Some Silicon Valley home buyers do not want to have their own buyers agent, but instead expect that they can find properties in the San Jose area that they want to see and request that the listing agent show it to them in a private appointment.  These same potential buyers may be surprised that the listing agent may refuse to show them the listing outside of a regularly scheduled open house – that is, if the seller is permitting open houses.

What’s going on?

In earlier articles we’ve discussed the need for a buyer broker agreement (verbal at the least, but possibly in writing) and why you, as a buyer, ought to have your own representation at the negotiation table.  (If you missed these, see the links under “related reading” below.)   Today I want to dispel the myth that the listing agent is required to open up and show condos or houses for sale to anyone who calls and requests seeing them and explain why that’s the case.

Showings of homes for sale are determined by the listing agreement or contract between the home seller, the listing agent or Realtor and the broker

The most important thing for buyers to understand is that the accessibility of the home for viewings depends upon the agreement, verbally or in writing, between the owner of the property and the agent/brokerage hired to market, negotiate, and sell the real estate.   It’s not an “on demand” situation where an interested buyer can insist on seeing the property as desired. Here are some of the expected scenarios and reasons why showings are somewhat restricted most of the time:

• Some properties are tenant occupied and it may be the case that you cannot even see the house or condo until after your offer is accepted. Most often it will be challenging to see homes with renters in them, but it is possible, usually, to see them prior to purchasing. (This is less true with duplexes, triplexes and four plexes. Apartment buildings are always sold “subject to inspection”.)
• Other times there may be a restriction such as 24 or 48 hours notice required for showings when homes are owner occupied.
• Most of the time, the seller has requested that any private showings, by appointment, involve ONLY pre-approved buyers. The sellers don’t want to waste their time with tire-kickers.  They want serious buyers.
• Most of the time, a seller will not want the listing agent to also represent the buyer and will expect serious home buyers to have a buyer’s agent.  If you are working with your own agent, that’s who should show the home to you.  If you have your own buyer agent, he or she can see what is involved in showing the property to you by looking at the agent version of the MLS (which includes showing instruction information and restrictions)
• Some sellers want open houses, some don’t.  For those selling a home during the holidays, often the for sale sign and lock box are removed and it becomes harder to get into these properties.
• Safety is a HUGE concern, both for home owners selling on their own and for realty professionals. Each year, Realtors and other real estate professionals are injured or killed in their line of work. If this surprises you, ask yourself how smart is it to meet total strangers at an empty house? It’s not.  If you want the listing agent to show you the house, expect to be asked a lot of questions (are you preapproved? if so, with who? how can we verify that?) and usually expect to meet the agent at the office first. Many Realtors will ask to photo copy your driver’s license prior to taking you to the home – this is for personal safety reasons. We realize that you will feel uncomfortable but please remember that real estate is risky for us and we absolutely must be cautious.

Related reading:

Do You Need a Buyer’s Agent? Or Should You Find a Home, Then Use the Listing Agent?

Silicon Valley Home Buyers: Should You Use a Buyer Broker Agreement?

Those of us who sell real estate for a living know that consumers want to hear back from us as soon as possible when they call or email (or text, in some cases).  What’s a realistic turnaround time for the response?

If not with clients or otherwise tied up, many Realtors (yours truly included) will pick up the phone when called during business hours. (Some won’t. Some do time blocking and return calls at set times, such as between 11am and noon and 4 and 5pm. Those who time block in this way will often put a message on their voice mail explaining when they will call back. Hopefully, that works for the caller!)    In general, Realtors and real estate sales people will not take calls or return phone calls while they are with other clients unless there is a really crucial event happening – and if that’s the case, they’ll let the folks they’re with know about it upfront.  Depending on how long the appointment is, then, the return call could be an hour or two or, in the extreme, at the very end of the day (if with relocating clients and doing a crash course in the area that goes 8 hours – it can happen, but is exhausting for all).

Once in awhile, a voice mail or text simply won’t be delivered by the wireless carrier in a timely manner. This is extremely embarassing and upsetting to everyone impacted by it.  So please keep in mind that it’s always possible that your message simply wasn’t delivered.

If something big is going on, check in ahead of time with your Realtor

If there is some momentous event or report looming, talk to your buyer’s or seller’s agent ahead of time to learn his or her schedule and availability.  This is key for reducing everyone’s stress!

Agents do sometimes take time off, too. Communicate with yours to know when he or she is off, and do your best to respect that time. Real estate licensees who get too burned out are less effective in the long run.

In my practice, often I can call back within a few minutes if I am simply on the other line when I miss a call. Most of the time, my appointments (listing or showing homes) last only about 2 hours, so I can get back to callers within 2-3 hours 95% of the time.  On very rare occassions, I’ll have a marathon appointment and be tied up all day.

If your agent is really busy – and we all get at least some spells like this - know that he or she will probably call you back within a couple of hours. If you don’t get a response and it’s some sort of emergency, try texting (many agents now communicate that way – I do) but know that you are probably interrupting so it may not be possible for your agent to call you back immediately.

It’s all about expectations: if you know your agent’s availability, it won’t be frustrating for you or her/him if there’s a small amount of phone tag.

Finally, I should add that the best agents are not available 100% of the time!  This week I learned that in Santa Clara County, 78% Of the agents have sold either no homes or only 1 home this year.  Those agents may be more available – but they may not be the best agent you could hire.  When hiring an agent, do find out how busy he or she is generally. You’ll all be happier to establish realistic expectations upfront.

Each year, Inman News sponsors a “people’s choice” voting for the most influential person in real estate.  Inman nominates 100 strong candidates but voters may also write in someone not listed.  This week, I was very deeply honored to have been included on such a prestigious list of real estate leaders nationwide, and I’d be thrilled if you would consider voting for me.

Where to vote:  follow this link and the fields for entering your desired winner’s name and info will be about 20% of the way down (midway through the article and just after a large ad) – deadline is Dec 1, 2011:

http://www.inman.com/news/2011/11/2/2011-peoples-choice-real-estates-most-influential

What is Inman looking for with this people’s choice voting?  I’ll quote a couple of passages and then comment.

“It’s time to vote for a leader who you believe has had the most substantial impact on the real estate industry in the past year. “  

“The Inman 100 list recognizes those whose voices and actions have the power to change the industry. Among them are individuals who embody strength, common sense, innovation, ingenuity, perseverance and progress. They include the industry’s brain trust and dealmakers, and those outside the industry who impact the business of buying and selling homes.”

So how did I, Mary Pope-Handy, a Silicon Valley Realtor with Sereno Group in Los Gatos and not a CEO of a big brokerage or large vendor, get named with realty’s best & brightest? It’s very humbling. But I think I have a few ideas as to why I’m getting the national spotlight. I’ll break it into a few bullet points, for those who may only know me from local blogging or home sales.

• In 2007, together with Frances Flynn Thorsen, I won the Project Blogger contest (sponsored by Inman and Active Rain) and have been a leader in blogging and web marketing circles ever since.
• In 2011 I was named “the best real estate agent in Silicon Valley” by the San Jose Mercury News. (Many of my clients now come to me from my blogs.)
• Speaking & training: In addition to residential real estate sales in the San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga and greater Silicon Valley area (Santa Clara County and nearby), I do speak at real estate meetings, trainings and classes on blogging, social media, real estate and related topics; to keep it short, I’ll post a link rather than list my involvement:
  Read more about my speaking & training on my Valley of Hearts Delight website.
• While blogging is the most important part of social media for me, I am engaged on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedn, YouTube and other venues too. Through these, I have a pretty good reach or impact on the web.  This is good for my realty business generally but also good for the owners of homes I list, as they get fantastic exposure when listed for sale with me.
• I don’t just have one website or one blog, but rather a network of them.  I may be a little crazy for embracing blogging to this extent (yes, it is time consuming), but I  hear time and again how much the info I put out there is helping people, both consumers and other real estate licensees alike (and not just folks buying & selling homes).  I’ve had agents at Sereno Group thank me for blogging, saying that it raises the bar in the industry, makes the company look good, and in one case, by association, apparently I helped a colleague to gain a listing (he told me that I make him look good because it shows the strength of our firm).  That’s a positive influence too.
• When I train, speak to or blog for a real estate agent audience, I try to provide helpful tips and encourage authenticity and transparency and to skip the games, the slick closing techniques or any smoke & mirrors. In other words, I really do try to raise the bar on our standard of practice.   I can be outspoken on what I believe is right or wrong with either the way the business is worked or, perhaps more of interest at the moment, the way social media is being employed to help agents to run their business. Sometimes I hold positions that aren’t popular but I hope that at a minimum, it helps agents to reconsider putting their values into action for the betterment of consumers as well as the real estate community.

Who, then, is a big real estate influencer?  I suspect that everyone on this highly esteemed list really is one.  Heads of brokerages directly impact how those companies work, their standards and requirements, how they hire and train and so on.  Real estate coaches (and there were several of them on this collection of super stars) directly impact their clients – agents and brokers – and help them to improve the way they work, suggest how those individuals can best use their time, etc.  I could go through the list and indicate why each category matters.

Only about a dozen of us on the list are simply Realtors, in the trenches, selling and networking and changing to meet the changing demands of the industry.   My hat is off to each person named, whether a real estate agent, vendor, CEO, manager coach or any other category.  And there are many other great people who weren’t there in writing who also deserve kudos as well.  I think it’s fair to say that everyone listed this year or in recent years past has been a highly influential force in the real estate landscape today.  We can’t vote for them all.  I do hope that you will vote for me!

Smart, saavy Silicon Valley real estate agents won’t take just any listing.   New agents (or brokerages, for that matter) or those struggling may be less picky.  This may be confusing to home owners who find that some Realtors will agree to list the home, others won’t – so let’s discuss it a little.

Real estate licensees aren’t just people who hold open houses on weekends.  Rather, real estate agents are independent businesspeople in the business of selling real estate. Many of them work 50+ hours per week.  In order to be successful, they have to evaluate the probability of success, whether with buyers or sellers, before deciding to take on those clients.  If they agree to work with buyers who never buy or sellers who never sell, they will be out of time, out of money, and if they make this judgement mistake too often, out of business entirely.   In the last 4-5 years about 1/3 of real estate salespeople have left the industry.  Those who are surviving or thriving are very judicious about how they expend their time and resources.

Under some circumstances, home sellers may project enough “red flags” or have unreasonable expectations such that real estate agents will turn down the chance to list their home.  Here are a few things I’ve run into over the years, either personally or heard about from other agents who said no to sellers:

1. Unrealistic expection on likely sales price of the home (demanding more than the probable buyer’s value of the home)
2. Unwilling to compensate agents or brokers as they require OR expecting them to take on far more work than is to be expected in selling a property (such as overseeing the entire remodel of a house – we are not general contractors!)
3. Overly restrictive showings (too much advance notice, insisting that listing agent be present for all showings)
4. Not permitting some basic marketing or access avenues (no open house, no sign, no lockbox) or unwilling to follow sound professional advice on staging, presale inspections to make the property attractive to buyers – these are “basics”
5. Problems with showings (messy, smelly homes or sellers insist on staying home during showings, follow buyers around in the house etc.)
6. Secretiveness – when sellers won’t level with agents about their plans it sets a bad, even scary, tone that causes agents to worry about hidden risks
7. Nastiness, second guessing or micro-managing – some sellers may want to call the agent 8 or 10 times per day or desire to oversee even the smallest detail on marketing the home (see every email sent, for example).  Others can be rude or insulting.  Some constantly double check everything the agent says to verify every angle or detail and then quotes back to the agent “well another agent I know says…” which is frustrating and insulting.  Sometimes listening to others at work, who are unqualified to give real estate advice and getting that “over the cubicle wall advice”, causes home owners to not follow their agent’s advice (see # 4 above).
8. Concerns over legal problems and liability, such as a home owner with dementia selling the house rather than the adult kids or other friends or relatives getting a power of attorney to do it for the parent (I have run into this directly). If there are any mental capacity issues, it is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Most of the time, real estate agents want to list good homes and have the opportunity to market and sell them.  If they (or I) see enough “red flags” with a seller or the property, though, it’s time to decline the opportunity.  Often times, these same houses do not sell the first time they are on the market but later become an expired, withdrawn or cancelled listing.  (Sometimes they simply take a very long time to sell as the owners adjust to market realities and begin to accept their agent’s advice.)  Sellers wonder to themselves, “why didn’t my house sell?”  The answer is often an inflated price but just as often there are other problems compunding the failed sales effort too, very frequently an unwillingness to follow professional real estate advice.

Not every home will sell.  A wise real estate sales person will not get hooked into a listing agreement where the seller isn’t as motivated to sell the property as the agent is to sell it.  This is a team effort, requiring a shared vision of what needs to happen.  Even under the best of circumstances, homes don’t always sell.  So if there are big issues from the seller or the way the home is shown, it’s a bad business decision for the real estate licensee to get tied to them – it’s too much like trying to do the job with one hand tied behind your back. Who agents and brokers work with is ultimately a business decision.  If they are turning you down for the listing contract, at the end of the day it’s a statement about your or your property’s business risk. If you are confused as to why they decline the opportunity to list your house, townhouse or condo, you can always ask them, and most likely you’ll get a helpful answer.

Sometimes a  friend will call or email me and say that he or she is buying or selling a house, has a Realtor but wants my advice about the real estate purchase contract nuances, analyzing comps, or any other real estate related question. Usually it’s someone out of my Silicon Valley market area, though a few times it’s been someone closer to home.

Most professionals don’t want to be asked to give professional advice when they aren’t going to be compensated – this is true for lawyers, doctors, and many others.  But it’s also true for real estate professionals, too.  The problem, though, is not really that some folks overstep the bounds of asking for a favor. Instead, it is a matter of ethics.

I cannot interfere or meddle if you or they have a Realtor.  This is part of our Realtor Code of Ethics:

Code of Ethics
The Code establishes time-honored and baseline principles that come from the collective experiences of REALTORS® since the Code of Ethics was first established in 1913. Those principles can be loosely defined as:

• Loyalty to clients;
• Fiduciary (legal) duty to clients;
• Cooperation with competitors;
• Truthfulness in statements and advertising; and non-interference in exclusive relationships that other REALTORS® have with their clients.

Non Realtor real estate licensees also have boundaries on what they can and cannot do, too.  One big area is that we are not supposed to advice outside of our areas of competency.  I feel pretty good about a lot of areas ranging from Santa Cruz to the south to Redwood Shores to the north and Fremont, Pleasanton or Livermore on the east bay plus all of Santa Clara County.  But I don’t know Sacramento real estate, Santa Barbara Real Estate or San Diego real estate, so it would be wrong for me to suddenly delve into those arenas.  Even more so if that friend or relative asking “for a favor” were working with a Realtor or other real estate licensee and my commenting would constitute interference.

Frequently I’m asked if I (or another real estate licensee or agent) can help a consumer to purchase a foreclosure.  There are some nuances to this answer, but in short, it depends.

There are several stages in the foreclosure related sales in California.  Often, homes somewhere in this quagmire are listed on our Silicon Valley area MLS or multiple listing service.  If a property is listed in the MLS, then yes, we Realtors can help home buyers with a distressed sale purchase.

1. Pre-foreclosure (where payments have been missed and a Notice of Default or NOD has been filed – often, but not always, these homes are on the market and included in the MLS.  If they’re in the MLS, I can help.  Often these are short sales (but short sales are not always in pre-foreclosure – they may not have missed any payments).
2. Trustee’s sale, or actual foreclosure on the courthouse steps.  No role for a real estate agent here.  There are some big caveats and warnings! First,  often what’s owed against the home is more than it’s worth and the only way to purchase a home here is to pay off all the debts (so it may not be much of a deal!).  Second, if you buy here, you get NO inspection contingency and must pay cash for the house.  End of story – no backing out.  Worse, you cannot inspect it ahead of time!
3. Bank owned or REO.  These are usually listed on the MLS and if so, I can help you with it.  Sometimes banks hold onto them between the trustee’s sale and prior to listing them with a broker.  Often this is only for a month or two but sometimes it’s longer.  If it’s not on the MLS, it’s very very hard, or maybe impossible, to buy it.

While it’s not hard to locate homes where owners have missed some payments, it should not be assumed that these houses are either for sale or that the owners have any intention of selling them.  In my opinion, it would be harassment if consumers showed up on their doorsteps trying to purchase a house where a payment has been missed.  Most, maybe all, of the residents there would be offended.  They may be trying to get a loan modification (a friend of mine got one approved last week!) or have family & friends helping them to get back on track. If it is not listed in the MLS (which you can find at www.MLSListings.com – the public portal of our agent multiple listing service), the odds are overwhelmingly against it being available to you.

Multiple offers have returned to many segments of the Silicon Valley real estate market.  We are hearing about them in Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View – areas where newly minted IPO money is having an impact – but also in more modest, middle class areas such as San Jose’s Cambrian neighborhood. The trend appears to be spreading.

What Silicon Valley home sellers need to know and do to attract multiple offers

If you’re a Silicon Valley home seller, what do you need to know to try to get multiples on your home?  What should you beware of?  In short, here’s what needs to happen if you want to attract multiple offers on your home for sale:

1. The home must be turnkey, either fully remodeled or close to it – it must look like there’s nothing or very little for a buyer to do.  In addition to being turnkey, it must be squeaky clean and well staged! It needs to be comfortable – not too hot, not too cold. You want buyers and their agent to linger longer.
   
2. The price must be at or even under market value.  That is, you must be willing to price it aggressively.  Think it’s worth $1,050,000?  You might list it at $999,999 to get in under a major price threshold and to be the very best, most attractive property for the money. Yes, it might be under priced.  Over priced listings get either one offer at best or, more likely, none at all.
3. The property must be highly accessible. If it is hard to see, you probably won’t get multiple offers (and may get none at all).  (Please see articles on accessibility and on open houses.)
4. Finally, the property must be well marketed.  This includes a wide range of factors ranging from photographs, text, fliers, signs, and even the commission rate offered to the buyer’s side.

What Silicon Valley home buyers need to know and do to compete with multiple offers

If you’re a Silicon Valley home buyer, how do you win out in multiples without giving away all of your rights or overpaying for your house/home?

Over the last few years, I’ve written a number of articles about multiple offers and tips for buyers when competing (concepts to beware of, issues around contingencies, financing and more).  This is a bit like a multi-chapter ebook on how to work with multiple offers.  I hope it’s helpful!

By way of quick summary: you must cover a few areas very, very well:

1. You must be pre-approved by a reputable lender (fully pre-approved)
2. You must have a strong down payment (20% or more)
3. You must be willing to put 3% down for your initial deposit (also called a good faith deposit)
4. You must have a good agent helping you – he or she must do a good job completing the paperwork (it needs to be thorough and without any major mistakes), must communicate well with the listing agent and represent you and himself/herself as a great team with which the listing agent and sellers will want to work
5. You must have an excellent sense of pricing.  Your Realtor should “run the comps” for you, or may even prepare a competitive or comparative market analysis on the home you wish to purchase.  Pay attention to where the value  lies – sometimes that has little to do with the list price!
6. Be prepared to balance out the price and terms offered so that you do not feel like you are giving away all your rights.  Some real estate agents may push consumers to write contracts with no contingencies for home inspection, property condition, appraisal or finance.  I believe that this is a risky and unwarranted practice – but learn about it since your competitors may be doing this.
7. Read all of the articles below – they are here to help you!

Tips for Writing a Competitive Offer  Part One

Writing an Offer in a Multiples Situation? Financing Tips Part 2

Writing Strong Offers: More Financing Tips Part 3

Tips for Home Buyers Competing Against Multiple Offers – More Financing Tips Part 4

Competing Against Multiple Offers: Contingencies and Timeframes Part 5

Real Estate Purchase Offer Terms to Consider When Competing in Multiple Offers  Part 6

Sometimes the List Price Isn’t the Expected Sales Price, So Run Comps!

The Advantages of Presenting and Receiving Offers In Person

Interested in working with an agent who’s highly experienced with multiple offers?  Call or email me today!

Silicon Valley home buyers who are looking for a good deal can’t help but notice that prices on short sales and bank owned homes are a bargain compared to regular sales in the San Jose area. But what exactly ARE they? What’s the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure? What are the risks involved in buying one of these in Santa Clara County? Today we’ll have a look at the various types of distressed properties and the risks associated with purchasing each.

What are short sales?

Short sales are when home owners need to sell their home but there’s not enough equity in the property to pay off the loans and closing costs.  So the only way they can sell is if the bank agrees to accept a “short payoff“.  The bank or banks get paid in short, hence short sale.

What are some of the risks in buying a short sale?

What is a Foreclosure?

Foreclosures – there are really two subcategories here:  (i) when the actual auction happens on the courthouse steps and (ii) after the holder of the first loan takes the home back and sells it as a “bank owned property” or REO (“real estate owned” by the bank).

What are some of the risks in buying a bank owned home or REO?

Lately I have been given a lot of incomplete FIRPTAs from listing agents in & near Silicon Valley with the request (or demand) that my buyers sign them.  They explain “we don’t have to provide the social to the buyers anymore”.  These well intentioned agents have mixed up two choices and provided something of a hybrid that cannot be used to satisfy the requirement of the form. Hence this post.

It’s not just happening to me and to my buyers. There’s an immense amount of confusion about how to properly complete and handle the FIRPTA form in California real estate sales.  Most of it would be solved if people (buyers, sellers, realty agents, transaction coordinators and brokers) would simply read it and not assume what the requirements are.  (Silicon Valley Realtors have long heard local real estate trainer Guy Berry admonish us in class to simply read the forms.  He scrawls in large letters on the board for his class on the purchase agreement: What does the contract really say?)

So let’s do that.  Let’s see what the Seller’s Affidavit of Nonforeign Status And/Or California Withholding Exemption really says. To begin with, I uploaded the 2 page FIRPTA document onto my Valley of Hearts Delight website, so you can access the entire document by clicking on the link (it will download into a new window – it’s a pdf).  You might be surprised, especially if you are taking your information second-hand and have not read this form yourself in the last two years. (And if in doubt about any of it, please contact a real estate attorney for clarification.)

What is the purpose of the Seller’s Affidavit or FIRPTA?

Why do we have this form at all? The very first part of page one answers this question. (Words in red are mine.)

Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 1445 provides that a transferee (buyer) of U.S. real property interest must withhold tax if the transferor (seller) is a “foreign person”.  California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 18662 provides that a transferee (buyer) of a California real property interest must withhold tax unless an exemption applies.

So for starters, we are told that buyers must withhold tax from the sellers unless an exemption applies when they buy real estate in California. That’s what this FIRPTA form is all about: it tells the buyer that there is an exemption.  By completing this form and providing it, the seller is giving an affidavit that he or she is not subject to the withholding tax for either the Federal Government or for the State of California. The buyer is off the hook for holding money back in escrow from the seller.

In case the seller doesn’t already understand how serious this requirement is, the next line in the form continues with underscoring its gravity.  It’s the seller’s form, so “I” refers back to the seller (or transferor).

I understand that this affidavit may be disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service and to the California Tax Board by the transferee, and that any false statement I have made herein may result in a fine, imprisonment or both (bold is mine, not original).

I think that makes it pretty clear that the FIRPTA should be treated carefully. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case.

What information must be provided on the FIRPTA?

The next section has a few areas which are required to be completed by the seller (none is said to be optional).

1. The address of the property being transferred (or sold)
2. The seller or transferor’s information:
   1. Full name
   2. Telephone number
   3. Address
   4. Social Security Number, Federal Employer Identification Number, or California Corporation Number

It is usually the fourth item which is not provided when agents or sellers balk at this requirement but many times they also do not want to provide their telephone number either if this is being given to the buyer.

Does this completed FIRPTA, with Social Security Number, have to be given by the home seller to the home buyer?

Luckily, the next few words provide relief from the panic that sets in when sellers, who are rightly worried about identity theft, realize that the law says that they must give their personal information to the buyer of their home.   The bolding is in the original document, not just for emphasis here.  Read on:

Note: In order to avoid withholding, IRC Section 1445(b) requires that the Seller (a) provides this affidavit to the buyer with the Seller’s taxpayer identification number (“TIN”) or (b) provides this affidavit, with TIN, to a “qualified substitute” who furnishes a statement to the buyer under penalty of perjury that the qualified substitute has such affidavit in their possession. A qualified substitute may be (i) an attorney, title company or escrow company (but not the Seller’s agent) responsible for closing the transaction, or (ii) the Buyer’s agent.

This is good news for sellers.  While the FIRPTA form still MUST BE COMPLETED, it can now be given to the title or escrow company (or an attorney, if that attorney is handling the closing).  So to recap, here are the choices:

1. The completed FIRPTA may be given to the buyer OR
2. The completed FIRPTA may be given to the closing agent which acts as a “qualified substitute” (title company, escrow company, attorney or buyer’s agent) and the qualified substitute in turn gives a document to the buyer gives the buyer a statement saying that the completed FIRPTA is in its or their possession

The statement by the qualified substitute does NOT provide the personal information directly to the buyer, so this is by far the choice most sellers and agents prefer.

Near the bottom of the page, in huge type font, is an admonishment to the buyer, if the affidavit is given to him or her, to not misuse the TIN or SSN.

Buyer’s unauthorized use or disclosure of Seller’s TIN could result in civil or criminal liability.

Some real estate agents (and offices or even whole brokerages) sometimes deliver the FIRPTA to the buyer or buyer’s agent with the key info blacked out, whited out or missing, and demand that the buyers sign it.  Buyers cannot do that.  Under the signature line, it states

(Buyer acknowledges receipt of a copy of Seller’s affidavit.)

This first page of the Seller’s affidavit is not complete unless the personal information is included (there are check boxes to be selected also, but as these are not a source of confusion or contention I will omit them from this discussion).

Remember, if the seller should pay the withholding tax but doesn’t, the only protection a buyer has is this completed form.

Summary:

• The FIRPTA must always be completed if the seller asserts that no withholding should be kept to pay taxes
• The completed FIRPTA may be given to the buyer but it is not required IF a statement of qualified substitute is provided by the person or entitity in possession of the completed FIRPTA to the buyer
• It is a fairly common mistake for listing agents to give the buyer a FIRPTA with sensitive information blocked out or omitted, but this is a confusion between the two options and does not satisfy the requirement of the form

What does the qualified substitute tell the buyer about the seller?

Not much.  Some title companies draft their own forms, but California Realtors have access to the CAR forms online and may use Form QS (sample at link, which takes you to a pdf of the qualified substitute form.)

A word about qualified substitutes in California

In northern California, typically a title company handles the escrow functions.  (In southern CA, often there’s a separate escrow company, which sometimes is owned by a real estate firm involved in the transaction.)  Many title companies are willing to be the qualified substitute and to receive the completed FIRPTA and provide a statement to the buyer that they have it.  But not all title companies are willing to do this. The California Association of Realtors keeps a list of which companies will do it and you can find it on the CAR website: FIRPTA Qualified Substitute Service.

What are the exemptions to using the Seller’s Affidavit?

There are a number of reasons why it may be legitimate to skip this form altogether:

1. The seller is a foreign person and the withholding tax must be paid
2. The sale is less than $300,000 and the buyer intends to use it for personal use (with some caveats)
3. The back of the Seller’s Affidavit (link above for full document, on page 2) provides explanations of exemptions
4. Other exemptions listed on the IRS website

What if the seller refuses to provide a completed FIRPTA to the buyer or qualified substitute when it is required? Or if the buyer knows the information on the Seller’s Affidavit to be false?

The IRS website (see link above) states:

The certifications in items (3) and (4) are not effective if you have actual knowledge, or receive a notice from an agent, that they are false. If you are required by regulations to furnish a copy of the certification to the IRS and you fail to do so in the time and manner prescribed, the certifications are not effective.

In other words, you may have to withhold the money due to the federal and state government, or you may owe this money yourself if you are the buyer. Please consult an attorney!

What is the liability of the real estate agent if the FIRPTA is false and the agent knows it?

The IRS discusses this, too, on the same page as above. The agent may be liable for the withholding tax too, but the damage is capped at the amount of commission paid. This next small paragraph is addressed to buyers:

If you receive either of the certifications discussed in item (3) or (4) and the transferor’s agent or your agent (the transferee’s agent) has actual knowledge that the certification is false, or in the case of (3), that the corporation is a foreign corporation, the agent must notify you, or the agent will be held liable for the tax. The agent’s liability is limited to the amount of pay the agent gets from the transaction.

So if you, the buyer, or your real estate agent, knows that the FIRPTA is not on the level, you may be liable for the taxes due.  Please seek the help of a good lawyer immediately!

Before signing the Seller’s Affidavit or any other form, Silicon Valley home buyers & home sellers should read and understand what they are being asked to sign.  Take your time and do it!  It is very risky to breeze through this, just as much as it is to rush and be incomplete with the contract or disclosures.  Be wise and be careful.

Other issues: Broker Policies and Agent Practice

Sometimes a brokerage will have a very clear policy about the qualified substitute, but particular offices or agents may ignore it.  For example, a large, local brokerage with a fine reputation is Alain Pinel, Realtors. They have a document for their agents explaining how the FIRPTA and qualified substitute is to work – and it’s correct.  But this year I closed a transaction with a very pleasant APR agent who had no comprehension of this form.  It took me many emails with links and explanations to try to get across what should have been known already from within the brokerage.

Disclaimer: this post is not intended to be legal advice.  Please contact a qualified legal professional if you seek legal advice.

For further reading on the FIRPTA form and laws:

Definitions of Terms and Procedures Unique to FIRPTA (IRS website)

Federal Withholding: Foreign Investment In Real Property Tax Act (article on CAR site)

FIRPTA for Real Estate Investors, Brokers and Agents (article on About.com by Jim Kimmons)

Homeowners who are in financial trouble with their property sometimes wait too long to seek help, and then cannot mitigate the situation with a loan modification, a short sale or a deed in leiu of foreclosure. They wait so long and miss so many payments that significant harm is done.  The embarrassment, the sense of failure, the significant feelings of loss can keep home owners from reaching out for advice and guidance. This is happening on a big scale and is happening within my own close circle of loved ones too.

Recently a friend of mine, with whom I’ve done several transactions, informed me that she’d done a short sale with her home through a local attorney and hadn’t wanted to bother me with it, though she knew I’d have been willing to help.  (She was right: I would have.)

I was stunned on several counts, most of all that we hadn’t talked before she did it; I truly think it matters tremendously to do a good amount of information-gathering, and talking with trusted sources, before pulling the trigger on something big like this.  But very often, people become more private when under financial pressure. (Others are virtually in denial.)  This really just makes things worse since they may make huge decisions with insufficient information.

After a moment or two, I also realized I’d never seen her San Jose condo on the MLS and asked her how it could have sold without my noticing it.  She told me that a lawyer had helped her to effect the transaction, but he’s not a Realtor and it was never put on the multiple listing or marketed like a regular home for sale (aiming to get the highest price via the most qualified traffic).   He brought in only a few people and one of them bought it.  “I asked him how much he charged and he told me that the bank would pay the fee”, she offered.  She didn’t seem to know how much he’d been paid.  The sale was done, though, and she was relieved.  I was glad that she felt relieved but not convinced that her financial danger was over.

Feeling protective and worried about her being chased down later for the forgiven debt, I asked her if there would be any deficiency judgment. She didn’t know what I was talking about.  I tried to clarify by adding “are they going to send you a 1099?” (reflecting the “phantom income” or forgiven debt) – again, no idea what I was talking about.  There were other things, too, which pointed to the fact that although she’d gone through a short sale, and the sale was closed, there were an awful lot of things which she simply didn’t understand.  I’m not convinced that she comprehended the risks of what was involved even after the close of escrow. I am hoping that her lawyer didn’t have her sign off without a promise from the lender that there would be no deficiency judgment – but since she didn’t know about it, I’m not so sure that happened.

A rush to action could have been prevented with a little research and some conversations with more than just one professional.  When I speak to a home owner who’s considering a short sale (or deed in leiu or just walking away), I always suggest that he or she consult with an attorney and also a tax professional; these professionals can speak to issues that are not my area of expertise. A big plus, usually, is that there is no “vested interest” on the part of the lawyer or tax professional in advising one way or the other. He or she gets paid for advice and does not gain from there being a short sale (or lose for lack of it).  That neutral, unbiased advice is crucially important.  As a Realtor, I should not advise anyone to do or not do a short sale.  One big reason is simply that I stand to get paid with a short sale, but not if other avenues are taken.  In the case of my friend, the person advising her to do the short sale did profit from her following that advice.  I am concerned about that.  But it’s too late – so nothing I can do to help and I certainly don’t want her to feel bad about it so of course just let it lie.  I am hoping she will be ok.  I’d feel more certain of it if she understood better what she had done.

For my readers, though, I want to encourage you, if you’re in trouble, to not just do something impulsively and without consideration, but instead, please do some research and reflection.

Of course, I have seen the other extreme too, where instead of spontaneously jumping into it, Silicon Valley home owners carefully decide to do a short sale but then are so emotionally upset that it’s nearly impossible to move ahead.  They stall or find reasons to not either get ready to sell or to make the home ready and presentable.  Foreclosure inches closer and closer and the risks, and the stress, go up.  That’s not good either.

One bit of good news now, though, for people considering a short sale is in a recently passed California Senate Bill.  For people with just one loan, there are benefits to waiting until January to close escrow on a short sale, due to a new law in California, SB 931. After January 1st, home owners with just one loan who complete a short sale will not have to worry about a deficiency judgment.  Now that’s a relief!

Are you in trouble with your San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga or Campbell area home? I offer a no-cost, no-pressure initial consultation.  I won’t push you to list or sell your home with me or to do it at all.  I may be able to suggest alternatives that haven’t occurred to you, perhaps some that can help you to keep and stay in your home.  I will actively encourage you to do your research and get qualified advice. It’s important to neither drag your heels nor to rush impulsively into a short sale. Gather information, do your research, then chose and act!

Related articles on Silicon Valley short sales:

Silicon Valley Short Sale Listings (on my Live in Los Gatos blog)

Silicon Valley Short Sale Listings: Tracking the Numbers in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and the Cambrian Park Area of San Jose (also on my Live in Los Gatos blog)

What’s the Ratio of Distressed Sales – Short Sales or Foreclosures – to “Regular Sales” in Santa Clara County?

Underwater & Considering a Short Sale or Loan Modification?

Short Sales Sell But Often Don’t Close: Why?

The other day I was in the car with my uncle, a Jesuit priest and a very wise man. Our conversation turned to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, and my uncle noted that for Aristotle, the most important thing was the type of question asked.

We chatted about this awhile (I had studied Aristotle in college, but hadn’t remembered this important point) and I realized that this is also very true with real estate and home buyers & home sellers right here in Silicon Valley today.

Let’s look at a few real estate questions and just think about where each one leads:

• What is the fastest way to…?
• What is the easiest way to…?
• What is the cheapest way to…?
• What is the most thorough way to…?
• What is the most careful or conservative way to…?

You can see what I mean.  So many times, people wanting to buy or sell homes start with certain questions…and they may or may not be the best questions. The questions above are the “how to” questions – what is the way to do whatever it is.

Here are some very different questions. Instead of the “how to do” questions, they are the “I want this outcome” type of questions:

• Where is the best school for my kids and their needs (or special needs)?
• What kind of neighborhood do I want to live in?
• What kind of agent do I want to hire to guide me?
• What kind of lender do I want to hire to assist me?
• When would I like to be in or out of my home?

Oftentimes, I’ll have a listing and will be working with the seller to get the home marketed and sold.  A buyer – who does not know me in the slightest – comes through an open house and asks me to help him or her or them to “write up the offer”.

That’s not a compliment, you understand.  Because that buyer isn’t hiring me per se – the buyer is hiring the person who’s the listing agent. It’s just a “position”.  Today I’m that person.  If they don’t get the house, they’ll hire someone else next time – the next listing agent.  The reason for the selection is that they feel that they will “have an advantage”.  Any warm body in that position will do!

These buyers are not asking the right questions, in my opinion.  They are not asking “who will represent my interests alone?” They are not asking “who’s qualified and competent?”  They are only asking, I suspect, “who can get me a better deal” or “who can get me an advantage?”

The housing meltdown over the last three years should have taught consumers that not all lenders and not all real estate salespeople are alike. It should have taught them, frankly, that not all of them are to be trusted.  It is extremely important for consumers to be selective when hiring professionals to help them to buy or to sell a home.  This is one of the largest transactions you’ll ever make, and for that reason, it is important to hire thoughtfully and carefully.  Think hard not just about the “cheapest” way to do things.  Think about the ultimate outcome that you desire.  That ought to include a broad range of concerns beyond just getting the house.

If you do not have a broad range of concerns, you haven’t read enough! Please, if you think that buying or selling a home is exactly like buying or selling a piece of furniture or a car, please do some more research.  I’ll post some selected suggestions below.  Make sure that when you’re buying or selling Silicon Valley real estate, you do it thoughtfully.  Make sure you ask good questions so that you can get good information and in turn make good decisions.  Without the basis of good questions, you may never get to that best result.

Do You Need a Buyer’s Agent? Or Should You Find a Home, Then Use the Listing Agent?

How To Increase The Odds That Your Purchase Offer Will Be Rejected

Qualify The Advice You’ll Accept When Buying or Selling a Home in Silicon Valley

Choosing a Silicon Valley Realtor

Deciding what to Look for in a Silicon Valley Home

Ever hope that a “bias” will help you get your offer through when competing against multiple offers? Or that your agent’s friendship with the listing agent might sway the balance in your favor?

You’re not alone. And you’re right to suspect that it might happen. So does the opposite – “secret deals“.

Most of the time in Silicon Valley there’s one offer at a time on a house, and the property is listed in the MLS, so there’s really not a lot of favoritism or bias going on.  (Unless of course your agent or you make a really good OR really bad impression, which can also sway your ability to strike a favorable deal.)

Sometimes, though, homes sell “off” the MLS.  This happens more some areas than others (Palo Alto, Saratoga and Los Gatos come to mind), particularly in high end or luxury homes or homes owned by celebrities.  When this occurs, the marketing is done by word of mouth to favored offices or agents.  Sometimes only a few people know a property is available at all.  This is not the majority of the time, and in fact is a small minority, but if you are trying to purchase a home and there’s not much inventory, you want all the help you can get.

Why the favoritism?  Part of it is friendship and reputation.  Certain agents are well known for doing a good job for their clients and being fair to the other parties too.  Most Realtors want to work with agents on the other side of a transaction who are competant, hard working, fair minded, communicative, and thorough.   They don’t want to work with someone who seems unprofessional, doesn’t understand the contract, is overly emotional and who cannot educate and guide his or her client.  Those latter agents are nightmares and some real estate agents will go to extremes to avoid working with agents on the other side of a deal whom they perceive to be “bad”.

Key point: your real estate agent’s reputation is important!  This is also true if you hire a listing agent to assist you in selling your Silicon Valley home.  Most agents have an either neutral or good reputation.  An agent with a stellar reputation will make agents want to show your home and write an offer (because they know that it will be a fairly smooth transaction and they will be treated fairly). But if you hire an agent with a bad reputation you may either have trouble selling your home or not get as many offers as you might have otherwise seen.  A bad or disliked agent (there aren’t many of them but they do exist!) can virtually stigmatize your property.

There are many good, ethical Realtors in Silicon Valley.  Unfortunately, like in many other professions, there are a few bad apples in the real estate industry too. But hire well and you will find that doors can open for you.  Don’t be afraid to ask your agent to do old fashioned networking on your behalf too.  That 1 or 2% of homes that sell “off the MLS” may be the ideal home for you, so make sure you discuss finding those properties too.

Related Posts on this Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog:
Silicon Valley Home Buyers: Should You Use a Buyer Broker Agreement?
What Do Silicon Valley Real Estate Agents Do?
How Important is Marketing When Selling a Silicon Valley Home?
Why Is There So Much Paperwork When Buying or Selling a Home in Silicon Valley?
The Arbitration Clause in the Real Estate Contract: To Sign or Not To Sign?
What Is A Default in a Real Estate Transaction or Contract?

Should you sign the arbitration clause in your real estate listing or sales contract?  I can’t tell you.  Seriously. As a real estate licensee in California, I am not supposed to guide people to initial or not initial for it because that would be giving legal advice.  (Realtors and other real estate sales people are admonished not to provide, and are not qualified to give, either tax or legal advice.)

Arbitration is a choice that consumers have both when listing a home (between you and the brokerage/agent) and when selling a home (between you and the seller or buyer).  In reality, nearly all people do initial for arbitration, though, so many people do not feel that they really do have a choice. When you sell or buy your home here in Silicon Valley, there’s a very high probablilty (perhaps a certainty) that the other principals in the transaction will opt for arbitration – at least if it’s a “regular sale”.

With arbitration, if there were a big problem (not “small claims court” material), the issue would first go to non-binding mediation. That is, you’d all have to sit around the table (so to speak) and talk it through and try to find a resolution on your own. If mediation fails, then it would go before an arbitrator whom both sides would agree on. Usually they are retired superior court judges or someone with a lot of real estate law experience.  He or she would hear the case and decide. You only get one shot at it with arbitration, there’s no appeal if you’re unhappy with the decision.

With litigation you’re still supposed to do mediation first, but then if you go to trial and don’t like the decision rendered, you MAY be able to appeal it to a higher court if the system thinks you have a reasonable gripe about the decision. No guarantees, but the possibility exists.

The plus to arbitration is that it’s faster and cheaper. The plus to litigation is the right to continue to protest (appeal).

In my career, I have had some close calls with upset buyers/sellers (with each other, not me) that I thought would go down that path toward a big legal battle, but even in the worst case, the buyers and sellers agreed to a resolution without even requiring mediation.

Right now there’s only one type of seller in Santa Clara County that I’m seeing where they refuse to sign for arbitration: banks with bank owned properties or REOs (real estate owned by a bank). In fact, they have addenda which pretty much strip away Amost buyer rights that are normally woven into the purchase agreement (whether CAR contract or PRDS). The “icing on the cake” is that if you don’t like the transaction and want to be able to litigate a problem (they won’t allow arbitration), you must do it in the bank’s state!! Many of them are incorporated in Delaware or New York.

One more thing on arbitration, a story from my own experience. My mom passed away in 1996 and in 1997 I helped my dad to sell the house so he could downsize (they’d had a huge place on an acre and a half in Saratoga). She was a Realtor and he an attorney. Prior to his sale, my Dad used to tell me “your clients shouldn’t sign for arbitration, they can always choose to do it later” (that is, if the other side agrees to it, which truthfully they may not – that’s why we settle the issue when the contract is presented – I always reminded him that I could not give any advice on this point). But when he was selling, he initialled for arbitration before we even really discussed it. That surprised me and I asked him why the total 180 degree change. “Court is too expensive”, my father explained. I think that is why the overwhelming majority of buyers and sellers elect for arbitration: most perceive the court route as very, very expensive.

All of that said, it is a choice. If the other party (buyer or seller) and you cannot agree to this term (both incorporating the arbitration clause by initialling for it or both omitting it), you do not have a fully ratified contract. So that’s one of those “little things” that must also line up in order for there to be a sale.

What to do about arbitration?  Read through the paragraphs on this clause carefully.  Talk to a legal professional if you are unsure what any of it means or what the implications of it are for you in your purchase or sale here in the San Jose area.  Your realty agent should be able to explain it to you, but cannot or should not tell you whether or not you should agree to arbitration in case of a dispute.  That’s for you to decide, possibly with the help of a good lawyer.

Related post:

Why Good Realtors Refer Buyers and Sellers to Lawyers and Tax Professionals for Some Questions

There are a number of things which are related to the purchase and sale of real estate which require the professional guidance of those other than your Realtor, namely a legal or tax professional.  This sometimes surprises consumers.  Once I was discussing one of these areas with a prospective client and she felt quite frustrated and exclaimed, “you know the answer, you just won’t tell me!”  That was many years ago, but I’ve never forgotten it.  Many Silicon Valley home buyers and home sellers assume that they’ll never need to talk to a tax or legal professional, and if advised to do so, may balk.

So let’s talk about it.

In other states, such as New York, attorneys are very involved in real estate transactions. Here in California, though, that’s not the case most of the time.  We call on CPAs and lawyers when there’s a problem or a question which is beyond the real estate licensee’s scope.  I’ll provide a few examples.

Holding Title: Probably the most frequent question I get that I’m not allowed (or qualified) to answer is about how people should hold title when buying a home.  The purchase agreements we use (both CAR and PRDS) lay it out best and puts it in bold so that consumers don’t miss it:

“THE MANNER OF TAKING TITLE MAY HAVE SIGNIFICANT LEGAL AND TAX CONSEQUENCES. CONSULT AN APPROPRIATE PROFESSIONAL.” (newest revision of the CAR contract, April 2010)

Most title companies have a nifty little chart that summarizes the pros and cons of the various ways in which people can hold title.  But neither the escrow officer nor the real estate agent can tell you what’s best for you.  We know what’s most common, but that doesn’t mean it is best for you and your particular set of circumstances.  So talk to a CPA or talk to a lawyer (or both) if you do your research and are at all unsure of what to choose! (Old Republic Title has a summary of the most common ways to hold title in a downloadable pdf file, which you can access via this link.)

Arbitration: Realtors or other real estate sales people should not tell you whether or not to initial for arbitration.  We can explain it, but on that point we cannot advise.  (I will share that in my experience, virtually everyone does initial for it, so as a practical matter I explain that it will likely be a counter offer issue in a purchase agreement. Again, though, the ramifications of agreeing to arbitration, or not agreeing to it, are a discussion for a legal professional.)

Distressed sales: In addition to these two areas, right now we are seeing many short sale and bank owned (REO) transactions.  The paperwork involved in them is significantly different than in a regular transaction.  Often the bank involved has addenda which nullify many of the “buyer protection” clauses in the purchase agreement, for instance, more so with REO sales than short sales, but significant in both cases.

And that’s only the tip of the iceburg.  It’s not unheard of that with a bank owned sale, the bank will not provide to the buyer signatures and initials on the contract which make it binding – but they want the buyer to go ahead, put the good faith deposit in escrow, proceed with inspections while the purchase agreement may still be voidable! (In other words, the bank may kick the buyer out of contract.)  Because there’s so much increased risk to buyers in purchasing homes in which the bank is the seller (or in some cases needs to approve a short sale), I advise my clients to consult with a good attorney to make sure that they understand what they’re agreeing to and what the actual risk is.

For home owners doing a short sale transaction, even the bank approval letter may be something to run past your attorney as the language used may indicate whether or not you will be open to trouble from the bank later. In my experience, short sale sellers are the most likely to need but not be willing to pursue professional tax & legal advice. Not so long ago I had a client who wouldn’t even make use of low cost or free legal services, insisting instead that he could find everything he needed on the internet.  That is really a mistake!

Transactional Nightmares: Finally, if a transaction is hitting a bad, bumpy stretch in which the other party appears to be in default (not performing), your Realtor may suggest that you consult with a real estate attorney if other avenues don’t get the desired results in a timely manner.  Every once in awhile, there will be a weird and unforeseeable turn that may put the sale on shaky ground.  It may even be that  who must (or can) do what may be unclear.  Realtors don’t often suggest that home buyers & home sellers call an attorney for a consultation, but if they do, take their suggestion seriously.   A good lawyer (or tax professional) can often get you an answer quickly and soon put your mind at ease and help you to establish a game plan, if that’s what’s needed.

In conclusion, if your trusted real estate agent suggests that you seek tax or legal advice from a qualified professional (or any other professional), it’s probably in your best interest to do so.  Your Realtor will not get any kickback or payment for the referral – it is made only for your own best interest.  While there’s a lot of good information to be found online and in blogs, none of it will be tailored to your precise set of circumstances, so it cannot substitute for a confidential conference with a lawyer or CPA.

How do you choose where you’d like to live in Silicon Valley?  Especially if you’re relocating here from out of the area, this can be a huge question.  Most Santa Clara County home buyers have strong preferences for low crime, good schools, and pleasant looking & quiet neighborhoods.

My clients often ask me to compare for them areas which are somewhat similar, such as Los Gatos & Los Altos.  Off the top of my head, I can give general answers, such as these:   Compared to Los Gatos, Los Altos is a  more expensive (perhaps 20 or 25% more?), has a very slightly smaller population, is a little more spread out,  has slightly milder weather and is overall “quieter” in terms of the downtown night life.  Los Altos is more convenient if you want to go to Palo Alto or San Francisco.  Los Gatos is more convenient if you like to visit Santa Cruz, Monterey and the coast.  Los Gatos is more mixed in terms of housing types (it still has many beautiful historic districts with nicely renovated Victorian homes, but also newer construction). Both are “nice looking” but Los Gatos has more varied terrain as it is nestled into the Santa Cruz Mountains. Both enjoy pleasant neighborhoods, good schools, lower than normal crime and community involvement.

That’s the kind of “ballpark” info I can tell people about various areas of the Santa Clara Valley, whether it’s comparing one part of San Jose to another (Cambrian Park vs Almaden Valley vs Willow Glen) or one city to another (Cupertino vs Saratoga).  I can give general info on schools.

What I can’t do (and most agents can’t) is recite from memory school API scores, median household income, housing density, crime statistics, etc.  For that we have the web!  Here are some very helpful links which can assist you in your search to find the part of Santa Clara County that’s the best fit for you, your wants, needs, and budget:

Want to compare areas in and near San Jose?  A great tool for some basic and broad information by zip code is a website called Zip Skinny.  Input a zip code and get fairly detailed info on it.  One of the best features of this site is you can compare one zip code to other, similar areas to check out the differences in density, education of residents, household income, and more.

Want to get information on crime (I suggest that you do!)? Visit CrimeReports.com.

Public school scores often (but not always) drive real estate prices and values (the Willow Glen area seems to be an exception to the rule).  In our area, the standardized test scores used for this purpose is the API.  You can check the API scores of any public school in Santa Clara County online.

Although our weather is pretty similar from one part of the valley to the other, it’s a lot warmer and drier in the south county (Morgan Hill & Gilroy) than it is in the Santa Cruz Mountains (mailing address Los Gatos 95033).  That 7 – 10 degree average difference in summer between Los Altos and Almaden Valley or between San Jose and Gilroy might make all the difference to your comfort level, so check out the typical weather numbers on IDCIDE.com

Some consumers want to know who speaks what language and where.  Real estate professionals really cannot talk with you about that but you can research it on your own on the Modern Language Association’s website (MLA language map data center).

What about natural hazards, such as earthquake fault zones, flood plains, liquifaction zones, unstable soils areas and more?  Santa Clara County has information on its website with some maps.  It’s almost impossible to avoid all hazard zones but a basic understanding of what these zones are and where they are might be helpful to you.  (If there’s a hill, there’s probably an earthquake fault zone nearby.  If the land is super flat, it may be in a liquifaction zone. Close to a river? Might be in a flood plain.)  The best info will come from an official Natural Hazard & Environmental Hazard Report specific to the property you’re interested in, though, so don’t let the general information scare you off!

There’s a lot of information you want to track down when moving to Santa Clara County or buying your first home here especially.  Don’t feel like you need to do it alone, though.  Team up with a great Realtor who can help you to narrow your search and get your priorities lined up with you.  Call me for a confidential, non-pushy consultation.