Buying Town homes & Condos

These Townhomes & Condominiums Were Sold by Scott Harrison

Some links to info on properties listed below on this page

989 Webster St #450 Oakland Ca 94607

928 Franklin #331 Oakland 94607

320 Lee St #1103 Oakland Ca 94610

425 Orange # 208 Oakland Ca 94606

424 Staten Lake #401 Oakland Ca 94610

150 Pearl St. Oakland Ca 94611

311 Oak St Oakland 94607

94 BayoVista #301 Oakland 94611

400 Davis St #313 San Leandro 94577

1400 Carpentier # 332 San Leandro 94577

276 Estabrook San Leandro 94577

275 Maud San Leandro Ca. 94577

14321 Seagate Dr. San Leandro Ca 94577

228 Caliente Dr. San Leandro 94578

375 Caliente Dr. San Leandro 94578

1470 Thrush #21 San Leandro Ca 94578

408 Caliente Dr San Leandro Ca. 94579

15057 Hesperian Blvd # 4 San Leandro 94578

3767 Lamoureux San Leandro 94578

894 Lewelling Blvd #8 San Leandro 94579

2439 Limehouse San Leandro 94577

15335 Washington Ave #101 San Leandro 94579

830 Woodgate San Leandro 94579

16006 E 14th #111 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #107 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #210 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #105 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #204 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #121 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #107 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #219 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #221 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #216 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #206 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #205 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #106 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #119 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #213 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #115 San Leandro 94578

16006 E 14th #116 San Leandro 94578

1440 167th Ave San Leandro Ca. 94578

167 Loma Verde San Lorenzo 94580

1338 Culver Pl San Lorenzo 94580

1372 Jacqueline Pl San Lorenzo 94580

1375 Jacquelin Pl San Lorenzo 94580

1320 Jacqueline Pl San Lorenzo 94580

1387 Jacqueline Pl San Lorenzo 94580

1402 Jacqueline Pl San Lorenzo 94580

894 Lewelling Blvd #8

260 Industrial #27 Hayward Ca 94544

25930 Kay Ave Apt 301 Hayward Ca 94545

209 Poplar Hayward CA 94541

1743 Panda Way Hayward

1002 Cheryl Ann Circle #50 Hayward Ca 94544

25290 Ironwood Ct Hayward Ca 94545

116 Anderly Ct Hayward Ca 94541

26 Raintree Ct #30 Hayward

52 Trestle Hayward Ca 94544

351 Willow Hayward Ca. 94541

819 Climbing Rose Hayward

1370 Del Rio Ct #4 Concord Ca 94518

1069 Mohr LN #A Concord Ca. 94518

4271 Fitzwilliams St Dublin Ca 94568

8171 Mulberry Place Dublin Ca 94568

6292-A Jauquin Murieta Newark 94560

6292 Joaquin Murieta #A Newark Ca 94560

38228 Pesao Padre Parkway #6 Fremont Ca. 94536

2201 Pine Knoll Walnut Creek Ca

1 Gimbal Lane Redwood City CA

900 Bush St #805 San Francisco CA

2505 MiramarAve #132 Castro Valley Ca 94546

5300 Ridgeview Cir #6 El Sobrante 94803

2116 L St #3 Antioch, Ca 94509

1731 Ellis St #60 Concord Ca 94520

When buying a Condo or Townhome the California Department of Real Estate points out some important areas you should not overlook.

Condominium and Planned Development Project

"Each year, the Department of Real Estate (DRE) receives a number of inquiries regarding who is responsible for maintenance of common areas within a condominium or planned development. Sometimes, answering this question is not as easy as it seems and may involve the review of the maintenance provisions in the governing documents for the project.

The responsibilities for maintenance of areas owned by individual purchasers and those owned in common are normally set forth in the recorded restrictions and do not necessarily correlate with fee ownership. Each project is different and that difference is reflected in the recorded covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&R's) for the project. Maintenance responsibilities may be assigned to be consistent with the architectural characteristics of the project. For example, certain common areas of a condominium project may be the responsibility of an individual unit owner if there are no shared party walls (e.g. exterior painting of freestanding units). Also, the roofs of units with discernible roof lines could be the responsibility of the individual owners. In these cases, the restrictions normally provide that an affected unit owner is granted an easement over the common area and owners have maintenance responsibility for these common areas.

It is extremely important that the budget be constructed to support the homeowner association's maintenance responsibilities. DRE carefully reviews each item to be included in the initial budget for a new project, because due to its newness, often the initial budget is only a best assessment project of operating costs. It is based on rates and formulas of the anticipated costs of operating and maintaining the common areas. Adjustments are sometimes needed due to actual experience.

After DRE approval of the budget, the assessment amount is disclosed in the final subdivision public report and a copy of the budget is provided to all buyers. A portion of the assessment will be allocated to a reserve fund for long-term repair and replacement of major common area components.

Thus, if you have questions regarding maintenance responsibilities in a condominium or planned development project, you should first review the governing documents and budget for the project. If those documents do not resolve your concerns, an inquiry should be made to the homeowners' association."

For More information about buying selling and owning a condominium, planned unit development PUD or townhouse

Call Scott Harrison local Realtor 510-388-4536

By Scott Harrison

Townhouse and Condominiums Home Owners Associations was hit by this wave of foreclosures, but the market has rebounded and prices are rising. Still Lender regulations have tight up making it difficult to purchase one. If you are thinking about buying consider the following issues likely to arise if you need a loan.

1. FHA ( Federal Housing Administration) loans require condos to have a project approval to be eligible for all of their programs including the 3.5% down program. Since FHA requires each condo project to get reappraised each year the list is changing constantly.

2. Investors are buying them and renting them out for a cash flow positive and a return on their investment. Causing the owner occupancy ratio decreasing below most lender acceptable levels. Many have limitations which stop the owner occupancy ratio dropping below a reasonable level. Check the Ratio and ask your lender if it fits their guidelines.

3. Many times HOA fees are not paid by owners who are in a financial pinch. Many Associations reserve projections did not anticipate a multi year drop in revenue resulting in the likelihood of raising monthly fees and (or) special assessments to replace those funds in-order to perform scheduled maintenance and common areas. This could surprise you as a new home owner but before ask your lender if the % of units that are delinquent on their HOA payments fits their guidelines and reed the minuets and newsletters before you buy it.

Some associations are lacking the proper paperwork and try to save money and manage them selves. the increase of lender regulation has put additional requirements on Associations and insurance policies alike. If you see a condo or town home that has no HOA fee this is a big red flag that the proper paper work to meet today's lender scrutiny may be lacking.

Try to get a Homeowner's Association (HOA) Certification questioners up front to your loan agent to see if any of these issues are apparent so you can have a less difficult purchase experience. Keep in mind each lender may require it to be completed on their form letter.

Good Luck and if you would like to work with me as your agent please call me 510-388-4536

Scott Harrison

Cal DRE #00966212

call Scott

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