Monday, February 20, 2012

REO / Bank Owned properties in Mountain View 94043 zip code

Right now there are 3 REO / Bank Owned properties in the 94043 zip code - One on NORTH RENGSTORFF AVENUE, one on EAST MIDDLEFIELD ROAD, and one on EASY STREET.

Your chances are better if you have CASH or exceptional financing. If you need a loan, usually the seller requires that your pre-approval be from a direct lender such as BofA or Wells Fargo. Sometimes they give buyers who plan to live in the property first chance before allowing offers from investors.

183 ADA AV Mountain View, CA 94043 - Real Estate | CENTURY 21

183 ADA AV Mountain View, CA 94043 - Real Estate | CENTURY 21

Monday, February 13, 2012

BART Warm Springs Extension

The Bay Area Rapit Transit (BART) Warm Springs Extension will add 5.4-miles of new tracks from the existing Fremont Station (near Mowry Ave and Paseo Padre) south to a new station in the Warm Springs district of the City of Fremont.

An optional Irvington Station may be built approximately midway, in the Irvington District, depending on future funding through the City of Fremont and may be added at a later date.

The BART extension will cross over Walnut Avenue; under Stevenson Boulevard, Fremont Central Park and the Union Pacific Railroad track in a subway; over Paseo Padre Parkway; under Washington Boulevard; under Auto Mall Parkway; and over South Grimmer Boulevard.

The Warm Springs Station will feature an at-grade island platform with an overhead concourse, intermodal access to Valley Transit Authority (VTA) and Alameda-Contra Costa Transit (AC Transit) buses, as well as taxi and "kiss and ride" passenger drop off areas, all via Warm Springs Boulevard. The new station will also provide approximately 2,000 parking spaces.

As with all BART stations, the Warm Springs Station will be fully accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists, and will include bike lockers, elevators and escalators, Braille signs and a tactile sight path to aid riders with disabilities.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Cupertino Union School District Kindergarten Registration for the 2012-2013 School Year

The Cupertino Union School District Kindergarten Registration for the 2012-2013 School Year is taking place right now. It started on February 6th and will continue through February 16th. Parents must go to the office of their neighborhood elementary school to pick up registration packets. The reg packets will be sequentially numbered. The number is only valid if the reg packet is returned to the neighborhood school during the Kindergarten Registration Window (Feb 6 - Feb 16, 2012).

Some items to note:
1. Sibling priority will be given to siblings of in-district students currently attending the neighborhood school who register during the Kindergarten Registration Window.
2. A Kindergarten Registration Receipt will be issued during this Kindergarten Registration Window only.
3. The Kindergarten Registration Receipt will be required if you decide to participate in the District's Open Enrollment Window (Feb 10 - Feb 16, 2012)
4. A student may apply to ONE Alternative Education Program school OR ONE neighborhood school other than your own neighborhood school during the Open Enrollment Window (Feb 10 - Feb 16, 2012)

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Campbell/Moreland Homes in Good School Districts yet priced below $585k

Many buyers in the South Bay want single-family homes with a good combination of convenient location, good schools, and reasonably low price. With those 3 elements in mind, I've put together a list of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Campbell/Moreland Homes with good schools priced below $585,000.

Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Campbell are 3 cities that are conveniently located approximately the center of Silicon Valley. These centrally-located cities have easy access to a large variety of high-tech jobs in the valley. Sunnyvale and Santa Clara are the most convenient. If you buy a house in Sunnyvale, you and your spouse will both be able to commute easily whether you work at a software company in Mountain View, a semiconductor company in Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, or a networking company in Milpitas.

As of Sunday January 29th, here are the listings available in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Campbell/Moreland with API over 800 and price below $585,000:

Santa Clara (2 listings)
1746 Oswald Place 95051 <-- Northwest of San Tomas Expwy & El Camino Real
3 bed, 2 bath
1283sf house, 5670sf lot
$533,000
Bowers Elem (API 830)
Juan Cabrillo Middle (API 756)
Adrian Wilcox High (API 777)
Pros: Larger house
Cons: Lower API at a higher price

2344 Augusta Place 95051 <-- Northwest of Monroe St & Bowers Ave
3bed, 2bath
1034sf house, 5500sf lot
$475,000
Bracher Elem (API 894)
Juan Cabrillo Middle (API 756)
Adrian Wilcox High (API 777)
Pros: Higher API at a lower price
Cons: Smaller house


Sunnyvale (2 listings)
836 Dwight Ave 94086 <-- Northeast of N. Fair Oaks Ave & E. Kifer Ave
3bed, 2bath
1176sf house, 5000sf lot
$549,950
Ellis Elementary (API 811)
Sunnyvale Middle (API 843)
Fremont High (API 767)
Pros: 102sf larger than Fair Oaks; 2bath instead of 1bath
Cons: Closer to Home Depot and other commercial/industrial. Farther from El Camino Rea.

433 S. Fair Oaks Ave 94086 <-- South of E. Evelyn Ave. North of Old San Francisco Rd
3bed, 1bath
1078sf house, 5661sf lot
$549,000
Ellis Elementary (API 811)
Sunnyvale Middle (API 843)
Fremont High (API 767)
Pros: In a more residential neighborhood than Dwight. Closer to El Camino Real. Farther from Home Depot and other commercial/industrial.
Cons: Busy street. 102sf smaller than Dwight; 1bath instead of 2bath

Campbell (4 listings)
4874 Bannock Circle 95130 <-- Northeast of Westmont Ave & Quito Rd
3bed, 1bath
1045sf house, 6262sf lot
$585,000
Forest Hill Elementary (API 931)
Rolling Hills Middle (API 909)
Westmont High (API 788)
Pros: Excellent schools for this price range
Cons: Only 1bath. Only 1045sf.

600 West Parr Ave, Los Gatos 95032 <-- North of Hwy85 & S. Winchester Blvd
3bed, 1bath
1277sf house, 9000sf lot
$574,999
Capri Elementary (API 867)
Rolling Hills Middle (API 909)
Westmont High (API 788)
Pros: 232sf larger than Bannock Circle. Big 9000sf lot.
Cons: Only 1bath.

180 Friar Way, Campbell 95008 <-- North of San Tomas Expy & S. Winchester Blvd
3bed, 1bath
1376sf house, 8100sf lot
$535,000
Capri Elementary (API 867)
Campbell Middle (API 737)
Westmont High (API 788)
Pros: 331sf larger than Bannock Circle. Big 8100sf lot.
Cons: Campbell Middle is not as good as Rolling Hills Middle. Only 1bath.

1641 Fruitdale Ave, San Jose 95128 <-- North of Fruitdale College. Between S. Bascom Ave & Meridian Ave
3bed, 2bath
1651sf house, 7744sf lot
$499,000
Sherman Oaks Elementary (API 845)
Monroe Middle (API 778)
Del Mar High (API 720)
Pros: Large house. Large lot. Low price
Cons: Sherman Oaks API 845 not as high as Forest Hill API 931.

Moreland (1 listing)
135 North San Tomas Aquino Rd <-- Between W. Campbell Ave * Hamilton Ave
3bed, 2bath
1247sf house, 6000sf lot
$499,000
Gussie M. Baker Elementary (API 903)
Moreland Middle (API 851)
Prospect High (API 772)
Pros: All 3 schools (Elem, Middle, High) scored higher API than Fruitdale Ave.
Cons: Busy road.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Stocklmeir expects to have enough space to accomodate all incoming kindergarteners

For the upcoming 2012-2013 school year, the CUSD expects everybody to get in. Stocklmeir has boosted its capacity to 8 kindergarten classes x 33 students per class. That's up from the previous total of 5 kindergarten classrooms x 33 students per class. Luckily, they have maintained the classroom sizes to 33 students per class.

Kindergarteners only go to school for half days. That helps because then schools can accomodate the kindergarteners in two sessions - morning and afternoon. (The morning and afternoon sessions overlap for approximately 40-60 minutes.)

The district expects 300 families to register for Stocklmeir. Most likely the numbers will work out because movement occurs. A certain percentage of parents will opt for another neighborhood school, such as Regnart, through open enrollment.

Nevertheless, the Cupertino Union School District will still hold a lottery for Stocklmeir for the reasons mentioned in my other blog post.

Stocklmeir's lottery system means parents don't have to camp out

The Cupertino Union School District will be running a lottery system for spots in Stocklmeir Elementary. Some people don't like to hear the word lottery for such an important issue, but the reason for the lottery makes sense. If the school district had offered spots on a first-come, first-served basis, then we'd see a long line of parents camping outside the office to ensure their kids got it. With kindergarten spots offered to Stocklmier Elementary through a lottery, all parents have an equal shot at getting their child in as long as they pick up their registration packet on time within the registration window of Jan 30th – Feb 16th. Parents don't gain any advantage by camping out for early registration.