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Welcome home to this wonderful property located in the foothills of the master-planned Talega community.  The home is situated on a corner lot in the quiet Amalfi neighborhood and features 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a 2-car direct access garage, and an estimated 2,150 square feet of living space.  The rent is $2,995 per month for a 1-year lease with a security deposit equaling one month’s rent.  Small dogs are allowed with an additional deposit of $500.  The lucky residents of this home will be close to the best amenities Talega has to offer, including the Talega Swim & Athletic Club, the Talega Village Center with a large Ralph’s and a variety of shops and eateries, and the gorgeous and challenging Talega Golf Club.  You are also a short distance from the award-winning Vista Del Mar Elementary and Middle School (K-8).

The two-story floor plan is open and modern, with numerous upgrades and a warm feel throughout.  Upon entering the home up the Spanish-tiled front steps, you will be struck by the formal living/dining room combo with great natural lighting and lovely ceramic tile flooring.  The family room, which opens to the kitchen and breakfast nook, features a cozy gas fireplace and media niche.  The gourmet kitchen is truly a chef’s dream and comes complete with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, a large center island/breakfast bar, and a beautiful tile backsplash along the back wall – even if you don’t cook, you may take it up just to spend more time in this kitchen.  From the family room are French doors leading to the private backyard, which has a large patio area perfect for summer barbeques, a sizable lawn for children to enjoy, and a gated side courtyard perfect for the family dog.  The second level features Berber carpeting throughout, the three bedrooms, and a laundry room with an installed washer and dryer.  The two smaller bedrooms share a nice bathroom with Jack-and-Jill sinks, a shower/tub combo, and private entrances from each bedroom.  The large master suite enjoys a walk-in closet with built-in shelving and a huge bathroom with a soaking tub and separate shower.

The details above barely scratch the surface of all that this comfortable home has to offer.  With a private and quiet location in one of the newest areas of South Orange County, you will feel at home from the moment you unpack the first box.  For more information or to schedule a showing, please contact Matt Cabrera at (949)281-5444 or email matt@sanclementecoastalliving.com.

In a recent article in the OC Register, the author compares the seller’s market of a couple of years ago to today’s market when speaking about pricing one’s home for sale.  In a seller’s market, it was easy for the homeowner to list their San Clemente real estate above the current value, because prices were continually rising due to low market inventory and constant bidding wars.  Now that we are in a buyer’s market, it is crucial for the owner to sell the home quickly in order to receive the best value.  As the article illustrates, San Clemente homes that sold within 30 days of listing in 2007 received a minimal 3% discount from their asking price, while homes that were on the market longer than 30 days received an average 10% discount from the listed price. 

While you should not completely devalue your home just to get it sold quickly, it is very important to be reasonable when it comes to setting the listing price.  It is human nature to feel that something you own is worth more than it actually is, and in these erratic economic times, people are looking for ways to make the extra buck.  However, it is crucial not to price your home out of the market during a buyer’s market, because the home will just sit there, forcing you to lower the price on a consistent basis.  This plays right into the psyche of buyers in this type of market, so you need to find the most competitive ways to create urgency with your home sale.  First, the initial listing price is crucial; if your home is overpriced, buyers will not waste their time until the inevitable price drop comes.  Your agent should provide you with a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis), showing you current comparable San Clemente homes for sale, pending sales, recent expired listings and home sales from the past 6 to 12 months.  The article makes a great suggestion - once you have this list in front of you, pretend that you are a buyer and have your agent take you on tours of the current comparable listings.  A visual comparison of your home to others will go a long way in helping you set the listing price. 

Another arena that is vital to a quick home sale is reaching a wide array of potential buyers through creative and aggressive marketing of your San Clemente property.  In a buyer’s market, simply placing a sign on your front lawn and an ad in the local paper will not create the buzz you need to sell your home.  Today’s buyers are a lot more savvy in their real estate search, with many turning to the internet for guidance.  Studies have shown that between 75-80% of homebuyers begin their real estate search online, making an internet presence for your listing crucial if you want a lot of buyers to see the place.  The first two weeks your property is on the market are the most important, because this is the timeframe when you will get the most traffic in your home, both from buyers and real estate agents.  To ensure a high volume of traffic (which will aid in reaching the goal of selling the home within 30 days of listing), you need to be aggressive with your marketing.  Find out from the potential listing agents how they plan on marketing your home: print ads, online or both.  If they propose advertising online, find out the websites and do a little research on them to see the amount of hits they receive and where they are ranked on internet search engines (Yahoo, Google, etc.).  You will want your listing to be seen by as many people as possible, so make sure your agent plans on being creative and hitting as many arenas as possible.  This is something that is a specialty of San Clemente Coastal Living - we are a top-ranked website in a variety of keyword searches that promises front-page placement on our website.  While we cannot guarantee that this will sell your home, we give you a better chance by utilizing the popularity of our website along with a variety of innovative online and print marketing tools.

When it is finally time to set the price, use all of the above methods to set a competitive value for your home, and you will have a good chance of seeing a sale in a short period of time.  For more information on tips to selling your home quickly and how San Clemente Coastal Living can assist in this process, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Having dealt with various investors (second home / vacation home clients), San Clemente Coastal Living thought it would be appropriate to address some 1031 Exchange basics.  First, as an investor, you must realize that in order to do a 1031 exchange it cannot be done on your principal residence.  Please note, however, you do not have to pay capital gains tax on a $250,000 gain if single or $500,000 gain if married on your principal residence based on IRS guidelines.  In order to successfully do 1031 exchanges, including into your eventual dream home, you need to understand the basics.

First, to qualify for a 1031 exchange, the San Clemente real estate that you plan to sell or purchase must meet four basic rules:

• Be exchanged with a like-kind property; in other words any other piece of real estate
• The replacement property must be identified within 45 days after the sale of the previous property
• The exchange transaction must be completed within 180 days
• The property must be used for productive purposes in a business or for investment purposes (cannot be your principal residence)

Beyond these basics, you should note that it’s possible to do a 1031 exchange on a second home or vacation home.  In order to do so, you must own the property for at least two years, rent the property during each year for a minimum of 14 days at fair market value, and not use the property for your own personal use for more than 14 days.  If you have met these criteria for two years, now you can do a 1031 exchange into any other piece of real estate that qualifies.   

On the other hand, if you are an investor working towards your San Clemente dream home (i.e San Clemente ocean view home or condo), there are ways to do it through 1031 exchanges, however, pay special attention to the rules.  First, you must rent out your home for at least 14 days during the year and not use it for more than 14 days either.  At the end of the two years, you can now convert your San Clemente home into your principle residence.  In the meantime, if you have not taken any cash from your 1031 exchanges, you have deferred all tax on your gains (i.e. equity) to buy into your new home.  This beats taking money out of the stock market to purchase that home as it would be subject to capital gains tax.   Also, don’t forget that when you sell your principle residence to get into this home, you don’t have to pay tax on the first $250,000 gain if single or $500,000 if married.

If you are an investor that has done 1031 exchanges over the years and are ready to sell, don’t forget that capital gains tax is still at 15% and there is a strong possibility that this will be raised in the near term to 20-25%.

For more information on 1031 exchanges or San Clemente real estate, including a second home and/or vacation rental, please contact us for a free consultation.

This article on CNN outlines great ways to obtain the best deal on your homeowner’s insurance policy.  As premiums have skyrocketed over the past few years, the following are methods to help keep this cost down in the purchase of your San Clemente home or condo.

Get a CLUE report.  CLUE, which stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, is a database that keeps records of every claim a homeowner makes against their house, such as a broken pipe, window, etc.  When you purchase a home, you will receive this report as part of the due diligence process.  If the home has a history of damage or claims against it, this may drive the insurance policy up.  Like a credit report, however, a CLUE report may contain errors.  Luckily, you can receive a free CLUE report by visiting choicetrust.com, and if you believe the report contains errors, then you can visit consumerdisclosure.com.

Don’t over or under insure your home.  A homeowner’s policy should cover 100% of what it would cost to rebuild your home and not the entire home’s value that includes the land.  For example, your home may be worth $1 million, but it may only cost $300,000 to rebuild and therefore, this would be the amount you would insure.

Consider taking a risk.  If you move from a $500 deductible to a $1,000 deductible you could save approximately 20% on your premium.  Therefore, consider taking the highest deductible you are willing to stomach with your emergency fund.

Don’t be loyal to one insurer.  Some insurers may give a 10% discount to long-time customers, however, it is still worth exploring your other options as you may find a better deal.  You can get quotes from InsWeb.com or Insure.com.

Keep good credit with your insurer.  In other words, just like your credit score can be impacted, so can your insurance depending on the number of claims you make and whether you pay on time.

Please visit other sections of our website or blog for more information on your San Clemente real estate purchase or please feel free to contact us for a consultation.

While San Clemente real estate prices have come down from their highs, many individuals are struggling to afford a home due to higher downpayment requirements required by lenders and the recent legislation that is doing away with downpayment assistance programs.  Therefore, at San Clemente Coastal Living, we thought it would be appropriate to address creative ways to afford the San Clemente home or condo of your dreams.  The following are various strategies that we can structure for your purchase:

• In today’s market, many sellers (those who are not in a short-sale or foreclosure) may be willing to provide financing.  Some sellers may be willing to finance all or part of the purchase price and let you repay them gradually as you would with a mortgage.
• Consider doing a shared equity arrangement with friends, family or an outside investor.  Under this scenario, your co-investor will buy a portion of the house and share in appreciation when the house is sold.  This investor will benefit from all the tax write-offs of an investment property for their share of the ownership, which includes being able to depreciate the property.  In the meantime, you will be able to enjoy the write-offs of a primary residence for your share of the property.  Since you will occupy the house, you will pay the mortgage, property tax, and all related maintenance costs.  This can be a win-win situation for both parties.  If family or friends cannot invest, there are companies out there that could potentially provide an investor on your behalf.
• Perhaps your family will loan you money for a downpayment which you can payback as if it were a mortgage or whatever seems fit for both parties.  If you have little credit history, a lender may want a co-signer.  In this case, it may be worth structuring the deal to offer your family the upside of sharing in the long-term appreciation of the home as addressed in the previous point.
• Don’t forget about your 401K as a means for a downpayment if you are buying your first home.  If you are single, you can withdraw $10,000 from your 401K without being taxed for early withdrawal, or $20,000 if married.  Who cares how your 401K is performing as the money going into this account is all pre-tax.  So if your effective tax rate is 30%, then you are saving 30% quicker by using your 401K as a means for your downpayment versus using after tax money in your savings account.
• If there are no other options to come up with the downpayment this year, then consider leasing the property with an option to buy.  This will give you more time to save for your downpayment and test out the house for a year.  In addition,  many owners will apply some of your rent towards a downpayment.  Be sure, however, you would want to buy this home as you may have to pay a small nonrefundable option fee to the owner.
• An option once the real estate market settles and credit becomes more available would be trying to qualify for a short-term second mortgage to assist with a higher downpayment.  This may be possible if you have good income and little other debt.
• The government is currently offering a $7500 tax credit to first-time homebuyers, so you could borrow the money short-term from family or friends and return it once you receive this credit on your tax return.  This credit, however, will have to be repaid to the government as if it were a loan.

For more information on creative ways to afford San Clemente real estate and how to structure your transaction, please contact us! 

An article on CNN Money titled “9 Ways to Tough Out Tough Times” provides a number of ways to protect yourself during times of economic instability like our current situation.  While many of the talking points concern one’s financial portfolio and tips for trading in an unstable stock market, a couple of ideas deal directly with real estate buyers. 

The fifth item discussed in the article concerns raising and maintaining your credit score, one of the most important components analyzed by lenders when deciding whether or not to help finance your new home.  Not only does good credit make a lender feel more comfortable about lending money, but better credit may help you to get a lower interest rate.  The article states that the two most important factors with maintaining good credit are your payment history and account balances.  Paying bills on time should be a no-brainer (and accounts for 35% of your credit score), but keeping your account balances below 50% of your credit limit dramatically improves your overall credit score (this accounts for 30% of the total score).  The article also advises you to not open unnecessary accounts or make too many credit requests, as multiple credit inquiries could ding your score.   Credit history is important because it establishes your payment history, showing any potential lender that you have a good background with regards to paying off debt.  Even if buying a home is not in the foreseeable future, taking these steps now can make obtaining a loan for your first home that much easier.

The seventh talking point in the article concerns finding a great deal on a mortgage, something that is on everyone’s minds these days when thinking about a real estate purchase.  One of the reasons that the housing market is in trouble is due to unscrupulous lenders taking advantage of people with little money and substandard credit by offering them loans that looked good on the surface but turned out to be nightmares when the interest rates adjusted.  In these tough times, banks are much more careful when lending money, and securing a good interest rate might mean putting down at least a 20-25% down payment.  The article states that buyers can find good interest rates without having to deal with mortgage brokers, who may add upwards of 27% to a loan’s fees.  The article suggests going to a site like bankrate.com, where you can put in your desired location and loan amount to discover different lenders in the area and their loan terms.  Once you narrow down the list to a couple of potential lenders, contact each of them and ask for a good-faith estimate (usually free of charge).  The interest rates you receive from each may be in the same ballpark, but pay attention to the additional fees they charge for loan origination, document preparation, etc.  This takes a little work on your part, but it could end up saving you a nice chunk of change in the long run.

For more information on tips to help your purchase of San Clemente real estate become a reality, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

In a recent study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates to determine the real estate companies that rank highest amongst buyers and sellers in customer satisfaction, a couple of very interesting trends were highlighted.  As has become the norm over the past couple of years, a large proportion of buyers and sellers began their real estate process online; 68% of buyers used Internet tools throughout their real estate purchase process, and 61% of sellers primarily used a website listing to market their homes while crediting online methods as the most important aspect of marketing their homes to potential buyers.  While the Internet has become a central force in the buying and selling of real estate, the report also notes that agent professionalism, responsiveness and market knowledge are still crucial components to customer satisfaction.   

For the past couple of years, study after study has shown the rising importance of Internet marketing with regards to real estate.  From a seller’s perspective, this is a low-cost method of marketing that will reach the widest possible audience by utilizing the Internet and its variety of search engines.  With over two-thirds of buyers using the Internet for their real estate searches, your property’s online presence is vital to its ability to sell.  The study shows that the average time a listing stays on the market before a sale is a little over 6 months, meaning sellers need to think outside of the box in order to get their homes sold in a shorter amount of time.  At San Clemente Coastal Living, we focus on the Internet as our primary marketing arena to help sell your San Clemente home.  Our listings receive home page placement on our website and are not mixed with listings from other areas - we deal exclusively in San Clemente in order to attract serious community buyers, not shoppers looking throughout Orange County.  On top of this, we display your listing on a variety of real estate websites to create maximum exposure, and we do not settle for simply cutting and pasting a link to the MLS listing.  We use the latest technology to create state-of-the-art online listing presentations so that potential buyers have a clear picture of the property before they even pick up the phone to call us.  For more information on the services we provide to sellers, please click here.

While having a strong presence on the Internet will help both buyers and sellers with their San Clemente real estate processes, our customer service is what sets San Clemente Coastal Living apart from other real estate companies.  Our mission has always been very clear - the client is always more important than the deal.  We are experts on the San Clemente real estate marketplace because we are exclusive to San Clemente, unlike other companies that work in multiple locations.  Our blog serves as a great educational tool for buyers and sellers, not only to provide national, regional and local real estate news and analysis, but to give you a better feel for San Clemente as a wonderful beach community with a small-town feel.  We are just as interested in finding a lifestyle that fits your needs as we are in putting a roof over your head.  Buyers can feel confident that they will receive the utmost amount of care and expertise when searching for their home with San Clemente Coastal Living.  For more information on the buyer’s services we provide, please click here.

If you have more questions about our services or wish to learn more about utilizing the Internet for your real estate needs, please contact us.

At San Clemente Coastal Living, we thought it was time to give all of you current and potential San Clemente real estate buyers or sellers a snapshot of the market’s performance from 2000 to present.  First, however, it would be appropriate to bring a few facts to light about the San Clemente real estate market’s performance against the county and state as everyone needs to realize that real estate markets are very local. 

The San Clemente real estate market, being a coastal market, has held its ground when compared to the year-over-year price change for Orange County and California real estate.  The San Clemente real estate average selling price is down 10.97% from its high in 2006 or 8.76% over the past year. On the other hand, Orange County real estate over the past year is down 26.6%.  Even worse, California is down 35.3% for single family residences and 19.8% for condos.  Clearly, San Clemente real estate has held its ground, and we hope this helps ease the nerves of potential buyers sitting on the fence. 

While prices have held strong in the San Clemente real estate market, there are a few things that need to come back into balance before a full recovery occurs.  First, average days on market (DOM) is currently 102 days, or 42 days above the 2000-2008 average of 60 days.  Secondly, sales in 2008 are off by 34.57% from the eight year average of 886 per year.  Lastly, there is approximately 600 housing units currently on the market representing around 12 months of supply based on sales to date in 2008.  In order for the San Clemente real estate market to make a full recovery, inventory needs to return a historical average of 6-7 months, fewer listings need to come on the market, and sales need to return to average levels.

While this might make you nervous, remember the fact that the San Clemente real estate market has held its ground and that there are some great deals on San Clemente homes and condos for sale if you have the patience to shop as some homes are priced to sell quickly well below comps in the market.  When the market does turn, a lot of these deals by sellers to get their homes off the market will quickly go away and you may find yourself wishing you had purchased a couple months prior.  For more information, please explore our website or contact us today.

A couple weeks back we wrote a blog saying now may be the time to buy in order to lock in a low interest rate.  An article on CNN titled “Time to Lock in Your Mortgage Rate” is saying the same thing.  If you are a serious San Clemente buyer, you need to consider that the average price in San Clemente is approximately $900,000 and therefore, a change in interest rates could drastically effect how much you pay per month for your mortage.  Lets assume you put 10% down on a $900,000 Talega home  or another San Clemente property and finance $810,000.  A change in interest rates lets say from 6% to 6.5% would cost you an extra $263 per month or $3160 per year.  A change in rates from 6% to 7% would cost you an extra $532 per month or almost $6400 per year.    While rising rates may prolong the San Clemente market recovery, it could be years before you could refinance or afford the same amount of home and we all know everyone wins in real estate long-term.  For more information on the San Clemente real estate market please explore our website or contact us.

President Bush has signed the Housing Rescue Bill  after the House and Senate passed it.  As noted in prior blogs, the major benefit to the San Clemente real estate market is the following:

• Permanent increase of conforming loan limits from $417,000 to $625,000 making San Clemente home and condo prices within these ranges avoid jumbo financing that costs 1-1.5% higher. 
• A potential reduction in inventory levels as the first time homebuyer credit and assistance to troubled borrowers should help to bring supply back to historical levels, which in turn will help prices stabilize.   
• The recapitalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should help to make credit more available to those who can afford to buy and can qualify

The only downfall of the Bill from a housing recovery perspective is the seller down payment assistance being eliminated as this may result in some buyers unable to come up with the needed cash.  This may specifically be true in new developments, such as in Talega, as homebuilders like Standard Pacific have been offering down payment assistance in select communities.

For more information about this Bill, please click on the link above, read the related blogs below, or contact us today.