Worldwide Real Estate Impact on Silicon Valley

Discord is a better teacher than concord. Consequently, I make it a priority to travel; its unique experiences are an important component of a lifelong education. I have recently focused my travels on learning more about real estate markets around the…

Enforceability of the “As-Is” Provision in Residential Real Estate Purchase Contracts

Given the hot housing market in Silicon Valley, buyers, in the face of multiple all-cash offers, feel pressured to make their offers as appealing as possible. Not only do these buyers make offers with no contingencies, they also take the property “As-Is.”…

全球房产走势对硅谷的影响

"真正的发现之旅不是找到新的风景，而是拥有新的眼睛。“– Marcel Proust 相比于统一性，差异点往往是更好的老师。因此，我总是尽量多旅行--旅行中的独特经历组成了终身教育的重要部分。最近，我将旅行的重点放在了深入了解全球各地的房地产市场上，以便将最好的从业经验带回DeLeon房地产公司。在过去的两年中，我的行程中包括中国（加上香港及台湾）、印度及俄罗斯。到2014年底前，我的商业合伙人Michael…

Atherton 2014: The Evolving Expectation of Privacy

By Ken DeLeon  In October 2014, Forbes named Atherton, California (94027) the most expensive zip code in the country for the second year in a row. The local market has been experiencing incredible appreciation, which is directly attributable to both…

Ideas for Outdoor Living

With summer upon us, getting your outdoor spaces looking beautiful doesn’t have to be stressful and demanding. No matter how big or small your outdoor space is, here are some helpful and simple ideas that can get you ready for some low maintenance entertaining…

Grand Boulevard Initiative

El Camino Real has a deep history of change in California, and it’s about to change again. Stretching back farther than the establishment of the State of California, El Camino was originally named “The Royal Road” by the Missionaries who used the…

Some Like It Hot

While summer temperatures are going up, what is rising more rapidly are local home prices. Even after 4 years of appreciation, this year’s market shows no signs of weakening with multiple offers for many homes resulting in double-digit appreciation…

Savvy Use of the 1031 Exchange

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin, 1789 Could Mr. Franklin have been half wrong? The answer is yes for individuals willing to make systematic and disciplined use of tax deferred exchanges…

外资对帕洛阿托 (Palo Alto) 房地产市场的影响

富于活力的经济环境、理想的气候以及丰富的智慧资本－这些因素汇集在一起​​将世界各地的人们吸引到了硅谷。这种文化、创意及思维方式的汇聚融合恰恰是这一地区的魅力所在。在该…

加州房地产相关税制简介－13号法案

许多来自其他州的购房者来到加州时会惊讶的发现两个事实：1. 这里各城市的房产税税率都一样；2. 同一街区的房产所有权人缴的房产税额可能会有天壤之别－而且，令他们懊恼的是，新搬入的人通常是吃亏的一方。这两件事都源于上世纪70年代后期通过的著名而且富有争议的13号法案。 1978年，加州选民以压倒性的优势通过了一项提议，该提议承诺对不断上涨的房产税加以控制，以避免长期屋主被迫卖掉房屋的现象发生。这项提议之所以获得大多数人的支持，是因为上世纪70年代严重的通货膨胀使得这个“黄金之州”的房产税暴涨，很多家庭因为负担不起，不得不卖掉他们的房子。大家选择的解决方案是修改加州宪法并且将房地产应税额限制在1975年至1976年间的最高市场价（该价格被称为“基准价值”）。不仅如此，每年对该价值所做的任何通胀调整不能超过2％。当时的房产税率是调整过的基准价值的1％。但是，如果房屋所有权有变化或是房屋重建的话，该房产的基准价值会被重新设定。因此，在加州买房时，买方需缴纳的房产税额会比卖方多很多。 虽然13号法案的初衷值得称道，但其适用也会导致一些不公平的结果。例如，一个在Palo…