Most consumers don't realize that there are two sets of real estate forms used by Realtors and other real estate professionals in Silicon Valley and nearby areas.  The California Association of Realtors provides the paperwork found throughout most of the state ("CAR forms").  The Peninsula Regional Data Source authors a more regional set ("PRDS forms").

Did you realize that they are a little different, and each provides different protections and "teeth"? 

Here are a couple  of the key differences within the purchase agreement between buyer and seller:

• The CAR purchase agreement is an "as is" form; the PRDS purchase agreement states that the home will have certain basic conditions met (no leaks, all systems functional)
• The CAR purchase agreement allows repairs to be done by a handyman; the PRDS form requires that repairs be done by a licensed contractor
• One has more penalties built in for defaults; one allows the seller to cancel more easily on a buyer who's not performing

The listing agreements vary too - one protects the agents' position better than another.

There are pros and cons to each of these sets.  When you go to list, sell, or purchase a home, be sure to discuss the plusses and minuses of each with your agent. One set is not 100% better for you as a buyer or a seller. There are clauses in each, though, which may protect your interests best. 

One caveat: if you are buying a bank owned home, it is very likely that the bank will require you to use the CAR form.  They cannot get up to speed on regional contracts and they will insist on the "as is" nature of the CAR form (PRDS can also be "as is" if a box for that is selected).  Some banks may use their own forms, or send back an extremely lengthy addendum that may cancel out half the clauses in whichever purchase agreement you use.  Don't be afraid to seek out a good real estate attorney if that is the case.  Realtors and other real estate salespeople are not attorneys and this would be an ideal time to call in professional legal help.

Something else to consider is that you may be able to use some paperwork of each set.  CAR has a myriad of forms for realty transactions, many more than PRDS does. One of the best addenda in use today is the CAR short sale addendum.  It is exceedingly clear about timeframes and responsibilities.  Just because you are working with a PRDS purchase agreement does not make a CAR addendum unusable in most cases. 

Buying and selling real estate in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and San Jose does involve a lot of options and decision making.  This is another element to consider because just like all the other choices you face in home buying or selling in Santa Clara County, the choice you make on the forms you'll use may impact your outcome.  Hire a good agent who works with both sets, can explain the pros and cons of each in terms of your position, and is not dependent on just one of them alone. 

Sometimes I get calls from people wanting to get a "steal of a deal" on higher priced Silicon Valley real estate by purchasing short sales and bank owned properties in  areas with great public schools like Cupertino, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Los Gatos, and Almaden Valley.

Unfortunately for bargain hunting home buyers who are seeking premium school districts in Santa Clara County, there just aren't that many of them. 

It's very easy to find distressed properties for sale in less expensive areas. In fact, for the first quarter of 2009, 95% of all sales in the Alum Rock area of San Jose, which is one of the poorest areas of Silicon Valley, were either short sales or bank owned properties. 

It's a different story in most of the expensive west valley markets, though. We see far fewer of these in places like Palo Alto or Los Altos (or Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga).  There's a very direct correlation between the best  public schools, low crime, higher income, and higher education levels of homeowners with lower numbers of foreclosed homes. 

Here are the numbers of available homes for sale, which I've culled from our MLS, without further elaboration:

The morning the skies were perfectly clear and void of clouds over Silicon Valley with one notable exception: just over the town of Los Gatos, a patch of low fog was clinging to the hills, nestled into the smaller valleys and cascading like a waterfall through the pass.

My husband, Jim Handy, snagged this photo from Communications Hill in San Jose at about 7:45am today.  This was a great pic but the sky was very white, so I added some pale blue to the sky (using Picasa and the graduated tint function).  Although the pic below is doctored, it gives a better "feel" for what we saw in Santa Clara County today.

The Silicon Valley real estate market is very much in the buyer's favor right now; in Los Gatos, San Jose, Saratoga, Campbell and elsewhere in Santa Clara County, most homes are not selling at all or only selling after a long time on the market and with several painful price reductions. Prices are falling, year over year,  in most of the valley - Monte Sereno appears to be the only possible exception.

That said, some homes are selling just the same. In Los Gatos, there are 248 houses and condos currently for sale. In the last month in 95032 and 95030, 21 houses and condos have closed escrow and 23 have gone sale pending in the same timeframe. So the percentage of homes selling is a little under 10%.

The question to ask yourself, if you want to sell your home right now, is "what does it take to sell my Silicon Valley home in today's market?"  You might also ask "how can I get the most money for my home in this market?"  What will it take to sell fast and for the best price this market will bear when only ten percent of listed homes are selling in Los Gatos? (It is worse in many other parts of the valley.)

1. Begin By Understanding Market Conditions and Pricing Realities for Your Neighborhood

To maximize your position, it is imperative to begin by understanding today's Silicon Valley real estate market and the real estate market in your home's neighborhood. For years we have experienced a seller's market in which every time a home sold, everyone else's home rose in value. We could price a little high and the market would catch up sooner or later. But not now.

Now, instead, prices are declining and one of the most important things for Los Gatos home sellers to understand is that they need to get ahead of the curve in pricing and be swift to adjust to changing conditions. (Cyberhomes.com puts the Los Gatos 95030 zip code as having lost 5% since last month and 95032 as having lost 3% since last month.)

Two kinds of homes seem to be selling now: completely remodeled homes which are priced well, or homes needing updating and remodeling that are priced at rock-bottom numbers, possibly even below current market value. Average homes with average prices are not selling. Homes priced in the bottom 10-20% are selling. These are the "shiny pennies". They are the homes in which owners understand that "it's a beauty contest and a price war".

There are several places online where you can get  real estate market trends in Silicon Valley as well as home values calculated online. These are automatically generated and do not involve an agent's input. Among them are these:

Silicon Valley Real Estate Report - Recent Listing & Sales Activity (view by map, no registration)
Cyberhomes.com 
Zillow.com

Because precise home valuations involve things that online estimators can't factor in (like school district, the presence of power lines, proximity to positive or negative things), your best bet will be to talk with a knowledgeable and experienced Realtor, who will factor in current market conditions for your exact neighborhood and type of home (historic, view property, etc.).

(To read more on pricing, please read this article on my main website: Pricing Your Silicon Valley Home Competitively and also Benefits of Realistic Pricing.)

2. Clean, Declutter, and Stage Your Silicon Valley Home to Sell

Buyers respond most favorably to homes in which they can see themselves. Too many of your personal effects and it's hard for them to see themselves living there. Getting your home sold today requires depersonalizing "your home" and making attractive and easy for buyers to see as "their home".

Most of us live in a somewhat cluttered way in our homes and yards, and thinning out the extra stuff that won't help to sell your home can be difficult both physically and emotionally. If you hire a good agent early on, he or she will assist you in knowing what is best to keep out and what's best to remove for selling.

Also during this stage, you'll want to get your home and garden into good shape, whether it's sprinklers that aren't working or windows that won't open. Clean and fix!

Sometimes getting through this stage can be overwhelming. Perhaps you'd like a hand? A resource I have used many times is "At Your Service", a concierge service at no cost to you. Karin Doll-Nichols runs this helpful company and she can hook you up with a handyman, a landscape person, someone to assist you in downsizing, you name it. My experiences with At Your Service have been very positive, and the prices are competitive too.

(For more information on this topic, please read Staging Your Silicon Valley Home, an article on my main website.)

3. Pre-Sale Inspections Are The Norm in the West Valley Communities of Silicon Valley

If you are serious about selling you home in Los Gatos or anywhere in Silicon Valley, it's important to also do pre-sale inspections. Depending on what type of home you have (condo, townhome, single family home or large estate), you could need anywhere from two inspections to perhaps a half dozen of them. Most sellers will need to have a pest (or termite) inspection and a home (or property) inspection. (For more information on inspections, please see my post on another blogsite of mine, What Kinds of Inspections and Reports Are Needed For Buying and Selling Homes in Silicon Valley? )

Home inspections often uncover surprises and having pre-sale inspections will enable you to repair or replace defective items, or if they are items you do not want to fix, at least give you the knowledge to counter defects out of any offers that come in. My suggestion is to allow a couple of extra weeks, at least, to do any unplanned repairs prior to the home going on the market. Buyers today are picky but they will write stronger offers if they know the condition of the home they want to buy, and stronger offers still if they feel that any issues are already resolved.

The quality of inspectors you hire can impact your transaction greatly, so I strongly advise that you hire your agent first and get recommendations on good inspectors prior to getting an inspector involved. Good Realtors know many inspectors by reputation or through past dealings and can assist you in hiring those who are reputable, honest, and fair.

 Finally. . .

It will be helpful to view things with the buyers perspective to understand what makes them choose one home and leave nine others behind. As a seller, view your property as being in competition with the rest of the homes. Ask yourself which home would you choose? Which one is the best value?

There are many important issues to tackle in order to not just sell your home, but to sell it for top dollar in the current market. Today we've addressed the initial areas only - this is just the starting point!  Perhaps the best thing you can do is get educated about the process and then hire well. There are hundreds of agents in close proximity so there's no shortage of choice. You can afford to take your time and be picky about selecting an agent who is knowledgeable, experienced, accessible and who will represent you well every step of the way.

If you would like to discuss selling your Silicon Valley home, please call or email me for a free, no cost, one hour consultation. My book, "Get the Best Deal When Selling Your Home in Silcon Valley", is my gift to you when you meet with me. It's a highly helpful resource that can get you started in selling your home.

You probably know about the Haunted Harvest Festival at Oak Meadow Park (blogged about on this site recently). You may not know about the many other fun Halloween related events going on in Silicon Valley, though!  Today I blogged about it on another site of mine, the Valley of Hearts Delight blog. I invite you to have a look at the list of events posted there - see if something doesn't match your free time and interests!  Here's the link: Halloween Events in Silicon Valley.  Happy Halloween!

The annual St. Mary's Country Fair, a popular Los Gatos event, is back for another fun weekend Oct 10th, 11th, and 12th! Located in downtown Los Gatos, on the edge of the Almond Grove District, the Country Fair appeals to people of all ages.

Here's a view from last year on Sunday morning:



What is the St. Mary's Country Fair all about? It's a fundraiser for the work of the parish and the school that draws the entire community. There are carnival rides, live music and dancing, arts & crafts, great food, activities for kids, and loads of fun for about 48 hours. There is NO ADMISSION CHARGE so drop by and see what looks good! The food is very reasonably priced and very tasty!

A few highlights for this year's fun Los Gatos carnival:

Friday Night - Live Music  & Dancing - The Joe Sharino Band (no charge!)

Saturday 1pm - 3:30pm Talent Show

Saturday Night - Live Music - The Cheeseballs (7pm - 10pm and no entry fee or charge!)

Sunday 8:30am - 11am - Lions Club Pancake Breakfast

Sunday events usually include a petting zoo and a pony ride for the little tykes

Sunday 5pm - Car or Cash Raffle - only 550 ($100) tickets sold for a MB Cabriolet Smart Car or $18,000 cash

Extra tips:

Like a bargain? Visit the parish or school office prior to October 10, 2008 at 2pm and buy your Butler ride tickets at a substantial discount - and avoid the lines!

Much of the Almond Grove District of Los Gatos has permit parking only in the evenings. So don't park in the neighborhood! There are lots of public parking spaces between North Santa Cruz and University Avenues in Los Gatos, and they are no cost, so park there instead!