South Lake Tahoe real estate

California Hands Free Cell Phone Law Takes Effect July 1st!

For those of you who have not heard, Effective July 1st, it will be against the law to talk on a cell phone while driving your car without using a “hands free” device.

As a Real Estate Agent in South Lake Tahoe, I am always on the phone while driving. I will be purchasing a blue tooth tomorrow!

The base fine for the first offence is $20 and $50 for subsequent convictions, although with the addition of penalty assessments, the fines can be more than triple the base fine amount.

There will be no warning period for the new law that takes effect on Tuesday, and the law applies to out of state drivers also.

It will still be legal to dial out and use speaker phone, but I have noticed that the reception is not as good and there is a lot of background noise.

The law does allow a driver to make emergency calls to a law enforcement agency, a medical provider, or the fire department.

I hope that this new law makes our roads safer for my three girls, and I don’t mind using a blue tooth one bit!

Vacation Rental Moratorium in South Lake Tahoe?

The South Lake Tahoe City Council is having a meeting on June 17th to discuss the possibility of a Vacation Rental Moratorium in the City of South Lake Tahoe. Apparently there are some angry locals that believe that vacation rentals are the main cause of noise pollution, bear, and parking problems in South Lake Tahoe.

I believe that rules and enforcement will be a much better solution than a moratorium on new vacation rental permits.

I have witnessed more problems with noise, parties, and trash with long term rentals than vacation rentals. I currently live across the street from a long term rental with five teenagers who come and go throughout the night, and park everywhere! The vacation rental across the street from my old house was a lot quieter and has a bear proof trash container (required for vacation rentals in the county).

A moratorium on vacation rentals would be devastating to our local economy. It would further depress the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market, hurt local small business owners, and bring in less revenue to the city.

Here is a brief survey that you should take to show the city council how you feel about the idea of a vacation rental moratorium.

You can also attend the City Council Meeting on June 17th at 9:00am at the South Lake Tahoe Airport.

It is a “NO” on Measure A

On Tuesday, June 3rd South Lake Tahoe Voters opted against Measure A. Measure A would have been a property assessment that would tax $38.70 per $100,000 of the assessed value of the property. The money raised by the bond would have been used for improvements to the Lake Tahoe Unified School District. The State also would have matched $15.4 million in funds if Measure A had passed.

I understand that times our tough for some people, but times are even tougher for our schools! Our children are our future, and they should have the benefit of a clean and healthy learning environment.

I am very disappointed that Measure A did not pass. I hope if another chance arises to improve our local schools, voters will rethink there decision. It is also too bad that the State will not just give our schools that $15 Million !

May South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review

Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe traditionally picks up speed when the weather warms up, and May was no exception. According to the South Lake Tahoe MLS, there were 31 single family home sales in May, up from 20 in April.

Foreclosure sales were down again from 11 in March to 4 in April, and only 2 in May. After talking with a couple of foreclosure listing agents in my office, they both agree that the foreclosure inventory will continue to decrease through the summer. The decrease in foreclosure listings should help the existing inventory get more attention from home buyers.

There were 37 single family houses that went into escrow on the South Lake Tahoe MLS in May. The highest priced house is 9120 South Lane for $9,950,000 in Meeks Bay. There were a couple of houses that were priced very attractively, 3504 Rocky Point(foreclosure) and 649 Seneca (my listing), that I am not surprised went into escrow quickly.

Lots in South Lake Tahoe have remained about the same as last month. There were 4 lots that sold, and 3 that went into escrow in May. There were two lots with allocations that sold for under $100,000!

Condos in South Lake Tahoe saw the most activity in May that they have seen all year. There were 7 closed condo sales, and 6 more that went into escrow.

Over all the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market is still not what it was in the last few years, but is continuing to show improvements. Could this be the bottom? Only time will tell…

April South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review

April home sales in South Lake Tahoe saw a significant decline compared to March home sales. There were 20 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in April, compared to 34 homes sold in March. Out of the 20 sold homes, only 4 were foreclosures compared to 11 last month.

The reason that there were only 4 foreclosures sold in March is because the amount of foreclosures coming on the market in South Lake Tahoe has been going down. There are a lot of buyers targeting these foreclosures, and the reduction in foreclosure inventory may be one of the reasons for the reduction in home sales in April.

The lease expensive home sale in April was a foreclosure at 1667 Choctaw which sold for $235,000. On the upper end of sales was 1323 Keller, which sold for $1,200,000.

According to the South Lake Tahoe MLS, there were 25 houses that went into escrow in April, 5 of which are foreclosures. There are now 51 single family homes in escrow in South Lake Tahoe.

Lot sales are still stagnant in South Lake Tahoe. There was only one lot sold in April, which was in the Angora fire area. There were three lots that went into escrow, including a great view lot on Cornice for $349,000.

April activity on Condos in South Lake Tahoe was similar to March. There were only two condos sold, and four condos went into escrow.

I expect the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market to show a slight improvement in May. Conventional loan interest rates have just dropped back down to around 6%, and summer is just around the corner.

There are a lot of home buyers that are on the fence about buying. These home buyers are trying to time the market, and to buy at the “exact bottom”. The problem with this strategy is that by the time the signs of the recovery of the real estate market are there, such as increasing pendings and sales, those buyers will have missed the bottom completely!

For all of those buyers out there, think long term!!!

New California Building Codes

Building new homes in South Lake Tahoe and other areas in California may have just become even more expensive!

Starting January 1st. 2008, the Wildland-Urban Interface codes began taking effect. These new codes apply to new construction (residential and commercial), but do not apply to remodels or additions. The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) codes only apply to properties in high fire hazard severity zones. The LRA maps that will be used by the local building departments during plan check to see if the property is in a high severity zone are still not finalized, but should be any day now.

If the WUI codes do apply, and they most likely will in Lake Tahoe, there are some major changes to the building products that will be allowed to be used. There is a Wildland Urban Interface Approved Product list , which lists approved building products. The WUI approved product list is constantly updated as new products are tested and approved.

The WUI codes affect the types of exterior wall siding, decking, windows, vents, exterior doors (including garage door), eaves, gutters, roofing, and attic ventilation.

The enforcement of the WUI codes is the responsibility of the local building departments, and the materials to be used in construction will need to be on the plans submitted to the building departments. It will be interesting to see how many more products are tested and approved, because right now the list is very short!

Although the WUI codes may be an added cost and a pain to deal with at first, they are in place for a good reason. Now all we need to do is to get the TRPA to allow us to clear a reasonable defensible space!