Fremont Real Estate and Beyond

For the average Joe, it can be frustrating to look for HOA rules and regulations for a development.  A new website is launching in Florida and Maryland in January as a tool to see all the details of any HOA.  Hopefully they will be able to launch nationally! More info-- http://nationalhoadatabase.com/ https://www.inman.com/2016/11/28/could-the-national-hoa-database-serve-up-transparency/

Gov. Jerry Brown signed off on  Senate Bill 1069, which eases the restrictions on building in-law, or "Granny" units on properties zoned for single family homes.  This will hopefully ease the housing shortage in the Bay Area. More info here-- http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/27/california-eases-restrictions-on-granny-units/    

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac just announced they will back mortgages up to $424,100, an increase from $417,000. More info here-- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-23/fannie-freddie-loan-limits-increasing-for-first-time-in-a-decade

I mentioned earlier in September  about how 2 Coldwell Banker agents represented a buyer and seller in a transaction and there was a discrepancy in the square footage.  The buyer sued Coldwell Banker and the agents.  The heart of the question was, does the listing agent owe a fiduciary duty to the buyer and since Coldwell Banker is the brokerage to both the buyer and seller? The answer is YES.  There are a lot of ramifications to this decision and we will have to see how things pan out. Case Summary and decision-- http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S218734.PDF

09-29-2016 EXPO Forecast Final by C.A.R. Research & Economics on Scribd

BayEast posted their housing statistics for the month of October.  You can find it here-- https://bayeast.org/community-info/community-info/ Click on the city you want and then "Housing Market Information" followed by "Current Attached" or "Current Detached"

Propublica published a report about the ability of Realtors and Sellers to exclude potential buyers by race when advertising on Facebook.  This is a very serious violation of the Fair Housing Act and I hope they change it.   https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-lets-advertisers-exclude-users-by-race