I was a speaker at a First Time Homebuyer Seminar this afternoon, and for last time was disrespected. Let's start off with an explanation.  I was approached to host a mutually run seminar in Oakland California, for First Time Homebuyers.  I think of it more as a homebuyers seminar, let's face it even people with homes need the education!  Over the last couple weeks I met with the other coordinator to go over the details, and get it all set up.  One of the things I pride myself on is my professionalism.  This doesn't mean that I am a snooty know it all, with all of the answers.  I wish I had all the answers.  It just means that I do my best in all cases.  I work hard, know what I am doing, look people in the eye, speak to them with respect no matter who they are, and 99% of the time, SHO... 06/02/2007

I was doing my daily routine today, which usually starts off with a look at the morning market on Bloomberg, and then progresses to reading cnnmoney.com.  One of the first articles I saw was Wow, I could've had a prime mortgage. It discusses the fact that 15-35% of all people in subprime loans were given to people that could have qualified for prime loans.  I knew this was an issue, but not to this extent.  Towards the end of 2006 and start of 2007, I had 4, yes 4, clients that I was refinancing, and all 4 of them were perfect scenarios.  Perfect credit, great income, easy deals.  Every single one of them had prepayment penalties, when they were told that they didn't.  There is no reason, at any Loan to Value (the amount borrowered, compared to value of the property), that they should e... 05/31/2007

Finally the warmer weather is here.  Well, if you live in San Francisco, you know what I mean.  Cool mornings, fog burns off to put the temperature in the 70's, and then come 5, cool again.  If you are a native San Franciscan, this is what you have become accustomed to love.  You have also come to love the numberous festivals, parties, parades, races, and gatherings that consume your summer schedule.Here are some of the festivals that are here this weekend!Escape from Alcatraz- Check out the website, it is VERY informative and fun!This a a huge triathalon of 1800 participants who will "ESCAPE" from Alcatraz for a 1.5 mile swim to the shore, and 18 mile bike race, and 8 mile run which concludes at the Marina Green.  The participants will enjoy the cheers of nearly 13000 spectators.  The ... 05/30/2007

As an Exclusive Buyer Agent with my own business, I have a lot of freedom of how to organize my day. Here are some of the things I do on a typical day:Check my emails and weed out the junk mail folder --- careful, sometimes a legitimate email from a genuine lead will creep in here.Look through my auto-prospecting folders to see which properties are new and are worth previewing for my clientsSpend some time on marketing issues such as updating areas of my website, drafting a new ad or flyer or post flyers in the neighborhood or replenish business cards in prominent areasVisit several properties that came up on my clients' searches -- I love it when they are on lockbox, so I can go whenever it pleases meCheck out disclosures for properties that meet my clients' needs --- nowadays it's so ... 05/30/2007

Recent comments from my clients made me listen up: other agents are out there to poach clients.Generally I don't have a written buyers agency agreement with my clients, because my relationship with them is based on trust. Only sometimes it makes me feel a little uneasy.Lately when my clients have been going to open houses they have been getting the same question: "Are you working with someone?" And when my clients then dutifully say that they have an agent in San Francisco, they figure that the conversation would end then. But no, it doesn't.See, my clients are looking for property in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, where I am also a member of the local Association of Realtors. But somehow the other Realtors feel that I'm encroaching on their turf. They tell my clients that t... 05/29/2007

Tony Bennett sings about leaving his heart in San Francisco, but recent buyers may have left their wallets there. The city boasts the second most expensive median single-family home price in the U.S., according to NAR fourth quarter 2006 figures. At $733,400, it only was topped by another California city, San Jose, at $760,000, and followed by yet another California market, Orange County (Anaheim/Santa Ana/Irvine), at $690,700. Ingo Winzer expects prices to be flat or lower in the next few years.4th quarter 2006:$733,400Median price 4th qtr 2005: $718,700% change:+2%Projected avg price end of 2007: $803,260Current avg 30-year fixed rate:5.76%Current avg 5/1 ARM rate5.53%*Affordability rating:7Foreclosures in Jan. 2006: (1 for every 5,395 households)132Foreclosures in Jan. 2007: (1 for e... 05/28/2007

I have a friend that I work with that recently started blogging (is that the right term?).  His passion and enthusiasm towards it made me curious as to what the attraction was to sharing one's thoughts and ideas in a public forum.  He suggested I give it a try, so here I am.  As this is an industry blog, I felt that my first entry should be something related.I've been in the mortgage industry now for a bit over 5 years.  I love this industry and truly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it.  I do everything I can to continually increase my knowledge through seminars, educational forums and reading as much as I can and I encourage my loan officers to do the same.  Recently I had the pleasure of getting a call from an old client that I hadn't spoken with in almost 8 months.  He tol... 05/25/2007

Sitting in the fog of San Francisco's Inner Sunset looking out of my office I wonder whether it's sunny in Noe Valley. And it could be. San Francisco is one of those amazing places with many microclimates. And these microclimates influence the price of property in the city.In Noe Valley, where it is generally much sunnier than in other areas of the city, median prices are much higher than in the Outer Sunset, where you could be at the beach --- that is if you could see it through the thick fog.Here's the comparison of Single Family Homes sold in April 2007:Noe Valley (15)         Median Price $1,437,933Outer Sunset (7)       Median Price $835,794Looks like the price of sun in April was $602,139. Greetings from the fog ... 05/25/2007

It has happened again...Well, let's face it, happens a lot more than I hear.   I met with a Real Estate Agent I work with, who has a friend that bought a home in the San Francisco Home Loan Market in January, and was concerned because she didn't really know what type of loan she given, and wanted to find out.  The Real Estate Agent was not the agent on the transaction, I know she would have looked out for her client at the loan signing.  The buyer had been told she was getting a 4.5% fixed rate for 5 Years.   I have heard this before.  I know where this is going unfortunately...So Predictable I went through the entire loan package with the Real Estate Agent, and we noticed that she was given 100% financing on an Option Arm Mortgage.  For those of you who don't know what an Option Arm is... 05/24/2007

The San Francisco MLS recently added some cool new features that are now available to clients.If you currently have searches set up through me (or any other SF Realtor) and receive automatic emails with new listings you will have received an email from your Realtor inviting you to access your own "Client Portal". Your Client Portal consists of three tabs: Newly Matched Listings, Saved Listings and Rejected Listings. You can navigate through these tabs and listings with the click of your mouse, save listing or reject them. You can even make comments on these listings which will then be sent to your Realtor.Your Client Portal is constantly being updated with new information. For example, if a listing sells, the status of the listing will update to "sold" and you will be able to see what t... 05/24/2007

Finally a reciprocal agreement has been reached by the San Francisco MLS and the North Bay MLS to give brokers in both areas access to each others listings. This is great news for San Francisco agents who previously had to refer their clients to other agents once their clients were ready to move out of San Francisco and up into the relative tranquility of Marin.What does this mean for buyers? A buyer who's still unsure about whether to buy in San Francisco or Marin now only has to engage one real estate agent in the search process. No more juggling between two agents! Having two agents, one in San Francisco and one in Marin, often meant that none of the agents really put a lot of time into finding a suitable property for the buyer, because all this time spent could result in nothing if ... 05/24/2007

The San Francisco Multiple Listing Service provides a great map for home buyers to help them narrow down their search to specific areas. Whenever I meet with a new client for the first time I use these maps to figure out exactly what area my buyers would like me to search for property for them.Here's the link:http://www.sfarmls.com/docs/areamaps.htmDoes your MLS provide these maps? 05/24/2007

Today was a beautiful day in San Francisco.  A great day to capture on film.  Our company has been waiting for the right day to have some fun, and get a good group shot.Here are some of our pics.  Do you think pictures speak for themselves when it comes to a company, or a person?What do pictures say?  Do you think artsy pictures have a better effect than smily face pictures? Have you gotten feedback from clients regarding your pictures?Jon VetterSan Francisco Loan Officer for your San Francisco Home Loan  05/22/2007

Yesterday, an estimated 60,000 people and I participated in the 96th annual Bay to Breakers foot race.  The 7.46 mile race started in 1912 as an event to lift the spirits of the city after the disastrous 1906 earthquake.   What separates this race from others is that it doubles as San Francisco's biggest and most mobile street party.  Many of the racers get dressed up in elaborate costumes and although alcohol and nudity aren't technically allowed, it wasn't hard to find either along the race path.   We ended up having a blast.  The weather was perfect and the crowd was lively.  It was a pure San Francisco experience and although it was my first Bay to Breakers, it definitely won't be my last. For more info: Official website Bay to Breakers wikipedia entry  05/21/2007

Over the weekend I came to the realization that there are four types of people when it comes to credit.  I think it is extremely important to find out who you are in the mix...  Here are the four types:1.  People that think they have great credit, and do have great credit.2.  People that think they have great credit, but have bad credit.3. People that think they have bad credit, and do have bad credit.4. People that think they have bad credit, but have good credit.In my experience, people are pretty aware of how they stand with credit, they have been told by people, banks or other, that they are strong, and use credit accordingly.  However, there are people who really don't know where they stand.  Check out my other blog on FICO scores and how they are formulated.Credit, what is it, why... 05/21/2007

May 18, 2007 Last night I was able to have a night out with my wife to go see Chris Isaak and Stevie Nicks in concert at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, California.  First off, I have heard of Stevie Nicks, probably bobbed my head a few times when it came on "RadioAlice", but never would say I was "soooo excited" that I just had to go.  My wife on the other hand, completely the opposite.  There are 3 bands she had to see in her lifetime, Stevie Nicks being one of them, so I got tickets.  For me, the best motivation was to just get out of the house, have a night together to not think about anything other than each other.  That got me excited.  So we hired a babysitter (AKA My dad), and headed out to the Clayton Valley (BRRRR last night) to see what Miss Stevie had to offer.We live i... 05/18/2007

The best time of year has come for San Francisco.  There are many many wonderful weekends of great weather and fun coming.  Stay tuned for more breakdowns of future weekend events.  Here is a list of what is happening this weekend, the weekend of May 19th. Asian Heritage Street Celebration - Both Saturday and Sunday11:00 am to 6:00 pm, Howard Street between 5th and 7th Street. The will have food, music, arts, crafts, you name it! Dolores Park Festival11:00 am, Dolores Park between 18th and Dolores Streets.  Brass musicians, tribal drummers, performance artists, DJs and more.Eight Annual San Francisco Oyster and Beer Festival for even info call 415-989-622212:00 pm to 7:00 pm, Fort Mason, Bay and Franklin Streets.  This one sounds like a blast, oysters, beer, music, shucking, how can you... 05/16/2007

The mortgage business has been flooded with Loan Officers looking to make a quick buck.  Why?  Because it is easy...Pass a couple online classes, take a test...Presto!  You can do a loan...Sometimes, if the broker has the right license, you don't even need a license!That is great, and some of the services other Loan Officers can offer are wonderful, but long term relationships and trust is most important.  It is time to stop shopping, stop floating from broker to broker, stop wasting time, and settle down with the right broker.  Am I him/her?  Maybe...I think you would be doing yourself a disservice to not find out. Reasons for giving me a call at the very least: Education - You need someone that has the real life and real business experience, but also the formal education and licensing... 05/15/2007

One of the major affects of the great appreciation of San Francisco and the Bay Area, has been that it has locked out many potential buyers from being able to afford housing.  The market has developed, and many other options have come out to help people get started, because let's face it, starting is the most difficult thing.  I wrote a blog about BMR (Below Market Rate) housing in San Francisco, about some of the ways you can get started.  It was titled BMR- Below Market Rate Housing.  This is one program.Another that has come about a lot in San Francisco are TIC's or Tenancy in Common housing.  There are many differences between TIC housing and conventional housing or condominiums, and a great place to learn about there differences is at Andy Sirkin 's website.  It is a great resource... 05/15/2007

Imagine you are suddenly offered a job in another city, but don't want to sell your house or condo just yet. Should you rent it out for a while? The answer to this question depends not only on your feelings about becoming a landlord, but also on financial and tax considerations. First of all, rental income is taxable on Schedule E of your individual tax return. Luckily, there are many deductions you can legitimately take:Mortgage interestProperty taxesCondo/Homeowner's feesInsuranceUtilities (if you pay them instead of your tenant)Repairs (but not improvements to the property)Management fees (if you use an agent to rent out the property)Other incidental expenses related to the property and its managementA word about depreciationThe IRS states that you may depreciate your residential ren... 05/15/2007