Most California real estate Purchase Agreements (CAR or PRDS contracts) are also escrow instructions, that give authority to the escrow company to transfer title when all terms of the Purchase Agreement are met i.e. loan documents are properly signed; all funds are in; Federal or state statutory disclosures such as FIRPTA and Environmental disclosures are properly signed and delivered; the grant deed is properly signed, notarized and recorded; etc.

In northern California, by custom, escrow and title companies are generally the same company, while they are generally different entities in southern California.

Homesellers in California are already familiar with escrow, but homebuyers may not be, particularly if they are relocating from out of state, where closings are sometimes handled by attorneys and all parties “sit down together at the closing table” – this does not happen in California because of escrow procedures.

The California Department of Real Estate has published a Consumers Guide about the escrow process.

Escrow helps protect the parties agains fraud and guides homebuyers and home sellers through the process of transferring clear title to real estate.

The California Department of Corporations scrupulously regulates licensed escrow companies.  Each licensee is required by law to be a member of the Escrow Agents’ Fidelity Corporation, which provides fidelity coverage for member trust accounts in the amount of $5 million.  This fidelity bond guarantees that, in the event of theft of trust accounts, consumer funds are protected.

Escrow processing times are not always exactly the same as stated in the Purchase Agreement if there are complicating conditions that need to be resolved first.

Selection of the Escrow Company is often, but not always made by the home seller or their agent that orders the Preliminary Title Report. Call me if you need a referral to a Realtor or other real estate professional to help you through the process.

Rick Bonetti | APR Referral Network | 408-857-8800 | DRE #01237009

Buyers Market: As the chart above shows, according to Altos Research, Saratoga CA has been a “buyers market” since late 2007.  This means that the rate at which homes are being absorbed (sold) is relatively slow compared with total available inventory.  This market condition is more the case in the upper price range, but there was a good price distribution of Saratoga home sales during 2010 as the detail below shows.  There was actually a hot market for homes within the Saratoga school district in the $1.3-1.5 million price ranges during the Spring, 2010.

Sales Volume: There were 287 homes sold in Saratoga, CA during 2010.  Note: this includes only those homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service and there were a few properties sold, but not listed.  This volume  is up from 2009 and 2008, but lower that previous years prior to the national recession.  The average and median price of Saratoga homes sold during 2010 was actually higher than in 2004.

Price Range: Prices of detached homes actually sold (closed escrow) in 2010 ranged in price from $5.6 million to $456,000.

Inventory : At the start of 2011 there were only 68 detached homes and 8 attached homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service in Saratoga, CA.  This is expected in increase seasonally this Spring.

Distressed Sales: There were only 20 detached homes sold through the MLS that were distressed (Real Estate Owner or Short Sales) – this represents less than 8% of the market!

Days on Market: Many overpriced homes have been on the market quite a while, but for those properties that actually sold (closed escrow) the DOM in 2010 was a reasonable 66 days.

Here is the detail for 2010 detached homes sales (closed escrow) in Saratoga, CA:

Here is the detail for attached homes sold (closed escrow) in Saratoga, CA:

Rick Bonetti | APR Referral Network | 408-8800 | DRE #01237009

The recession may not be over, but there are definitely more buyers out there in the west valley communities of Saratoga, Monte Sereno and Los Gatos.  Inventory is also very low, so it is a good time to be a home seller.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | 408-857-8800

Alain Pinel has been adding new offices during these difficult times, because now more than ever, consumers realize they need the most professional, competent and experienced Realtor they can find. Real estate transactions today are not easy and there are legal land-mines to be avoided, whether you are a home buyer or a home seller. This is not just the situation caused by short sales or foreclosures, but also for normal sales, because the financing landscape is constantly changing.

In recent years, prior to the economic downturn, many inexperienced people got a real estate license, although most completed only a few transactions each year. Like many fields 10-20% of real estate agents account for 80-90% of the business. Everyone knows a real estate agent, and many are either friends or family. The temptation to use a part time agent with the expectation of receiving a rebate of a portion of their commission has often backfired when the inexperienced agent is unsuccessfully in securing the property or closing the transaction.

Larger real estate companies have a brand to maintain and are seen by the unscrupulous as having deeper pockets, so training of their agents and setting high standards of best practice are of utmost importance. Alain Pinel Realtors has a reputation of being a boutique brokerage, often dealing will more expensive properties. We have weekly sales meeting to review legal matters, financing, changing technology, etc. to keep us top in our field. Setting standards and levels of expected performance are key.

A couple of times very recently I have retold this story of my experience when I decided to join Alain Pinel Realtors 10 years ago: After an enjoyable interview with the President of APR and the mutual decision that it would be a good fit for us to join forces, I was asked by the President if there were anything they could do for me. I responded that I was going on a listing presentation that evening and needing a package of forms that APR used. Upon going to the cupboard where the listing packages were normally stored and finding none there, the President said “we will get one for you right away.” We shook hands and 10 minutes later I received a call on my cell phone with the President saying “Mr. Bonetti, where may I have that listing package delivered to you?” The bar was set as to what my expected level of service was to be; I have never forgotten that eloquent lesson!

Don’t get me wrong. I do think the individual agent is very important to the consumer too. This is why I blog – primarily for the benefit of those who have been referred to me so they will know me even better and feel comfortable that they have made the right choice of whom to represent their interests in a real estate transaction. Having to regularly express my views in this very public way makes me careful to think things through and to be as accurate and fair as I can be.

Occasionally I come into contact with a really exceptional agent not affiliated with a top brokerage and occasionally I see agents within our own brokerage who do not make me proud to be associated with them, but in my experience both are exceptions rather than the rule. Incidentally, my definition of top brokerage is more akin to their reputation for having professional, competent agents and the productivity per agent rather than size of the brokerage in terms of number of agents. We agents know when we are working with pros or not; when we are not, we end up doing their job as well as ours to get it done right.

This topic of whether the agent or the brokerage is more important to the consumer has recently been debated in the March 24, 2010 blog post of Phoenix, Arizona Realtor friend Jay Thompson, who has so far received 244 comments on his post! My conclusion out of all that was written is that unfortunately many brokerages throughout the country are not great brands deserving of good reputations, but those that are will attract the best agents – for those brokerages who pursue excellence, both the company brand and the agent matter to the consumer.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | 408-857-8800 | DRE #01237009

Because of seasonally low inventory, home sales in Saratoga, CA are brisk in the under $2 million range if they are well priced.  One year ago inventory of single family homes was 167 – today it is only 106 homes available.  Pending sales increased from 17 last year to 41 at present, with frequent multiple offers for moderately sized family homes in the Saratoga school district.

There were 13 sales in the past week!:
21955 Via Regina – $3,250,000
19404 Sobey Rd. – $2,250,000
15142 Sobey Rd. – $2,195,000
18806 Harleigh Dr. – $1,850,000
14664 Bougainvillea Ct. – $1,849,000
16325 Sanborn Dr. – $1,610,250
19620 Scotland Dr. – $1,598,000
13132 Glen Brae Dr. – $1,595,000
19375 Portos Ct. – $1,498,000
13705 Howen Dr. – $1,398,000
12568 Northampton Ct. – $1,299,000
19935 Sea Gull Wy. – $1,200,000
18570 Aspesi Dr. – $899,000

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | Saratoga, CA  |408-857-8800

5073 Shady               Listed at $899,000       Sold for $970,000       13 offers
10607 Glenview          Listed at $1,099,888    Sold for ~$1,150,000  17 offers
21330 Columbus         Listed at $1,298,000    Sold for ~$1,330,000  7 offers
10250 Mann              Listed at $895,000       Sold for $1,050,000  30 offers
883 S. Tantau           Listed at $685,000       Sold for $740,000       9 offers
76 Arcadia                Listed at $768,000       Sold for ~$840,000     27 offers

Note:   This information is supplied by APR agent Mark Wong; sales prices are not confirmed!

Green building is here to stay!  So if you’re thinking of buying a home in Saratoga, Los Gatos or Monte Sereno or you are thinking of remodeling your existing residence, you need to know what elements of a “green home”* are most cost effective.  There are also federal incentives for you to act during 2010.

If you’re looking to buy green, beware – there are a lot of conflicting claims and options out there. That’s one of the reasons why the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is emerging as the “recognized standard for measuring building sustainability,” according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. A LEED certification recognizes that a construction project or building uses environmentally friendly building practices. You can find out more by visiting www.nrdc.org.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy created the Energy Star program in 1992, which identifies 50 product categories that will help save energy costs.

• Today, more than 75% of American households recognize the ENERGY STAR label!
• In 2009 alone, ENERGY STAR helped Americans save nearly $17 billion on their utility bills
• Since 2000, about 3 billion ENERGY STAR labeled products have been sold

Save money (30% of your costs up to $1,500) with federal tax credits,  good through December 31, 2010 for certain energy efficient improvements (HVAC, insulation, roofs, water heaters, windows and  doors) to your principal residence.  There are no upper limits and you have until 2016 to get tax credits for geothermal heat pumps, small wind turbines and solar energy systems – this includes new construction.

* Not to be confused with greenhouses for the elderly I wrote about in an earlier blog post.

If you would like to receive updates of my blog posts, please subscribe:

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | Saratoga, CA | 408-857-8800

Inventory of homes for sale in Saratoga, CA 95070 is climbing, but is still a low 86 detached and 11 attached homes.  Last week 21 detached homes were added to the inventory including 3 homes where unfortunately the transaction fell through (TFT).  Four attached homes were added to the market of available homes for sale in Saratoga.

There were 6 new pending detached sales in Saratoga (including one high priced home on Cuvilly that went into contract last year) and 1 attached home.

Only one detached home on Kosich Ct. closed escrow at $1,160,000.

Go to my website www.RickBonetti.com for detailed information.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | 408-857-8800 | DRE # 01237009

As we have been discussing all along, rates are going up and most likely soon so it would be in homebuyers best interest to get their deals done sooner than later.

PMA/Wells Fargo is currently running a purchase rate special on all fixed rate conforming and high balance conforming fixed rate loans which should greatly benefit homebuyers.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | 408-857-8800 | DRE # 01237009

Other sustainable suggestions from McLennan:

1. “If people have more money and are looking for a new place to live, the compelling message should not be to move into a larger home, but rather to invest in quality and design and to downsize or ‘rightsize’ based on your family size.
2. “Working at home drastically reduces green house gas emissions as transportation impacts are avoided. Additional square footage can be justified if people are working at home a significant amount of time. In these cases, I would propose a maximum 200 square feet bonus allowance to accommodate telecommuting for each working adult.”
3. “The square-foot-per-person metric lessens as more people join a household. (Sharing is also green.) So house size shrinks from 600 square feet per person down to 450 square feet per person as an overall average.”