engle properties: CNN reports Strategic Defaulters May Not Buy Again Soon others say 'Walk Away' - who's right?
- 05/28/10 10:35 AM
Strategic Defaulters May Not Buy Again Soon After the much publicized article in the LA Times where the author encouraged individuals to 'walk away from their home' this is an important note about the impact of this action. Here is an excerpt from CNN via Realtor Magazine: How long will it be before former home owners who walked away from their mortgages can buy again? Mortgage lenders are saying that in the future, losing a home because of illness or job loss will be seen differently than choosing to abandon a mortgage obligation for other reasons. "If you made a … (0 comments)
engle properties: "Strategic Defaults" - Borrowers Who Can Afford Their Homes, but Walk Away
- 05/10/10 09:11 AM
Strategic Defaults, Borrowers Walking Away, Homes in Foreclosure Hello Neighbors, 60 minutes did a story last night on something we see in this business on a daily basis. "Strategic Defaults". When a home owner CAN afford their mortgage, but they decide to walk away from their home and let it go to foreclosure. Here's the link: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6470184n Although I agree with the depression-era view - that losing your house is the last straw - it's clear not everyone else does. Regardless of your moral or ethical view of this trend, the economic impacts are something to find concerning. We simply don't … (2 comments)
Escrow Rates Shoot Up, PENDINGs Increase, PENDING Home Sales
Hello Neighbors,
Hopefully this graph of existing home sales will come across well. If not, call me for the data.
What I find amazing is the ratio of homes that have gone PENDING (in escrow) vs. the amount that are on the market. It's gone nuts in the last month or two.
PENDINGs were at a record 2,921 in March - that is several hundred higher than any month since 2008.
While homes on the market have … (0 comments)
engle properties: Win a house in Rocklin Ca
- 04/19/10 07:02 AM
Win a 5 Bedroom Home in Rocklin !! St Jude Dream House Contest, Free House in Rocklin, Free Home in Rocklin Hello Neighbors, What a fantastic opportunity and for a wonderful cause. For a $100 entry ticket, your family could win a 5 Bedroom home in Rocklin. Yep. 3,096 square feet. Free. Built by Standard Pacific Homes. The address is already set - 2122 Ranch View Drive in Rocklin's Whitney Ranch. This is made possible through a St. Jude charity program. Here is the link: http://www.stjude.org/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2360a4095bd67210VgnVCM1000001e0215acRCRD&vgnextchannel=61d5dc15925b0210VgnVCM1000001e0215acRCRD The drawing is on June 27th. Good luck. Please do invite Neighborly to the housewarming party! More about … (0 comments)
2009 showed single family detached home prices stabilizing with less than a 1% increase of home prices between the first half and second half with the average sale price moving from $335,398 to $337,672 based on the sale of 2,867 sales in the first half and 3,241 sales in the 2nd half.
Non-distressed sales comprised 59% of the sales in the 1st half and 54% of the sales in the 2nd half, showing a light decrease in value of about 2% between the first half and 2nd half. … (0 comments)
engle properties: Energy Savings equal Tax Savings
- 10/19/09 02:09 AM
Hi Neighbors, Some of my home buyers have used this energy credit. Often the tax credit can be used along with other rebates offered by PG&E and SMUD. Here's an article published by RISMEDIA with more details: As the weather turns chilly in many parts of the country, homeowners are looking at improvements to help them keep their energy costs down-and the government can help with part of the bill. Upgrade your insulation, windows, doors, roofing, heating and air-conditioning system or water heater, and you could qualify for a federal tax credit for 30% of the purchase price of the product-up to … (1 comments)
engle properties: REO Buyers have option to select their Escrow and Title companies
- 10/16/09 10:10 AM
NAR reports that REO Buyers can now select their Escrow and Title companies. Here is the text of the REO Buyer Can Select Escrow and Title: Effective October 11, 2009, the Buyer's Choice Act prohibits an REO lender selling residential property up to four units from directly or indirectly requiring the buyer to purchase escrow services or title insurance from any particular company. A buyer, however, who has received written notice of the right to make an independent selection, may agree to the REO lender's escrow or title recommendations. An REO lender that violates this law can be held liable for … (2 comments)
engle properties: Longer escrows... Yup!
- 10/14/09 09:03 AM
Hi Neighbors, As mentioned in a blog article from a couple of months ago, be ready for potential extensions in escrows due to changes in financing regulation.But... don't just take our word for it, take a look at what the California Association of Realtors (CAR) just published.THANK YOU CAR!NEW LOAN DISCLOSURE RULES MAY POTENTIALLY AFFECT CLOSE OF ESCROW Starting July 30, 2009, if the APR on an initial Good Faith Estimate is no longer accurate (within a 0.125% range) at close of escrow, a lender must generally provide a residential borrower with a new disclosure and a three-day right to rescind … (0 comments)
engle properties: Home ownership: A good investment
- 10/13/09 07:06 AM
Hi Neighbors, I've written about this before, but I think it is especially true for the Sacramento region. Now is the time to buy. Historically if you look at home values increasing over time, home prices have kept pace with inflation over the long run. With our current adjustment, the Sacramento - Placer - El Dorado counties are now actually below the long range trend. That indicates to me that not only will this region be among the first to recover, but will some modest appreciation. Of course the big caveat is the overall economy. You have to have jobs in … (2 comments)
engle properties: Home Buyer Calculator available
- 10/12/09 08:02 AM
Hi Neighbors, I'd like to share two links to home buying calculators reported from Business Week via the National Association of Realtors. There are a number of free tools to help potential home buyers decide how much home they can afford to buy.One of the best calculators is offered by the National Association of REALTORS®. It is simple to use and includes all the important criteria, says BusinessWeek columnist Marc Roth, founder and president of Home Warranty of America. If that doesn't work, Roth also recommends the real estate-related calculators offered by Michael Bluejay. Source: BusinessWeek.com, Marc Roth (10/09/2009) Happy Columbus … (2 comments)
engle properties: Homes prices expected to rise in 2010 (California)
- 10/07/09 01:37 PM
Hi Neighbors, Leslie Appleton-Young, California Association of Realtor's Chief Economist released the 2010 California Real Estate Market Forecast. In that: The median home price in California will rise 3.3 percent to $280,000 in 2010 compared with a projected median of $271,000 this year, according to C.A.R.'s "2010 California Housing Market Forecast," presented today at CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2009 in San Jose. Sales for 2010 are projected to decrease 2.3 percent to 527,500 units, compared with 540,000 units (projected) in 2009 The report has some regional data in it. For example the peak of the housing market for the Sacramento Region was … (2 comments)
engle properties: Builder incentives drying up
- 10/07/09 12:34 PM
Hi Neighbors. Last weekend I was out with one of my buyers looking at new homes. One thing we noticed was a lack of 'incentives'. This is in line with this article published in thw Wall Street Journal: Home builders are cutting back on the freebies they've been tacking on new homes for the last couple of years to woo buyers.The reason is simple: Demand is almost back in sync with supply. According to Jeffrey Laverty, analyst with research firm Oscar Gruss & Son, new-home inventory has declined from 12.4 months in January to 7.3 in August, close to the six-month … (1 comments)
engle properties: Neighborly Financial Joins Calaveras County Search & Rescue Efforts
- 10/07/09 12:28 PM
Hi Neighbors, John Graham of Neighborly Financial has been gone the past several days helping a search and rescue effort in a nearby county. From John: I went to help search for the missing deer hunter in Calaveras County, last Wednesday. We spent all day looking for the subject. We were able to track his footsteps from the truck for about 7 miles, step by step, until darkness forced us to retreat for the night. Attached is a photo of the footprint we were following during the Calaveras County search. As of Friday, his location is still unknown. I have no … (1 comments)
engle properties: Add a bathroom and increase your home's value
- 10/07/09 12:23 PM
Hi Neighbors. The NAR (National Association of Realtor's) posted this excerpt of an article originally published in the Chicago Tribune. Neat tidbit to share: More than 80 percent of new single-family homes have at least two bathrooms, which occupy an average of 300 square feet of floor space, or 12 percent of the total area, according to a study by the National Association of Home Builders.The home builder's study reports a major return on value for extra bathrooms: "When the number of bathrooms is approximately equal to the number of bedrooms, an additional half-bath adds about 10 percent to the home's … (1 comments)
engle properties: Shadow Inventory of homes?
- 10/01/09 08:55 AM
Hello Neighbors,I attended this month's Finance Forum (meeting) at the Sacramento Association of Realtors branch office.Interesting stuff.A term we've been hearing more and more of recently was discussed..... "Shadow Inventory".What is Shadow Inventory?Homes that are in some sort of Notice of Default (NOD) or foreclosure proceedings... but haven't yet been taken back by the banks. Meaning? Homes that are vacant - or will be soon - that aren't yet being reported on the bank's financial books.How much?I heard an estimate this morning that shocked me: 35,000 - 40,000 homes in the "Greater Sacramento area". Now that area probably includes parts of … (2 comments)
engle properties: Making Sense of the Market (Placer County/Sacramento Region)
- 09/30/09 10:07 AM
Hi Neighbors, Making Sense of the Market Today Current Home Inventory (MLS Single Family Detatched homes only) Placer County currently has 2068 homes on the market at the end of September. This is 8 more than last month, and has been a fairly consistent running number throughout 2009.
Of the 2068 homes: 134 or 6% are Bank Owned (REO) homes. This number has been steadily declining over the past 9 months. 965 or 47% are Short Sales 971 or 47% are Organic, non-distressed owner sales REO homes comprise a smaller percentage of Placer County Inventory Foreclosed homes are decreasing … (0 comments)
engle properties: What to expect for home appreciation
- 09/29/09 06:25 AM
Hi Neighbors, When you are purchasing or remodeling a home one of the things to consider is appreciation. What will the value of my home be in 5 or 10 years? In the past couple of decades, we've seen some incredible swings. Overall during the past 7 or more decades home prices have kept pace with inflation and most people buying a home did so because of life style reasons rather than as an investment. The Los Angeles Times recently publlished an artlce that sums up what some economists are predicting over the next few decades. Housing Economists Predict Slow Growth … (3 comments)
engle properties: Technorati
- 09/28/09 06:59 AM
4xk8jgnrhw Technorati is a blog catalog that makes it easy to search and review blogs that interest you. … (0 comments)
Strategic Defaulters May Not Buy Again Soon 
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