Subprime Mortgage Blues!

You've heard it in the news lately, about the subprime mortgage market that's now in trouble. Well, it's about time! We all knew it would catch up to them someday. It just didn't seem right. People were buying houses with loans they shouldn't have qualified for. Stated income, and or 100% financing and other exotic loans are now bad business and referred to in the media as "predatory lending". The notices of default are coming in very fast now as many of these loans were adjustable rates with prepayment penalties and or balloon payments. With the interest rates rising above market level on these loans, monthly payments increasing beyond affordability and many of the borrowers put little or nothing down, it's no wonder that they are walking away from them and letting their property go into foreclosure. Just today, I had a sale transaction fall thru because of these lousy subprime loans and the lenders involved. It was the second time that this escrow fell thru. Both times the buyers were investors going for 100% financing from the "subprime" market. Both times I had pre-approval letters and from the lenders. I will now be very skeptical of this type of financing in offers presented to me on my listings.

Worthless Pre-Approval Letters!

I can't tell you how many times I receive worthless mortgage pre-approval letters with offers on my listings. They say "congratulations, you are pre-approved for a home loan", then it goes on to say that this pre-approval is based on verbal information given to the lender or some sort of inadequate information disclaimer. The letter is not based on a review of a complete loan application, credit review or anything like that!!! It's a letter that's not worth the paper it's printed on. I see this happen all the time. Do these buyers and their agents think this is acceptable? It's not professional to say the least, and they lose some credibility in the offer. If buyers want their offers seriously considered, they should use a reputable lender and be pre-approved based on a complete review of a credit application, verifications of income, job and bank accounts and have a letter that states all this has been verified. With a valid pre-approval letter in-hand, the buyers offer will have more power.

Short Sale Listings Are Increasing in Fresno MLS!

I am noticing many "short sales" in our Fresno MLS. My advice to active buyers right now is to avoid getting involved with short sales if at all possible. Short sales are situations where the owner is typically behind in his mortgage and owes more on the loan than what the value or asking price is of the property. Even if the owner accepts your offer, you may not get the property, because the mortgage company for the seller has to approve the "short", or approve how much money they will lose by selling to you. Most of the time, it's a huge waste of time for buyers and agents alike because the lender drags their feet and eventually denies the short sale or tries to negotiate different terms than originally accepted by the owner. With so many homes on the market, why get involved in a short sale escrow?

Has the Fresno Real Estate Market Bottomed Out?

One thing's for sure. The market is picking up! Our office is seeing increased activity in 2007 now after the holidays are over. The market was slow during the fall months of 2006, but now I see many buyers and sellers believing that the market has pretty much bottomed out. Many buyers are coming out of the woodwork to look at homes. My website www.FresnoHomes.net has had some incredible traffic increases, Jan 13th getting 459 visitors! On the average I get about 250 visitors per day. I got 3 offers on an investment property I listed, and that is a good sign. Many investors have left the market over the last year, but now I see more of them coming back. The Fresno market is attractive to many buyers, basically it's still one of the lowest priced areas in California. Do you think the market has bottomed out?

Pinedale planning to remain residential

Pinedale started in the early 1920s as a new town for employees of the Sugar Pine lumber mill, seven miles north of Fresno near the San Joaquin River's south bank.

[via FresnoBee.com: Local]

How to deal in a slack housing market

What's the shape of a post-bubble, post-correction real estate market? And more to the point: What does that mean for you in the new year?

[via San Jose Real Estate -- MercuryNews.com]

Is The End Of The End Of The Housing Bubble Near?

Is it the end of the end of the housing bubble? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) seemed to think so as it issued its November report on the sales of existing houses, the second month in a row when sales showed slight improvement over the previous month.

Read More Now

[via MortgageNewsDaily.com]

Betting Everything on the House: 3 Risky Loans to Avoid

Falling prices, sluggish sales and risky loans that let borrowers pile up debt faster than they can pay it off could put more homeowners out of their houses this year than at any other time this decade. Yet many homeowners — particularly in California, Florida and Colorado — are still purchasing or refinancing their mortgages with “exotic” loans that may keep their monthly payments low now, but when these gimmicky loans “reset” upward borrowers could lose their homes if they haven’t planned for...(read more)

[via ForeclosurePulse Blog]

Zillow is for sales, not just snooping

Real estate website Zillow.com became an instant hit by telling homeowners - and their nosy neighbors - how much their houses might be worth.
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[via Real Estate - Topix.net]

Windows prove a challenge

Big windows; little ones. Tall, rectangular windows; small, round windows. High windows; low ones. No matter what shape or size, windows often are a welcome sight as they bring in sunlight.

[via FresnoBee.com: Home and Garden]

Significant Others Need To Think About Their Legal Status When Buying A Home

Significant Others Need To Think About Their Legal Status When Buying A Home

A young relative called over the long weekend. He had just made an offer on a house and wanted advice about inspections and other details. We had been in e-mail touch for several weeks as he worked through his mortgage pre-approval, structured the offer and generally obsessed over a very important decision. But I had never thought to ask a critical question of my own: "Are you and your girlfriend - buying this house together?"

They would, he responded, both be on the deed, but only he would sign the note...

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[via Mortgage News Daily - Mortgage and Real Estate News]

Valley Lawmakers Pitch Plan to Improve Air Quality

Valley Lawmakers Pitch Plan to Improve Air Quality

Officials from the San Joaquin Valley have a clever plan for solving the region's tenacious air problems. Whether it succeeds in securing more money is another question. Federal lawmakers are not on board, and environmentalists are raising questions. But no one argues about the valley's air problem. The region's air and economy are among the nation's worst. Health costs related to air quality are ...

[via KnowledgePlex News]

Pending Home Sales Indicate Market Stabilization

Pending Home Sales Indicate Market Stabilization

‘Steady pace' can be expected for next two months, says Lereah

[via RISMedia.com RSS FEED]

Las Vegas Housing: A Perfect Storm?

Special to the Review-Journal I have read several articles recently about the current state of the Las Vegas real estate market. I now know why the public is totally confused. After 18 years selling real estate both here and in Los Angeles, I have seen all the elements that affect a market. But never have I seen the problems facing us presently all coming together at the same time. It's like a ...

[via KnowledgePlex.org News]

Housing prices to fall slightly in '07, Realtors say

Housing prices are expected to drop 2 percent in California, but the market should be slightly better in pockets of the Bay Area where the housing supply is tighter, according to the state Association of ...
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[via Real Estate - Topix.net]

Think buying house in foreclosure is cheaper? Maybe not

Realtor John Izzo stands Thursday by a home that is under foreclosure. He says stiff competition, bureaucratic rigmarole and necessary renovations can make foreclosure purchases difficult.
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[via Real Estate - Topix.net]

Metro: Fresno offers aid for home improvement

Disabled Fresno residents can get up to $10,000 to install a ramp, a grab bar or other equipment to help them stay in their homes instead of a nursing facility, city officials announced Monday.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Running Horse Golf Course: Up for Sale?

The PGA is starting to look at alternative sites for a pro golf tournament scheduled next year in Fresno. Construction is behind schedule at the Running Horse golf course in Southwest Fresno. Now, talk of a possible sale is only adding to the anxiety for people with unfinished homes in a development nearby.

[via KFSN Front Page headlines]

MAKE YOUR HOUSE A BLANK SLATE

Putting your home on the market often means cleaning, painting and planting flowers to make the house as attractive as possible. But homes for sale also need to be de-personalized, so that buyers can picture themselves living there.

[via San Jose Real Estate -- MercuryNews.com]

WANT A SPEEDY SALE? AVOID THESE PITFALLS

Sellers can learn something from the not-so-typical story of Gillian Tucker and her husband, who recently bought a home in San Carlos whose listing price was out of their price range.

[via San Jose Real Estate -- MercuryNews.com]