Renee Grosz's Real Estate Blog

Interesting  article By Dina ElBoghdady and Dan Keating ! From the Washington Post this is a must read if you think that the housing market has recovered. Did you know that About 9.1 percent of about FHA borrowers had missed at least three payments as of December, up from 6.5 percent a year ago, the agency’s figures show.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020103527.html. When will the foreclosures End?

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 Today is Ground Hog Day……… Which On February 2nd of each year the town of Punxsutawney celebrates the beloved groundhog with a festive. At which time Phil will emerge from his temporary home on Gobblers Knob.  According to tradition if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, We will have six more weeks of Winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow we will have a early Spring! It looks like we are in for six more weeks of winter! 

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It’s time to start thinking about your homes curb appeal especially  if  your thinking about putting your home on the market to sell. Today’s buyers do take in consideration the way the home looks at 1^st glance. Dollars signs start clicking in there heads even before they get to the front door. Here are a few ideals that are easy and inexpensive to get you started in thinking about your homes curb appeal. You don’t have to wait until spring!

Maintain and mow your lawn. Mow! Lawns don’t stay very wet for long here in  California so make sure to mow.

Prune large bushes that have taken over or grown on to walkways and pay attention to area at the entry.

Clean windows inside and out! Add curtain panels which can be picked up at discount store very inexpensively.

A fresh coat of paint on the front door can be very inviting.. Most paint stores have OPPPS  paint………which is paint that has been discounted because for some reason it  was either never purchased or it was returned.   

Brighten up dark areas of your yards with containers of color. (Did you read my Blog on container gardening?)

Pull weeds and plant inexpensive  flowers in the flower bed, add a mixture of flowers, ground cover and wild grasses. It will really take off in the spring and you will find you don’t need has many flowers.

Don’t forget around the mail box! Paint if need and some wild grassaround the base which you will not have to mow!

 Accent architectural focal points, depending on the accent it could be as easy as some cleaning and or paint. Maybe a bird bath etc……………It’s as easy as that!

In December the interest rates on a 30 year fix dipped to a 38 year low! How long will they stay this low? The clock is ticking, In September 2009; the feds said it would gradually wind down the purchase program that has been purchasing mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae in an effort to stabilize the housing market which will be ending March 30, 2010. This has the mortgage lending industry worried. Home buyers should be excited  right now with interest rate being low, housing prices at a low and the expanded federal tax credit which will expire in the spring!  

 I’m considering myself lucky right now!  We are having a series of Storms in California this week and here in the Central Valley! It’s only Tuesday and we have had lots of rain already.  I did lose my willow tree this morning!  Luckily it fell towards the street and not my home.  Good news no cars were driving by at the time! Better news the San Joaquin country road service was quick to respond and to get the street cleared. Thank you. This afternoon another storm rolls in! Check out the weather channel to see whats happening near you. Still riding the storm out!

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 It’s already the middle of the month. I’m already behind with one of my goals for the New Year. The New Year has definitely started off with a bang! We are already seeing big changes in 2010. The earth quake in Haiti so much devastation. So Sad! There are big changes in  real estate and in the  lending industry.  Bloomberg reported that “HUD is investigating 15 mortgage firms for possible fraud involving FHA-backed loans in a probe that could expand to other lenders. The department has subpoenaed those with the highest default rates, although it stressed that there is no evidence of wrongdoing and that no accusations have been leveled.”  I’ll keep you updated!

The Holidays are Here and the New Year is just around the Corner…………Wishing you all a joyful holiday season and a Great New Year! 

  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Here is my apple pie recipe again!   Try it this Thanksgiving and see if you like it.  Prepare the pie ahead of time and after the Turkey is cooked pop it into the oven and enjoy!

Fall Classic Apple Pie!

By Renee Grosz  

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, Next week already! Traditionally it’s a day to give thanks, so remember those less fortunate this year.We all have been or know someone that has been affected by this economy. So remember to donate and give Thanks.  

How to help:

Here are a few places to learn how to donate food, money or time to help feed the hungry this Thanksgiving.

• Greater Stockton Emergency Food Bank: (209) 464-7369

• Second Harvest Food Bank: (209) 239-2091

• Salvation Army: (209) 948-8959 in Stockton

We all can help and give Thanks!

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• Recession drives up food bank demand by 75% nationalpost.com)

• Food bank demand rising: Salvation Army (cbc.ca)

 

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A must read by The National Association of Realtors if you are considering making an offer on a short sale read on!

Are you looking to buy a new home?  Now is a great time to find bargains? It’s true, but it pays to know a little about the seller’s situation before you make an offer.

  If a home is being sold for below what the current seller owes on the property—and the seller does not have other funds to make up the difference at closing—the sale is considered a “short sale”. Many more home owners are finding themselves in this situation due to a number of factors, including job losses, aggressive borrowing against their home in the days of easy credit, and declining home values in a slower real estate market.

 A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when the seller’s lender has taken title of the home and is selling it directly. Homeowners often try to accomplish a “short sale” in order to avoid foreclosure. But a short sale holds many potential pitfalls for buyers. Know the risks before you pursue a short-sale purchase.

 You’re a good candidate for a short-sale purchase if:

• You’re very patient. Even after you come to agreement with the seller to buy a short-sale property, the seller’s lender (or lenders, if there is more than one mortgage) has to approve the sale before you can close. When there is only one mortgage, short-sale experts say lender approval typically takes about two months. If there is more than one mortgage with different lenders, it can take four months or longer for the lenders to approve the sale.
• Your financing is in order. Lenders like cash offers. But even if you can’t pay all cash for a short-sale property, it’s important to show you are well qualified and your financing is set. If you’re pre-approved, have a large down payment, and can close at any time, your offer will be viewed more favorably than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.
• You don’t have any contingencies. If you have a home to sell before you can close on the purchase of the short-sale property—or you need to be in your new home by a certain time—a short sale may not be for you. Lenders like no-contingency offers and flexible closing terms.

 If you’re serious about purchasing a short-sale property, it’s important for you to have expert assistance. Here are some people you want to work with:

•  Experienced real estate attorney.Only about two out of five short sales are approved by lenders. But a good real estate attorney who’s knowledgeable about the short-sale process will increase your chances getting an approved contract. Also, if you want any provisions or very specialized language written into the purchase contract, a real estate attorney is essential throughout the negotiation.
• A qualified real estate professional.* You may havea close friend or relative in real estate, but if that person doesn’t know anything about short sales, working with him or her may hurt your chances of a successful closing. Interview a few practitioners and ask them how many buyers they’ve represented in a short sale and, of those, how many have successfully closed. A qualified real estate professional will be able to show you short-sale homes, help negotiate the purchase when you find the property you want to buy, and smooth communications with the lender. (All MLSs permit, and some now require, special notations to indicate that a listing is a short sale. There also are certain phrases you can watch for, such as “lender approval required.”)
• Title officer. It’s a good idea to have a title officer do an initial title search on a short-sale property to see all the liens attached to the property. If there are multiple lien holders (e.g., second or third mortgage or lines of credit, real estate tax lien, mechanic’s lien, homeowners association lien, etc.), it’s much tougher to get that short sale contract to the closing table. Any of the lien holders could put a kink in the process even after you’ve waited for months for lender approval. If you don’t know a title officer, your real estate attorney or real estate professional should be able to recommend a few.

Some of the other risks faced by buyers of short-sale properties include:

• Potential for rejection. Lenders want to minimize their losses as much as possible. If you make an offer tremendously lower than the fair market value of the home, chances are that your offer will be rejected and you’ll have wasted months. Or the lender could make a counteroffer, which will lengthen the process.
• Bad terms. Even when a lender approves a short sale, it could require that the sellers sign a promissory note to repay the deficient amount of the loan, which may not be acceptable to some financially desperate sellers. In that case, the sellers may refuse to go through with the short sale. Lenders also can change any of the terms of the contract that you’ve already negotiated, which may not be agreeable to you.
• No repairs or repair credits. You will most likely be asked to take the property “as is.” Lenders are already taking a loss on the property and may not agree to requests for repair credits.

The risks of a short sale are considerable. But if you have the time, patience, and iron will to see it through, a short sale can be a win-win for you and the sellers.

* Not all real estate practitioners are REALTORS®. A REALTOR® is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and is bound by NAR’s strict code of ethics.

Note: This article provides general information only. Information is not provided as advice for a specific matter. Laws vary from state to state. For advice on a specific matter, consult your attorney or CPA.