Testimonials for Blog

Properly evaluating a real estate investment opportunity can sometimes be a tricky endeavor. There are many factors that can come into play, and it can be hard to focus in on the things that really matter. While I don’t propose to have a magical formula for finding great real estate investments, I do have over 15 years of experience investing in real estate, and have bought and sold hundreds of homes. Along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes a good investment, and a bad one. In this article, I plan to share some of these

President Obama flew to Las Vegas, ground zero of the housing crisis, to unveil a revamp of the Home Affordable Refinance Program. With mortgage interest rates at near historic lows, millions of homeowners have refinanced to rates as low as 4 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage or 3 percent for a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage.However, millions of other homeowners are underwater with their mortgages (i.e., their mortgage balance is higher than the value of the home) and cannot refinance. The original HARP program was designed to help borrowers up to 125 percent underwater (i.e., borrowers who have a first mortgage

SANTA CRUZ –” The median sales price for a single-family home in Santa Cruz County in September was $490,000, the same as in August. The median, which is the midpoint of what sold, has topped $500,000 only one month this year unlike last year, when the median topped half a million for most of the year. There were 145 sales in September, about the same as a year ago, but 41 percent involved distressed properties, slightly more than a year ago. Banks sold 37 homes, the third-highest tally this year, and short sales, where the lender accepts an offer for

Mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) plummeted in price on Monday after the top housing regulator surprised investors by expanding an existing refinancing program to more borrowers and removing a key hurdle that has kept banks from approving new loans. MBS tied to loans with high interest rates fell the most as those mortgages are the ones most likely backed by properties whose values have fallen below the loan balance, reducing the equity needed for a typical refinance. Under the new plan, the Federal Housing Finance Agency will allow refinancing of loans guaranteed by Fannie

Pending home sales in California fell in September, as is typical for this time of year, but were up from the previous year for the fifth consecutive month. Additionally, distressed home sales increased slightly in September from both the previous month and year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.Pending home sales: California pending home sales fell 5.2 percent in September, but were up from a year ago, according to C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)*. The index was 118.5 in September, based on contracts signed in that month, down from August’s index of 125.0. The index was up

U.S. home prices may get a boost from an unlikely source: a pickup in sales of properties in default before they reach the stage where they are repossessed by the bank and sold. There has been a “dramatic shift” in banks’ willingness to sell a property for less than the mortgage balance to avoid foreclosing, said Ron Peltier, chairman and chief executive officer of HomeServices of America Inc., the second-biggest U.S. residential brokerage. The transactions, known as short sales, typically change hands at a discount of about 20 percent to homes not in financial distress, compared with a 40 percent price

Foreclosure activity increased during the third quarter of 2011, driven largely by a spike in early filings in August. Data for September showed a return to the trends reported in earlier months. This information came Thursday in quarterly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report issued on Thursday by RealtyTrac. The report also includes statistics on September activity. The Irvine, California firm issues regular reports on foreclosure activity throughout the United States, tracking foreclosure filings in three categories: Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS) This is the first legal notification from a lender that the borrower on a mortgage loan has

In a survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate, results found that 9 out of 10 brokers said “the economy is delaying baby boomers’ plans to sell their homes, compared to a few years ago.” The big issue is the huge number of foreclosures we are seeing. Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate said it really depends on how long it will take to work through the foreclosures in the system. No one seems to have a definitive answer on the timeline. All of this is based on Americans going back to work and consumer confidence coming back. That’s

Inland Southern California is running out of industrial space, especially for the users of high-profile, big-box distribution centers. But while developers are purchasing and building new warehouses in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the head count in its office buildings is getting even lighter. The vacancy rate for the office market is expected to end 2011 at 25 percent, one commercial real estate operator predicted late last month. That means that, in two years, one of the unhealthiest facets of the Inland economy has gotten worse, not better. However, there are a few subsets of this sector that would take