Welcome page Forclosures, Short Sales, REOs  Selling Real Estate Contact Joanne Services  About Joanne Gardiner  Mobile Home Living Price Calculator Loan Calculator Credit and Finance  Real Estate News Architecture Styles Home Improvements HVAC Duct Law Capital Gains Tax HVAC Duct Law Proposition 90 Property Tax Exemptions FIRPTA Law Why Use a Realtor® What is e-PRO? Testimonials Real Estate Glossary Proposition 8 Decline in Value     Are you a risk-taker? Here are some thoughts on the subject from some of history’s biggest risk takers "There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction." - John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963) "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin (1903 - 1977) "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't think you can measure life in terms of years. I think longevity doesn't necessarily have anything to do with happiness. I mean happiness comes from facing challenges and going out on a limb and taking risks. If you're not willing to take a risk for something you really care about, you might as well be dead."  - Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, (Northern Exposure, Northern Lights, 1993) "Life is a risk." - Diane Von Furstenberg "If you don't risk anything you risk even more." - Erica Jong "Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash." - George S. Patton (1885 - 1945) "First weigh the considerations, then take the risks." - Helmuth von Moltke (1800 - 1891) "Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks." - Herodotus (484 BC - 430 BC), The Histories of Herodotus "The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all." - Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 - 1964) "What you risk reveals what you value." - Jeanette Winterson "Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk." - Joaquin Setanti "If you're never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances." - Julia Sorel "Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth." - Katherine Mansfield (1888 - 1923) "I don't think about risks much. I just do what I want to do. If you gotta go, you gotta go." - Lillian Carter "In order for people to be happy, sometimes they have to take risks. It's true these risks can put them in danger of being hurt." - Meg Cabot, (The Boy Next Door, 2002) "It seems to me that people have vast potential. Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don't. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever." - Philip Adams "To win without risk is to triumph without glory." - Pierre Corneille (1606 - 1684), 'The Cid,' 1636 "The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf." - Shakti Gawain "Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."  - Walter Anderson Reprinted from RisMedia     Buyer/Seller Information, printable. Home Seller's Guide: printable. Provided by   The Move Advocate™  The Move Advocate is an exciting new FREE service offered to National Association of Realtors® customers.   The Move Advocate provides a dedicated resource to help research, plan and complete a successful move. Through the Move Advocate™, customers receive FREE access to professional trained staff, special rates and discounts on moving services, on-line relocation moving information and more!  Read what a client had to say about his experience with The Move Advocate Moving a Wine Celler? Do it the right way!  Click Here   Change your address  Change your at the online Post Office. You can also connect utilities, move your magazines, or send your new email address to your friends. Before you move donate things you don't need anymore. Locate the closest Goodwill Donation Center Arrange a goods or cash donation to Salvation Army Western United States Moving.com  This site compiles resources, from packing to finding a mover, making relocation simpler.   Relocation Essentials offers a complete set of tools to help in moving and relocation. Homefair.com is where homebuyers and homesellers can research their moves. Moving Guide   Movers - Bay Area -Free quotes from Bay Area movers. Movers - Local and national movers, compare and save.

Buying Real Estate: A happy time and a scary time... In California the foundation of one's financial security is real estate.  To own one's home is more than an American Dream.  It is validation of one's success. It is a refuge, a wellspring from which one's future security flows... providing you purchase it wisely and protect it during your ownership. If you're feeling happy yet a little fearful about buying real estate consider yourself normal.  If you're just happy, don't worry fear will grab hold of you sooner or later. The reason I bring up fear in connection with buying real estate is because more than likely it is resident in the pit of your stomach and may be causing you to not buy the home you want or need. Even worse it could be keeping you trapped in a current housing situation that is just not the best for you. What's behind the fear?  Self-doubt about being able to make the monthly payments,  Worry about what happens if you lose your job, or Apprehension about moving from familiar surroundings.  Of course, other things could be troubling you, too. However,  those seem to haunt most potential buyers. There is a solution.  However, it is not in a word or a phase.  It is in a relationship with an experienced broker who has your best interests at heart.  If you do not have that kind of relationship with a broker I encourage you to email or call me.  Until then... Best regards, Joanne, Your San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate Broker Questions buyers often ask. Q:  Is California the right for me to live? A:  Read the latest California Affordability Report from the California Real Estate Association in our Real Estate News Section. Q:  Are there any breaks for those of us over age 55? A:  Under Proposition 90 if you're 55 or older many counties in California will allow you to take your old property tax base with you to your new home under. This can save you thousands of dollars in property taxes every year. Q:  I'm a first-time buyer. What do I need to know? A:  The first thing all buyers need to do is make sure their credit is in good shape so they can qualify for financing.  We have some tips in Q:  How much of a loan can I qualify to buy? A:  In our you can get prequalified for a loan without application.  Once there, click on apply for a loan and follow the prompts. Q:  How long should it take to find a house? A:  If you have been searching for your next home for more than two months and viewed more than ten houses and haven't found one you want to own, you need to sit down with your broker and redefine your needs, your price range, the type of housing and the areas.  If you think your broker does not have your best interests at heart, then you owe it to yourself to find a new broker. Q:  How can I get the most real estate for my money?  A:  Many times you can get more house for your money by expanding your house hunting a few blocks further from where you've been concentrating your search. The difference of a school district or zip code can mean thousands of dollars savings in price.  If you've just gotta live in certain area or die but can't afford it, then consider looking at condos or townhouses instead of single family houses. Here again, you'll get more bang for your buck. Another way is through the manner in which you finance your purchase, which you can explore in our finance section Q:  How pricey should my next house be? A:  Keeping up with the Jones' is financially reckless. Do not max yourself out financially, period. A buyer can often qualify for a home that is more expensive than their financial comfort zone. Talk with me in depth about your personal needs and lifestyle. We'll confine your house hunting to those homes which match the price range that fits your financial comfort level. Q:  How can I retire in the San Francisco Bay Area? A:  Empty-nesters downsizing their abodes and people retiring soon may want to consider the advantages of   - a mobile home or modular home. These type of dwellings sell for significantly less than conventional housing and tend to be more economical to maintain during retirement years.  In the East Bay there is an abundance of Senior Parks for people over 55.  Usually one occupant must be at least 55 and others at least 18. The home buying process...     Make your offer get accepted... When you make an offer on a property, make your highest and best offer. Many times buyers have lost the love they love because they want to see how low they can go and still get it. Often what happens is another offer is made to the seller that is higher in price and has better terms. Bingo, you've lost the home. What's worse, is that any home you see after losing the one you love will never measure up to the one that got away.  When making an offer be sure to put the highest deposit you can. Generally the deposit should be at least 3 to 5 percent of your offered price. The larger your earnest deposit the better your chances of the seller accepting your. What not to do during your escrow... This next tip that I'm about to share with you is one that most buyers never heard of before, which is really too bad since not knowing it causes so many buyers to lose their loans at the last minute. Every lender, yes, every lender will also run another credit report on you and your co-borrower(s) prior to funding your loan. Your lender will also call your employer again to verify that you are still employed on the same basis that you were at the time you made your original application for the loan. They will also call the employer of the co-borrower(s). Understanding this, you want to make sure you do not do any of the following before closing your escrow: Do not purchase a car or even shop for one because the car dealer will run a credit report on you, which will read as an inquiry on your credit report. This will be a red flag to your lender and they in turn may refuse to fund your loan. Do not apply for new credit and do not let anyone run a credit report on you. Again, if one is run it will be a red flag to your lender. Do not open a new bank account or make large deposits and do not transfer funds from one account to another. Do not transfer a credit card balance from one credit card to another. Do not sell major investments. Do not get married or divorced. Do not begin a sabbatical, go on a maternity leave or go on vacation. Do not borrow money from any source. Do not quit your job or change employers.   Plan Ahead... In my parent's time they had parties when they or their friends would pay off their home loans. If you are forty or older you might want to consider setting a target date to have your home loan paid in full.  Ah, but the word "leverage" sings out to you.  See my comments in the sidebar on "Leveraging Your Equity." If your new mortgage does not have a prepayment penalty provision or your loan papers read "payment must be ------ or more," you have the right to and are free to make extra principal payments every month. If your loan has a prepayment penalty you usually can payoff up to 20 percent of the loan balance per year without paying a penalty. In any event a call to your lender can quickly determine how much of your loan you can payoff in any given year. Paying your loan off early is a wise investment. Even $100 extra a month pays your loan off sooner and saves you thousands of dollars in interest payments. For example if today you took out a $200,000 fixed rate loan for 30 years bearing interest at 6 1/2% per annum your monthly principal and interest payment would be $1264.14 -- How old would you be in 30 years? However, with that same loan if you added an extra $100 per month towards the principal balance you would have your loan paid off in 24 years 5 months. An extra $200 per month would pay off your loan in 20 years 10 months. Another idea to paying your mortgage off early: If your lender will allow it, consider paying your mortgage every two weeks. To do this, divide your monthly mortgage payment by 2 and pay that amount every two weeks. This equates to making 13 monthly payments every year and with a 30 year mortgage can lead to a mortgage pay off 7 or 8 years earlier! Always check first with your mortgage lender for permission to do this and to get exact payoff information. In this age of heavy telemarketing and abundant TV commercials, you want to deal with a lender you can trust. If you're working with an experienced broker who is keen on financing, then they can help find the best rates and mortgage programs for you.  And, to save yourself a lot of disappointment later on, know what your FICO score is before you set out shopping for your new home.  Leveraging Your Equity is Risky... Leaveraging your equity is done in two ways: Borrowing against your accumulated equity. Or, Instead of using your funds for the down payment, you obtain 100% financing when purchasing. Interest Only loans is also a form of leveraging. Many people refi to buy other property or to pay off bills. Borrowing to buy: If you borrow against your equity to buy other property be sure you can really handle the new payment on the existing property as well as any negative cash flow on the new property.  Just because lenders are willing to give you the loans on both properties does not mean that is in your best interests. When markets turn down you cannot see it happening until it happens.  For many would-be-Donald-Trumps this can be devastating as is evidenced by the spike in foreclosure and bankruptcy rates in a down real estate market.  Ask yourself this:  If the value of each property  drops 10-20% can you afford to hang onto the new property and your original property for five years?  If you cannot, then big trouble is looming in your future and you should not be involved in this risk.  Borrowing to payoff: If you are refinancing to use your equity to pay off bills like credit cards and automobiles realize you are borrowing LONG TERM money to payoff SHORT TERM DEBT, which most accountants will tell you spells future trouble.  However, if you are a good manager of money, which you probably will say you are, then ask yourself why are you faced with so much short term debt?  Are you really as good a manager of your funds as you think?  Honestly, are you? Living beyond ones means is usually the answer for why people borrow on their equity to payoff bills.  If that is the case with you, then you need to become a smarter consumer so that you're not faced with having to do this again. Time after time I see people borrow to pay off credit cards and automobiles and then usually within a couple years find themselves in the same position again. It is not chic to have to refinance you home.  Refinancing makes lenders happy because they charge points and all sorts of fees and interest  from you for a very, very long time.  In many cases until the day you die.  Is that really they way you want to spend your life, owing money to Bank of America, Wells Fargo or other such lender?  If you don't, then choose to become smarter about handling your finances.  The only one who can do that for you is you.   Housing and Stocks The stock market affects the housing market. If the stock market is stable, housing prices remain stable. If the stock market is declining, housing prices tend to drop. Most people tie up their assets, which we call wealth, in one of two main places: homes or investments of stocks, bonds or mutual funds. If investment returns are high, people generally buy larger homes and spend more on their housing needs. However, when investment returns drop, most people are less willing to spend the high dollar for homes and are out looking for housing bargains. Be sure where you want to put your money before you do it!  Remember In a down market lower priced homes tend to drop less than higher priced homes.   510-538-0222   800-474-9934     Liberty Floor Covering   2437 Tripaldi Way, Hayward, CA 94545 - Phone: 510-786-0119 Browse their web site   Joanne L. Gardiner, Broker, e-PRO Realtor "For Old-Fashioned Service in Cyberspace" Advantage Realty Advantage Mortgage Associates 3205 Whipple Road - Union City, California 94587 (510) 429-4800 San Francisco Bay Area  San Francisco East Bay Real Estate Our primary services in the San Francisco Bay Area are: East bay real estate,  Hayward real estate, Castro Valley real estate,  Danville real estate,  Dublin real estate,  Fremont real estate,  Newark real estate, Niles real estate, Pleasanton real estate, San Leandro real estate, San Lorenzo real estate, San Ramon real estate, Sunol real estate and Union City real estate.  The types of real estate in which we specialize are:  houses, homes, condominiums, townhomes, garden homes, PUDs, single family homes, manufactured homes, mobile homes, modular homes, duets, residential income property, duplexes, tri-plexes, four-plexes, small apartment complexes and special use properties.

^  top of page

 < Testimonials      >    Selling real estate >