Home Seller: Friday, February 24, 2023

Q: We own a house that we’ve been using as a rental property for the past five years or so. I went to the house last weekend to make some repairs and dis covered the neighbors have planted some hedges that are clearly across the property line on my side. They look like they’ve been there for many months and probably cost more than a couple of bucks to put in. The problem is I really like these neighbors and I don’t want to be confrontational. In fact, I don’t even mind the bushes being on my property. On the other hand, I’m afraid I may have trouble down the road if I let them stay there. You’ve written before about people who get easements and things on other peoples’ property by trespassing for a number of years, and I don’t want that to happen. Should I try to make the neighbors pull up the hedge and move it?

A: There’s a name for what you’re talking about. This is called a landscape encroachment.

Believe it or not, landscape encroachments are not only regularly litigated in court, but judgments are often brought up on appeal, which is an expensive, lengthy process. Obviously landscaping can be pretty important to some people.

You have two issues to consider and you’ve already raised the first one.

Yes, easements can be taken from landowners by a law that has remained pretty much unchanged for hundreds of years, known as a prescriptive easement.

Historically, all you had to do in order to acquire a prescriptive easement was to use a portion of somebody else’s property for five years, for a particular purpose, and in a way that if the land-

Tim Jones

Modern court cases have softened the impact of this law ever

In our modern times we have subdivisions where the lots are relatively small and houses are lined up next to each other. The harsh rules of old common law

As a result, people often, accidentally or intentionally, plant shrubs or place fences on their neighbor’s side of the line.

Taking this into account, the current state of the law is that landscape easements have no real application in residential properties. Generally, the court will not enforce a prescriptive residential landscape easement. An exception could be if the encroaching neighbor paid a ton of money for whatever the encroachment is and the other neighbor knew about the problem for so long that it would be unfair, so many years later, to make the encroaching neighbor pay the money to move it.

So you don’t have an easement problem with regard to the shrubs.

The second issue is that the shrubs do create a disclosure requirement for you if you ever go to sell the property.

The law requires you to disclose any encroachments on the property to every prospective buyer.

If you think the shrubs might

cause a buyer not to purchase the property in the future, you should inform your neighbors that you want the plants moved. Alternatively, you can give your neighbors permission to keep the shrubs there at your pleasure. In other words, if someday you want them moved and withdraw your permission, the neighbors would have to move them. In the law this is called a “license.”

One of the key requirements is that the use or encroachment on the neighboring property be without permission of the landowner. By granting permission, you are eliminating the possibility of your neighbor acquiring an easement. There is even a document you can record at the County Recorder’s Office to formalize the license. But it’s not legally necessary.

However, if, as I suspect, the shrubs don’t detract from the value of your property, having to make a disclosure probably would have no effect on future buyers.

Tim Jones is a real estate attorney in Fairfield. If you have any real estate questions you would like to have answered in this column, you can send an email to AllThingsRealEstate@ TJones-Law.com.

SOLANO REAL ESTATE SCENE

Here’s what you should know about closing costs

Before you buy a home, it’s important to plan ahead. While most buyers consider how much they need to save for a down payment, many are surprised by the closing costs they have to pay. To ensure you aren’t caught off guard when it’s time to close on your home, you need to understand what closing costs are and how much you should budget for.

Don McDonald

Bay Area homes are selling below asking price for first time in 10 years

TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY

Looking to buy a home in the Bay Area? The odds of scoring a deal could be tipping in your favor.

For the first time in over a decade, homes in the region are selling, on average, for less than the asking prices, according to data from real estate brokerage Redfin.

What are closing costs?

People are sometimes surprised by closing costs because they don’t know what they are. According to Bankrate: “Closing costs are the fees and expenses you must pay before becoming the legal owner of a house, condo or townhome . . . .

Closing costs vary depending on the purchase price of the home and how it’s being financed . . . .”

In other words, your closing costs are a collection of fees and payments involved with your transaction. According to Freddie Mac, while they can vary by location and situation, closing costs typically include:

n Government recording costs.

n Appraisal fees.

n Credit report fees.

n Lender origination fees.

n Title services.

n Tax service fees.

n Survey fees.

n Attorney fees.

n Underwriting fees.

How much will you need to budget for closing costs?

Understanding what closing costs include is important, but knowing what you’ll need to budget to cover them is critical, too. According to the Freddie Mac article referenced above, the costs

See McDonald, Page 4

The milestone reflects a slowdown in the Bay Area’s notoriously scorching housing market as rising mortgage rates squeeze out many wouldbe buyers and hammer prices. This week, the average rate on a typical 30-year home loan hit 6.3%, double the historic lows during most of the pandemic – when buyers rushed into the market in droves to take advantage of the cheaper mortgages. The higher rate is boosting monthly home payments, sometimes by thousands of dollars.

“This time last year, you were absolutely enjoying that market, but it took a pretty sharp turn,” said Matt Rubenstein, a Contra Costa County real estate agent.

Less competition means those who can still afford to buy are gaining the upper hand in price negotiations.

Redfin’s “sales-to-list ratio,” a key metric comparing sales and asking prices, is bearing that out. A sales-to-list ratio above 100% means home prices are selling higher than asking prices. A ratio under 100% means home prices are selling lower.

Across the core Bay Area, the sales-to-list ratio has remained between 98% and 100% over the past three months. That means sales

prices hovered around 1% to 2% below asking prices on average during that period. It’s the first time that’s happened since early 2012 when Redfin began tracking the data.

Just a year ago, in May 2022, as home prices peaked at record highs, the sales-to-list ratio reached 114% in the San Jose metro area, 112% in the Oakland metro and 111% in the San Francisco metro.

The shift in the market forced one of Rubenstein’s clients to slash the asking price of a suburban Lafayette home from $2 million to $1.7 million after it sat unsold for three straight weeks.

The main issue with the property is a large neighboring church parking lot that fills up on weekends, Rubenstein said. A year ago, during the height of the pandemic homebuying frenzy, a bidding war might have erupted. But now buyers have the luxury of

being more choosey.

Homes across the Bay Area are staying on the market much longer. In Contra Costa County, properties are normally sticking on the market for 45 days, up from just 12 this time last year, according to Redfin.

Homes in good condition – with well-kept yards and modern kitchens and bathrooms – are still in demand, especially if they’re in desirable neighborhoods with good schools, Rubenstein said. “There are homes sitting on the market longer and taking reductions, but I’m also seeing multiple offers and houses going over,” he said.

As of Feb. 5, the median price for all homes – including single-family houses, condos and townhomes – was $1.34 million in San Mateo County, $1.29 million in Santa Clara County, $1.17 million in San Francisco County,

$894,000 in Alameda County and $671,000 in Contra Costa County, according to Redfin.

Prices across the five core Bay Area counties are down between about 5% and 10% compared to this time last year, and around 25% to 35% under their all-time high in May.

This winter, San Jose real estate agent Lynsie Gridley said she saw sellers cut asking prices by up to 5% in December and January – typically the slowest months for home purchases. The market ground to a halt during last month’s severe storms. But heading into the traditionally busier spring home buying season, house hunters are starting to return, Gridley said.

“We are seeing more people at the showings, and more offers coming to the table, but they’re not as substantially over list prices as they were a

See Price, Page 10

KARL MONDON/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP/TNS FILE

Realtor Lynsie Gridley prepares a Willow Glen home for its coming open house in San Jose, Feb. 17.

Real estate transactions

BENICIA

TOTAL SALES: 1

LOWEST AMOUNT: $708,500

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $708,500

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $708,500

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $708,500

415 Larkin Drive - $708,500

01-20-23 [3 Bdrms - 1454 SqFt - 1977 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 03-04-99, $178,000

DIXON

TOTAL SALES: 1

LOWEST AMOUNT: $440,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $440,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $440,000

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $440,000

1320 Blackberry Court - $440,000

01-17-23 [3 Bdrms - 1487 SqFt - 1981 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 04-05-17, $164,000

FAIRFIELD

TOTAL SALES: 4

LOWEST AMOUNT: $450,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $1,090,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $570,000

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $670,000

741 Dynasty Drive - $1,090,000

01-18-23 [5 Bdrms - 3151 SqFt - 2000 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 06-12-18, $725,000

2382 Flatley Circle - $625,000

01-17-23 [3 Bdrms - 2242 SqFt - 2004 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 08-10-18, $465,000

1536 Michigan Street - $450,000

01-19-23 [3 Bdrms - 1260 SqFt - 1954 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 12-04-18, $330,000

McDonald

From Page 3

to close are typically between 2% and 5% of the total purchase price of your home. With that in mind, here’s how you can get an idea of what you’ll need to cover your closing costs.

Let’s say you find a home you want to purchase for the median price of $366,900. Based on the 2% to 5% Freddie Mac estimate, your closing fees could be between roughly $7,500 and $18,500.

Keep in mind, if you’re in the market for a home above or below this price range, your closing costs will be higher or lower.

1543 Minnesota Street - $515,000

01-18-23 [3 Bdrms - 1264 SqFt - 1954 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 03-17-22, $230,000

SUISUN CITY

TOTAL SALES: 4

LOWEST AMOUNT: $510,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $620,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $570,000

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $567,500

341 Childs Court - $590,000

01-18-23 [3 Bdrms - 2206 SqFt - 1990 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 02-16-11, $210,000

1604 Pensacola Lane - $620,000

01-19-23 [3 Bdrms - 2840 SqFt - 2003 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 10-06-22, $530,000

610 Pintail Drive - $550,000

01-20-23 [4 Bdrms - 1678 SqFt - 1980 YrBlt]

827 Pochard Way - $510,000

01-17-23 [3 Bdrms - 1090 SqFt - 1985 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 09-10-08, $175,000

VACAVILLE

TOTAL SALES: 14

LOWEST AMOUNT: $350,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $755,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $607,500

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $580,607

418 Aragon Place - $579,000

01-18-23 [3 Bdrms - 1550 SqFt - 1977 YrBlt]

232 Bowline Drive - $495,000

01-18-23 [3 Bdrms - 1296 SqFt - 1973 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 02-02-22, $520,000

160 Carlton Avenue - $450,000

01-19-23 [3 Bdrms - 960 SqFt - 1983 YrBlt],

What’s the best way to make sure you’re prepared at closing time?

Freddie Mac provides great advice for homebuyers, saying:

“As you start your homebuying journey, take the time to get a sense of all costs involved – from your down payment to closing costs,” Freddie Mac suggests in the article.

Work with a team of trusted real estate professionals to understand exactly how much you’ll need to budget for closing costs. An agent can help connect you with a lender, and together your expert team can answer

Previous Sale: 09-27-05, $378,000

744 Colemanite Circle - $605,000

01-20-23 [4 Bdrms - 2040 SqFt - 1992

YrBlt], Previous Sale: 06-15-22, $658,500

598 Crownpointe Circle - $617,000

01-19-23 [4 Bdrms - 2431 SqFt - 1992 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 08-18-00, $284,000

2037 Daybreak Court - $755,000

01-17-23 [4 Bdrms - 2321 SqFt - 2001 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 03-30-21, $760,000

148 Edinburgh Way - $620,000

01-19-23 [4 Bdrms - 1895 SqFt - 1978 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 07-17-19, $475,000

1012 Freshwater Court - $610,000

01-18-23 [3 Bdrms - 1708 SqFt - 2000 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 11-14-19, $485,000

128 Lassen Circle - $385,000

01-17-23 [2 Bdrms - 1152 SqFt - 1964 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 11-12-14, $225,000

686 Marshall Road - $539,000

01-20-23 [3 Bdrms - 1402 SqFt - 1978 YrBlt]

116 Mckinley Circle - $350,000

01-20-23 [2 Bdrms - 1043 SqFt - 1964 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 01-04-06, $340,000

443 Norwich Street - $718,500

01-17-23 [5 Bdrms - 2566 SqFt - 2008 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 07-14-14, $433,000

824 Roadrunner Way - $750,000

01-18-23 [5 Bdrms - 3064 SqFt - 2020 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 08-17-20, $595,000

1019 Wisteria Court - $655,000

01-17-23 [4 Bdrms - 2100 SqFt - 2017 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 04-24-17, $432,500

VALLEJO

TOTAL SALES: 8

any questions you might have.

Bottom line

It’s important to plan for the fees and payments you’ll be responsible for at closing. Let’s connect so I can help you feel confident throughout the process.

Don McDonald (DRE License No. 01436448) is a founding partner of Re/Max Elite Partners (License No. 01215931) in Fairfield. Reach him at 707-4950774, don@remaxelitepartners. com or www.remaxelitepartners. com. Locally Focused-Globally Connected.

These are the local homes sold recently, provided by California Resource of Lodi. The company can be reached at 209.365.6663 or CalResource@aol.com.

LOWEST AMOUNT: $350,000

HIGHEST AMOUNT: $1,770,000

MEDIAN AMOUNT: $479,500

AVERAGE AMOUNT: $668,500

1472 Delwood Street - $445,000

01-19-23 [3 Bdrms - 1124 SqFt - 1955 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 09-26-17, $320,000

137 Ebbetts Pass Road - $1,770,000

01-19-23 [3 Bdrms - 1604 SqFt - 1957 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 07-13-22, $409,000

772 Lockwood Drive - $400,000

01-17-23 [3 Bdrms - 1100 SqFt - 1954 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 07-13-17, $400,000

1233 Locust Drive - $634,000

01-19-23 [3 Bdrms - 1642 SqFt - 1986 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 05-20-22, $660,000

135 Nantucket Lane - $459,000

01-17-23 [2 Bdrms - 1204 SqFt - 1984 YrBlt]

1172 Roleen Drive - $350,000

01-18-23 [4 Bdrms - 1741 SqFt - 1965 YrBlt],

Previous Sale: 02-13-09, $125,000

211 Salt Point Court #2 - $500,000

01-17-23 [2 Bdrms - 1007 SqFt - 1990 YrBlt]

824 Sandhurst Drive - $790,000

01-17-23 [5 Bdrms - 2827 SqFt

THE DAILY REPUBLIC DELIVERS. CALL 707-427-6989.

SOLANO REAL ESTATE SCENE

The time to buy is always now

As interest rates rose again this last week with the yield curve steepened to the biggest spread in something like 40 years with the 10-year bond paying 3.93% and the sixmonth T-Bill popping over 5%, I was wondering what the heck I should write about today.

My first thought is to remind people who are sitting on tons of cash in the bank to make sure they move their low-rate savings accounts into higher yielding accounts. My second thought is to encourage all the homebuyers to talk to some older people who purchased homes 25 to 50 years ago and ask them if they regret buying their home.

I moved to Solano County in 1989 with my wife and four little kids from San Francisco and

Jim Porter

had to learn all about first-time homebuyers and payment shock.

First-time homebuyers were leaving the City and San Mateo County and moving to places like Concord, Fairfield and Petaluma for housing affordability. As a loan officer, from 1985 to 1989, all my loans in the Bay Area were 20% down and because fixed rates were over 10%, adjustable-rate loans were popular. With four little kids

See Porter, Page 10

A stunning executive, 3376sf, 5 BD/3.0 BA custom home located on the 5th Fairway in El Macero Estates is a rare nd! Fully remodeled traditional home invites you into a spectacular entr y, the soaring cathedral ceilings with wooden beams, the beautiful sunken formal living room, to the clearstor y windows that showcase the fully landscape backyard and golf course! A oor to ceiling rock replace in the living room, the formal dining room is separ ate from the family room divided by a brick replace, inviting the outdoors through glass doors to the covered patio. Luxury vinyl ooring throughout the home with carpet in s ome bedrooms for comfort. Cherr y wood doors accent the entire home. e gourmet kitchen features quartz countertops, mosaic glass tile backsplash, SS appliances, ample custom cabinets, cooktop, double oven, farmer’s sink, wine refrig and a potential wine room located through the 5th bedroom or a perfect r oom for a teen suite. Master bedroom & bath includes double vanities, a glass walkthru shower, a soaking tub and backyard access to a private courtyard. A unique Mediterranean bathroom o ers a sunken tub perfect for a spa day in front of a stunning stain glass window. A beautiful place to raise your family and enjoy a picturesque golf course living at its best!

ON THE M ARKET

FOR THIS WEEKEND February 25th & 26th

OPEN HOUSE

Open House Saturday & Sunday 1-3PM

2900 Burbank Drive, Fairfield

Be Quick-Desirable single story home on Fairfield’s Westside. 4bd/2ba, 1738sf on almost quarter acre lot. Remodeled beauty! Large great room for entertaining! Kitchen remodeled with island, pendant & canned lights, SS applncs including refrigerator. Primary bedroom w/ slider to backyard. Remodeled baths! Newer roof! Possible boat parking. Spacious backyard w/bbq & fire pit. Near KI Jones school, park, shopping, restaurants & easy freeway access. $623,933

OPEN HOUSE

(707) 372-2208

PamSigel.com

344-5004

Open House Sunday 1-3PM

3401 Hartford Avenue, Fairfield

New on the Market! Great 2BR + loft, 2BA home with dine in kitchen, living room with fireplace, indoor laundr y, 2 car garage & nice yards. $450,000

CALL FOR A PRIVATE SHOWING!

207 Madrone Street, Vacaville

Just Listed! 3bd/2ba cutie is walking distance from downtown. Perfect for a first home, or investment property! Updated kitchen & baths, newer windows, leased solar system. Beautiful wood floors thruout the main living space. Bonus room off the kitchen. $485,000

Norman

The Garden Guy has been working on a project, and the number I came up with is 1340. It is not my address, and the number wasn’t the assignment, but part of my own research to help me get started. That number is the total accumulation of awards won by the Supers: Supertunia petunia, Superbells calibrachoa and Superbena verbenas. That

(As an aside, I find it funny that some of my favorites within these divisions – those I would put in the category of GOAT (Greatest of All Time) –don’t have any awards, but as a former university horticul-

NORMAN WINTER/TNS

This container shows Superbena

Stormburst verbena, Supertunia Vista Paradise petunia, Superbells

Watermelon Punch verbena, ColorBlaze Lime Time coleus and Rockin Red dianthus.

ture specialist who oversaw the Mississippi Medallion Award, I can understand why; we simply could not trial everything.)

These three divisions – Supertunia petunias, Superbells calibrachoas and Superbena ver-

benas – deserve to be together. Together they will create awardwinning mixed containers, baskets and boxes, just like Acapulco Sun, the Recipe of the Year I presented to you a couple of weeks ago.

To The Garden Guy, this is where the real gardening fun begins. Picking out the color scheme you want to work with, planting the container and bringing it into full bloom is only topped by the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds that are sure to arrive.

Proven Winners recipes are a good place to start getting ideas, but unless you are a savvy online shopper, you will be relegated to picking out plants that are available in your market. If you have progressive garden centers, this will be like going to the candy store. The Proven Winners recipes are also a little like food

photography perfection.

expect with your artistically designed containers. By artistic I really mean that you're picking

Shannon Dr.

Unraveling the myth of the GREEN THUMB

CATIE MARRON SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST

‘If you have a garden and a library,” wrote the ancient Roman statesman Cicero, “you have everything you need.”

When I started gardening seriously, I turned to books, drawing inspiration and guidance from generations of writer-gardeners, including Cicero. Those writers taught me how to observe a garden, what to pay attention to, what matters. The more I read, the better my observations; the more I observed, the better I understood what I was reading about.

My reading also resolved a lifelong obstacle to gardening: my lack of a green thumb. For years, I held on to a belief that I was far from a natural at nature, and without a green thumb, I assumed I wouldn’t know what to plant, where to plant it or how to make it thrive. Better not to begin at all.

Gardener-writers helped puncture that belief by dispelling the myth of the green thumb. Vita Sackville-West, a 20th-century English author, came to gardening as an amateur, too, without formal training in horticulture or garden design. In time, her garden at Sissinghurst became one of England’s most renowned and revered, a byproduct of her many years of experimentation and innovation. Sackville-West’s response to the idea of “green fingers” was bracing: “Ask any gardener or farmer what he thinks of it, and you will be rewarded as you deserve by a slow cynical grin and no verbal answer at all, except possibly ‘Green fingers, my foot!’ ”

The Washington Post’s Henry Mitchell also dispensed with the idea of instinctive horticultural insight. “There are no green thumbs or black thumbs,” he concluded. “There are only gardeners and non-gardeners. Gardeners are the ones who ruin after ruin get on with the high defiance of nature herself, creating, in the very face of her chaos and tornado, the bower of roses and the pride of irises.”

Per Mitchell, Sackville-West and

others, being a gardener means simply gardening – embracing imperfection and ignorance, and persisting in the face of “ruin after ruin.” These writers helped persuade me to begin, and as I’ve gained more knowledge, I’ve come to agree with their view: Nature doesn’t have to come as second nature. Experience is what makes the gardener. The trials, the errors, the joys, the agonies: You’re a gardener when you’ve had your share of it all.

By this point, I’ve made countless gardening goofs, big and small, and those

mistakes have given me a healthy perspective on our limited power over nature. Of course, there are prudent steps to take when planting. If I plant something at the right time of year, with the right level of sunshine above and with good soil below, those plants are more likely to grow and thrive. You work with your site instead of battling against it, and select plants suited to the weather, the season, the soil and the sun.

Yet, despite all that, nature will pursue its own course, not the one you’ve paved for it. I remember one year when I took

all the care in the world with my cutting garden, specifically my herbaceous peonies. I checked on them regularly, and eagerly anticipated that moment when they would burst on the scene with all their vibrant exuberance. But nature had different plans: Their blossoming took place in the one week we were away. I returned home to find a bed of fading peony petals – and a lesson in humility.

I had to wait another year to see the peonies’ display, a lesson in another of gardening’s virtues: patience. “Humility, and the most patient perseverance, seem almost as necessary in gardening as rain and sunshine,” wrote the novelist Elizabeth von Arnim. The time it takes to go from seed to sprout can feel like an eternity, but each time I planted something new, I grew more accustomed to waiting, and I came to appreciate the lull. Nature doesn’t rush, and for me, gardening has become a useful corrective for modern life’s up-to-the-minute hyper-efficiency.

Von Arnim also identified something else that a gardener needs, something far more vital than any illusory green thumbs: hope. In gardening, she observed, “every failure must be used as a steppingstone to something better.” Something better. If gardeners of the past were skeptics about natural talent, they were also united in their optimism. We garden for a vibrant future, the promise of plant life to come. And that hope, it seems to me, is so much of what makes gardening joyful and meaningful.

I lost decades of that joy and meaning because I didn’t see myself as a gardener. So I join with fellow amateur gardeners –which is to say, all of them – and urge you not to be deterred if you are a novice. As it turns out, Cicero was right: I had all that I needed, including the only thumb required, which was the one I used to turn the pages in books and the trowel in my soil.

Catie Marron is the author of “Becoming a Gardener: What Reading and Digging Taught Me About Living.”

ADOBE STOCK

It doesn’t matter what color your thumb is, experience is what makes the gardener.

Solano County Listings

Porter

From Page 5

and no savings in the bank, I had to learn about VA and FHA first-time homebuyer loans fast.

I only knew two people in Vacaville, my sister-inlaw and Charlie Manson. The only thing I knew about this town was the pungent smell of onions and the Nut Tree because my parents stopped there with my six brothers and sisters once per year on the way up to Tahoe for a bathroom break, an ice cream, and a TIMEOUT to stop the fighting in the back seat.

$2,150 per month including taxes and insurance.

This is called payment shock in the mortgage business.

in 2003 down to 3.5% on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage.

LOTS & LAND

MOBILE/FLOATING

COMMERCIAL

Mary and I moved here for a fresh start, better schools, career opportunities and to one day buy a house. We had to rent for almost two years and moved twice before we bought our four-bedroom house in November 1990 for $210,000 in the Meadowlands, where we lived for 28 years. I was able to get into the house with only about $8,000 out of my pocket because the seller offered me some creative financing where I assumed an adjustable-rate mortgage for $160,000 and the seller carried a $45,000 second mortgage loan for me at a 12% rate. My housing cost went from $1,500 rent to

Price

From Page 3

year ago,” she said. Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, said that after years of having one of the tightest real estate markets in the country, the Bay Area could be entering a period of more stagnant price growth, even as home values remain high. In addition to the rising

I was a little worried, but I was sick of my landlord complaining about my kids and our pets. Home prices went up 26% in 1988 and 16% in 1989 and by 1995 the value of my house had dropped from $210,000 to $180,000 and I still owed over $200,000 on the house. I didn’t care because I really needed a home for all my kids and pets and by 1995, my income was a lot better than it was in 1990. My 401(k) was maxed out each year and I finally had some savings. I soon realized a few years after buying my house that my $2,150 per month house payment was nothing in comparison to the cost of food, clothes, life, health and auto insurance, maximizing my IRA, paying taxes, and paying for four kids in sports. I don’t have an exact number, but I am confident the kids cost me $750,000 since they were born. The value of my house blasted upward from 1998 to 2001 and then I refinanced the house, paid off the first and second mortgage on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.5% and my payment came down to $1,700 from $2,150. I refinanced again

mortgage rates, she cited an exodus out of the region, as many local employers have embraced remote work, for potentially tamping down future demand.

Fairweather also said recent state laws aimed at spurring more home construction could help prevent prices from spiking down the road.

“We may see this new normal where the San Francisco Bay Area looks more like the rest of the country,” she said.

I convinced hundreds of people to buy houses from 1989 to 1998 at mortgage rates ranging from 6% to 10% and I cannot think of one case where the new house payment wasn’t much higher than their rent or the house payment they had on their departing residence. Some of these people now own their home free and clear and not one of them regrets buying their home. We got spoiled in 2020 and 2021 with government-backed 3.5 % rates where house payments were only $500 or $600 more than the rent would be on the house. Now, things are back to normal, and buyers must be willing to take the payment shock like buyers have had to deal with for 50 years in California.

The time to buy is always now. Just ask anyone who bought a house 25 to 50 years ago.

Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.

For Melissa Casserly, 36, and her husband, who rent in Santa Clara, the region’s still-astronomical home prices could eventually convince them to leave the Bay Area. The couple is thinking of buying a home in Southern California, where they have family and where real estate prices are more affordable.

“We hear what homes sell for in our neighborhood and our parents’ neighborhood – it’s just absolutely insane,” Casserly said.

Winter

From Page 7

out your favorite color companions. If your newspaper doesn’t have the photos or it has only one or two, please follow The Garden Guy on Facebook so you can see what I am talking about.

I grow the Supers for the most part in containers with really good potting soil. Some of the containers are large and hard for me to pick up; some are small. Choosing a good soil mix in a container that drains freely

allows each of the super divisional champs to find happiness together, even if they might have some minor idiosyncrasies.

My favorite container last year was one I can barely pick up. It featured Superbena Royale Chambray verbena. This verbena is one of those blue colors that seems to change not only with maturity, but also with the shifting sun. I’ve got several pictures that would make you swear they were not the same plant. No matter which you see, the blue is always stunning. The container also has three Superbells varieties: Grape Punch, Tangerine

Punch and Yellow. The center plant is the shockingly beautiful new Supertunia Persimmon. My photograph, taken late in the day, shows everything in its richest complementary colors.

I have the exact same container in another area. I might add that in both instances, you can’t see the container. It features Superbena Stormburst verbena, which is white with light blue stripes; Supertunia Vista Paradise petunia; Superbells Watermelon Punch calibrachoa; ColorBlaze Lime Time coleus; and Rockin Red dianthus. Here is a little issue that is

to be celebrated and to me why these are champion plants. One of the reasons you can’t see the pots is some of the plants give a perennial performance, particularly the verbenas in my zone 8a location in Georgia. But many years I get two growing seasons out of the Superbells calibrachoa.

This year was the first time I have protected plants and containers in a long time. During the December arctic blast, we hit 11, 16, 17, 22 and 28 degrees Fahrenheit on consecutive nights. I decided I would move them once, and for five nights.

They were then put back into place in the backyard and have been there ever since. They have received several high 20s days in January and February.

The plants are already covering the containers and starting to send first blooms of Superbenas and Superbells while the Supertunias are growing wildly. I’ve got plants ordered and will retool and refresh as needed. In the meantime, it’s nice to know that each container has a divisional champ or two, maybe even three in it. It is fun to watch on a daily basis to see which bloomer is next.

Vogelpohl BROKER, CAL BRE #00705450