I'm helping to promote this lease listing, as I know the owner. This is a detached home in the Talavera gated community in Aliso Viejo. It functions like a SFR but is technically considered a condo. 12-month lease preferred. Contact me for more info!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
5 Things to Consider If You Decide to Lease Your Home
Just in the past month alone, I've spoken with several Orange County homeowners who are faced with this question:
Should I sell my home now or rent it out until the market gets better?
Given that we're in the fall and soon-to-be winter months, traditionally the real estate market slows down (though my experience in past years has been the opposite!). So if you're thinking about renting your home out for the time being, here are 5 things to consider:
1) Make sure you have all the proper paperwork ready to go. Craigslist and other free online ad services make it easy to advertise your home for lease. It's sifting through the applicants that is much more difficult. In order to gather the right information about a particular applicant, you'll need the appropriate forms to have filled out. Once you find a tenant, you'll need to have a solid lease agreement that protects you as the landlord. If you plan to lease your home out on your own, make sure you cover all your bases on that lease agreement, otherwise you may be in for a VERY bumpy ride in the coming months.
2) Be ready to respond to repair requests ASAP. As a landlord, you can't just take weekends off. If the toilet floods over at your property, you'll need to address it as soon as possible to prevent any further damage or potential lawsuits from your tenant for negligence. You may have to deal with it during dinnertime with your family, or while you're away on vacation. So just be prepared to be "on-call" for your tenant.
3) Prepare for late payments and possible eviction. Not all tenants feel the urgency to pay their rent on time. Some don't even bother paying rent after a while. Some may have their check bounce. It's up to you to either give them a break and accept their sob story about how their grandmother passed away last week and therefore didn't have enough money to pay their rent, or you have to take action and start the eviction process. How do you go about an eviction? That's a separate animal altogether. As a landlord myself, I've personally gone through the process. Not fun for anyone involved. In the meantime, you'll need to make sure your property isn't vandalized or neglected during the process, plus you'll need to have some money in reserve to pay for the eviction, maintenance, your mortgage, etc.
4) Watch out for HOA violations. If your home is part of a homeowners association (HOA), your tenants need to be aware of the HOA rules that apply to them, such as parking rules, BBQ rules, association pool and spa rules, satellite dish rules, etc. If they violate these rules, you may end up having to pay the violation fees up front and then try to recoup it from your tenant. And since you're not living there, you may not even know about the violation if your HOA doesn't deliver the notice to you via mail.
5) Protect yourself. When you sign a lease agreement as a landlord with a tenant and accept their deposit and allow them to take possession, you are under a binding legal contract. Any breach of contract can result in a legal dispute that may expose your personal assets and drain you and your family financially if you're not careful and protected. Many landlords look to LLC's or umbrella insurance policies to provide some protection. You'll need to find out what works best for you and have that all set up before entering into a contract with a tenant.
If you're ready to move forward as a landlord, as long as you keep these 5 things in mind and prepare yourself for what's to come, then renting your home out may be a good option for you. If this doesn't appeal to you whatsoever, perhaps selling your home may be the better option after all. Whichever way you go, it has to make sense to you financially, emotionally, and based on the timing that you have in mind.
For more information on leasing, selling, or buying a home in or around Orange County, feel free to contact me. (I also have my own personal stories to share about being both a landlord and homeowner if that would be helpful to you too).
Should I sell my home now or rent it out until the market gets better?
Given that we're in the fall and soon-to-be winter months, traditionally the real estate market slows down (though my experience in past years has been the opposite!). So if you're thinking about renting your home out for the time being, here are 5 things to consider:
1) Make sure you have all the proper paperwork ready to go. Craigslist and other free online ad services make it easy to advertise your home for lease. It's sifting through the applicants that is much more difficult. In order to gather the right information about a particular applicant, you'll need the appropriate forms to have filled out. Once you find a tenant, you'll need to have a solid lease agreement that protects you as the landlord. If you plan to lease your home out on your own, make sure you cover all your bases on that lease agreement, otherwise you may be in for a VERY bumpy ride in the coming months.
2) Be ready to respond to repair requests ASAP. As a landlord, you can't just take weekends off. If the toilet floods over at your property, you'll need to address it as soon as possible to prevent any further damage or potential lawsuits from your tenant for negligence. You may have to deal with it during dinnertime with your family, or while you're away on vacation. So just be prepared to be "on-call" for your tenant.
3) Prepare for late payments and possible eviction. Not all tenants feel the urgency to pay their rent on time. Some don't even bother paying rent after a while. Some may have their check bounce. It's up to you to either give them a break and accept their sob story about how their grandmother passed away last week and therefore didn't have enough money to pay their rent, or you have to take action and start the eviction process. How do you go about an eviction? That's a separate animal altogether. As a landlord myself, I've personally gone through the process. Not fun for anyone involved. In the meantime, you'll need to make sure your property isn't vandalized or neglected during the process, plus you'll need to have some money in reserve to pay for the eviction, maintenance, your mortgage, etc.
4) Watch out for HOA violations. If your home is part of a homeowners association (HOA), your tenants need to be aware of the HOA rules that apply to them, such as parking rules, BBQ rules, association pool and spa rules, satellite dish rules, etc. If they violate these rules, you may end up having to pay the violation fees up front and then try to recoup it from your tenant. And since you're not living there, you may not even know about the violation if your HOA doesn't deliver the notice to you via mail.
5) Protect yourself. When you sign a lease agreement as a landlord with a tenant and accept their deposit and allow them to take possession, you are under a binding legal contract. Any breach of contract can result in a legal dispute that may expose your personal assets and drain you and your family financially if you're not careful and protected. Many landlords look to LLC's or umbrella insurance policies to provide some protection. You'll need to find out what works best for you and have that all set up before entering into a contract with a tenant.
If you're ready to move forward as a landlord, as long as you keep these 5 things in mind and prepare yourself for what's to come, then renting your home out may be a good option for you. If this doesn't appeal to you whatsoever, perhaps selling your home may be the better option after all. Whichever way you go, it has to make sense to you financially, emotionally, and based on the timing that you have in mind.
For more information on leasing, selling, or buying a home in or around Orange County, feel free to contact me. (I also have my own personal stories to share about being both a landlord and homeowner if that would be helpful to you too).
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
New Law in 2011 for Short Sales
Effective January 1, 2011, the 1st trust deed lender for a seller who completes a short sale in California will not be able to obtain a deficiency judgment against the seller.
In other words, if you have two loans on your property and complete a short sale, the written consent to a short sale from the 1st trust deed lender will obligate it to accept the proceeds from the sale as full payment. Any remaining amount on the loan will be discharged.
Note that this does not apply to 2nd trust deed lenders.
This is according to Senate Bill 931. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed Senate Bill 1178, which would have extended California's anti-deficiency protection to refinance loans.
The actual text for Senate Bill 931 can be found HERE.
While this has already been happening on short sales that I've completed for my past clients, this bill now makes it a law to do so.
Will this apply to 2nd trust deed lenders in the future? Chime in and let me know what you think.
For more info, feel free to contact me or to leave a comment. Thank you!
In other words, if you have two loans on your property and complete a short sale, the written consent to a short sale from the 1st trust deed lender will obligate it to accept the proceeds from the sale as full payment. Any remaining amount on the loan will be discharged.
Note that this does not apply to 2nd trust deed lenders.
This is according to Senate Bill 931. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed Senate Bill 1178, which would have extended California's anti-deficiency protection to refinance loans.
The actual text for Senate Bill 931 can be found HERE.
While this has already been happening on short sales that I've completed for my past clients, this bill now makes it a law to do so.
Will this apply to 2nd trust deed lenders in the future? Chime in and let me know what you think.
For more info, feel free to contact me or to leave a comment. Thank you!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Realty ONE Group's New Irvine Branch
I recently joined Realty ONE Group, which now has a branch office in Irvine. Besides the excellent support, training, and paperless protocol, Realty ONE Group's Irvine Branch includes a group of dynamic, energetic, professional, and quality real estate agents that I'm so proud to be a part of now. It even turns out that one of the agents that I really admired and enjoyed working with earlier this year on a short sale listing of mine is now a part of Realty ONE Group, too!
Just to share with you the magnitude of how big an impact Realty ONE Group is making these days, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony back on Friday, September 17, 2010, that officially welcomed the company into the Irvine business community. There were dozens of people there that morning, including representatives from the Irvine Chamber of Commerce, and the atmosphere was truly a positive, exciting one.
Here are some videos that I took of the ceremony and office that morning. Enjoy!
For more info, feel free to contact me or to comment below. Thank you!
Just to share with you the magnitude of how big an impact Realty ONE Group is making these days, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony back on Friday, September 17, 2010, that officially welcomed the company into the Irvine business community. There were dozens of people there that morning, including representatives from the Irvine Chamber of Commerce, and the atmosphere was truly a positive, exciting one.
Here are some videos that I took of the ceremony and office that morning. Enjoy!
For more info, feel free to contact me or to comment below. Thank you!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
New Short Sale Listing in Placentia
Just got this new listing. It's a short sale at a great price. Property is in great condition. Current owners care about the property but must sell now. Let me know if you or someone you know is interested!
Friday, September 10, 2010
OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY 9/12, 12pm-4pm!
Come check out my new listing! We're having an open house this Sunday, 9/12/10, from 12pm-4pm.
See the video below for a special invitation to it.
You can also check out the open house info HERE, as included on Realtor.com.
For more info, feel free to contact me. See you there!
See the video below for a special invitation to it.
You can also check out the open house info HERE, as included on Realtor.com.
For more info, feel free to contact me. See you there!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
How to Protect Your Real Estate Property and Family
Check out this video if you're wondering how to protect your home and family in case you're no longer around. Every homeowner and person who has others relying upon him or her financially needs to consider this:
For more info, please contact:
Tony Murcia, Jr.
Agent
CA Ins. Lic. #0G70269
New York Life Insurance Company
(949) 293-7511
mamurcia@ft.newyorklife.com
For any real estate info, you can contact me here.
For more info, please contact:
Tony Murcia, Jr.
Agent
CA Ins. Lic. #0G70269
New York Life Insurance Company
(949) 293-7511
mamurcia@ft.newyorklife.com
For any real estate info, you can contact me here.
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