Lodi / Stockton CA Homes For Sale & Real Estate Information

Could it be true?  Could it be possible?  C’mon House…Let it ride, baby!  Let it ride!

If you’ve made an Offer to Purchase a home recently, especially a Short Sale in Stockton, Lodi, Modesto, CA or anywhere for that matter, then you know what I’m talking about.

To receive the home-buyer’s tax credit you had to have been “under contract” (meaning, accepted by the seller) by April 30th and have your deal “close escrow” by June 30th.  But since some banks are extremely slow to approve short sales, a lot of these deals haven’t closed escrow yet, and may not be able to by June 30.

It was put to a vote, and the Senate said YES to an extension until Sept 30th to get these deals closed.  Now it’s up before the House to approve this extension as well.

Here’s a quick read on this story… http://bit.ly/9fr0ru

Good luck Brandon!  I’m bettin’ on the House for you!

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• Senate votes to extend home tax credit deadline (reuters.com)

Oh my!  Wouldn’t this be a great thing?  Yes!

The first-time homebuyer tax credit had two deadlines.  One was to be “under contract” by April 3o, and the other is to have closed escrow by June 3o, which is just around the corner.

So, if you’re dealing with a Short Sale, like a lot of people are, and you haven’t received your approval from the lender yet, or you have and you just haven’t closed escrow yet, then this is making for some nail-biting times right now.

This extension is up before the Senate for approval.  Here is an article explaining more info…READ HERE.

At Realty World – Davis Homes & Properties, we help a lot of people with Short Sales in Stockton and the Lodi areas.  Whether looking to buy or sell a Short Sale it can sometimes be a very confusing and time-consuming task.  It helps to have someone in your corner helping you along the way.

Let’s all focus our thoughts and energy on getting this extension to pass.

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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• Basic Requirements Of Fha Loans (slideshare.net)

According to an article in the Boston Globe, here are four things sellers should understand about today’s market to make their homes as saleable as possible:

1. Real estate pricing is very local: “When you’re looking at comparables, you have to see what’s sold in the past three months. Look at your competition and what’s under agreement.

2. Get property pics online: Stage the property, then take pictures and video. Better yet, hire a professional photographer to do the job.

3. Disclosure is key: Tell potential buyers what’s wrong before they figure it out. That eliminates last-minute re-negotiations and cold feet.

4. Clean, clean, super-clean: A clean and clutter-free property makes potential buyers likely to pay more.

So, whether you’re still living in your home that’s For Sale, or you’ve already moved out, but are trying for a Short Sale in Stockton or Lodi areas, it’s always a good thing to get the most money for your home.

Make it a great day!

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• 7 Ways to Avoid a Crummy Real Estate Agent (usnews.com)

When it comes to buying a home, most potential buyers will use the listing price as the number one factor to determine the homes that they look at.  Even though you and a Realtor may determine the asking/listing price, the buyer will ultimately determine the selling price.  If the price is too high, most buyers won’t give it a second thought – which is why you want to determine the listing price carefully.  Real estate prices have dropped considerably in the last few years here in the Central Valley, so be careful not to chase the market downward with your pricing.

If you set the correct price, you’ll notice a much faster sale.  Setting the right listing price will also attract more potential buyers to your property as well.  You’ll also notice an increase in response from Realtors, and receive more calls about the property.  The listing price is very important – and it can ultimately determine whether or not you even sell your property.

A home can be overpriced due to several reasons.  Overpricing is something you want to avoid, as buyers tend to steer clear of homes that have been overpriced.  Normally, this happens when a buyer asks a lot more than the home is worth or valued at due to emotional reasons.  Some sellers ask a lot more than the value of the home due to location.  Although the location is very important, most potential buyers won’t give the home a second look if they think the price is too high – and more importantly out of their price range.

When you put your home up for sale, most activity will happen within the first couple of weeks.  If you put the right price on your home, you’ll notice immediate interest.  There are always buyers looking for homes in their price range, waiting for new homes to be listed or homes to be reduced in price.  Buyers who are waiting to purchase may miss seeing your home completely if the price is too high.

To determine the listing price of your home, you should always have your Realtor go over the comparable recent sales.  This way, you’ll know the possible value of your home.  You can sell it for market value or go a little under, although you should never attempt to go way over the value.  In doing so, you’ll miss out on a lot of potential buyers.  The home market is very competitive these days, which is why you want your home to draw as much interest as possible, as soon as possible.

Keep in mind that Realtors really have no control at all over the real estate market, only the plan behind the marketing.  Realtors don’t determine the asking price – the seller does through the assistance of their Realtor.  If you do things right and take each process step by step, you’ll set the listing price in the right area and have no problems selling your property, or at least getting offers for it.

Short Sales in Stockton and Lodi, CA areas are what’s fueling the market right now and will stay that way for the near future.  The main thing is to get a good solid offer on your home and then the lender(s) will determine if you get the ‘green light’ or not.  That will most likely only happen if you price it right from the start.

First American CoreLogic reports that distressed properties accounted for 29% of all U.S. home sales in January. Also, real estate-owned sales rose to 22% of homes sales from 19% in December, and short sales rose to 8% from 7%.

National average sale prices in January were $161,600 for distressed homes, compared to the average non-distressed sale price of $247,700, $141,900 for REO properties, and $215,300 for short sales.

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• Distressed Sales Reach 29% of Entire Market: First American (housingwire.com)

For several months last year I heard a lot that banks were not too willing to jump on   the Short Sale wagon due to they were making more money on a home once they foreclosed on it and then sold it as an REO.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I’ve been hearing a lot more lately that banks are actually starting to work more easily with Sellers and Realtors® in order to get the process to go more smoothly with the short sale of the home

because it’s less costly to the banks than a foreclosure and they are starting to learn how to streamline the process a little better.

Here is a great that I came across that explains just that…CLICK HERE

I am beginning to see more and more Short Sales listed and being SOLD in the Lodi and Stockton, CA areas.  Here at Realty World-Davis Homes & Properties, we are taking the necessary steps to help homeowners that may be facing the decision to have to do a Short Sale on their home and assist in this process to help make it as less stressful as possible.

READ THIS ARTICLE, then contact us to get your questions answered and see if a Short Sale is right for you.

Randy

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• Don’t foreclose! Do a short sale (money.cnn.com)

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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• Shadow Housing Inventory Still Looming (seekingalpha.com)

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.