Posts Tagged ‘Home Buying’

Video Tour of Lake Property For Sale

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I wanted to share with you a short 2 1/2 minute video I did with my Flip HD camera while driving around the backyard and around the ‘lake-like’ pond on the beautiful estate property I have for sale in the Lodi, CA real estate market.  It’s not even a Short Sale in Lodi.

This is one spectacular property, but with TWO homes located on it.  If you’ve wanted to live like a King, but didn’t want the responsibility that goes along with being one, then this is YOUR castle!

Reminds me of Mayberry

I’m showing the home to a local attorney tomorrow and I know she’s going to fall in love with the main home itself.  But once she sees the grounds she’s gonna go Lady Gaga over it.      (I just made that up on the fly)  Ha!

CLICK HERE to see the video and enjoy the view.  (Get it?)

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Beautifully Unique and Ready for Viewing

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Get ready to fall in love with this wonderful 4.3 acre property with two homes on site.  The custom-built main home is incredible, and the rear of the property is breath-taking.  This is one of the newest homes listed in the Lodi, CA real estate market that offers a unique opportunity for rural living, but still close enough to town to not feel too isolated.

For a quick panoramic view of the front of the property, CLICK HERE.  Stay tuned for ongoing posts with more videos and photos.  Wait until you see the tour of the beautiful large pond.

It Always Amazes Me!

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I was showing a home this morning in the Stockton real estate market to some wonderful clients of mine, and it always amazes me the things some people will leave behind when they move out of their homes.

You don't love me anymore?

This sectional, baby’s playpen, and MANY other items were just left behind at this home and I feel like holding a yard sale and donating all the proceeds to charity.  The thing is that it all still belongs to the current homeowner even though they seemingly have abandoned the home and all it’s contents.

Another thing they didn’t take with them was the awful odor that is lingering on throughout the home.  Especially in the garage where I believe they housed a cat or two.  :-/

It’s difficult sometimes to get clients to look beyond a home in such disarray to picture what it would look like in its cleaned up state.

I really feel for the homeowners that are being forced to make such drastic changes in their lives due to the current situation in the Stockton real estate market.  The number of Short Sales in Stockton seem to be increasing, but leaving behind so much furniture, exercise equipment, personal appliances, clothing, toys, etc., when a Short Sale is the option, is still a mystery to me.


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The Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

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Logo of the Federal Housing Administration.
Image via Wikipedia

What is the Federal Housing Administration?

The Federal Housing Administration, generally known as “FHA”, provides mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders throughout the United States and its territories. FHA insures mortgages on single family and multifamily homes including manufactured homes and hospitals. It is the largest insurer of mortgages in the world, insuring over 34 million properties since its inception in 1934.

What is FHA Mortgage Insurance?

FHA mortgage insurance provides lenders with protection against losses as the result of homeowners defaulting on their mortgage loans. The lenders bear less risk because FHA will pay a claim to the lender in the event of a homeowner’s default. Loans must meet certain requirements established by FHA to qualify for insurance.

Why does FHA Mortgage Insurance exist?

Unlike conventional loans that adhere to strict underwriting guidelines, FHA-insured loans require very little cash investment to close a loan. There is more flexibility in calculating household income and payment ratios. The cost of the mortgage insurance is passed along to the homeowner and typically is included in the monthly payment. In most cases, the insurance cost to the homeowner will drop off after five years or when the remaining balance on the loan is 78 percent of the value of the property -whichever is longer.

How is FHA funded?

FHA is the only government agency that operates entirely from its self-generated income and costs the taxpayers nothing. The proceeds from the mortgage insurance paid by the homeowners are captured in an account that is used to operate the program entirely. FHA provides a huge economic stimulation to the country in the form of home and community development, which trickles down to local communities in the form of jobs, building suppliers, tax bases, schools, and other forms of revenue.

The History of FHA

Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1934. The FHA became a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Housing in 1965.

When the FHA was created, the housing industry was flat on its back:

  • Two million construction workers had lost their jobs.

  • Terms were difficult to meet for homebuyers seeking mortgages.

  • Mortgage loan terms were limited to 50 percent of the property’s market value, with a repayment schedule spread over three to five years and ending with a balloon payment.

  • America was primarily a nation of renters. Only four in 10 households owned homes.

During the 1940s, FHA programs helped finance military housing and homes for returning veterans and their families after the war.

In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the FHA helped to spark the production of millions of units of privately-owned apartments for elderly, handicapped and lower income Americans. When soaring inflation and energy costs threatened the survival of thousands of private apartment buildings in the 1970s, FHA’s emergency financing kept cash-strapped properties afloat.

The FHA moved in to steady falling home prices and made it possible for potential homebuyers to get the financing they needed when recession prompted private mortgage insurers to pull out of oil producing states in the 1980s.

By 2001, the nation’s homeownership rate had soared to an all time high of 68.1 percent as of the third quarter that year.

The FHA and HUD have insured over 34 million home mortgages and 47,205 multifamily project mortgages since 1934. FHA currently has 4.8 million insured single family mortgages and 13,000 insured multifamily projects in its portfolio.

In the more than 60 years since the FHA was created, much has changed and Americans are now arguably the best housed people in the world. HUD has helped greatly with that success.

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WaMu Chase Short Sale Blog Part 2

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These Blog entries are about a good cash offer on a property that I represent the seller. I am dealing with Chase – which was given WaMu loans by you and me – our government – at a very low price on the dollar. A long time bank employee told me that he thought Chase “purchased” WaMu loans for 30 cents on the dollar. 30% – a 70% discount. I have not found any documentation on the price Chase paid for WaMu – so if any of our readers know where that is in print – send it to us! Thank You.

Friday I called the number on the Short Sale package for Assistance – 800-848-9380. I talked with Elizabeth in New York. Elizabeth looked up the Chase loan by the number I gave her and told me that Chase had received both my FAXes – Thursday and Friday morning. I have heard horror stories from other Realtors on Short Sales where the bank claims to never have received the Short Sale package.

I ask Elizabeth if Chase was recording our phone and she said “yes”. I ask if it would be OK if I recorded the call also?  She said “It is against company policy for anyone else to record the call”!

I ask Elizabeth the time frames for approval from Chase on a Short Sale. Elizabeth said that the Chase would order a BPO – a Broker Opinion of Value – within the next 7 to 10 days. Then someone in Chase would review the BPO and produce a Reconciled Market Value report with the next three to four weeks.

So now we are out 4 to 6 weeks. Next Elizabeth said that the bank would assign a Negotiator to the file. That person would contact me three to four weeks after they were assigned the file. Now we are talking 7 to 10 weeks before we might receive an answer from Chase.

Cash buyer. More than the value. Wait 7 to 10 weeks?

What are your stories about Chase Short Sales?  Do you think Elizabeth is giving me the straight story on the time frames?  Let us hear from you in the comment section at the top of this post.

WaMu Chase Short Sale Blog

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Hi! This is Steve Davis – the Broker at Realty World – Davis Homes & Properties. Many people hear about how long a short sale is. I have just started on May 6 – Thursday – a short sale with Chase. 

On this blog I will be updating you daily as to the response I receive from Chase. We will see if they really want to serve the citizens of the United States – which Chase as taken billions of dollars from – or is the bank so understaffed and unwilling to work with the public that it is a total mess.

So – here is my first installment! On Thursday May 6 I received the accepted offer back from my seller. The seller also gave me the completed Short Sale package from Chase. I did my part as the listing agent – provided three For Sale homes that we similar to the one we are selling. I also provided three Sold homes that are comparable.

I wrote a two page cover letter pointing out to Chase that the offer that another good agent in Lodi brought to me was more than the house was worth. That Chase would be fools not to accept this offer ASAP. But from all we hear Chase is fools anyway. I am giving them a chance to publicly show that they are serious about the housing crisis and willing to move quickly.

I FAXed the completed Short Sale package to the bank at 800-446-8939. The package was 60 pages long.  I will update this post tomorrow with the results of submitting the complete Short Sale package to them.

Please comment about the pro’s and con’s of dealing with Chase on a Short Sale. Any tips you have for me will be appreciated. Thank You.

More Containers, Even More Uses

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A while back I posted an article about how shipping containers were being used for innovative ways for housing.  I came across another article profiling even more unique ways of using shipping containers for more than just shipping cargo.

I wonder if using these containers in this manner would help or hurt the real estate market in the Lodi, CA and Stockton, CA areas.

To see how these containers are being creatively being used, CLICK HERE.

New Round of Foreclosures Threatens Housing Market

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Recent home sales, by the numbers
Image by JAWspeak via Flickr

We all know that the Lodi, CA and Stockton, CA area property values have been affected by the current real estate market due to all the foreclosures and short sales.  How the upcoming wave of foreclosures and short sales will impact home prices in our area is something that is being reported on daily basis now.

The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize.

For the rest of this interesting article… CLICK HERE

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Home Sales Statistics for San Joaquin County, CA

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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…

Single Family Residence
 Time Period Number of Sales Median Sale Price 
 Jan 2010 691 $179,000 
 Jan 2009 1,032 $165,750 
 Dec 2009 890 $182,500 
 Dec 2008 1,231 $177,500 
 2010 YTD 1,144 $171,750 
 2009 11,706 $170,000 
 Condominium
 Time Period Number of Sales Median Sale Price 
 Jan 2010 23 $61,000 
 Jan 2009 33 $61,000 
 Dec 2009 29 $125,000 
 Dec 2008 34 $89,000 
 2010 YTD 32 $60,000 
 2009 369 $65,000 
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Foreclose, Short Sale, or Loan Modification…What To Do?

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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

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