Get Your Mortgage Phil: James Light San Mateo Real Estate Agent (Realtor) (Intero Real Estate Services)

  Are you looking for a show/play?   Here's one that I think everyone would enjoy.

Jake's Women is a play by Neil Simon. It centers on Jake, a writer with a struggling marriage. Jake talks to many of the women he knows, both in real life and in his imagination, as he works to save his marriage. Jake, suffering with psychosis and seeing representations of his daughter at age 12, his late wife Julie and recently divorced wife Maggie, is dealing with the inability to write productively and must resolve these issues before he does so.

This fantastic show will be held at St. Ignatius College Prep High School located in the Sunset District of San Francisco.  Tickets are $10 at the door or online at 

http://www.siprep.org/performingarts/fallPlay/FallPlay1.cfm

Come out and support the High School and enjoy a wonderful show.   Showtime is 7 pm Oct 27th through Oct 30.  Don' t miss out!

Stop by a say hello. I'll be running the concession stand.

Have a great day!

Jim Light

In today's market people are looking for the "good deal".  I have to say everything is a good deal today. Let's think about that for a moment.  1. Have prices rolled back 10, 20 30 or maybe even 40%? 2.  Are interest rates at a historical low?  3.  What about property tax?

Let's take a closer look at each question:

•1.        Have prices rolled back 10, 20 30 or maybe even 40%?   I think it is safe to say that just about every property has rolled back on the price in the Bay Area, California and probably throughout the US.  If I were to say: " you can buy this house for 500K when it was listed for 700K" would you buy it?   That is somewhat what we have today. Prices have rolled back to somewhere depending on the neighborhood to prices of 2004, 2005, 2006  prices.  Mortgage example 500K loan approximately $2700 per month for a 5% 30 year note.  A 700K loan $3700 per month for a 5% 30 year note.  $1000 savings per month

•2.       Are interest rates at a historical low?  Today as a write to blog, rates are around 5% for a 30 year fixed loan.   As this year closes out we will see the average rates for the calendar year 2009.  Using the sample above a 500K loan at 5% cost you around $2700/month. A 6% loan would be around $3000/month. $300 savings per month

•3.       What about property tax?    This is a great one to think about for budget planning.   For budget purposes I always use 1.25%.  This does vary from city to city but if you take your property tax and add the city, county and state "extra fee's "  , its a good number to use for planning.   Going back to the example of buying the home at 500K instead of 700k, the property tax bill would be $6,250 vs. $8750 per year respectively.  That's $2500 saving annually.  $200 savings per month.

Just these three issues bring back the question, Are you looking for a good deal?

Pricing has stabilized in the Bay Area throughout the summer months and in some areas has actually gone up from prices earlier in the year.  With prices favorable, interest rates low, and tax base cost lower than passed years, it a great time to think about buying.  If you would like to comment on this article or would like to set up a appointment to review your strategy and plans for purchasing a new home please contact me    www.interorealestate.com/agents/jameslight  

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Have a great day!

Jim Light