April South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review

April home sales in South Lake Tahoe saw a significant decline compared to March home sales. There were 20 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in April, compared to 34 homes sold in March. Out of the 20 sold homes, only 4 were foreclosures compared to 11 last month.

The reason that there were only 4 foreclosures sold in March is because the amount of foreclosures coming on the market in South Lake Tahoe has been going down. There are a lot of buyers targeting these foreclosures, and  the reduction in foreclosure inventory may be one of the  reasons for the reduction in home sales in April.

The lease expensive home sale in April was a foreclosure at 1667 Choctaw which sold for $235,000. On the upper end of sales was 1323 Keller, which sold for $1,200,000.

According to the South Lake Tahoe MLS, there were 25 houses that went into escrow in April, 5 of which are foreclosures. There are now 51 single family homes in escrow in South Lake Tahoe.

Lot sales are still stagnant in South Lake Tahoe.  There was only one lot sold in April, which was in the Angora fire area. There were three lots that went into escrow, including a great view lot on Cornice for $349,000.

April activity on Condos in South Lake Tahoe was similar to March. There were only two condos sold, and four condos went into escrow.

I expect the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market to show a slight improvement in May. Conventional loan interest rates have just dropped back down to around 6%, and summer is just around the corner.

There are a lot of home buyers that are on the fence about buying. These home buyers are trying to time the market, and to buy at the “exact bottom”. The problem with this strategy is that by the time the signs of the recovery of the real estate market are there, such as increasing pendings and sales, those buyers will have missed the bottom completely!

For all of those buyers out there, think long term!!!

New California Building Codes

Building new homes in South Lake Tahoe and other areas in California may have just become even more expensive!

Starting January 1st. 2008, the Wildland-Urban Interface codes began taking effect. These new codes apply to new construction (residential and commercial), but do not apply to remodels or additions. The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) codes only apply to properties in high fire hazard severity zones. The LRA maps that will be used by the local building departments during plan check to see if the property is in a high severity zone are still not finalized, but should be any day now.

If the WUI codes do apply, and they most likely will in Lake Tahoe, there are some major changes to the building products that will be allowed to be used. There is a Wildland Urban Interface Approved Product list  , which lists approved building products. The WUI approved product list is constantly updated as new products are tested and approved.

The WUI codes affect the types of exterior wall siding, decking, windows, vents, exterior doors (including garage door), eaves, gutters, roofing, and attic ventilation.

The enforcement of the WUI codes is the responsibility of the local building departments, and the materials to be used in construction will need to be on the plans submitted to the building departments. It will be interesting to see how many more products are tested and approved, because right now the list is very short!

Although the WUI codes may be an added cost and a pain to deal with at first, they are in place for a good reason. Now all we need to do is to get the TRPA to allow us to clear a reasonable defensible space!

Ready For Some Paperwork?

With the amount of lawsuits in the US these days, the amount of paperwork required in a Real Estate transaction has gotten insane!

I recently sold a new home to a buyer in New York, and we did all of the paperwork via E-Mail and fax.  Todays technology is great, I would just scan the documents and then E-Mail them to my client. After receiving them, he would fax them back to me.

 The process was simple, but my client was stunned by the amount of paperwork involved.

If you are planning on buying or selling Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe, here is a list of the forms that you will be using

-Agency Disclosure Form (2 pages)

-Disclosure and Consent to Represent More Than One Buyer or Seller (1 page)

-Purchase Agreement (10 pages)

-Counter offers?

-Government Agencies Disclosure (6 pages)

-Home Inspection Advisory

-Property Inspection Advisory

-Statewide Buyers and Sellers Advisory (10 pages)

-Transfer Disclosure Statement (3 pages)

-Agent Visual Inspection (3 pages twice, one for each agent)

-Supplemental Statutory and Contractual Disclosure

-Water Heater and Smoke Detector Statement of Compliance

-Lead Base Paint (If house was built prior to 1960)

-Residential Earthquake Hazards Report (If house was built prior to 1960)

-BMP Disclosure

-Natural Hazard Disclosure (16 pages)

-Homeowners Association form (if in HOA)

-Termite Inspection

-Home Inspection

-Other misc. special forms

My goal in talking about all of the required forms is not to scare anyone away from a Real Estate transaction, but to prepare them. Another thing to remember is that these are just the forms required by the Brokers. Once you make it through this pile of paperwork, there will be another stack waiting at the title company!

Here at Chase International South Tahoe Realty, we are lucky enough to have our contract expert office manager Larry Finkel. Larry ensures that all forms are  filled out properly, and that there will be no unnecessary lawsuits.

Do you need a permit to build a fence in Lake Tahoe?

Do you need a permit to build a fence in South Lake Tahoe? 

You do not need a fence permit in the County, but you do need one in the City.

The first step is to fill out a fence application. You will need to draw a site plan, drawn to scale, which shows the existing conditions and the proposed new fence. The proposed new fence will need to have a description of the proposed fence, indicating the material specifications.

The City Building/Planning Department provides a Fence Checklist that outlines the fence height requirements, construction standards, and setback requirements.

There is one specification on the fence checklist that I feel should be upgraded. There is a maximum space of 8′ between posts for a 6′ tall fence. With the amount of snow that we receive here in Tahoe, there should be a maximum space of 6′ between fence posts.

Once you have filled out your fence application and drawn your site plan, you may bring them to the City Planning Department along with a $40 application fee.

Although you do not need a fence permit in the County, you still need to follow the County fence requirements.

 I am currently working on my site plan for a fence for my backyard, and I was able to gather this information. Hopefuly this will save you some time if you are planning to build a fence in the future!

New Addition To My Family!

There is a New Addition to My Family!

It has been a while since my last blog. I have been busy hanging out with the newest addition to my family. On April 2nd, my wife Jill and I became the proud parents of our third daughter. Kayla Marie Johnson was born at Barton Memorial Hospital at 9:00 p.m.. Kayla weighed 6.2 pounds, and was 17 inches long.

I do not want to brag, but Kayla is perfect! She has been sleeping well, hardly ever cries, and has captured my heart! I am a very happy Dad!

Jill has decided to take six weeks off from the office, but she will be doing some work from home.

I am now back at work full time, and I am ready for the spring South Lake Tahoe Real Estate season!

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