The tower was completed only seven years ago and has sunk as far as 16 inches into the soft soil that is below the San Francisco Financial District. At the base, the building is only tilting slightly at around two inches. However, at the top, the lean is more pronounced, to the point that residents have begun to question their safety.
What's most shocking about this situation isn't that the building is having trouble in the soft ground. The shock comes from the fact that the developer and the city's Department of Building Inspections knew that the building was sinking more than it was supposed to before it ever even opened in 2009.
In 2009, a chief building inspector wrote to the engineering firm that created the tower to state that there had been a larger than expected settlement. The building had unexpectedly settled 8.3 inches in 2009 alone. The inspector asked what was going to be done to help keep the building safe and if the building would have its structural safety compromised. The engineer's replied that the structure was safe, but residents now aren't so sure.
The question now is, "when will this building stop sinking?" It could take several months to determine why the building is sinking, because soil samples have to be taken from deep holes that must be drilled around the building. It's been suggested that the tower could sink up to 31 inches in total, but no one knows for certain.
In the meantime, lawsuits are beginning to come in. Residents believe that this is a flawed design and that they should have been told about the potential for sinking before they moved in. A founding partner at Millennium Partners stated that it is not their building that is the problem. Transbay Joint Powers Authority has been building a transit hub that has made the soil under the tower weaker.
Regardless of the cause, if your home was sinking, you'd want answers and to be compensated. If you find yourself in a real estate dispute like this one, your attorney can help you review your contract and look for ways to seek compensation.
Source: KRON, "Tilting, sinking San Francisco high-rise raises alarm," The Associated Press, Oct. 24, 2016
]]>The median home value in the United States has increased by 5.5 percent since last September, now resting at $189,400. In Wine Country, however, the median home value can be as high as $1.45 million. The whole state of California actually has some of the priciest luxury properties in the United States.
According to Realtor.com, seven out of the 10 costliest counties for luxury residents are located in California. In addition to Wine Country seeing gains in real estate, gains also occurred in California's wealthy and small coastal towns as well as bedroom communities. Some of these communities are close to big cities, which are attracting individuals who have high incomes and want nice housing. The coast also remains popular despite having limited supply of homes and being more expensive than other areas of the state.
California continues to hold promise for both buyers and sellers. However, sale/purchase disputes sometimes are inevitable. A deal may end up falling through if not approached in the proper way, considering the constantly changing market conditions and the myriad of laws that impact real estate transactions. An applied understanding of the law may help individuals to complete residential real estate transactions in a way that will protect their interests and help them to achieve their unique purchasing or selling goals in the Golden State.
Source: mansionglobal.com, "California Wine Country's Priciest Homes See Value Soar", Beckie Strum, Oct. 21, 2016
]]>Real estate agent
Most real estate professionals fall under the agent category. A real estate agent is a professional who holds a real estate license in the state. Individuals must take classes and pass a test in order to hold a real estate license.
A real estate salesperson is another name for a real estate agent.
Realtor
A realtor is a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of Realtors and agrees to uphold the association's code of ethics and real estate standards.
Broker
A broker is required to take additional classes and pass a broker's license exam. All real estate agents must work under a broker. Real estate agents who are also brokers can work for themselves, or they can hire salespeople to work under them.
The rules and requirements for California real estate brokers
Brokers in California have many responsibilities under the law. For example, they must meet the following rules and requirements:
Many additional requirements, and more detail, can be found here in the California Bureau of Real Estate's Broker Compliance Evaluation Manual.
]]>The motivation for the app was that many purchases in California end up being frustrating bidding wars that rely heavily on real estate agents. The goal of the app is to make the negotiation process much simpler. Right now, typically the buyer's agent has to negotiate with the seller's agent, who needs to speak to the seller, and often the message becomes broken. In these situations, it is hard to pinpoint at which point the message became skewed.
With the app, the real estate agent now serves more of a supporting role, with the app taking center stage. With the app, homebuyers can browse homes online and then submit their loan pre-qualification documents. Once the documents are validated, they can start shopping, schedule tours and even unlock the doors through the app.
Although the app appears to streamline the homebuying process, a buyer or seller may still experience some legal hiccups that can cause a deal to die quickly if not handled properly. This can be a huge blow in the Golden State's competitive residential real estate market. Fortunately, appropriate legal guidance may help buyers and sellers to successfully navigate their transactions and achieve their unique desired outcomes in California.
Source: businessinsider.com, "This startup replaces real-estate agents with an app -- and says it will save homebuyers lots of money", Julie Bort, Oct. 19, 2016
]]>Prices in San Francisco and San Mateo, in particular, have increased by 6.8 percent and 9 percent, respectively, when compared to the first half of 2016. Meanwhile, residential prices went down a little more than 7 percent in Marin, and stayed flat in Santa Clara. The price bracket of $3 million to $5 million is current driving the market.
More expensive homes, such as those in the $20 million range, are taking a little longer to sell. Part of the reason for this is that buyers are generally anxious about the economy as well as the election. However, the market for homes closer to $3 million remains extremely active. Los Angeles is also in the list of top 10 counties, with its average luxury price being about $1.3 million. This is an increase of more than 3 percent year over year and almost 21 percent in 2013.
As the luxury residential real estate market in California continues to draw interest, now may be a wise time to start shopping for homes or selling homes in this market. However, if a person does not approach a deal in the proper manner, it may end up falling through. Appropriate legal guidance can help all parties proceed with real estate transactions in a way that will help them to meet their particular buying or selling goals.
Source: mansionglobal.com, "State of Luxury: California Dominates List of Counties With Most Expensive Real Estate", Kathryn Hopkins, Oct. 4, 2016
]]>The Central Valley and Inland Empire, which are relatively affordable, should see more activity. Parts of the reason for this are job creation and low interest rates. In addition, mortgages that only require low down payments are available, thus increasing people's chances of being able to buy homes, particularly first-time homebuyers.
Since the year 2014, when real estate sales and foreclosures went back to historic levels, prices have been on a steady incline. However, inventory has been tight due to construction lags and also because homeowners are choosing to remain in their houses longer. Rather than buying their dream homes, they are more focused on remodeling their current houses to make them into their dream homes, as this path is more affordable. Sales were essentially flat between 2015 and 2016, although median prices increased by more than 6 percent during this time period. In the year 2017, there is expected to be a more than 4 percent increase in prices throughout the state, which is good news for home sellers.
Economists said that increasing prices in Los Angeles, as well as San Francisco and San Diego, might slow sales there, although higher prices are good for sellers when they do sell. However, as California continues to attract would-be homebuyers, there appears to be great promise across California's residential real estate markets for both buyers and sellers. Proper legal guidance may help people to successfully purchase or sell their residential real estate properties in manners that meet their goals and expectations in the Golden State.
Source: desertsun.com, "California real estate predictions: Coastal markets slowing, Boomers not selling", Rosalie Murphy, Sept. 29, 2016
]]>Drones are in high demand because certain still photos and aerial videos cannot be captured any other way. The benefit of drones is that home hunters are able to see a home's surroundings. Real estate agents have been producing marketing videos using drones for the past three years at least, but the commercial use of drones has technically been illegal until now. Thanks to the Federal Aviation Administration's, or FAA's, new rules issued in late August, drones are now available for greater use in real estate.
The new provisions make it possible for people to operate drones without having to have a pilot's license. However, there is a certificate offered by the FAA. Operators also need to keep visual contact with their unmanned craft.
While the use of drones may certainly increase homeowners' chances of getting their homes sold, the real estate buying and selling process can be complicated from a legal point of view. One mistake or oversight may cause a deal to fail, thus costing the involved parties both time and energy. Proper legal guidance may help individuals to effectively navigate their deals so that they achieve their unique goals in the California residential real estate market.
Source: ocregister.com, "More and more Realtors using drone images to help sell houses", Jeff Collins, Sept. 27, 2016
]]>In some cases, litigation is necessary to settle the matter. When most business owners hear the word litigation, they tense up and picture an expensive courtroom battle. However, the vast majority of business-related lawsuits settle before ever reaching trial.
Here are some other important things to know about the litigation process:
Your lawyer might start with a cease and desist letter.
If another business or a former employee is engaging in behavior that is hurting your business, your lawyer might start with a letter demanding that the party cease and desist the behavior or a lawsuit will be filed. Unfortunately, demand letters aren't typically successful in most cases.
All parties involved will get the opportunity to tell their side.
Even if you are the one to file the lawsuit, the other parties will have a chance to respond with their own side of the story in an "answer." They could file a counterclaim against you or bring in other parties, who they say are really at fault. Or they could also ask the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
Evidence will be gathered during the discovery phase.
This is an extremely important part of a lawsuit during which time the parties have the chance to ask for evidence such as documents and testimony from those involved. This is when your lawyer will gather everything necessary to build your case.
Mediation or arbitration may be used to settle the dispute.
Today, many lawsuits are settled through alternative dispute resolution processes such as mediation or arbitration. These methods forgo the traditional court process and can result in evidence and settlements remaining private and confidential.
Mediation, especially, can be more cost effective to the parties involved and give them more control of the outcome. Mediation involves a third-party neutral mediator who facilitates negotiations between the parties.
Arbitration involves a trial that takes place in front of a private arbitrator or a panel of private arbitrators, who then issue the final, binding, decision.
Very few cases actually go to trial.
About 90 percent of cases end up being settled before trial through summary judgment, negotiations or mediation.
Sometimes only one or two issues have to be decided at trial while the remaining issues are settled in other way. If a case does go to trial, either a judge or a jury panel will issue the final decision. It may be possible to appeal the decision that is made.
]]>In addition, more than 23,000 resale and new condos and homes were bought last month in Los Angeles as well as other nearby counties. This is an 8 percent increase from the more than 21,000 that changed hands in the month of July, and it is 9.5 percent higher than the number bought last August. The figures make August 2016 the strongest August in residential real estate sales in Southern California in the past decade.
Some of the reasons for the growth of real estate in this part of the state are low interest rates and job growth. Also, more people are establishing households. Another possible reason for the strong numbers recorded for August is that the month of July did not have as many business days as usual. With five weekends this July, a large number of real estate transactions might not have been recorded until August.
The recent statistics show that the residential real estate market in the Golden State is slowly edging back toward normalcy following the recent housing crisis. Individuals who wish to take advantage of the current market to buy homes, however, may make deal-breaking mistakes in their bid to purchase homes. A working understanding of applicable laws and procedures may help them to successfully complete their dreams of owning a California home.
Source: Arcadia, CA, Patch, "Los Angeles County Real Estate Values Grow in Recent Report", Sept. 19, 2016
]]>Houses that are for sale are being bought 2 percent more rapidly than they were around this time in 2015. In addition, prices are reaching new record highs. The median house listed at Realtor.com had a price tag of $250,000 recently, which is 8 percent higher than the listed amount last year.
Right now, since the school year has started, there has been a slight decrease in home buying interest. These current real estate conditions provide greater opportunities for frustrated purchases who are still in the market to more easily buy homes due to less competition. Multiple cities in California currently are among the top cities in the country for the hottest real estate markets, where houses are selling quickly and where buyers have shown a great amount of interest in available properties.
With California's residential real estate market remaining hot, now may be a perfect time for people in the Golden State to try to find and purchase their dream homes. However, if deals are not approached in the correct way, they can easily fall through. An applied understanding of the law may help people to successfully navigate their real estate transactions and achieve their goals of homeownership.
Source: visaliatimesdelta.com, "Five hottest real estate market in California", Mike Allen, Sept. 9, 2016
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