some serious deals.’ I now update my statement. Today many foreclosures in the Tri Valley are being listed under comparables of recently sold homes and then you have a bidding war on the home, bringing the price up. While I believe there are still ‘deals’ to be made on foreclosures, they are not the only way to go.

Change of strategy… Go for short sales if you want a deal too. Short sales in the Tri Valley will eventually become Foreclosures, so show the bank the benefit of avoiding foreclosure and hope that the listing agent and your agent know how to work a short sale, it’s an art. Also, hire an agent with short sale and foreclosure experience.

Comment below and we will email you a list of Foreclosures in Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon and Danville.

So you are thinking about buying an investment property and thinking about a foreclosure in Pleasanton or a short sale in Dublin. Unfortunately every time one comes up that is a deal, you get out bid or can’t get an offer in soon enough because you are too late.

For a list of foreclosures or short sales in the Tri Valley comment below.

Here is a game plan incase you don’t have one:

1. At the least get pre-approved, even if you think it will be no problem to do so. If your offer on that short sale in Dublin Ranch does not have one, the bank won’t look at your offer, sorry.

2. Know what you are looking for. 3 bedroom minimum in Pleasanton, must have garage, close to school, no pool, single level, indoor laundry… Focus on those properties you want only.

3. If it’s a rental, know neighborhood rents and be conservative. Don’t forget HOA dues. Dublin Ranch condos are a great investment with prices below $400,000 and rents above $2,000.

4. Looking at a fixer? Don’t sweat the appliances being gone or destroyed carpets and paint. Those are easy to take care of - Visit the Sears Outlet Store in San Leandro. How is the structure? How is the roof? How are the schools? Latest on Tri Valley School scores.

5. Be realistic in pricing. $400,000 condo in Dublin Ranch rents for $2,300. If you put 20% down your payments are pretty close to even cash flow. Most investors looking for a property like this will not go much higher than $400,000, so it will be hard to get it for $350,000. Think about who else might be looking at that foreclosure in Pleasanton you have an eye on.

6. Sweeten the deal. Short sale in Dublin was just secured for our buyers because the seller wanted to stay in the home and the buyer wanted a renter. We told the seller they could stay in the home. Offer Accepted! What makes your offer different from the other 7 offers written?

7. Not everyone is hurting. Even if the economy is ‘weak’ there are a lot of people with money investing in properties and flipping homes. Right now the competition for buyers is an investor who has done their homework. Have you done your homework? If you have, you will get an A in investing and make some great money from this market.

If you would like us to help you develop a plan, email us here.

For a list of foreclosures or short sales comment below.

Remember to do your homework. Here is a post covering that idea. Is Your Home Convenient.

This is not an article about why you should buy a Pleasanton home because everyone buys for different reasons. This may be a bad time for you to buy that condo in Dublin Ranch, but it may be a great time for you to buy that Danville home. This article is what we have observed from working with Tri Valley home buyers over the years.

In 2004 and 2005 the question for many tri valley home buyers and tri valley home sellers was ‘how long will this last?’ Meaning how long will prices increase. Today the question is ‘when will the bottom hit?’ And in 2007 the question was ‘Why would anyone buy a home in this market?’ In the papers and on the television the thoughts were similar. Last year you could pick up the paper and a headline would read ‘Where is the bottom of the market.’ Today I opened the paper and the headline was ‘Housing bottom coming into view.’ Real estate is always looked at in trends of month to month sales or year to year pricing. Since we are tri valley realtors we have a good look at the ‘emotional’ trend of buyers in the Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, Danville and San Ramon markets. As you could probably guess the trend or question we get now is ‘When should I buy a home?’ Today we have a lot of clients who want to buy a home, they just want to time is right. From the National Association of Realtors to CNBC many economists are pointing to some point in ’09 to be the bottom and a stabilization moving forward from the end of 2008. Before you say we have a bias opinion, we also see first hand the buyers in the Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, Danville and San Ramon markets who are waiting for the right point to purchase. Think of it like a group of runners at a start line shoulder to shoulder holding everyone else back waiting to sprint or ‘jump’ into the market. The number of people waiting is huge and once the media is in line with what those buyers at the start line want to hear or see in the data trends, the real estate market will explode. My point is this – Don’t try to time the market, you will have a hard time doing it because every markt is different, but buy a home for the reason our grandparents did! When the time is right for you, buy and hold.

Buy smart and do your homework!

Median Prices of Homes in Pleasanton have obviously increased from 1988. As well as Dublin Home sales and Livermore prices.

Here are some numbers for Median Prices of Single Family Homes…

1988 Pleasanton Home in January was $189,000 (interest rate 10.38)

1991 Livermore Home in January was $200,000 (interest rate 9.64)

1999 Dublin Home in September was $320,000 (interest rate 7.82)

FAST FORWARD… May of 2008

Pleasanton Home $1,044,570

Livermore Home $518,469

Dublin Home $640,717

Here is a full report of Median Prices of Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore Homes

 Pleasanton Median Price History 

Livermore Median Price History

Dublin Median Price History 

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Pleasanton Home Sales, San Ramon Home Sales, Dublin Home Sales, Danville Home Sales and Livermore Home Sales for June all saw an increase in sales as well as a decrease in Days on Market! Good news for Tri Valley Home owners.

Past months sales

June Home Sales

May Home Sales

Tri Valley Home Sales

Pleasanton Home Sales

Dublin Home Sales

Dublin Ranch Condo Sales

Livermore Home Sales

Danville Home Sales 

San Ramon Home Sales

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Is it the bottom of the housing market?

I have received this article a few times over the past week from clients asking if the bottom of the housing market is here. Here is a link to the Wall Street Journal article.

The Housing Crisis is Over

I know a lot of people are waiting until the bottom is here until they buy, but there are two schools of thought regarding housing. One is buy a house because you want to raise a family, be close to great schools, close to work, near amenities, and a home you can afford plus get great tax write offs. Second is, buy a house because you want to make quick money, you don’t really like it, but you can put a few bucks in it and make more, your loan isn’t that great, but you will sell before it resets, maybe you get a kick back on the commission of the agent and you want the money in your pocket. If those don’t work out, you would rather rent. Here is my concern - the same mindset that exists today for many is the same that got us into the problem we are now leaving.

A home is best purchased for option one. Look at our grandparents, they bought a home to live in and raise a family. They did make money, and many made a lot, but only after years of being in a home and that is the best way to buy real estate, long term. So my answer to the question ‘is the market at the bottom’ is if you want to make quick money, NO. Real estate should never be viewed that way. If you want to buy a home for the long term, we are closer now than a year ago, but we won’t know it’s the bottom until we pass it. Many areas are now seeing prices at a level where renting does not make sense anymore. Example in the Dublin Ranch Condos a home just went pending at $350,000. Its is a 2 bed 2 bath 1,400sf, the same home will rent for $2,000.

Here is what you can take from this – Do your homework on the neighborhood, get a good loan, put some money down, find a local Realtor and you will make money in the long term!