Lodi / Stockton CA Homes For Sale & Real Estate Information

I am often asked about the differences between letting a house go into foreclosure, having a Short Sale, or filing bankruptcy, and what each would mean to a person’s credit score.

Well, there is no good news with either situation.  You’re going to be hit hard on your FICO score no matter which route you take.  The question might be, “where would my credit suffer the least?”

It might be obvious to say that filing for bankruptcy will have the greatest negative impact on a persons credit score. So, the more difficult decision might be whether to ‘walk away’ from your commitment to pay your mortgage or to provide some restitution to your lender(s) and Short Sale your home with the help of a good Realtor® that understands how Short Sales work.

As you will see in THIS ARTICLE, there are many important issues to consider, and certain rules, guidelines and procedures to follow, especially in a Short Sale situation.

I hope THIS ARTICLE helps to answer some of your questions.  I know it did for me.

To read the article CLICK HERE.

Make it a great day!

Sometimes it seems like there is no end to the internet.  It sure feels like I’ve tried to find it some late evenings.  However, there definitely was a beginning.

Two dates are significant in the ‘birth’ of the internet.  September 2, 1969 scientists used a 15 ft cable and connected two computers at UCLA and the machines were able to communicate with each other.

The other date, October 29, 1969 was when the first message was sent from computer to computer in different locations.  The message was sent from professor Leondard Kleinrock’s lab at UCLA to the Stanford Research Institute over what was called the ARPANet.

It was in 1971 that the first email program began being used and it was two years later that the ARPANet was international by being connected to Britain and Norway.  In 1972 the “@” symbol was adopted, and the rest they say, is history.

So, on Thursday, October 29th, be sure and say a very Happy Birthday to your friend and mine…the Internet.  Help celebrate by sending someone an email or posting a comment on this blog.

Make it a great day!

Has the real estate market hit bottom and now on the rise again?  Not likely.  I believe the rising home prices right now in some areas is a temporary occurrence due in part to homebuyers scrambling to get the nice homes in nice neighborhoods at significantly lower prices than they were back in 2006 and those home prices are being driven up by multiple offers.

Along with still lower interest rates, the first-time homebuyer tax credit, and good weather coming to an end, it makes sense for all homebuyers and investors to get off the fence and purchase real estate now.  It’ll make even more sense to buy real estate in the months to come when there will be even more foreclosures and great deals galore.  Great places to buy real estate right now are in Lodi, CA and in Stockton, CA.  There are even great deals on homes for sale in surrounding areas such as Galt, Elk Grove, Manteca, and Salida.

Here is a link to recent article about the current national real estate prices… Click Here

Make it a great day!

Randy

I actually would think that since we’re nearing the deadline of the First-time Homebuyers Tax Credit of $8,000 that we’d be seeing a sharp rise in mortgage applications.  Perhaps that’ll happen over the next few weeks as we get closer.

But instead, with the mortgage rates rising I’m thinking this might be causing people to think a little longer about whether they should buy a home now, or not buy one at all.

There’s also lots of news of the number of foreclosures rising and that’ll create not only more choices, but lower prices on homes.

Here is an article I read recently that talks a little more about the topic of rates and mortgage apps… http://bit.ly/6QLI6

What are your thoughts about the tax credit?  Do you think it should be extended?

Make it a great day!

Ok, so you just read an article about the housing market and it says that we are in the “calm before the storm”.  Then you read another story that says we’re in “recovery” and that sales are up nationwide.

What do you believe?

The answer is… I don’t know!  Maybe both.

It’s pretty much too early to tell right now.  Yes, sales are up, and yes, sales are down.  It depends on where you’re getting your information from.  It’s always good to remember that real estate is local.  What’s happening in the real estate market in Detroit, Michigan is definitely different from what’s happening in the Lodi, CA real estate market.

You can buy an investment property in some towns for under $10,000, but who are you going to rent it out to?  What kind of neighborhood is it in?  How many other vacant homes are in that area?  Will a renter take good care of your home if it’s only worth $10,000?

I feel that it is a good time to buy real estate in the areas of Lodi, Stockton, Galt, etc, no matter what you read in the paper or hear on the news.  Just be a smart buyer and get the assistance of a good Realtor® to assist you with knowing what to look for and where to find it.  It’s just as smart to make sure that you get hooked-up with a great mortgage lender as well.

I don’t know for certain what will happen with real estate pricing tomorrow, but I do know that we will see a housing recovery in the somewhat near future.  And when home prices start rising again, and believe me they will, I’d make darn sure that I owned a home instead of still renting one.

If you own a home that you purchased for $150,000 and in a few years it rises by only 10%, then you now have increased your net worth by $15,000.  That’s good money!  Think about it for a moment…how much has your net worth grown from other purchases you’ve made?  How much has that $30 – $40,000 car you bought in the last 10 years increased in value?

Good deals are out there.  Seek and ye shall find.

Make it a great day!

Yesterday, the family and I attended the 7th Annual CASI California State Championship Chili Cookoff & Car Show in Woodbridge, CA located at the Woodbridge Winery.  I didn’t hear anyone complaining about the economy or the Lodi and Stockton real estate market today.  Instead it was a day to enjoy some good, no, great chili and some beautiful cars.

I don’t know what I enjoyed more…the chili or the car show.  Both parts of the event were fun, and there was an equal amount of variety in the flavors of the chili as there was in the designs of the many cars on display.

After trying several different chili’s from different “chefs”, I picked my favorite from Smoking Barrel Chili.  They happened to come in 3rd place and won a spot in the International event, as did 1st and 2nd place, coming up in Terlingua, Texas, November 5-7.

My partner in life, Barbara, due to her “sophisticated pallet”, was able to pick her favorite,

Spitfire Chili, which came in First Place.  I really liked that one too, but Smoking Barrel Chili had shredded beef in it and that was what made it my favorite.

Here is a picture of the Top 10 Winners of the cook-off…

Another great part of the day was the Car Show section of the event.  There were several different makes and models from yesterday and today.  There was everything from a 1918 International to a 2010 Camaro on site.  There were many great automobiles to enjoy looking at as well as photographing.  I took a lot of photos of the ones that really caught my eye, and here are a few of my favorites…

If you attended the Chili Cookoff  & Car Show, then tell us what was your favorite chili and even your favorite cars.

Pumpkin carving is a popular part of modern America’s Halloween celebration. Every October, pumpkins can be found everywhere in the country from doorsteps to dinner tables. Visiting the local pumpkin patch is a tradition for many families today, whether rural or urban. Despite the widespread carving that goes on in this country every autumn, few Americans really know why or when the jack o’lantern tradition began. Or, for that matter, whether the pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable. In our quest to provide interesting information each month of a different sort, we offer this explanation for you.

People have been making jack o’lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.” According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, simply “Jack O’Lantern.”

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o’lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o’lanterns.

The rest, as they say, is history.  And, just think: Pumpkin pie is so much tastier than turnip pie, or potato pie, or (perish the thought) beet pie! This is clearly one situation where a tradition greatly benefitted from the distinctly American modernization of it.

Hooray for the humble pumpkin!

What to know when you’re buying a REO property…

Most people, especially those that are in the market for buying a home, are familiar with the term “REO”.  This stands for Real Estate Owned.  That is, owned by the bank.  A foreclosure.

It seems that if you’re out there trying to find your Dream Home that you’re basically trying to find your Dream Foreclosure.  Depending on what city you live in, and even what neighborhood you’re searching in, sometimes the only choices you may have are to buy a REO.  Such is the case in Stockton, CA.

Homes for sale that are occupied by the owner are either priced too high, because the owner owes too much on the mortgage and thinks they might be able to find that Home Buyer looking just for their home, or once they realize they can’t sell it for the higher price and need to sell at market value, they’ll have what is known as a Short Sale.

Short Sales are when a homeowner is selling their home for less than what they owe on it.  They are “short” on their mortgage balance, thus the name Short Sale.

There are plenty of Short Sales out there too, and even more coming onto the market, but if your Realtor® doesn’t have any experience in working with Short Sales, then it could be a long and grueling process for everyone involved. There are a lot of buyers and agents that stay away from Short Sales altogether for this reason alone.

At least with a Short Sale over a REO, you have a seller that can disclose to you the necessary important facts about the property where the bank wouldn’t be able to do so with a REO since the bank has no personal knowledge about the home.  Frankly, they’ve never lived in it.

There are many caveats to purchasing real estate and specifically bank-owned real estate, so the main thing to remember is to ALWAYS get a professional home inspection.  Do this for any type of home purchase, but most definitely a REO.  You don’t know what you’re buying, and the bank is exempt from filling out most disclosures that would protect you, the home-buyer.

With all of that said, there are a lot of really good deals to be found right now with purchasing real estate.  Whether it be a REO, Short Sale, or even good ol’ fashioned traditional sale, just due your due diligence and pull in helpful resources of a Realtor®, a good mortgage lender, and the services of a professional home inspector.  The less headaches and stress you experience by doing everything on your own will be appreciated when all the dust settles.

It’s been said that “money is the root of all evil”.  Actually, I believe that it’s either the lack of money or perhaps the extreme desire for money that’s more evil.

Either way, what do you suppose procrastination is the root of?  Maybe failure?  Or loss of opportunity?

When it comes to real estate purchasing and/or refinancing right now, procrastination can possibly cost you thousands of dollars.  Here is a good article on the subject of what “Waiting Really Could Cost You”… http://bit.ly/Z7BFp

Median Home Prices

This chart shows the estimated market value of the median priced home from 1970 through now.

Notice that the current home median price is down to approx where it was back in 2003.

To me, this means that if you bought real estate, oh say in 2000 or sooner, and you haven’t refinanced since that purchase, then you’re understanding that real estate is a good investment.  Especially if you’ve owned it since the late 80’s.

The real estate market will always go up and down in value, but overall it’s a good investment, and can usually happen for you with very little capital out of your own pocket.

Take advantage of the $8,000 take credit that is possibly going away November 30, 2009.  That means you’ve got only 57 days left before you’ve thrown away $8,000.  Wow, now that would not be a good investment decision.