It appears that spring weather is just around the corner. So, I felt it may be important for the Sunnyvale residence to see the latest bicycle map that covers the whole real estate of the city. I know, I didn't know they had such a map either. Anyway I hope it helps get you out of the house with the family and on a fun & safer bike ride. Click here for the .pdf map to download.

Let 'THE SUN' shine in your home!
If you're like me and many other Sunnyvale residence, the local paper 'The Sun' doesn't seem to make it to my house very often. So here's a link to the paper to be able to open, read, print and save any articles that you choose. Sunnyvale is on the move, let's all try to stay up to date on the changes to our precious real estate. I hope this helps! Click here or on 'The Sun' logo below...

Thousands may line up for low-cost housing
The Sunnyvale Real Estate low income housing is a must for anyone who can qualify. Santa Clara County also has low-cost housing throughout the valley. If you or someone you know, can't see how you can afford a home in the Silicon Valley real estate market. You must see if you qualify for this fantastic program to buy a home in this otherwise crazy real estate boom.
Like water in a pinched hose, the demand for Section 8 affordable-housing vouchers has been building in Santa Clara County for almost seven years.
On March 31, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority will announce when and where people can apply to get on the waiting list for the vouchers. Many agencies in the South Bay predict that tens of thousands of residents will flood the housing authority website and an unknown office location in an attempt to get on the waiting list as soon as the announcement is made.
The final location and time is a closely guarded secret to prevent people from camping out in front of the location. The county will accept applications for only five days, and a lottery will determine the order of the waiting list for new applicants.
To qualify for Section 8, an applicant's income cannot exceed 50 percent of the area's median income, and 75 percent of the available vouchers must go to people who make less than 30 percent. According to the housing authority, 50 percent of the median income is approximately $37,150 for a single person, $47,750 for a family of three.
For more information, or for final dates and times from the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, located at 505 W. Julian St. in San Jose, visit www.hacsc.org or call 408.275.8770.

For the Complete Article: Click Here

City of Sunnyvale Spring Clean-up Dates to Remember...

Let's spread the word and work together to get all Sunnyvale residences to clean-up our yards, garages, & sheds. The cleaner our nieghborhoods look the more our precious Sunnyvale real estate is worth.

Here are the events & dates:
Extra Dump Weekends: April 1, 2, 8, 9
Extra Curbside Garbage Pick-up: April 3rd through April 28th
Household Hazardoud Waste Events: April 15th, May 20th, June 17th
Compost Workshops: March 18th, April 15th, May 20th, June 17th
Environmental Workshop Series: April 17th, 18th, & 19th

Garage Sale Day: April 22nd (city wide)

If you have any questions or need further details contact:
City of Sunnyvale Recycling 408.730.7262 or visit at www.sunnyvalerecycles.org

Teri Hatcher Molested As A Child In Sunnyvale

Well this is a little off the beaten path of Sunnyvale Real Estate but...

In case you were not aware that Teri Hatcher lived in Sunnyvale and graduated from Fremont High School in 1982. She was also a high school friend of my sister Janette.

Teri Hatcher, one of the stars of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," says in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair that her uncle sexually molested her 35 years ago.The 41-year-old actress says she learned in 2002 that a 14-year-old victim of her uncle had committed suicide. Concerned that he would escape charges of molestation, Hatcher approached the Santa Clara County prosecutors in California."This is something I've tried to hide my whole life," Hatcher tells the magazine, which hits newsstands Friday with the actress on the cover."I was just blown away by this young girl's pain," she says. "I thought, boy, that's really close to being me. Any day of the week I could feel that sort of pain. I haven't tried to kill myself, but I've certainly thought about it."After Hatcher came forward, her uncle, Richard Hayes Stone, then 64-years-old, pleaded guilty to four counts of child molestation in the case of the 14-year-old victim and received 14 years in prison.
Complete article: click here

Two new real estate related companies providing information to the customer...

Movoto.com - A full service real estate brokerage company with technology savy Agents. Movoto is providing a smorgasbord of Silicon Valley real estate MLS information at the fingertips of consumers. Easy to use map based MLS search capabilities to find the home your looking for in the school district and neighborhood of your choice. As an example, you search Sunnyvale real estate and choose a house from the map. You can now go compare school's by API scores and then select to fine houses near a chosen school. Grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops are all listed with distance to any selected property. Endless possibilities with the data they provide. Expect the whole San Francisco Bay Area to be covered by the end of the year.

Zillow.com - Find out how much you home is worth or at least get an zestimate. Zillow.com is providing a free online service that is to provide you with an estimate of your home and all your neighbors as well. It's fun to play with but, I would suggest you contact a local Realtor at Movoto.com if you are serious about selling your home. Zillow's estimated home pricing is based on county record information and doesn't take into count your homes features and the specific real estate market in your neighborhood. Definitely go try it!

Recent article on the front page of the Mercury News about these two companies: Click Here

Two affordable Sunnyvale real estate complexes are now available for sale. Both have prices ranging from $300's to $500's

Cupertino Villas
Complex map, click to enlarge-->
Located at 880 E. Fremont Ave in Sunnyvale

Cypress Landing
Located at 623 E. El Camino Real in Sunnyvale

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to tour these complexes.
mark@thomasonteam.com or 408.850.3085

Web transforming real estate sales
SITES OFFER MORE DATA THAN AGENTS DO

By Sue McAllister
Mercury News

One such local company is Movoto.com, co-founded by Silicon Valley software entrepreneur Henry Shao. When Shao went house-hunting six years ago, he wanted to see a decade's worth of price information for Palo Alto and Los Altos homes, and grew frustrated when real estate agents couldn't provide it.
That inspired him to build a new kind of real estate company: one with a Web site that offers instant access to the neighborhood low-down rarely offered by real estate agents. Movoto.com offers historical, city-specific price trends, comparisons of homes' list prices and sale prices, comparable home sales data complete with photos, nearby school test scores and more. Details such as how long a home has been on the market are also included.

Complete article: click here

Unbelievable, 300-ton, 400-feet tall construction crane crashed down on Vallco Mall in Cupertino. Luckily, no one was injured!

Stormy weather leaving its mark
By Julie Patel - Mercury News

No one was injured when a 400-foot-long crane fell into a Cupertino mall Monday, but business is already hurting as investigators try to get to the bottom of what went wrong.
Customers and employees ``were standing up and seeing the thing coming right through the center of the ceiling,'' said Sandy Phillips, owner of New Things West/Bay Area Bridal, who viewed the damage from behind police tape Monday night after a strong winter storm knocked the crane over at the mall at Stevens Creek Boulevard and Wolfe Road in Cupertino. ``It looks like 9/11.''

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and an engineering firm hired by DPR Construction -- the contractor hired to lead the $200 million mall renovation project -- are trying to determine how a gust of wind could topple a 300-ton crane; why the crane was sitting vertically with the boom up; and whether there were any safety policies violated.
Full story: Click Here

Be Careful!

Door-to-door solicitors not always what or who they claim
Complete article: http://www.sunnyvalesun.com/sv-coverstrip2.shtml

Selling a home without a Realtor is risky business!

In an industry filled with acronyms, the term FSBO speaks loud and clear to those who believe the "For Sale By Owner" may be headed for trouble when trying to handle a real estate transaction without the help of an experienced professional...

If considering Selling your own home, you might want to read the complete acticle first...
http://www.lgwt.com/lg-re-feature2.shtml