Sunnyvale West Association and the Mary Avenue Bridge

The Sunnyvale West Neighborhood Association was formally registered with the City on April 30, 2007 to represent the issues, interests and perspectives of the residents and businesses of West Sunnyvale.
Their stated objectives are to maintain and improve the residential neighborhoods as a livable (walkable, bikable and human scale) place that works as a vibrant, cohesive community through education and a celebration of our cultural diversity in a safe environment.
The residents and businesses they represent range from the western boundary of Sunnyvale, south to Homestead, north to Maude Ave., and East to Mathilda Ave. / Sunnyvale-Saratoga Ave.
With a hotly contested city council election just beginning, we can expect the planned bridge from a North Mary Avenue extension to the newly developed Moffett Towers project to be one of the central issues of the campaign, and this group to be in the middle of the controversy.

Sunnyvale Business Boardwalk

Tonight six of us from my office continued our support for Habitat for Humanity by participating in the Chamber of Commerce's downtown business fair. Since it was held in conjunction with the Wednesday night Music and Market on Murphy Avenue, there was a great turnout of local residents.
Fifty booths were there, representing a variety of businesses, and I saw many friends, clients and fellow Chamber members. Sure, it was good PR, but the goal was to raise money for the charity, and we had beautiful gift baskets to raffle off. We were able to use our sales skills for a good cause, and the evening was an unqualified success. We are well on our way to a banner year of fundraising.

Santa Clara Valley Stats

Our office meeting was especially enjoyable this morning. We started by serving over fifty agents a waffle and quiche breakfast with all the trimmings to start off our Habitat for Humanity campaign with a bang.
Then we moved on to a discussion about the local real estate market. We haven't yet seen repercussions due to the tightening of the Jumbo loans, but there are factors coming from other changes in the lenders' requirements that we may see soon enough. For one thing, the equity lines of credit on present properties that buyers are using as down payments on their next homes are shrinking, and may soon be based on the borrower's ability to qualify for all the loans involved. This could mean a resurgence of contingent offers, even in previously "hot" areas.
We are also seeing County listings in higher numbers than in the last five years. Strangely, although figures in Santa Clara and the north end of Sunnyvale are beginning to mirror San Jose, the more expensive areas continue to have limited inventory. I promise to watch the market closely and provide regular reports "from the trenches."

Remodeling a Victorian

On Saturday, I had a chance to see a friend's 1915 house in Saratoga. It is located on a secluded acre lot, frequently visited by deer, but only a short walk from downtown shops and restaurants.
Older homes hold a special allure, but they are also create many difficulties for the do-it-yourself remodeler. Costs can be unpredictable....very often, one thing leads to two or three other things.
If you want a huge master bedroom suite, walk-in closets, and an oversized kitchen, opt for a newer home. Turn of the century homes had kitchens that were strictly utilitarian, not social centers as they are today. These older homes were also lacking in closet space and en suite bathrooms.
The challenge is to preserve a piece of history, while still bringing it into the 21st century. How do you create a kitchen with modern amenities that looks like it could have been built in 1910 or 1920?
The positive aspects are usually wonderful natural light, and location in a charming neighborhood like this one in Saratoga, or others in the Naglee Park area of San Jose, on beautiful tree-lined streets.

Green is In

Last week, at my Chamber of Commerce group, we introduced a new member. Aaron works for Paradise Cleaning, a local carpet cleaning firm that uses cleaning products which do not cause allergic reactions or make people ill.
This trend is catching on all over the country, and ecofriendly builders are seeing green even though the real estate market in most areas is in bad shape. Condos in a "green" high rise in Chicago are nearly sold out, despite prices from $350,000 to more than $2 million. Buyers are impressed by the ecologically correct bamboo floors, the bike room, and a tank that collects storm water to irrigate the landscaping.
There are even "green" real estate agencies, such as Green Key Real Estate in San Francisco, and KJM in Beverly Hills.
On a lesser scale, homeowners are finding that by adding these features to their homes, they can help the environment and also increase their value and stand out in the marketplace.

Last Night with the Downtown Developers

I stopped by the Sunnyvale Senior Center last night, where city residents were able to get their first look at the updated plans for the Town Center redevelopment project. A Power Point presentation was given by the project developers, but because of the lighting, it was largely ineffective, so the architectural projections were used instead.
One of the most exciting plans is for the new Target store. Completely rebuilt, it will be 28,000 feet larger than the current store, but the extensive use of glass and other elements have resulted in a very creative and visually interesting design.
All of the retail space will be on the second floor, with parking and other retail shops underneath.
Another new addition to the plan is a hotel at the corner of Murphy and McKinley. The 14 screen Century Theater is still in the plan, but the building will be two stories, rather than the three that were originally planned.
The room was full of interested and concerned citizens, and many questions from the audience were about the projected height of the buildings, and the access to historical Murphy Street. One inclusion that appealed to everyone was the Redwood park-like area in the center of the plan, and neighbors seemed relieved that the Iowa side will have townhouse-style residences facing the existing homes.
When will this all be a reality? Projected opening is in 2009.

More on the Mortgage Situation

Need a mortgage this month? It's going to be harder - and more expensive - to get one, according to Steve Kim of Bank of America, who spoke briefly at our tour meeting this morning.
In the past week, turmoil in the mortgage markets has caused increasing problems for home buyers in the Bay Area and around the nation.
The SF Chronicle headlined the news in this morning's paper, and featured this story:

Kurt Herrenbruck, a mortgage planner with Fishman Financial Group in Berkeley, saw one client's financing evaporate in the space of three days last week.

"The client is well-heeled, with (a high credit score), and $500,000 in the bank, making an owner-occupied purchase with a 25 percent down payment," Herrenbruck said. "He needs a no-doc loan (meaning he cannot provide documents to prove his income) because of an employment hiccup."

Herrenbruck said Wednesday he found two lenders willing to make a no-document loan. But by Thursday it was down to one. And Friday, when his client's offer was accepted, there was none. "He can't buy even though he had the strongest profile of any no-doc: superlative credit, money in the bank and a whopping down payment."

The story underscores how skittish Wall Street investors are causing a ripple effect that hurts multitudes of people buying or selling houses.

Simply put, less money is available for mortgages