Zen's Blog

It's not too late to nomimate the 2007 person of the year in Laguna. The Laguna Niguel Citizen of the Year Committee is accepting nominations for the 2007 Laguna Niguel Citizen of the Year Award. This prestigious award was established in 1990, as a joint project of the Laguna Niguel service organ...

Last week a lot of people were excited to hear that mortgage application volume had increased by 48%. It does make you want to believe the housing downturn is coming to an end. However, due to lower interest rates, the refinance index rose 82% from the week before. Refinances went from less than ...

The day after the FED cut interest rates by .75 basis points another key announcement was made.  The office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight better known as OFHEO, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator, unveiled a reduction of the capital the firms must hold to 20% from 30% previously. Of...

WOW ...The Big Bad Bear is Dead! I only mean bad because Bear Stearns was so BIG, the Biggest to Fall!  I've been watching and listening to Bear Stearns for the past year now knowing that they were the #1 buyer of mortgage backed securities.  I remember in the hay day and the peak of the real est...

Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged that the central bank will make every effort to lessen the damage from numerous home foreclosures, which he said stem partly from reckless lending.Speaking to the annual meeting of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Bernanke sketched out cause...

More and more these days eco-friendly homeowners are looking for ways to help save the environment. Here are a few tips:•1)      Use ENERGY STAR Appliances - These products meet strict guidelines by the EPA and Dept of Energy and  use less energy then conventional appliances.•2)      Install Low-...

Financing challenges have made the more affordable housing market harder for the first-time buyers. Typically, first-time buyers have little or no money for a down payment. Between July 2006 and June 2007, 45% of first-time home buyers opted for 100% financing. However, Barton Pitts, president of...

Finally, it's a buyers market. For the years rapidly rising prices kept many buyers out of the market. But as homes prices and interest rates have continued to decline, it might be a great time to start looking to buy that home you want or need.That is, if you have a secure job, can afford the hi...

With OC home sales generating $10 Billion less revenue in the past 12 months compared to the same period in 2005-2006 that definitely sums up that our Orange County real estate market has really slowed.  According to the SoCal MLS, the dollar volume of homes sales from March 2007 - February 2008 ...

With Thornburg Mortgage (TMA-stock symbol), one of America's premiere jumbo lender's on the brink of collapsing that doesn't bode well for the lending industry.  Thornburg Mortgage is one of the best run mortgage companies in this country and when the lending crisis brings a company like this to ...