Homescopes

What a weekend for my friend Sam Benson of Benson4Homes to be spending in Half Moon Bay!  He notified me of this a few days ago and we’ve been chatting about it on LinkedIn, where we are mutual contacts.  However, we originally met through Homescopes.

He’s going to be enjoying a relaxing weekend here on the Coastside with his group from Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda.

So if you see windbreakers or polos with their logo around the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club and the rest of the Coastside this weekend, I hope you will welcome them.

Sam is already aware of my Coastside - Visitor Fun page.  Here’s more resources if you’re sailing or driving in this weekend.

http://www.visithalfmoonbay.org/

Restaurant reviews on Yelp

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You can see them all over the Half Moon Bay Coastside this month.  Here they are on neighborhood sidewalks and providing color to an otherwise bare residential lot in Miramar. 

I first noticed them a few weeks ago on a walk with my friend along the Coastside Trail in Half Moon Bay.  She would like them in her yard, she said.  Every since then, I’ve been noticing them everywhere. 

While I do know the names of a few local varieties, I don’t know the name of this one.  I’ve heard these called “painted ladies”.

Their vibrant pink color is starting to fade now that it is almost September.  If you missed them this year, look for them next August.  They are stunning as a blast of color on a foggy day.

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This Saturday at 5:00 pm marks the start of college football for our family.  That’s right, the California Golden Bear’s take on the Michigan State Spartans at Memorial stadium at 5:00 pm.  Look for us in Section BB, row 41, seats 1-4.  Below is a little video of what you can expect from the Bears this year.  Go Bears!

Got home last night after 4 super days and nights down in San Diego at the Buffini Mastermind Conference and one of the highlights was Brian’s take off on the Blues Brothers - aka the Referral Brothers. A video was also shown where Carrie Fischer playing the role as a frustrated seller tried to blow up Brian Buffini and Joe Niego with a bazooka. 

Check these out.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7150290705901326399&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2694290112177979120&hl=en

Will write more about the conference later!

When I began selling homes in Los Altos 15 years ago, a consumer’s knowledge of the Title Insurance product was relatively low.  Today, that level of knowledge isn’t much better.  What I have found is that the consumer assumes that the cost of title insurance is somehow fixed and rather than investigate, they take the recommendation of their agent.

Taking the recommendation of your agent is not a bad thing.  In fact, the consumer should rely on their agent.  After-all, that is (in part) why Seller’s hire a real estate professional in the first place (because we have experience and knowledge related to buying and selling residential real estate).  A problem can occur if the agent hasn’t investigated and compared the costs of title policies. 

Picture courtesy of  Title Insurance Panama

Since there are at least half a dozen title companies in Los Altos, how do agents choose a title company for their client?  More often than not, the title company is picked based on the relationship between the agent and title representative.   This can be good, but it also can be bad. 

As a Realtor, I want a title company to be responsive.  Having a good relationship with my title rep can make it easier to get things done for my client.  Conversely, if the agent hasn’t checked the fee structure out, the client may pay more for title insurance than necessary.

In Santa Clara County, the Seller pays the title and escrow fees, the Buyer pays the lender’s policy.  In San Mateo County, the buyer pays the title and escrow fees as well as the lender’s policy.  

I recommend consumers go to the California Land Title Association web site to get a better understanding of title insurance, to understand what is covered in a title policy and lastly, to compare the costs between the different title insurance providers. 

I did a quick comparison of title fees amongst Los Altos Title companies using using the CLTA’s Title Wizard.  I wanted to get an estimate as if I was a Seller of a single family home in Los Altos.  The other parameters that I used are below:

Purchase price - $1,750,000 

Long term rate - Haven’t purchased or re-financed in last 5 years

ALTA/CLTA Homeowner’s policy

THE RESULTS:

Cornerstone Title and First American Title were the least expensive at $3,291.00

Stewart Title was next at $3,370.00

Old Republic Title was next at $3,487.00

Fidelity National Title and Chicago Title were next at $3,775.00

North American Title was next at $4,268.00

Several of the companies are within 3-4%, but if you compare the lowest with the highest, there is almost a 30% difference ($977.00).  You can run this analysis as a buyer as well.  However the fee difference for a lender’s policy is minor.

Note: In an effort to disclose fully (that whole transparency thing), I have my real estate license housed at Coldwell Banker which has a financial interest in Cornerstone Title.  However, the analysis was done by a third party, the California Land Title Association which is not affiliated with Coldwell Banker (at least not that I’m aware of).

If you are buying and/or selling a home and want to save a little money on your title policy, a quick check online can help you understand the fees.  If it were me, I would contact the title company and have them give you a written estimate of the fees up front.  It could save you money in the long run.

2648 San Carlos $699,000

23 San Marino $759,000

249 San Antonio $659,000

131 Los Altos $969,950

At the Corner of Grant Road and Levin Road is a 15 acre property known lovingly as the “Pumpkin Patch.”  For years it was used as a small farm that grew fresh vegetables which were sold at the on site vegetable stand.  During the fall, the site was turned into a large pumpkin patch (hence it’s name) with small farm animals, hay bails and a train that took children amongst the thousands of pumpkins.  In December, the property was turned into a Christmas tree lot.  

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There may not be too many more opportunities to enjoy the fields of flowers at the Pumpkin Patch as Summerhill Homes is developing the 15 acre parcel into a 54-unit single family home subdivision. 

I go by this site almost daily.  Today, I decided to stop and smell the flowers (actually take pictures).  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

Congratulations to the U.S. Men’s Water Polo team for bringing home the Silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Great Job!

Photo courtesy of USA Water Polo

It was opening night at this year’s Mastermind conference.

I am sitting on a roof top bar 22 floors up overlooking the San Diego Marina and Petco Park.

Tonight’s opening guest was Paul Potts - an inspirational story if there ever was one.

A million phone salesman 15 months ago, Paul won last year’s Britian’s got Talent by wowing Simon Cowell and everyone else with a fantastic operatic voice. Paul now has sold over 3,000,000 albums, sang for the Queen, and just came from a performance at Wembley for 75,000 people.

He sang for us tonight. No other US appearances.

Check out these Utube videos and you will see an ugly duckling turn into a beautiful swan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?emb=0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2Fvideosearch%3Fq%3Dpaul+potts&v=DelJrP3P7tA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?emb=0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2Fvideosearch%3Fq%3Dpaul+potts&v=rDB9zwlXrB8

Check it out !

The Half Moon Bay Coastside is brimming with inventory!… so it may be a little too easy to miss the perfect home.  We skim over homes on the web (there’s hundreds of sites), or on a list (have some more paper), or driving by (gas & time, although it is fun), or looking at a house-hunting mobile application - hoping that something is going to jump out at us, shake us, and say, this is the ONE.  So allow me to focus your attention on one home for just a minute…

Open today, Sunday, Aug. 24th.  Stop by to preview and chat, I’ll be there 1-3 p.m.

Here’s my opinion on the ideal buyer for this home.  As a top quartile* property on the Coastside, this home will be attractive to a buyer looking for…

• beautiful finishes
• architectural details
• An open and accessible kitchen for the chef-enthusiast, or wants to look like one
• Kitchen and family room toward the back of the house which is not visible to the formal entertaining areas
• The formal dining room and living room at the front part of the home ideal for business/formal entertaining
• a unique combination of tradition and the “coastal living factor”**

* top quartile’s median stats: list price is $1,799K; 3820 sq; 4br, 3ba, age 19 yrs., DOM 112. (note:  this home is $1,699K; 4br, 3.5ba, 3 yrs., CDOM 343).

** “coastal factor”explained (my definition):  home also offers features to maximize coastal living, such as open floor plan, lots of windows, sun exposure, mud/laundry room off the garage — for the sandy feet, of course.

And a couple other features it’s got going for it…

• Location! on the street, within the neighborhood, and in the area - it’s got it all.

• It has a ground level bedroom!  This is huge,  some of the new construction homes don’t have the ground level bedroom, or it’s set up as a guest room/office with no adjoining bathroom.  This one is a suite.

Thanks to Bill Mahar, Listing Agent for this home, for inviting me to showcase this one for you and hold it Open today.  As you can imagine, I’d love to find the perfect buyer for it.  Aside from the fact that this is my chosen career (i.e. livelihood), I simply love helping people find the perfect home to suit their goals.  Do you know someone who’s been waiting for a great price for a stunning home in the Miramar area of Half Moon Bay?

To read about more showcased homes, subscribe to Coastal Real Estate and Lifestyles.

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