Silicon Valley and Beyond » 365 Things To Do in Silicon Valley

Palo Alto Off-Market Listings? You Bet We Have Them!

The Dawn Thomas Team — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:26:51 +0000

Inventory continues to be tight, so savvy buyers and their Realtors have begun to dive a bit deeper to find the properties they are looking for. The sales are happening, its just many of them are happening off-market. As promised, we have a few to share with our readers.

Here is one in the sought after Barron Park neighborhood in Palo Alto:

OFF MARKET/ NOT ON MLS! Charming 1920′s 3bd/2ba fixer in livable condition with wonderful appeal. Feels like a private vacation retreat. Additional 1bd/1ba cottage on lot built in 1985 could be rental income. Or live in cottage while remodeling main house and create your dream home in this convenient and lovely Barron Park location. Walk to restaurants, shopping, new Starbucks. Great PA schools: Barron Park Elementary, Terman MS, Gunn HS. Don’t miss this rare off-MLS opportunity.Truly and incredible value! This property will go fast, please contact us immediately if you are interested in finding out more information or would like to schedule a viewing.

Another one in the Barron Park neighborhood of Palo Alto that is not yet on MLS but will be listed soon:

Laguna Ave 4 bedroom, 3 bath main house with a legal three room cottage with a bathroom. Although this house needs work, it does have a newer roof. The owner was planning on remodeling but will sell it now in AS-IS condition. With approximately 2,790 square feet and a lot size of 6,857 this could easily be a fantastic family home in a the sought after Barron Park neighborhood. This could be a great opportunity for someone looking for a separate legal cottage either for extended family or for some extra income and rent it out to a Stanford grad student.

If either of these properties are of interest to you, please contact us today. Even off market homes are selling very quickly and with multiple offers, so prompt and decisive action is an absolute must.

Looking in other areas? We can help, our extensive network of professionals enables us to find you properties that fit your criteria!

This blog is courtesy of The Dawn Thomas Team who is an award-winning Real Estate Agent team at Intero Real Estate Services in Los Altos 650-947-4661. We help nice people with selling and buying homes from Palo Alto to West San Jose!

Can’t find the home you are looking for through the MLS? We have off-market listings!

The Dawn Thomas Team — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:34:54 +0000

Through out the Bay Area, but more specifically Silicon Valley and the Peninsula inventory is extremely low and everything seems to be selling as soon as it comes on the market! That is not the whole picture though. Now more than ever, sellers are option out of putting their house on the market, as many of the recent home sales happening with multiple offers and over asking with out ever going on the market.

There are many reason a seller might opt out of MLS, some for personal or privacy reasons, but quite frankly if your Realtor is able to do some pre-MLS marketing you may have offers coming in before you even have time to get there. Title companies are estimating nearly 20% of sales in Q1 2012 were off-market. You may recall our most recent listing in Willow Glen- as an example.

With all of these off-market opportunities being presented to us on a daily basis, we thought we would share! They range in all price points form multi-million dollar single family estates in the hills of Los Altos and Palo Alto to multi-unit income property in North San Jose and everything in between!

Here is a super cute 3 bedroom 2 bath home in Los Gatos with great schools on a 6,500 square foot lot. The home has been nicely updated,with remodeled kitchen and baths, and is close to downtown. The property is listed at $899,000 and the seller is motivated!

Here is a fine example of Victorian architecture, carefully restored to its original splendor located in College Terrace area of Palo Alto. High ceilings and large windows provide an abundance of natural light. The large, nearly half-acre lot offers a park like setting with stately oaks, a rose garden and established trees and plants. Two large patios and a wrap around porch are perfect for entertaining. Not to mention top notch Palo Alto schools!
• 6 large Bedrooms
• 2.5 Bathrooms
• Award-winning upstairs bathroom
• Formal dining and living rooms
• Parlor with abundant sunshine

Priced at $3,295,000

Contact us today if you would like information about these properties, or other off-market listings we are aware of!

You’re invited! Downtown Los Altos First Friday!

The Dawn Thomas Team — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:00:02 +0000

Spring is most definitely in the air...Los Altos Downtown has undergone quite the makeover, and is ready to entertain with some fun community building activities. And, it’s time for us to get outdoors and get downtown! That’s why …..You’re invited to the May 4th Downtown Los Altos First Friday! This month’s event is called the “May Flowers Treasure Hunt” from 6-8pm.
What’s the scoop? Over 30 downtown merchants will be participating in the event. The evening includes several fun – and free — activities including:
- May Flowers Treasure Hunt
- Drawings for over $1,000 of gift certificates donated by local merchants and restaurants
- Complimentary sweets from the merchants
- Mother’s Day card creation activity and cookies for children
- Music along the streets

An event program will be available for all who wish to participate, and maps will be distributed downtown that evening or you can pick one up at the First Friday HQ at 170 State St.
The Treasure Hunt is a fun opportunity for attendees to visit merchants and find a unique flower in each store. Attendees who visit and find the flowers in merchants’ stores will be eligible to enter the drawings for over 20 local dining, merchandise, and services gift cards with a total value of over $1,000.
Children can participate in the Mother’s Day Card creation activity. Several merchants will provide supplies for children to make the cards using different crafts supplies. Children finish this activity with a completed Mother’s Day card and get a sweet of their own.
Multiple musical groups of different genres will be performing throughout downtown.

A number of sponsors have generously contributed to the First Friday event.

- Platinum sponsors include BK Collections, Nature Gallery, Los Altos Community Foundation and Passerelle Investment Company.

-Gold sponsors include Cover Story and the Los Altos Town Crier

- Silver sponsors are Alabasta, the Flower Shop, Body by Vi, Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate, Cranberry Scoop, Crimson Mim, Gallery 9, JB&B Jewelers, Los Altos Community Chiropractic, Los Altos Hardware, and Wilbur Properties.

Here is some background on the event and the group behind it: Los Altos Forward, which is fiscally sponsored by the Los Altos Community Foundation, is a volunteer group dedicated to promoting vibrancy in our downtown. One of the group’s initiatives is called the “First Friday”, which is a themed evening event planned for the first Friday of the month several times a year. First Fridays provide a fun, social, and community-building evening for residents of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and surrounding communities.

Find those flowers before I do!

Important and timely tax benefit information for sellers!

The Dawn Thomas Team — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:07:30 +0000

Maybe you just got hit with a higher tax bill than expected. April 16th is much like January 1st: time for resolutions. Capital Gains tax benefits are due to expire this year. The market is so hot right now; sellers are getting their price (many way over and above their price!!!) The inventory is extremely low in areas like Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Menlo Park, that sellers are seeing upwards of 29 offers on a property! Is this a “problem” you might like to have? Keep in mind these are not low-ball offers, buyers are savvy and well prepared, they are willing to come in strong and are serious about buying their piece of the American dream here in Silicon Valley! These are great reasons for you to consider selling you home today. But of course we have an additional consideration for you that very well may affect not only your motivation, but profitability on the sale of your home !

It will be far more advantageous for owners who have more than $500K in profits (married couple) or $250K (single) to sell this year as opposed to 2013. The reason for this is that President George W. Bush during his administration signed into law a “relief” on capital gains tax in 2005. This will reset in 2013. Here is more information on the capital gains (both short-term and long-term): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_gains_tax_in_the_United_States

While the team here at Silicon Valley and Beyond are with out a doubt experts at selling your home, and negotiating the best possible price, we are not licensed CPA’s or tax advisors. What we recommend is that you contact your CPA to find out if/how the sale of your property might affect your tax liability this year versus next year. Of course your second call needs to be to Silicon Valley and Beyond so the Dawn Thomas Team can represent you in getting you house SOLD for the best possible price!

Just Sold “Off-Market” by The Dawn Thomas Team

The Dawn Thomas Team — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:05:57 +0000

Maybe you saw the “Coming Soon” sign on a that cute house in your neighborhood and wanted more info, or you are driving around an area where you really want to live and notice a sign go up in front of house. Then all of a sudden the sign goes from “Coming Soon” to “Sale Pending”!

This is what just happened with our new listing in Willow Glen! Inventory is so low, and demand so high for great properties, that houses are selling before they even hit MLS! The buyers were ready to go and put in a preemptive offer that the sellers felt was just what the needed to get it sold and move on to their next adventure. Now the house is in great condition, beautifully updated yet finished with period detail and all the charm that people look for in Willow Glen.

Believe it or not, many sellers just don’t want to deal with the open houses, and continuous showings with people traipsing through your house morning, noon and night. The house always has to be immaculate, which can be difficult if you are living there, or if you have small children. It can also be very stressful for you pets. Two years ago, it wouldn’t have made as much sense to sell off market, but today with inventory so low and demand so high, it can be a viable option. You need to have a Realtor with an extremely viable network, and excellent knowledge of market value, demand and negotiating skills or you could end up feeling like you are leaving money on the table. The Dawn Thomas Team can do just that- although our recent sale of the house in Willow Glen is one example we have worked on these types of sales numerous times with great results.

To find out more about off-market sales, and if this type of sale might benefit you, contact us today!

The Farmer’s Market at San Pedro Square Market Place is now open!

The Dawn Thomas Team — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:00:10 +0000

San Pedro Square Farmers’ Market Opened on April 7th!

If you haven’t been to San Pedro Square Market t. We have there are even more reasons to go now! They have an incredible array of activities and openings this month, so be sure and get some of them on your calendar!

Last week, they kicked off a new series, officially titled “Music at the Market Powered by San Jose Jazz”, that will run throughout the Spring and Summer every Friday evening from 7-9pm. Future dates will include a wide range of musical genres and styles, showcasing an eclectic selection of local artists.

Saturday, April 7th was a huge day for the Marketplace, as it affectionately is known as Opening Day, as it was the first official opening of the Farmer’s Market This is a major centerpiece of their cultural programming, and they’ve partnered with the very best in the business, Urban Village Farmers’ Market Association. They produce the highly-respected Campbell Farmers’ market, among others. The Market is targeted toward Downtown residents, and will take place year-round, rain or shine, from 10am-2pm on West St. John St. between N. Almaden and N. San Pedro, directly in front of SPSM. There will be 40+ vendors selling the finest, freshest local food available, as well as music and special events.

The San Pedro Square Market is really taking shape, so grab a friend and go check it out. Whether its to grab a bit during lunch with a friend, listen to some of the local artists perform or do your weekly shopping of fresh local produce, there is something for everyone!

Bidding Wars Are Back!

The Dawn Thomas Team — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:13:35 +0000

The founder and CEO of Intero Gino Blefari is often asked to comment on the latest trends in Real Estate, as his knowledge and vision has propelled Intero Real Estate into the fastest growing Real Estate company of all time. No small feat considering the market we are coming out of……which brings me to a recent article he wrote for the “Intero Insider.” Just this week, our Los Altos office Real Estate agents shared information on over 30 properties in Silicon Valley that were SOLD over asking and with multiple offers. Many of them never even hit the MLS. Right now we are aware of several dozen properties that are not yet on the MLS, or are going to be sold off-market.

Below are some excerpts from Gino’s article about bidding wars:

“Bidding wars. These horror stories/glorious situations (depending on which side of the deal you were on) were abundant in the years leading up to the top of the housing market in 2006. Then the phrase slipped out of consciousness – and reality – for most markets in the last few years. And now, amidst a slow and tough-as-nails housing recovery, these situations are back.

Is this the tipping point we’ve been waiting for? A story that ran on Bloomberg last week seems to suggest that yes, it is the tipping point in the markets that are seeing multiple bids. And these markets also happen to be the ones with strong underlying economies.

What markets are we talking about? Silicon Valley, for one. And across the country, bidding wars have been noted in Seattle, Miami and Washington, D.C., according to Bloomberg.

What’s driving the voracious interest in homes in these markets is a combination of a six-year low inventory, an increase in jobs and increased affordability brought on by a handful of years of falling prices. In fact, it’s now more affordable to buy than to rent in many of these markets.

The housing market is bouncing back in these markets. That’s great news for sellers, owners and the local economies. But what about the buyers? Well, it’s certainly an incentive to get off the fence and make a move. If you’ve been waiting for prices to drop even further in these pivotal markets, you likely waited too long.”

So if you are a seller, now may be the best time to give us a call so we can help you take advantage of the low housing inventory and increasing number of well qualified motivated buyers!

Intero Real Estate sets a new record in Bay Area sales

The Dawn Thomas Team — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:44:45 +0000

Recently, and with the addition of real estate icon Alain Pinel, Intero rolled out their luxury division “Prestigio.” Not long after that, another real estate record has been set in the Bay Area! Menlo Park just recorded its highest sale ever for a single family home. The property, 2 Robert S Dr, listed at $7.950M, sold just a few days ago and just closed escrow on Friday! The brand new French Renaissance style home sits on a 20,000 square foot lot and has over 6,200 square feet of living space. It boasts 6 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, a recreation room, guest quarters and library.

This majestic estate, listed by Intero Real Estate’s new Woodside office, stayed on the market only 3 days. This type of transaction is not uncommon for such high end properties. It just shows how the demand is back and quite frankly how much money is in the Silicon Valley and Peninsula.

This deal may be the shortest held listing, year-to-date, as it only took 10 days between the acceptance and the close. It was the first listing placed into Intero “Prestigio,” a new luxury division providing an exclusive menu of global marketing services customized for each property. The program launched only days ago, so this is a real feather in the cap of our local market not only rebounding, but roaring back!

Spring Fun in Silicon Valley!

The Dawn Thomas Team — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:59:19 +0000

Calling All Gardeners! The 18th annual Spring Garden Market Event at the History Park on Senter in San Jose has everything to get your garden up and running. The rain or shine outdoor event includes endless varieties of plants, vegetables and flowers from your basics to exotics, hybrids and heirlooms varieties.

This day-long gala fun event isn’t just plants! It’s been expanded to include literally dozens of short talks on gardening topics of every description.

You’ll love one stop shopping at the booths of gardening supplies, clothes and more plants, not to mention raised beds, chicken coops, fertilizers, bee keeping equipment, gifts and so much more. The Master Gardeners will be on hand with great advice and some of the best gardening books as recommended by certified Master Gardeners in Santa Clara County. Browse UC gardening references and pick up free pamplets and drop by the Green Elephant Sale – “From Our Garden Sheds to Yours!”

Speaking of all those Master Gardeners, they will be on hand to talk with you about which variety of tomato or sunflower you might want to pick up, or help you finds a booth you’re looking for and to talk with you about any gardening questions. Go ahead and bring a diseased plant (or leaf or branch) or bug, in a sealed plastic bag to show us and we’ll help you ID it and decide what to do.

There are fun things to do all day, for the entire family to enjoy, so bring the kids and get them involved. Look at plants and bugs with a microscope at our Hotline table, and have fun with hands-on demos and games at Master Gardener tables. Food Trucks are all the trend this year so what outdoor event would be complete without them??? This year six fabulous gourmet food trucks will be on hand for healthy food!

This Saturday Rain or Shine! Get your Garden ready for Spring!

Important news about HARP 2.0

The Dawn Thomas Team — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:18:18 +0000

The Home Affordability Refinance Program (HARP) is the biggest opportunity for homeowners to refinance their home with unlimited loan to value. This program is designed to help homeowners who are current on their mortgage but don’t qualify under today’s guidelines re-finance. If you qualify for HARP, you no longer need to stop paying your mortgage in order to qualify for a loan modification.

Here are a few quick links to see if your loan qualifies, it’s pretty simple just type in the info requested and you will know right away if your current loan qualifies for this new program!

https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

If you loan is owned by FannieMae or FreddieMac, and qualifies, act quickly and to take advantage of this it could save you hundreds of dollars a month.

Our lender partner Rob McCarthy at 101Loans is ready to help should you have additional questions or think you may qualify for this program.

If you know anyone who may benefit from this, please forward the info along!