Realtor & Loan Officer

When a sale or transfer of a property is recorded with the county recorder it is the responsibility of the new owner to complete the Preliminary Change of Ownership (PCOR). Buyers customarily complete this form in escrow. The PCOR is a two page questionnaire requesting information on the property, principals involved in the transfer, type of transfer, purchase price and terms of sale, if applicable, and other such pertinent data. One of the many reasons the county assessor needs this information is to verify the eligibility for tax relief under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 69.5. Originally passed as Proposition 60 and 90 these constitutional tax initiatives provide tax relief by preventing property reassessment when a person, age 55 or older, sells his/her existing residence and purchases or constructs a replacement residence of equal or lesser value than the original property. How Do These Tax Initiatives Work? When a person, age 55 or older, purcha...

California Megan's Law website      Next Door  大家可以查查看住家附近的Sex Offender Rigistra. Next door也是一個很好的網頁，可以觀察附近是否有 治安 問題- 包括騷擾，搶劫，偷車 等

The California Conservation Corp released this interactive map.  Here's how you can find out if you live in an earthquake hot zone. https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/EQZApp/app/ In the website, you can plugged in your home address. The pin indicates where your home sits. 我是全職房地產經紀。如果您還有任何貸款 灣區房地產問題 請聯繫：408-386-1530 電郵: kattyrealtor@gmail.com Wechat: katie_w0 DRE#: 02032778 NMLS#:1494343 Googain Inc. dba MaxReal Website:  https://www.kattyrealtor.com/

在美國買房，如果房子是townhome，condo， single family home with PUD， 你就必須加入homeowners’ association。 1. 什麽是HOA？ HOA全称是homeowners' association（房主協會）。 費用為$200-$500/月費。房屋越高档，设施越完善，房主協會費用就會越高。 爲什麽要給月費呢？HOA是用于维持公共区域或公共设施-比如社区景观，游泳池，clubhouse，停车场，健身室，人行道屋顶，公共场地等。HOA费用有助于提升社区居民的生活质量，保护所有人的财产安全和房子的美觀。大家需要注意的是除了每月的费用外，如果修建新的屋顶或房子需要油外墻等， 且HOA的储备金不足以支付时，協会將收取额外的费用。那叫Special Assessment。這個費用將會由所有的住戶同时承担。如果你没按时交HOA费用及罚款，违反了HOA的条例后你的HOA也許會有权利将你的房子进行法拍。 2. HOA CC＆Rs 除了缴纳费用，HOA房主協會还制定了一些规定。所有居民都必须遵守CC＆Rs（公约，条件和限制）。在一幢公寓或联排别墅中，HOA制定的规定可能包括你的房屋可以使用什么颜色的前门，是否允许在外面晾晒衣物，饲养宠物的大小等等。在许多方面，这些规则公寓居民們必须遵循。如果你想要打破这些规定，你必须征得HOA同意。如果在沒有得到同意之下進行，那可能你會收到警告信。 3.買房子時，确保你買的房子没有违反现有的HOA 建築商条例/Litigation 買了個有违反HOA条例的房子是件很透疼的事。不管违反条例是因爲業主本人，或房子本身問題或建築商問題，這你都必須瞭解清楚。 因爲房子如有litigation， 貸款方面可能就沒那麽直接。 4. 查看HOA给你的房子买了哪些保险? 这一点非常重要，如果你买的是个condo/ townhome/single family home with PUD，你需要查看你居住的区域有哪些易发生的灾害，如洪水，地震，火灾，海啸等。再看看HOA 的報告，看他們的保險裏包含了些什麽。 這樣你就能知道保險方面，你該買什麽保險，買多買少等。 5. 查看HOA费用包含了什麽? 每個小区都會有不同的HOA费用。因此你需要和HOA協會确认你的...

What Is Title Insurance? Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance that protects the holder from financial loss sustained from defects in a title to a property. The most common type of title insurance is lender's title insurance, in which the borrower purchases coverage only to protect the lender. Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance that protects the holder from financial loss sustained from defects in a title to a property. The most common claims filed against a title are back taxes that had been missed by a title company, liens ( from mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, easements ), and conflicting wills. How Title Insurance Works A clear title is necessary in any real estate transaction. Title companies must do a search on every title in order to check for claims or liens of any kind against them before they can be issued. A title search is an examination of public records to determine and confirm a property's legal ownership and t...

在美国买到了房子后，业主就要考虑收入支出将如何影响到你的缴税额了。首先，要明白自己的房屋到底是自住还是出租。很多纳税人情况复杂或者拥有多处房产，自己也搞不清楚每套房应该算作哪一类。例如A君常年住在西雅图，可是夏威夷有一套度假房，偶尔去住住，偶尔出租，这究竟怎么算呢？所以在这里又要科普一下房屋在税务领域里的分类了: 个人主要住宅（Principal Residence） 顾名思义，只要是自己住或是一年不超过15天出租日（Rental Days），都可以当成自住房。 第二套房（Second Home） IRS 认为每个人可以合理拥有两套房，只要你是自住，或是出租日少于15天，并且自住（Personal Days）超过14天，那么你这15天以内的租金收入 IRS 也懒得管，这套房子也顺理成章地属于自住房。若不满足上述条件，你的租金则需要上报到 Sch E，而相关贷款利息，房产税等等抵扣都需要分成 Sch E 出租和 Sch A 自住两部分。当然啦，小编也不知道 IRS 如何能追踪你的出租天数，这个，全靠自觉吧。不管怎样，保留所有费用的“证据”一定不会错！ 假日出租房（Vacation Rental） 你都已经有两套房子，第三套或以上你总不能分身住那么多天了吧。于是 IRS 默认你可能会租出去，或者偶尔去度假住住。只要租期超过14天，并且你自住天数少于14天或是租期的10%，那么这就是套出租房了。和之前所讲对出租房的处理方式一致，所有租金收入和支出都需报在 Sch E 上。 出租房（Rental Property ） 这就是纯粹的出租房了，不再需要出租日14天测试，只要个人自住不超过14天则所有收入支出全部 Sch E 报上。 投资房产或地产（Investment Property） 既不出租也不自住，纯粹等着升值的投资房。例如继承的名人古宅，或是眼看要升值的地皮等等。这类型房地产的支出属于投资（Investment Expense）而非运营，所有房产税/地税也只能报到 Sch A 上抵扣。这里需要注意的是，投资相关利息（Investment Interest）抵扣只有低于投资收入的部分能放到 Sch A 抵扣，其他投资支出填入 Sch A 杂项抵扣，受限于2%净收入（Adjusted Gross I...

A flood certification is required on all mortgage applications. The certification is provided by a third-party vendor for the lender to verify whether the domicile and any structures that are used as a security for a mortgage loan are in an area which requires flood insurance as determined by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Flood zone classifications are designated by a letter. These are: A – 100 Year Flood Plain B – 500 Year Flood Plain C – Mapped areas with no known flood hazards V – Areas subject to coastal or tidal flooding X – Areas that are not mapped by the Corps of Engineers Properties which are located in flood zones are “A” and “V” are required to have flood insurance. The others areas are required to be disclosed to the borrowers, but flood insurance is not required. If properties are located in “A” or “V”, the notice regarding required flood insurance must be provided a minimum of 10 days prior to the date of closing. Occasionally, a flood certificate w...

A preliminary report is a report prepared prior to issuing a policy of title insurance that shows the ownership of a specific parcel of land, together with the liens and encumbrances thereon which will not be covered under a subsequent title insurance policy. Understanding Preliminary Reports After months of searching, you've finally found it, your perfect dream home. But is it perfect? Will you be purchasing more than just a beautiful home? Will you also be acquiring liens placed on the property by prior owners? Have documents been recorded that will restrict your use of the property? The preliminary report will provide you with the opportunity, prior to purchase, to review matters affecting your property which will be excluded from coverage under your title insurance policy unless removed or eliminated before your purchase. To help you better understand this often bewildering subject, the California Land Title Association has answered some of the questions most comm...

Owner's title insurance provides protection to the homeowner if someone sues and says they have a claim against the home from before the homeowner purchased it.  When you purchase your home, you receive a document most often called a deed, which shows the seller transferred their legal ownership, or “title” to their home, to you. Title insurance can protect you if someone later sues and says they have a claim against the home from before you purchased it. Some common examples include: Disagreement about the property lines Disputes about whether or not the seller had a proper right to sell the property to you Discovery of undisclosed liens or lawsuits against the property Most lenders require you to purchase a lender’s title insurance policy, which protects the amount they lend. You may want to buy an owner’s title insurance policy, which can help protect your financial investment in the home. It protects you from someone popping up out of the blue and challengin...

经过漫长的找房看房找房看房过程后，看到中意房子后，就是进行出价，并卖家开始协商议价阶段。好房子人人要，卖家同时间收到好几个出价是很正常的事，但如何让自己脱颖而出顺利成交不仅与出价金额相关，也考验着经纪人的交涉功力。 与经纪人一同讨论并填写「 购房合约Purchase Agreement (Make Offer )」 ─ 里面包含：出价金、订金、是否需要贷款、贷多少、双方同意支付的手续费、产权公司、过户天数、检查天数、其他附加条件等细节。 ─ 买家需签名并附上预先贷款批准信(或现金买家资金证明)与订金支票。 买家决定出价金与支付订金 (约为出价的2-3%，建议与经纪人共同讨论估价)。 卖家可针对买家的出价合约选择接受(Accept)、拒绝(Reject)或书面还价(Counter Offer)；买家也可针对卖家的回价书选择接受、拒绝或再还价，直至双方共同可接受的条件为止。同时出现多位买家时也会出现上述情况。 ※此份出价合约具有法律效力，除非条件不满足(如房屋验收不合格、贷款失败等)，否则不能撤回。买家只要签了字，就代表要按照上面的出价付款。 ★如何出价大学问！ 讨价还价的过程是由买卖家双方的经纪人去进行，并以书面形式完成议价动作。 1. 价格 出价绝对是卖家的首要考量，建议与经纪人一同讨论并分析周边房价去做决定。某些情况下，买家甚至会需要提出比起价更高的价格。 ●通常在市场上较久的房屋，谈价空间较大。 2. 现金 卖家仍是较偏好现金买家，除了少了贷款估价等步骤交易流程更快速，更无须担心因贷款失败而交易被迫取消的风险。 ●基本上现金买家拿到房子的机率较大，因没有贷款的不确定性，过户天数也较短，比贷款买家更具优势。 3. 贷款预先批准信与资金证明 虽然说贷款预先批准信并无法100%保证买家能正式取得贷款，但这仍代表买家以经过财务审核。买家也可提出相关证明辅佐，如稳定工作收入、低负债、拥有足够资金等财务证明。 4.较高的头期款 对贷款银行而言风险较小，代表贷款也较易通过。 5.较少的附加条件(Contingency) 最常见的附加条件有三种：Loan、Appraisal、Inspections，这三项非买家主观意愿的...

2019年美国经济发展势头良好，房产投资前景更为乐观。 对任何有意买房子的人而言，最基本的问题就是 我该买何种价位的房子？ 我能负担多少贷款？ 银行同意的贷款额度？ 1.购房优先考虑因素 首先，大家要想好什麽对你来说是最重要的。是 价格、过户进度、卧室数量、区域位置 或是其他？这些都很重要，因为会省去很多时间和精力，让您的购房经历愉悦轻松. 2.确保资金到位 在美国买房，申请贷款往往要提前于看房选房 尽早联系贷款公司并提交贷款申请，这样就可以提早获得一封贷款预审核信（ Pre-approval letter ），这封信的目的是决定你的房价上限，也是报价合同的附件之一。它告诉卖主，你已经与贷款公司联系过了，贷款公司初步同意借钱给您。 您可以在这之前，选择能为您提供贷款的放贷机构，并比较利率和期限后确定能为您提供最适于您的放贷机构 如果资金还在国内，那就要了解清楚资金流转及转账到美国所需时间 如果有何疑问， 可咨询房产经纪人，他们会向你推荐合适的贷款银行 3.选经纪人 选经纪人可通过朋友或家人推荐，或者上网选择。经纪人会详细了解您的购房需求。您告诉他们你所需房屋的特点、您的经济状况。那他们就可以尽快帮您找到适合的房屋。 在购房时有许多小细节需要注意的。  就比如说：购房时如何抽签、住 房协会规则，房屋景观、学区、超市位置， 相关费用、及房屋的实际价值等等 。经纪人还要查最近的买卖交易。 所以要找的经纪人不仅要经验丰富、可靠，还要对当地房产业有深入的了解 4.提供报价 - Offer Letter 看中合适的房源之后，你需要和经纪人合作，制定有利的报价。 经纪人会根据自己对当前市场的了解、区域情况已做出一个合适的报价。报价和约包括以购房定金（诚意金）、过户文件的监管机构、进行房产检查所需时间、签约时间，等等。通常在成交之前，买房和卖方会有一到两轮的讨价还价过程 一旦合约签订，接下来就要开始进行尽职调查及等待过户了。 一般尽职调查包括以下几点： 》房屋估价报告 》检查房屋产权史及目前产权归属 》地界勘查调查报告 》房屋状况及翻修需求 》购买保险 》房主协会规则 》银行贷款所需文件，等等 经纪人在这个阶段会协助你与有关各方协调，促使交易顺利达成。 5.签字过户 + 乔迁入住 买卖双方签...