All Forum Posts by: Kenley Law

I'm thinking of buying a house that is built on a slope in Castro Valley. The house is really nice and would be our forever home. However, I'm concerned about the foundation as it is built on a rather steep slope, as are many of the other houses in Castro Valley. Even if there are no issues with it now, are chances high that the foundation could develop issues down the road?

I live in the Bay area. I had my house tented and fumigated for termites 2 days ago. I signed a roof release that states the company will not be responsible for damage on the roof or any fittings on the roof. Skylights are listed on the roof release.

Even so, it looks like the damage is due to negligence as the skylight is shattered. It looks like someone stepped on it or dropped something on it. (I.e doesn't seem like an uncontrollable consequence due to the tenting). The worst is they did not even notify me of the damage. If I had not randomly looked up at the skylight, I would have only found out if it rained.

Do I have any recourse to get them to fix it?

It already cost a lot to get the fumigation done and on top of that, I have to now fork out extra dough to fix the damage they did.

@Bryan Zuetel all contingencies. The more I get into the market, the more I'm seeing that this is the basic requirement. Sellers are demanding for non-contingent offers and buyers are giving into those demands. 

Such is the story in the Bay Area.

@Chris Mason thank you for the info. I did live in Pleasanton and love it, but my wife works in Santa Clara. The commute absolutely doesn't work for her. I'm guessing the prices for a fourplex would be more than 1.3 million? Given that a SFH goes for that price?
You are right, being new to this area, I saved a lot of my money conventionally, which might not be the smartest way, but I worked hard at it. I'm guessing a lot of people from the Bay area are also flush with cash from cashing in their stock options.

@Paul Choi I am leaning more and more towards that thought. I'm now thinking buy small (just a modest place to live in), like a 1 or 2 bedroom condo and invest in other rental properties outside of CA. I do not want to rent because rent prices are so high and keep increasing. My original plan was to buy a house and build an add on suite to rent out, but that seems to be a huge challenge now. 

@Account Closed I don't mind sharing walls at all. My ultimate goal is to actually be a landlord. However, will they count the rental income right off the bat? With my previous rental property, the bank wouldn't count my rental income until I had at least 2 years of rental. (That was in Canada. I don't know all the rules here)

 I know what you mean. Based on what I've seen for myself though, I believe her perception is justified. People are paying 20 - 30% over comps from Q3/4 of 2017 with no contingencies.

It feels like a lot of buyers are digging themselves a grave. How can you compete with suicide bombers?

Thank you everyone for the valuable advice!

@Yousif Abudra I don't think our agent is necessarily forgoing her fiduciary duty to us. I think she is just trying to align our expectations with reality because of what the seller’s specific demands are. That being said, you are absolutely right, that we have to do what we are comfortable with and getting an offer accepted is totally just the beginning. Our offer price has to make sense for market conditions now AND the future.

@Alex Deacon, @Alpesh Parmar Our most recent offer was at 706k for a 3bed/1.5 bath townhouse that was listed at 628k. Same layout sold sept 2017 for 665K. The seller received 21 offers and of course, our’s did not win.  From an investment perspective, this area seems bad to us. There are fundamentals to evaluate, but they simply don’t matter to buyer’s because there is no supply. However, we still need a place to live and bad investment or not, with rising rent prices, we are just looking to the lesser of two evils – continue paying sky high rent or pay sky high prices for property. There is no right or wrong, but we’d rather pay into our own equity rather than our landlord’s. Perhaps we can start with buying small to live and investing elsewhere till the market here balances out.

We’ve looked at potential rehabs, but I don’t have the skills/experience at the moment to evaluate distressed property. That will take some time to develop. It also seem most properties that require a complete rehab seem to be bought by cash buyers.

@Kristina Heimstaedt If we rely on getting out of the deal on the inspection, that would mean that we are going to need to leave the physical condition contingency in, which would still weaken our offer, albeit would it weaken our offer to a lesser degree than the appraisal contingency?

Thanks for all your advice!

I thought our incomes were pretty decent, but I'm finding it no so much for the Bay Area.

My wife and I just moved to San Jose and we are trying to buy our first primary residence in Milpitas, to start a family. We earn a bit more than $225K combined and we only have about $120K in cash. Therefore, we are only able to put down 10%. We qualify for a loan of about $820K. We are finding it extremely difficult to buy anything, not even a townhouse. 

The market here is insanely hot and our agent is telling us that we pretty much have to put in an offer without any contingencies at all AND offer free rent back to the seller. The costs just pile up and up. 

I am most concerned about the appraisal contingency. Our agent is saying that there is pretty much no data to estimate what the appraisal will come in at, so it is completely gambling without this contingency in. I always analyze our finances in detail to value the property and calculate what we can afford to offer. Without the appraisal contingency, my affordability analysis is pretty much useless.

Is it advisable to remove the appraisal contingency? I am concerned that if I don't, I'll never be able to purchase a home, but I really can't get past the risk of opening ourselves up to a cash shortfall. I feel like I am already strapped for cash as it is. 

thank you for any advice!

I recently moved out of my apartment after the 10 month lease expired, in Pleasanton, California. My wife, my roommate and I were the first tenants for this brand new apartment.

We were charged: 

$120 for carpet cleaning and scrubbing

$347.12 for paint

there was no justification for the charges but just an itemized statement. (Civ. Code §§ 1950.5g 4A requires list of damages/repairs provided if over $125).

I find these charges unreasonable due to the following:

1) we requested for a pre-move out inspection for a chance to correct any deficiencies, which I believe is a tenant's right. They provided a notice of entry to the apartment to perform the inspection but they never came. I called and sent emails but never received a response from the property management company.

2) under California Civil Code section 1950.5 (B), "the tenant is not responsible for damages resulting from normal wear and tear". The carpet had no stains and was pretty much in the same condition as it was when we moved in. Therefore I do not agree with the carpet cleaning charges.

3) I do not know what the painting charges are for because they provided no justification. However, my roommate did leave some stains on the wall in the 3' x 3' storage room.

I also only received the final invoice today, September 20 in the mail. The invoice is dated September 15 and says the final amount is due September 29. Are they able to give such short notice? I have a security deposit of $99 with them.

Do I have any recourse against this landlord? I'm also scared about being charged some kind of ******** late fee if I do not pay by September 29. I feel like I am at the mercy of them as I do not want my credit affected so I can purchase a home property.

I'm trying to apply/get prequalified for my first mortgage in the SF Bay Area. I'm from Canada working here on a TN visa, married to a US citizen. I have 15 months of credit history and my credit score is in the 700 range. Choices for mortgage lenders in Canada are a lot more limited, so it is easier to shop around for. I find that in the US, there are so incredibly many choices, it quickly becomes overwhelming choosing the best lender that would provide the best overall value (mainly, overall lowest costs).

I've tried online lenders like SoFi and Better, but I am really at a loss as how to evaluate their different offerings. I'm thinking of looking for a mortgage broker, in hopes that he/she would be able to help me aggregate different mortgage products in the market. Could anyone offer advice whether that is a good approach or is there somewhere else I should start?

Thank you