Price Reduction – 3 bedroom Northwoods Townhome $199,900

It doesn’t get any better than this folks.  Here is a two story, 3 bedroom, 2 bath townhome located in Truckee’s most popular second home resort — Tahoe Donner — for the totally reasonable price of $199,900.  You can use it as a vacation home, rent it out full time or as a ski lease.  With a good downpayment it will more than likely cover the cost of your monthly payments.  Check it out — there are even 2 single car garages included.  You can rent one out and use the other to store your toys.

Call us for a tour.  We think you will see the value here.

Truckee – North Lake Tahoe Market Stats – October 2011

There was a respectable end to October, 2011 with 110 homes or condominiums changing hands.  Interestingly enough the short sales and bank owned properties seem to have slowed for out of this total, distressed sales amounted to only 20 of them or a mere 18%.  Another noteworthy occurrence this month was the amount of Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows sales:  8 homes and 4 condos.  The news of the two ski areas merger seems to have made an impression on ski-happy buyers.  Tahoe Donner continues to outsell all of the rest of the subdivisions – a one sure bet for vacation home owners.

From the Tahoe MLS: the solds from October 1- 31, 2011:

Tahoe Donner: 20 homes (1REO), 0 condos

Northstar: 3 homes, 5 condos (1SS, 2REO)

Glenshire: 4 homes (1SS, 1REO)

Juniper Hill: 1 home

Lahontan: 2 homes

Prosser Lake Area: 2 homes, 1 condo

Sierra Meadows, Ponderosa Palisades: 2 homes  (1 REO), 0 condos

Olympic Heights: 2 homes (1SS, 1REO)

Winter Creek: 2 homes

Martis Camp: 1 home

Truckee Proper: 4 homes (1SS),   condos ( 2REO)

Donner Lake: 5 homes (2 REO’s)

Donner Summit: 4 homes (1REO)

West shore Lake Tahoe: 6 homes, 1 condo

Tahoe City: 4 homes (1 REO)

North shore Lake Tahoe: 4 homes (1SS, 1 REO)

Kings Beach & Tahoe Vista: 4 homes, 5 condos (1 REO)

Alpine & Squaw Valley: 8 homes, 5 condos (1 REO)

Shared Ownerships – entire region: 4

Mobile Homes – entire region: 1

Sierra and Plumas Counties – 8 homes (1 REO)

Out of area: 3 homes

Condos and Homes sold over $1M in Truckee & North Lake Tahoe: 13 homes

Highest priced home or condo sold:  4421 square foot,  4 bedroom, 4.5 bath home located at 10715 Bellingrath Court, in Martis Camp.  Part of this high priced and well received subdivision which includes a private lift into Northstar as one of its many amenities.  Another property sold with a $250,000 discount at $3,495,000 – CASH.

Lowest priced home or condo sold:  Sierra/Plumas had the least expensive home sold.  A little 3 bedroom, 2 bath home owned by Fannie Mae sold for $32,500.  Getting into the greater Tahoe Truckee Market area, affectionately described as an “extensive remodel” a little 2 bedroom 2 bath tear down in Truckee went out at $49,000 – full price.

The list to sell ratio on the median this month 98%. (leaving out Sierra-Plumas and Out of Area Sales).   In other words, the homes sold within 98% of the list price.  The median list price for this period was $449,000, median sale price was $440,000.  Using the median price tends to take the extreme highs and lows out of the picture as it is based on the sale of the house in the middle of the pack..   The average days on the market were 127.  Total volume of residential properties (not unimproved lots) this month was $63,128,649.

Short Sale Update

Short Sales are proliferating lately and the good news is that they are working through the system at a much faster pace than they did 2 years ago.

Again, the definition of a “short sale” is when a homeowner decides that he no longer can make the payments on a mortgage which is collateralized by a home that is no longer worth what it was when the mortgage was made.  When this happens, the homeowner works with his real estate professional to come up with a listing price that will sell the house.  Once a buyer is procured, the seller/homeowner agrees to a contract with that buyer subject to approval from the mortgagor.  2 years ago, the waiting time for the response from mortgagee was anywhere from 6 months to a year.  Now, the process has been streamlined and mortgagee acceptance can be accomplished in as little as 2 weeks.

One of the things that is making the “short sale” a viable exit for the underwater homeowner is the new State of California law ( in effect since July 15, 2011) prohibiting the mortgage lender from collecting a deficiency (the difference between the outstanding loan balance and the loan payoff received by the lender)  or obtaining a deficiency judgment for a short sale involving a loan secured by a one-to-four residential unit property.  This law applies to first trust deeds, second trust deeds and other junior trust deeds including equity lines of credit.  Prior to this new law, short sale deficiencies were only prohibited on first deeds of trust.

Furthermore, the new law SB 458 (anti-deficiency law) for short sales applies to owner-occupied or non-owner occupied properties. Non-owner occupied properties include rental properties, vacant homes, second homes or vacation homes.  This is definitely relevant in our area as there are many second home owners who are struggling with what to do about their properties that carry onerous mortgages.  While not forced to accept a short sale contract, the bank that holds the mortgage who does accept the contract will be bound by this law.

So, the California Association of Realtors Legal Services recaps the circumstances under which the California Anti-deficiency protection law applies for us here:

• Mortgage loan is solely secured by a deed of trust or mortgage;
• Mortgage loan is for a dwelling of not more than four units;
• Borrower sells the property for less than the outstanding loan balance;
• Lender provides written consent for the short sale;
• Title voluntarily transfer to a buyer by grant deed or other document of conveyance recorded in the county where the property is located; and
• Proceeds of the sale have been tendered to the lender or lender’s agent in accordance with the parties’ agreement.

There is nothing in this article however, that speaks to the sellers’ tax liability for the forgiven, either Federal or State.

As always, we would strongly urge anyone considering this form of sale to consult their attorney and/or tax accountant before making any decision.

Parking in Truckee Update

Recently published in our local newspaper The Sierra Sun, there have been some changes to the Downtown Parking Policy.

Since its origination about 3 years ago, the paid parking in downtown Truckee has continued to be a contentious matter.  The tourists don’t like it because it is confusing and expensive, the locals don’t like it because they have never had to pay to park and now they are incensed by the requirement.  Downtown employees are stymied by the pay-to-park situation and how that affects their bottom line.  Well, over the past year, the town and the townspeople have been carrying on discussions and it seems that they have reached agreement on several new policies that will take effect on November 14, 2011.  They are as follows:

1)  2 hours of free parking at the Beacon gas parking;

2)  free overnight parking at the Beacon parking lot (6pm to 10 am) — awesome idea for those who find themselves having to take a taxi home after socializing;

3)  revised, easier to understand labels on the current parking meters;

4)  downtown will carry a flat rate of $1.50 per hour; Jibboom and West River Streets’ flat rate will be $1.00 per hour;

5)  when using a credit card with the meter, there will no longer be the $2 mimimum;

6)  no more parking at the Old Assumption Catholic Church lot;

7)  downtown employees will be allowed to park for free all day with free employer distributed permits.

According to the article in the Sierra Sun, these changes are temporary and will not become permanent until everyone is satisfied that they will work.

Propane Tank Users in The High Sierras, Use Caution!

Last year the quantity of snow that fell in our region had some devastating effects on local homeowners.  Besides the fact that many decks were crushed under the weight of the snow, there was a real crises involving propane.

I just had the opportunity to speak with Brent Armstrong of North Tahoe Fire District.  This Fire District is on the warpath to avoid experiencing another year where propane leaks cause fires and possible loss of life and injury.

Apparently in 1983 there were some code changes that required retrofitting the propane tanks but over the years, and with the introduction of natural gas to our area,  the importance of complying  lost its sense of urgency and some tanks have slipped through the cracks.

In an effort to put some teeth into compliance, North Tahoe Fire has set a deadline of  November 1st for the Alpine Peaks and Ward Canyon areas.  What this means is that anyone who is not in compliance by that time will not be able to have their tank filled.   The remainder of their district will be taken in a sort of grid like pattern until all homes are covered.  If you live in the Northshore, you can contact Brent at armstrong@ntfire.net or (530) 583-6911 for more information.  Or you can check it out here.

If you are the owner of a home ANYWHERE in the Truckee-Tahoe-Donner Summit area that has propane service, be sure to contact your local fire district and your propane supplier to make sure you are in compliance with the current code.  It is the ONLY safe way.

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