Zoey Tolu

Dear Angie,

the best way to answer your question is at the time of choosing an area and a property the seller will provide to you a Geological report prepared by specialized companies, in the Gealogical report it will tell you if the property is located in a earthquacke fault zone, a flood area zone, forest fire zone, etc. Meanwhile if you are still not satisfied with the report you can always call the companie who issued the report to have a better understanding about the geological location of the property you are trying to purchase. Also a simple rule of thumb is hight, the higher you are located geographically the more chance you have not to find your property under water, But than again I am not god and do not know how bad the next big one will affect the geographical state of California. There are stipulations that were mentionend in the past that at the time of the big one that San Fransco and all the areas located near the water will go under, that Los Angeles will become an Island and I do not know how much of LA will be submerged. Still poeple knowing those info are buying in Foster City or Redwood Shores, Etc.. simply because all the positive amenities that those communities are offering including resale value. If you are really concerned with this flooding situation. You really need to look at properties located on the hills build on Bed Rocks.
I am myself a Foster City resident/realtor for the past 19 years and was already there at the time of the 1989 hearthquacke and as you know there was no major structural damages reported at the time. I hope this will help you.
If you are still looking to buy in the mid Peninsula, do not hesitate to call me at your convenience or simply shoot me an email.
Talk to you soon.

Zoey tolu
Realtor
Century 21 Realty Alliance
San Mateo, Ca 94402
Cell 650-619-3379
email zoeytolu@hotmail.com - Sun Oct 12 2008, 18:20

Hello Joe,
Well it seems that your are concerned about road noise affecting the future resale value of the property you are thinking to purchase. If this is a concern to you it means that potential future buyers might think the same way. But than again in a good market condition when the supply is lower than the demand those concerns will pretty much desappear. As you are metioning in your question the school district is also one of the best in the Bay Area which will be a major pivot for future buyers. Also the fact that the houses are brand new is also a positive point for future buyers. Now you also have to take in consderation of the amount of time you are going to keep this property. Don't forget when the house will be appraised at time of purchase, the appraisor will take those items in consideration and will reflect them by adjusting the value/dollars amount from the comparables.
Since you are buying it today at a buyers market maybe you might be able to negotiate a liitle bit on the price and also ask for the seller or the builders to pay for your closing costs. Again street noise can be a negative think when selling your property, it all depends on when you will be selling it. I hope this will help you decide on your purchase. If you have any other concerns just. shoot me an email at zoeytolu@hotmail.com.
Good luck!

Zoey Tolu
Realtor
Century 21 Realty Alliance
SAn Mateo, Ca 94402
Cell: 650-619-3379 - Sun Oct 12 2008, 02:31

There are several lenders that will finance with a 10% down but which one to work with? That's the question.
Either you do the homework yourself by talking to those lenders to find out what kind of loan programs they can offer you ( quite time consuming and frustrating) or talk to a loan broker who can do all the foot work for you. Not only they will spend the time to do research for you according to your needs and criterias, but they might even come up with several options that you might not have been offered at first. It really depends which way you want to go. As for your property search you would need to interview a few Realtors and decide which one is more compatible for your needs. I hope this will help you.
If you wich I can email you several loan agents information that I have worked with in the past and was quite happy with the end results.
If you have any question or would like me to email you email alerts for listing in the Menlo Park area, here is my information.
Zoey Tolu
Century 21 Realty Alliance
1528 S. El Camni Real, 110
San Mateo, Ca 94402
Cell (650) 619-3379
Email: zoeytolu@hotmail.com
website: http://www.zoeyrealestate.com - Thu Aug 14 2008, 17:58

Zillow and RealEstateAbc estimates are not as accurate as a phisycal Appraisal perform by a licensed appraisor. the reason is that these online appraisal websites only base their numbers from similar houses that sold in the area. Many factors goes into setting the value of a property. some of them are location, size, condition, market condition, how close to main freeway access, bus routes, parks, schools, is it a busy street or neighborhood street,etc, etc... Once an appraisor look at your property and will start comparing with similar properties in the same neighborhood he or she will take those factors in cosidiration and will make the necessary price adjustments.
So if your are considering to sell your house you can go 2 ways either call a realtor to provide you with a CMA ( Comparative Market Analysis) which will determine the listing price you should put on your property on the market, in order to sell it or call a qualified appraisor to give you a more detailed info on the value of your home.
I hope this will help to clarify your question. If you have any other question or would like to talk to a realtor, please feel free to call me or email me at your convenience.
Cell (650) 619-3379
Email: zoeytolu@hotmail.com - Thu Aug 14 2008, 17:31