Hillsborough, Burlingame Luxury Homes Real Estate

I'm asked a lot about what needs to be done financially before buying a house.  That's usually pretty easy to answer, make sure you have at least 3% of the offer price in cash in your checking account; be pre-approved by your lender; have any additional funds for the down payment ready to make liquid and then find the house.  But did you realize that there are ten things that you should never do before buying a house?  Let me elaborate now.  If you're in the middle of a home search don't ever do any of these things.

1.  Don't Make Any Purchases Until You Close Escrow

Yes, I know you will need furniture or appliances for your new home, but don't buy it until

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I know you've heard that saying, "All Real Estate is Local" many times and in San Mateo County and especially in Burlingame and Hillsborough it's really so.  Lately, all media screams out at us on a daily basis how bad investing in real estate is and that everyone is being hurt by the sub-prime mess.  Guess what?  That just isn't the case.  Sure there are some areas of San Mateo County that truly are in trouble because of the sub-prime mess but certainly not Burlingame or Hillsborough.  The prices haven't dipped a bit all year. 

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If you are new to California, and especially to San Mateo County, buying a house here is likely going to be a different experience than what you've experienced in your old state.  To begin with we do not use lawyers in the buying and selling process.  In our area, Northern California, the Title and Escrow Company is the key to everything that we do once a contract has been ratified.

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Okay, it's been all over the press thes past weeks.  San Mateo County has finally joined in the price decline.  Hum.  Maybe yes, and maybe no.  There is still a shortage of housing in San Mateo County, especially in the mid-county area where we work, Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo, Foster City, Belmont and San Carlos.  Everything is just about filled in so if you want to live here you pay the piper.

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Lenders today generally use two standard guidelines to determine how much of a monthly mortgage payment you can afford and what your debt ratio is.  The first guideline is that your household should spend no more than 28 percent of its gross monthly income (before taxes) on monthly housing expenses, including: mortgage principal and interest, hazard insurance, real estate taxes and private mortgage insurance, if applicable. However, some lenders will stretch that figure to 33 percent or more in our high cost area.  The second guideline is that your monthly household expenses (as outlined above) plus other debt should not exceed 36 percent of your gross monthly income, although some lenders will stretch this to 38 to 40 percent. 

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