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Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog

Bank Owned Properties and the Buyers Choice Act

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The Buyers Choice Act (AB 956) is a new law that Governor Schwarzenegger has just signed into effect. The Buyers Choice Act prohibits a trustee or beneficiary who acquired property through foreclosure from requiring a buyer to purchase title and escrow services from a company of the sellers choice as a condition to receiving offers or selling the property. The law is an urgency measure and became effective immediately.

The new law applies to residential property improved by four or fewer dwelling units. The services covered by the law are title insurance and escrow services.

Penalties for the violation call for the seller to be liable to the buyer for 3 times all charges made for title insurance and escrow service. In addition, the seller who violates the law is also considered to have violated their licensing law.

The buyer can agree to accept the sellers recommendations of which title or escrow provider to use, only when a written notice of the buyers right to make an independent selection of those services is first given to the buyer and seller.

With all of the bank owned properties in South Lake Tahoe that I have sold, the seller has always requested to use their own title and escrow company. Most lenders that are selling their foreclosure properties have title and escrow companies that they deal with on a daily basis. Using these title and escrow companies repeatedly helps the banks to streamline the escrow process.

In order to get buyers to agree to using the sellers choice of title and escrow companies, sellers of bank owned properties may offer incentives such as paying for all of the CLTA policy. Some sellers may even offer to pay for the entire escrow in addition to the CLTA policy.

One thing to remember about the bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe is that many of them are receiving multiple offers. In multiple offer situations some buyers may be willing to use what ever title and escrow company the seller requests just to get an edge over another buyer!

The Buyers Choice Act is effective untill January 1, 2015 unless it is extended by the Legislature. For more information regarding foreclosures for sale in South Lake Tahoe, call Brent and Jill Johnson today!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for September

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There were more single family houses in South Lake Tahoe sold in September than any other month this year. There were 46 homes that were reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls last month, up from 44 in August. First time home buyers are taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it goes away, and investors and second home buyers are getting deals on foreclosures, short sales, and motivated sellers.

Statistics for the Houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in September

  • There were 46 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in September
  • There were 13 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in September
  • There were 7 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in September
  • The average sales price was $371,058 (down from $461,951 in August)
  • The median sales price was $292,500 (down from $325,250 in August)
  • The average sales price per square foot was $215 (down from $259 in August)
  • The median days on the market was 110

In August I was happy to see that there were 4 short sales that had closed escrow, so I am thrilled to see that there were 7 short sales that sold in September! The median days on the market for the short sales that closed escrow was quite high at 222 days. The short sales that sold had a great average price per square foot of 202 considering that some of the short sales were very nice.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe continued to sell for very close to list price, the average percentage of list price received was almost 98%. The foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe mls sold for an average of $196 per square foot. The median sales price for the bank owned foreclosures was $284,000 and the median days on the market was only 66 days including the escrow period.

The inventory of single family homes on the South Lake Tahoe mls is now much healthier with 21% of the inventory now in escrow. There are currently 497 houses listed in South Lake Tahoe, and 102 of them are in escrow. Of the 102 houses in escrow, 39 are short sales and 18 are bank owned foreclosures.

For more information about South Lake Tahoe real estate please call Brent and Jill Johnson today!

New Lake Village Condo Listing in Stateline Nevada!

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Just Listed by Brent and Jill Johnson!
11 Manzinata Ct., Stateline Nevada

 Offered at $319,000!

Fully remodeled and tastefully furnished 2 bedroom Lake Village condo. You will enjoy cooking in the new gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops, maple cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and a Bosch dishwasher. The bathroom remodel includes a stainless steel vessel sink, granite counter tops, and new tile. New oak hardwood flooring, open beam ceilings and great forest views make this the ultimate Tahoe retreat. This condo is sold turn key fully furnished. Lake Village property owners enjoy use of the pool, spa, sauna, club house, and tennis courts. Why deal with a foreclosure or a short sale that needs work when you can have a turn-key Lake Village condo at this price!

 

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Please call Nevada and California South Lake Tahoe Real Estate agent Brent Johnson to schedule an appointment to see this new Lake Village condo listing today!

Tahoe Keys Real Estate Update

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The Tahoe Keys area is now more affordable than it has been in years. With the great selection of homes to choose from, now is a great time to purchase waterfront property in South Lake Tahoe. There are currently 70 houses for sale in the Tahoe Keys listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls. Of the 70 houses for sale in the Tahoe Keys, 13 are currently in escrow. Distress sales are accounting for a large percentage of the houses in the Keys that are in escrow. Nine of the current Keys escrows are short sales and one is a bank owned foreclosure.

There have been 17 houses in the Tahoe Keys that have sold so far this year. Distress sales accounted for  6 of the sold Keys homes, 3 were short sales and 3 were bank owned foreclosures.

Here are the statistics for the sold Tahoe Keys Homes Year to Date:

  • The average list price of the sold Tahoe Keys homes was $975,719
  • The average sales price of the Sold Tahoe Keys homes was $894,700
  • The median selling price was $700,000
  • The average price per square foot was $333
  • There were 3 sold short sales in the Tahoe Keys
  • There were 3 sold bank owned foreclosures in the Tahoe Keys
  • The average days on the market was 188
  • The median days on the market was 157

With six houses for sale in the Tahoe Keys under $700,000 with lake access, now is a great time to purchase waterfront property in South Lake Tahoe! For more information regarding Tahoe Keys properties, please call Brent and Jill Johnson at (530) 416-2625.

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate for the Month of August

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The South Lake Tahoe real estate market has been so busy this last six weeks that have not been able to keep up on my Blog! With the summer winding down, the real estate market just keeps on picking up steam. The attractive prices, low interest rates, and better economic news seem to be fueling the housing market recovery in South Lake Tahoe. There were 44 single family homes that closed escrow in August, up from 37 in July.

The Statistics for the August Sold Houses in South Lake Tahoe are as Follows

  • There were 44 single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in August
  • There were 10 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in August
  • There were 4 Short Sales in South Lake Tahoe that closed escrow in August!
  • The average sales price was $461,951 (up 14% from $395,570 in July)
  • The median sales price was $325,250 (down 8% from $353,000 in July)
  • The average price per square foot was $259 (up 8% from $238 in July)
  • The median days on the market was 80

Going into August there were 33 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that were in escrow, 4 of them ended up closing escrow last month. Four sold short sales out of 33 short sale escrows does not seem like much, but is an improvement over July when only one short sale closed.  The average selling price for the short sales in South Lake Tahoe that sold was $298,500. The median sales price was $209,000. The average price per square foot was $243. The median days on the market for the short sales was 292.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe continued to sell quickly with the average days on the market at 49, including the escrow period. Another interesting statistic for the sold foreclosures is the average selling price to list price. The foreclosures that sold in the first 30 days sold for 104.37% of the list price. The foreclosures that sold from 31 to 60 days of being listed sold for 102.10% of the list price. The sales from 61 to 90 days of being listed sold for 96.14% of list price. There was only one foreclosure that was on the market for over 91 days, and it sold for 84.82% of asking price. The reason that the foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are selling over the list price is that there have been multiple offer situations on most of them. There have been as many as 10+ offers on a single bank owned property. The bank owned listing at 705 Sand Harbor is a great example. 705 Sand Harbor was listed for $243,300, there were multiple offers ( many offers!), and it ended up selling for $305,000!

Statistics for the Sold Bank Owned Properties in South Lake Tahoe for the Month of August

  • There were 10 single family foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in August
  • The median sales price of the bank owned properties was $283,213
  • The average sales price of the bank owned properties was $323,203
  • The average days on the market was 49
  • The average price per square foot for the sold foreclosures was $186

Activity on vacant lots in South Lake Tahoe was very slow. There were only two lots that closed escrow in the month of August. The two lots that sold were 221 Jacarillo which sold for $87,000 and 2124 West Way which sold for $145,000.

Condos in South Lake Tahoe was the slowest sector of all with only one sale in August. The condo that sold was a short sale at 3344 Sandy Way unit #14 that sold for $138,000. Now that detached single family homes are at prices below what condos were selling for, buyers seem to be choosing the homes.

September is shaping up to be another month of strong sales activity for single family homes. With 43 homes already sold this month, it should surpass the 44 homes that sold in August.

South Lake Tahoe Short Sales

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Closing escrows on short sales in South Lake Tahoe is still proving to be a difficult task. Out of the 227 single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that have sold so far this year, only 16 were short sales. It has also taken much longer to to get those short sale escrows closed. The median days on the market for the sold short sales was 174 days including the escrow period, and was only 93 days for the non short sales.

The difficulty of closing escrow on the short sales does not seem to be scaring buyers away from the short sale listings. Currently there are 103 single family houses in escrow on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and 34 of those homes are short sales. With 1/3 of our current escrows as short sales, it will be interesting to see how many of those escrows actually close. For buyers looking to purchase a short sale in South Lake Tahoe, there are still 51 active short sales currently available on the mls.

For the short sales that have sold so far this year, the average price per square foot was $225. The average price per square foot for the non-distress sales was $264, and the price per square foot for the sold foreclosures was only $193. 

If you are thinking about purchasing a home in South Lake Tahoe, I would definitely not rule out short sale listings, but I would recommend asking your real estate  agent about the pros and cons of short sales before writing an offer on one!

Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe for the Month of July

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The South Lake Tahoe real estate market had another solid month of activity on the sale of single family homes. There were 37 houses in South Lake Tahoe that closed escrow in the month of July, there were 38 homes that had sold in June. With three consecutive months of increasing home sales across the country, South Lake Tahoe seems to be following a similar story.

Statistics for the single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in July

  • There were 37 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in July
  • There were 9 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe sold in July
  • Only one short sale was sold in July
  • The average sales price was $395,570 ( up 11% from $352,555 in June)
  • The median sales price was $353,000 (  up 12% from $310,000 in June)
  • The average price per square foot was $238 ( up 4% from $229 in June)

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe were still popular with home buyers in the month of July. Currently there are 38 foreclosures listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and 20 of them are in escrow. The foreclosures that sold in July had an average sales price per square foot of $204, a median sales price of $305,000, and an average sales price of $320,767. The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in the first 60 days sold for an average of 105.7% above the listing price. The multiple offer situations that the bank owned properties are having is causing the homes to sell for above asking price.

There are 472 single family homes that are available on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and there are 96 homes that are currently in escrow. Out of the 96 homes that are in escrow, 33 are short sales and 20 are foreclosures bringing the percentage of “distress sale” escrows to 55%.

August should be another strong month in terms of home sales with the number of current escrows at close to 100. There seems to be continuing good news about the economy, and it will be interesting to see if and how it will affect the South Lake Tahoe real estate market.

 Please give Brent and Jill Johnson a call for more information about real estate in South Lake Tahoe!

Tahoe Keys HOA Fees

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Owning a home in the Tahoe Keys has its advantages. In addition to waterfront living, there are other great amenities that Tahoe Keys homeowners have access to. Homeowners will have access to the indoor pool, outdoor pool, spa, tennis courts, basketball courts, playground, private beach and pier, and marina use.

Although the amenities are great, they do come with a fee. The Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association fees are $1,412 annually. The Tahoe Keys also has its own water company which charges $507 annually, so the total TKPOA dues plus the water dues are $1,919 annually ($159.92 a month). Lighthouse Shores has its own particular dues. The annual Keys dues include the Common Operating Fund, Common Capital Reserve Fund, Water Quality Operating Fund, and Water Quality Reserve fund.

In addition to the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association dues and the water company fees, condos in the Tahoe Keys have additional subdivision dues that cover exterior maintnence, exterior insurance, roof repairs, refuse, and snow removal. The subdivision dues depend on the subdivision that the condo is located in. The fee schedule is as follows.

  • Door #’s 1-77 in Cove 5 are $4,097 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 78-91 in Cove 4 are $4,165 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 92-110 in Cove 3B are $3,285 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 111-145 in Cove 3C are $3,123 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 146-167 in Cove 3A are $3,602 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 168-187 in Cove I are $3,555 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 188-207 in Cove II are $3,612 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 208-236 in Cove IIA are $3,336 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 237-275 in Tahoe Marina Shores I and II are $3,911 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 276-293 in Islander II are $4,290 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 294-302 in Islander I are $3,746 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.
  • Door #’s 303-335 in Islander III are $3,800 plus $1,919 for the HOA and water fees.

Owning a condo in the Tahoe Keys is one of the least expensive ways to purchase waterfront property in South Lake Tahoe. The subdivision dues in addition to the HOA fees may seem like a big expense, but when you factor in the location it may be worth it!

    For more information about houses for sale in the Tahoe Keys  and Tahoe Keys Condos, please call Brent and Jill Johnson, your resource for Tahoe Keys real estate.

    Why Selling as a Short Sale is Better Than Foreclosure

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    There has been a lot of questions about how short sales and foreclosure will affect homeowners in the future. Credit Financial Planning Inc., www.creditfixed.com provided some great information for homeowners that are deciding weather to short sale their homes or let them go to foreclosure.

    Here are some of the advantages of selling your home as a short sale instead of letting your home be foreclosed on.

    1. Fannie Mae Guidelines for Primary Residence Loans- If you short sale your home, you will be eligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after 2 years with no restrictions. With a foreclosure eligibility would be after 5 years with restrictions, and after 7 years with no restrictions.
    2. Fannie Mae Guidelines for Non Primary Residence Loans- An investor who has done a short sale is eligible for  a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after 2 years. An investor who has had a property foreclosed on cannot get a Fannie Mae backed loan for 7 years
    3. Credit Score- With a short sale, late payments will show up as short as 12 to 18 months after the completion of the short sale. Credit scores can be affected negatively 50 to 100 points depending on how the lender reports it. With a foreclosure, the credit score is typically affected for at least 3 years. Credit scores will be negatively affected between 200 and 300 points.
    4. Credit Application Questions (Form 1003)- There are no questions on the credit application regarding a short sale. If you have had a foreclosure you will need to answer “Yes” to question C, section VIII: Have you had property foreclosed upon or given title or deed in lieu thereof in the last 7 years?
    5. Credit History- Short sales may or may not be reported on a credit history depending on how the lender reports it. A foreclosure will remain as a public record for 10 years or more.
    6. Security Clearance- A short sale does not usually raise red flags regarding security clearance. With a foreclosure, security clearance will usually be revoked.
    7. Deficiency Judgement-On a short sale, this is a negotiable issue between the seller and the lending institution. With a foreclosure there are no negotiations between the homeowner and the lending institution. It is up to the lender whether to file a deficiency judgement.
    8. Deficiency Judgement- If there is a deficiency judgment on a short sale, the amount is usually lower. The foreclosure process usually will cost the lender more, hence resulting in a larger deficiency judgment if the judgment is filed.

    Selling your home as a short sale can be a good option for homeowners who have a financial hardship instead of foreclosure. If you are considering selling your home as a short sale, the first step is to contact your CPA and attorney to make sure that it is the best option for you. The next step is to call Brent and Jill Johnson for more information on how to short sale your home!

    Please contact us for more information regarding short sales in South Lake Tahoe. You can also view a current list of bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe for sale.

    Bank Owned Property in South Lake Tahoe on a 43,007 Square Foot Lot!

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    If you are looking for a project, this new foreclosure listing in South Lake Tahoe is a great opportunity. 1607 Miztec is a 2556 square foot home at the end of a very quiet street on almost an acre. This county home has private setting surrounded by open land and tall pines. A remodel has been started on this home that was built in 1974 and all sheet rock has been removed. Here is your chance to purchase a one of a kind setting in South Lake Tahoe. This bank owned property is to be sold in as is condition. There is a ton of possibilities for this bank owned foreclosure listing!

    1607 Miztec Offered at $295,000!

    • 2556 square foot “Project” home
    • 43,007 square foot lot
    • 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2 car garage
    • Bank Owned Foreclosure Listing in South Lake Tahoe
    • Endless possibilities!!!
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    Here is a complete list of all current foreclosures for sale in South Lake Tahoe. For more information regarding foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe or South Lake Tahoe real estate, please call Brent and Jill Johnson at (530) 416-2625 today!