Bay Area Bloggers

You may have notice that we're not with Century 21 any more. Yes there have been some changes but Don is still practicing real estate. Just real quick our broker went independent and scaled down his office. We decided to stay with him. We like the small family type business he has created in his office, and the knowledge he brings to the table(30 years Plus experience).Another thing, Don is now going solo, I'll still be in the back ground, just not as involved.

Deb

You apply for a mortgage or a refinance, all of a sudden you get a barrage of offers from other competing mortgage companies to new credit card offers, and everything in-between? Sometimes the calls start within twenty four hours of the application!

One reason maybe the newer and some would say invasive method is called credit triggers or a mortgage trigger'. Here's how it  works. Say your for example: you apply for a mortgage, the credit bureau will update competing companies that ask to be notified when a lender's report is pulled. Then they begin to contact you with their offers. Is this legal? Yes, it is. Is it right? It's up to the individual to decide.

 The Federal Trade Commission believes this  improves competition and keeps prices low. Breech of privacy? Well its believed that  you may get a better offer for your mortgage than the first and lower prices are good for the consumer. There are ways of opting out of these "mortgage triggers" - 

Go to your mortgage broker and get more information. Let them know this is not alright.

So much for privacy!

Don

WHEN WILL BE THE BEST TIME TO PURCHASE A HOME!!

     With rates looking to go even lower than they are right now and  home sales below last years market value and more than likely going lower....This is what buyers have been waiting for. There is no way to time the market perfectly, with the housing market looking like it's going to stabalizing in 2009, in the next few months and into the summer  may be a great time to buy so here  are 5 Creative Ways to Afford a Home!

1. Investigate local, state, and national down payment assistance programs. These programs give qualified applicants loans or grants to cover all or part of your required down payment. National programs include the Nehemiah program, www.getdownpayment.com, and the American Dream Down Payment Fund from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, www.hud.gov.

2. Explore seller financing. In some cases, sellers may be willing to finance all or part of the purchase price of the home and let you repay them gradually, just as you would do with a mortgage.

3. Consider a shared-appreciation or shared-equity arrangement. Under this arrangement, your family, friends, or even a third-party may buy a portion of the home and share in any appreciation when the home is sold. The owner/occupant usually pays the mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance costs, but all the investors' names are usually on the mortgage. Companies are available that can help you find such an investor, if your family can’t participate.

4. Ask your family for help. Perhaps a family member will loan you money for the down payment or act as a co-signer for the mortgage. Lenders often like to have a co-signer if you have little credit history.

5. Consider a short-term second mortgage. If you can qualify for a short-term second mortgage, this would give you money to make a larger down payment. This may be possible if you’re in good financial standing, with a strong income and little other debt.

We teach our children not to speak to strangers. But are you aware that with all the new technology their not as safe as you may think! Now anyone can find out where you live just by you giving them your phone number! This gives anyone the opportunity to find out exactly where you live!

How is this possible? Google now has a new feature which enables anyone to type a telephone number into the search bar and hit
enter. What they get is the person's name and
address. Then they are able to hit Map Quest, here they get a map
to the person's house. This is some thing everyone should be aware of! It's a nationwide reverse telephone book.

Just think if a child gives out his/her phone number, someone can
now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The
safety issues are obvious and alarming.
(Note that you can have your phone number removed or
blocked.)

With all the crazies out there this does not give me a harm and fuzzy feeling!!!!

Deb

Don and I have looked at a lot of homes this past month, and at that we've come across a lot of homes for sale that are what we term short sales. These are homes that are on the market but have no equity left. In these cases the lender or lenders have agreed to accept less than what is due on the loan(s), for go the term "short pay' or short sale.

So you may say to yourself: WOW great deal! But is it? From the surface it may look the same as a regular transaction, the seller is still obligated to furnish disclosures and sign off on the contract and other paper work …. But with a short sale now that the reduction in price has dipped into the Lenders pocket…. the lender now becomes the major decision maker. The Lender decides if they are going to accept the asking price or not. Not a Problem, right? Wrong!

The major problem, the time frame, it may take a lender 24 hours to 90 days to decide if they will accept the offer. With that said there are now 2 more problems that surface. In-stead of putting this possible transaction on a fast track to a quick decision….some of these banks are still on their own time schedule, therefore putting the property in jeopardy of going into foreclosure. The Banks are now adding to the problem that they already started!!! Problem number two; remember the buyer has a loan secured but the interest rate has not been locked in…..what happens in that time frame if the interest rate goes up? Or say the buyer’s credit changes for what ever reason……..  The buyer is out a home. All that wasted time, the buyer could have already been in their home. 

This is just one of the many problems that may occur.

But as a real estate agent this is what we look out for.

Deb

*****

Just a quick note! Mortgage loans are pooled together and are then sold to Wall Street investors. They then put forth contractual limitations on “modification of terms and short sales”. A third party then services these loans. The Third party has to work within certain boundaries when it comes to “ work outs ” ( a loan where a home owner may be having problems and they are trying to work things out ) anything outside these boundaries it then goes to the investors for there approval

Hence the long wait

Don

Don and I see a lot of homes where a little up keep could have prevented huge problems down the road. No one thinks twice about keeping up their cars, tune-ups, oil changes, etc. But when it comes to the up keep of their home some become lax. Is this wise?

It does cost to fix things and in a home it could be hundreds to thousands of dollars. Simple things that were not taken care of early could turn out to be a monumental expense later.

Water damage is a big problem with a lot of homes we see. There’s mold, wood rot, wood fungus, and yes termites.

What to do?? Well first of all make sure you’ve calked around the tub, shower, and sinks. Make sure your faucets and drains are not leaking, if they are get them fixed!!! Keep your gutters clean and during the rainy season make sure all water drains away from the house. You do not want water settling around the foundation of the house, big problems from mold to foundation problems just to name a few. Last but not least get a termite inspection. For a couple of hundred dollars (maybe less depending on size of home), could save yourself even more.

Have any horror stories? We’d like to here from you!

Deb

Why get a home Inspection in the first place?

You maybe  wondering that same question. In our line of business we run into a lot of buyers wondering the same thing. Some, maybe including you, think that having a home inspection done on a particular property may be of no value. But is it? We have come upon many home owners who thought this at the time of their buying their home and wound up for what ever reason not getting a home inspection. Only to find out this proved to be a disastrous mistake!

Basically a home inspection is intended to uncover any potential problems (keep in mind that a home inspector cannot see thru walls) thus allowing the buyer to become familiar with the home. This allows the buyer to make some important decisions on weather they want to continue with the purchase of the home or not.

One case in point was at an open house and a homeowner came into see the property. She began telling me how her and her husband, thinking they were getting a great deal on their home because they were purchasing the property from a for sale by owner. Needless to say no inspections were gotten. Come to find out during the rainy season water collected under one corner of the house resulting mold in the master bedroom. Would an inspector have caught this, more than likely. Now the homeowners were stuck with trying to resolve this issue.

Another case was a homeowner who for what ever reason never got an inspection on a somewhat newer home only to find out some time later that the all the dual pane windows in their home needed replacing. OUCH! Would the inspector have caught this? More than likely.

Weather the home is a new home, an older home,or an “as is”. It’s always a safe bet some type of issue will pop up. Its better to be well informed than  suffer the consequences. In some cases it could be very costly!!!