San Diego & Riverside Counties| Real Estate Blog

Fannie Mae extends seller assistance program to 6/30/2010

2010-05-15T10:49:24-07:00

Closing Cost Assistance and Appliance Incentive for Fannie Mae Homes

Fannie Mae is offering a 3.5% incentive* for buyers who purchase and close on a Fannie Mae-owned home by June 30, 2010. Buyers purchasing properties listed on this site that are closed within this period may receive up to 3.5% of the final sales price for:

· Closing costs;

· The purchase of new Whirlpool® appliances by Fannie Mae; or

· A mix of closing costs and appliances, at the buyer’s discretion, up to the maximum 3.5%.

To be eligible for this incentive:

· Property sales must close by June 30, 2010

· Buyers must be owner-occupants, investors are excluded

Contact a Fannie Mae listing broker for more information.

*Lenders may impose their own limitations on the use of the 3.5% incentive, so buyers should consult their lenders for guidance.

County Properties, 23 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! We offer free counseling in real estate regarding; home values and information on options of selling vs. Foreclosure.

If you have equity in your home, we will sell your home and get top dollar in this challenging market at www.countyproperties.net/. If you do not have enough equity, and you must sell your property as a short sale we have the expertise to do so also and close escrow in 45-60 days or less. Learn more about mortgage relief options and how to take advantage of our FREE REALTOR (R) CONSULTATION & ATTORNEY SEVICE. or go to www.ShortSaleRealtors4U.com

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/ or www.CountyProperties.net

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

New Listing in Jamul Bank Owned

2010-05-15T10:45:26-07:00

VIEW,VIEW,VIEW From this custom home at the top of the hill, with a lot of privacy, located in Jamul. Wake up to sunrises and coffee/tea on the large deck off the master bedroom. RV parking available. 2 story, 3 bedroom/2.5 bath, 2292 square feet foreclosure. Home needs a little work.

Click here to get loan information before the rates go up. To get started on viewing homes, condos, investment properties, pre-foreclosures, bank owned foreclosures (REO's) or thinking of selling your property, please contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click www.CountyProperties.net

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to http://www.countyproperties.net/ and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

Green Tip of the Week: E-recycling earns retailers’ gift cards

2010-05-14T10:50:00-07:00

RadioShack’s online electronics trade-in program allows customers to exchange used, portable electronics for a RadioShack gift card. Accepted items include GPS devices, MP3 players, notebooks, and game consoles. Visit http://radioshack.cexchange.com/online/home/index.rails to learn the trade-in value and download the prepaid shipping labels. Gift cards arrive within 10 to 14 days.

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/ or www.CountyProperties.net

By the way…if you know of someone who would appreciate the level of service in real estate we provide, please call me or have them go to www.CountyProperties.net and I’ll be happy to follow up and take great care of them.

Mother's Day History

2010-05-07T17:47:30-07:00

The history of Mother's Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother's Day.

In 1907, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), a Philadelphia schoolteacher, began a movement to set up a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis. She solicited the help of hundreds of legislators and prominent businessmen to create a special day to honor mothers. The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring Anna's mother. Anna handed out her mother's favorite flowers, the white incarnations, on the occasion as they represent sweetness, purity, and patience. Anna's hard work finally paid off in the year 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers.

Slowly and gradually the Mother's day became very popular and gift giving activity increased. All this commercialization of the Mother's day infuriated Anna as she believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit.

Regardless of Jarvis's worries, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. Actually, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year. Although Anna may not be with us but the Mother's day lives on and has spread to various countries of the world. Many countries throughout the world celebrate Mother's Day at various times during the year, but some such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

Mothering Sunday
The early Christians in England celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter) to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. People working out of their homes were expected to return to the "mother" church (the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm). It also became an occasion for family reunions.

COUNTY PROPERTIES WISHES A

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY THIS SUNDAY!

www.countyproperties.net/.

IRS to host open house for small businesses & individuals

2010-05-07T17:44:09-07:00

Two hundred IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers across the country will open on Saturday, May 15, to provide help to small business owners and individual taxpayers dealing with notices and payments, return preparation and a variety of other tax issues. Each office will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. local time. The May 15 open house is the first of three events scheduled through the end of June. The next two are planned for Saturday, June 5, and Saturday, June 26. Details regarding those events will be available soon. Below is the address for our local San Diego office:

880 Front St.
San Diego, CA 92101

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/ or www.CountyProperties.net

The importance of watching home equity

2010-05-07T17:42:17-07:00

HOMEOWNERS with secure jobs and no immediate plans to move will often watch mortgage rates anyway, just in case they have the opportunity to refinance their loans. But few of them will regularly bother to check housing sales or foreclosures, which could also affect their ability to refinance.

The market downturn has greatly reduced home values in many parts of the country, leaving homeowners with significantly less equity in their properties.

If a borrower’s home equity falls below 20 percent, he or she must buy private mortgage insurance for a new mortgage, which adds to the loan cost, at least until the equity reaches the level where the insurance is no longer needed. So, depending on when a home was bought, refinancing now may not be a viable option.

“Compared to a year ago, many more people are calling me now and I just can’t do anything for them,” said Tom Vanderwell, a loan officer with a large regional bank, about homeowners looking to refinance.

Those seeking government-insured loans, like those through the Federal Housing Administration, will face similar insurance premium costs.

Meanwhile, those wanting a second mortgage, or home equity credit lines, and even people who already have them, can also run aground if they near the 20 percent equity threshold. This is known as the 80 percent loan-to-value ratio, or L.T.V. for short.

If a borrower’s first and second mortgages would reach a combined loan-to-value ratio of 85 percent, most lenders would reject the application for a second mortgage, Mr. Vanderwell said. And if a borrower’s home equity shrank to the point where his equity credit line neared that level, a lender might, as they have in recent years, stop him from taking out more money.

In the New York City area in March, average resale prices of homes rose by 3.4 percent compared with a year ago, according to a report last month by the National Association of Realtors. Nationally, prices rose by 0.6 percent, the report indicated. Some economists expressed concern that those increases could end with the expiration of the federal housing tax credit for home buyers on April 30.

There is no precise way to determine one’s home value, aside from applying for a loan and paying for an appraisal. But there are some tools that borrowers can use to obtain quick estimates.

Zillow.com, for instance, relies on publicly recorded sales and mortgage documents from nearby and similar homes, among other things, to determine value.

Mortgage brokers and others emphasize that Zillow should be used only as a rough guide, because it does not consider the condition of properties that have been sold, among other factors.

Meanwhile, Trulia.com offers broader information on real estate value trends, as well as local foreclosure figures. Foreclosures can suppress selling prices and, if a property falls into disrepair, even reduce the value of surrounding homes.

Mr. Vanderwell says homeowners considering a new loan, who want to avoid the time and expense of making a formal mortgage application to determine whether they qualify, should try another route.

“Find a real estate agent who really knows the area, and ask them to come out and take a look at the house,” he said. “Tell them they’re not thinking of selling it, but want an idea of what it would appraise at.”

If the agent’s informal appraisal is close enough to the figure you would need to qualify for a refinanced loan or a second mortgage, Mr. Vanderwell said, it is worth applying. If it is significantly below, you are better off waiting for conditions to improve.

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/ or www.CountyProperties.net

How to buy a foreclosure

2010-05-07T17:38:47-07:00

Many buyers, especially first-timers, hope to purchase a foreclosed property at a bargain price. While purchasing a foreclosed home can be a wise choice for some buyers, it is important that buyers understand the differences in buying at different stages of foreclosure and be prepared to take on the challenges typically associated with each.

MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS

There are three basic stages of foreclosure in California: Pre-foreclosure, trustee’s sale, and repossession, often called an REO or real estate owned by the bank.
Pre-foreclosure homes are in the foreclosure process, but have not yet been auctioned. Owners of pre-foreclosed homes often try to sell the properties because they are “underwater,” meaning they owe more on the mortgage than the home currently is worth. Many homeowners attempt to sell via short sale, where the lender must agree to accept less than the amount owed on the mortgage. Buying at this stage of foreclosure often is a complicated and slow process. However, buyers of pre-foreclosed properties often are given the opportunity to inspect the home prior to purchasing, whereas this is not always the case when buying at other stages of foreclosures.
The second basic stage of foreclosure is the public auction at a trustee’s or foreclosure sale. Homes in this stage often are well priced, but also come with challenges to buy. These homes may not be available for inspection and buyers may later discover the property needs numerous repairs. As a result, many of the homes at auction are purchased by investors and contractors who have experience working with homes needing numerous repairs, or taken back as REO by the foreclosing lenders.
If a home does not sell to a third party at the trustee’s auction, the bank takes the property--the final stage of the foreclosure process. Although homes in this stage typically do not offer buyers the best prices, buyers generally can perform a thorough inspection of the property prior to closing.

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/ or www.CountyProperties.net

California home buyer tax credit takes effect

2010-05-07T17:36:05-07:00

As the federal homebuyer tax credit ends , a CA state homebuyer tax credit begins. The homebuyer tax credit signed into law in March by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is available effective today.

Assembly Bill 183 established a tax credit of $10,000 or 5 percent of the purchase price of a newly built home and a $10,000 tax credit for first-time purchasers of existing homes. The credit is good through Dec. 31, 2010 or until the money runs out, whichever comes first. The $200 million allocated for the program is split evenly, with $100 million going to purchasers of new homes and $100 million to first-time buyers of existing homes. More information on the state tax credit is available at www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/new_home_credit.shtml.

The federal government offered buyers who haven't owned a home for three years a tax credit of 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $8,000, as well as a credit of 10 percent, up to a maximum of $6,500, for buyers who already owned a home for at least five years. Single buyers with incomes above $145,000 and couples making more than $245,000 were not eligible. Homebuyers who had signed contracts in hand by Friday's, 4/30/2010, deadline have until June 30 to complete their deals to receive the federal tax credit, and according to CA state officials, they can also take advantage of the CA state tax credit as well.

Nearly 1.8 million households had used the federal tax credits as of mid-February at a cost of $12.6 billion, according to the most recent records released by the Internal Revenue Service.

Some analysts said the first-time buyers credit helped new-home sales surge 27 percent last month compared with a record low in February. That was the biggest monthly increase in 47 years.

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/ or www.CountyProperties.net

Green Tip of the Week: Love that linoleum

2010-05-07T17:33:43-07:00

If it’s time to change the break room floor, opt for linoleum instead of vinyl. Linoleum is made from all-natural resources, while vinyl is made from petroleum.

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/ or www.CountyProperties.net

Just Listed 41150 Primula Circle, Murrieta CA 92562

2010-04-30T20:10:13-07:00

41150 Primula Circle, Murrieta CA 92562

A MUST SEE! Well maintained 3 bedroom 2 bath home on a CORNER lot. Home is 1052 square feet large, with a attached 2 car garage.

Please feel free to contact me today for free counseling at (619) 301-0200 or Toll free (866) 825-8124 visit our website, click http://www.shortsalerealtors4u.com/ or www.CountyProperties.net