Marian Bennett

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned Daly City, Pacifica, or even Montara. These areas are also 30 minutes or less to South San Francisco in rush hour. The quickest way from the furthest town of these 3, Montara, is Hwy 1 over Devil's Slide (tunnel project to be completed in 2011), through Pacifica via Sharp Park to Skyline which takes you right into South San Francisco. The weather in these communities is a little cooler than the mid-peninsula towns of San Mateo, Burlingame, etc. if that is important. Worth exploring if you're not familiar with these areas and want to be a little closer to the beaches. I agree with Allison, several of these communities would work, but each has its own feel, so it depends on you're criteria.

Best,
Marian
New listing 430 6th Street, Montara, in MLS on 6/14/09
New listing 523 Francisco Street, El Granada, in MLS on 6/14/09 - Sun Jun 7 2009, 22:48

This property is not currently on the active market (Multiple Listing Service or MLS). Per RealQuest Pro, it was taken back by the Wamu on 4/15/09, recorded on 4/22/09. I've been in the house twice during prior listing periods. Per the MLS, the Fall 2006 listing asking $1,350,000 was canceled 10/18/06 with no sale or comp remarks. It was therefore purchased off market in October 2006 for $1,250,000 according to RealQuest. As for now, it is common for the process to take a few months for a bank-owned property to get onto the market - or it may take a long time. So, it is NOT certain that this property is now for sale for the price listed. The bank would have to tell you that, but they may not. I suggest you contact a knowledgeable person in WAMU's REO Department. He/she will advise you further before you make plans to travel here.

Best of luck. To learn more about Moss Beach and the Coastside community, read my blog referenced below. Be sure to check out the "Coastside" pages. You can also track foreclosure properties to find out as soon as they become available on the market. - Wed Jun 3 2009, 08:41

Your Mortgage Broker may be able to negotiate a compromise with the underwriter, but probably unlikely. It doesn't matter that the principals are in agreement - this has to do with the financing piece of your contract - something a good Listing Agent needs to be on top of to protect his/her seller, and the Buyer's Agent will be working with your mortgage/lender contact to get this done, even if there are compromises on both sides.

What I'm experiencing and hearing is that even the most qualified borrowers are having to jump through unbelievable hoops to get their financing right now. I believe it goes beyond an underwriter's decision...and it could even be multiple underwriters who have to sign off on that loan. It seems like the banks are trying to find reasons to NOT fund their loans.

If the lender intends to sell the loan to investors, who have been burned in the past, (remember September 2007? - see a reference and timeline in link below), they have to make sure that the borrower and the property are solid "investments" - something they were doing less diligently a few years ago. How do they do that? with loan conditions that need to be met every step of the way up until the actual funding. If a lack of recent comps is the reason, is $6,000 really going to make a difference in value in Montara where there is such a huge range in property values? The lender may be following a new formula or some other mechanism for loan funding without anyone knowing.

Loan conditions may change within a lending institution and from lender to lender, according to my mortgage contacts. Do I think it's right what they are putting qualified borrowers through right now? No.

You are not alone. This is what borrowers are painfully going through for the right property. Hang in there and I hope you end up with your new Montara home.

Marian Bennett
Coldwell Banker, Half Moon Bay-Coastside http://www.mariansbennett.com - Tue May 5 2009, 13:50

Jean,

1037 Pearl is listed by a local RE Broker, Steve Hyman, on behalf of the homeowner. It is not FSBO or bank-owned. It has been on the market a little over a month. I saw it on Broker Tour when it was first listed. Nicely appointed inside. It was built in 1984 on a 8500 sq. ft. lot per the MLS. The important thing to note is that it is on the east side of Hwy 1, it is near the Coastside Seaton Medical Center (could be a plus or a minus) and hiking/equestrian trails. It's also a short distance to "downtown" Moss Beach - grocery, post office, and a nice park for kids.

There are not many distressed (short sale or REO) properties on the San Mateo County coastside (Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Moss Beach or Montara). A couple of months ago, approx. 14% of listings were distressed; now it's about 10%. This includes active, pending release, pending show, and pending).

The Moss Beach listings that are bank-owned are 60 Wylvale, asking $799,900; 461 Lancaster, asking $589K, and 100 Wienke Wy, asking $524,900.

Best,
Marian - Mon Apr 13 2009, 19:02

Your question caught my eye because I did show this house last Fall. I had a feeling it would sell quickly based on how well it showed, location, and compared to what else was on the market at the time. It did sell within 8 days of being on the MLS - as this new REO listing. The final sale price was $575,000. That was a 20% reduction from the prior sale price in 2005. My clients who saw it didn't make an offer on this one because it was a little small for them, but they did buy another REO. Good luck if you're still looking. Pacifica has some good inventory, particularly in LInda Mar and Park Pacifica right now. - Wed Feb 18 2009, 17:45