2425 23rd Street
Once again, we are at that cycle in the San Francisco Real Estate market that arrives every January. Buyer demand is high, and inventory is very low. I visited a few open houses on Sunday, and all were packed. The first, a single family home at 2425 23rd Street in Noe Valley is a 4 bedroom, 3 and 1/2 bath home. Renovations on this home are tasteful and there is a nice blend of traditional details and practical, contemporary updates. The open house was packed, and I got...
The following blog entry is written by guest author, Rachel Bernstein of the Baker Loan Team of Guarantee Mortgage:
On April 1, 2012, a guarantee fee will be added to all new residential loans backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This new fee will impact interest rates on these loans by roughly .125% which is nominal and in the long run I don’t think it will make a huge impact. However, it is a tough economy and real estate market right now so...
Here is a picture of the crowd heading in to see the house at 285 Richland Ave in San Francisco this morning for a brief (and probably only) showing of this house. Why? This 1000 square foot home, which is now bank owned already has two offers (even before the first showing). The first offer is from the tenant, who is currently paying $2,400 per month to live there. The second, from another party, who had not seen the house when they submitted the offer.
I suspect this house...
There have been recent proposals to eliminate the Federal income tax deduction for mortgage interest paid and to eliminate the government's role in guaranteeing loans. These are likely to have a huge, negative impact on the housing market, already beleagured in recent years. The elimination of the mortgage interest deduction is one that I suspect might go away, along with many others as Congress starts to tackle our budget and debt situation. While I suspect that this transition will be...
Here is a guest authored article, by Ken Moll of GGB Capital. Ken specializes in Seller Financing. Is it right for you to consider when you are selling your home? Possibly. Read on.
In today’s tough, tough market for sellers and buyers alike, sometimes it takes going the extra mile to get a property sold (or purchased). Historically, when you’ve wanted to sell your home, you know the drill: contact your agent, develop a plan for preparing your home for market, prepare a complete and...
Here is a response to one of our posts about Foreclosures in our blog, from Ken Moll, President of GGB Capital LLC, here in San Francisco. A bit too long for our comment section, so we're publishing this as a guest post::
"Now three months have passed and this moratorium “panic” is largely subsided as banks have for the most part resumed their foreclosure actions at a pre-moratorium pace. Yet, the markets have still not fully recovered because of the attention this incredible error...
In the past week, several major banks have announced that they will stop the foreclosure process until they have more time to evaluate the process and be sure that there are no errors in their paper work. Is this good news or bad news? The answer of course is that it depends.
If during this time, banks can work with homeowners to modify loans and this keeps people in their homes, then it is probably good news. Owners get to stay in their homes, and be happy (ok, the banks can't control...
A guest blog entry from Donna Aldrich, a mortgage broker:
HVCC the ‘Home Valuation Code of Conduct’ went into effect May 1st of this year and was purportedly passed to protect the consumer. HVCC has created intermediary companies (AMCs) to separate mortgage brokers and lenders from the appraisers. The idea behind this was to be sure that appraisals are completely unbiased and consumers are protected from unscrupulous appraisers.
Unfortunately, these intermediary companies often send...
I heard an interesting statistic the other day: Only twenty percent of all short sales that have been approved by the banks ever closes escrow.
Let me start at the beginning. A short sale refers to a home or condo that is being sold, where the purchase price being paid by the Buyer (the market value) is less than what the Seller owes on the property. When a Seller places their home on the market and they know that the value is less than what they paid (selling for whatever...
On Friday, I received an alert from the California Association of Realtors indicating that the revisions proposed to truth in lending laws, also known as Reg. Z will be going into effect on July 30th. These rules have required that lenders disclose to buyers within a few days of application, the costs of their loans. For homeowners who are engaged in refinancing their loan, they had a three day right of recision.
The new rules, which apply to both purchases and refinances, require that...
by Donna Aldrich, Certified Mortgage Planner, Special to Mermeltown.com
1 December 2008
To quote an old song, ‘what a long strange ride it’s been,’ and the ride continues. Today, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) declared that we have been in a recession since December 2007 which, I’m sure comes as no surprise but the specific date has now been officially determined. That determination indicates that economic activity has been declining since then although the...
There has been increased focus during the last few weeks on how comapnies and individuals get loans--from the availability of money to the increased standards applied to individuals who apply for all types of loans, including mortgages.
My friend Maria Marriott, a certified mortgage planner had created an informative video with helpful tips about maximizing your credit score. For more information, check out her website.
A study published by UC Irvine's School of Business at the end of last month indicates that low interest rates and sub-prime interest rates were not the major factor in the 'credit crisis' we have been experiencing. Instead, they look to the risky asset backed securities created by Wall Street firms to fill a need created by conforming loan limits that were lower than market values.
Prior to 2003, basic economic factors were the primary driver of housing prices, including low unemployment...
President Bush signed the bill yesterday designed to secure FannieMae and FreddieMac, the two mortgage giants who have been instrumental in packaging and guaranteeing loans so that they can be sold on the secondary market. The bill will allow several hundred thousand homeowners to refinance their loans so that they are more affordable and hopefully avoid foreclosure.
The piece that will help San Francisco buyers the most (and I believe that this will work for those who are refinancing...
