This is a sensational, large condo (1751 square feet) in the up-scale Riva on the River community.  Built in 2006, the 2 bedroom, 2 full bath home features an ample loft overlooking the great room with cathedral ceilings, a fireplace and one of two private balconies. 

The large kitchen has granite counter tops, a gas stove, microwave, dishwasher, stainless steel sink and lots of counter space. The master bedroom has a separate balcony and the master bath contains a walk-in closet, separate shower and tub as well as double sinks.  There as a small bonus room off the second bedroom wired to be a small office.  There are many large windows, including a dormer window high up in the great room, which ensure that your living space will always be bright and inviting.  The laundry room is centrally located for efficient living.

The ground floor includes an entry way and an attached two-car garage. A large, extra storage space is located off the garage.  

This quiet community is close to the levy and an ideal setting for young professionals. It boosts a club house, gym, pool with spa, exercise track and there is a local park that abuts the complex.

The surrounding area is quiet and residential, yet it is close to Business 80 and just minutes from down town: an ideal setting for a young professional or family who do not want to be bothered with the demands of maintaining a home’s exterior, yet wish to live in a gorgeous setting.  Plug and Play For The Home Buyer!   

Note that this is a SHORT SALE!  Lender approval required.

Selling the most expensive asset that most families own is serious business, not something to be taken lightly.  It can be a highly stressful process and costly mistakes are easy to make.  In order to net the most from the sale it takes careful planning and some work on the seller’s part.

Based on our years of first-hand experience, we have compiled a list of the 9 Deadly Mistakes Home Sellers Make to help home sellers avoid them.  As the old proverb says, “forewarned is forearmed.” 

A copy of the list is available at no charge to anyone who requests one by e-mail. 

DEADLY MISTAKE #3   –  Taking for granted the “curb appeal” of your home.

When you’re preparing to sell your home for sale, remember the importance of first impressions.  A buyer’s first impression can make or break the deal.  I can not tell you how many times I have had a buyer refuse to get out of the car because of the way a prospective home looked from the street.  If the curb appeal is not there they don’t want to look inside.  Experts estimate that over half of the homes that sell do so before the buyer gets out of the car.  If it looks good from the street their mind is made up on the spot.  Naturally the interior has to be acceptable, but curb appeal is critical.

Given this information, stand on the street in front of your home and take a realistic look.  Has the lawn been mowed regularly?  Are the shrubs healthy and well trimmed?  Is the trim paint fresh and clean looking?  If applicable, is the paint fresh?  Is the property covered with “treasures” that have not been moved for months or years?  Have the windows been washed lately?  It may be time for a dump run or dumpster delivery so that you can weed out those treasures.

Ask your Realtor, your friends and neighbors their honest opinion?  Tell them to be frank.  making the right moves can have a major impact on the final sales price.

This is a continuation of my three year monthly report on Bank Owned home sales data for El Dorado Hills, CA.  This report covers Bank Owned homes sold in May 2010.

There were 15 Bank Owned homes sold in May, down 29% from April.  This depleted the available inventory which presently stands at 1.35 months.  The inventory of all available homes in El Dorado Hills is presently only 3.4 months.  It had been 8.9 months in March of 2009.  Six months is considered a neutral market, so we are still in a seller’s market irrespective of what the media reports..

The average days-on-market dropped to 33, down from 57 in April.   None of the REO homes that sold had been on the market for over 100 days.  A full 34% of the REO homes sold were on the market two weeks of less.  The well priced homes are selling quickly as usual.  Those that were not well priced took longer to sell—Real estate 101. 

The 15 REO homes that sold represent 24% of all homes sold in El Dorado Hills in May. 

The cost per square foot of REO homes in Mayl was $ 150, down $4 from April.  The cost per square foot of all homes sold in January also decreased $ 7 from $167 in April. 

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO homes represented a 6% savings for REO buyers.

The overall sales price for REO homes was 97.1% of the final asking price, and 96.2% of the original asking price, and 40% of the buyers paid more than the asking price for REO homes in April.

The actual, measurable savings is the difference in cost per square foot between REO homes sold and the cost per square foot of all home sold:  in March, $ 10 per square foot.  That is a $ 25,000 savings on a 2500 square foot home, not a small sum.  

The data follows:

This is a continuation of a three year study of Bank Owned home sales data for Folsom, CA.  This report covers REO homes sold in May 2010.

There were 17 REO homes sold in March, up from 13 in April.  The days-on-market decreased to 45, down from 53 the previous month.  Only one of these homes had been on the market for over 100 days.   In May 30% of the bank owned homes sold in two weeks or less.   

The 17 homes sold represent 20% of all homes sold in Folsom, on the low end of the normal range.  There are far fewer Bank Owned homes available on the market and short sale homes continue to have an impact.

The overall home inventory in Folsom dropped back down to a 2.7 month supply after s spike in a February and April to a 4.2 month supply.  A neutral market is considered a 6 month inventory.  So, we are still looking at a strong or stronger seller’s market.  Available inventory in Folsom has not reached the six month level in well over a year.  It may be a seller’s market in some areas, but that has NOT been so In Folsom.

The cost per square foot of REO homes in May dropped back down to $ 163 from the April $ 175 number.  It has been running in a narrow range of $ 180 to $ 156 over the past fourteen months. The cost per square foot of all homes sold in January decreased to $ 181, up from $ 176 the previous month.      

The difference between the cost per square foot of REO properties and the cost per square foot of all properties sold indicates that REO sales represented a 7% savings for REO buyers.  

The overall sales price for REO homes was 97.5% of the final asking price.  A full 30% of the buyers paid more than the asking price for their bank owned home.  The banks are still pricing these homes well and in March there was a $ 13 dollar per square foot savings, compared to the cost of all homes sold.  When we apply that price difference to a 2500 square foot home it represents a $ 32,500 savings, something worth considering when selecting a home.

The data follows:

Ready or not, we will be facing a housing shortage in very short order, many experts indicate that it will hit as early as 2011. 

It seems ludicrous to think that there will not be enough homes to meet demand after our experience of the past few years.  The housing market cycle has fluctuated wildly in recent years with prices skyrocketing year after year and then plummeting.  Of course, any pretence of equilibrium in the market has long since disappeared.  Banks remain reluctant to approve loans to all but the most credit worthy and new home construction has become a phenomenon of the past.

Our population is still growing and families still need a place to live. The old forces of supply and demand continue in play.  With too little supply, the demand will influence both rental properties and home sales.  The prices that we have seen fall so far will start to rebound and rental rates will increase steadily.

The major question is how quickly will the financial institutions react?  Will they loosen the reigns and allow more buyers to qualify for financing or will they remain conservative?  We are betting that investors will continue to demand higher returns and cause a loosening of credit, although not to the same extent as happened in recent years.

Landlords will reap the rewards from higher rental demands.  Perhaps they will make up for some of their losses from the past few years.  Homeowners will benefit from the rebound in property values.  Although we do not see home prices skyrocketing as they did in 2004 and 2005, they will rebound.  Interest rates will also increase.  They cannot stay at present low levels very much longer and will rise as the economy improves.

Potential homebuyers may find these conditions are not in their favor.  Those in a position to purchase a home would be well advised to do so NOW, while market conditions are working to their advantage.  Most of us operate a little behind the curve and miss the best deals because we keep waiting for validation of the present market conditions.  Would it not be better to act BEFORE everyone else does and reap the benefits of foresight?

 Check out the latest Forbes article on this subject: http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=23505825     

 Or Money Magazine: http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/15/real_estate/new_housing_bubble/index.htm

California homeowners may or may not be aware of Proposition 8.

In 1978 California voters passed this constitutional amendment that allows a temporary reduction in the assessed value of their property when that property suffers a decline in current market value.

When, on January 1 of each year, the market value of a property falls below the assessed value, the assessor is obligated to review the property and enroll the lesser of the two values.  If it is determined that the market value of the property at that time is less than the assessed value your property’s assessed value will be adjusted to the level of its current market value.  This will result in a reduction of your property tax for that year.

To apply, contact your county assessor’s office.  Some counties require the tax payer to complete a form requesting participation in the Proposition 8 outlined process, others will include you in the program based on information that you provide on the telephone.

Some counties have programs in place that review properties based on the purchase date.  It is wise to contact them and ensure that your home is in the program.  For more data go to:

http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/assessors/htm .

Note that the reduction is not permanent.  Each year on January 1 participating properties will be reviewed until their values return to the former Proposition 13 values.

If you do not agree with the assessor’s findings you may file a formal appeal with the County Assessment Appeals Board or the County Board of Equalization.  These boards are independent bodies established to resolve differences in property value opinions between the county assessor and property owners.

For more information go to:

http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/filingperiods.pdf

The first stage is when the loan is in default, meaning that the loan payment is more than 30 days late.  The  second stage is in Foreclosure, meaning that the bank has taken the property back and they now own the property.

The chart also shows the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate, both of which have a direct impact on the delinquencies now and in the future.

As a mamber of the CDPE organization, I agree that we want the public to be aware of the current market conditions.  Feel free to call if you have any questions.

Homeowners should be aware of the fact that there can be a danger to refinancing your home if your existing loan is a “purchase money” loan.

Here is the deal.  California is a non recourse state.  That means that if a homeowner runs into financial difficulty and can not keep up with their mortgage payments, they are better off dealing with their lender(s) if the loan(s) are purchase money loans.  A purchase money loan is one which was obtained strictly for the purchase of a property.  If that home owner ends up in a short sale situation (trying to sell the property for less than they owe the bank) their chances of having the outstanding balance on their loan(s) forgiven is covered by California statute.

If, however, they end up in a short sale situation after they have refinanced their loans, the lending institutions have legal recourse to come after them for the unpaid balance of their loan.  They can loose their home and still owe the bank thousands of dollars. 

It would be a prudent move to check out the impact of a refinance if the probability of delinquency and/or a short sale in the future.  Refinancing to lower loan payments may be a good move but everything has to be weighed carefully before making that move. 

At this writing thousands of adjustable rate loans are about to adjust, increasing the loan payments significantly.  Borrowers facing this reality should have all of the facts before they refinance.

The California Association of Realtors are vocally supporting SB 1178 to extend anti-deficiency protections to homeowners who have refinanced “purchase money” loans and are now facing foreclosure.  

All of this is very confusing for most borrowers.  Feel free to call and ask questions.  If we do not have the answers we will point you in the direction of a reputable organization that can.  

Who is supporting The HAFA Program? 

In earlier posts we have provided a lot of information about the new HAFA program.  Detractors have said that if the program is voluntary it is not going to work.  Only time will tell.  However, many of the major players in the home loan business have already committed to support the program.

If your loan is being serviced by one of these major financial institutions you may find that the program is, in fact, having an impact on the short sale market.

 The major players include:

 Bank of America

 CitiBank

 GMAC Financial Services

 Wachovia

 Wells Fargo

If you are having trouble keeping up with your mortgage payments and have a legitimate financial hardship, the HAFA program just may help!

If your loan servicer is not one of the major players listed above, you can go the government web site, enter your servicer’s name and find out if they are or are not participating.

That link is:  http://www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov/contact_servicer.html

Remember that at this writing, loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not fall into the HAFA program guidelines.  That may soon change, or those institutions may adapt a similar program.

We can tell you from first hand experience that loan servicers are reacting much more quickly than they have in the past and they are asking distressed home owners to complete HAFA forms as part of the short sale process, even if the short sale started before the HAFA program was initiated.  To date, all indications are positive for the HAFA program.

Selling the most expensive asset that most families own is serious business, not something to be taken lightly.  It can be a highly stressful process and costly mistakes are easy to make.  In order to net the most from the sale it takes careful planning and some work on the seller’s part.

Based on our years of first-hand experience, we have compiled a list of the 9 Deadly Mistakes Home Sellers Make to help home sellers avoid them.  As the old proverb says, “forewarned is forearmed.” 

A copy of the list is available at no charge to anyone who requests one by e-mail. 

Mistake #2   Complacent Marketing When Selling A Home

When selling your home there are no guarantees that the ultimate buyer of your home will simply walk through the front door.  In almost every case you will have to bring your home to the attention of that buyer.  Effective marketing will help ensure that your property receives maximum exposure to attract that ready, willing and able buyer in the shortest period of time.

Ask your Realtor to list for you all of the ways he/she intends to market your home and provide a time line.  Specifically ask what their plans are to market you home on the Internet.

Ensure that the best quality and most flattering photographs are used in all marketing materials.  Ascertain the frequency of updates on property search sites that require updating. (Some sites provide exposure for only one week before the posting expires.  You’re your Realtor ensure that the posting is renewed every week?) 

Some Realtors market their listings on single property web sites with the property address as the URL (http://www.123Main Street.com). These sites track the number of property views your site gets.  Ask to the results.

Some Realtors provide business cards with a property photo and web site address on the back to the Realtor’s card.  Sellers can hand those out to people they meet that may have an interest in viewing or even purchasing the property. 

When it comes to providing exposure you need all hands on deck to maximize the effort.  Don’t be complacent and let an opportunity escape. 

For a free copy of the complete report simply send an e-mail request to:  Mike@SellYourVilla.com