Michael Roberts' Blog -San Jose Homes, Real Estate and Houses for Sale

Wow!  These are my 3 picks of the weekend for Los Gatos Homes for sale.  New Home Buyers will find they have all the best things to offer.

Some lucky folks are going to be new homeowners in Los Gatos!

Great prices and locations are just the beginning.   17250 Pine St.Los Gatos is a short sale,  I know,  Yuk.  Not really!  Look what the fundamentals look like…

Schools: Great!  Location: Great!  Price: Amazing!

Use ‘the proper strategy and be prepared for a few bumps’ is the bargain hunters code. One may be a foreclosure one a short sale, however what would expect a bargain to look like?

Los Gatos is a tough area to find affordable homes and these 3 are a step in the right direction. Preparing for an opportunity equates to good luck, right?

The 2nd homes for sale in Los Gatos is 15175 El Gato and the 3rd house for sale in Los Gatos that I see as a great first time buyer pick is 228 Calle Marquerita.

Searching for a Los Gatos foreclosure?   This one has a great price for a Los Gatos house and a huge yard of over 13,000sq ft.   Your own little orchard!

Buying a Los Gatos foreclosure like this, while taking advantage of the Home Buyer Tax Credit, is a winner all around.

See all the Pics Virtual tour and more for this Los Gatos Foreclosure (REO)

foreclosure related articles…

• Citi Announces Pilot Program to Avoid Foreclosures (dailyfinance.com)
• Foreclosures Fall 10% in January, But Remain 15% Higher Than a Year Ago (dailyfinance.com)
• Should You Ditch Your House? (cbsnews.com)
• Foreclosures will hang around (fresnobeehive.com)

That FHA mortgage looks like a winner for San Jose home buyers and Los Gatos home buyers.   Low Down Payment,  Great Interest Rate!  What more could you ask for?  A short sale?

Well, not much, obviously or , at least,  hoping is not going to change the new rule.   The upfront costs are going to be a bit higher.

To get that Low Down Payment and Great interest Rate you are going to be required to….

• Pay an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 2.25 percent of the total loan amount, up from the current level of 1.75 percent. A borrower taking out a $200,000 mortgage would pay a $4,500 fee, for example, rather than the current fee of $3,500. Borrowers will still be able to wrap these fees into the total amount borrowed. FHA officials also plan to ask Congress to increase the maximum annual premium that FHA can charge.

So, they may get more expensive.   This will  reduce the number of buyers who can qualify.   There’s more…the credit score benchmarks are changin too, further decreasing the number of buyers a home seller will be able to market their home to.

• Need a credit score of at least 580 to qualify. Many FHA lenders already require a higher score, but there had been no standard requirement across the program. Borrowers with a score lower than 580 will need a down payment of at least 10 percent.

Maybe this is what we should expect all things considered.  I want to remind you a HUD approved lender is not like any other and the more experienced they are, the better your chances of a quick approval and subsequent closing.

Yes, you can buy a short sale in Los Gatos or a house in San Jose that is listed for sale as a short sale.  Interesting concept.

Do you own a HUD-FHA financed home, and need to do a Short Sale? Here is a summary of the requirements to perform an FHA-insured HUD shortsale or “Pre-Foreclosure” Sale:

1. You must be delinquent 31 days or more delinquent at the time of sale.
2. You must list the property with an un-related Licensed Real Estate Broker
3. You must actively market the property for four months (up to six).For the first 30 days of marketing, the short sale lender Read the rest of this entry »

Q:  Short Sale definition.  What is a Short Sale?

Answer: In ”short”, a shortsale is when the lender agrees to settle the debt owed on the property for less than the full amount of the debt. In most cases “Settled” means the lender writes off the debt. You usually will receive a 1099 after a short sale for the amount of debt forgiven. The bank is agreeing not to go after you for the money they lost by filing a deficiency judgment in the future. The exception is the HELOC loan where they reserve the right to file a default judgment.

Answer: If you have a heavy asset portfolio that would cover the amount above the home’s value then the answer is likely to be no.  Each case is different and would be better answered after a professional review to help learn how to short sale.

Answer:  There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about this. A short sale is recorded on your credit report as “debt settled for less than the amount owed”.  In plain English, this will result in a relatively minor hit to your credit compared to a foreclosure or late payments on your mortgage. A short sale will affect everyone’s credit differently. The more established your credit, the less of an impact it will have on your score.

If you stop making your mortgage payments for 4 months, regardless of whether you do a short sale or not, 4 months of missed mortgage payments will have a significant negative impact on your credit.  A short sale will drop your credit 100 points or more.

If you are already behind on your payments, you have already incurred the majority of the hit that a short sale will have on your credit.  Moving forward with a successful short sale will insure that your debt is settled with your lender.

However, if you are current on your payments and can stay current throughout the short sale process, you will save your credit to a large extent.

Your neighbor Harry, the one that never shaves and causes you to wonder if he knows that there are still department stores that sell pants that fit, you know who I am talking about.  Harry will be the first one at your door telling you how much he is going to miss you when you move away.

Away.  From Harry.

Maybe you should buy a home in Los Gatos or West San jose.  is that far enough?   Cambrian sounds pretty good.   You need to sell your house first though.

You have decided you are going to save money and do it yourself.    More money for you will help you  get further from Harry.  So, where do you start?

Figuring out what your house is worth is probably what you are thinking.   Not exactly… and…. yes, it is.   Better be  quick.  Harry is getting really Buddy-Buddy since he learned you are selling your house.   Saving that 6% Realtor fee should help get it done faster.

Think about it.   You have more room to negotiate! Read the rest of this entry »

These two Los Gatos homes for sale prove that a listing price is rarely a selling price in our Real Estate market.  We are at a crossroads.   It just isn’t what you might think;

131 Millrich Dr.  this Los Gatos house sold for nearly 1% less than the asking and 411 Clearview Dr., a townhome, sold for nearly 5% over the listing price !

A reminder that ’sweet spotting’ your asking price will always pay off.

The good news….neither property was a short sale.

2 Los Gatos Houses sold this week,

131 MILLRICH DR, Los Gatos 95030 (Los Gatos)Single Family Home 3 bed(s) Baths: 4|1 bath(s)   SqFt: 2,593  Lot: 9,100 sq ft

List Price: $1,449,000     Sold Price $1,332,000.00

______________________________________________________

411 CLEARVIEW DR, Los Gatos 95032 (Los Gatos)Townhouse  3 Beds, 2|1 Baths:  SqFt: 2,122 Lot: 2,220 sq ft

List Price: $749,000 Sale Price: $780,000

Assoc. Fee: $428

We see a crossroads ahead…one where the buyers in the Los Gatos Real Estate Market aren’t in the driver’s seat.    Could this mean the homes for sale are in a Seller’s market?

Remember…

Spring is coming and the end of the $8000 First time buyer’s credit is there waiting.   I wonder if will  lead to more vigorous sales?…bidding?

It looks increasingly obvious the problems for some lenders are going to get a lot worse.

Rismedia reported this weekend…

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said it’s taking a closer look at 15 mortgage companies to determine why they had such high rates of problems with FHA insured mortgages.

Can I answer that?  Lending to anyone who could fog a mirror tends to do that.    I told you Fannie Mae was getting a spanking before this new investigation.

“Each loan on this list will be thoroughly examined and we will track down the reasons why it failed. Once we determine the causes, we will look to see whether there is a need for further review or remedial action. We want to send a message to the industry that as the mortgage landscape has shifted, we are watching very carefully and that we are poised to take action against bad performers,” Donohue said.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact Fannie Mae is approving foreclosure without notifying banks.

I don’t think Ken Donahue has tried to actually apply for a Home Purchase Read the rest of this entry »

The program was originally designed for First Time Buyers only.  With the extension of the  tax credit came some other great news.  Just released today was the new IRS form for attachment to your tax filing.  Los Gatos home buyers  should be attaching this form when filing.

The new law allows a long-time resident of the same main home to claim the homebuyer credit if they purchase a new principal residence. To qualify, eligible taxpayers must show that they lived in their old homes for a five-consecutive-year period during the eight-year period ending on the purchase date of the new home. The IRS has stepped up compliance checks involving the homebuyer credit, and it encouraged homebuyers claiming this part of the credit to avoid refund delays by attaching documentation covering the five-consecutive-year period.

what you can and cannot deduct as a homeowner

Get your taxes done FREE

Great short Video Explanation of Credit