Escondido
First Rate Service and Knowledge In A Tough Market Keeps Clients Happy
November 12th, 2008 Categories: Brookside Escondido, Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, Real Estate News
While some agents and companies are stepping back or stepping out of the real estate arena, some of us are finding an opportunity to diversify during this challenging market downturn. As an agent I am now working harder to provide the kind of service and presence that will provide my clients a much higher level of service. Building lasting relationships is my highest goal and and I achieve results, even in this tough market.
Listed are examples of TOOLS that I use to be more effective in building a relationship with a buyer/seller….
- Keeping tabs on housing inventory and setting up searches for each client is key.
- Informing a potential buyer/seller of changes in the market that are happening daily builds confidence in your relationship .
- Using the right tools allows me to know which types of listings a consumer is looking for and for recommending similar properties.
- I work closely with a Loan Officers who are knowledgeable and can provide buyers with information to help them decide how much they are able to invest in a property and how to begin the process.
- I use the internet, producing Virtual Flyers, the Real Bird Listing Publisher and Craigslist (just to name a few) to bring attention to buyers needs and my seller’s properties. I consistently show buyers and sellers that I DO have the right TOOLS and how I can benefit them.
Commitment and hard work is important and really shines in a market like this one. Providing first rate service accompanied with knowledge will surely make you feel confident when using my services, and I hope to build relationships that are long lasting.
Here is to lasting relationships and VERY HAPPY Clients.
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Brookside Neighborhood Update October 2008
October 24th, 2008 Categories: Brookside Escondido, Escondido, Market Trends, Real Estate News
Brookside Escondido continues to be one of the best values in North County. Located in North Escondido and adjacent to Reidy Creek golf course, Brookside is a gated community of 262 homes. Want a large yard, a great place for kids to grow up, or looking specifically for a home close to lots of golf? Check out Brookside Escondido!
Here is the latest look at what’s on the market, what’s under contract and what is now under contract.
Just click on the chart to enlarge it.
This neighborhood is a fabulous value for anyone looking for large homes (from 2550 square feet up to over 3600 square feet), both single story and two story, large lots (minimum lot size in Brookside is 10,000 square feet) and lots of other amenities. It’s also a gated community, with walking trails, low homeowner fees, and no mello roos!
There are a still a few “Bank Owned” homes available, and a couple of short sales as well. If you would like more information on Brookside, please call or email us. We not only list and sell Brookside, but we live here too!
If you’re looking for Bank Owned or Forecloseure Properties, just click on this link to search all of San Diego County!
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Foreclosures In My Neighborhood - How Do They Affect My Value?
October 10th, 2008 Categories: Brookside Escondido, Escondido, Foreclosures & Short Sales, Real Estate News
Foreclosed properties and “short sales” are certainly in the news today. We are all aware that they exist in every community right now including our own neighborhoods.
Properties that have been taken back by a bank or lender and held on their books are known as “real estate owned” or REOs.For both regulatory and business reasons they must work to sell them as soon as they can and get the REOs off their ledgers. 
So-called short sales are where the private owner and the lender agree to sell the property for less than what is owed.
In our current markets, this need to liquidate properties often forces the lender to sell at a loss. As seen in recent sales figures for many areas, this practice has at least the potential to drive market prices lower in some areas.
OK - So how can the sale of a nearby foreclosure or short-sale affect me? Any individual home sale in the area is only one statistic, not the entire local market.
In fact, a common misperception is that the lowest recent home sale “sets the price” for similar properties around it.
Not so. Understanding just a couple of basics about how a professional appraiser determines value can illustrate the impact that recent nearby sales have on your home’s value.
Appraisers are required to identify recent sales of properties that are similar and near in proximity to the home being appraised; these other sales are called comparable sales, or “comps”. There are extensive rules and formulas that they use to accomplish all that but those are the general criteria that they seek.
After adjusting the sales prices for considerations such as age, size, amenities, quality and condition (among many other issues) the appraiser then has a finely-tuned range of prices that he or she will use to determine the value of the subject property being appraised.
While not impossible, it is rare that the final value ascertained will be equal to the lowest comparable sales price (REO, short-sale or otherwise). Most commonly, the final value will be somewhere within the range of prices analyzed.Which brings us back to the topic of the sale of a nearby REO or “short”.
If the lowest sales price in the pool of comps used by the appraiser is an REO and is also significantly lower than the rest of the comps in the pool, the appraiser has the latitude to comment on that aspect.
Depending upon how solid the remaining sales comps are, the REO or short-sale could have only a minimal impact on the value of the subject property.
It may thus represent only the low end of the value range for that particular market.On the other hand, if the majority of recent comps happen to consist of REOs and/or short sales, then they may well define that local market and collectively have a significant impact on the value of the subject property.
In the final analysis, the value of your property is determined by your local market and is usually defined by recent multiple sales. Regardless of whether comparable sales are private sales, short sales or REOs, the market “is what it is” at that point in time. What’s most important to remember is that for the vast majority of markets, value is not defined by any one single sales transaction!
Contact Paul at (800) 775-7334 or at paul@mycwmtg.com
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Ownership Changes & Uncertainty For Condo Projects In Downtown Escondido
September 21st, 2008 Categories: Brookside Escondido, Escondido, Real Estate News
Things have certainly changed for city planners and those who envisioned a vibrant new “downtown” in Escondido. Just a couple of years ago, plans were made and buildings started going up for three projects whose new residents would provide a much needed shot in the arm for downtown merchants.
The most ambitious project, Paramount by D.R. Horton, had been under construction for nine months when four of the five buildings burned to the ground in January 2007. Paramount was to be 122 units on over four acres near Washington 
Avenue on Escondido Boulevard. It was the centerpiece to the city’s new urban plan. The county assessor’s office has now reported this past Wednesday the sale of 501 and 511 N. Escondido Blvd, the addresses of Paramount.
While the sale didn’t really catch us by surprise, I think the sale price did. The record shows that D.R. Horton sold the properties for a price of $4.4 million, which is a far cry from the $17.5 million that they paid for it in 2005!
The new owners are Lyon Capitol Ventures of Newport Beach. Peter Zak, one of Lyon’s project managers was quoted in the San Diego Union Tribune saying his company “may finish building the 92 remaining units” that Paramount was approved for.
Another development that’s only partially completed is City Square, by Carlsbad based Barrett American. So far, only 18 units out of a planned 102 on have been completed. The 3.6 acres on Second Avenue now has lots of weeds growing on the land adjacent to the completed units, but the project in now in receivership.
Venue was the third project in Escondido and approved for 82 units next to Paramount, and was also sold for only $1.14 million. D.R. Horton paid $3 million for this one in 2005.
City officials are now discussing what to do about the projects. There is no simple solution; it’s part of the national real estate downturn and developers are struggling. As residents, we hope for answers and look forward to the possiblity of a new Marriott Hotel downtown, along with the new Palomar Medical Center and Escondido Research and Technology Center.
Meanwhile, downtown continues to see vacant storefronts and limited foot traffic.
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