Posts Tagged ‘single family’

Did Obama say Sexy at Home Depot?

home-energy-saving-san jose-government programYes 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 »

Bay Area Home Prices Up AGAIN?

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.Home-sales-prices-up-los-gatos-bay-area

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 »

Rental Listings on Zillow

For Rent signSelling 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.

Fannie ‘Mae’ Get A Spanking

The spanking Fannie Mae is suffering has become intolerable.

Fannie-Mae-los-gatosThe rumor several banks have agreed to streamline short sales is true and will certainly make the spanking a light one.  How do I know?  When I inquired why my calls were not being returned, for a few days in October, contacts at BofA told me they were being trained for a new program to expedite… Read the rest of this entry »

How to buy a Fixer Upper and Fix it Up…Cheap!

Nearly everyone wants to do this so, Why don’t you?

fixer-upper-los gatos-san-jose-bayareaThe purchase of a fixer-upper house is often a catch-22 situation, because the bank won’t lend the money to buy the house until the repairs are complete, and the repairs can’t be done until the house has been purchased. Fixing up your new house is a costly idea in Los Gatos, San Jose and the whole Bay Area, really.

HUD’s 203(k) program can help you overcome this cost obstacle by enabling you to purchase or refinance a property plus the cost of making the repairs and improvements in one mortgage.

Dian Hymer of Inman News suggests “design your offer with a 60 day close and a 45 day finance contingency.”

Read the rest of this entry »

B of A Leads Foreclosure Solutions

foreclosure-reo-los gatos-house-hous-short sale

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Last month BofA chose to work with REOtrans, a leading transaction vendor to the mortgage industry, to advance and streamline foreclosure solutions by reducing them all together.

They are working to move the short sale idea into the mainstream RE sale arena. This is great news no matter what side of the Real Estate market you find yourself standing in.

The traditional Short Sale process has led to immense frustration and outright anger, not only here in California, but throughout the nation for all parties involved. As a Real Estate professional, having to negotiate short sales on behalf of distressed homeowners, I have learned that many people charged with Short Sale approvals agree…the short sale process, as it is implemented now, is ridiculous even archaic.

B of A has been the penultimate banking institution in the United States for decades and it goes without saying their agreement to work with REOtrans is a window into Real Estate sales for the near term. Read the rest of this entry »

Should You Walk Away From Your Mortgage?

According to the following article it seems it may become the rule rather than the exception.   This always reminds me that a short sale is the only way to go.

Read this article to learn about the possible new trend.

New FHA lender short sale guidelines

Iphone App for Real Estate…still can’t search MLS though

Innman News reports…

The Corcoran Group Inc. is the latest real estate brokerage to launch its own iPhone application, which the company is promoting not only online but in print advertisements in newspapers, magazines and phone kiosks around New York City.search-los-gatos-homes-for-sale-iphone

Corcoran, which is owned and operated by Realogy Corp. subsidiary NRT LLC, hired Swedish artist Kari Modin to draw up seven pop-art posters “imbued … with a groovy feeling befitting such cool technology,” the company said.

Corcoran’s iPhone app can use the smart phone’s Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite capabilities to display apartments, condos and open houses near the user’s location.

It also allows for customized searches, displaying full screen photos of properties listed for sale or rent with Corcoran. Users can choose to be notified of new listings and open houses, and the app will also deliver information about local restaurants, nightlife and shopping.

I still can’t search the local MLS though….If only I had millions of $!

full article

Read this if you want a Loan Modification

los gatos-to benefit-los gatos-homeowners-modification-short saleThe Home Mortgage Preservation Program is now Turbocharged enough to help high Los Gatos mortgages hopefully.

In May the government stepped up the pace to modify mortgages to stave off the 10–12 million potential foreclosures looming on the horizon.   This was to be done first, by allowing homeowners to qualify for modifications on a temporary basis.  650,000 homeowners are now in that process.

However, only 2000 have been approved for modifications through the program.

Request Loan Modification .PDF

Chase Loan Mod Docs .PDF

GMAC Financial Statement .PDF

“We now must refocus our efforts on the conversion phase to ensure that borrowers and servicers know what their responsibilities are in converting trial modifications to permanent ones,” said Phyllis Caldwell, the newly appointed chief for the Treasury Department’s upstart Homeownership Preservation Office, in a statement released Monday.

The MakingHomeAffordable.gov Web site will include links to all required documents and an income verification checklist, as well as explanations of how the trial and conversion processes work. The Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline, at (888) 995-HOPE, will provide direct access to housing counselors

The temporary modification idea was meant to allow the homeowner time to submit documentation the lender would review to potentially grant an approval.   This has caused much anxiety on the part of the participants as evidenced in the following quote.

“Now it’s up to the banks to do their part to convert borrowers to permanent modifications,” said Michael Barr, an assistant Treasury secretary. “Servicers to date have not done a good enough job.”

We just don’t know what penalty the participating lender is facing if they do not comply with the pressure.   Without proof of substantial numbers of permanent modifications there is a real sense that this will just be another case of hot air.

This will lead to MORE foreclosures that may well have been prevented if the homeowner had time to seek out alternatives like a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

“If we don’t see a big increase in the permanent modification numbers, then there’s something seriously wrong with this program,” said Alan White, a law professor at Valparaiso University. “I can only assume the number is appallingly low.”

The Treasury Dept. began to publish reports naming those institutions that were lagging which proved to increase the numbers of temporary modifications from 235000 to 650000 by the end of July.

It is likely there will be another attempt to list their names if the number of permanent modifications does not rise soon!  Not quite Turbocharged.

There are new guidelines, now in place, that servicers are not going to like very much.

This is directly from the HMP press release …

Top servicers will be required to submit a schedule demonstrating their plans to reach a decision on each loan for which they have documentation and to communicate either a modification agreement or denial letter to those borrowers. Treasury/Fannie Mae “account liaisons” are being assigned to these servicers and will follow up daily as necessary to monitor progress against the servicer’s plan. Daily progress will be aggregated by the end of each business day and reported to the Administration.

If you or someone you know needs to get on board, forward this link to them. http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/index.html

Here they will find…

  • Links to all of the required documents and an income verification checklist to help borrowers request a modification in four easy steps;
  • Comprehensive information about how the trial phase works, what borrower responsibilities are to convert to a permanent modification, and a new instructional video which provides step by step instruction for borrowers;
  • A toolkit for partner organizations to directly assist their constituents.

I think this is a mess that still needs cleaning up… and I am hear to watch ‘em.

Los Gatos Homes Sales 11/23 – 12/01

los gatos-downtown-homes-sold-for sale-house

Image via Wikipedia

5 New HomeOwners and 5 Successful Sellers makes for great news this past week.

220 BERSANO LN, Los Gatos 95030
$1,729,000 Beds: 4 bed(s) Baths: 3|0 bath(s)

17050 Wild WY, Los Gatos 95030
$1,485,000 Beds: 3 bed(s) Baths: 2|0 bath(s)

16345 LOS GATOS BL #49, Los Gatos 95032 (Los Gatos)
$510,000 Beds: 2 bed(s) Baths: 1|1 bath(s)

30800 LOMA CHIQUITA RD, Los Gatos Mtns 95033 (Los Gatos Mtns)
$159,000   Raw Land

14685 OKA RD #11, Los Gatos 95032 (Los Gatos)
$140,000 Beds: 3 bed(s) Baths: 2|0 bath(s) Mobile Home

There are 12 new Los Gatos listings for the week you can see these new listings using comprehensive search tool on my home page.


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