Over the course of four years my referrals brought him, and Bank of America, over 20 loan originations. In 2009 I realized this guy was struggling, and at the end of the year he told me he had decided to leave the company. He told me that, despite how proactive he is, Bank of America couldn’t effectively fund loans anymore. This had negatively affected his business to the point where his clients were jumping ship and that leaving the company was the only thing he could do to save his reputation in the industry.

These days, when I get a BofA pre-approval letter from a buyer on one of my listings, I have to laugh. It’s to the point, now, where if my seller gets one of their pre-approval letters with an offer on their property I will tell my seller some of my BofA stories from the last year and recommend they counter back that the buyer will get a pre-approval letter from one of my lender contacts. The buyer will be sold on the better rate and lower fees; the seller will be sold on the lack of headaches; everybody wins.

So what are my stories? Here’s my best two:

I had a property go through a 3-month short sale negotiation and about 25 days of a 30-day escrow . As a condition to drawing loan docs, BofA did their final Verification of Employment only to find that, four months ago, the loan officer never asked one of the borrowers if his job was a permanent employment or a temporary contract position. Since he was a contractor, his income was disqualified. Because the other three borrowers qualified on their own (it was four siblings buying a house for their mom…), they could still do the deal. The problem is that they had to start completely over with a new application and the escrow closed four weeks late. The BEST part was the fact that the Closing Coordinator for the short sale (which was also a BofA loan) actually hassled me about asking for an extension. If a video existed of the smoke coming out of my ears at that moment, it would have gone viral.

My most recent experience with Bank of America was on a property that just closed last week — with a different lender. The appraiser didn’t use a comparable property that was a model-match for the subject, directly across the street, that had closed two months before. He then appraised the property for $10K less than the list price which was also the contract price. When I raised the issue, it took 1.5 weeks for the appraisal management company to get back to us and tell us “the appraisal will not be modified.” The selling agent was fantastic; she also let me know BofA was being difficult to work with in other ways as well and asked if my sellers would mind extending the escrow so they could change lenders. We closed a week late, but we closed at the full contract price. What Bank of America couldn’t do in five weeks the new lender did in three.

But I did say that Bank of America is the “best.” To-date, and in my experience, they are the best at short sale negotiations and processing. What used to be a 9-12 month process with them, and even a three-month process at the beginning of last year, has turned into a four-to-six-week process. It’s amazing. They have a fantastic Agent Resource Center online, and the Equator platform makes everything very simple. Best of all, the days of calling and sitting on hold for an hour are gone. Their call center normally picks up the phone immediately when I call; the most I’ve had to wait has only been a couple of minutes. I have two short sale listings currently being negotiated with them, and both are going great!

Another way they are the best is because of their Twitter Team. During the first transaction I described above, I got irritated and actually tweeted about it. Within minutes, @BofAHelp tweeted back and asked if they could help. Their Twitter Team is part of their Operations Department, and they have a LOT of pull. They’ve helped me with two transactions this year, they know all the right internal people to call to make things happen FAST!

I sincerely hope they can turn their loan origination business around soon. I’m sure I’m not the only agent out there who’s had a bad experience with them, and if they get a bad rep with agents it’s going to be a LONG road to get back. Still, I guess recessions are the best for purging the economy of weak business models and offer opportunities to improve. Here’s to continued improvement for all of us!

There’s also a lot more optimism in the real estate market these days. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it would seem we’ve hit the bottom. Prices are stable, but have experienced small increases. The reason why the market isn’t taking off with soaring home prices is, quite simply, because of the current lending environment that depends on appraisals. Worried appraisers (who took quite a bit of the blame for the skyrocketing market of a few years ago) are much more conservative with values when a property is being financed.

The “good news” for home sellers is a double-edged sword. On the up side, the value of Dublin Ranch condos and townhomes is no longer plummeting and seems quite stable these days. On the down side, if you purchased your home in the mid-2000’s and are waiting for the value to come back to what it was back then, you will likely be waiting a while.

If you are a homebuyer looking for real estate for sale in Dublin Ranch, know that the competition is stiff and most properties sell within the first few days of coming on the market. The trick, for you, will be to find out about properties immediately when they come on the market (which we can help you with if you request an auto-alert account), and to have representation that will help you put together a strong offer and present it in its best light.

Click here to review Dublin Ranch Real Estate Stats for Condos and Townhomes (December, 2011).

Needless to say, as a real estate company who takes environmental issues seriously, this car has been something we’ve been VERY excited about. Realtors have traditionally driven oversized, gas-guzzling vehicles in the name of projecting an image they think is important. We don’t think that way, and we love the fact that Model S is well-appointed, it’s a beautiful design, and it’s emissions-free.

To us, the most exemplary feature of the Tesla Model S is the range — Model S can travel up to 300 miles between charges. Unlike most other electric vehicles which have a range of 100 miles or less, this is a car we can practically use in our work. But that “practically” word is used, here, quite loosely — Model S is not inexpensive by most standards. Base pricing starts (AFTER the $7500 Federal Tax Credit) at $49,900 and carries all the way up to $97,900 — that’s without any options!

Still, if you’re considering parking a new BMW 5 or 7 Series or a Mercedes E or S Class Sedan (or even a seven passenger SUV!) in your Dublin Ranch driveway this year, the Model S is a fantastic choice. With premium gasoline hovering at around $4/gallon, you’ll likely find Model S to be a money-saver over its gas-powered competitors.

Click here for Tesla Model S Options and Pricing.

We know that in the spring, we’ll see the opening of a new BJ’s Restaurant in the new Fallon Gateway shopping center where Target is now. We suspect that this year will also come with interesting news regarding The Promenade, and whether or not KB Homes will be allowed to build condos there instead of the walking, shopping center we were all promised.

We’re also looking forward to a solid stabilization of the housing market here in Dublin Ranch. We’re already seeing a strong seller’s market, and new home builders are selling their homes very well. We aren’t likely to see much in the way of appreciation because lender’s appraisals continue to hold the market back (ironic, isn’t it?), but we don’t forecast much in the way of depreciation. That’s good news we think everyone will celebrate.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a Dublin Ranch home in 2012, or if you know someone who is, we’d love to hear from you — just click “Contact Us” above. Happy New Year, Dublin Ranch!

Looking at the “Supply and Demand” statistics published by Terradatum, the condo/townhome market here in the City of Dublin has seen a 36% drop in supply, and a 22% increase in demand, since this same time last year. Inventory has seen a slight drop from 73 homes for sale in October to 61 homes for sale in November. That has maintained a market that favors sellers, but not strongly so (unlike the market for detached homes in Dublin Ranch, which is enjoying a strong seller’s market this month!). Currently, there are 66 days’ inventory in the City of Dublin.

When we talk about how many “days’ inventory” of homes there are in Dublin Ranch, we’re answering this question: If no other homes came on the market after today, how long would it take to sell the current inventory at the rate homes are selling today? We take the number of homes that are currently available and divide that by the number that have gone into contract in the last 30 days. If the resulting number is less than 90 days, we know we’re in a seller’s market. Less than 45 days and we know it’s a strong seller’s market.

This time last year there were 117 days’ inventory of condos and townhomes in Dublin Ranch — we’re definitely headed in the right direction! If you’ve been thinking about selling your Dublin Ranch condo or townhome, we should talk. The market is getting better, and we’re focused on using expert marketing to regain as much equity as we possibly can.

Click to download and review our Dublin Ranch Real Estate Report (Condos and Townhomes) for December 2011.

For those of you who aren’t as familiar, an easy way to measure the “velocity of the market” is to take the number of homes that are currently available and divide that by the number that have gone into contract in the last 30 days. If the resulting number is less than 90 days, we know we’re in a seller’s market. Less than 45 days and we know it’s a strong seller’s market.

As a side note, this time last year there were 111 days’ inventory. Really strong seller’s markets are the kind where we’re likely to experience multiple offers and homes are likely to sell for more than the asking price. If you’ve been thinking about selling your home in Dublin Ranch, there hasn’t been a better time in the last 12 months to do so.

Click to download and review our Dublin Ranch Real Estate Report (Single-family homes) for December 2011.

In the effort to do things differently, I’ve become quite interested in green initiatives. We drive cars that are smaller, “ULEV”s (that stands for Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle) and we are working on making our work paperless with on-screen signing technology by ZipLogix. What in the world does all this have to do with the holidays? Well, let me tell you…

I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of learning about a lot of different things, and did you know that holiday trees can be recycled? That’s right! Your holiday tree can be picked up by our garbage company (Amador Valley Industries) and, free of charge, made into mulch. There are only two things that will prevent that from happening — the first is if you have the tree “flocked” so that it looks like it has snow on it. The second, and this was my mom’s favorite thing to do with our tree when I was a kid, is to put tinsel on the tree in the form of “icicles” or any other kind of string metal. If you do either, your tree will end up as landfill, and an opportunity will be lost to recycle it.

If you are looking to replace strings of lights that you use inside or outside of your Dublin Ranch home, take a look at the new LED light strings currently being carried by Lowes and Target. They are a little more pricey, but they use only 33% of the electricity used by regular incandescents. You can get them in the classic “bulb” shapes like my dad used to hang on the house when I was a kid, and if you don’t mind paying for them they have some pretty neat options that change colors, or icicle ones that appear to “drip” with light — something you probably have to see to appreciate.

What have you done to “green up” your family’s holidays or your Dublin Ranch home? Have you tried any of the “Tree Free wrapping papers” on the market or purchased an organic turkey from Sprouts? I’m always interested to hear new ideas and the Real Estate Team at Dublin Ranch Lifestyle would love to hear from you!

Whatever holiday you celebrate, we wanted to take a moment and wish you all the best. The Real Estate team at Dublin Ranch Lifestyle has been so fortunate to hear from and work with quite a few of you this year, and you all have been so supportive as we have started up Lifestyle Real Estate Services.

As great as 2011 has been, we’re really looking forward to 2012! We hope you feel the same, and we wish you and your family a restful and refreshing holiday season!

People ask us, all the time, “How’s the real estate market?” We’ve found that the easiest way to describe any market is by talking about the “months of inventory” statistics. This stat measures the length of time, with current buying activity, it would take to sell all the homes on the market if no more homes came on the market after today. The shorter the time, the more the market favors sellers — the longer the time, the more the market favors buyers.

Any market where the velocity of the market is less than 90 days is considered a “seller’s market;” anything less than 45 days is considered a “strong seller’s market.” At 1.9 Months Supply of Inventory, the current Dublin Ranch real estate market land squarely in the “seller’s market” category. As we head into the holidays, though, it’s pretty common for the pendulum to start swinging back toward more of a buyer’s market. We’ll see if that happens this year, as well.

The Months Supply of Inventory is in your monthly Dublin Ranch Real Estate Report for November 2011. Click here to download and review the report on Dublin Ranch real estate, and click “Contact Us” if you have any questions.

So many of our Dublin Ranch homes include vaulted ceilings that are fantastic for installing a tree, and the smell of fresh evergreen always makes a home, condo or townhome feel more festive. These days, tree lots are popping up in parking lots as fast as the common cold is popping up amongst your friends and co-workers. But where are the best places to get a tree?

My favorite experience is cutting down a fresh tree from a tree farm. There are a few of them around, but my favorite one is on Highway 92 on your way to Half Moon Bay. I know it’s a haul to get there from Dublin Ranch, but take your digital camera and make a day of it — a tree cutting and mini road trip are a great way to reduce your family’s sense of commercialism during the holiday season. I’ve also had clients tell me there are great live-tree farms in Santa Cruz (and I believe it!). A closer tree farm is on Redwood Road in Castro Valley.

For those without a vehicle with which to haul a tree, Costco has a “fresh-cut” tree program where the tree is cut, put in a box and delivered to your doorstep. Talk about the ultimate convenience! Reviews on their website are, for the most part, positive. Prices range from $100 for a 6.5 – 7ft. tree, to $160 for a 8.5 – 9ft. tree. Those prices include a $30 discount for Costco members.

While you’re shopping, remember that “flocked” trees (the kind with fake snow on them) or trees with tinsel on them may be pretty, but they can’t be recycled. Coming up in Part 2 of our article series on holiday trees — how residents of Dublin Ranch homes, condos and townhomes can get rid of their tree after the holiday season is over!