by Steven Gluyas on March 10, 2011
Now that the prices on San Diego Condo are at their lowest point in a decade it’s time to write about the mysteries regarding such terms as common area, HOA fees and CC&R’s
Search Downtown Condos For Sale
What do HOA fees pay For? Well if You’re thinking Downtown San Diego condos the HOA fees could include a Concierge, 24 hour Guard and Valet and maybe even an on site Manager. Usually you can expect the HOA fees to cover the basics such as common area maintenance, trash pick up, hot water and limited insurance, though every Condo complex or building will cover different items, you can expect the fees to cover at least the basics. [click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on December 13, 2010
Hi everyone, over the next couple of weeks I am going to write about how the San Diego real estate market performed in 2010. Today I will give you the statistics for the UTC Condo Market.
UTC Condos For Sale By Price Range
With two weeks left in the year 242 UTC condos have sold with an average price of $309,514 and an average square footage of 983.
Let’s break it down by Bedroom
Studios
5 Studios sold for and average price of $158,880
Average Square Footage 420
Average Days on Market 72
1 Bedrooms
85 One bedrooms sold for and average price of $194,050
Average Square footage 657
Average Days on Market 76
[click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on November 22, 2010
What is Mortgage Insurance and Why Do We Need It
Why do you need mortgage insurance? The answer to that is lenders require it. Say you’re buying a new San Diego Condo and you have less then a 20 percent down payment; the lender will required you to purchase Mortgage Insurance (MI).
Search UTC Condos For Sale
Mortgage insurance, also know as mortgage guaranty, is an insurance policy which compensates the lenders or investors from losses due to the default of a mortgage loan, thus limiting the lenders exposure to financial loss. [click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on November 13, 2010
One of the key factors to Mortgage Brokers processing a loan for a San Diego Condo is the owner occupancy level. The simple fact is if you’re applying for a convention loan with less then 20 % down payment you will need mortgage insurance. Now days most Mortgage Insurance companies are now requiring a 70% owner occupancy level in the condo complex or building.
My guess is that there are maybe 15% of all San Diego condo projects that have over 70% owner occupancy levels
VA and FHA loans require a minimum of 51% owner occupancy rate
Search FHA Approved Condos In Downtown San Diego
What is Owner Occupancy Level? It’s the number of condos actually occupied by the owners themselves vs. the condos that are investment properties which have been rented out. The Lenders and MI companies view having a high owner occupancy level as advantages because it’s their belief that owners will take better care of the complex than a Renter would thus maintaining the condo project at optimum levels . [click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on November 8, 2010
Is it a good time to buy a San Diego Condo or Home?
One significant reason why it’s a good time to buy a San Diego condo or home is the prices; San Diego condos have dropped approximately 30% since the high water mark of 1996. I’ve been a Realtor in San Diego for the last 15 years and it’s my opinion that now is a very attractive time to buy a home in San Diego because we are very close to the bottom of a market decline that could be one of the biggest in history.
Search UTC Condos For Sale
Another reason why it’s a good time to buy is that along with the 30% discount you are also getting historic lows in interest rates which as of today are hovering in the low 4′s for qualified buyers. This amounts to at least a 50 year low in mortgage rates and combined with the discount in housing prices we now have the “Perfect Storm” for buying a home in San Diego County. [click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on November 2, 2010
Lenders are making it tough on San Diego Condo Buyers, the top two reasons in which a lender may decline to finance a condominium are litigation and low owner occupancy levels (Below 50%). This applies to conventional loans as well as government back loans such as FHA
Search San Diego Downtown Foreclosures
Condo Litigation usually means the HOA (Home Owners Association) of the building or condo complex has filed a “Defect Lawsuit”. The lawsuit is generally brought against the developer usually within the first 10 year span of construction. This litigation could pertain to defects in particular units, phases of the development and/or the common areas. It is during the time spam of the litigation process that Lenders will refuse to lend on the property. [click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on October 25, 2010
So you want to buy a San Diego short sale.
I see it all the time; Listing Agents pricing their short sales way below market value, I’m talking sometimes $50,000 to $100,000 below market.
This is a strategy used by Listing Agents to generate offers, plain and simple, if you price a San Diego condo or home at a ridiculously low price you will generate more then just a few offers on the property.
Search Pacific Beach Short Sales
You can bet your bottom dollar that the banks have not and will not agree to a purchase price so out of proportion. It’s still the Wild West out there with no set standards or guidelines to pricing short sales. The Listing Agent must submit to the bank a document called a BPO (Broker price opinion) with comparable sales on the subject property, so how are they reconciling the list price and the actual market value?
There not [click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on October 22, 2010
For those out there looking for a deal by buying a foreclosed property here in San Diego, you might want to take a close look at Fannie Mae’s HomePath program. In my opinion it could be a great way to purchase your new San Diego condo or home.
Search HomePath Foreclosures In San Diego
Fannie Mae’s REO brand, HomePath, was created early in 1999. Fannie Mae has over 89,000 real estate owned (REO) properties on their books; over 650 of those are in San Diego. These Fannie Mae owned properties eligible for the HomePath financing offer an affordable opportunity to buy a foreclosure with up to 97% financing. Yes, that’s less money down then an FHA loan.
Some advantages of the HomePath loans: [click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on October 21, 2010
OK, great you’ve been pre-approved for a loan and now have gone out and looked at a few San Diego Condos or homes and found one you would like to make an offer on.
Your Realtor is there to guide you through the process and write the offer on your behalf, using the standard RPA-CA Purchase Agreement.
This agreement includes a clause giving the Buyer the right to perform a physical home inspection using a professional home inspector. These home inspections are paid by the buyer and can run anywhere from 300 to 500 dollars or more depending on the square footage of the home being inspected. Usually it is recommended that the Buyer be present during the inspection so that he can see first hand what, if any, problems exist, ask questions and get a good take on the condition of the home. [click to continue…]
by Steven Gluyas on October 19, 2010
UTC is a trendy and popular community just east of La Jolla in San Diego California, UTC gets its name form the huge mall, University Towne Center (which is now named Westfield Mall), located at the east end of the community. The University Of California San Diego in La Jolla is less then one mile away.
There are two basic areas to UTC, one, UTC made up of mostly Condos and Town Homes and two, UC (University City) where the majority of homes are single detached with just a few condo complexes in the mix. UTC is centrally located and you can be on the beach at La Jolla shores in minutes, 20 minutes from Downtown San Diego and the airport. I love how close everything is, I actually go mountain biking 4 times a week in Rose Canyon and Marion Bear, a 11 mile loop.
Also, the City of San Diego is planning a Mid-Coast extension of the San Diego Trolley from the Old Town Transit Center 11 miles to the University City community serving major activity and employment centers such as the University of California San Diego campus and the University Towne Centre (UTC) shopping center. This is part of the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project. It is planned to be completed by 2015.
[click to continue…]
