The Impact of the Shelter In Place
on The Real Estate Market in the Bay Area
Myths versus Facts
Before
anything, I hope you are all safe and healthy at home.
I
thought I would reach out to all of you to share a few recent developments
regarding the impact of the shelter in place on the real estate market in the
Bay Area.
As you may
know, in Santa Clara County, the definition of essential businesses has been
expanded to include service providers that enable real estate transactions,
including title companies, appraisers and realtors. In practice, though you
might still see homes being listed, bear in mind that realtors are not
authorized to host open house.
For vacant
properties, showings in person are only authorized under the following cumulative
conditions:
When a virtual showing is impossible;
Only a single agent can be present;
A maximum of 2 other people who must be part of the same household.
For occupied properties, showings in person are only authorized under the following cumulative conditions:
When the occupant has left the residence;
When a virtual showing is impossible;
Only a single agent can be present;
A maximum of 2 other people who must be part of the same household.
In a
nutshell, virtual showings are the way to go if you are still on a quest to
find a home. Appraisers are also using virtual showings as well as exterior-only
inspections, to submit their reports.
For
those with a transaction in the pipeline, I am happy to report that title
companies and financial institutions are still processing their files. It just
takes more time. New disclosures have been created by the California
Association of Realtors to address the potential issues faced by home buyers
and sellers who already signed a binding purchase contract.
One
of the most critical topics is mortgage payments and how people who lost their
income are coping with it.
Governor
Newsom recently announced that major banks in California have agreed to a
90-day grace period for mortgage payments in the state. Gov. Newsom said that
more than 200 banks, including Wells Fargo, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and U.S.
Bank, agreed to the moratorium for homeowners. For now, Bank of America only allows
a 30-days moratorium. As a short sale and foreclosure specialist, bear in mind
that if you are in this situation, the only way to protect yourself from a
potential foreclosure of your home, is to contact your loan servicer
immediately.
Interest
rates are low. Refinance were up 168% over the past few weeks. Therefore, you
might want to check with your loan officer if it would make sense or not to
refinance based on your current personal and financial situation. Always
remember that refinance comes at a cost. Make sure you know exactly the fees
that will be charged to you before to start the process.
If
you sadly lost a loved from the corona virus and intend to sell the property,
the best course of action, from a real estate stand point, is to find out if
your loved one had a will, a trust and a will or none of the above. Feel free
to have a look here for basic information in order to
better understand what will need to be done:
If
you are ever in need to learn more about any of the above-mentioned topics, I
would be happy to chat and share the latest developments which occur on a daily
basis.
I
am also available to help you and/or anyone you know who may be in need to
resolve a real estate matter rapidly, to
the best of my knowledge.
Stay
safe!