Is your home ready for Winter
Home Buying Process from Start to Finish
Capital Gains Taxes on Sales
Protect Yourself against Fraud during your Move
Don't let scammers burst your bubble! The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration offers free resources and tools to help prepare for your move and to protect yourself from moving fraud. Before moving your household goods interstate, movers are required to give you the “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” booklet and FMCSA's Ready to Move brochure to help you understand the documents that a mover will ask you to sign, and explains your rights if your household goods are lost or damaged. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move
Questions to Ask When Interviewing Lenders
ABOUT THEM
How long have you been in the mortgage business?
What sets you apart?
Why do you do what you do?
When are you available to clients? 8-5, etc.
Why do you work for the firm you work for?
What percentage of your business is purchase vs. Refinance?
COMMUNICATIONS
If I need a pre-approval on a weekend, will I be able to reach you?
We work during the day and it is tough to talk during business hours, can we reach you in the evening when questions come up?
Are you always available for my questions/concerns?
Will you be my main point of contact until the loan closes? If not, will your assistant be available to answer my questions?
How often will you communicate with us regarding the progress of our loan?
THE PROCESS
Once I submit my application, how long will it take to get pre-approved and the final approval?
Are the appraisers or appraisal management companies that you company uses local?
How are the interest rates and origination points/credits related?
How do I know which loan product is the best for me?
When and how do you decide to lock the interest rate?
When can I lift the loan contingency?
Do you charge any origination, or discount fees/points?
What are the total lender costs, excluding taxes, escrow and title, that I will be charged for this loan?
How often do you close on time?
Consumer Warning: Underfunded Homeowners Associations
By Joseph Aiu (Statewide Subdivisions Compliance) California Department of Real Estate
The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) has issued this warning as a result of the growing number of homeowners associations (HOAs) that do not have sufficient funds or reserves to adequately maintain the common areas in the housing developments for which the HOA is responsible.
This warning will explain the negative effects and impacts of an underfunded HOA, offer suggestions on how to gauge the financial health of an HOA, and discuss some typical causes of an underfunded HOA.
Negative Effects of an Underfunded HOA:
An underfunded budget may cause unexpected expenses for the owners living in a CID and/or have a deleterious affect on the value or condition of an owner’s property. If the HOA cannot properly maintain the common areas due to budget constraints, roads, pools, exterior paint, and roofs may fall into disrepair. Moreover, underfunded HOA budgets may create pitfalls for homebuyers who do not investigate the financial health of the HOA prior to buying into a CID. HOAs facing severely underfunded budgets often must resort to levying special assessments on the owners living within the CID in order to pay for needed repairs or maintenance. Special assessments can run into the tens of thousands of dollars so owners and buyers would be wise to look into the financial health of the HOA to ensure they aren’t exposing themselves to unexpected expenditures and financial problems.
How to know if the HOA is Financially Healthy:
HOAs are required to produce a yearly budget and to furnish it to the owners in the association. In addition, at least once every three years, the HOA is required to review the major components of the CID that the association is obligated to repair, replace, restore, or maintain, as part of a study of the reserve account requirements, to ensure sufficient funds are, or will be, available to adequately maintain the common areas. Included in the budget documents, the HOA is required to provide a summary of its reserves and whether the reserves are adequate to maintain all the major components of the CID. This summary disclosure document is an excellent tool to determine the long term financial health of any HOA.
In addition, the law affords a potential buyer or an owner in an association the opportunity to review the HOA’s financial documents. For a potential buyer, the financial documents may be requested from the seller. For an owner in the association, the financials should be received from the HOA at least annually.
Typical Causes of HOA Underfunding:
Foreclosures are a significant cause of underfunded HOA budgets. Homeowners in foreclosure often do not make their assessment payments. Due to the length of the foreclosure process, the non-payment of assessments may cover a period of 90 days to a few years. Although HOAs have the ability to place a lien against a homeowner’s property for non-payment of assessments, HOA liens are often extinguished at the foreclosure sale because the value of the property is insufficient to pay off all the liens against the property. This is especially true in cases where the value of the property is less than the mortgage. The end result is the HOA ends up with less than the projected assessment income, which leads to an underfunded budget.
Inadequate planning on behalf of an HOA board can also lead to an underfunded budget. In instances where a CID or HOA is facing dire economic conditions, an HOA board may succumb to the pressure of its association members and not increase assessments or even reduce assessments and forego on-going maintenance. These types of bad decisions inevitably result in the HOA levying special assessments against the owners to address health and safety issues that arise from neglect. In addition, reduced care and upkeep of a CID’s common areas result in the inability to sell or secure financing because of the dilapidated condition of the property.
HOAs that rely on inadequate assessment collection procedures usually suffer from insufficient funding to satisfy their financial obligations. For example, homeowners who are not in foreclosure but refuse to pay their assessments may rely on the association’s poor collection process as a way to delay making their assessment payments. This may result in a “domino effect” where other members stop paying their assessments under the rationale that since others are not paying, why should they.
What to be Aware of when a CID has an Underfunded Budget:
Special assessments. Inevitably, underfunded budgets lead to special assessments as mentioned above. This is the common method HOAs use to satisfy financial obligations. While an HOA is limited on how much it can increase assessments - typically 5% per year - a special assessment can be assessed in order to resolve a health and safety issue. This means the entire cost to make a repair can be levied against all its members, or members who are paying assessments. Special assessments can be tens of thousands of dollars.
Inability to sell or declining property values. It can be very difficult to sell a home if the HOA’s assets are inadequate to satisfy its financial obligations. Buyers will be leery of special assessments and/or increased monthly assessments. Moreover, property values may depreciate dramatically because of deferred maintenance and inadequate funds to satisfy financial obligations.
Inability to secure financing. Lenders (subject to underwriting guidelines from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) may deny funding loans whenever an association funds less than 10% of its operating funds into its reserves. In addition, lenders are reluctant to fund loans when an association cannot meet its financial obligations.
Quick Tips for Evaluating the Financial Health of an HOA:
If you are a buyer, demand that the seller provide you with copies of the most current financials for your review.
If you are an owner, make sure that you are given annual financial reports, especially the delinquency report and those pertaining to the adequacy of the reserve account.
If you are a buyer, do a physical review of the property and observe how the common areas are maintained. For example, assess the condition of exterior paint, amenities, roads, roofs, drives, fencing, etc.
If you are an owner, be involved with the board and its decisions, especially when you see deferred maintenance of common areas or are subject to special assessments.
Conclusion:
The issues raised in this warning, along with the suggested steps to take to avoid potential financial problems, are not all inclusive. Each project in California may have unique issues that can only be addressed by you, as either the buyer or owner, performing your due diligence.
However, what appears to be a common thread in today’s real estate economic climate is that many projects are falling victim to hard times and the result is the underfunding of HOA budgets.
Please refer to DRE’s web site, www.dre.ca.gov for additional information on Common Interest Subdivisions, including the brochure Living in a Common Interest Development.
What are ADUs & JADUs and can I build one?
What are ADUs?
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) have been known by many names: granny flats, in-law units, backyard cottages, secondary units and more. No matter what you call them, ADUs are an innovative, affordable, effective option for adding much-needed housing in California. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is the state’s leader on local ADU ordinances, which — while optional — have grown exponentially in number as more cities, counties, and homeowners become interested in ADUs as one solution to increasing the supply of affordable housing.
What are JADUs?
Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs) are allowed to be created within the walls of a proposed or existing single-family residence and shall contain no more than 500 square feet. JADUs offer additional housing options. They may share central systems, contain a basic kitchen utilizing small plug-in appliances, may share a bathroom with the primary dwelling, all to reduce development costs. JADUs present no additional stress on utility services or infrastructure because they simply repurpose existing space within the residence and do not expand the dwellings planned occupancy.
Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook with updates and laws effective January 1, 2021
The California legislature updated ADU and JADU law effective January 1, 2021 to clarify and improve various provisions in order to promote the development of ADUs and junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs). These include allowing ADUs and JADUs to be built concurrently with a single-family dwelling, opening areas where ADUs can be created to include all zoning districts that allow single-family and multifamily uses, modifying fees from utilities such as special districts and water corporations, limited exemptions or reductions in impact fees, and reduced parking requirements.
Please see the Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (PDF) for more information.
Getting your home ready for your photoshoot!
Here are some tips to help your property look it's BEST and get our photographer done on time and have your property look its best for showings from Curb360 Real Estate Visual Media Experts. The little things can make a big difference.
Here is a simple to follow
TO-DO list
Outdoors:
Spruce up your garden and lawn; trim shrubbery, consider planting flowers.
Yard and patio should be neat; outdoor furniture should be in good shape.
Mow the lawn; make sure the driveway & entryway are free of clutter (toys, bikes, trash cans etc.)
Remove pool cleaning hoses along with pool toys from and around the pool.
Living Areas and Bedrooms:
Remove clutter and tidy up shelves and table tops.
Move excess furniture out of rooms. You want the space clean, open, and clutter-free (dog crates, tray tables, remote controls, etc...)
Replace burnt out light bulbs; great photography requires proper lighting.
Vacuum, clean the windows and surfaces.
Kitchen:
Clean off kitchen counters; remove any clutter.
Make sure dirty/clean dishes are out of the sink & put away.
Remove Garbage cans.
Bathrooms:
Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored away.
Close toilet lid and remove garbage cans.
Clean mirrors & glass surfaces, smears and spots on mirrors will show up big time.
Hang nice towels neatly from towel bar.
Overall/General:
Clean floors and surfaces look best in photos.
Blinds set at a 45 degree downward angle
Check the basics around the property to make sure it is clutter-free and picture ready.
Turn on all lights when the photographer arrives.
Try not to be in the room the photographer is photographing as you may end up in the photo.
Keep pets out of area that photographer is working.
What’s the difference: Condominium and PUD Ownership
Questions for Buyers to Ask the Condo Board
How to Stage a House to Sell
Shared from Zillow - here’s a great article on “How to Stage a House to Sell”.
If the word “staging” conjures up the idea that you’re putting on a show for prospective buyers, you’re on the right track. In a well-staged home, you’re putting the home in the spotlight and inviting buyers to imagine themselves taking a starring role. To do that, you need to step behind the scenes and give buyers room to imagine themselves taking the lead as homeowner.
Here are some tips to set a scene that will leave the critics — or at least the home buyers — raving.
Why stage a home before selling?
Whether you’re going DIY in staging your house to sell or calling in a professional, taking the time to stage your home for potential buyers can be an effective way to make your house stand out against other listings in your area.
Staging your home can help potential buyers picture themselves in the space — a crucial first step in getting them to consider making an offer. And, you’ll be in good company among other sellers. According to the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report, 82 percent of urban sellers, 71 percent of suburban sellers, and 61 percent of rural sellers say that staging their home is one of the top pre-listing activities they complete.
Staging tips for selling your home: Where to start
Declutter: Go room by room, removing the items you won’t need between now and moving day. Pay extra attention to cabinets, closets, and pantries — you want to give potential buyers the impression that your home has ample storage. Not sure where to put all your extra stuff? Consider getting a temporary storage unit.
Depersonalize: Remember, potential buyers want to be able to picture themselves calling your house home, and that’s hard to do if all they see are family photos, personal items, and keepsakes. While it might be a bit emotional, take a run through your home and remove the decor items that make your house feel personally yours.
Erase signs of pets: You may love your cat, but potential buyers may not (or they may have an allergy). Make sure to clean thoroughly and remove toys, food dishes, and water bowls.
Deep clean: As your mother would say, “Clean like company is coming.” In fact, you may want to go one step further. Aim to clean to a point where it looks like nobody actually lives in the home: no smudges on the windows, no dust bunnies on the floor, no water marks on the counters. A clean home tells potential buyers that you’ve taken great care of the property.
Staging a house for sale can make all the difference in how long it stays on the market. Photo from Shutterstock.
How to stage your house to sell: 11 best staging ideas
Once you’ve decluttered, depersonalized, hidden all traces of pets, and done a better-than-spring cleaning, you can tackle the actual staging of your home. Read on for the best staging tips.
Increase lighting everywhere: Staging a home is no time for mood lighting. One of the first things many potential buyers comment on is the amount of light in a home. Replace any burned-out lightbulbs, swap out for higher wattage bulbs, clean your windows, open the blinds, and don’t forget to turn on the lights before any showing.
Create conversational furniture arrangements: Take a look at each room and play around with the arrangement of your furniture to create more conversational spaces. Point loveseats and couches toward each other, which will actually increase the amount of space in rooms. Don’t be afraid to mix things completely up. In real life, you’d probably point the couch toward the television. But staging your home for sale isn’t about living in it. It’s about selling it.
Stay neutral for broad appeal: Yes, that bright red accent wall really shows off your personality. But there’s only one you, and you’ve already bought this home once. You need to tone down the colors. Neutrals are your friends. You’ll also want to make sure to keep spaces gender-neutral. Your home’s new owners won’t necessarily use the rooms (or decorate them) the same way you do.
Update the finishes: Walk through your home with a critical eye, noticing little maintenance issues like a serious buyer would. It’s likely worth a Saturday of work to repaint a room, re-caulk or re-grout, strip wallpaper, or change out dated or worn hardware.
Take a look at the exterior: Your home’s curb appeal is the ultimate first impression. Mow your lawn, pressure wash any dingy areas, repair chipping paint, plant some flowers, and tidy up any patio furniture.
Arrange in odd numbers: From throw pillows to accessories and chairs to artwork, professional stagers and designers swear by decorating in threes, fives, and sevens, which gives some visual interest to otherwise symmetrical spaces.
Set the table: It’s a nice finishing touch that, again, can help the buyer visualize living there. Holiday dinner party, anyone?
Only style with polished accents: For example, only stage your master bath with new bath towels, or none at all. Just say no to your still-drying bath towels from this morning’s shower.
Make the space appear larger: Add mirrors to reflect light, swap a heavy powder room cabinet for a pedestal sink, or remove a leaf from your huge dining room table.
Show value in unusual floor plans: Highlight what makes your home unique and special. Add a reading nook, show the benefit of an extra storage area, or tuck a desk in an unused corner.
Use extra rooms deliberately: Never leave a room empty. Instead, make that unused guest room feel usable, staging it as an office, craft room, or guest bedroom — but never all of those things at once!
Don’t leave rooms empty when you stage your house. An attractive seating area can help potential buyers imagine the home as their own. Photo from Shutterstock.
Investing in real estate staging
DIY home staging: Following the tips above, staging on your own is definitely an option, and it’s an affordable one. Just make sure to leave yourself enough time to finish your to-do list before your listing goes live.
Partial home staging: An affordable middle-of-the-road option, partial home staging is when you do the decluttering and cleaning yourself, before bringing in a professional stager to apply the finishing touches. They’ll rearrange and reimagine your current furniture and decor in a way that’s buyer friendly. You can also hire a stager to simply do a walkthrough of your house and consult on what you should do to prepare your home for sale, and the actual staging tasks will be up to you. They typically charge between $100 and $150 an hour.
Full-service professional home staging: If you’re in a competitive real estate market, or don’t have the time to stage or interest in doing it on your own, you may want to consider hiring a full-service home stager. Some stagers charge by the room ($250-$500 a room, depending on where you live), while some charge between 1 percent and 3 percent of your home’s sale price. The price will typically include both the services of the professional stager, and the rental of all the furniture and accessories they bring with them, for a predetermined period of time (usually about a month).
Live-in stagers: An emerging trend in high-end homes, a live-in stager is a person who, usually as part of your staging team, temporarily moves into your home after you’ve vacated. They’re tasked with making sure the home is always showing-ready, warm, and welcoming. It can be especially beneficial if you’re trying to sell a home that’s in another city.
Staging maintenance: If all goes as planned, the offers should come rolling in, and the limbo of living in a staged home won’t last too long. But consider this home staging advice to help sell your house fast:
Hire a weekly cleaner or give yourself a daily routine: You worked hard to get your house in pristine condition, so don’t let things slide over time. Either hire someone to come clean every week, or give yourself a few manageable daily tasks to keep everything in tip-top shape while you wait for that perfect offer.
Invest in a robotic vacuum: Make technology do the work of daily vacuuming. That way, there’ll never be even a single dust bunny on the floor during a showing.
Allow extra time if you have kids: We all know that kids can destroy a perfectly clean room in a matter of minutes. So, if you have small children at home, make sure your real estate agent knows to give you at least two hours’ notice before a showing so you can tidy up and get out the door.
Get someone to watch your pets: Of course Fido would give potential buyers a warm welcome, but not everyone wants to be greeted by your pet when touring your home. Plan for someone to watch your pets — or have a to-go bag with all their supplies and take them with you — before every showing.
HOAs: Protecting Home Values
What 'time of use' rates will mean for SDG&E rooftop solar customers
From the San Diego Union Tribune, March 22, 2019
By ROB NIKOLEWSKI, WRITER
San Diego Gas & Electric is rolling out “time of use” rates that will eventually affect the monthly bills for about 750,000 of the utility’s residential customers. But will the switch affect the nearly 155,000 residential customers who have rooftop solar systems on their homes? Yes, but the full answer is complicated.
The vast majority of solar customers will eventually move to time of use rates but some have the option to stay on a more traditional tiered-rate structure that is considered more financially attractive than time of use — it all depends on how long ago they activated their rooftop solar systems. “It really varies on the residential side,” said Edward Randolph, the Energy Division Deputy Director for the California Public Utilities Commission, which has directed the state’s investor-owned utilities to adopt time of use rates, also known as TOU. “That’s why (solar customers) need to contact their utility to find out their exact circumstance.” And circumstances have been changing quickly, in California’s energy landscape. Many customers — those with solar installations as well as those without — had just gotten used to the latest iteration of tiered rates and adopting TOU means a transition to a different pricing plan.
Under tiered pricing, customers pay a set rate per kilowatt-hour for the electricity they consume. They pay more when their household exceeds a predetermined “baseline” allowance and if they use more than 400 percent of their baseline, they pay a “high usage charge” that is even higher. But under TOU, the day is broken into segments. And instead of one set price regardless of time, the price fluctuates depending on when demand peaks on the system. The most expensive time of the day is 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. — a time that coincides with people coming home from work and firing up their appliances. The distinction between tiered rates and time of use is an important one for rooftop solar customers to keep in mind.
Solar and the grid
Among the attributes of installing rooftop solar perhaps the biggest selling point is a billing mechanism called “net energy metering,” or NEM. Under net metering, when a rooftop solar system generates more energy than the homeowner is actually consuming, the customer can sell the excess energy back to utilities such as SDG&E via the grid at the retail rate and receive credits on their bills. Since the price of electricity on a tiered rate remains constant throughout the day, solar customers can count on the price of the excess electricity they generate also remaining constant. For example, if the tiered rate for a homeowner is, say, 25 cents a kilowatt-hour in the summer months, the homeowner will get credited at that rate when his or her system generates excess electricity. Under a TOU plan, though, prices shift during the course of the day — high during on-peak hours and low during off-peak. But your rooftop solar system is generating most of its electricity when the sun is shining and that’s when the lower off-peak prices are in effect. For example, under SDGE’s default TOU plan, the off-peak price during the summer months is 21 cents a kilowatt-hour. That’s 4 cents less than the tiered rate of 25 cents a kilowatt hour.
Although there are some exceptions, it’s generally accepted by solar experts that rooftop solar customers get a better deal under tiered rates than time of use. That’s because most rooftop solar generation throughout the day comes during low-priced periods and then the sun sets just as prices shoot to their highest levels. “Tiered rates are going to save a solar customer more money, no question about about it,” said Brad Heavner, the director of policy at the California Solar and Storage Association, the state’s largest solar trade group. But when changes were made to the state’s net metering rules in 2016 (called NEM 2.0), it included migrating residential solar customers to TOU. “Time of use is going to be a critical element in integrating renewable resources into the electric grid,” Randolph said. “That helps us make better use of the renewable energy after it’s generated.” The California Solar and Storage Association, acknowledges that TOU is a done deal. “Time of use squeezes the margin (for solar customers) but it’s necessary to sustain solar going forward,” Heavner said. “We want to be good citizens. We recognize that we need to adapt to a changing grid, so (TOU) is necessary and we’ll live with it.” There are some customers, though, that see TOU as preferable. Some opt for time of use because they own electric vehicles and they find it financially attractive to use their electricity to charge their vehicles during low-priced, off-peak hours (such as after 9 p.m.). SDG&E’s time of use rates for residential solar customers are the same as the TOU for residential customers without solar. State law says utilities cannot assign rates to solar customers that are higher than those for non-solar customers. Heavner said while TOU pricing is not as favorable as tiered rates for many, the difference is small enough to still entice customers who are considering solar to put panels on their roofs.
The great migration begins
Of the 154,148 residential NEM customers in SDG&Es’ service territory, about 24 percent of them are already on time of use. The remaining 76 percent are on tiered rates and will be contacted by the utility about the rollout to TOU. SDG&E’s strategy is similar to the much larger effort the utility has already started with non-solar customers — explaining the move from tiered rates to TOU and sending them emails and notices in the mail that explain pricing and options.The transition will come in phases. Some residential solar customers have already been contacted and the first group is expected to complete the change to TOU in April. Just like non-solar customers, NEM customers will be offered a default time of use plan by SDG&E (called TOU-DR1) that in addition to on-peak and off-peak periods also offers a “super off-peak” rate for some segments of time. And just as with customers without solar, NEM customers can also opt for another, simpler, plan that breaks the into just two periods — on-peak and off-peak. SDG&E officials expect the rollout to be complete by the spring of 2020.
But wait … there is a way to stay on tiered rates
There is, however, a way some existing solar customers can stay on tiered rates if they prefer. When the CPUC established the new NEM 2.0 rules, it allowed customers who installed solar under the original net metering policy to be “grandfathered” in for 20 years from their original enrollment date. For solar customers in the SDG&E service territory, the 20-year rule applies to those who activated their systems before June 29, 2016. Randolph said the commission instituted the 20-year rule as an issue of fairness to solar customers who invested in a solar installation on their homes — a purchase that can frequently run to $20,000 or more, depending on the size of the house. “When they installed the panels, they were looking at the financing and the payback of those panels based on the rate structure at the time,” Randolph said. “Ultimately, the commission made the policy determination that the most equitable way to treat those customers was to give them the option of staying on the old rate structure.” After the 20 years are up, customers must move to time of use rates. “If you’re a customer who installed solar a few years ago, you’re probably going to want to stay on those tiered rates and not get shifted over to TOU,” Heavner said.
But what if you installed solar on your home after June 29, 2016?
Here’s another part of the story that’s complicated. Customers who activated their rooftop solar systems between June 29, 2016 and March 30, 2018 were defaulted to standard, tiered rates rather than TOU. They can stay on tiered rates for now but eventually, they will migrate to time of use — either five years from the date their system activated or June 2021, whichever comes first. That was done because when the CPUC established NEM 2.0, SDG&E was going through its general rate case — the long and involved process in which the commission decides how much an investor-owned utility can collect from ratepayers in a three-year period. With TOU periods still in flux at the time, those customers were put on tiered rates with a five-year stipulation. All customers who installed rooftop solar after March 31, 2018, have been placed on time of use. What if you are considering installing solar on your rooftop? Once you pull the trigger and get your installation up and running, you will be placed into TOU rates. Commercial SDG&E solar customers are already on time of use pricing plans.
The battery storage fix?
The switch to TOU may lead some rooftop solar customers to make the financial investment in pairing their installations with battery storage systems.
Here’s why:
With battery storage, homeowners can save up the energy generated by the sun during the day and then use it later, when the sun goes down and solar generation wanes — and, critically, during that 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. time period when the cost of electricity can be more than twice the price. For example, go back to SDG&E’s default time of use rates. The off-peak price when solar generation is surging is 21 cents a kilowatt-hour during the summer months. The on-peak price between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. is 43 cents a kilowatt-hour. With a battery, a residential solar customer can use that electricity that was generated at 21 cents and run his or her appliances as soon as they get home from work, thus avoiding the 45-cent price between 4 and 9 p.m. Or, the customer with battery storage can save that solar generation that cost them 21 cents a kilowatt-hour during the day and send it back to the grid between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. and get their credit at 45 cents per kilowatt-hour. “Batteries are much more attractive under TOU rates,” Heavner said. San Diego solar customers seem to agree. Residential SDG&E customers have paired batteries to their solar panels at roughly more than twice the rate seen in the service territories of Southern California Edison and PG&E. Battery storage can be pricey. In 2017, a typical solar battery storage system cost about $6,200 but after federal and California incentives, the figure can be reduced by about $4,000. However, the statewide rebate program for installing a home battery — called the Self-Generation Incentive Program, or SGIP — currently has a wait-list for customers in San Diego because the residential sector burned through the area’s allotted $6.9 million in April 2018. But additional funding is expected to come via the CPUC. “There’s a certain amount budgeted and they ran out of that money, but they’re putting more money back in so it’s still a good idea to go on a wait-list,” Heavner said.
What is time of use?
Unlike a tiered-rate structure in which customers move into higher pay bands as they use more electricity, under a time of use, or TOU system, customers pay different prices per kilowatt-hour depending on when they consume power.
How it works: The more electricity you use when the state’s power grid has less resources at its disposal, the more you pay. Conversely, if you use electricity when demand is relatively low and there are more sources available for grid operators to manage, you pay less.
Peak hours: Under TOU, the most expensive time of the day runs from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. That’s when energy demand spikes, as customers come home from work and run their appliances and — especially in the summer — turn on their air conditioners. Conversely, “off-peak” segments are priced considerably lower because renewable sources like wind and solar in particular are surging at that time in the day.
Here’s an example: Under SDG&E’s default time of use plan, electricity during “on-peak” hours between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. costs 43 cents per kilowatt-hour during the summer season (June 1 to Oct. 1). But outside those hours, the “off-peak” price drops to 21 cents per kwh. And during “super off-peak” hours, the price falls to 16 cents per kwh.
Why the move: The shift to time of use rates was initiated by the Legislature, which in 2013 passed Assembly Bill 327 to reform residential rates, and the California Public Utilities Commission, largely to help integrate more renewables into the electric grid. SDG&E rolls out its plan this year. Edison and PG&E will start in the fall of 2020 and are expected to finish by 2021.
How do rising interest rates impact my purchase?
The Home Buyer’s Action Plan
Make this year the time you buy a home or the year you set yourself up to buy one. Maybe you’re currently a renter, or you’re in a home that no longer fits your lifestyle. Either way, we’re here to help you, using our home buyer’s action plan.
Start with your finances
What is your current financial situation? Is your savings plan sporadic or do you consistently set a portion of each paycheck aside for your future home?
Creating and sticking to a budget is the first step to saving more money. Even if you don’t think you currently have enough disposable income, with a little work it’s easier than you think to cut back on your expenses.
Take a look at what you’re currently spending and take note. Determine:
What’s essential vs. non-essential
What’s recurring vs. random/one-time
What expenses are realistic vs. ones that could be replaced with cheaper options
Once you’ve identified what’s what when it comes to your spending habits, figure out which can be cut out completely and which can be scaled back. Create a new budget and then get creative in order to meet it.
Rent and car payments are going to be the same every month, but your grocery bills can be cut down by shopping at a grocery outlet or buying less to prevent waste. Switching to a new cell phone provider could cut down on your monthly costs. Instead of hitting the drive-through Starbucks on your way to work, make your own coffee at home, and pack your lunch while you’re at it. No, you don’t have to stop putting avocados on your salads. This is Southern California, after all!
With a few lifestyle changes, buying a Southern California home can be within your reach.
Hold on to your savings
Once you’ve spent a few months cutting back on non-essential expenses for a few months, take a look at how much you’ve been saving on average each month, and then start automatically saving that amount each month. This will eventually become your down payment.
Ask for assistance
Getting married? Having a baby? Celebrating your birthday? That means gifts for you!
Instead of asking for traditional gifts like kitchen appliances, extra baby clothes that will soon be outgrown, and birthday dinners, inform your friends and relatives of your decision to buy a home, and request that they help contribute to your savings instead of buying you things you don’t necessarily need.
Though it might seem like a strange request at first, lots of home buyers, especially first-time buyers, are following this technique in order to expedite their purchase. Plus, your friends and family should be rooting for you and be happy to lend a hand.
As your agent, we can help you determine your needs
First, answer these basic home buyer questions. They will not only help you understand what you need, but they will also help me as your agent.
How soon do you want to be in your new home? Knowing this will help people who are assisting you to get on your timeline. These include your agent, loan officers, appraisers, escrow officers, and even the seller.
Who is involved in the homebuying process other than yourself? They will be involved the whole way, even if it’s a family member who is assisting with your funds. The decision-makers need to be identified, so everyone is lined up and ready to be involved when necessary.
Does anyone have a home they need to sell first in order for you to buy? If your parents or relatives don’t have a home to sell to help you buy, my next question is, have you gone through the pre-approval process yet? Or if paying cash, do you or your family have those funds ready to present to a seller when asked? You can’t make an offer without proof of funds.
What’s your current living situation? Are you on a lease that you have to break, are you renting month to month, still living at home? It’s important to know so you can prepare for a move.
Do you need a home that is recently renovated and already has all or most of the features you need? Or, are you willing to move into a home that needs some updates but is ultimately move-in ready?
Some buyers don’t want to have to put in any work once they move into their new home. But with tight inventory and competitive markets, sometimes you have to think outside the box. Finding a home in a desirable area and priced lower than your budget but doesn’t necessarily check all your boxes might be the way to go. Or, maybe you do find the home of our dreams but it’s just outside your target neighborhood. Either way, making small sacrifices can save you money or shorten your search time, so don’t discount options unless you’ve weighed all the pros and cons.
As your real estate agent we can show you options out there so you can determine which ones are right for you. You might end up with more options than you had before.
Prepare to enter the market
Once you’ve saved up enough for a down payment, there are a few steps to take before you jump right into the home search.
In today’s competitive market, it’s important to be fully prepared to make an offer on a home the second you find one you like. You’ll want to get pre-qualified, which basically means determining how much you can afford, and pre-approved, which means getting your mortgage loan amount approved.
We can walk you through the process and help you determine everything needed in order to proceed. We can educate you on things like when is the best time to buy a house, what escrow is and how it works, and when closing costs are due. Plus, we partner with trusted companies that will protect you every step of the way.
You’ll want to partner with a responsible mortgage lender, like HomeServices Lending, so you’re ready to make an offer quickly and confidently.
Find your perfect
Once you’re feeling confident about what your needs are, it’s time to start searching for and touring potential homes.
Remember that even if the perfect home you’ve envisioned doesn’t exist, the potential to buy and improve upon an existing home is one of the best advantages of owning your own home.
If you’re not in a rush to buy and nothing is catching your eye, waiting can mean more time to save money for your down payment–but it also can mean a fluctuating market. Keep an open dialogue with your agent so they know what your priorities are and what your ideal timeline is so they can keep an eye on the market and know how to advise you.
Every buyer is different
This action plan is designed to help you find your perfect home, but every buyer is different. If you know you’re not going to be ready to buy this year, if after following these steps you’re still not ready at the end of the year, following this plan will still get you that much closer.
Start today and you’ll thank yourself later.
California Law Requires Water Conserving Plumbing Fixtures
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