How to Sell Your Home and Buy Another at the Same Time

Being a move-up buyer can be tough in today’s market. Although deals are closing rapidly, there’s no guarantee that your new dream home will close at the same time as your old dream home. Selling and buying at the same time is a delicate dance, but it is doable. There are a few ways to pursue this plan:

1. Sell first, then buy. This is perhaps the safest plan, but it calls for multiple moves. In this scenario, you list your home and complete the transaction before purchasing another home. When you sell your home, you put the bulk of your belongings in storage and live in a temporary rental or, if possible, enter into a rent-back deal with your home’s new owner.
The advantage of this method is that you know exactly how much you can spend on a new home, and you don’t have to worry about temporary financing. Also, without another home waiting in the wings, you’ll be less tempted to drop the price or to take the first offer that is below the asking price. The disadvantage is that it is a disruptive experience, and you could be displaced for a while if you are home-shopping for a long time.

2. Buy first, then sell. This strategy minimizes disruption. You can move into your new place at your leisure and then take time to prepare your home for sale. The major disadvantage is that, depending on how fast your old home sells, you could be shouldering the burden of two mortgages for some time. You are also responsible for maintenance and security on the vacant home. This scenario works best if your first home is already paid off.

A variation of this plan is to buy a new home with the plan to rent out the old one for a year. This buys you some time with money coming in, but being a landlord comes with its own stresses and responsibilities. You may also need to repair or renovate the home after it has served as a rental.

3. Buy and sell simultaneously. To execute this plan, you need to prepare for all contingencies and to know that if your timing is off, you will face one of the two scenarios listed above. The trickiest bit can be timing the financial burden. One option is bridge financing. This enables you to own two homes for a short amount of time. To do this, you need to either borrow money from family or obtain a short-term loan from a bank or other lending institution to span the time period between when you close on your new home and sell your old one. In essence, you are getting a short-term home-equity loan, also known as a HELOC, a Home Equity Line of Credit, on your present house and using it as a down payment on your new house. You then repay the loan when you sell your first home. It is not easy to qualify for a conventional bridge loan, since you have to demonstrate that you have enough money to pay for both mortgages for an indefinite period of time.

Experts advise applying for the HELOC well before you buy a new house. That way most of the credit on the line is unused until you actually need it. Lenders don’t like a HELOC that works only for a very short time, and it’s a challenge to get a HELOC if your present home is on the market.

Try to schedule the closing date on the sale of your old home after the closing date on the home you buy. In this way, you can stay in your present home until you move into your new home. Otherwise, you can attempt to negotiate a rent-back arrangement.

There is no right answer in choosing any of these scenarios. Your Realtor may be able to advise which is best, depending on the local market. However, much depends on your financial stability, as well as your tolerance for risk or disruption.

Herbert J. Cohen contributed to this article. Click Here.

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San Diego Charger LT: Please buy my Poway Home

LaDainian Tomlinson said goodbye to the Chargers in 2010, but his multimillion-dollar home in Poway is still on the market, Tomlinson said on a local sports talk show this week.

"It was nice, and I wish someone would buy it," said Tomlinson, who phoned in to Mighty 1090's Scott and B.R. Show from his current home in Westlake, Texas, an area in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

LT's property in Poway first hit the market in fall 2011 with an asking price of $5.2 million. It was relisted in April at $3.75 million, according to the MLS.

Tomlinson bought the property in 2004 for $3.5 million, public records show.

The home, which sits on two parcels, features five bedrooms, 5-1/2 bathrooms and a plethora of upgrades.

"Seller spared no expense in creating this special private atmosphere ideal for entertaining and family living," the listing says. "Home features virtually all the bells and whistles."

Those extras include a wet bar, sauna, gourmet kitchen, game room, private pool and spa, and outdoor barbecue. A full-sized basketball court/tennis court sits on an otherwise unimproved second lot, which can be developed by the buyer or left as-is.

Article provided by UT- San Diego

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Foreclosures fall to nearly 7-year low

San Diego County foreclosures have plummeted to a nearly seven-low year -- in light of rising home values, the effects of government intervention and new protections for California consumers, said real estate tracker DataQuick on Tuesday.

A total of 175 trustee deeds, which signal a foreclosure, were recorded countywide in May. That's the lowest level since September 2006, when 172 homes were foreclosed upon and the local housing market began to see troubling declines in prices and sales.

"We've pretty much gone back to normalcy in foreclosures," said Alan Nevin, a housing analyst with the London Group in downtown San Diego.

The most obvious reason for the foreclosure drop is that notices of default, the first step in the foreclosure process, also have fallen drastically. A total of 642 default notices were filed in May, down 52 percent from a year ago.

Article at UT-San Diego

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Inventory Improves in June!

While the number of for-sale listings nationwide remains down from last year, June saw a promising lift compared to the start of this year, Zillow revealed in a new report.

The overall number of listings on Zillow was down 12.2 percent year-over-year at the start of June, an improvement from the 17.5 percent shortfall recorded in January—in other words, Zillow explained, the inventory of for-sale homes has improved 5.3 percentage points year-to-date (controlling for seasonality).
Overall, annual inventory levels improved in June compared to January in 70 metros. Among the 30 largest areas covered by Zillow, Phoenix, San Diego, and Minneapolis saw the greatest alleviation from the start of the year to the start of June, improving 31.9, 14.9, and 13.5 percentage points, respectively.

“As the recovery has progressed, inventory constraints have played a major role in rapidly pushing up home values in many areas, as increasing demand for homes ran headlong into limited supply. It has always been just a matter of time before more supply came on the market to meet this demand, as homebuilders built more new homes and sellers entered the market to capitalize on recent robust appreciation in their own homes,” said Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist.
Twenty-nine metros saw their inventory shortages worsen between January and June; 11 of those were in the top 30 largest metros, Zillow reported. The worst areas include Las Vegas (where inventory fell 21.8 percentage points), Chicago (12.3 percentage points), and Washington, D.C. (9.8 percentage points).
Nationwide, the greatest year-over-year declines in inventory were among more expensive homes, with the availability of top- and middle-tier properties each falling 15.7 percent. The number of bottom-tier properties for sale on Zillow nationwide fell 2.5 percent in early June compared to last year.
“Inventory will likely remain below year-ago levels for a while yet, as builders ramp up capacity and sellers wait to squeeze every drop of equity from their home before listing. But a corner has been turned,” Humphries said.
As new supply makes its way onto the market, Zillow expects the pace of home value appreciation to slow to more moderate levels “closer to historic norms of 3 percent or 4 percent,” he continued.
Article provided by CAR.com
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What's Hot In Home Design

The rebounding new home market has fueled a change in attitudes about what we want from our homes when we build them from the ground up.

After enduring a real estate decline, as the market improves, we value our homes that much more. Most of us are thinking through the details of what we want in our homes with a greater sense of clarity about how we really live in our spaces. Our focus is much less on size and has instead turned toward making the most of every room.

The chef is on display: Kitchens are now designed for a crowd

If all your hours spent watching the Food Network have left you feeling like you’re a burgeoning chef in need of a kitchen fit for one of television’s celebrated chefs, you’re not alone.

The more sumptuous the kitchen we see in that home magazine, and the more educated we become about domestic skills — gourmet cooking being a favorite practice to take up — the more we desire the tools to support our developing abilities.

For kitchens, we want to go beyond the gas range and custom storage for all possible ingredients. Admit it: The serious home chef cooks, in part, to be seen cooking. So, a kitchen island with seating for one’s audience — whether the fans are family or guests — is a must. You’ll want top-notch lighting, too, to better see you and your edible creations.

Keep an eye out for trends from annual idea homes and dream homes from HGTV, Southern Living, Coastal Living and other media

In tracking trends for our feature on some of this year’s leading design homes, kitchens designed for a crowd made appearances in several top idea homes or dream homes.

Look no further than the 2012 Sunset Idea House (“Breezehouse”), the Southern Living Idea Home or Coastal Living’s Ultimate Beach House for kitchens designed for gathering.

That’s a good lesson, by the way: If you spot a trend in one of these major show homes, look for it to show up in real life soon after. Major show homes and idea homes don’t just reflect our preferences; they help drive the market.

The rise of the supremely outfitted home
In 2013, we predict a distinct rise in supremely outfitted homes. Anne Robert, a London-based style maven at theoutdoorstylist.com, calls this the “uber trend.”

“A home’s value will be measured on its ability to be as good, if not better, than relevant spaces out in the market,” says Roberts. “Ideally, you want a kitchen good enough for a chef, a gym equipped like your local gym, a bathroom that echoes a spa. You want your home office to be as well connected as you are at work.”

It’s all happening in the home gym

Take the gym: Innovations in home gyms have exploded in the past few years, with svelte new fitness equipment from manufacturers like TechnoGym leading the way.

For those of us who prefer to sweat and strain in private, a home gym is a must. No longer is this reserved for professional athletes and trainers. The well-equipped home gym is within reach for those of us who have a room to dedicate (or even part of a room, thanks to the latest modular fitness equipment).

We no longer have to worry about how our gym equipment will look sharing space in a home office, because sophisticated fitness machines designed specifically for home use are so beautiful that they outshine their commercial counterparts.

The TechnoGym Kinesis Personal Vision is a perfect example of gorgeous modern technology. When not in use, it folds up to disguise itself as a full-length mirror.

Time for a shower? Take it outdoors
In 2013, when you’re done working out, you may clean up indoors in a master bath that features a curbless and stall-less shower, a modern luxury like one you’d find in a European boutique hotel.

Or, if you really want to get out ahead of the trend, you’ll relax in an outdoor spa, like the Sundance Spas Select Series, an eco-friendly line that operates efficiently without forgoing the comfort-inducing features that the company’s hot tubs are known for.

Privacy is key for outdoor spas. Landscape designers have met this need by incorporating hedges, potted plants, seating and foot-friendly surfaces known as hardscape to walk on. None of this is an afterthought; landscapers are fashioning deliberate outdoor rooms that cater to the needs of home spa enthusiasts. Which leads us to … the outdoor shower.

The growing popularity of outdoor bathing is due to adaptations in product and landscape designs that establish privacy. “Our parents and grandparents didn’t think we’d ever see three bathrooms in a single family home,” says Robert. “But that’s expected now, and soon, outdoor bathrooms will be expected, too.”

Read more here.

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Features Generation Y Homebuyers Favor

As National Homeownership Month kicks off, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is taking a look at the features today’s young homebuyers want most and how builders are adapting to those needs.

“As the economy recovers and young people who had to live at home with their parents move forward with their lives and achieve their dreams of homeownership, home builders are delivering homes that cater to the floor plans, features and affordability that this generation desires,” said NAHB chairman Rick Judson, a homebuilder and developer from Charlotte, North Carolina.
According to the association’s 2012 consumer preference survey, more than 80 percent of Generation Y homebuyers (people born in 1977 or later) prefer a highly energy-efficient home over a lower-priced home without energy-efficient features, preferring to save instead on utility costs.

To meet this need, builders are now constructing homes withENERGY STAR-rated appliances; windows, doors, and insulation that help control the home’s climate; and other modern components such as tankless water heaters and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that help save energy costs.
Gen Y also seems to favor media and game rooms more than any other kind of specialty room. New homes today not only contain those spaces, but they are outfitted with modern, state-of-the-art electronic and wiring components that can accommodate high-definition televisions, full-house sound systems, hard-wired fire and security alarms, and more.
Beyond those features, NAHB noted that new homes today actually cost less to maintain than older homes. A study done by the group found that homes built before 1960 have average maintenance costs of $564 per year, while a home built after 2008 averages $241.
“The time has never been better for young people to become home owners, whether it be a new home or existing,” Judson said. “There are outstanding opportunities in the current market, with near record low interest rates, competitive prices and new homes being built that include open layouts, energy efficient components and other features that cater to young buyers.”

Click Here to view this article provided by DS NEWS.

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San Diego Realtor & economists talk about the job market

FORTUNE -- For the past few years, economists have been waiting for the housing market to rebound so the job market can finally -- crash? Wait, no. It's the opposite. Right?
On Friday, we'll get the latest look at how the job market is doing. Hiring is improving, but the unemployment rate has stayed stubbornly high. The go-to explanation among economists has been the weak housing market. Where are all those construction workers going to find work? Nursing? (That's actually a pretty good idea.)
Housing prices are jumping again, and some people are even saying there's a new bubble. We've pointed out you shouldn't expect the economy to come roaring back just because the housing market is. But two economists are taking an even more extreme stance: that a good real estate market, where more people buy houses instead of rent, will throw more people out of work.

Read more about what the economists have to say Here!

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San Diego Realtor keeps you updated- Spring Valley Market Trends

The median sales price for homes in Spring Valley CA for Feb 13 to Apr 13 was $295,750. This represents an increase of 5.6%, or $15,750, compared to the prior quarter and an increase of 22.1% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have appreciated 3.8% over the last 5 years in Spring Valley. The average listing price for Spring Valley homes for sale on Trulia was $269,793 for the week ending May 22, which represents an increase of 3.5%, or $9,124, compared to the prior week and an increase of 4.3%, or $11,099, compared to the week ending May 01. Average price per square foot for Spring Valley CA was $188, an increase of 13.9% compared to the same period last year.

Spring Valley Recently Sold Homes

Spring Valley Homes For Sale

Spring Valley Homes For Sale

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Spring Valley Recently Sold Homes

SAN DIEGO- Late property tax notices to go out

The county will start to mail out more than 42,000 notices to taxpayers who have failed to pay their property taxes, said the San Diego County treasurer-tax collector's office on Thursday. The amount in unpaid taxes and late fees totals $94.1 million.

Reminders will be sent to taxpayers who did not pay the first, second, or both installments of their tax bill for the 2012-2013. Those who failed to meet payment deadlines have been charged a 10 percent late fee and an additional $10 fee.

Notice recipients will have until July 1 to pay their taxes, the agency said. If taxpayers fail to meet that deadline, then another 1.5 percent a month, or 18 percent a year will be tacked on to their bills and penalties.

County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister said this year's collection rate, at 98 percent, is an all-time high. He predicts the collection rate will increase to 98.6 percent by June 30.

The agency is not required by California law to send out these notices. Still, "we make a major effort each year to inform our taxpayers that there will be additional charges if they do not pay by the end of the fiscal year,” said McAllister in a statement.

Those who asked for property tax reassessments will still have to pay the amounts listed in the bills, the tax collector's office said. The county will grant refunds to taxpayers who are granted lower assessments.

Paying property tax bills can be done through several means. They include calling (855) 829-3773, going to sdtreastax.com, mailing in in payments, or visiting the following offices: 1600 Pacific Highway, room 162 in downtown San Diego; 200 South Magnolia in El Cajon; 141 E. Carmel Street in San Marcos; 590 Third Avenue in Chula Vista; and 9225 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in San Diego.

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-For Article go to UT-San Diego