More Good News for 1st Time Buyers

Starting tomorrow the California Association of Realtors will start a new program to help first time buyers who are worried about the economy and not being able to make their mortgage payment if they lose their job.

The program, C.A.R. Housing Affordability Fund Mortgage Protection Program is designed to give these new homeowners some peace of mind by providing them with up to $1,500 per month for up to six months in the event of a job loss. In addition a co-buyer can participate for a reduced benefit of $750 per month for up to six months in the event of a job loss. C.A.R. is spending $1 million on the program and estimates it could benefit as many as 3,000 families in 2009.

To qualify for the program the applicant must:
· Be a first-time home buyer – someone who has not owned a home in the last three years
· Open escrow April 2, 2009, or later, and close on or before Dec. 31, 2009
· Use a California REALTOR® in the transaction
· Purchase the property in California
· Be a W-2 employee (cannot be self-employed or military personnel)

If you are interested in this program please let me know, I can get you more information and an application. You can reach me at (916) 290-9339 or by email at juliej@jalone.com.

By the way, there is no cost to the home buyer to participate in this program.

Sacramento Homeowners Beware!

I have been hearing several different foreclosure rescue scams at work here in the Sacramento area. The perpetrators of the scam are approaching financially distressed homeowners and promising to help them stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. I found and posted some warning signs of “foreclosure scams” to be aware of on the Real Estate News page at my jalone.com website. In addition there is a list of legitimate organization that are helping homeowners and where you can report anyone who you believe is out to make money at your expense. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true.

Although the forecast is for rain tomorrow, today is bright, sunny and warm so get outside and enjoy the early spring weather. Good-bye winter!

Should you walk away?

If your home is worth less than you owe, the payments are killing you and have a lender who refuses to help what will happen if you walk away? Walking away is letting the bank foreclose, giving them the keys or avoiding a foreclosure by doing a short sale. If you do one of these things how bad will it be for you? Will you get sued by your bank? Will you ever be able to get credit again? How much will Uncle Sam and the IRS want from you? It may not be as bad as you imagine. Check out my weekly column, “What are the consequences of walking away?” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today and find out.

Other Items: Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you have the luck of the Irish today and all year long!

I have been reading reports about a new California bill that may require banks to wait longer before foreclosing on mortgage obligations. Last year it was taking some banks up to 9 months before they even started the foreclosure process. Today they are responding much faster to delinquent loans so this bill may be helpful to Sacramento homeowners who want to qualify for a loan modification, refinance program or who want to avoid foreclosure

Sacramento Real Estate Picking-up Steam

I have been watching and experiencing a steady increase in real estate activity around the Sacramento area. We have a number of new listings, several of which are on fire. Yesterday I listed a great home in a downtown Sacramento neighborhood, 1324 35th Street. The agent “hits” on MLS has been very high and the phone has been ringing non-stop. It is an unfortunate Sacramento short sale but will make a new buyer very happy.

The other property that is hot is another short sale but this one is in Newcastle on over 4 acres. We had an accepted offer which is being reviewed by the seller’s lender but they had to back out because they could not obtain financing. We put it back on the market yesterday and can’t keep up with the requests for more information.

Although the Sacramento listing on 35th Street and the home and acreage in Newcastle are so different they have two striking similarities. First they are priced aggressively and as important they are both beautifully maintained homes with loads of curb appeal, charm and are both move-in ready. No matter what you hear about the market and the economy, price a great house right and they will come!

Call it What You Will

In the past two weeks we have seen the Federal stimulus bill, the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan and our new California budget which as some provisions to help the housing market. What are these, how do they work and have we finally got all the players headed in the same direction? Take a look at my local real estate column, “Stimulus, Recovery, Stability coming to Sacramento?” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

I have had a number of emails in the past few days from some of my readers and I apologize for dropping off a bit in the past few weeks. We have been very busy and I have been feeling a bit under the weather but hopefully I will get back to a more normal schedule and get a few more posts up over the next few days.

Important Information for Struggling Sacramento Area Homeowners

There have been some significant changes with lenders that are catching financially strapped homeowners unaware and reducing their alternatives to avoid a foreclosure. If you or someone you know is not making their monthly mortgage payments and thinking they can wait several months before asking for a loan modification or doing a short sale, those days are over. Check out my column over at Rocklin & Roseville Today or at Sacramento Today, “Short Sale Market Changes in Sacramento.”

Stop Sacramento Foreclosures

A total of 523,624 California properties received foreclosure filings, including default notices, auction sale notices and repossessions in 2008. This was a 110 percent increase from 2007 and almost five times as many compared to 2006.

The city Stockton registered the highest foreclosure rate in California and the nation with a 9.46 percent of its housing receiving a foreclosure filing during the year. Other California cities in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas in 2008 included Riverside-San Bernardino at number 3, Bakersfield at number 4 and our own Sacramento at number 9.

Sacramento foreclosure filings impacted one in 19 properties or 5.2 percent of all homes. This compares to a rate of one in 54 across the country.

If you or someone you know is struggling to make ends meet and are unable to continue to make mortgage payments on a home where the value is now less than the loan amount, call us. We can help you avoid foreclosure and get you back on the road to financial independence. We have been helping stop Sacramento foreclosures for two years and have an experienced team to guide you through the Short Sale or loan modification process.

If you are interested in learning more about short sales see one of my articles on the subject, “Six Steps to a Successful Short Sale.”

Sacramento Predictions

I was looking at the number of homes currently on the Sacramento area market, how inventory has changed in the past year and the impact on prices and value with so many homes for sale in preparation for writing my weekly columns for Rocklin & Roseville Today and Sacramento Today. I had promised myself I would avoid making predictions in such turbulent times but somehow when you write about how many Sacramento homes for sale last year and this year it seems impossible not to say where you believe this number will go by year-end. If you are interested in seeing what I had to say on the subject check out may latest article, “Sacramento Year End Inventory.”

Martin Luther King Day: Pretty amazing to be celebrating the life of Dr. King and his efforts to break down barriers caused by race on the day before we inaugurate the first African-American President, Barack Obama. Regardless of you political party affiliations and who you voted for tomorrow is a new beginning for America. If there is strength in our culture it comes from optimism and hope that we share for a better tomorrow.

Positive News in Sacramento Forecast

As soon as the holidays were behind us it seems like the media has again focused on the economy and in particular the negatives. I don’t know about you but when I hear too much negative news it impacts my mental attitude and slows me down. There are some bright spots in regards the Sacramento and the real estate market. I think we should understand the overall situation but take the time to remind ourselves of what is positive.

In my weekly real estate column over at Rocklin & Roseville Today, “Sacramento Economic Forecast,” I highlight some of the strengths of our Sacramento economy and the real estate market positives that were reported in the Sacramento Business Review’s economic forecast. I think they are worth thinking about on this cold winter morning.

Other: Yesterday, I received a phone call from a homeowner asking me to help them avoid foreclosure on a property in Rocklin. They were transferred to Minnesota and have been renting the home for the past year but the tenants are now moving out and they cannot afford to continue to make the payments. This is a typical of the kind of requests I get so I started to get to work.

Nothing new in Sacramento or Roseville

I started to blog about some of the November results for our local Sacramento real estate market and quickly became bored. For anyone who reads a newspaper or listens to the news there is nothing new to report. Generally sales are up, median prices and average price per square foot are down. About the only thing of much interest is the number of default filings have dropped, but may be the result of a new state law requiring lenders to contact homeowners who are delinquent on the payments, then wait 30 days before filing a default notice.

As we move into 2009 the inventory of homes for sale has continued the slow decline from the highs we experienced in the summer of 2007 when it was reported by HousingTracker that there were over 18,000 homes for sale in what they define as the Sacramento area. Even with the increased number of foreclosures the inventory of homes has continued to decline and as of mid-December stood at 12,628 down almost 23 percent from a year ago and down 5.9 percent in the past month.

As we move into the spring selling season I would expect to see the decline in homes on the market slow or even increase. There are still way too many houses on the market for the number of buyers but the good news is we are headed in the right direction to achieve a balanced market and some price stability.

If you are interested in more specific numbers about the Sacramento, Roseville or other local communities send me an email to juliej@jalone.com and I would be happy to answer.

Can housing lead the way toward recovery?

If it was housing that led the economy to where it is today, “the tank,” then it only stands to reason, housing can be the way to recovery. Sure there are other elements of the National economy that need tending but until we have some stability in housing the economy is not going to improve dramatically. Check out my column, “Next Steps Toward Recovery,” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

Update on my last column, Sacramento Short Sale Tales: Although we have not closed this transaction, we did escalate our request and rational to the executive offices at Bank of America and this morning we got what we hope will be the approval that will allow our clients to complete their short sale and avoid foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Are you financially prepared for home ownership?

I just posted my third of a five part series dealing with the question, “Is it the right time to buy a home in Sacramento?” The article is posted over at Rocklin & Roseville Today as part of my real estate column, “Is it the right time – are you financially prepared to be a homeowner.” If you want to read the entire series you can find all five articles on my personal website.
Just being out and about today has to make you feel good. Here we are in the second half of November and the sun is out, the sky is blue and it is warm. What more could you ask for.

In the real estate business, we have been busy. I spent all day Friday out with a great new buyer. His company is looking for a home or multi-family unit where his employees can live while they are working on several projects here in the Sacramento area. We saw some interesting properties and went to a few neighborhoods I hope to never see again. In addition, our Short Sale negotiator has been having some success with a few lenders and getting short sales approved.

Working with the lenders is a difficult and long task. Unfortunately they appear to view us as the enemy rather than someone helping them avoid a larger loss. After you get them approved there is nothing more frustrating than having the buyer bail. This happened last week on one of our Sacramento listings. If you or someone you know is looking for a great investment or starter home, this property on 73rd Street is a great deal and the bank is ready to go!

Not that Simple

I came across this brief article this morning and thought it was worth sharing:

Reworking Troubled Mortgages Isn't That Simple

In order to rework troubled mortgage, the government may have to do more
than persuade lenders and investors that workouts are ultimately more profitable
than foreclosure, analysts conclude.

Hundreds of investors hold an interest in trusts that invest in mortgages.
If loans are reworked, some of those investors will lose money. Mortgage
servicers are prohibited from modifying a pool of loans without getting the OK
from two-thirds of the investors. That nod can be difficult to get because some
investors stand to make more from foreclosure.

Many observers and government officials are pointing out that it will take
government action to nullify or supersede investor interests. If the government
stepped in and, perhaps, gave less-favorable tax status to an investor that
didn’t agree to accept a modification, there would certainly be lots of
litigation and the government might have to reimburse investors for value they
lost, analysts say.

Therefore, some analysts conclude that the best answer is to give
bankruptcy judges the right to cut the interest rate or reduce the principal
owed on a debtor’s troubled mortgage.

Source: www.realtor.org

It never ceases to amaze me how large and diverse our economy is. The fact that the government has allocated $750 billion to work on the credit crisis is not enough, we can’t just buy or way out of this mess. There has to be a well developed and thoughtful plan created by a broad cross section of business and political leaders and I only see a shoot from the hip approach.

There are fewer homes for sale in Sacramento

With September sales volume of up in all counties in the Sacramento region from last year and for most counties up even from August we are finally seeing a decline in homes for sale. Check out my weekly column, “Six Months of Increasing Homes Sales in Sacramento,” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today for the details and a prediction.

With this great “Indian Summer” weather even October continues to show some good levels of activity. Homes priced right are getting a fair number of showings and most of our short sales all have solid offers being reviewed by the seller’s lenders. Most of these even have backup offers. Most of the activity we are seeing is in the under $350,000 price point. We have seen some of our seller’s of more expensive homes ask to take their homes off the market as showings of homes priced above $600,000 has slowed down as buyers are waiting to see how the economy and credit markets respond to the Government rescue/bailout plan.

Potential Loan Woes in Sacramento

I received word this morning that some lenders are not providing pricing on FHA Plus which are loans in excess of $368,231 and conforming Plus which are conforming loans above $417,000. Remember these were temporary limits with an end date of December 31, 2008. Because these loans must be closed before the end date and since there is no extension yet moving these increased limits into 2009 lenders are starting to pull away from these products now.

I know, we just passed a $750 billion bailout; the government is buying bank stock and commercial paper but can’t extend these limits so banks are pulling back? This is just one more thing about this credit crunch to make you angry. Regardless if you are thinking about buying a home and using FHA, you may want to talk to your lender now and see if you need to move faster or if there are other products available to you.

If you need more information or have any questions please call me at MagnumOne Realty. My number here is 916 290-9339 or you can email me at juliej@jalone.com

Good News for Sacramento Real Estate

We have finally slipped below 14,000 homes for sale in Sacramento. According to HousingTracker there were 13,958 homes on the market as of October 13. This is the first time since March of 2007 since we have been this low. It is still higher than it should be and the uncertainties of foreclosures and the credit crisis loom but check out my column, Good News for Sacramento Real Estate, over at Rocklin & Roseville Today and see what I have to say about prices.

Bailout and Sacramento Real Estate Market

After the failed vote on the financial rescue plan on Monday the Senate takes the spotlight today and is likely to pass a slightly revised plan to provide liquidity back to the credit markets. I predict an embarrassed House of Representatives will place their rubber stamp on the bill and we will have legislation by the end of the week.

How will this impact the Sacramento real estate market and the recovery that is taking place? Take a look at my column, “Bailout may slow Sacramento real estate recovery,” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

Sacramento's real estate market is not frozen!

Is the only way to get anything done in politically partisan Washington to declare an emergency, tell the world the sky is falling and create a three day “bipartisan period” to pass back room brokered deal that may cost the American taxpayer a trillion or more dollars? We thought getting a budget passed in Sacramento for California was ugly!

I clearly have my opinions about the bailout and you can read more about that in my Rocklin & Roseville Today column, “Bailout will be felt in Sacramento” but my main message today is to motivate you to let your Senators know how you feel about the bailout. Here is a link to their contact pages.

The local Sacramento real estate market continues to be busy. We are getting and making offers on homes regularly. The lower priced homes are being sold faster today than they have in the past few years but the market for homes over $600,000 remains pretty slow. I recently been looking for homes for sale in Old Roseville and the inventory is low. Some of the houses for sale in Old Roseville that my buyer is interested in have multiple offers. Guess these folks have not been watching Fox News.

Sacramento Real Estate News

While congressional leaders and the Bush administration work preparing a massive bailout of the US Financial system including a plan to allow banks to sell bad loans to a Resolution Trust like company, mortgage rates have dropped in Sacramento. The decline from 5.93 percent for a 30-year fixed to 5.78 percent for the week ending September 18 marks a seven month low.
As bank stocks are going up and their senior executives are anxiously waiting to sell their mistakes, I mean bad loans to the government. Some of these same bankers have instituted a policy of denying short sale applications that do not include the seller/borrower signing a note for some portion of the short sale. Based on our extensive experience with short sales this would, in the past, have created a situation where the seller will refuse to sign the note and the bank would take a larger loss. With the ability to pass these loans to the government it means lenders may be taking much harder line with short sales and increasing the burden on taxpayers.

Where else in the world can you make a mess and get rewarded for it?

I have a suggestion for candidate “change” and candidate “reform.” When one of you gets to Washington, let’s have a policy that says if a mid-level IRS agent can’t understand what a company is doing or how a particular derivative is an asset it should be illegal. Another reform or change should be if a company gets big enough that their failure will impact the economy it should be fined and immediately broken into smaller companies.

At least it is Friday, rates are low, and buyers are out looking at homes.

Wall Street, Sacramento and Hollywood

This week what is happening on Wall Street has captured my attention so my column over at Rocklin & Roseville Today, “More Bad News from Wall Street” is about being not overly optimistic about the financial crisis.

Per my blog on Monday, I have posted a guest article by Louise Buford of Partners Mortgage, “FHA—what is it and why should I consider this type of loan?” Louise is one of the lenders I work with who does what she says and when she says it. Sounds simple but it is what sets her apart from other lenders.

Finally, my singer and actress friend in Hollywood, Karmyn Tyler needs some help! The soundtrack for Karmyn’s original song, Luv Me So, has been entered into a contest for unsigned artists and each playing is a vote. Check out the great song here and help Karmyn. Each playing of the song is a vote so play it now and often. I think you will enjoy it. By the way you can learn more about Karmyn on her website, http://www.karmyntyler.com/.