Montgomery Estates

Montgomery Estates is an area of many upscale homes and is considered one of South Shores premier neighborhoods. Located conveniently off of Pioneer Trail, Montgomery Estates has easy access to  many of the year round attractions that Lake Tahoe has to offer. Montgomery Estates is only a couple of minutes from Heavenly Valley Ski Resort, the casinos, Lake Tahoe’s sandy beaches, and is surrounded by miles of hiking and biking trails. Most of the homes in Montgomery Estates are newer, larger, and well maintained.

The property values in the Montgomery Estates area are higher than most other areas on the South Shore.  Home prices in Montgomery Estates average in the $500,000 range, and large luxury homes can sell for well over a million dollars. There are some fixer uppers and foreclosures in Montgomery Estates that are priced in the upper $200,000′s.

Some of the geographic features in Montgomery Estates can include mountain views, large lots, lots that back National Forest Service land, lake views, and a beautiful mountain style landscape.   Montgomery Estates is a favorite area among both locals and vacation home owners. When you are in Montgomery Estates you truly feel like you are in the Mountains of Lake Tahoe.

Lots in South Lake Tahoe

Here is the definition of a vacant lot from wikipedia:

In real estate, a lot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in other countries. Possible owner(s) of a lot can be one or more person(s) or another legal entity, such as a company/corporation, organization, government, or trust. A common form of ownership of a lot is called fee simple in some countries.

Sometimes, some may refer to a lot as a rather small area of land that is empty except for pavement or similar improvement. An example would be a parking lot. This article covers lots as parcels of land meant to be owned as units by an owner(s).

A lot has defined boundaries (or borders) which are documented somewhere, but the boundaries need not be shown on the land itself. Most lots are small enough to be mapped as if they are flat, in spite of the curvature of the earth. A characteristic of the size of a lot is its area. The area is typically determined as if the land is flat and level, although the terrain of the lot may not be flat, i. e, the lot may be hilly. The contour surface area of the land is changeable and may be too complicated for determining a lot’s area.

Something which is meant to improve the value or usefulness of a lot can be called an appurtenance to the lot. Structures such as buildings, driveways, sidewalks, patios or other pavement, wells, septic systems, signs, and similar improvements which are considered permanently attached to the land in the lot are considered as real property, usually part of the lot but often parts of a building, such as condominiums, are owned separately. Such structures owned by the lot owner(s), as well as easements which help the lot owners or users, can be considered appurtenances to the lot. A lot without such structures can be called a vacant lot, an empty lot, or an unimproved or undeveloped lot.

Lots can come in various sizes and shapes. To be considered a single lot, the land described as the “lot” must be contiguous. Two separate parcels are considered two lots not one. Often a lot is sized for a single house or other building. Many lots are rectangular in shape, although other shapes are possible as long as the boundaries are well-defined. Methods of determining or documenting the boundaries of lots include metes and bounds, quadrant method, and use of a plat diagram. Use of the metes and bounds method may be compared to drawing a polygon. Metes are points which are like the vertices (corners) of a polygon. Bounds are line segments between two adjacent metes. Bounds are usually straight lines, but can be curved as long as they are clearly defined.

Many times, developers divide a large tract of land into lots to make a subdivision out of it. Certain areas of the land are dedicated (given to local government for permanent upkeep) as streets and sometimes alleys for transportation and access to lots. Areas between the streets are divided up into lots to be sold to future owners. The layout of the lots is mapped on a plat diagram, which is recorded with the government, typically the county recorder’s office. The blocks between streets and the individual lots in each block are given an identifier, usually a number or letter.

Land originally granted by the government was commonly done by documents called patents. Lots of land can be sold/bought by the owners or conveyed in other ways. Such conveyances are made by documents called deeds which should be recorded by the government, typically the county recorder’s office. Deeds specify the lot by including a description such as one determined by the “metes and bounds” or quadrant methods, or referring to a lot number and block number in a recorded plat diagram. Deeds often mention that appurtenances to the lot are included in order to convey any structures and other improvements also.

When the boundaries of a lot are not indicated on the lot, a survey of the lot can be made to determine where the boundaries are according to the lot descriptions or plat diagrams. Formal surveys are done by qualified surveyors, who can make a diagram or map of the lot showing boundaries, dimensions, locations of any structures such as buildings, etc. Such surveys are also used to determine if there are any encroachments to the lot. Surveyors can sometimes place posts at the metes of a lot.

The part of the boundary of the lot next to a street or road is the frontage. Developers try to provide at least one side of frontage for every lot, so owners can have transportation access to their lots. As the name implies, street frontage determines which side of the lot is the front, with the opposite side being the back. Sometimes minor, usually unnamed driveways called alleys, usually publicly owned, also provide access to the back of a lot. When alleys are present, garages are often located in back of a lot with access from the alley. Also when there are alleys, garbage collection may take place from the alley. Lots at the corners of a block have two sides of frontage and are called corner lots. Corner lots may have the advantage that a garage can be built with street access from the side, but have the disadvantage that there is more parkway lawn to mow and more sidewalk to shovel snow from.

In front of many lots in urban areas, there are sidewalks, usually publicly owned. Beyond the sidewalk, there may sometimes be a strip of land called a parkway, and then the drivable part of the street.

Local governments often pass zoning laws which control what buildings can be built on a lot and what they can be used for. For example, certain areas are zoned for residential buildings such as houses. Other areas can be commercially, agriculturally, or industrially zoned. Sometimes zoning laws establish other restrictions such as a minimum lot area and/or frontage length for building a house or other building, maximum building size, or minimum setbacks from a lot boundary for building a structure. This is in addition to building codes which must be met. Also minimum lot sizes and separations must be met when wells and septic systems are used. In urban areas, sewers and water lines often provide service to households. There may also be restrictions based on covenants established by private parties such as the developer. There may be easements for utilities to run water, sewage, electric power, or telephone lines through a lot.

Like most other types of real estate, lots owned by private parties are subject to a periodic real estate tax payable by the owners to local governments such as a county or municipality. Real estate taxes are assessed based on the value of the real property. Sometimes there are also taxes when a lot is sold based on the sale price. Other fees by government are possible for improvements such as curbs and sidewalks or an impact fee for building a house on a vacant lot.

South Lake Tahoe Homes Foreclosure Auctions

If you are thinking about purchasing a property at a lender foreclosure home auction, make sure that you read the fine print!

I recently received a phone call from a gentleman from the Bay Area who was very excited about a foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe that was going to auction on January 31. The bank owned house was located at 1031 Bowers Ave. I knew about this house because it is currently listed on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. He was planning on going to the auction in Sacramento and bidding on the home sight unseen! He had asked me if I knew anything about the house and, If I could go take a look at it for him. I had to explain to this person that he would need to hire a licensed home inspector to give him detailed information about the condition of the home. I don’t think that he was willing to spend the effort or the money to do the proper investigation that a home buyer really should do. He told me that the auction company had printed on the auction booklet that the house on Bowers was worth $507,000 and that the starting bid was going to be $159,000!

After hearing the starting bid price for the foreclosure, I figured that I had better take a closer look at the house. I started with the MLS information. 1031 Bowers is a 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 1 car garage home in the Bijou area currently priced at $399,000. The auction company said it was previously valued at $507,000? What they mean by “previously valued to” is HIGHER of one of the following:  

a) The appraised value of the property in connection with the most recent mortgage on the property. How far back do they go?

 b) The most recent asking price, OR

c) The most recent broker price opinion.

Ok, so you may be thinking that $159,000 is still a steal compared to $399,900. Maby it is? Lets look at some statistics. The average days on market for a foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe is 86 days. Bowers has been on the market already for 130 days! Why? Because of the property condition. To the average person the house may look OK. I am also a general contractor so I look a little deeper. The first thing that I noticed is that the house has an old shake roof that needs replacing. Replacing a roof on a 2416 square foot homecould cost over $20,000. The next problem is that the house does not have a foundation! Adding a foundation under a house that size could cost over $50,000! The other problem with a house without a foundation is financing. The auction company may finance the house, but if you want to sell it in the future, you would probably have to find an all cash buyer that is willing to buy a house with no foundation. Good luck! Maby there is a reason that this house did not sell on the MLS, and now must be sold at auction!

Still thinking it is a great deal? Here are some more disclosures about purchasing a home at a lender foreclosure auction that you need to take into consideration.

• “Buyers Premium”  -Most lender foreclosure home auctions add on a 5% buyers premium to the winning bid price. If the winning bid is $300,000, you really pay $315,000.
• Closing costs- Winning bidders are responsible for paying all closing costs including closing/escrow fees, title fees, loan fees, doc fees, transfer tax, and HOA fees.
• Financing- No financing contingencies shall be applicable to any properties in the auction.
• “As Is And With All Faults”-All auction properties are sold in “As Is” condition.
• Property Inspections- All property inspections are to be preformed prior to the auction. The auction company recommends that you have a licenced home inspector inspect the property. This could get expensive if you are planning to bid on multiple properties.
• Contingencies- No sale will be contingent upon inspection of the property after the auction and no properties will be open for inspection or access after the auction until escrow has closed.

What about selection?

In this particular auction there are plenty of houses available in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Reno. but 1081 Bowers is the ONLY available house for sale in South Lake Tahoe!

By the time you add up all of the repair costs, closing costs, and hassles of buying a foreclosure at an auction, it may not be worth it!

For more information about houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe, foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe MLS, or any Lake Tahoe Real Estate, contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

Lake Tahoe Real Estate Buyers, How is Your Credit?

Now is the perfect time for all of the South Lake Tahoe home buyers that are still on the fence to make sure that their credit is ready for the big day. There is nothing more disappointing than finding a great deal on the perfect home, and finding out that you can’t qualify  for a loan because of bad credit.

The first step is to get a copy of your credit reports. You can get a free copy once a year if you go to www.annualcreditreport.com . If you have already received your free credit report in the last 12 months, you can purchase a copy from www.myfico.com . The cost is about $16 for a report from one credit bureau or $48 for all three.

Once you have a copy of your credit reports, look at them very carefully for mistakes. Make sure that your name and address is correct (this will not affect your credit score, but is still important). Make sure that loans and accounts that have been paid off or closed show a zero balance. Make sure that there are no accounts on your reports that do NOT belong to you. If you do find something wrong with your report, you will need to file a dispute with each credit bureau that has the incorrect information. This may take a while, but it will be worth the time and effort when it comes time to apply for a loan.

Here are some tips for raising your credit scores:

• Keep credit card balances below 30% of their limits
• Make sure payments are on time, and pay at least the minimum payments on all accounts.
• Avoid signing up for new credit cards, especially at stores just to receive the 10% off your first purchase. All credit inquires will lower your score.
• Job stability- a long term job of a year or more will help your score
• For more tips go to myfico.com

You would be surprised how ofter mistakes on credit reports happen. I was caught off guard when I checked my score. I had been sent to collection for a $28 medical bill that had been sent to my physical address. I recieve my mail at a  P.O. box, so I had never received the bill. My credit score had gone down by about 80 points. I had to file a dispute, write letters, deal with the collection agency, hospital, and the credit bureaus. I finally had the issue resolved and it was well worth the hassle.

 

Once you have a good credit score you can be confident that you will be able to obtain a loan with a good interest rate. When you are ready to start looking at homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe, make sure that you sign up for new listing notification on my website. The new listing notification will allow you to choose your search criteria and have new listings e-mailed to you as they are entered onto the South  Lake Tahoe MLS. Another great tool is my current list of foreclosures for sale in South Lake Tahoe blog post. I update this post daily and have all of the foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe MLS, foreclosure price reductions, and foreclosures that are in escrow.

For more information about foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, the South Lake Tahoe MLS, or South Lake Tahoe Real Estate contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

Bijou 1&2

The Bijou area in South Lake Tahoe is located between Pioneer Trail and Regan Beach, just west of Ski Run. The South Lake Tahoe MLS divides Bijou into two sections, Bijou 1 and Bijou 2. Bijou 1 is on the East side near Ski Run and Pioneer Trail, and Bijou 2 is on the west side near Highway 50 and Johnson Blvd. near the Bijou Golf course.

Bijou is one of the oldest neighborhoods in South Lake Tahoe. Centrally located near Heavenly, the casinos, and Lake Tahoe, making Bijou a great area for a primary or vacation home.

The Bijou Community Park located off of Al Tahoe Blvd. offers a playground, basketball, volleyball, a bmx and skate park, disk golf, and a dog park.

Also located in Bijou is the public Bijou Municupal Golf Course. This is a 9 hole golf course and costs $15 for El Dorado County residents, and $20 for non-residents for 9 holes.

Other close by activities include the ice skating rink, Regan Beach, and the South Lake Tahoe Recreation complex, which has a year round indoor/outdoor pool.

Single family homes in the Bijou area range from small older cabins in the $200,000 range, to remodeled and new homes priced over a million dollars. Some of the houses in Bijou may have mountain and/or meadow views, forest views, and are on relatively flat lots. There are also some areas in Bijou that have multi-family properties including duplexes and small apartment buildings.

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