<p>Congrats to wis75, and artloversplus.</p>
<p>We put our home for sale “on hold” until noon on Friday 7/13, while it was being tent fumigated Monday to Wednesday and carpets cleaned on Thursday. </p>
<p>Would you all send some good karma my way so that we get another good, quick offer that sticks this time around? </p>
<p>Movers are doing our furniture move-in on our new home tomorrow, which is Friday the 13th. Hope that isn’t a bad omen but it couldn’t have gotten much worse: </p>
<p>Wells Fargo and, more specifically, the underwriters have been a nightmare to work with. Our loan docs are getting signed tomorrow on move-in day. We are paying interest over the weekend AND have to reimburse sellers for moving furniture into their house before it closes since movers could not hold our furniture in their truck any longer. Closing on Monday 7/16. </p>
<p>Wells gave us a $2,000 credit towards closing costs and are sending a Notary Public to our home since it would be difficult to break away to sign docs at an escrow office while movers are there.</p>
<p>Sending good karma your way–our CJ back in the day purposely scheduled the swearing in ceremony for new attorneys who had just passed the bar for Friday, the 13th, so we could be convinced it was a GOOD luck day. For nearly all of us, it sure seemed to be–we were licensed & could officially practice law!</p>
<p>As the Bay Area real estates heated up, there is no more bargains on the auction front, unless you go beyond Fairfield. Not even Tracy or Antioch.</p>
<p>Wow…that fast…</p>
<p>Are retail prices also up artloversplus?</p>
<p>In Eastbay, there are still some regularlly priced Short Sale or REOs. In West Bay, everything is over bidding, you cannot buy any thing with listing price. North Bay, I am not sure, I do not go there. South Bay is spotty, you can get a regular priced house, some times its over bidding.</p>
<p>When I talk about bargain, it is a home priced 30% or more below the Comps.</p>
<p>Waiting on one tile delivery, but it is a cluster*. It turns out when you order from Home Depot, while they request a lot of information from you … phone numbers, delivery instructions and the like…they don’t manage to pass it all along to the manufacturer, or the manufacturer doesn’t manage to pass it along to the shipping company.</p>
<p>First they didn’t deliver because we weren’t there to accept (despite instructions that explained where to deliver), and then they attempted delivery while demanding $370 COD charges for shipping on a completely prepaid order. </p>
<p>Now I’ve contacted Home Despot, who after 20+ minutes confirmed that I was correct, but they then have to issue new documents to the manufacturer, who then have to issue new docs to the shipper, who can then once again attempt delivery. </p>
<p>I guess the good news is that prices seem to still be going up in LA. I’m seeing more sales close at higher prices, so perhaps the delay is a bit of a benefit. Maybe. </p>
<p>Good luck on the sale, jshain, and I hope that the move-in goes well too. I am seriously hoping that we never again have a mortgage.</p>
<p>“When I talk about bargain, it is a home priced 30% or more below the Comps.”</p>
<p>I was trying to understand if this was because the auctions themselves are too competitive and bids are too high now?</p>
<p>Or is it because auctions have dried up because they are no longer necessary?</p>
<p>Or a combination of both?</p>
<p>I don’t think there sre any bargains in the North Bay from Petaluma and south to SF.</p>
<p>dstark, there is nothing for sale in the “bay area” in auctions any where at any price, under my classification. There are always Foreclosure sale, but that is not what I mean.</p>
<p>Hmmmmm…there are a lot of people who were in the buy well below market…then flip or rent out game.</p>
<p>yup.</p>
<p>but the game is almost over for easy street. Just in the last month or so, it has reverted back to the good old 2007 era, at least for those in the hot pockets.</p>
<p>I was lucky who bought two just before the tightening.</p>
<p>Incidentally, I have looked into the Foreclosure market, opening bid is way high even for the strongest hart.</p>
<p>Wow…things flipped quickly…</p>
<p>Congrats on getting those 2 properties.</p>
<p>I know several of people that make their living, or increase their incomes substantailly by buying homes at prices well below market. I guess they are going to have to find new ways to make a living.</p>
<p>And I guess the people who have been buying distressed properties for a few years and have held on are going to be winners.</p>
<p>I found this interesting article about waves of foreclosure.
[DeBord</a> Report : California is going through another ‘wave’ in foreclosures | 89.3 KPCC](<a href=“http://www.scpr.org/blogs/economy/2012/07/12/7025/california-going-through-another-wave-foreclosures/]DeBord”>California is going through another 'wave' in foreclosures | 89.3 KPCC)</p>
<p>That is an interesting link, Dr Google.</p>
<p>Yes, CA still has one of the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. However, real estate is very local. In areas of the Central Valley, Southern Boarders and Coastal California, foreclosure is rampant. However, in hot pockets of Silicone Valley, you have to over bid to buy and it is the reality. Realty trac means nothing in Silicone Valley.</p>
<p>Silicon Valley has jobs, some other areas have no jobs but house prices are still high. BTW, what is the unemployment rate of Silicon Valley right now?</p>
<p>I looked at a few cities and it seems to be around 5%. Unemployment in San Francisco is 7.4% and it is 10.8% in California.</p>
<p>BTW, unemployment in NH is 5%. It’s 4.2% where I live and 5.4% where I work. The housing market isn’t great but the malls are generally full.</p>
<p>Unemployment in MA is 6% and real estate is uneven - it’s very dependent on location. In the city where I grew up, unemployment is 3.7%. I don’t think that home prices really declined in the downturn several years ago - they just held steady though selling times went up.</p>
<p>Not a single call today (Saturday) for a showing on our South Orange County CA home that had 3 offers in one day just one month ago. The selling season has slowed way down, folks, at least in my neck of the woods…</p>
<p>Wow, Jshain, what does your broker say?</p>
<p>My broker on our home sale is in ITALY. He has his administrative person handling it (non-licensed) until he returns on 7/20. My broker on our home purchase, which funds tomorrow and closes on Tuesday 7/17, is vacationing near the BLACK SEA. I know vacations are planned a year or more in advance, but not having either realtor in the country has been extremely inconvenient!</p>