Patty Manzi’s Tri-Valley Real Estate Blog

 When you have a big gathering at your house, no matter where you try to set up the food and beverages, the crowd inevitably ends up gathering in your kitchen. The problem is you may not be proud of the kitchen you have.  So what do you do?

There are many different ways for you to take your existing kitchen and turn it into a place that you are proud to show off to your friends.

1. Appliances: Adding new appliances is one of the easiest things you can do to change the look of your kitchen.

2. Cabinetry: You can rip apart your entire kitchen and replace all of your cabinets, or just sand and paint existing cabinetry or change the hinges and handles for a new look.

3. Countertops and floors: If you want a completely new look or shape to your countertop, concrete has become a surface that is extremely popular.  When it comes to flooring, concrete is as viable an option as wood, linoleum or tile. Concrete can be stained in many patterns and colors with a matte or shiny finish. Concrete floors and counters not only look great but are also very durable and easy to maintain. Check out ConcreteNetwork.com to find a contractor in your area that can help in redesigning your kitchen.

When selling Pleasanton Real Estate, upgrades like these  make your home more marketable to a potential buyer.

So you’ve decided to enter the wonderful world of Pleasanton Real Estate and buy a home!  Your agent writes a purchase contract for you which includes a box checked that says “Buyer shall pay for owner’s title insurance policy specified in paragraph 12E.”  What exactly does this mean?

Title insurers, unlike home & auto insurance companies, operate under the theory of risk elimination.  Title companies spend a high percentage of their operating income collecting, storing, maintaining and analyzing official records for information that affect title to real property.  This is needed to identify the rights that others may have in your property, such as recorded liens, legal actions, disputed interests, rights of way or other encumbrances on your title.  Before closing the purchase transaction, the title company will proceed to clear those encumbrances which you do not wish to assume.

Most other insurance companies (medical, casualty) base their rates and anticipated losses on studies and the premiums are pooled on the assumption that a certain number of claims will be made.  Premiums are paid to insure against an unpredictable future event, and premiums are collected on a regular renewal basis.  Title insurance premiums are paid to identify and eliminate potential risks and claims beforethey happen.  Title insurance involves a one-time premium paid when you close a real estate transaction.

The title company will conduct a thorough search and evaluation of public records to insure that no claims ever arise.  However, human error can occur and legal interpretations make 100% risk elimination impossible.  If a claim does arise, a professional will be assigned to handle the claim according the the title insurance policy.

A library of title records are maintained in facilities knows as title ‘plants’.  These plants house records that can date back to over a hundred years.  Each day recorded documents that affect real property and property owners are posted to the title plants.  When a title search on a particular property is requested, the information is organized for quick and accurate retrieval.  In California, records in most large counties have been converted to computer-based title plant systems which provide retrieval from remote locations.  This allows faster delivery of the title search results to the customer.  This investment in skilled personnel and advanced data processing represents a major part of the title insurance premium dollar. 

That is where most of your dollar goes and that is the source of your protection and pease of mind as a homeowner.

I’m about to catch you up to the current day on my short sale story. 

I noticed this morning on the online tracking system that the negotiators name had been changed from “Generic Negotiator” to an actual persons name, complete with an email address!  Naturally I fired off an email with many questions.  I am sure I will not get a response, if I do I will be very surprised!  So I then called the short sale department.  I was advised that the first negotiator (Generic) had completed their Valuations review and sent it to a second negotiator (the one named on the system) for review.  Apparently the file can go to up to three negotiators for Valuations review.  The good news (I think) is that the Valuations task has a system completion date of January 28th.  Now, that only means they are supposed to have the task completed by then, doesn’t mean they will, but its a target date – which I like   Today, it feels like we’re getting closer to success!

Stay tuned for the latest and greatest as the saga continues………………

Its January 12th and I’ve been checking the online site daily for new tasks and none have been issued.  I call the bank to get an update and am advised that all tasks are complete on my part but the (elusive & unamed) negotiator has an outstanding task that was due to be completed on January 9th.  This rep emails the negotiator while I am on the phone to request the task be completed so we can move on with the process.  The rep advises the task should be completed in the next day or so.  The rep also advises that with this online system the short-sale process takes no more than 45 days to close provided all parties submit their required tasks ON TIME.  So I guess that means we are already delayed 3 days since the negotiator is late with their assigned task. 

January 15th -The negotiator should have completed their assigned task by now so I call for an update. Oh huge surprise, the task is still incomplete.  The rep today tells me an email has already been sent, to the negotiator so we just have to wait.  The negotiator will get to it as soon as they can…………(heavy sigh).

In mid-December we have some movement. I received a call from a agent who has an order from the bank to do a “BPO”.  A BPO is a Broker Price Opinion.  The bank hires independent agents to go out and do an interior & exterior visual evaluation of the property condition, take some photos, and report back to the bank with a list of comparable sales in the area.  This gives the bank an idea of what the fair market value is for the home.  So knowing that this has been ordered makes me happy and makes me feel as if things are moving forward – FINALLY!    Oh wait…….

Two days later I receive a call from the ‘assigned negotiator” who informs me she is NOT a negotiator, but rather a customer service agent assigned to make a contact call to the parties involved in the short sale.  This call  is to inform me the bank has now decided to process all of their short-sales through an online site which allows short sales to be completed in a timely manner.  (Good, considering we are 2 months in and feeling like the whole process has stalled.)  She instructs me to go to the site, register, then call another number to initiate the file into the new system. 

Great!  I hop on the Internet and create my FREE account.  I then call the number I was given.  The news is not good.  The rep I spoke with said the homeowner has to register first and the bank needs their approval via conference call to connect me to the account.  (??!!)  We discussed the fact those were not the instructions I was given by the faux negotiator and she explained to me her high level of training in this area.  This whole process is taxing my patience in a very BIG way.  I then remember that every time I call this bank each person gives me a different story, so I use that to my advantage this time.  I hang up the phone, wait 5 minutes, then call back and get a different person. 

This very nice rep takes my call, adds the file to the system, initiates the tasks, advises me to log on daily to see my tasks, and we are done!  She advises the seller does need to call to create their own account, but they can do that anytime.  Finally – some cooperation!  I am feeling confident about this new system and its ability to streamline the process. 

Oh, but that confidence is very short lived…..the very next day I log on to the system and I have an assigned task!  I upload the required document and send.  The next day I log on to find my previous upload was rejected!  Nice….so I do it again.  The following day I see the task was accepted and I have a new task.  I upload the requested photo and send.  

Three days later I get another task.  Its the day before Christmas eve and I am eager to get this thing rolling before the holiday. However, I am shocked to see this new task is to fill in about 100 or more lines of data pertaining to the transaction.  Purchase price, dates, names, account numbers, etc, etc, etc…!  Data that has already been submitted to the bank when we first opened the short sale, but I comply and do it anyway.  Completion of this task immediately generates a new task which is to upload just about EVERY DOCUMENT in the file.  The same Documents that I used to gather the information for the 100+ lines of data that I just input.  The same Documents that had been uploaded to the bank back in October.  The same Documents that the bank has supposedly been reviewing for the last 60+ days!  Two steps forward, and 75 steps back!

I called the bank to find out why we had to do this. I was informed that the original file had to be closed and none of the information is allowed to be transferred by them to the online system.  SO, here we are back at square one!  I proceeded to uploaded all the documents, closed up the office, and went home feeling just a little bit like George Bailey (from Its a Wonderful Life), but at the last minute decided against stopping to jump off a bridge.