June 25, 2008

Perk Up Those Ears!

One of my favorite houses near where I live is up for sale again! This house goes on sale about every 3 or 4 months and has done so over the last 2 or 3 years. It is now at its lowest price during that time. Check out 41467 Fremont Blvd., Fremont – 3/2.5 – 2278 sf on 1/3 acre for $885,000. It’s a great looking place but the location isn’t terrific because Fremont Blvd. is a very busy street, and since sidewalks have been put in around this house it sits very close to the street and people passing by. But I love this style house. It looks like a dollhouse! If only (as I posted on this house last year) I could muster up the money to move it to some grand lot in the foothills, where it so obviously belongs. It needs a space that will show off its grandeur. But alas, it is where it is. Still a great looking house though. While we are in this neighborhood, the Irvington District of Fremont, let’s see what else is going on. Some of these may stand a better chance after today of selling to buyers who are having a tough time qualifying for the stringent loan requirements. Apparently Congress is voting today on a change for the better. Let’s hope it passes. I hate to see the way the pendulum on mortgage loans swayed from extremely easy to extremely difficult to qualify. That was just plain irrational! Especially when you look at a Google map showing all the listings, because right now it looks like an ant infestation there are so many. Help! I present to you some very cool deals on houses in the Fremont and Milpitas areas based on $ per square foot:

FREMONT:
3300 Walcott Cmn #117 – 1/1 – 712 sf - $237 sf for $168,888
This condo is actually very spacious for only 712 sf because it is laid out very nicely. It’s close enough to Ohlone Junior College to make it a good investment for the parents to get and let their college student live in. Although my Grandpa always said to never, ever get in to financial deals with family and/or friends, times are tough now.

This next house doesn’t give an address but says it is very close to Lake Elizabeth (Central park is a super great park) and it’s only 10 years old to boot. At only $237 sf it’s almost too hard to refuse. Its stats are 7/2 – 2,346 sf all for only $698,888. I say run, don’t walk to nab this baby up. AND it is in a desirable neighborhood. I’m almost ready to write a check now.

4162 Bullard St – 3/2 – 1677 sf - $298 sf for $499,950
This house is a steal in the Irvington district. It’s clean, neat, and well presented at an amazingly low price. Landscaped with sprinklers and all. And with all these grass fires in California happening I would think sprinklers would be a great idea. Turn those puppies on when there is a fire nearby. That’s got to help, right?

Check out 40396 Canoga St – 3/1 – 1376 sf - $327 sf for $450,000
Okay, so I think this house looks a little boxy, but it is near my favorite park, Central Park/Lake Elizabeth. It also has RV parking so if you didn’t want to hang out at home maybe because you’re retired, you can just hop in the old RV and split for the wide open spaces. I LOVE to RV. We did that for our honeymoon in Canada. We have friends up there living in Lions Bay (a quaint community between Vancouver and Whistler) that let us take their RV for a drive through Canada. What a fantastic treat. They said we could use the RV for weeks (or they even were kind enough to say months). Months were tempting but we opted for 3 weeks. Spectacular scenery!! Anyways, back to Fremont and reality. The above houses are great deals that I would encourage you to look into. C’mon, do it, you know you want to!

MILPITAS:
Now Milpitas has been proving to be a real bargain hunters dream over the last few months. Check these places out (that are well away from the dump stench). Sorry I seem repetitive on the stench of the dump but my husband always relates a childhood story about whenever his family was in the car and riding by the Milpitas dump area on 880 no matter what the bad smell (even a skunk) when the kids would ask Mom & Dad what that bad smell was the answer was always “Milpitas”. Sad, but true, except for the skunk smell.

1445 Jupiter Ct – 4/3 – 2555 sf - $219 sf for $559,000 (reduced $60,000)
Well, this is a good deal but to say in the description “put in some sweat…” doesn’t sound too appealing when the temperatures here have been over 100F. But that’s not all the time and having a house to work on does keep you out of trouble! Working, raising kids, etc. the rest of the time assures no time for getting into trouble. This would actually be a great home for first-timers or someone who wants to invest in a rental. It is a lot of house for the price and it is in a good area.

256 Temple Dr – 6/3 – 2037 sf - $290 sf for $590,000
What is it with these 5+ bedroom houses for low prices (the Fremont one above with 7 bedrooms)? I thought families were supposed to be smaller these days what with over-population and all. I’m puzzled! This one has a good sized lot and is in a nice area to boot, so meander over there soon.

Both of these areas have lots of houses for sale so we’re talking great bargaining potential, so go see what you can find. You won’t be sorry.

June 22, 2008

Sellers Listen Up!

A couple of weeks ago I went house shopping in La Honda. Yes, I would like to move out of Fremont, that thought usually strikes me around the time a heat wave or two hits this area, so I head towards the coast. Makes sense, eh? One of the things that a couple of the places I looked at did was to have a binder out in the open that contained all paperwork available about the house. All inspection notices, floor plan, zoning ordinances, past history including dates sold and the price of the sales. All work ever performed on the structure and land (which is very important in more remote areas) including what and when all ‘unauthorized’ building was done. In other words ‘full disclosure’. What a concept! The truth laid out in print for potential buyers. Why, this was almost enough in itself to make me want to buy a place just because the owner has been so forthright and honest.

I would like to see this done for every single house on the market. After all buying real estate is one of the largest investments anyone ever makes in their lifetime so let’s keep it honest and open folks. I know that for the most part real estate deals are kept honest because of the laws governing these actions. But being able to see everything on paper was an added security blanket of sorts. And with the volatile real estate market these days there are more scams happening. That is a natural course of events. The scammers come out of the wood-work (pun intended).

In La Honda for instance, there are some areas where a house has a fair to good chance of ending up down in the bottom of a gulley. I find that important. And granted that is definitely NOT a good selling point let me (as the buyer) know and decide if I want to take that chance or if it is possible to have something done to perhaps prevent that from happening. Let me tell you, I’m the first one who likes a change of scenery to keep life interesting, but I like to be able to pick when and where that takes place. Mother Nature does a great job of landscaping most of the time, but not always to my requirements. I really think it is an added ‘feature’ to present all information (the good, the bad, and the ugly) to potential buyers. A feature that just might help sell FSBO (For Sale by Owner) houses perhaps? So go to http://www.redfin.com and click on the area of California that you are interested in and under Search Listings select the type of listings you are looking for. This will bring up just those listings and you are on your way.

I was going to present a list of a few FSBO’s here but alas, I updated my Firefox browser to 3.0 and Redfin has not yet updated their website to comply and it is still at Firefox 2.0. So make sure your browser is compatible for the time being until this update is performed, which will be done soon I suspect. Happy house hunting!

June 16, 2008

Top of the Line New Listings in Fremont

1504 Lemos Ln 5/3.5 (2131) $999,999
This is probably one of the best areas for great schools. It’s not far from the beautiful foothills and in between two beautiful parks. Fremont’s own Central Park is quite spectacular and a new swim park is being added that will be ready next year about this time.

180 Montevideo Cir 4/3 (2503) $1,259,950
Another great looking house in the Mission District of Fremont. This place is very open and airy. Although I have been noticing over the years that the houses are getting bigger and the yards are getting smaller. And yet fewer people are having large family nowadays. What’s with that?

41431 Joyce Ave 4/4.5 (3300) $1,588,000
And yet another large house in the Mission District. This one is buried deep into the neighborhood so if you don’t like to be on or near busy streets this one would be a good choice.

44483 View Point Cir 5/3 (3418) $1,728,888
Now if I was to decide on a place to live in Fremont I would go towards the foothills. Just about every home nestled in the foothills has a fantastic view of the whole bay area. Granted, some of the homes (this one included) don’t come with that thrilling view right out the window, but you are just a hop, skip and jump away from the wonderfully grueling hike up Mission Peak. And if you survive that hike all the way to the top you also get a great view of the Pleasanton and Livermore areas.

42648 Baron St 4/2 (1779) $1,299,950
This one looks a little pricey for what you get but then again it is in the much desired Mission District of Fremont. What can I say?

44293 Hunter Pl 5/4.5 (4268) $2,156,888
Now this house definitely qualifies as a top-notched. I often go on walks through this neighborhood because I get some great gardening ideas from the homes here. And I can mentally pick them apart with very critical thoughts like: “why did they put that big fountain right there…how tacky”. Somehow this makes me feel superior because I can see all kinds of faux-pas’ in these muckety-muck houses. Hah!

180 Montevideo Cir 4/3 (2503) $1,259,950
Looking at the pictures of these homes I am noticing a definite trend in how they vacuum the carpets. They all have a fresh vacuum cleaner path with no footsteps on them. Sort of like the patterns on a freshly mowed baseball field. It bothers me and I don’t know why. I want to go stomp around on the carpet or some such silliness.

So obviously I have chosen a specific area of Fremont that I am rather fond of, the Mission District near the foothills and Mission Peak. I love it here and like to come here to hike, but feel totally stupid when I feel it necessary to ‘drive’ to where I want to hike, so these houses are all near many hiking trails all headed up to the top of Mission Peak. And believe it or not, on summer weekends it is next to impossible to find a parking place in the Mission Peak parking lot that provides about 30 parking spaces. Shows how many people feel they need to drive to a place to walk for exercise. We are a strange lot, us humans! As an added bonus there is a long-running rumor that M.C.Hammer (rap singer) used to have a spectacular house up in these foothills. When you take the trail behind Ohlone College up to Mission Peak along the way you can look down on what once was his house. It would be funny if he never really lived there but people kept pointing at it and saying ‘Look, that used to be M.C.Hammer’s house’. Can you imagine having random people driving by your house and pointing at it and whispering and making oooh’s and ahhh’s sounds? Is that a good selling point or not? I don’t really know.

June 9, 2008

Buy 1 Get 1 Free?

This really got my interest while perusing Yahoo this morning: Slow home sales? Buy one, get one free in San Diego

Yowza — now we’re talking good deals. Sure — get a car, an exotic vacation trip, etc. are really provocative and enticing, but a free house? I’d say San Diego has got it going-on! Come on Bay Area, we can do that. I can imagine some deals I would offer. Here are examples using some of the new listings on the market in the East Bay:

163 Linmore Dr., Fremont – 5/4 - 3437 sf $1,738,000
4189 Blewett St., Fremont – 3/2 - 1148 sf $434,950 (*FREE)

448 Pine St., Fremont – 3/2.5 - 2352 sf $1,168,888
5125 Shalimar Cir., Fremont – 3/2.5 – 1383 sf $569,000 (*FREE)

2740 Plover Ct., Hayward – 4/3.5 – 3489 sf $1,099,000
323 Solano Ave., Hayward – 3/1.5 – 1676 sf $414,900 (*FREE)

746 Kirkwall Pl., Milpitas – 4/3 – 2690 sf $1,099,000
1668 Pinewood Way, Milpitas = 3/2 – 1270 sf $459,900 (*FREE)

32433 Pacific Grove Way, Union City – 4/2.5 – 2139 sf $759,900
4814 Barbara Ct., Union City – 3/2 – 1320 sf $470,000 (*FREE)

*Keep in mind these are just pretend offers I have made up; each of these houses may be worth the asking price without any FREE offers involved.

I’ve always felt a love/hate relationship with marketing in any industry. But I have to say I have a love relationship with the real estate industry at the moment. Marketing bad food choices, bad habits, useless junk, etc. really irks me but this – marketing ideas that help the people and boost the economy can be good. I just wouldn’t want it to encourage more home building that could compromise the environment. Let’s utilize what we have already created instead of creating more, okay?

June 4, 2008

Living High On the Hog

Here is a list of the top 10 most expensive houses in the world over $1.5 million (check out the $$ per square foot on some of the places listed in the article):

1. London
2. Monaco
3. St. Jean Cap (France)
4. Courchevel (France)
5. Hong Kong
6. Manhattan
7. Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy)
8. Portofino (Italy)
9. Singapore
10. Tokyo

Okay — so now I don’t feel quite so bad about housing prices in the Bay Area. Except for the fact that I don’t really plan on living anywhere else in the world; so it’s like comparing apples to oranges. But it is still fun to mock other places, I suppose.

Here are a couple of places in the East Bay for $1.5 million or more:

430 Panorama Ct., Fremont – 5/3 – 2900 sf $1,699,000
This is described as a Mediterranean-style house so Italy eat-your-heart-out! What ‘would’ it sell for in Italy? Yikes! Guess we’re better off just keeping it in the upper-scale Fremont hills and learning to speak Italian.

Or, let’s live really ‘high-on-the-hog’ in another house described as Mediterranean-style at 44601 Gabrielino Trail, Fremont – 4/4 – 4713 sf $2,290,000
We could learn a couple of other languages whilst living here!

Or, scratch the language lessons, speak good old American-ese and live a thrifty-nifty life at 40467 Vogel Ct, Fremont – 3/1 – 950 sf $379,900
The Irvington District of Fremont demands no uppity, lotto-winning, exotic–lifestyle, yacht-owning people. Just fun backyard BBQ’s and down-to-earth livin’.

On the other hand, let’s take a look-see at Hayward fancy living. I think 3755 Arbutus Ct. – 4/3.5 – 4793 sf $2,497,000 rivals some of the homes I’ve seen in The Sound of Music! I can picture those kids on the staircase singing along with Julie Andrews. Oh yeah! Of course my kids would just have toys deposited on every step, hah!

Or who could resist a 2/1 – 1118 sf bungalow at 23098 Mansfield Ave., Hayward for $1,650,000?
Wait…that DOES sound like a house in one of the 10 most expensive places to live in the world. But, when you look closely you realize that it is zoned to accommodate up to 10 lots on 1.48 acres. This is actually a very good investment opportunity. Or an opportunity to build houses for your toddlers to live in order to save your sanity.

All kidding aside, this really does make me feel better about living here in the Bay Area even with the high cost of housing. Life is good here and gas is still cheaper here than in Europe, so far!

May 22, 2008

A Disturbing Dilemma

I find this dilemma disturbing, but not surprising: in some areas homeless people are moving into foreclosed homes that are empty. Also transients, drug dealers, criminals, and various people who don’t or can’t abide by society’s rules are moving into these abandoned houses. Some by choice and others by necessity or survival. The real danger of this situation is evident. Fires, homicide, you name it can wreak havoc on law-abiding citizens. And because most of these houses are in neighborhoods this activity will definitely bring the value of surrounding houses down, down, down. As if they aren’t crashing enough as it is. Let’s face it, banks can’t keep tab on every foreclosure because there are so many now. And some previous homeowner of a now empty house may have moved a good distance away because the Bay Area is just plain unaffordable…still! So that homeowner can’t keep tabs on their foreclosed house. Evidently this all comes back to participating in your community. Too many of us are so busy with work, etc. these days we don’t or can’t get to know our neighbors. Well, I personally think we all need to make that effort. Get to know your neighbors. Be aware of what is going on. It’s not being nosey it’s being safe. For instance, say a foreclosed house that is now empty has a swimming pool that isn’t being maintained (who would maintain it?). If that swimming pool has water in it, it is probably now stagnate – hence mosquito infestation which could harbor West Nile Virus. Or children swimming in it unsupervised. Even if that swimming pool is empty it is still a hazard for children playing in it or around it. It used to be that if your home went into foreclosure you didn’t want your neighbors to know about your financial situation because it was embarrassing. Those days are no longer. Foreclosure is a common state of affairs nowadays. Actually, I take that back. Back in the days of the wild west pioneer communities HAD to be close and help each other to survive. Funny how most things come full circle isn’t it?

Here are some homes that are bank-owned and in foreclosure in nice neighborhoods that I’m sure the neighbors would be horrified if they fell prey to one of the aforementioned situations (they haven’t, by the way):

459 Sentinel Pl., Fremont – 4/3 – 3604 sf $1,175,000
22858 Upland Way, Hayward – 3/2 – 2184 sf $499,900
6214 Truckee Ct., Newark – 4/2 – 1519 sf $508,500
371 Riverside Ave., Fremont (Niles district) – 3/1 – 1476 sf $325,000
34313 Larkspur Ct., Union City – 5/3 – 2671 sf $740,000

Also, there or those out there that are renting out these empty homes under false pretense. They state they own the home and even have legal-looking paperwork to present to the renter. Just when you think that thievery is harder because of this computerized world we live in now, bam…that world also works very well for those thieves that are computer savvy. I would say that for every second ‘big brother’ is watching us there is at least one hacker producing something deceitfully to evade ‘big brother’.

Where does one turn to find out the truth? Can you really trust the internet when it is so full of false information? It never ceases to amaze me how you can type practically anything into a search engine and find good, bad, and ugly information. You really need to make sure you go to trusted sites for your information, be it real estate, medicine, or any other important issue. There will always be crime in the world no matter how advanced (or backward) we become.

May 16, 2008

Open Houses: May 17-18 + Bonus House

FREMONT
Low: 32924 Lake Bluestone St – 2/1 - $370,000 Sun 1-5
Mid: 4627 Rousillon Ave – 3/2.5 - $689,888 Sat/Sun 1:30-5
High: 43533 Gallegos – 5/3.5 - $1,730,000 Sat/Sun 1-5

HAYWARD
31416 Chicoine Ave – 3/2 - $399,900 Sun 1-4

MILPITAS
Low: 488 Dempsey Rd #00191 – 1/1 - $300,000 Sat 1-4
Mid: 674 Calero St – 3/2 - $550,000 Sun 1-5
High: 915 Cameron Cir – 3/2.5 - $795,000 Sun 1-5

NEWARK
Low: 36594 Lakewood Dr – 4/2 - $579,990 Sun 1-4
High: 8290 Olympic Ct – 3/2 - $597,500 Sun 1-4

UNION CITY
Low: 4537 Ojai Loop – 4/3 - $649,000 Sat/Sun 1:30-5
Mid: 2901 Daisy St – 3/2 - $679,000 Sun 1-4
High: 3019 Belize Way – 4/3 - $835,000 Sun 1-4

BONUS HOUSE(S)
Whenever I see a particulary interesting property listing I will add it to my regular open house listings. Here’s a great place and they have lowered the price $25,000 as of today! Hurry on this one!

At 2620 Bean Creek Rd., Scotts Valley you have the option to hear Bean Creek babbling nearby and listen to the sounds of the tall forest trees whispering in the wind on a day when you just want to curl up in the warm sun outside and read a good book. Perhaps in that beautiful hammock you’ve wanted to hang up that you bought on one of your vacations. Or you can have a family get-together, birthday party, wedding party, or just about any kind of party you can possibly think of. This house has it all! This home can be your retirement home or a ‘growing new family’ home.

This gem is a favorite of mine because I know it intimately. The owners are my relatives so I have been to it lots of times. My favorite times have been the summer parties there. The grounds are beautiful! We’re talking room for a band, kids jumping house, clowns, face painting tables and all the relatives and friends you can gather. And, because it’s set in a forest, there have been great family camp-outs there as well.

The inside of the house is in immaculate condition. I immediately feel that “ahhh…home at last” type of feeling. It really stands out from the other nearby homes because of the water-side acreage that it is on. Once on this property you don’t even know that there are neighbors around you. And yet, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump to downtown Scott’s Valley. This is a really quaint little town with just about everything you could possibly need. Add to all of this the fact that Santa Cruz beach is a short drive away and you just can’t go wrong.

It’s open this Sunday, May 18^th from 1 – 4 p.m. I urge you to go take a look at it. And the weather forecast for this weekend makes it an ideal day for an outing!

May 10, 2008

House Shopping Today

The fact that you are here at the Redfin website shows your interest in looking up houses for sale on the internet. It’s the thing to do these days, especially with gas prices so high and with our busy lives. Those two facts alone make surfing the net one of the best ways to see what’s for sale out there. But where do you start? There are a lot of houses for sale and everyone is jumping on the internet-wagon, so to speak. Here are a few tips:

• Figure out how much you can afford. I know it’s hard to zoom past some of those expensive houses for sale. How often do you get a chance to look inside one of those mansions? I’m nosy, I want to see. And then before I know it half the day is gone and I’m off in make believe mode and haven’t found even one house in my price range. And to be quite honest, I now don’t want to look at those meager homes. Bummer! Find a lender and spend about 30 minutes providing information about your income and expenses and get a good estimate of what you can afford. This will allow you to jump on a deal you see because you will already have done some of the paperwork.

• Now let’s begin our search. And remember, look only at what is in your price range. There are lots of tools at your disposal. In fact, an overwhelming amount. Of course I want you to start out with Redfin. But, you can go to some of the other sites that offer listings like Zillow and Movoto to just name a few. There are a lot out there so be discriminating. What I usually like to do if I find a house for sale at another intenet site is to put that address into Redfin and do some comparison shopping.

• Pick just 2 or 3 search engines and look for the house you like and can afford. Most of the sites have additional information above and beyond how many bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. Some have pictures, neighborhood stats, and one of my favorite tools: Google maps, so you can see exactly where the house is located in the grand scheme of things. Heck, you can practically zoom down to the front sidewalk of places and you also get to see what the neighbors have going on in their backyards. Like I said, I’m nosy. And remember to set up alerts at some of these sites and you will have houses for sale sent to you.

• Another good source is Craigslist and for homes not using an agent there is ForSaleByOwner. Now that sellers have to come down in price they don’t always want to give part of the sale amount to an agent.

• Last, but not least, is to read some blogs about the area you are interested in. This will give you the nitty gritty on what some of the areas are really, really like. The information is always current and geared toward both the buyer and seller with an understanding of what is going on in the market. Find the blogs that speak to you and bookmark that site to keep up on what the local happenings are in the area you would like to buy a house. This is what is really changing the real estate market by giving buyers and sellers more control over how they approach real estate dealings. And that is definitely a good thing!

May 9, 2008

EB Tri-Cities Open Houses May 10-11

The following houses are ones that I consider well presented. They are staged nicely and have curbside appeal. These things have become more and more important with the current glut of houses for sale. Buyers have a lot to choose from so it is very important and beneficial to put a little extra work into the buyer’s first impression. These are all larger houses in typical tract house type neighborhoods. There seems to be far more of these type houses for sale in this area.

FREMONT
43366 Gatewood St – 4/2.5 - $596,000 Sun 1-5
This house is definitely worth checking out. It is in a nice neighborhood in the Irvington district. I especially like the location because it is located in the middle of the neighborhood so it isn’t on any busy streets. And nearby Irvington High School is one of the better schools in this area. This would make a great family home especially with a nice pool. It does get toasty here in the summer.
1518 Shinn Ct – 4/2.5 - $759,950 Sat 1:30-4:30
This house is very well presented. Lots of extras including tons of space. And I definitely like having a pool in Fremont in the summer. Plus, it is located close to the great Quarry Lakes recreation area, one of my favorite places to go for year round walking, running, biking, swimming and more.
40925 Amapola Dr – 5/2.5 - $1,299,950 Sat/Sun 1:30-4:30
I am impressed with this house because it is one of the lower priced ones for the Mission district of Fremont. Schools here are great and the living is good. But this is definitely for a big family.

MILPITAS
2101 Ornellas Dr – 3/2.5 - $658,000 Sat 1:30-4:30
This house is located in a very nice community area with lots of amenities. There are association fees but that usually insures that your neighbors all keep up on the curbside appeal of their homes which is better for future house value, not to mention morale.
920 Cameron Cir – 4/2.5 - $868,888 Sat 1:30-4:30
Very nicely presented home in another great area of Milpitas. I don’t think a lot of people recognize the appeal of Milpitas in that it is close to major freeways so commuting is much easier and more convenient. Plus the shopping around here is outstanding.

UNION CITY
32748 S Folklore Loop – 3/2 - $689,000 Sun 1-5
This is definitely a keeper! Very spacious and in a great area.
3019 Belize Way – 4/3 - $835,000 Sun 1-4
Life in a gated community definitely has perks. You typically have access to lots of amenities, assurance of property maintenance issues, with safety being the prime benefit.

May 3, 2008

Short Game?

This year is one heck of year so far, and it’s not even half over. We have short sales on houses and we’re short on water resources, jobs, money, and reasonable gas prices. Ouch!

Banks have never before had so many foreclosures and they are desperate to get rid of them. It used to be the ‘norm’ to see a house for sale about every 2 or 3 miles apart. Now it is typical to see 15 to 20 houses for sale in that same area. And 2 out of every 5 houses are now being sold below market value!

There is such a glut of foreclosures and houses for sale these days that some buyers are opting for the short sale. And a short sale can sweeten the deal. For example, say a house that originally sold for $500,000 is now being offered for $350,000 by the seller. A buyer might offer $300,000 calling it a short sale. It can take up to 5 months to complete a short sale. And at any time another buyer can come in with a higher offer. If a buyer does go for a short sale they must be prepared to wait a while to see if their offer is accepted, so patience is key but the reward could mean a great deal of savings on a house. And an interesting point to know is that in a short sale the buyer gets full disclosure of the true condition of the house, something that is not given in a foreclosure sale.

For the seller a short sale (prior to foreclosure) can lower the negative impact on their credit report. For example, if a foreclosure is say a -10 on a credit report, a short sale could only be a -2 if the seller can provide all of the following information:

• hardship (loss of job, health reasons, divorce, etc.)
• 2 months of bank statements
• 2 years of tax returns
• listing agreement to sell the house
• appraisal of the house’s current value

Following are foreclosures/bank owned houses in Fremont. I was able to find how much some of them were listed for prior to foreclosure. Had a buyer sought a short sale for less than the listed amount prior to foreclosure there would have been a good chance the buyer would have gotten the house for that amount. Now the trick is to find out which houses are about to go into foreclosure.

38041 Palmer Dr – 3/2 – 1840 sf $729,000
53 Leslie St – 4/2 – 4791 sf $488,900
40484 Shaw Ct – 3/1 – 950 sf $419,900 (Feb. listed for $389,000 prior to foreclosure)
4860 Balboa Way – 3/2 – 1330 sf $367,000 (Feb. listed for $409,900 prior to foreclosure)
5553 Roundtree Ter – 2/1 – 1006 sf $264,500 (Feb. listed for $269,000 prior to foreclosure)
39255 Sundale Dr – 3/2 – 1204 sf $523,500
4742 Serra Ave – 3/2 – 1701 sf $620,000 (March listed for $544,000 prior to foreclosure)
39366 Mariposa Way – 3/1 – 948 sf $540,000 (March listed for $475,000 prior to foreclosure)
4667 Alameda Dr – 4/2 – 1593 sf $569,900 (listed for $549,900 prior to foreclosure)
4419 Terra Cmn – 4/2 – 1631 sf $665,000 (March listed for $599,900 prior to foreclosure)
4992 Omar St – 5/3 – 1971 sf $488,900