All Costs Equal: Would You Buy Used or New?

By Andrew Hill @ New Homes Move

So your friends and family have told you buying new is the way to go, but you can’t seem to get your head around the hefty price tag? Sure enough, new homes can entail a higher upfront cost, but used homes have their costs as well. The biggest problem with buying a used home is that it always entails settling for less than your dream home. The key is to look at the big picture and understand that buying a home is an investment. It’s not a one-time purchase and it should not be treated as such.

When thinking about buying new versus used, you should consider the following factors. Imagine two homes in the same neighborhood with the same square footage and the only difference between the two is that one home is 25 years older and costs 25% less. Sounds like a great deal at first, but if you look closer you’ll see a multitude of drawbacks. The older home will have worn out appliances and hardware, which will consume money and labor to repair. The older home may also have outdated technology or other pieces that require replacing. Older homes also tend to be much less energy efficient. Thanks to advances in reducing energy consumption, newer, more efficient homes can help lower your monthly utility bills, a factor often overlooked when considering homes.

New construction also comes with a new home warranty, while the warranty for a used home will probably be out of date by the time you own it. And possibly the most important consideration of all is the amount of remodeling you may have to do. After all, buying a new home that is tailored to your tastes can be much more cost effective than buying a used home that will require extensive modifications. All those costs add up and you can end up with a used house that will cost you just as much as buying new.

So, all costs equal, which would you choose: a home with the square footage, location, floor plan, and amenities you desire or a used home with a layout that doesn’t suit your needs that will require time and labor to fix the house to your liking.

The answer seems obvious to me. For more information about buying new versus used, contact Kathleen Daniels, today!

New Homes Construction in Blossom Valley San Jose

New construction of Blossom Valley Homes at the corner of Blossom Hill Road and Southcrest Way between Chesbro and Cahalan in San Jose, Ca 95123.

The single family homes will be approximately 1,660 to 2,159 square feet; up to 4 bedrooms; and anticipated pricing from the high $600,000’s.

The name of the Development is Westbury, by Brookfield Homes.

Video taken on Sunday, January 29, 2012 – Check back for Video Updates

This location is convenient to shopping, dining and freeway access.  Westfield Mall is just minutes away.  Across Blossom Hill Road is an OutBack Steak House, Marie Callender’s, Juicy Burger, City Espresso, several fast food establishments and retail shops.  The Cahalan Post Office is a block away. It’s also close to Highway 85. The farthermost end of this development at Chesbro abuts Highway 85.

An important tip for San Jose home buyers looking to purchase new construction.  Know that the sales person works for the builder/developer.  This means that you definitely want to hire an experienced San Jose Real Estate Agent to represent YOU.  Make sure you have your San Jose real estate agent with you when you first visit and register at the sales office.  If your agent is not with you when you first register then your agent will not be able to represent you.

Second important tip:  Get a property inspection.  Just because it is new construction does not mean there are no construction defects.  This allows your agent to negotiate the repairs before escrow closes. You would be surprised what home inspectors find with newly constructed homes.

If you are looking to buy or sell your San Jose home or any location in Silicon Valley allow me the opportunity to be of service. 

My consultations are free. Your satisfaction is my guarantee. 

Kathleen Daniels, Broker – Serving San Jose and  Silicon Valley – 1-800-972-1822

In my post San Jose CA Water Damage and Water Restoration Services I made reference to sheet rock work that was performed by Sean Silva of Silva Custom Construction. 

Following the demolition or tear out from the water damage to my San Jose CA home, I was more than ready to start the reconstruction. After call, I had spent 9 days living in an extended stay hotel and was ready to get my home and life back to normal.   I was surprised when I received the invoice for the tear out performed by Silva Custom Construction on behalf of Immediate Response Restoration and equally surprised shocked to see the invoice for the installation of sheet rock which is outlined below.

General:

• Haul debris – per pickup truck load – including dump fees                                     $77.47
• Cleaning Technician – per hour @ 1 hour                                                                $41.52
• Content Manipulation charge – per hour                                                                   $24.25

One small problem:

• No debris was hauled – most of the debris was hauled during the tear out from the water damage.
• Even then, not all debris was hauled.  I still have some carpet, sink and vanity in my garage.
• There was no cleaning technician … no cleaning was done whatsoever. 
• There was no content to manipulate – everything had already been moved by my plumber.

Laundry Room:

• Washing Machine – remove and reset                                                                   $134.93
• Dryer – remove and reset                                                                                         $ 43.19
• Drywall Installer / Finisher per hour  @2 hours                                                        $ 94.32

• To repair missing drywall (no tape, mud or texture). Materials included   

One small problem:

• The contractor did not remove or reset the washer and dryer.  My plumber removed the washer and dryer the night the backup occurred. 
• The day the sheet rock work was completed, Sean Silva refused to connect the washing machine and reset the dryer.

• He asked me “who removed them?”  I told him my plumber.
• His response was “you need to have whoever removed them replace them.”
  
• I called my plumber and paid $100 to have them reset.
  
• I find the fact that Sean Silva flat out refused to touch the washer and dryer and then had the audacity to bill me for doing so is absolutely unconscionable.

Hallway:

• Drywall Installer / Finisher per hour @ 1 hour                                                         $ 94.32
  • To repair missing drywall (no tape, mud or texture). Materials included   

 One small problem:

•  I piece of sheet rock 3 feet by 2 feet – 1 hour? This does not equate to time billed for the laundry room
  

Bathroom:

• Drywall Installer / Finisher per hour @ 2 hours                                                     $188.64
  • To repair missing drywall (no tape, mud or texture). Materials included   

Contractor, Sean Silva would not reset the toilet either.  I was told I need to have my plumber do it.  Hey, at least he did not attempt to charge me for it! He did such a bad job on two cuts that the person I hired to complete the work had to remove and replace the sheet rock on two walls.
 

Additional:

10% for overhead was added to the bill

10% for profit was added to the bill

Total bill $835.12

The day Sean Silva did the sheet rock he was onsite working less than two hours.  He could not finish the work because he forgot to load the insulation on his truck.  There was one section in the laundry room that was left unfinished.  He would have to return with the insulation on another day to complete. Needless to say, this is at an inconvenience to this San Jose homeowner.

A total of 4 hours were billed for drywall installation and it took 2 hours to complete. 

At $94.32 per hour @ 2 hours = $188.64 in actual work done for which I was charged $835.12.

Adding 10% for overhead and 10% for profit (I am not sure what the difference is here – both seem to be a rip-off to me) that would bring the total to $226.37.  That means I was over charged $608.75. 

I addressed this with management at Immediate Response Restoration and advised that I would not be utilizing Sean Silva to complete any additional work because not only did he fail to provide me with a written estimate for all repairs, as he promised to do, I certainly do not want to work with a company that has a business practice of inflating invoices with work that was not completed. 

Dan Hartwell, President of Immediate Response Restoration advised during our conference call on Friday, 11-118-2011 that Sean came to them from the Construction industry; he has only been working with them for 6 months; and he has not figured out how to use the Exactimate software.  Sean Silva had not reviewed the invoice. 

Seriously?  If he is still learning the software then the time to review and revise an invoice is BEFORE it is sent to the San Jose homeowner with a demand for payment. Dan Hartwell advised that his V P made the executive decision to waive all charges for the sheet rock installation.  I can assure everyone that I spent far more than $226.37 of my time in attempting to work the cast of characters in unraveling their dishonestly and lack of integrity. I also paid someone else to redo two pieces in the bathroom.

I’m still waiting for a corrected sheet rock invoice reflecting zero balance due.  Homeowners Beware! This matters must be addressed and finalized or we risk an unscrupulous company placing a lien on our property.  If a company is willing to inflate their invoices then the company is likely willing to do anything else that may cause harm to a homeowner. 

This San Jose Homeowner and San Jose Real Estate Agent gives two thumbs down to Sean Silva of Silva Custom Construction and Immediate Response Restoration.

If you are ever unfortunate enough to have water damage to your home and need water restoration work done, think twice before you call Immediate Response Restoration at 800-956-1212.  I believe Immediate Response Restoration is affiliated with Emergency Services Restoration. 

This San Jose Real Estate Agent had the misfortune of gray water backing up into my home causing substantial water damage. This occurred on October 4, 2011. 

Apparently Immediate Response Restoration hires local San Jose contractors to do the tear out and renovation work.  Using their contractors is strictly optional.  Having had a bad experience with State Farm’s preferred contractors in the past, I felt I may be in better hands opting to use their contractor. I was wrong!

When the contractor assigned to my file arrived I was asked to sign a work authorization. I questioned to cost and was assured my insurance company would cover it because as he put it “it’s all in a database and approved by the insurance companies.”

Following the tear out, I received an invoice for $2,094.74.  I asked the contractor, Sean Silva, for an itemized statement which I would need to submit to my insurance company, State Farm.  He said that he would need to get it from Immediate Response Restoration. I thought this was odd because he is the one that created it.  I believe he was simply too lazy to copy and/or scan it and send it to me.  It was his way of making me to his work.

I finally called the number listed on the statement 800-956-1212 and spoke with Chris at Immediate Response Restoration.  I eventually received the itemized statement.  It was scanned and sent to me via email.   The following is what I received.

General Description:

• Emergency Service Call – During Business Hours                                   $162.40
• Mask or cover per square foot                                                             $  66.00
• Neg. air fan/Ai scrub.-Large (per 24 hr period) -No monit – 2 days         $240.00
• Haul debris – per pickup truck load – including dump fees – 2 ea           $299.06
• Containment Barrier/Airlock/Decon Chamber  120.00 SF                       $102.00
• Cleaning Technician – per hour @ 4 hours                                          $166.08
• Add for personal protective equipment – Heavy Duty – 2 ea                  $ 33.44

I’m left with a few questions regarding the above:

• What is a service call?  Why consumers are not advised they will be required to pay $162.40 if a contractor steps foot on the property is a mystery to me.  Are contractors expected to disclosure this upfront?  I would certainly think so.
  
• I do not know what was masked and covered. This remains unanswered.
  
• There was no air fan installed. Ironic is shows for 2 days when 1 worker was on site for less than 8 hours.  Another interesting point is that the contractor, Sean Silva, of Silva Custom Construction, is listed on the California Contractors State License Board website as a sole owner with no employees. Who was that person who did the tear out? Who does he work for it if was not the contractor?
  
• Haul Debris – I watch Sean put a few bags in the back of his truck together with the broken down vanity. The sink and some carpet is still in my garage. Per pickup load … charged for 2 and there was only 1 – actually one-half a load!
• Cleaning Technician – really?  Who might that have been? A total of 16 man hours were charged when only one person worked for less than 8 hours. 
• Personal protective equipment – for what?  This was a tear out job. 

Laundry Room:

• Dryer – remove and reset                                                                  $  43.19
• General demolition – per hour @ 5hours                                            $ 267.75
•    To removed saturated drywall @ 24” high, and tile flooring including baseboard
• Water Extraction and Remediation Technician – per hour @ 1 hour      $   57.88

I have a few issues with regard to the above:

• The dryer and the washing machine had already been removed by my plumber.
  
• 5 hours to demo a 28.44 SF laundry room floor!
• Water extraction was done by another company. Opps!

Hallway:

• General demolition – per hour @ 1 hour                                                $ 53.55
  
•   To removed saturated drywall @ 24” high, including baseboard
• Water Extraction and Remediation Technician – per hour @ 1/2 hour        $ 28.94

I have a few issues with the above:

• 1 hour to cut once section of drywall.  The baseboards were removed when the carpet was torn out the night of October 4, 2011 when the plumbing backup occurred.
• Water extraction was done by another company. Opps!

Bathroom:

• General demolition – per hour @ 6 hours                                        $ 321.30         
•   To remove toilet, sink, and saturated vanity, drywall @24” high,
•   and tile flooring, including base board.
• Water Extraction and Remediation Technician – per hour @ 1 hour    $   57.88

I have a few issues with regard to the above:

• 6 hours to demo a 28.88 SF floor, remove a vanity and cut 3 walls?
• Water extraction was done by another company. Opps!

These issues were raised with Immediate Response Restoration. It escalated up to the President, Dan Hartwell.  We held a conference call on Friday, 11-18-2011.  As far as I know, present on the call was Chris, the manager, Sean Silva, the contractor, the President, me and possibly others. Dan Hartwell was so rude to me at one point I disconnected the call. Yes, that means I hung up the phone. Those characters have robbed me of enough of my time. Adding insult to injury they attempted to rip me and/or State Farm off with their over-inflated and erroneous invoices.  Expecting me to listen to him BARK and be rude with me is simply out of the question.  I am not on his payroll. If I were, I would still not tolerate anyone being rude to me especially when I am offering my time to help resolve their issues!

Dan Hartwell offered to discount the $2,094.74 bill to $1,271.57.  I am not sure how he arrived at that number.  He offered this without addressing the many unanswered questions regarding items on the invoice.  He alluded to some concession his Vice President already made regarding the sheet rock work by Sean Silva of Silva Custom Construction.  He also inferred that he was doing me some kind of favor. Really – I think not! 

I explained to Dan Hartwell that I had no intention of paying for work that was not done. I further explained that I am not interested in making any money off the claim that, in fact, I am already out of pocket thousands of dollars.  To that end, I am not about to accept a concession of a discount when a discount had not been given.  The only way we can “discount” is if the work was actually performed and not paid for. We are addressing costs for actual work done.

To that end, there would be a full accounting of what I spend and reported to my claims adjuster at State Farm. It would be insurance fraud to collect more than what I spend over and above what the insurance company authorized for repairs under my policy. I alerts my State Farm Agent and the claims representative that I continue to work with Immediate Response Restoration to get an Amended invoice which reflects the actual work done rather than the a falsely discounted invoice for work that was not done. 

Homeowners Beware.  If you find yourself in need of water restoration services from water damage be mindful of who you call. When these events happen we find ourselves under enormous stress. We may fail to ask questions we would normally ask and find ourselves trusting a little more than we should.  In the moment we may feel like we are at their mercy.  That does not mean they can over charge us or charge us for work that was not done.

Have you ever wondered how many felons live in your neighborhood?

I actually never have until a friend told me about Felon Finder.

I have lived in my neighborhood for over 30 years.  It certainly feels like a safe neighborhood. I imagine just because the felons live in my neighborhood does not mean they committed their crimes here.

I’m surprised to see as many convicted felons living in my neighborhood. Check it out. http://www.felonspy.com/search.html

Just type in a street name at the top of the page and the neighborhood map will pop up. Every place you see a red balloon or thumb tack is the home of a convicted felon.

Just place your mouse over the icon. It will show the name of the felon and list the crime the felon was convicted of. This is not intended to scare. We simply need to be aware

Share this with your friends and family. Safety first.

By – Kathleen Daniels, San Jose Real Estate Agent – San Jose Short Sale Agents

I do not believe Real Estate Agents have the right to take liberties and yet many do every day without regard for others and without any repercussion.

Far too many San Jose real estate agents are not following the MLS instructions which in many cases states: “Call First – then go direct.” Agents who do not follow the instructions and simply show up at the property at their convenience and take the liberty to ring the doorbell are not professional real estate agents – they lack common sense.  Worse yet, some won’t even ring the bell. Some just enter via the lock box.

Agents who conduct themselves in this manner are not agents buyers and sellers want to hire to represent them.  Unfortunately,the lack of common sense is often discovered too late.

That behavior is rude, unprofessional and inconsiderate to the homeowner.  Sadly, there seems to be no actionable violation in the behavior. No violation in leaving the door unlocked or not returning the key to the lock box. 

I do not understand why so many San Jose Real Estate Agents violate and ignore MLS instructions; breach security of a seller’s home; and not return the key to the lockbox.

Agents who do these things are not required to apologize to the sellers or the listing agents for their rude, unkind and unprofessional behavior.

I do not believe a real estate license or a key to access a lock box gives any agent the right to ignore the MLS instructions, “take liberties” and essentially trespass upon the property.

Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land. [wiki]

Clearly, I am not an attorney or a judge and not qualified to determine if many actions taken by agents are, in fact, a tort.  I am entitled to my opinion which is exactly what I have written here – my OPINION.

If I had the money and/or the time I would like to put this to the legal test.  Until then, I guess the real estate professionals will simply have to continue to tolerate agents behaving badly and/or wait for the California Department of Real Estate to set a testing standard that includes common sense. Yeah – right! (LOL)

By Kathleen Daniels, San Jose Real Estate - San Jose Short Sale Agents

I received an email message from Supervisor Yeager today advising of the good news to report.

The motion to maintain Santa Clara County’s participation in the Proposition 90 program passed unanimously today, Tuesday, June 14, 2011.

Proposition 90 passed unanimously

Supervisor Yeager is an advocate for seniors. He “supports Prop. 90 because it preserves the affordability of housing for seniors moving into Santa Clara County to downsize or be closer to children or grandchildren.”

Supervisor Yeager feels that “Seniors are more likely to move and buy a new home under Prop. 90, helping the recovery of our local real estate market.  New residents that come to Santa Clara County as a result of Prop. 90 provide a stimulus to the County’s economy through their spending.”

Hats off for saving Prop. 90 in Santa Clara County! That is good news; good for the local real estate market; and good for seniors!

Kathleen Daniels, San Jose Homes for Sale | San Jose Short Sales

Best Home Values in 2011 – San Jose is No. 1

A Forbes article published on January 24, 2011 indicates that the San Jose Real Estate market is on the rise and California is rebounding.

This is according to Local Market Monitor, a real estate research company in Cary, N.C. After “crunching the numbers” Local Market Monitor created a list of the best and worst cities for home values in 2011.

According to the research, the San Jose Real Estate market, in the San Jose (metropolitan area) is on the rise. The 12 month forecast for San Jose is a 3% increase.

According to Local Market Monitor’s President, Ingo Winzer: “We see a predictable pathway that home prices follow. If you know where in the cycle a market is, you can make some predictions about where it will go in the next one, two, three years.”

California has the most metropolitan areas on the Top 10 list and San Jose is No. 1!

If you are a San Jose home buyer and “waiting for the market to hit bottom” it appears San Jose metro has hit bottom! It’s time to get off the fence and make your San Jose home purchase before you wait yourself right out of the San Jose real estate market. As home prices increase and interest rates increase what was once affordable may now be out of your financial reach!

Search Homes for Sale in San Jose Ca. Contact Kathleen Daniels, San Jose Real Estate Agent for free information on the home buying process including how to write a winning San Jose Short Sales offer. Call 1-800-972-1822 today!

Insurance Companies and Banks

What’s the Difference Between Them?

NO MUCH!

You have seen this guy – Right?

Like the Big Bad Banks, State Farm is there to take policy-holder’s money month over month, year after year. As long as the money is collected … all is well in the word of banking and insurance.

But wait until … until a homeowner can no longer make their mortgage payments to the lender or an insurance claim is filed. This is when a borrower and policy outlive their useful life with their beloved lender and insurance company.  This is when lenders will foreclose on a homeowner without a real, honest, true effort to help. This is when the insurance underwriting department will unilaterally cancel a policy.

One of my first-time home buyer clients reached out to me the other day asking for help.  The condo she purchased closed escrow in March 2009.  My client took my recommendation to get a home and termite inspection and we ordered a home warranty.  My client also took my recommendation to contact my State Farm insurance agent for an insurance.  I have been confident in referring clients to State Farm because I have had State Farm Insurance for over 30 years. I have always received great service – even after filing a claim.

While my client was out of the Country on business she learned from a neighbor that her condo was flooding.  Turns out the water heater “blew.”   I assisted my client on that morning in filing a claim with State Farm and getting the restoration company on site within hours.

My client recently received a 60 day notice of cancellation of the policy from State Farm.  Apparently this was a decision made by the underwriting department.  It was determined that the policy-holder was negligent and that she somehow knew the water heater was old, corroded, and needed replacing when she bought the condo.

The assumptions of the underwriting department are seriously flawed and simply untrue. I am present during all inspections.  This is a great opportunity for me to complete my Agent Visual Inspection which California Agents are required to perform pursuant to Civil Code ____.

The home inspection report did not “call out” the water heater as old, corroded, rusted, leaking or that it should be replaced.  If that were the case, my client would most definitely have replaced it.

My clients know that they can call upon me for anything. Now, nearly two years after my client closed escrow on her home, I am personally working to have the decision to cancel the policy … reversed. This will be a big pay-it-forward effort.  I have already spent several hours on this project. If my client’s policy is canceled, she will be paying a lot more MONEY for “high-risk” insurance.  Cancellation of an insurance leaves a homeowner with a stigma similar to foreclosure.

The “fight” with the insurance company, State Farm, is well worth my time and effort. It is the level of service I provide to my clients in appreciation for their trust and business.  Service does not stop when escrow closes. Just as service should not stop when an insurance claim is filed or a homeowner can no longer make their mortgage payment and needs help to avoid foreclosure. I will work with the State Farm just as I work with the Big Bad Banks in negotiating short sales.

I will post an update on the outcome. What do you think?  Will State Farm reverse the decision to cancel the policy?

Insurance Companies and Banks – by Kathleen Daniels, San Jose Real Estate Agent

Mount Umunhum

A well-known landmark in the bay area, Mount Umunhum shows evidence of the recent storm.

Residents of Almaden, Cambrian, Blossom Valley, Campbell and surrounding Silicon Valley communities may only appreciate the beautiful view of Mount Umunhum from the valley floor. The space is not open to the public due to environmental hazards such as asbestos and lead-based paint.  It is estimated that it will cost $11 million US dollars to clean up the base and make it available for public use.

At one time, Mount Umunhum was the site of the Almaden Air Force Station which at its peak was home to approximately 120 residents.  The MROSD (Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District) acquired the base in 1986 – now part of the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve.?

San Jose Real Estate Agent, Kathleen Daniels

Helping homeowners avoid foreclosure with San Jose Short Sales