Oakland Ca Real Estate Blog 
$8000 Tax Credit Expires Dec. 1!
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 5:24pm. 533 Views, 0 Comments.
If you are a first time home buyer, then you should know about the $8000 Federal Tax credit you can get when you purchase a home. This is an incentive that is being offered in an effort to help stimulate the housing market, and it's one more reason that now is truly a great time to buy real estate. The downside is that this credit will expire at the end of the year, December 1 to be precise.
We are finding that many first time home buyers aren't even aware of the credit, so pass the info on to any potential first time home buyers you may know.
When to go after a Short Sale...
Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 11:11pm. 450 Views, 0 Comments.
When the mortgage meltdown began, one of the first consequences was the phenomenon of the now all too familiar "short sale". When short sales started spiking in 07, it was the first time that many Realtors had even heard the term (including myself). The preceding years had been a time booming appreciation, and the idea that homewowners would end up not being able to sell their homes for what they paid for them unthinkable.
Of course all that changed starting in late 06, and the short sale was something that like it or not most Realtors were going to have to learn the ins and out's of if they wanted to survive. The problem was, that short sales were (and still are somewhat) notorious for being exteremely slow. In many cases, everyone involved ends up…
REO's Moving Quickly!!
Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 11:48am. 414 Views, 0 Comments.
If you are a buyer looking to pick up a foreclosure, you have probably realized that it's not always easy! Over the past year, the Banks have gotten much better about pricing their listings from the beginning, as opposed to going through several price reductions before they get offers. While sometimes the property still needs to get reduced after hitting the market, many of them are getting several offers in the first few days.
It's important for potential buyers to realize that moving quickly is essential right now if you expect to have a shot at a newly listed foreclosure. I have had clients who really loved a property that they saw, but they wanted to show two or three different people before they made a decision. A week goes by and by, then there…
FHA 203k Loan Can Finance Your Remodel
Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 12:01pm. 430 Views, 0 Comments.
If you are the type who wants to find a fixer and bring it back to it's original glory (or better), then the FHA 203(k) loan might be for you. This loan allows the borrower to borrow additional funds (in excess of the purchase price) to pay for repairs to the property. So for instance: if you have your eye on a fixer that is selling for $300k, and it needs approx $75-100k worth of work, then it is possible to get a loan for the entire $400k amount, with $100k being set aside for payment for repairs. The borrower must qualify for the total amount of the loan, not just the amount that is going to purchase the property.
The interest rate is slighly higher with this loan, and it means that you would be paying interest on the money used to remodel the home.…
Oakland Foreclosure Lists Available...
Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 1:15pm. 486 Views, 0 Comments.
I just wanted to take a minute and let you know that I am now able to easily produce lists of foreclosed properties in any East Bay City, and send them via email. Fortunately, our MLS recently updated our system with a feature that allows us Realtors to search specifically for foreclosed properties. This makes it much easier for me to run a search in certain City, zip code, or even neighborhood and look for REO properties exclusively.
Right now foreclosures make up a huge percentage of the overall inventory, and they often represent the best value to the buyer. Unfortunately, most times there is no way to know if a property you are looking at online is a foreclosure or not unless you contact an agent to to inquire about it, so this is a good resource…
Why a Pre-Approval is more important than ever.
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 1:47pm. 453 Views, 0 Comments.
Purchasing real estate is a complex transaction which involves many parties and factors, and therefore is done in a step by step fashion. The very first step in the buying process is to get pre-approved for financing (unless you are paying cash). I speak with a lot of people who are interested in viewing property before they have been through the pre-approval process, and it's important to for perspective buyers to know that it is critical that you sit down with a mortgage professional and have them run your numbers. Until you do so, you are not sure of how much you can borrow, what interest rate you can borrow at, what the monthly payment will be etc.. Of course these are critical factors in your buying process, so it's important that these questions get…
Cal HFA a thing of the past....for now
Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 1:54pm. 454 Views, 0 Comments.
If you are a first time home buyer who's been looking at financing options, you probably are familiar with Cal HFA financing. Cal HFA is a State subsidized program that allows first time home buyers to borrow up to 103% of the purchase price of a home, which means the buyer could finance the closing costs and down payment and basically buy a home for almost no money out of pocket. Basically it was one of the last options for 100% financing that was left after the mortgage meltdown.
Unfortunately, on December 19th the Cal HFA program was suspended. From what I have been told by Mortgage professionals, the administrators of the program aren't sure if they will have the funds to keep lending into the new year. With the ecomonic problems on top of the…
4.5% 30 Year Fixed???
Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 7:42pm. 506 Views, 0 Comments.
Could interest rates really drop to 4.5%? According to news reports, there is talk within the Treasury department of a new program that would allow for mortgage interest rates as low as 4.5%. When I heard this I was shocked, and I just hope that they are actually able to do it. I haven't heard all the details of how this would work, but I do know that would be a great stimulus to the market, and the economy in general.
If it does happen, it will only be available for first time home buyers, not those looking for investment real estate or looking to refinance. With the huge inventory of bank owned real estate on the market, lowering the interest rate would allow thousands of first time buyers who otherwise would not be able to purchase to get into a…
Will The Feds Buy All The Bad Mortgages? Maybe Not...
Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 10:51am. 477 Views, 0 Comments.
On Monday, November 10, the government provided a record bailout of a private company with a new $150 billion financial-rescue package to troubled insurance giant American International Group, including $40 billion for partial ownership.
On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that buying up troubled mortgage assets “is not the most effective way” to use government funding. Purchasing these assets was the cornerstone of the initial financial rescue plan, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP. Going forward, some of the money saved from not buying mortgage assets will be used to shore up the market for credit-card receivables, auto loans and student loans, according to Paulson.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that…
Bank Owned Real Estate Fueling The Market
Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 12:19pm. 459 Views, 0 Comments.
You probably have seen the news reports about how in both Southern and Northern California, home sales are up as much as 65% compared to last year. This is due to the huge inventory of Bank Owned real estate which continues to flood the market.
Buyers are starting to realize that while prices may continue to fall, there are so many well priced homes on the market that it is literally forcing some people to consider buying. It has gottent to the point where you can buy a single family home or duplex, in some areas, and acutally pay a mortgage that would be comparable to renting the same property. It's been years since that has been possible in the Bay Area, but now it's a reality.
Every week I preview homes for clients, and when I look up the sales…
Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)
On April 5, 2010 the HAFA program was rolled out. Basically it's a streamlined liquidation program that allows a homeown... 1Comments Read MoreOakland's Median Sales Price up 58%
With all the doom and gloom in the media, it's always nice to put things in perspective with some hard numbers. It would prob... Add Comment Read MoreTax Credit Deadline Extended for those In Contract
GREAT news for any first time buyer who is in contract but may not close by the June 30th deadline. The deadline has bee... Add Comment Read More
