The Obama administration’s $75 billion program to protect homeowners from foreclosure has been widely pronounced a disappointment, and some economists and real estate experts, myself included, now contend it has done more harm than good.
If you have been reading my Los Gatos Real Estate musings you already know that since the program was announced in February, it has lowered mortgage payments on a trial basis for hundreds of thousands of people, but has largely failed to provide lasting relief. Critics increasingly argue that the program, Making Home Affordable, has raised false hopes among people who simply cannot afford their homes.
As a result, desperate homeowners have sent payments to banks in often-futile efforts to keep their homes, which some see as wasting dollars they could have saved in preparation for moving to cheaper rental residences. Some borrowers have seen their credit tarnished while falsely assuming that loan modifications involved no negative reports to credit agencies.
This fact that credit scores are affected by modifications boils my brain! The program was meant to help! In fact, it is hurting too many people. How are you going Read the rest of this entry »
Buying a home means you need to understand your credit score better and how it weighs in and out of your favor. This is true In Los Gatos and the Bay Area, more than most, due to the high priced Real Estate here. Investors know this and so should you. What will a finance company consider when you make an offer on that Los Gatos foreclosure you want to buy?
With all the misguided information flying around about loan modifications understanding these myths will prevent some misteps.
“Many Americans hold mistaken beliefs about credit scores,” cautioned Ethan Ewing, who heads the free online consumer portal at Bills.com. “Misinformation on television and in hearsay from friends and neighbors only compounds the problem.”
Here are the top 10 commonly held myths surrounding credit scores:
Myth #1: A credit score is a credit report. The credit report is a detailed listing of all debts and payments, going back throughout an individual’s entire payment history, Ewing explained. For each entry, it shows the creditor’s name, amount owed, the highest balance owed, the available credit, whether the account is open or closed (and who closed it), the number of late payments and whether the account is in default. A credit score is a number between 300 and 850 that is based on complex formulas incorporating all the data in the credit report. Most homes for sale in Los Gatos yield many offers so, you need to have the best credit score. Read the rest of this entry »
California Price Shows Year-To-Year Gain for First Time in Two Years
By: Robert A. Kleinhenz , Ph.D., Deputy Chief Economist
The median price of a home in California experienced its first year-to-year gain in over two years during the month of November, as the California housing market continued recent trends in terms of prices, supply, and sales. The monthly median price crossed the $300,000 threshold in November with a median of $304,520, up 2.4 percent from the October median price of $297,500 and up 5.8 percent from $287,880 a year earlier. The situation has improved greatly from a year ago during the worst of the financial crisis, when the median price had registered 41.3 percent year-to-year decline.
This supports the conclusion
After a 59 percent peak-to-trough decline, the California median Read the rest of this entry »
You can now do a short sale on your home and buy a new home without waiting three years. Prior to the new guidelines you were unable to buy a home with a FHA insured mortgage following a short sale of your primary residence. download FHA Guideline PDF
If you were current when your short sale is made you have every chance of buying a new home according to the new guidelines from the Department of Housing
from FHA guideline-
Borrowers are considered eligible for a new FHA-insured mortgage if, from the date of loan application for the new mortgage
- All mortgage payments due on the prior mortgage were made within the month due for the 12 month period preceding the short sale, and
- All installment debt payments for the same time period were also made within the month due.
Lenders are not allowed to approve a new home purchase if… Read the rest of this entry »
Yes he did. Speaking to associates at a Home Depot, last Friday, President Obama was touting his new ‘Energy Initiative’ and used the word. The worst part he was talking about insulation.
I don’t know how sexy insulation is, but with tax season coming it is a very good time to plan ahead for spring. If you do it right you could get a few ’sexy’ bucks from Uncle Sam.
If you are planning to do a remodel project take time to plan. I know, how else would you do it? I am talking about planning what materials and products you and your contractor are going to use. Don’t forget to get a permit if the cost of improvement exceeds $1000.
The San Jose Planning Dept. has reduced staff, so start the process early.
Read the rest of this entry »
This must be a symptom of low supply and the fear the bottom has passed.
The median price of a home sold in the county rose 9.9 percent compared to a year ago to $494,400 in November, according to MDA Dataquick, the second straight month of year-to-year increases.
The number of homes sold also rose 47.2 percent to 1,649 in Santa Clara County.
“The latest stats show just how much the Bay Area market has changed in a year,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.
The question I hear most is…”Has the market bottomed out?”
If this price trend continues for another quarter I will answer Read the rest of this entry »
Selling your home because it’s a non performing asset?
Zillow is here to help.
I often compare the short selling of homes to the selling of stocks that are not delivering a fair dividend. How does that cause a rental market you ask?
This is what’s happening…
The surge of interest in rental properties is due to the decline in housing values. This is causing so many homeowners to walk away or to attempt a short sale of their homes. The Los Gatos Rental market is a glaring example. Have you tried to find a rental here? Those upside down sellers need housing and are searching for rentals in large numbers
It is fair to say Zillow has found a new product to peddle.
We can only hope that the lease prices are more accurate than the terrible performance of their “Zestimate” which, arguably, has not shown to be very accurate.
Their rental zite (yes zite as a play on their ‘z’ nomenclature) provides mapping too. If you have any experience with the search engine or results I am interested in hearing your opinion.
Guest Review by Tara-Nicholle Nelson
A) We all know that pricing is the most important part of marketing your home for sale.