Lodi / Stockton CA Homes For Sale & Real Estate Information

Sales activity for the Lodi and Stockton CA area have been down the last couple of months.  Was it due to the bad weather?  No, it wasn’t that bad.  Was it due to no incentives to purchase?  No, we still have the extended $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.

So, what’s the real reason for the lack of sales going on right now in the San Joaquin Valley?  Are people still afraid of falling home prices?  Could it be the inventory of homes that the banks are holding on to after foreclosure?

I’d like to hear from you out there…the public.  What are YOUR thoughts on this and what do you think it will look like in th upcoming months?

Here are the stats for the San Joaquin County, CA…

I read a very interesting article about the Bankers wanting to change Florida to a Non-judicial Foreclosure state. When bankers want to make a change they are looking out for their own paycheck – not for the homeowner.

Click Here for the article. It will give you some insight to the way bankers think and the protections that we do not have here in California.

Steve Davis, Broker

If you’re faced with the decision of which direction to go, you might want to watch the video down below because you may not even have a choice.  The bank may be makng the choice for you without fair warning.

This video shares some insight as to why homeowners are having such a hard time trying to get their lenders to do a loan modification on their current mortgage.

Feel free to post any comments that you may have on this subject.

CLICK HERE to view the video

According to Bloomberg’s Kathleen M. Howley…

Increasingly aggressive mortgage lenders are seeking to collect deficiencies from former home owners who walked away from their properties or sold them in short sales.

Many states, including Florida, give mortgage holders as long as five years to seek a deficiency judgment. If granted, the bank gets up to 20 years to collect and the option to renew for another 20 years if the debt isn’t paid.

About one-third of U.S. states, including California and Arizona, prohibit collection efforts after foreclosure, but home owners usually waive that protection in a refinance.

Most states allow collection on unpaid home-equity loans.

Banks are most likely to try to collect from people who walk away from a property in which they are still making payments.

“The bank is going to pull your credit report, and if you’re current on your other bills they are going to come after you and potentially ruin you,” says Larry Tolchinsky, a Florida real estate attorney.

Hey dad, are we there yet?  No, I’m not referring to the camping trip.  I’m talking about the ‘bottom’ of the real estate market.

Sometimes I think what I see and read from the so-called ‘experts’ is all smoke and mirrors.  Personally, I feel that we’re pretty much there, but for sure we’re a lot closer to the bottom than we are from the top.

Once again, Stockton, CA has made it on the national news, but at least the news is not as bad for Stockton as it is for some other cities.

Take a look at this article and short CNBC video that talks about the current state of real estate foreclosures and what we can look forward to.

What is happening with all the applications for loan modifications in Lodi and Stockton, CA these days you ask?

According to THIS ARTICLE on www.msnbc.com by the Associated Press, I would have to say that there’s not much more happening here than there is in the rest of the country.

In the entire nation, only approximately 1,700 homeowners had completed the process for a loan modification out of the approx 650,000 applications for the program.  Those numbers are staggering!

As for the real estate market here in the local Lodi and Stockton CA areas; it is what it is.  Homes for sale is a common search on Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

There are some great deals on REO’s (Foreclosures) and also with Short Sales, which some banks are starting to work a little harder on to get into the escrow process than others.  One of the good ones to work with is Wachovia, but I shouldn’t mention the not-so-good ones though.  (*Cough* B of A *Cough*)  Sorry, I couldn’t pass that up.

To read the entire news article about the pace of loan mods…CLICK HERE

I’ve seen many people having to pack up and leave their homes and their memories behind due to the rising mortgage payments on homes that have dramatically fallen in market value.  I too have felt the crunch of what is happening in our economy, and fortunately, so far, I have been able to maintain and stay in the home that me and my significant other purchased 5 years ago in the height of the Lodi real estate market.

The Lodi and Stockton area real estate markets have been hit hard in the recent years, and I have seen a lot of nice homes and neighborhoods become empty and turn into what appear to be ghost towns.

My heart goes out to the people that have had to suffer from lost jobs/wages, unexpected medical bills, etc., that has not allowed them to stay in their homes.

Well, I have found news that may shed some light on these issues for some in an article by Amy Hoak on www.RISmedia.com and I believe it may give hope to some of those that would like to find a way to stay in their current home even if they do still find themselves having to experience foreclosure.

CLICK HERE to read this article about how Fannie Mae could be renting foreclosed homes back to their owners so that they can at least maintain their current job locations, children’s schools, friendly neighbors, etc.

Make it a better day!

Well, we should be finding out anytime now about whether or not Congress has officially agreed to extend the tax credit.  It was passed by the Senate unanimously, so that may be a good sign.

With the flood of foreclosures an short sales still in the system, I feel it would be a good thing for the tax credit to have one more go-around to see if we can keep the flow of homebuyers coming in.

Working mostly in the Lodi, CA and Stockton, CA real estate markets, I still see a lot of great opportunities for both the first-time homebuyers, the move-ups, and the real estate investors alike.

Here is a link to a good description of what’s on the table for the tax credit extension…CLICK HERE.

Make it a great day!

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!

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!