Buyers………..“What are You Waiting For?”

As reported July 21, 2009 by RISMEDIA, a leader in real estate information systems, the U.S. housing market continues to show signs of stabilization with a drop in the number of Multiple Listing Service (MLS)-listed homes for the twelfth consecutive month. The number of single family homes and condos listed for sale according to MLS data decreased in June 2009 from May by 2.1%, bringing the total number of active listings in 28 major U.S. markets to 696,858, according to national real estate brokerage

California is seeing the most dramatic inventory declines with massive year-over-year inventory reductions: Los Angeles saw a 53.9% decrease year-over-year while Bakersfield/Fresno tracked a 56.2% decrease.

Also reported in the Los Angeles Times this past week, Home Prices are looking UP! The median value rose 6.4% in June from May, and fewer than half the sales were foreclosures. Los Angeles economist, Christopher Thornberg, who was an early predictor of the housing bubble, went on to say, “I think we can now say with a fair degree of confidence the pace of real home price declines has slowed DRAMATICALLY.”

In the Coachella Valley, which reflects our market, home sales rose 2.8% in April and 3.5% in May. In another positive sign, valley median home prices rose by $5000 this past month. So my question to you buyers sitting on the fence, “What are You Waiting For?”

Let’s not forget about the tax benefits of buying now. In addition, if you are considering buying a ‘new home’ CA has a $10,000 tax credit you should know about.

Would you like to make a comment on this article? At the end of each of these weekly messages, there’s a place at the end of each article for you to add comments. Just Click on “No Comment,” it will open up and you can write your comments here. It’s a great place for you to “let YOUR thoughts be known on the various articles written. Be My Guest………I‘d love to hear from you! Others would too!

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

Lenders Urged to Move Quicker on Mortgage Modifications

In last weeks Blog, I spoke about the banks inability to service new loans in a timely manner, and most importantly, to assist homeowners who are trying to restructure their existing loans so they can avoid foreclosure. On July 15, 2009, the California Association of Realtors issued the following message:

The Obama administration recently sent a letter to the chief executives of the 25 lenders who have signed up for the Making Home Affordable program, urging them to quickly help troubled homeowners.

In the two-page letter, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan, asked the servicers to hire more staff, expand call centers and improve the training of employees handling calls from borrowers. The banks also were told to designate a senior liaison for the program and to prepare for a July 28 meeting with senior Treasury and HUD officials to discuss how to fully implement the effort.

“We are asking that all servicers expand servicing capacity and improve the execution quality of loan modifications in order to help the sizable number of homeowners at risk of foreclosure and eligible for the program,” the letter said.

The administration will begin issuing monthly reports by Aug. 4 detailing lenders’ performance, including how many modifications they have implemented. They will be judged by new criteria, such as how long it takes borrowers to get help over the phone and the accuracy of the information they are provided. Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage financing company, is developing a “second look” program to audit the applications of borrowers who have been denied help under the program.

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Based on this article, I will be surprised, but pleased, to see SOMETHING POSITIVE being done to help undo this quagmire we have been engulfed in these past 3-4 years. Perhaps I’m a skeptic, but I’ll believe it when I see it!

For more Real Estate News click here.

Would you like to make a comment on this article? At the end of each of these weekly messages, there’s a place at the end of each article for you to add comments. Just Click on “No Comment,” it will open up and you can write your comments here. It’s a great place for you to “let YOUR thoughts be known on the various articles written. Be My Guest………I‘d love to hear from you! Others would too!

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

Short Sales and Foreclosure 101

Many of the properties which have driven prices down were caused when folks purchased property with little or nothing down and they had low interest rates for a short time that would suddenly balloon after three years to rates they could not afford to pay. They were “hedging their bets” that home prices would continue to rise and then they could refinance at a later date with a better loan. As we all know, this never happened, and that is when “the sky started to cave in” around them.

A serious problem we are facing today is that banks are ill-equipped to handle the workload of people trying desperately to re-finance their homes in order to “hang onto” their property. Thousands of folks are finding they are “upside down” in their homes which simply means they now owe more than their property is worth due to falling prices. In many cases, homeowners have gone to their banks and asked the banks to help them restructure their existing loan to a loan that would be more affordable. Banks are refusing to do this. Perhaps I should say they refuse to do this when the borrower is current with their payments. When this happens, in many cases, the homeowner sees no other way to deal with this, so they just “walk away” and the banks are left having to foreclose. This is a very EXPENSIVE process, and the banks would have been far better off had they worked with the homeowner in the first place.

I have personally had clients who did not want to have their properties foreclosed upon, yet their banks refused to discuss any other alternatives. Several years ago I had a listing and we received a CASH offer at a fair market value, however, the sellers owned more than the property was worth. Had the bank accepted this CASH offer, there would have been a $30,000 loss to the bank. Instead, the property went into foreclosure and was sold a year later at a $150,000 loss. I see similar cases time and time again.

An ATTEMPT at a Short Sale happens when the seller puts the property on the market at “fair market value” and hopes, against all odds, that the bank will accept a fair market buyer’s offer…..which is less than what the seller owes on the property. Once offers are forwarded to the bank, it often takes up to six months to have the bank assign this to a negotiator. Oftentimes, the negotiator will not accept any of these offers. They will try to get the seller to come up with more cash, or ask the buyer to pay more for the property. If none of this occurs, the property will go into foreclosure. And in many of these instances, the buyer has “walked away” because they are sick and tired of waiting to hear ANY news from the banks.

In January 2009 I had a client who offered to pay CASH on a Foreclosed, Bank Owned property. The asking price was $1,200,000. The fair market value at that time was $860,000. We put in a CASH offer at $860,000. The bank turned us down. Six months later the bank lowered the asking price to $855,000 which was $5,000 less than our Cash offer six months previously. We put in an offer for $755,000 which was $105,000 less than we had offered in January. My buyer got this offer accepted.

Are you beginning to see the insanity of the bank’s ineptness on these Short Sales and Foreclosures and WHY this is continuing to drag down prices in our marketplace?

Dealing with banks can often be frustrating; the examples above are only a few. Until banks realize they are dragging down the prices, this frustration will continue. Having an experienced Realtor who can explain the procedures helps.

For more Real Estate News click here.

Would you like to make a comment on this article? At the end of each of these weekly messages, there’s a place at the end of each article for you to add comments. Just Click on “No Comment,” it will open up and you can write your comments here. It’s a great place for you to “let YOUR thoughts be known on the various articles written. Be My Guest………I‘d love to hear from you! Others would too!

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

It’s That Time of Year Again

Each year, at this time of the year, there are thousands of causalities in, or around, swimming pools. Small children left unattended, even for a minute, can lead to death by drowning. Children, running around wet decks can cause accidents and death.

Pools are a great way to cool off on hit summer days, but SAFETY around the pool must be practiced by all.

Here are just a few things you need to be aware of:

1) If you have small children, make sure you have a security fence and gate surrounding your pool. Make sure the lock is NOT within reach of small children.
2) Enforce “No Running” around the pool by all.
3) Do NOT allow any glassware near the pool area. Use plastic.
4) Generously use sun screen on all who will be out in the sun for any amount of time. Sun causes aging; it can also cause cancer which can kill you.
5) Keep small pets who can not swim away from the pool. Many family pets drown each year in family pools.
6) Do not allow toys with sharp edges near the pool.

Pools can be a lot of fun and offer great enjoyment. They are also beautiful to look at, but practicing “good safe rules” in or around pools is critical. For more information on this pool safety click here.

And by all mean…..have a happy and fun-filled summer!

Remember…………..if you have a home in the desert, you can always Enjoy Summer All Winter Long! If you are searching for a home with a pool, I can help! Just click here select “Please Search For Me,” fill out your criteria and I will search for you.

Would you like to make a comment on this article? At the end of each of these weekly messages, there’s a place at the end of each article for you to add comments. Just Click on “No Comment,” it will open up and you can write your comments here. It’s a great place for you to “let YOUR thoughts be known on the various articles written. Be My Guest………I‘d love to hear from you! Others would too!

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com