I’m constantly asking myself “What do I need to do to let people know about the good news in today’s real estate market?” I have decided to implement a home buyers class here in North Orange County to give today’s buyers a better perspective on what is currently taking place in our market, provide you with the current facts and trends, and give you a better understanding of what it’s really going to take to qualify for that perfect home loan.  Click on the video below for more information…

www.ochomebuyerclass.com

Class size is limited and registration is a must!  I will look forward to seeing you soon.  Until then, take care.

]]> http://www.ocrealestateconsultant.com/uncategorized/oc-homebuyer-class-january-22nd-anaheim-hills/feed/ http://www.ocrealestateconsultant.com/uncategorized/new-lease-listing-in-anaheim-hills/ http://www.ocrealestateconsultant.com/uncategorized/new-lease-listing-in-anaheim-hills/#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:26:24 +0000 Jeffrey Simons http://www.ocrealestateconsultant.com/?p=213 Thank you for checking in… please check out this great new lease listing in Rancho Yorba.  It’s listed for lease at $2250.00/month on a 1 year lease with a $2250.00 security deposit and a $100.00 pet deposit.

Click on the photo above for more information and additional photos.

Click Here for your Free Market Analysis

This is the lowest rate that I have personally ever experienced.  In order to give you a better understanding, of what that means, Imagine that you were looking to purchase a home 2 months ago at 6.00% interest, and you were looking at a $300,000 mortgage.  The reduction in interest rate would change your payment by$233.06!  If you chose to keep the same monthly payment, thats an increase in purchasing power to: $344,677.00 at the same monthly payment!!!

I’m not going to tell you that now is the right time for you to buy; however I would like to suggest that you consider the benefits of today’s abundant inventory, low interest rates and limited pool of ready, willing and able buyers to compete with.

If you were every thinking about getting off the fence…  now may be the right time…

As Seen In the O.C. Register:

O.C. mortgage rates return to historic low, 4.875%

posted by Mathew Padilla, Reporter

Rates on some home loans in Orange County fell today to the lowest since 2003, some mortgage brokers said. And rates in 2003 were the lowest in more than 30 years.

But at least one broker questioned whether the low rates will last.

Borrowers with good credit and a down payment of 20% to 25% of a home’s value can get a 30-year fixed rate loan for 4.875% with a one-point fee, said Jeff Lazerson, president of Mortgage Grader in Laguna Niguel. That’s down from 5% on Wednesday and the first time the rate is below 5% since 2003, he said.

He said a homebuyer might be able to get the best rate with 5% to 10% down, but would have to pay for mortgage insurance.

It’s not clear why rates dropped today, Lazerson said. In any case, the yield on a 10-year Treasury, an indicator of mortgage rates, has been under 3% all month.

Not all banks are offering 4.875% on certain mortgages, Lazerson said. Some lenders are still around 5% or higher. But he said generally consumers can get the best rate offered by a bank for loans up to the 2009 conforming limit for Orange County of $625,500.

Previously lenders offered the best rates on loans up to the old conforming limit of $417,000 and charged a little more for loans up to the temporary 2008 loan limit of $729,750. Loans above $729,750, known as jumbos, had rates all over the map from 7% to 10%. Lazerson said as of last week many lenders stopped offering lower rates on loans up to $729,750 even though the limit expires Dec. 31.

Loan limits refer to the maximum size loan that can be sold to government-sponsored buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rates are lowest on loans they purchase.

Now rates vary widely on loans above $625,500, Lazerson said.

Lazerson said rates around 5% and lower have spurred many calls from folks seeking to refinance, but some 70% of callers don’t qualify. That’s because they owe the same or more than their home is worth, or they don’t earn enough money, or their credit score is too low, he said.

And Lazerson slammed the plan reportedly being considered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to set purchase loan rates at 4.5% by buying mortgage-backed securities. Some folks are sitting on the fence, as they wait to see if the plan is enacted. If the plan does not happen, then borrowers could miss out on a chance to get a rate under 5%, he said.

Lazerson said Paulson doesn’t think things through. “He doesn’t realize the impact of the things he is doing,” Lazerson said.

Perhaps, but it is not clear who leaked the story on Paulson’s 4.5% plan. Maybe somebody in the industry found out and leaked it.

Jeff Altman of WestCal Mortgage Corp. in Orange also said some banks offered loans at 4.875% today. But he said that low rate may not last.

Altman said the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds rose a bit late today, possibly as investors began to worry about massive government borrowing to fund bailouts, a possible stimulus next year and the ongoing federal deficit.

All that could translate into higher consumer rates.

Consumers are confused and it’s hard for brokers to explain or predict anything these days, Altman said.

“It’s hard to answer anybody because we are in uncharted waters,” Altman said.

According to a recent article posted in the California Association of Realtors Newsline:

LOAN FORBEARANCE AGREEMENTS MUST BE IN WRITING
A lender’s agreement to forbear or refrain from foreclosing on a home must be in writing and signed by the lender, even if the borrower has performed on the agreement by making a payment. This was the ruling of the recent appellate court case of Secrest v. Security National Mortgage Loan Trust (2008 WL 4516413). This case serves as a good reminder for REALTORS® and their clients to get loan forbearances, loan modifications, and other agreements with mortgage lenders in writing and signed.

In this case, the borrowers of a home loan defaulted in 2002. In a phone conversation, the bank’s loan resolution consultant agreed to enter into a forbearance agreement to refrain from foreclosing if the borrowers paid the arrearage by making an initial payment of $13,422 followed by monthly installments. The loan officer then faxed an unsigned written forbearance agreement to the borrowers. The borrowers noticed errors on the proposed agreement, and at the loan consultant’s instructions, they corrected those errors on the document itself, signed it, and returned it to the loan officer along with the $13,422 initial payment. The lender, however, never signed the forbearance agreement. Instead, the lender sold the note and deed of trust, and two years later, the new lender filed a notice of default.

The borrowers in this case filed a lawsuit to stop the foreclosure claiming that, because of the forbearance agreement, the notice of default overstated the amount of the default. The court disagreed. The court noted that, under the statute of frauds, a mortgage loan must be in writing and signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. Similarly, if an agreement is subject to the statute of frauds, an amendment to that agreement also is subject to the statute of frauds. The court held that, in this case, the forbearance agreement at issue was not enforceable because it was not signed by the lender.

The borrower nevertheless argued that a signed agreement was not required because they partly performed by making the $13,422 initial payment. Again, the court disagreed. The court ruled that the payment of money is not “sufficient part performance to take an oral agreement out of the statute of frauds,” because the borrowers paying money under an invalid contract “have legal means to recover that money if they are entitled to its return or have not received credit for it.”

What does that really mean?  It means that if you are thinking about buying or selling in this market, there is a part of society that is in complete agreement with you!  Guess what else?  Over 1,000,000 people made their house payment on time this month!  I know can you believe it?  Families all over Southern California are paying their bills!

Regardless of what you see in the media, there are good things happening all around you…  again, what are you choosing to look at?

As you may or may not know… We are constantly being bombarded with all forms of media which permeate fear and concern!!! Why? This is what sells!

You can choose to feel overwhelmed, and see everything from a negative… the real estate market continues to move downward, the stock market is falling, the dollar is weakening, blah, blah, blah… or you can choose see the opportunity that is all around you and surround yourself with like minded people that see and feel the same way.  You like me, know that there is an incredible change taking place!  Interest rates are down, inventory is still up, and there are motivated sellers all around you! I believe that Warren Buffet said it best… “when everyone else is moving in one direction, go the other”.  Now this may not be the exact quote or comment; however it proves a good point! Don’t necessarily be one of the heard, if the heard is not making decisions that make sense you… break free… look in another direction.

I challenge you to consider making a change in your thinking, in your actions and in your vision, and I will look forward to seeing you grow exponentially!

Birth, death, marriage, divorce. Throw in new careers and lost jobs, and you’ve got the reasons most of us fail miserably at timing the real estate market. We sell and buy because life — not market conditions — drives the decision.

It’s how you manage the deal that dictates whether you’ll give up too much of your profit in a fire sale or forsake future profit by paying too much — especially now that the housing market has taken a chilly turn. In the fourth quarter of 2007, the median home price in the U.S. fell 5.8% over the same period 12 months prior, according to the National Association of Realtors. And 13% fewer homes were sold last year than the year before.

Below, we have tips for both buyers and sellers to help you strengthen your hand in these rough times, no matter what side of the transaction you’re on. (Hint: It wouldn’t hurt to read both sections so you know the other team’s strategy, too.) Plus, you can sharpen your skills and test your knowledge with our

Buyer tips

Buyers definitely have the upper hand in a cool market. You can press your advantage to negotiate the best price possible. However, bear in mind that today’s credit crunch has lenders tightening their belts, so you’ll need to make the right moves to get a good deal on a mortgage. Also, dust off those negotiating skills that went unused during the seller’s market of the past few years.

Seller tips

A cool market means it may take you longer to sell your home, and you might not get as much money as you’d like. Those are two tough pills to swallow. But if you make the right moves, you can increase your odds of striking a good deal and getting the most from your sale.

• Pick the right agent. You want somebody who is going to market the place, not some slacker who talks you into setting a low-ball price and then waits for a bargain hunter to trip over the house on the MLS. Your best bet is to find someone who was in the business during the last downturn. That’s a survivor who knows how to sell when others can’t. Interview several agents.

• Pin down marketing specifics when interviewing agents. Despite the rise of Web sites, such as Realtor.com and brokers’ own sites, many sales still turn on old-fashioned techniques, such as classified ads in newspapers and local real estate magazines, open houses and yard signs (with a box full of detailed fliers for the drive-by crowd). When markets slow, these staples matter more than they do when things are sizzling.

• Shop the market yourself to get a feel for prices. Ask your agent to show you listings that are competing with your own.

• Buy down the interest rate. It’s not a sales price that people are buying — it’s the mortgage payment. And buying down the buyer’s interest rate is a smart way to attract buyers without giving up your profits. For example, lowering the buyer’s interest rate from 6.5% to 5.5% on a $150,000 loan reduces the monthly payment by almost $100 per month.

  The buy-down would cost you about 4.75% of the loan amount, or $7,125 in this example. Alternatively, if you lowered your sale price by that amount, the buyer would save only $45 a month. You can also offer to buy down the interest rate for the first year or two for less money. Either way, you’re allowing buyers to get more home than they would have otherwise been able to afford.

• Dress up the house. Agents call it staging: Haul out the oversize furniture; get rid of clutter; break out the touch-up paint; polish the glass; buff brass fixtures; eradicate smells. "Things you were willing to live with are not necessarily something you want a buyer to see," says Kevin Cook, president of the Cottage Realty Ltd. in Berthoud, Colo.

• Hire an inspector. Most buyers make their purchases contingent on a home inspection. But hiring your own inspector before placing your house on the market can help you indentify things to fix ahead of time and make your home more attractive to the buyer. For example, you’ll find out if your roof needs replacement or if any electrical or plumbing work should be done.

Great content… Great Advise…  Who do you know that currently owns a home, and has adult children living with them?  With the comeback of FHA financing and the temporary changes in the Maximum Loan Limits… it may be a great time to help them purchase their own home, co-mortgage and enjoy the benefits of having your own place!  ;-)  Imagine the possibilities.  Have a great day!