| Greetings!
Taking Care of Our Jewel - Lake Tahoe's Crystal Clear Water
The Tahoe Sierra Board of Realtors has recently notified the membership to give notice of The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Erosion Control BMPs- real property disclosure that is now in-force throughout Lake Tahoe. Some of you may be saying what is the Best Management Practices(BMP) Retrofit Program? Sounds like a bowel movement problem to me! But alas it is more complicated than that. In an effort to preserve the clarity of Lake Tahoe by reducing erosion and capturing polluted water before entering into the Lake, the TRPA has implemented the BMP Retrofit program requiring all owners of developed properties with the Tahoe Basin to attain a BMP certification by installing and maintaining Best Management Practices. Once these measures are implemented a property must pass a final inspection before a certification of completion will be issued. The program will affect all property owners, buyers and their Realtors within the Lake Tahoe Basin. From 2003 to the present when a residential property is sold within the jurisdiction of the TRPA the completion and submission of a disclosure form relating to the status of the on-site erosion control Best Management Practices (BMPs) is required. This requires a seller to provide information regarding erosion control measures, and to disclose the compliance status of the property. The buyer is required to submit the form to the TRPA acknowledging receipt of the disclosure within thirty days of transferring ownership. To date compliance of this disclosure requirement has fallen short, however we have been put on notice that this provision is in force and failure to comply could result in "draconian measures" - sounds scary! It is our job as your professional realtor to see that our sellers have disclosed the BMPs to our buyers and that our buyers fully understand the situation and then submit the signed disclosure to the TRPA within the prescribed time. |
| Market Update - March 2010 |
Sales continued to increase as we traveled
through March. 84 single family
residences (including condos) sold in March 2010. 16 of these properties were bank owned (REO),
15 were short sales (SS), making distressed properties 38% of total sales. Tahoe Donner continues to be the most active
of the areas with 16 home sales and 5 condos sold. Lake Tahoe's
Westshore also remains strong with 7 homes sold. Another interesting front runner was the
Resort At Squaw Creek, where 7 condos closed escrow. Here are
the statistics from the Tahoe MLS. The solds
from March 1 - 31, 2010:
Tahoe Donner: 16
homes, (1 REO, 5 SS), 5 condos, (2 REOs, 1 SS)
Northstar: 1 homes , 8 condos (1 SS)
Glenshire, Cambridge, Juniper
Hill, Juniper Creek, The Meadows: 6 homes (2 REOs, 2 SS)
Prosser Lake Area: 1 home (1 REO)
Russel Valley: 1 home
Pananonia Ranchos: 1 home (1 REO)
Sierra Meadows, Ponderosa
Palisades, Winter Creek: 0 homes, 2
condos (2 REOs)
Martiswoods, Ponderosa
Ranchos: 0 residential properties
Olympic Heights: 1 home (1 REO)
Lahontan: 1 home
( 1 REO)
Timlick: 0 residential
properties
Old Greenwood: 0 residential properties
Gray's Crossing: 1 home (1 REO)
Martis Camp: 0 residential properties
Truckee Proper:
2 homes (1 REO, 1 SS), 1
condo (1 SS)
Donner Crest: 0 residential properties
Adjacent to Tahoe
Donner: 1 home
Donner Lake: 0
residential properties
Donner Summit:
2 homes, 1 condo
West shore Lake
Tahoe: 7 homes
Tahoe City: 3 homes, 1 condo (1 SS)
North shore Lake
Tahoe: 4 homes (1 REO)
Kings Beach & Tahoe Vista: 2 homes (1
SS), 1 condo
Alpine & Squaw Valley: 7
home (1 REO), 7 condos (1 REO, 1 SS)
Shared Ownerships - entire
region: 7 (1 REO)
Mobile Homes - entire
region: 2 (1 REO)
Condos and Homes sold over
$1M in Truckee and North Lake Tahoe: 10
Highest priced home or condo
sold: a 3427 square foot condo at
Northstar's Trailside Loop, build in 2008 4 bedrooms 4.5 baths sold for
$3,650,000 - CASH.
Lowest priced home or condo
sold: another condo, this one a
studio located in the Franciscan Lakeside Lodge. After 145 days on the market, this condo
which was originally priced at $132,500 sold with owner financing at $125,500
The list to sell ratio on the median
was 96%. In other words, the homes sold
within 96% of the list price. The median
list price for this period was $525,000 median sale price was $506,250.
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| Screaming Hot Deals | |
In this particular spot, we feature the 3 properties in the multiple listing service that we feel are well priced. These are the properties that we wish we had buyers for because we know they are of such value that they will not last long, even in this market. So, for this month, come and get 'em before they are gone. . . .(by the way if when you click on the link you get nothing -- they have already gone under contract)
1. Here is a classic Tahoe Chalet, 3035 Watson . Tucked away in Highland Green on the Northshore of Lake Tahoe the home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a 2 car garage. Lots of room with that popular open floor plan it even has a peek view of the Lake -- Lake Tahoe, that is. 2. This comes under the category "I can't believe it is still on the market!" A nicely rehabbed house with lots of square footage and space for a growing family. Located at 10998 Star Pine Road in Sierra Meadows, you get 3 bedrooms, 3 baths a garage AND a family room for just $359,900. A hidden treasure for sure.
3. Let's get serious here -- $600,000 for 20 acres PLUS a house? The bank sold it, now it belongs to someone who wants to get it off their hands quickly. 14747 Martis Peak Road in Juniper Creek Ranches. 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage. The house is a little on the small size but on this size lot, there is lots of room for expansion. Be sure to contact us if you would like to take a look at any of these properties! |
| Worst Deals on the Market | |
These are the properties for sale that we feel are the worst priced homes on the market in our multiple listing service. Every month we will choose 2 or 3 properties which, for one reason or another (usually price) are something we would not be inclined to show our buyer clients. So for this month, here they are:
1. This property, at 11543 Alder Hill Road is bank owned. Normally I would say that the banks are reasonable in their pricing but apparently this bank has gotten some mis-information. Yes there are 15 acres and yes the house looks nice from the outside but if you check it out, it has a long way to go before it is worth the $900,000 the bank is asking. We say purchase the one on Martis Peak in our "Best Deals" area and add a thousand square feet. 2. Here is a classic case of over pricing your home 984 days ago and missing the market as it slides down. 3075 Fabianis still priced too high at $925,000 but it is a much better deal than when it was originally listed at $1,499,000. 4 beds, 3 baths, 2200 square feet a rebuilt 1976 home it will always be. Located in the same neighborhood as the "best buy" on Watson (see above), why not purchase the best priced home in the area?
3. When we first began selling in the North Lake Tahoe Truckee area we became aware of an area at Lake Tahoe known as Chinquapin. I am not sure if you know it, it is that subdivision across Hwy 28 from Old County Road and down the hill to the Lake. I have lived here 30 years and only once have I been on the property. It has a mistique about it -- sort of like The Cedars up on Donner Summit. Places where the "mega rich" hole up. Not often does a place come on the market there because properties are passed down between family members and over generations. Perhaps a sign of the times is the number of places that are currently available for sale there now. Priced from a modest $525,000 up to a pretentious $2,295,000 see for yourself and let us know what you think. I'm not saying they are over priced -- but time will tell. Be sure to let us know what you think that any of these properties will sell for by contacting us hereand when it does, the entry closest to the actual sale price will win a gift certificate. |
| Dante & Alena Giannini |
 These great people live in the Bay Area and have just purchased an awesome Truckee getaway. They are what we call short sale survivors and just got a great deal on a Pinyon Creek Townhome. When these homes were newly built they were offered on the market for $800,000 and up, but timing is everything and these folks have great timing. They picked up their home for darn near half the price. You couldn't ask for nicer people to work with and we hope they have lots of friends that are just as nice as they are and want to buy homes in Truckee too.
That's our favorite part of this job, making new friends :-)
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Kappy and Jennifer have a combined 40 years in the Real Estate Profession. We are committed to giving our clients the most up to date Real Estate information and Stellar Service because, We Love Our Work and So Will You! Call us or e-mail us for information about the Tahoe Truckee Real Estate Market. By the way, if you think any of this information might be of interest to anyone you know, feel free to forward this newsletter. We would really appreciate it!
Sincerely,
Kappy Mann & Jennifer Boehm
Keller Williams Real Estate |
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| More Home Buyer Tax Credits available In California |  | On March 25, 2010 California's Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law Assembly bill 183, The Homebuyer Tax Credit. This law will provide $200 million home buyer tax credits. $100 million of this will be for first-time buyers of existing homes and $100 million will be for purchasers of new, or previously unoccupied homes.
The time frames are as follows: For the eligible first time homebuyer program, their personal residence must be purchased on and after May 1, 2010 , and on or before December 31, 2010. For the purchasers of new or previously unoccupied residences the deadlines are on or after December 31, 2010 and before August 1, 2011.
The credit is equal to the lesser of 5 percent of the purchase price or $10,000. this credit will be given over a 3 year period. Under this law, the purchaser must live in the house for at least 2 years or pay back the credit to the state.
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New Info on Foreclosure and Short Sales
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There were a couple of new developments this past month in
the banking industry with regard to foreclosures and short sales. The 2 largest banks have made some movement
in changing their policies.
First, the Bank of America announced this past month that it
will introduce "principal forgiveness." This term refers to reducing the loan balances of some distressed
homeowners who have either adjustable rate mortgages or sub-prime loans. If a borrower "qualifies" for this reduction,
it will not only reduce his principal (the loan amount) but also his monthly
payments.
The Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification
Program, or HAMP, has a goal of lowering the payment on a first mortgage to
about 31% of a borrower's gross income.
Not sure how this is
going to work, or how it will be received by the people who are not currently
"distressed," but it remains to be seen whether or not the Bank of America
actually carries through with this promise.
Another problem that has held homeowners hostage over the
past 2-4 years is the second mortgage. It
seems that even though some people qualified for relief for their principal
mortgage under the U.S. Treasury's mortgage-modification program, their home
equity or second mortgages were still putting them at risk for default (some
consumers' second loan payments are higher than their first's). Wells Fargo and the Bank of America have
bowed to pressure from the federal government to modify these home-equity loans.
As for its part, government has come to the aid of distressed homeowners in that the IRS has been told not to pursue taxing the forgiveness (the difference between what a short sale/foreclosure/loan modification nets the bank and what the borrower owes), on principal residences. For a while it looked like this would NOT be the case in the state of California but another bill passed very recently by the state legislature (SB 401) and expected to be signed by Governor Swartzenegger in time for April 15, 2010, would, make homeowners immune from state taxation on this "forgiveness" also.
for more info
and even more
and for info on state forgiveness
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| Cheryl Hogan, Professional Photographer | 
| Perhaps you have noticed that the photo on this newsletter that is a little bit more representative of our visages. After numerous attempts to get a good shot on our own, we finally decided to hire a professional and we are pleased with the results (after all look at the material she had to work with).
Cheryl Hogan has been a professional since 2003 and is based out of Truckee, CA., where she lives with her daughter Sierra. Her expertise spans a broad spectrum of everything related to photographs including: weddings, events, portraits, producing advertising pieces and even the sale of fine art prints. We can attest to her hard work ethic and talent. Check out her work here at www.cherylhogan.com
We are pretty sure that you won't be disappointed.
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| Happy Spring!! |  | A little bit of history -- Easter although a Christian Holiday, Has many traditions not the least of which is the Easter Bunny who, like Santa Claus, brings presents (in the form of eggs) to the children. The practice was first recorded in Germany in the early 1600's. The tradition was brought to the U.S. by the Pennsylvania Deutsch and has remained a tradition ever since.
get more information on Easter here.
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