Roadmap with Irina - February 2024

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Hi Iren,

The real estate market in Santa Clara County showed many promising signs in January: the number of new listings doubled since December 2023 for both single-family homes and condos and townhouses; the median sale price remained stable, and most homes were sold with multiple offers, keeping the market competitive. Every open house nowadays attracts a multitude of qualified buyers, and even the stormy weather and Super Bowl didn’t deter people from visiting open houses. It seems like the market has recovered from the deep of 2022 and continues to grow. Please check the table and the graph below for more stats.

In my observation, during 2023, most sellers were either those selling heritage properties or individuals who moved out of the area to different states. Now, I notice more homeowners aiming to upgrade or downsize while staying in the area. With the current interest rates and potentially lower rates later this year, they finally see an opportunity to move to better homes. Hopefully, this will result in more homes on the market and increased activity. Let's keep an eye on the market and see how it unfolds in the next months.

If you are thinking about buying or selling, let’s connect, talk about your options, run some numbers, and see if this is the right time for you. Call me, I am always here for you.

Questions? Comments? Contact me!

THE STATE OF INSURANCE

Every homeowner in California experienced a spike in property insurance prices last year. Many insurance companies stopped writing new policies due to extreme weather conditions. Those companies that stayed raised their rates dramatically. Nowadays, good realtors working with buyers highly recommend their clients find out the price for property insurance before submitting an offer or at least have an insurance contingency in the offer. Even if buyers secure insurance during the transaction, they should be ready for the possibility of the insurance company performing a policy audit or visiting the new house with an inspection after the transaction is closed and finding a reason to cancel the insurance or raise the price.

Home Insurance Inspection vs. Property Inspection
What insurance inspectors look at when they visit properties:
- Major structural damages like cracks in the foundation or damaged wiring.
- Assessing risk to determine the likelihood of owners filing a claim for damages.
- Specifically examining efforts in place to mitigate wind damage.
- Understanding the type of risk: Is the property rental, under construction, or vacant?
- Major systems: roof, plumbing, electrical, HVAC.
- Risks associated with pools, trampolines, dogs, etc.
- Identifying potential safety issues: sidewalks, debris.
- Differences between home characteristics and the application.
- Recent renovations (as they increase replacement value).
- Additional liability.

How to Prepare for a Home Insurance Inspection?
1. Check your roof for any loose or missing shingles.
2. Ensure gutters are secure and clear of debris.
3. Examine the foundation for cracks or signs of weakening.
4. If you have a chimney, check for cracks or loose bricks and have it professionally cleaned.
5. Trim overhanging branches or dead limbs.
6. Inspect siding, doors, and windows for cracks, leaks, and signs of water damage.
7. Identify potential hazards that could cause injuries on the property.
8. Ensure smoke and CO detectors are operating properly.
9. Look for any leaking faucets, sinks, pipes.
10. Confirm fire extinguishers are operational.
11. Clean out your fireplace.
12. Check clearance around your water heater and furnace.

What Causes Insurance Companies to Inspect Homes?
If you live in an older home and haven't had an inspection in a few years, this is a good reason for the insurance company to inspect your house. Also, if you switch to a new carrier, your house will be inspected. When you renovate your property and want to re-evaluate it, the house will likely be inspected.

Will Insurance Companies Inspect Properties with Existing Policies?
Absolutely! Sometimes, they will schedule inspections with the owners to check the house inside. Most of the time, they will conduct exterior inspections without announcing them. Insurance company inspectors use drones to inspect home exteriors, roof conditions, backyard debris, overhanging trees, separate buildings, property extensions, and exterior items that could be damaged. After the inspection, the insurance company will send you a report, calling out items that need attention and providing a due date for repairs. I've heard of cases where existing policies were canceled based on the inspection report without any grace period for repairs, and homeowners had to urgently find and buy any available insurance that was five times more expensive than the previous one.

Stay on Top of Home Maintenance!
As homeowners, we all know that we need to maintain our own homes, and now we have another reason to do so. Please don't let the condition of your property be a trigger for the insurance company to raise your premium or question your eligibility for a new policy. By the way, some improvements, like roof replacement, can give discounts on home policies. Stay on top of home maintenance! And if you need any contractors, let me know; I will share my resources with pleasure.

GREAT START OF THE YEAR

For the last almost two months, we’ve had a few important events in our family that I want to share with you. I hope you won’t be bored reading about them.

I turned one year wiser (yay!). It happens every year, I know, and I stopped paying attention to my year count after 30, but this is my dragon year, so hopefully, something exciting is waiting for me in the next 12 months.

We’ve got a new driver in the family! From now on, we don’t need to drive our teenager to work, college, gym, or any hangouts with friends. She has a busy schedule, and coordinating with our schedules was a pain. By the way, she also started her first official job in a café in Cupertino, and she is very proud of it. I don’t blame her: when I earned my first money when I was 12, I felt super mature and ready for adult life (I wish I knew that money comes with all kinds of responsibilities). Another great thing is that she can now drive her younger sister around! Now they go to the gym or shopping together, and I can still be home in my PJs in the morning.

As I just mentioned already, our older daughter started her first job. She wants to earn and save money for her own car. Currently, she drives her dad’s huge Mercedes. Just imagine: a teenager comes on a Mercedes to work in a café where she earns a minimal wage. She told me that she feels embarrassed driving the car that she doesn’t deserve, and she is afraid to damage it. She drove me a few times, and I am glad to see that she is a good and careful driver. One time she was backing out of the garage and scratched the car’s mirror. She was so scared, so now she is super-duper careful. The funny thing is that when I started driving here in the USA, my first car damage was exactly the same. Did I pass it to her with genes?

We also celebrated 18 years in our beautiful house! It is so hard to believe that so much time has passed already, but looking now at our family and all our accomplishments, I know that it takes time to do all this. When we bought this house, it was only 3 of us, but then our family grew, and we filled up all the space inside and in the backyard. No, we are not planning on moving; we are very happy here and want to continue our journey in this happy place.

And we’ve got a new pet! My friend’s daughter developed an allergy to their piggie, and they were looking for a new home for her, so we took her over, making her our 8th pet (not counting pet fish). It turned out that this little hairball has a personality, and I have to deal with her mood sometimes, but overall, she is a funny thing and definitely added joy to our home.

That’s all for now! I am always happy to share my things with you but feel free to call me and tell me what is going on with you. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Always yours,
Irina