Real Estate Information Archive

I just got home from an evening of fishing at the lake in Rancho Santa Margarita with my family...There is nothing better than enjoying the the amenities you get living in Rancho Santa Margarita...You are able to fish without needing a fishing license...Last year my oldest daughter Braxtin and I caught 26 fish in about an hour and half....YES, you heard me right 26...Tonight we caught somewhere in the 20s again...I think we caught a huge fish today BUT my wife says it weighs about .5lbs....I thought it was like 2lbs....lol....my girls had a blast and more than anything we creating ever lasting memories...

You are probably wondering what king of fish are we catching?

I will tell you...small Bluegill ...

What king of bait?

Small pieces of hotdog...that is right...hotdog...

Time of day?

The evening in the summertime...6:30ish until it gets dark...

What kind of hooks?

Tiny little fish hooks you can purhcase at the local Big 5 that is located in the Target shopping center...

Where is the best spot to fish around  the lake for these little Bluegill fish?

By the rocks that are closest to the volleyball court that is located in the beach club...

As you can see I am far from an expert fisherman...I don't know much if anything about fishing...I keep it simple with my fishing terminology...I am just a dad that loves to enjoy spending time with my family in the city that I live in...Rancho Santa Margarita...

Someone might read this and think to themselves," I don't want to catch these little fish...I want to catch big fish"....well my answer to that is that you can catch big fish in the lake at RSM....my theory is this when it comes to fishing....It's not about the size of the fish, it's about the thrill of the catch...

Daily Real Estate News | Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A new program is offering financial assistance to first-time home buyers who are veterans or active-duty military members. The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation, a nonprofit national organization, is offering the assistance through its Dream Makers program.

Active duty personnel, veterans, retired members of the military, and employees of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security may be eligible for a grant up to $5,000 to use on down payments and closing costs when buying their first home. The grants can be applied to a mortgage from any financial institution.

“Members of the military often put off buying a home earlier in their careers because they’re moving around the country a lot,” says Kate Kohler, chief operating officer for the PenFed Foundation. “We want to make sure they have resources to add immediate equity into their home when they decide to buy.”

To view eligibility requirements, visit www.pentagonfoundation.org/dreammakers.

Source: “Veterans and Active Duty Can Get Financial Help When Buying Their First Home,” Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation (July 25, 2011)

Not so long ago, in a not-so-distant land, owning a home was thought of as the safest "investment" around. Fast forward to the present day, and home ownership seems super scary to many people who can afford homes, and would like to own them, but are paralyzed by the fear of buying a lemon, or having a mortgage catastrophe.  

Here are 4 simple steps to minimize the risk that you'll become the main character in a homeownership horror story.  

1.  Stick with a fixed-rate mortgage.  Recent data shows that adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, are increasingly popular, rising from 9 percent of the mortgage market in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 12 percent in the first quarter of this year.  This might seem crazy to some, but in financially aggressive crowds, the lure of low, 3 percent(ish) interest rates on ARMs is enough to overcome any qualms.  As well, today's ARMs tend to have lower lifetime interest rate caps and require payment of principal, so they don't adjust as violently as the subprime interest-only and option ARMs that contributed to the foreclosure crisis.

If the thought of your mortgage payment changing over time gives you the shakes, you don't want to live in a state of interest rate obsession for the next few decades, or you simply crave the simplicity and predictability of knowing what your housing payment will be for the next 15, 20 or 30 years, then stick to 

a fixed-rate mortgage.  The rates are higher, but with a fixed-rate loan, the risk of scary payment changes are not only lower, they are non-existent. 

2.  Put - and keep - a home warranty in place.  One of the most frightening things about going from renter to homeowner is the prospect of being solely responsible for the care and feeding of your home and all its systems and appliances. Responsibility for both the costs and the actual logistics of repairing things like a leaky roof, a broken hot water heater or a haywire electrical fixture looms large in the minds of first-time buyers, in particular. 

A home warranty plan kicks in when escrow closes, and depending on the coverage you select, will cover your home against the breakdown of major systems and even some appliances, like furnaces and water heaters.  In some cases, you can even upgrade the coverage to protect against roof leaks and some plumbing issues. When a covered item breaks down, just remember to call the home warranty company first - for the cost of a service call you can get the item repaired or even replaced, if necessary.  I remember the home warranty company replacing a $900 water heater in my first home; what a godsend!

Talk with your agent - you might even be able to negotiate for the seller to pay for the first year's cost of the warranty.  Just remember to renew it when it expires every year, to keep a cap on your risk of unexpected repair costs for the duration of your tenure as a homeowner.

3.  Get repair bids and estimates, not just inspections.  After you find the home of your dreams (or the home of your budget!) and get into contract, you'll have a contingency or objection period ranging from 7 to 17 days during which you can obtain all the inspections you want.  Most buyers start out with a general property inspection, a pest inspection and a roof inspection, then get more specialized inspections if the property calls from it.  Pest and roof inspectors will generally provide an inspection report AND a repair bid for any work they find needs to be done.  

But the overall home inspection could very well list a dozen needed repairs, upgrades and maintenance items, without providing any information about how much those repairs will cost.  If your inspection report surfaces work you'll need to have done to fix things (or avoid bigger fixes down the road), work with your agent to schedule actual repair contractors to come in and give you bids on the work before your contingency or inspection period expires.  That will position you to negotiate around repair costs with the seller, or to know what you're getting yourself into, cost-wise, if you take the property as-is.

4.  Buy on the 10-year plan.  Warren Buffett once famously advised stock investors to "only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years."  The same advice is good for buying a home in today's real estate market.  Take on a mortgage you know you can sustain, buy at a price you can comfortably afford and avoid having to sell because you need to move for some urgent reason, or because the home no longer meets your needs.  

You can take this last step to hedge against losing money on your home by planning your space, career and lifestyle needs out 5, 7, even 10 years in the future - everything from how many bedrooms and garage spaces you'll need to where you'll want to be located, geographically - and selecting a home that will meet those needs for that foreseeable future. As a general rule of thumb, the harder hit the area was in the recession, the longer you should plan to hold it.

WHAT IS A MELLO-ROOS FEE?
A Mello-Roos fee is a separate charge on a property tax bill in addition to the 1% property tax rate allowed by Proposition 13. The funds are used exclusively to pay for public facilities such as police and fire departments, schools, parks, roads and libraries, etc.

HOW ARE MELLO-ROOS ASSESSMENT FEES ESTABLISHED?
Mello-Roos fees are normally established at the request of a major developer to finance the necessary public facilities to serve the new development. The public agency issues tax-exempt bonds to pay for these public facilities over a number of years. Commercial and industrial property owners are also subject to Mello-Roos.

WHO AUTHORIZED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MELLO-ROOS DISTRICTS?
The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 was co-authored by Senator Henry Mello and Assemblyman Mike Roos and authorized by State law to allow any public agency to implement fees and issue the necessary tax exempt bonds.

HOW CAN I DETERMINE IF MY PROPERTY IS IN A MELLO-ROOS DISTRICT?
Your property tax bill will identify Mello-Roos fees as a Community Facilities District (CFD), followed by a number and the amount of tax.

HOW MUCH IS A TYPICAL MELLO-ROOS ASSESSMENT FEE?
Typically, a formula that relates to the size of the home (lot size or square footage) is used to determine the amount of an individual assessment. The amount of taxes is established before the home is built and is not based on the current value of the property.

HOW DO I PAY THESE TAXES?
Your Mello-Roos tax will typically be collected with your general property tax bill.

WHAT HAPPENS IF A TAX PAYMENT IS LATE?
Because the Mello-Roos tax is usually collected with your general property tax bill, the Facilities District that obtained the lien may withdraw the assessment from the tax roll and begin foreclosure proceedings. Mello-Roos taxes are subject to the same penalties that apply to regular property taxes.

HOW LONG WILL THESE MELLO-ROOS FEES LAST?
Typically, the bonds are paid off in 20 years, but State law allows up to 40 years. Those who purchase a new home have the option to pay for their Mello-Roos tax in its entirety at the time of purchase.

WILL MY MELLO-ROOS FEE INCREASE?
It can, however, this special tax can increase only at a maximum rate of 2% per year over a 25 year period. On the other hand, it’s also possible that this tax will decrease, should State or other funds become available that could be used to reduce existing bond indebtedness, or be used to construct new facilities in lieu of additional bond sales.

WHO CAN I CONTACT REGARDING MELLO-ROOS FEES?
Contact your local County Assessor’s Office. They have the phone numbers and names of persons to call for each Mello-Roos District.

July 15, 2011

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) applauds Gov. Jerry Brown on signing SB 458 (Corbett) into law.   SB 458 extends the protections of SB 931 (2010), to ensure that any lender that agrees to a short sale must accept the agreed upon short sale payment as payment in full of the outstanding balance of all loans.

Under previous law (SB 931 of 2010), a first mortgage holder could accept an agreed-upon short sale payment as full payment for the outstanding balance of the loan, but unfortunately, the rule did not apply to junior lien holders. SB 458 extends the protections of SB 931 to junior liens.

“The signing of this bill is a victory for California homeowners who have been forced to short sell their home only to find that the lender will pursue them after the short sale closes, and demand an additional payment to subsidize the difference,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.  “SB 458 brings closure and certainty to the short sale process and ensures that once a lender has agreed to accept a short sale payment on a property, all lienholders – those in first position and in junior positions – will consider the outstanding balance as paid in full and the homeowner will not be held responsible for any additional payments on the property.”

SB 458 contains an urgency clause making it effective upon signing.

For more information go to: www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/sb458/

The nation’s leading mortgage lenders are extending extras for short sale transactions employed as an alternative to foreclosure – both in the form of monetary incentives for borrowers and streamlined procedures for real estate agents.

Wells Fargo says it has been making “enhanced financial relocation assistance offers” that can be as much as $10,000 or $20,000 to certain borrowers who choose to go through with a short sale or transfer the title back to Wells via a deed-in-lieu.

This extra incentive is being offered to distressed borrowers in Florida and other states where the foreclosure process is lengthening, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo explained. The exact amount of the relocation funds provided to individual borrowers varies based on a number of factors, the company says.

Wells Fargo noted that this type of additional relocation assistance is only available on first-lien loans that the company itself owns – which represent only about 20 percent of the loans Wells Fargo services. The company must follow investor guidelines for the remaining loans it services.

JPMorgan Chase is also offering a range of incentives to borrowers that agree to a pre-foreclosure sale “because if we can’t work out a modification, a short sale is a better result for the borrower, the servicer, the investor, and the neighborhood than a foreclosure,” the company said in a statement.

More home owners — particularly those who bought their homes in 2007 or later — are overpricing their properties when trying to sell them, according to a new analysis from Zillow.

Home owners who purchased their home in 2007 or later are overpricing their homes by an average of 14 percent, according to Zillow.

While sellers who purchased their home prior to the housing bubble also overprice their homes, they don’t overprice by as much, the study finds. For example, home sellers who bought their home prior to 2002 are pricing their homes on average about 11.6 percent above market value; those who bought between 2002 and 2006 are pricing their homes 9.3 percent over market value.

"Post-bubble buyers seem to believe they escaped the worst of the housing recession, as evidenced by how they price their homes today," says Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. "But 2006 was just the beginning of the housing recession, and it is continuing in earnest to this day. That means that even people who bought after the bubble burst need to break out the pencil and paper and do serious research into what has happened in their market since they first bought their home, whether it was four years ago or six months ago.”

In its analysis, Zillow compared the asking price of 1 million homes for sale to the home’s previous purchase price and factored in the home’s estimated current value.

Source: “Sellers Who Bought Post-Bubble Guilty of Overpricing Homes; More Likely to Base Asking Price on Original Price, Rather Than Current Market Conditions,” Zillow (July 14, 2011)

Everyone knows you’re supposed to be proactive and assertive when you take out a mortgage, carefully collecting and evaluating all sorts of information before you make the biggest deal of your life. But when the mortgage broker starts shooting sheaves of papers (OK, PDF documents) at you, it’s easy for your eyes to glaze over at the sight of so many zeroes, and tempting just to start signing whatever it takes to get that house!  

Here are 5 questions every smart buyer (or refi-er) should add to the list of issues to cover with your mortgage professional:

1. Are you a bank, a broker, or both?  Generally speaking, mortgage lenders that are banks or have their own banking divisions (which many reputable brokerages do) have more control over the appraisal process, including the ability to submit your file to a pool of appraisers they know have some knowledge of your local neighborhood. Given the fact that non-local appraisers and the inability to communicate with appraisers under relatively new guidelines for brokerages are responsible for killing loads and loads of deals, working with a company that is or has a bank could be a deal-saving move, especially if the property is in an area that hasn’t had many recent sales or is otherwise challenging to appraise.

Also, some broker/banks that originate loans and sell them straight to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac under the FHA loan programs offer the same benefits of an FHA loan - low down payment and moderate qualification guidelines - without the “overlays” imposed by some larger banks, which actually place a more restrictive set of guidelines on FHA loan programs. For example, FHA guidelines do not impose a minimum credit score, but many banks overlay their own 640 minimum FICO requirement. Broker/banks that sell straight to Fannie and Freddie often mirror the FHA minimum guidelines precisely.

Finally, brokerages with their own in-house bank and a large roster of lenders and programs provide the advantage of offering a wider range of fallback options than plain old banks or plain old brokerages - Plans A, B, C and D, if you will - which many borrowers need these days, in the (increasingly common) case your first choice bank or loan program doesn’t work out.

2. Will you explain my Good Faith Estimate to me? May I also have a fee sheet or estimate of funds to close? The current, national standard Good Faith Estimate (GFE) is pretty clear, clarifying all sorts of deal points, from the broker’s commissions to the costs associated with the loan, but as a point of customer service, you should ask your mortgage pro to explain it to you (if they don’t do so under their own initiative).

The one shortfall of the the latest edition of the GFE is that, while it clearly shows the costs associated with a particular loan scenario, it does not always show so clearly the actual amount of funds you’ll need to close the transaction (which might be more or less than those costs)! So, ask your mortgage representative to prepare a fee sheet or an estimate of funds to close as early in the transaction as possible.

3. How long will it take to close my loan? How much time will I need for loan and appraisal contingencies?  The time frames for closing your mortgage - which often drive the time frames for closing your home purchase - often vary widely depending on the type of loan and even the type of lender you work with.(Large bank loans originated by the bankers who sit inside the branch are notoriously slower to close, on average, than loans originated by brokers.) Similarly, the time it takes to get through the FHA loan appraisal and underwriting process might be much longer than it would take, all things being equal, to clear those hurdles and remove your loan and appraisal contingencies on a Conventional (i.e., non-FHA) mortgage.  

When you first meet with your prospective mortgage pro, talk with them about these time frames, so they can help you set realistic expectations and insert realistic time frames into your offer when you make it, to minimize the drama of a contingency clock that ticks way faster than your mortgage process.

4. Are there any fees for the mortgage loan application/approval process? Some lenders charge for credit checks up front, and most require that you pay for your appraisal in advance (although the latter happens only after you find and get into contract on your property. One of the first questions you should ask, when you sit down with a new mortgage broker is how much cash you’ll have to come up with just for the privilege of having them run your application and take the first steps down the road to loan approval.

5. How long have you been originating loans? And how long have you been with your company? Mortgage pros who have been around for a long time have the knowledge of advance troubleshooting, workarounds and backup plans, and the current underwriting practices it takes to get a loan closed in this restrictive mortgage market. If you found them in some way other than a referral, you can even ask for references from a few clients. Most mortgage pros who have been in business for awhile will be able to give you names and numbers of clients they’ve worked with on multiple purchases and/or refis: that’s a very good sign. You’ll rest a lot easier if you know that your loan is in the hands of a seasoned pro who others like you trust with their largest asset - and largest financial obligation.

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson | Broker in San Francisco, CA