Many people have asked me who pays the Homeowners Association fees during a short sale. The answer is: The homeowner does. If you have a property that you are considering short-selling and live in a Homeowners Association(HOA) delinquent HOA fees can be a real problem. If you have stopped paying your mortgage and your home is for sale, seriously consider keeping your HOA fees current until your home is sold.
An HOA is an independent company, they have no responsibility to your lender, and vice-versa. If HOA fees become delinquent, the HOA can send your account to collection and place a lien on your property. If you are short selling your property, this creates a problem because someone has to pay this lien to clear the title to the property. In addition late fees and collection costs are added to the total amount owed and are added until the debt is settled. The short sale bank usually does not compensate the HOA to clear the fees, and buyers may or may not be agreeable to paying the fees, especially if the debt is discovered after the contract has been negotiated.
As always, if you have any questions at all, consult your real estate professional for advice.
The Pleasanton Weekly, Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, and Bay East Association of Realtors have teamed up to host the annual real estate town hall meeting to inform the community on the status of the local market. The meeting will be held tonight at the Veterans Hall on Main Street @ 7:00pm.
Click the link below for details from The Pleasanton Weekly.
http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=6726&e=y
Last October (2010) I bought a Horizon T-101 treadmill from Play It Again Sports in Plesanton, CA. Nice unit, not the top of the line, but has everything I need. Nicely cushioned deck, folds up for easy storage, heart rate monitor, has three-speed fan, an MP3 jack plus a large speaker on the console. All the basics I needed to get my daily exercise.
Two weeks after receiving and using the treadmill, I noticed I was getting lots of static shocks, not only when I touched the metal heart rate sensors, but even when plugging in my iPod or adjusting speed using the buttons. I emailed the company and they responded right away with a list of things to do to prevent static, most importantly placing a static mat under the unit. I went out and purchased a mat for $20.
This seemed to help alot, but was still getting shocked when using the MP3 jack so I called the company. By the way, the unit came with a 1-year in home warranty {bonus!}. They shipped me an ‘anti static’ package and scheduled a technician from Gym Doctors to come out and install the parts. At the installation of the parts the technician wasn’t satisfied with the result, so he called Horizon and they advised they were sending more parts. Two weeks later the technician returned and intalled more parts. He still wasnt satisfied with the electrical signals and advised he would contact Horizon again for some advice. The treadmill had been operating normally during this time frame with the exception of slight static shocks when touching the HR Monitor. Two days later I received a call from Horizon saying they were replacing the entire unit! I could scrap or recycle the old unit, they did not want it back.
Now that is what I call exceptional customer service! This company recognized that a repeated problem would end up costing them more in service calls & parts than it would be to replace the entire unit. Not only that, but they made the decision to do so without any request from me.
I have been completely happy with this machines performance and ease of use. 5 stars for Horizon Fitness!
Image via Wikipedia
Many times a seller can do all the right things and make their house have that WOW factor when a buyer walks in the door. Sellers, you know what I am talking about, the landscaping is perfectly manicured – not a dead leaf in site, the home has been freshly painted inside and out, the carpets have been cleaned, just the right amount of lighting left on inside creating the perfect ambiance, the house is perfectly tidy like a model home, soft instrumental music playing in the background, and the house smells of freshly baked cookies or bread.
Buyer after buyer come in to preview the home but not an offer is presented, no second showings are made, and the house sits on the market. Other homes in the neighborhood sell before yours, even homes in less perfect condition. What could the problem be?
Sellers, all the ‘perfectness’ in the world means nothing if your home is not priced correctly. It is very important to work with an experienced agent that has their finger on the pulse of the market in terms of pricing and strategy. Many cities and neighborhoods have their own unique trends that can factor into the sales price of a home. Your agent should be able to show you statistics on active, pending, and recently sold properties to justify a correct price for your home.
Image via Wikipedia
You’ve all heard the cute bedtime cliche: “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite!” BUT – Bedbugs are quite real, and far from cute. Bed Bugs are small, brown insects with flat, oval-shaped bodies. They feed on the blood of humans and/or animals. They tend to live in bed mattresses and feed on the bed occupants at night. (ugh!) The female bedbug lays up to 5 eggs a day and 500 over a lifetime! (double ugh!)
Bedbugs are believed to have originally migrated to the US from Europe in the 17th century. During World War II there was a successful effort to control them and reduce the occurrence of infestations. 5 years ago pest control companies reported only one or two cases per year, now they are reporting one or two a week! (eeek!)
Bedbugs show up in homes, apartments, dorm rooms, hotels, shelters and vehicles. They will hide in luggage, boxes, shoes and other mobile objects. They only come out at night, so you may never see them. The picture above shows the distinguishing characteristics of a bedbug:
- Mahogany to rust brown/red color
- Six legs
- Short golden body hair
- Two antennae
The first sign of an infestation is small brown or red dots on bed linens or mattress, almost like someone sprinkled paprika. These are bug ‘droppings’ and blood spots. Eggs and molted skins may also be visible. Heavy infestations can also have an odor. Bed bug ‘bites’ on human skin result in red, itchy welts (red dots with a lighter ring around them).
Bed bugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but they do tend to congregate in ‘favorite’ hiding places like:
- Mattresses
- Furniture crevices
- Wood trim
- Electrical boxes and outlets
- Floors
- Behind wallpaper and picture frames
If you have bedbugs or suspect you have bed bugs do it yourself methods just plain wont work! Contact a professional pest control company to eradicate the infestation immediately.
You can prevent infestation by vigilantly assess your surroundings, especially while travelling. Pull bed covers down at night and look for movement or spots on the sheets. Inspect the crevices or lining of your luggage and clothes for bugs or spots. Vacuum your mattress regularly, inside your closet where you keep your shoes, and inside your luggage if you have recently been travelling.
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter