www.mountainupdate.com

Homes Sell Year Round in the Mountain Communities

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.744.7690

The following matrix shows single family home sales on the mountain reported to the Rim Association of Realtors for the last two years.  Frequently I am told by sellers that they don't think that any sales occur in the Winter months.  Many sellers make the mistake of pulling their home off the market for the Winter and put it back on in the Spring. 

What the matrix reveals is that 46%... nearly half of the sales on the mountain occur in the first half of the year.  It is true that we see a slight decline in the number of sales in January, February and March, but the activity is still pretty strong.  Sellers that keep the property on the market through the Winter enjoy less competition as many sellers make the mistake of "taking a break."

I encourage all of our sellers to take advantage of the market year round.  There are many folks who come and buy in the Winter because they enjoy the Winter.  In 2010 and 2011 in fact 349 homes sold on the mountain in the months of January, February and March....

Mountain Home Sales
Month	2010	2011	Total	Percent
January	58	52	110	6%
February	44	57	101	6%
March	82	55	137	8%
April	67	71	138	8%
May	71	53	124	7%	1st Half
June	78	89	167	10%	46%
July	68	84	152	9%
August	74	86	160	9%
September	72	78	150	9%
October	76	76	152	9%
November	80	87	167	10%	2nd Half
December	62	86	148	9%	54%
Total	832	874	1706	100%

Contact me at the office if you would like to find out what we can do to assist you with your real estate related needs.

Sales Activity in Cedar Ridge Estates

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.744.7690

The following matrix shows the last 3 years of activity for home sales in Cedar Ridge Estates, Lake Arrowhead California reported to the Rim Association of Realtors.  In 2009 there were only 2 homes sold.  2010 and 2011 saw a significant increase in sales activity. 

Notable is when homes in Cedar Ridge sold.  It is commonly thought that nothing sells in the mountains the first half of the year.  Actually what the data reveals is that 41% of sales happen in the first half and 59% in the second half. For a home to close escrow in March and April, it needs to be  put in escrow in January/February which is considered the heart of our Winter.  March and April were tied for 3rd for the most active months for closings so those homes were actually shown and put in escrow in January and February.

Often sellers pull their homes off the market during the WInter months because they feel that there will be no sales activity.  This is a mistake.  Sellers that remain on the market experience less competition from other sellers and a better chance for a sale.

Cedar Ridge Home Sales
Month	2009	2010	2011	Total	Percent
January	0	0	1	1	6%
February	0	0	0	0	0%
March	0	2	0	2	12%
April	1	0	1	2	12%
May	0	0	1	1	6%	1st Half
June	1	0	0	1	6%	41%
July	0	0	1	1	6%
August	0	0	1	1	6%
September	0	0	0	0	0%
October	0	3	2	5	29%
November	0	2	1	3	18%	2nd Half
December	0	0	0	0	0%	59%
Total	2	7	8	17	100%

Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty sells more homes than any other local brokerage year round.  Our agents work hard Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall to make sales.  Contact me at the office if you would like to discuss what we can do to assist you with your real estate related needs.

 

How good is Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty... Not all Real Estate Firms Were Created Equal

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.744.7690

Often I field a question from a member of the public asking how good our team really is.  One of the measurements I use to compare how we are doing against our competitors is our list to sell ratio.  When someone lists their home with a real estate brokerage, their primary objective is to sell the property.  Some brokerages have a higher success rate than others.  Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty not surprisingly has the highest success rate of any other mountain brokerage.  Not only do we list more homes than any other firm.  A higher percentage of the homes we list actually sell. 

The following chart shows the number of single family homes that the top 8 firms on the mountain listed according to the Rim Associaion of Realtors for the last 24 months.  The second column represents how many of those listings either sold or are currently in escrow.  The last column represents the firms "success" ratio.  For example, Coldwell Banker Sky RIdge Realty listed 1078 listings during that time period with 601 of those listings resulting in a sale.  This represents a 56% success ratio.  The higher the ratio, the stronger the company. 

	Listings	Sold or	Success
Firm	Taken	In Escrow	Ratio
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty	1078	601	56%
Capre	491	191	39%
Remax Lakeside	234	102	44%
Prudential California	169	92	54%
Mountain Country Realty	84	30	36%
Lynne B. Wilson and Associates	123	29	24%
Keller Williams Lake Arrowhead	54	19	35%
Prime Properties	69	26	38%

Serious sellers list their property with a company that gets results.  That company is Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty.  If you are a homeowner needing the assistance of a professional nationally recognized firm don't hesitate to contact Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty.

Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty sells more homes than anyone on the mountain.  In these tough economic times sellers need every advantage possible to obtain the best results.  Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty offers those advantages.

 

Home Sales for 2011 on the Mountain

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.744.7690

The following chart shows all single family home sales on the mountain reported as sold to the Rim Associaion of Realtors for the calendar year 2011.  Serious sellers list their property with a company that gets results.  That company is Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty.  If you are a homeowner needing the assistance of a professional nationally recognized firm don't hesitate to contact Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty.

Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty sells more homes than anyone on the mountain.  In these tough economic times sellers need every advantage possible to obtain the best results.  Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty offers those advantages.

	Listings	Buyer	Total
Firm	Sold	Sales	Sales
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty	327	193	520
Capre	109	123	232
Out of Area Broker	0	158	158
Remax Lakeside	61	73	134
Prudential California Real Estate	56	38	94
Mountain Top Producers	34	46	80
Mountain Country Realty	29	36	65
Lynn B. Wilson & Associates	32	29	61
Keller Williams Lake Arrowhead	22	29	51
Sotheby's	32	4	36
Century 21 Showcase	20	10	30
Prime Properties	12	13	25
Lakeview Realty	8	16	24
Windermere	15	7	22
Century 21 Bonnie Blue	9	10	19
Coldwell Banker Running Springs	8	9	17
Highlander Real Estate	12	5	17
Maxim Properties	16	1	17
Glenn Tinturin, Broker	3	8	11
Shear Realty	11	0	11
ERA Bruin Trojan	5	5	10
Plaza One Realty Group	6	4	10
Dan Teter, Broker	6	3	9
Kristinna Sellers, Broker	4	4	8
Cozy Cabins Realty	2	4	6
Green Valley Real Estate	2	4	6
Century 21 San Moritz	0	5	5
Gregg Grant, Broker	3	2	5
Healstone Real Estate	4	1	5
Woody Stahl, Broker	4	1	5
Arrowhead Resort Realty	0	4	4
Coldwell Banker Rim O' The World	0	4	4
Mountain Cabin Real Estate	1	3	4
Bibby Realty	0	3	3
Patrick Daniali, Broker	3	0	3
Rita Shaw, Broker	1	2	3
Lake Arrowhead Realty Co.	0	2	2
Robert Kendziorski, Broker	1	0	1
Freeman & Associates	1	0	1
Herrington Real Estate	0	1	1
Judith Marzicola, Broker	1	0	1
Key Asset Solutions	1	0	1
KR Homes, Inc	1	0	1
Realty World Moquin	0	1	1
Waynes Realty	0	1	1
	862	862

When A "Approved Short Sale" "Isn't".

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.744.7690

I received a call a week ago from a client that found a property on Realtor.com which had language in it stating “Approved Short Sale”.  The client first wanted to know what that meant because in general short sales are not approved until an offer has been submitted to the bank. 

When a listing agent lists this information in the remarks for a listing, they do so because at some point in the recent past, an offer was submitted that was accepted by the seller, and sent on to the bank for approval of the shortage the bank would receive.  This process sometimes takes an extended period of time… in some instances after the lengthy approval process the buyer decides to not move forward, or the approval from the bank came back at a higher price than what was submitted.  When this happens the agent will put the property back on the market knowing that the previous offer was approved at a certain amount, this becomes the pre-approved figure. 

Unfortunately, we sometimes are experiencing agents playing games by offering a property at a list price that they know is well below what the bank would accept…. Someone might ask what good does that do, the answer is not much except maybe for the listing agent.  In fact this practice of misrepresenting a list price can do a lot of harm. 

Back to my example above… I decided to contact the listing agent and I asked this question:  “Listing Agents Name, Address of the property, Is the short sale approved for $159,000?  I have someone interested in writing an offer.”  The answer I received was “Property Address, Is an approved short sale, but the price is not yet approved.  We have an offer on it that we have sent to the bank.”  A little confused, my reply was “If the price isn’t approved, what is approved about it?”  The agent answered “The bank will accept a short sale.  They sent us an approval for that only so far.”  Ladies and Gentlemen, that is not an approved short sale and should not be represented as such in marketing materials.  As a general rule of thumb, it is a given that a lender will accept less than what is owed on a property in today’s real estate market.  Agents representing that they have an approved short sale when they don’t  is a blatant mis-representation that can cause a great deal of problems.

My client chose not to pursue this property after the information was revealed to them.  Had we chosen to move forward, we would have requested a copy of the “Short Sale Approval” to see in fact under what terms the sale had been approved.  I guess in this case all it would have said is “yes, we will take less?”

Call me if I can help you navigate the complicated world of real estate.  I can be reached at the office at 909.336.7995, or via email at steve@cbskyridge.com  I would be happy to help you get the best deal and avoid the challenges.

Mortgage Q&A

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.744.7690

1. Will I save money if I make my regular monthly payment early?

No.  Paying early does not do anthing but allow the mortgage servicer to earn additional interest on your money until the payment due date.  Making extra payments or paying more than your regularly scheduled payment will however save you money.

2. If I make a large extra payment, or pay down the mortgage, will my future payments be lower?

Yes and No.  If it is a variable rate mortgage the payment is calculated on the anniversary date or change date by utilizing the current rate, the outstanding balance and the remaining term.  So reducing the principal will lower your payment after the adjustment date.  If it is a fixed rate mortgage, all additional payments will do  is pay the loan off earlier.  This will save money in the long run, but does not reduce the monthly payments.

3. Is it better to invest excessive funds, or pay more on my mortgage?

It depends upon what return you can expect in other investments.  You can calculate the return on investment in the mortgage by using the interest rate.  This is considered a no risk investment.  If you have an extremely low rate, you may be able to invest in vehicles that can give you a better return.  Talk with an investment advisor to insure you are making smart money decisions.

4. Is it better to make extra payments early in the mortgage cycle when most of the payment is going to interest?

No, the return on investment is not affected by where the mortgage in its life cycle.  While the allocation os scheduled payments between principal and interest changes over the life of the mortgage, extra payments go entirely to principal, no matter what stage of its life cycle the mortgage is in. 

5. Is there a way to escape a pre-payment penalty clause?

No.  the clause was put in the loan to protect the lender, or the investor if the loan is sold.  Pre-payment penaltys do not get waived.

6. Should seniors approaching retirement payoff their mortgage?

If they have significant assets, this can be a great idea.  Once again, it is important to consult an investment professional before making any decisions regarding your money.

7. I have more than one mortgage which one to I pay off first? 

The one that has the highest rate of interest is the one you want to focus on paying down first.  Sometimes it is a good idea to look at paying off a variable rate mortgage before a fixed rate even though the rate might be lower on the adjustable, because future adjustments could be a greater risk.

8. Should I consider refinancing my mortgage?

There are many factors to consider to determine whether or not a refinance will ultimately save you money.  Consider contacting a mortgage professional.  They can take a look at your current mortgage, and determine based upon your future plans whether or not it will save you money. 

If you have other mortgage related questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at the office 909.336.7995 or contact Tom Crate or Marty Sievers at Mountain West Financial.  They can be reached at 909.336.1793.

 

 

90 Days of Home Sales on the Mountain

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.744.7690

The following chart shows all single family home sales on the mountain reported as sold to the Rim Associaion of Realtors from September 13, 2011 to December 11, 2011.  Serious sellers list their property with a company that gets results.  That company is Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty.  If you are a homeowner needing the assistance of a professional nationally recognized firm don't hesitate to contact Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty.

Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty sells more homes than anyone on the mountain.  In these tough economic times sellers need every advantage possible to obtain the best results.  Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty offers those advantages.

	Listings	Market
Firm	Sold	Share
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge	82	41%
Capre	18	9%
Prudential California	14	7%
Remax Lakeside	12	6%
Lynne B. Wilson & Associates	8	4%
Mountain Country	8	4%
Mountain Top Producers	8	4%
Out of Area Broker	7	3%
Sothebys	6	3%
Keller Williams	6	3%
Century 21 Showcase	5	2%
Maxim	4	2%
Prime Properties	4	2%
Century 21 Bonnie Blue	3	1%
Plaza One Real Estate	3	1%
Windermere	3	1%
Coldwell Banker Running Springs	2	1%
Lakeview Real Estate	2	1%
Woody Stahl Broker	2	1%
Cozy Cabins	1	0.5%
Glenn Tinturin, Broker	1	0.5%
Green Valley Lake Real Estate	1	0.5%
Gregg Grant, Broker	1	0.5%
Highlander Real Estate	1	0.5%
Total Sales for 90 Days	202

90 Days of Home Sales in Lake Arrowhead

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.336.2131

The following chart shows all single family home sales in Lake Arrowhead reported as sold to the Rim Associaion of Realtors from September 13, 2011 to December 11, 2011.  Serious sellers list their property with a company that gets results.  That company is Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty.  If you are a homeowner needing the assistance of a professional nationally recognized firm don't hesitate to contact Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty.

Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty sells more homes than anyone on the mountain.  In these tough economic times sellers need every advantage possible to obtain the best results.  Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty offers those advantages.

	Listings	Market
Firm	Sold	Share
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge	34	38%
CAPRE	13	15%
Lynne B. Wilson & Assoc.	8	9%
Remax Lakeside	8	9%
Prudential California	6	7%
Century 21 Showcase	5	6%
Off the Mountain Broker	4	4%
Mountain Country Realty	4	4%
Keller Williams	3	3%
Prime Properties	2	2%
Century 21 Bonnie Blue	1	1%
Woody Stahl, Broker	1	1%
Windermere	0	0%
Total Sales for 90 Days	89

Frequently Asked Questions About Getting A California Real Estate License.

How do I get a California real estate salesperson's license?
If you want a California license, you will need to take an approved Real Estate Principles, Real Estate Practice and one more elective course. and pass the state examination.

Salesperson License Requirements
Applying for the Real Estate Salespersons license will require you to take three courses prior to applying for the state exam. There are two courses that are specifically required: Real Estate Principles,  and Real Estate Practice. (The third course is an elective course that can be selected from the list below.

After completing the three courses, the applicant must pass a 150 question, multiple choice test, with a score of 70% or better.

The third course may be any of the other courses listed below.
Real Estate Appraisal
Real Estate Property Management
Real Estate Finance
Real Estate Economics
Legal Aspects of Real Estate
Mortgage Loan Brokerage & Lending

EXCEPTIONS: If Business, Law, Accounting or Economics was completed in college the student does not have to take the elective course.

Also, a person who is a member of the bar of any state or who is a graduate of a law school recognized by the California State Bar will not be required to meet these course requirements.

If you want a license in another state, you will need to contact the appropriate state agency in that state. It is usually the Real Estate Commission or Department of Real Estate for that state, but it may vary from one state to the next.

What is the cost to do the pre-requisite courses?
If you need all 3 classes, we have options as low as $180… about $60 per class.  There are other options that include study materials, online testing and live test preparation that could be up to $360 so depending upon your specific need, there are options to chose from.

How do I get a California real estate broker's license?
If you want a California Real Estate Broker's License, you will need 8 college-level real estate courses plus either 2 years' full time real estate licensed sales experience or a 4 year college degree. See State Requirements.

If you want a broker's license in any other state, contact the appropriate agency in that state. Usually this will be the Department of Real Estate, but it may vary from one state to the next.

Applications needed for the State Exam?
SALES
Sales Application: RE400A $60.00 fee, mail in w/”copies” of 3 certificates of completion.
Sales Application $60.00 plus $245.00  fee for license: RE435 and RE435A

BROKER
Broker Application: RE400B $95.00 fee mail in w/”copies” of 2-8 certificates of completion.
Broker Application $95.00 plus $300.00 fee for license: RE436 and RE436A
(Note: Allow 4-5 weeks to receive test date.)

What is the real estate test like?
The California salesperson's exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions. It is a paper and pencil test, not on any computer system. The applicant is given 3¼ hours to complete the examination. A passing score is 70% or better, which works out to a minimum of 105 correct answers.

The California broker's exam consists of 200 multiple-choice questions. It too is a paper and pencil test, not on any computer system. The test is administered in two parts, 100 questions in the morning and another 100 questions in the afternoon. The applicant is given 2½ hours for each session, for a total of 5 hours. A passing score is 75% or better, which works out to 150 correct answers.

When either test is administered, the applicant is given a phone number to call 48 hours later to learn about their test results. Written confirmation is usually received within a week.

What if I have already taken a real estate principles course?
If you took a full-semester (or equivalent) Real Estate Principles Course in college, no matter how long ago, or a Real Estate Principles Course from a private vocational school in California after 1986, you still need to complete the Real Estate Practice and 1 elective course. Once all 3 courses are completed you are qualified to take the California state examination. Obtain an application for the state exam and include either a grade card, transcript, or certificate of completion as proof, and you will be issued a test date.  There are many review materials available such as live review courses, or online test practice.  Contact us and we can provide you with some options.

Is my certificate of completion still valid?
If you took an approved Real Estate Principles course from a private vocational school, your Certificate of Completion is still valid. If you took a full semester (or equivalent) Real Estate Principles, Real Estate Practice and 1 elective Course in college at any time, your transcript or grade card will still be sufficient.

What if I took my courses out-of-state?
If you took a full semester (or its equivalent) Real Estate Principles Course at an accredited college or university, it will probably be sufficient. If you took the courses at a private vocational school in another state, it may not be sufficient. In either case, the matter should be addressed to the California Department of Real Estate, as they are the only agency which can make the final determination.

What does a license cost?
The first fee is to take the required examination. The salesperson's examination costs $60. The broker's examination costs $95.

If a person applies for a salesperson's license having taken the 3 courses, the fee for the license is $245 plus $56 for fingerprint processing, for a total of $301.

The fee for the broker's license is $300 plus $56 for fingerprint processing, for a total of $356.
(California residents pay the fingerprint processing fee directly to the live fingerprint service provider. Non-residents pay this to the DRE.)

The salesperson's license can be renewed after its four-year term for $245. The broker's license can be renewed after its four-year term for $300.

How long does it take to schedule my state test?
While there are no guarantees, most people find that they take their test about four to six weeks after they send in their application for the exam. If this is inconvenient, the application allows the person to specify a date after which the person wants to take the test.

When will I find out if I passed my state test?
When you take your test, often you will recieve the results before you leave the facility.

How often is the state test administered?
Ultimately, the test is offered as often as needed, depending upon demand. Both the broker's exam and the salesperson's exam are offered in Fresno, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

The Salespersons exam is offered during the week, usually Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, occasionally on Wednesdays. There are morning and afternoon start times for the Salespersons exam. The Brokers exam is usually offered on Wednesdays.

The admittance form the applicant receives which specifies the test date will also list the exact address and time of the test location.

How long is the license valid?
Both the salesperson's license and the broker's license are good for a four year term, and can be renewed for additional four year terms. There is a two-year grace period after the license expires during which the license can be renewed for an additional fee. After the grace period expires, the person will be required to retake the appropriate California state examination.

Contact me at steve@cbskyridge.com for additional information on obtaining a California Real Estate License.

Timely Feedback for Sellers

 
Steven Keefe, Broker/Owner 
Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty 

www.mountainmoves.com
steve@mountainupdate.com
909.336.2131

Yesterday afternoon, I received an email telling me that one of my agents opened a lock box on one of my listings.  This morning, first thing I sent an email to the agent asking: 

Fred,
Lockbox says you showed it on Friday.  Any feedback from the showing.  I need to be meeting with the seller this week and feedback would be helpful.

Steve

The response came quickly:

Steve,
Our client looked at several (12) homes in this price range.  The Teakwood house was actually in her top three.  She ended up writing an offer on xxxxxxxxx listed for the same money with an attached two car garage, 5 bedrooms and 3 baths.  Based on the other homes that we looked at our buyer thought the price of Teakwood should be under $250K.

Fred

Feedback from agents showing and buyers is extremely valuable to sellers.  Lets breakdown this feedback.  First Fred said that his client saw 12 properties in this price range.  The asking price of this listing is $268,000.  There is a great deal to choose from for buyers in this market.  In fact less than 25% of properties that are listed actually sell as there are not enough buyers in the market to absorb the inventory. 

Next Fred told me that their buyer actually wrote and offer and what they wrote an offer on.  My listing was a 3 bedroom two bath home without a garage.  They wrote an offer on a property that had 5 bedrooms, 3 baths and an attached garage.  This information is valuable for a seller to understand what buyers are seeing out there for the money.

Lastly, Fred and their buyer make a recommendation that my listing should be listed below the $250,000 mark to be competitive in this market. 

In these tough economic times, it is important for sellers to have quick feedback on showings so they can act and make business decisions to best position their property for sale. 

Coldwell Banker Sky RIdge Realty is the market leader and has been since 1982.  Please contact me if you need assistance with real estate related services here in the San Bernardino mountains.