All Forum Posts by: Jake Van Vorhis

Hello Vivek,

Is this in San Francisco? The San Francisco Residential Purchase Agreement includes a finance contingency automatically unless the "All Cash Offer" box is checked, clearly stating no loan or financing is required. If the All Cash Offer box is not checked, the section of the contract just below details the financing rates/terms/etc for the loan to be acceptable for you. 

As far as the earnest money deposit, you would have to prove you couldn't get the financing terms you specified. Sellers are generally pretty wary of this when first looking at offers. For example, if your financing contingency was for an uncommonly low rate, they may not consider the offer worth accepting. To be frank, it is easier to get your earnest money back when pulling out under other contingencies, like an inspection contingency for instance.

Hope this is helpful. Email or call if you have any more questions. I'm happy to help.

Hello BP!

I am looking to connect with investors in Wine Country! Considering purchasing a property up there to use as a weekend getaway and short-term vacation rental. 

Anybody active in Healdsburg, Sonoma, Napa, Kenwood, Geyserville, Calistoga? Developers, flippers, wholesalers? Shoot me a message if you are; I'd love to chat!

Hello Lupe! I have a handful of cash buyers as my clients. Please let me know whenever you have a deal! Welcome to BP! 

Hello BP,

This might be a long shot, but my parents are looking for a property to rent within the Helen Carr Castello Elementary boundary of the 95757 zip code in Elk Grove, CA. They have a great, well-known agent in the area and this will be their first rental. Both turnkey and fixers are acceptable. Any local BP members have properties for sale off-market within that school boundary? 

Thanks in advance!

Hi Paul,

Just to clarify, what form of ownership would you plan to have of the garage? Have you spoken to an attorney about the feasibility of this already? What comes to my mind are the rights the owner(s) of the rest of the building would have over the use and conversion of the garage. Even if zoning allows, knowing SF legislation and politics, those owners may have the ability to block a commercial conversion even after selling ownership to you. 

If the numbers work, that sounds like an excellent way to creatively acquire a commercial unit under market value. It could even become a sort of "flip" strategy for you if it works out. Still, I would definitely recommend talking to a commercial real estate attorney sooner rather than later on this one. 

Can't wait to hear how it goes if you move forward with it! 

If it's for a primary residence, I always have my clients do it. With every offer, I include signed disclosures (if available) and contract, an offer summary with majority of the terms spelled out in plain writing, and an offer letter. In the letter, I describe a little of who my sellers are, why they love the home and community, how many homes they have looked at (shows they're serious), and like Chris said, anything that lines up with the motivations of the sellers. The letter to the sellers is more about emotion, and like you said, standing out in competition with an all cash offer. Another thing to think about is the general format. I have seen many many examples of letters written "Dear Seller..." and directed at the seller. I personally think that sounds a little corny, and so I use more of a narrative format for my clients and leave all offer terms out of the letter, leaving them to the offer summary. I have had a fantastic response doing this, and I highly recommend you ask your agent to do it.

For an investment property, unless there is some significant personal reason (need to have an address in a school district, rental is for your adult children, etc), I wouldn't recommend a letter. The offer summary tends to be more applicable with the price and terms. Frankly, up against someone who wants to live in the home in a multiple offer scenario, those will be the strong points anyway. 

Hope that is helpful Sherwin!

As a Realtor here, I can tell you Dogpatch is definitely on the up and up from everything I have seen. I think you nailed it with the development aspects that are unique to the neighborhood, and the Warriors stadium I personally feel will raise the value of the neighborhood quite a bit. Is your building new construction? Those are the most sought after right now, and if it is, I would recommend holding on to it if you can. Outside the economic factors of people moving into SF, employment, etc, you still have to think about where current local residents want to live, and I have seen people moving from other areas inside the city to Dogpatch. Congrats on buying at such a great time!

Welcome.

Please shoot me an email with what kind of properties and areas you're looking for. Happy to help you in your investment process. 

I recommend Gene Grats with Grats Decor His wife is a designer and he's a contractor and they have done some great work.

For those who haven't yet seen the news about Apple, this is a good sign: Silicon Valley Business Journal: Apple

Apple is the largest tech company in the world, and growth for them is growth for Silicon Valley, and growth for the housing market in the Bay Area. Follow that article up with this analysis on the homes Apple employees own from Zillow for complete reading: Zillow on Apple Neighborhoods

I'm not an economist, but as a San Francisco bay area market expert and agent, I see that news as good news for homeowners, sellers, and investors who value appreciation.