Would you want to be notified when another online property auction happen in Santa Cruz County? Of course you would....
$442,000 in online property auction - With neither gavel nor auctioneer, 1 months ago Santa Cruz County staged its most successful tax-defaulted property sale this week, peddling 10 parcels for more than $442,000.
The county's first eBay-style online auction garnered 752 bids from 38 people in six states. Generally, fewer than 10 people bid in previous county auctions, said Treasurer Fred Keeley.
The online auction "draws a larger field of folks who have the willingness to bid these properties up," he said.
The properties, which were more than five years past due on property tax payments, sold for between $8,900 and $121,100 to bidders in California and Hawaii.
The money first goes to pay a total of $51,100 in back taxes. The previous property owners have one year to collect the rest of the auction proceeds - $391,489.50 all together. If unclaimed, the county divides the money among cities, schools, and other tax recipients.
Dunstant Smikle of Camarillo bought the cheapest property, a 4,300 square-foot sliver of land in Scotts Valley on Lockhart Gulch Road. He hasn't seen the land yet, but hopes to build a small house or cabin.
"Where else in California can you find property for $9,000?" Smikle said.
A controversial Felton property also sold. Damaged in a 1982 mudslide, the county condemned a house on View Circle, just north of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Raymond Tate, the owner since 1986, fought the county and ultimately lost an 18-year legal battle.
"They've forced my hand," Tate old the Sentinel in 2001. "Now it's time to go for the jugular"
The county spent $11,000 to tear down the house in 2004.
Al Tamesabi of San Marcos bought the 1.25-acres for $13,600.
Initially 28 properties were available, including a Santa Cruz Home one block from West Cliff Drive and a large house on Highland Avenue worth more than $700,000. Those properties and 15 others fell off the auction block before the three-day sale started on March 12. The owners had until midnight March 11 to pay the taxes they owed.
Maryland-based Bid4Assets ran the auction for a flat fee of $75 for each property sold. Keeley said the county saved $10,000 by not running a live auction.
Santa Cruz County now plans to hold future tax-defaulted property auctions online. I will notify you when, just email me at Patti@PattiLyles.com
February home price median retreats to $380,000 by Patti Lyles
The median price for a single-family home in Santa Cruz County plunged in February to $380,000, the lowest since January 2000, prompting one agent to declare the market has bottomed out.
92 sales, with homes in Watsonville, the area hardest hit by foreclosures, accounting for a record 33 percent.
And 66 percent sold for less than $500,000, the highest percentage in years.
In Watsonville, banks sold foreclosed homes at discounts of 30 percent to 50 percent.
A few examples:
124 Grant St. sold for $166,000, down from $490,000 in 2004.
38 Lower Cutter Drive sold for $215,000, down from $420,000 in 2003.
518 E. Lake Ave. sold for $235,000, down from $395,000 in 2002.
Those are not condo prices; those are single-family homes.
"We've hit our bottom in South County in single family," said Dee Dee Vargas, president of the Watsonville Association of Realtors. "If you're waiting to see if prices might drop a bit, you might miss the boat. We're seeing multiple offers. I've got more buyers than properties right now."
With a market full of "distressed" properties, banks selling foreclosed homes and homeowners seeking bank approval for short sales, closing a sale is "almost a miracle," she added. "We get a lot of curve balls thrown at us."
It might be a lender that insists on reviewing an appraisal before authorizing a loan or one that shuts down before providing the promised funds.
Entry-level buyers are taking advantage of FHA loans, but some are discovering there's a catch. Distressed properties need repairs to meet FHA health and safety standards, but banks want to sell the home as is and the buyers are stretched to come up with the required down payment.
Vargas, who is with Bailey Properties, sees investors competing with first-time homebuyers.
That's driven by a change in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines. The two mortgage-buying entities had restricted investors to four properties. New guidelines allow 10.
Vargas said one of her clients qualified for an FHA loan but the bank that owned the house accepted an all-cash offer from an investor.
"With banks, cash is king," she said.
Tai Boutell of Santa Cruz Home Finance predicts that interest rates for mortgages, pushed artificially low -- at or below 5 percent -- could go up by mid-year to the low 6 percent range. Buyers who wait until then hoping for prices to fall will pay more, he said.
For example, payment on a $500,000 loan at 5 percent would be $2,684 a month; if the home price drops 10 percent in six months and interest rate rises to 6.5 percent, the payment would be $2,844 a month.
While the low-end market is brisk, high-end activity has nearly dried up.
Only four homes sold in February for more than $1 million.
Longtime appraiser Glenn Fuller reported 212 listings in that price range at the end of last week.
"That's a lot," he said.
He tallied only 11 pending sales, leaving about 19 months of inventory.
In 2007. buyers were snapping up $2 million homes around the county. Now they just aren't selling.
Very few people can qualify under the new standards, Fuller said, and the typical buyer of the high-end properties had money in the stock market but doesn't seem as rich since the market tanked.
PATTI LYLES is scared and needs your help. Call 831-335-2100
•1. I need an Attorney that is savvy with RESPA Section 8 violations and has dealt with violators.
•2. Or a RESPA representative who works with enforcing RESPA violation.
Please help me locate one or call me if you are one.
I have verbal confirmation with 3 C.A.R. Legal Hotline Attorneys; that if performed(paid out) on a Referral Fee Agreement it would be a RESPA violation.
I contacted the Referring Party, that when his company became apart of my purchase transaction in some way, it knocked his referral out of the picture. I told him I contacted not only 3 CAR Attorneys but other resources to verify this before I told him. He went off like Tasmanian devil has hasn't stop spinning since. Even called the Escrow officer demanding to be paid. How screwed up is that?
The HUD Rep that I talked by phone scared me when he told me consequences are enforced and terrifying -- For both of us!
If I coward down to his antics and pressure. I am not opening up myself for bigger headaches then the pressure from the guy who's not going to be receiving the money now.
How did I get the little Devil off my back? The HUD guy didn't tell me what to do if the guy didn't back off.
Do I need a letter from an RESPA Attorney demanding he comply or do I get a letter to the Escrow Officer demanding she not pay him?
Meanwhile it was suggested to me to file a complaint with the place below. Anyone ever file a complaint?
Persons who believe a settlement service provider has violated RESPA in an area in which the Department has enforcement authority (primarily sections 6, 8 and 9), may wish to file a complaint. The complaint should outline the violation and identify the violators by name, address and phone number. Complainants should also provide their own name and phone number for follow up questions from HUD. Requests for confidentiality will be honored. Complaints should be sent to:
Director, Office of RESPA and Interstate Land Sales US Department of Housing and Urban Development Room 9154 451 7th Street, SW Washington, DC 20410
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New owner must be 55 years and older and will have to be approved by park. Current space rent is $441.00 per month which includes water & trash, use of clubhouse & swimming pool. Park is a small sleepy Senior Community in Oakley, CA. This is close to Brentwood, Antioch & Pittsburg.
Priced to move it fast:
*** Comparable: 72 Oneida which is Across the street which is a 1 bedroom trailer SOLD for $25,000 in April 2008. This trailer is a much better buy. A little Bigger because of Expando room A better lot space with more sun Better curb appeal Much $$$ Better flooring New Roof New $5,500 Air conditioner and forced air heating.... not a swamp cooler gone Dual Pane windows Newer appliances New Granite counter tops and sink New water heater
Washer & Dryer
Small storage shed. Master bedroom with queen size bed has large mirrored closet with a small TV. 2nd TV in newly furninshed living room
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Behind the scenes of each purchase and refinance transaction are the unsung heroes of our real estate market, all of the hard-working employees of the three title companies in Santa Cruz County: Santa Cruz Title, First American Title and Old Republic Title.
The title company is the neutral third party in the transaction between the buyer and seller. To put it in its simplest form, the buyer gives his money to the title company and the seller signs over the deed to his property and entrusts it with the title company. The title company is then responsible for handing the money to the seller after paying off the seller's loans, then providing the new deed to the buyer.
A homebuyer or borrower probably will only have contact with his escrow officer for an hour while they are signing all of the miscellaneous loan and property transfer papers, a procedure that is affectionately called "the sign-off," but that is only the tip of the iceberg.
An escrow is opened by the real estate agent as soon as there is a finalized purchase contract between the buyers and sellers or opened by the mortgage consultant when a refinance transaction has begun. In California, the buyer has the legal right to select the title company.
The title company will research the title of the property to determine who the legal owner is, if there are any outstanding loans, who the lenders are that must be paid off before the property can change hands, and to uncover any other easements, "clouds" or encumbrances on the title.
The buyer wants to be sure to obtain clear title and the lender wants to be secure in knowing that if the property has to be taken back that it will be in position to recover all or most of its losses in a foreclosure procedure.
After this research is done, a preliminary title report often referred to as the "prelim" is issued on the property for the buyers and the new lender to review. It is called a preliminary report because it is produced for review before title insurance can be issued and before the final transfer of ownership.
As a result of this research there are two title insurance policies issued by the title company: one is for the protection of the buyer, the CLTA California Land Title Association and other is for the protection of the lender, the ALTA American Land Title Association.
Lenders in California will require the issuance of both of these policies; however, if the buyer is paying cash, neither is required by law. In these cases, it is still advisable for the buyer to secure the CLTA to protect himself.
Typically, the agent or the lender will select a specific escrow officer, who will be in charge of coordinating the escrow events that will culminate at the close of escrow, the date that the property officially changes hands at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse.
Needless to say, there is a lot of paper-pushing and research involved in this escrow process. If you were to stop in sometime at the office of any of these title companies you would find dozens of employees toiling away at mountains of paperwork stacked on their desks.
The employees of the title companies put in their time behind the scenes to meet the demands of the buyers, sellers, owners, agents and lenders in our local real estate market and, for the most part, their efforts go unnoticed. Those of us who work in the real estate industry salute the men and women of the title companies and thank them for all of their hard work.
Servicing Santa Cruz and surrounding areas. I provide daily news, views and market reports about our local community and insights and education to new and out of the area agents .
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO NOW?
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