For those who love a Craftsman style home, there is a BEAUTIFUL one for sale (again) at 1226 Minnesota Ave. in the Willow Glen area of San Jose. This house has 2700 sq ft., artist studio and a HUGE full height basement. It was for sale almost exactly 2 years ago for the same price at $1,425,000. The details of this home are true and original craftsman. From the dental crown molding untouched by the usual white paint (which is a crime!- please no paint!)…

to the built in cabinets in the dining room and my personal favorite a library with a sliding ladder (HOW COOL IS THAT!!)…

The stats for Willow Glen this week are 13 sales in the last 7 days and the count has gone up to 259 houses on market (up 3 from 256 last week).

What is your favorite listing right now?

Okay, financially speaking, the world is a bit scary right now. Banks are closing and being absorbed. I am reading about people pulling money out of their banks (and putting it under their mattresses essentially). Our whole economic system is morphing into something new.

That being said, people (lots of people) are still buying houses. There are amazing bargains to be found. But, how do you find a good lender? One that is less likely to be absorbed or leave you high and dry…

Here are my top 5 suggestions for finding a good lender:

1) Ask about the lenders volume. A good lender is dealing in $100Million a month or more range.

2) Ask about the length of time the lender has been in business.

3) Who do they partner with or who owns the lending company? Do those partners appear strong, do you know the names of those companies?

4) What kind of education does the individual lender have?

5) Has the lending institution ever done sub prime lending?

And, of course, your realtor should be able to guide you to a great lender!

As always there are some amazing properties available in San Jose. The total inventory for Santa Clara County is 6360 (4823 single family homes and 1537 for condos). Sales for the Willow Glen area of San Jose have dropped to 7 from 13 last week. The count of how many houses are on market for Willow Glen (area 10) is 256 (last week it was 249). A balanced healthy number is 225 for Willow Glen, so as suspected with this crazy economy, we are still out of balance and it is still very much a buyers market.

Two houses that peaked my interest on the Willow Glen (San Jose) tour Thursday. The first was 1302 Mildred Ave.

A beautiful colonial home- unusual for the Willow Glen area. This 2850 sq ft. home has a wine cellar, 6534 sq ft lot, beautiful details and finish work and a 1000+ ft basement (imagine the possibilities!!). Walk to town on a prime street! Listed at $1,699,000.

My other top pick is listed by one of my good friends at Coldwell Banker Anne McDonough at 1015 California Ave.

Most realtors thought of this house as a tear down as it needs a lot of work and has some serious foundation issues. It is a 2 bed 1 bath 1200 sf ft home on 8300 sq ft. lot. PRIME tree lined street, walk to town and parks. It is listed at $800,000. I will be keeping my eye on this one as $800,000 may be a bit steep for builders right now.

What is your favorite listing? How much do you think builders will pay for a tear down on a prime street in Willow Glen?

As a realtor, I like to think I am up on the neighborhoods that I serve. Part of that is driving around a bit and checking out streets I may have not seen in awhile. Today, my meandering home took me down one of my favorite streets, Franquette. I like this street because of the huge lot sizes (I am just jealous) and how it always seems to have a house under construction. That street is really going through a metamorphosis. Anyway, today I drove by a stand out in front of someone’s home on that street that was selling tomatoes. About 7 large romas for $1.00. I have no need for tomatoes right now, but I HAD to get some! Can’t beat local and fresh for a buck!! Tacos, salads and pasta sauce for a week!

My pick of the week is 1169 Norval Way in San Jose (Willow Glen).

Beautiful home on a PRIME street!

Listed at $835,000, this house is 1237 sq ft. with a 6240 lot, 2 bed 1.5 bath. The 1/2 bath is in the master and there are options to make it to make it into a full bathroom. The kitchen has been remodeled and the home has a nice easy flow in addition to tons of CHARM. The lot is nicely landscaped and has space for expansion. Open house Sun. 9/14/08 1:30-4:30. I will be bringing clients for sure!

BBQ, fireplace and custom iron gate.

WILLOW GLEN UPDATE

Sales in Willow Glen have dropped slightly this week to 13 from 14 and the count (of how many houses are on market in Willow Glen) is up to 249 from 241. It is typical for September to have more houses come on market. As people come back from vacations and realize the holidays are upon us (Christmas items can already be found in Costco!!) sellers tend to want to get their house on market asap.

With the economy down, gas prices and everything else going up it is no suprise that we are seeing more petty crime. Over the last week I have heard from several clients and friends telling me about crimes where someone broke into their car and took what they could. In one story they were loading up the car to go on a trip. Items were taken while they were in the house getting a few more things they wanted to take on the trip!

The local burglar who is known locally as the Cambrian Cat Burglar will go into a house with the people home and steal what cash he can from a purse or wallet left on the counter. According to the newspaper the tally is 27 homes he has hit (that have reported or noticed). He goes through an open window or garage door.

Fight back though locking windows and doors and organizing a neighborhood watch and call the police about anyone who looks suspicious.

It is important to not only hire a local realtor who knows your neighborhood, but someone who works for a company you recognize. Here are the reasons why:

1) A local realtor will have access to local buyers and sellers!

2) Typically, a local realtor will attend local events and real estate tours. That knowledge will help buyers be more comfortable with your home as they can learn about local events, discuss the local listings and areas of interest easily from the knowledgeable realtor doing the open house.

3) A realtor who is with a company you recognize generally has more resources, more contacts and more training. I work for Coldwell Banker, one of the largest companies in the country. I am offered training 5 days a week, a weekly tour of new listings, access to thousands of agents that I can ask questions of and obtain resources such as the best plumber or someone who restores barrel ceilings.

I highly recommend, whether you are buying or selling, that you always interview at least two realtors to find the best fit for your needs.

The market this week seems to be a smidge better than last week (yes, smidge is a technical term ;).  The count (how many houses on market) last week was 262 and this week it has dropped to 245 for area 10 (Willow Glen). What I find interesting is that it looks like more sellers are accepting contingent offers- There are 7 contingent out of 14 sales for the last week.

Translation: HALF of the pending sales are contingent on that buyer selling their house first…

My pick of the week is 901 Pine Ave. It is a house that I remember when it was on market about 5 years ago. It is quite memorable!! Right across from River Glen Park no windows yet, AMAZING skylight, open plan with in-layed hardwood floors 3 bedrooms 3.5 baths for $900,000!!!

1830 sq ft. and 7100 sq ft. corner lot. Beautiful Asian inspired gardens! Roman showers in two of the master suites and a private hottub off one of the master bedrooms as well! Open house this Sat and Sun with Coldwell Banker’s Chris Conklin.

Sept. 3, 2008 was a BBQ for GMAC to celebrate its affiliates (realtors, title companies, pest inspectors etc.) It was a tri-tip, chicken and root beer float party with over 200 people attending between 3-6p. THAT DAY, GMAC announced it was closing it’s doors! Crazy!

I am told that they will be reopening with a new name very soon we shall see.

I know it is not news for many. However, here is a chart that I find comes in handy. Santa Clara had a change of -16.40% in ONE YEAR!

Source: DataQuick Information Systems, www.DQNews.com Media calls: Andrew LePage (916) 456-7157 or John Karevoll (909) 867-9534

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