Real Estate Information Archive

Mortgage fraud reports have increased nationwide from more than 6,900 in 2003 to more than 93,500 in 2011, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). And the nonprofit Homeownership Preservation Foundation reported the number of mortgage foreclosure scams has shot up 60 percent so far in 2012.

In response to the growing fraud, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® is educating homeowners and warning consumers they are at risk of being scammed by third parties, such as those that promise loan modifications for an up-front fee, which is illegal.

Many so-called foreclosure rescue companies or foreclosure assistance firms review foreclosure notices in newspapers, the Internet, and public files to identify potential victims, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). They then ask for money up-front and claim they can help homeowners save their home. Some are bold enough to offer a money-back guarantee. However, the scammers simply take the homeowners’ money, often leaving them in worse circumstances than before.

Consumers should NEVER pay money up-front for services promised. Instead, get a referral to a free HUD-approved housing counselor to advise on loan modifications, short sales, and other alternatives for avoiding foreclosure by calling (888) 995-HOPE. http://www.995hope.org/.

Homeowners who have a home loan with one of the participating lenders or servicers should visit their home loan assistance site:

• Ally/GMAC: 800-766-4622
• Bank of America: 877-488-7814
• Citi: 866-272-4749
• JPMorgan Chase: 866-372-6901
• Wells Fargo: 800-288-3212

1. Accepting the buyer with the highest offer without regard to the other contractual terms.

2. Not properly handling mu1tiple offer situations with multiple buyers.

3. Not properly handling back-up offers.

4. Entering into an agreement with no earnest money deposit from the buyer, or a very small amount.

5. Entering into an agreement before verifying the buyer's financial ability to dose escrow.

6. Not disclosing known material fact affecting the value or desirability of the property.

7. Not providing the buyer with legally required disclosures.

8. Not obtaining the buyer's written acknowledgment of disclosures.

9. Not considering whether to require the buyer to remove contingencies.

10. Not excluding items from the sale that the seller wants to keep.

I stopped by McDonalds today and their doors were locked at lunch time, a sign on the door said "Come back after 2PM" So I drove over to Carl's Jr.  and had lunch there. Afterward I headed to Best Buy and was told that 11-12 was not good time to stop in and it would be better if I came back after 3 pm.  Better yet, why don't you call next week and set up a time to stop in? Pretty absurd, right! Yet, home sellers do this all the time! 

I blame this on the sellers' real estate agent. As an agent we are supposed to council our home sellers on the comparable sales, pricing their home properly, preparing the house for show, and making the home available 9 AM - 7PM every day of the week until they have an accepted offer. Sellers should not negotiate the time that an agent would like to show the home. They are with their clients for a certain amount of time and have a route of showings planned. When a seller makes their home unavailable, they may have lost the one buyer that was willing to make an offer. Put a lock box on the property for easy access! I guarantee you will sell the home faster and for a higher price if you make the home available with a lock box.

A pet peeve, if you haven't guessed it, is sellers wanting the agent to come at a different time than they are requesting. Remember the agent isn't picking the time the "buyers" have available to see your property. I show a lot of property during the week at lunchtime and evenings. Showing during the week, you can sometimes be the first in on a new listing and beat the rush of the weekend.

You can learn a lot from new home builders. Most people enjoy looking at new homes because they are staged. Builders hire decorators and pay them huge amounts of money to make their homes look amazing.  Lights turned on, tables set, furniture is optimized to make rooms look bigger, grass is green, bushes trimmed and flowers planted. Everything is clean and its place.  Times may be tough but you still can scrub, clean, pickup, and remove the extra clutter. This will do a lot to help sell your home faster and for a higher price.

Home sellers, when than phone rings and agent wants to show your house remember that this may be the agent that may write you an offer. It only takes one buyer to buy your home and the one you turn away might have been that one. Make your home available! 

Reward the kids for keeping their rooms clean. We had some sellers that gave gold stars to their kids for picking up their rooms and making their beds. They had a schedule of goodies that were they could exhcange the gold stars for, this included  going to the show, a frozen yogurt, a trip to McDonalds, etc. Make it a game. Plan things to do on the weekend so that you will not be frustrated as the Realtors wander through your home trying to sell it for you. There are a thousand things you can do.  This will lower your stress level over selling.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, give us a call at (714) 726-3166 or send us an email to explore your options and to find out when is the best time for you to make a move. Texting ok

Today my wife (Carol) had a call from a new client who was very angry with her. She hadn't even shown them any property yet. The client was referred to us by their lender whom she had had occasion to work with before. The buyer called Carol about a specific home in Anaheim Hills they had fallen in love with on paper. Carol called the agent who said they already had a strong offer over list price with 25% down and great FICO scores, and he would call if anything happened to that offer, even taking her cell phone number. Carol conveyed the information back to the buyers and emailed them several other properties similar in size and price range. The arrangements were made to view the available properties on Saturday 4 days later. The next day the buyer saw it still available on the web and called the listing agent. He told them the home was available and would they like to see it.

Now you know why the buyer was angry with Carol?

After about 20 minutes of conversation going over what the selling agent and Carol talked about, the client realized Carol conveyed the information the selling agent had given to her. Of course when Carol called back the listing agent his comment was the first offer fell out and they accepted another offer on the same day. In the past we had had a good relationship with this agent and would never have figured he would of played these kinds of games. This is not the first time and it probably won't be the last time this type of thing happens to all of us in today’s cloudy real estate ethics market.  We Hate Disingenuous Real Estate Agents!

If you are ready to start the process you will find our Home Buyers Guide Helpful

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, give us a call at (714) 726-3166 or send us an email to explore your options and to find out when is the best time for you to make a move. Texting ok

Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are a big factor in determining if you’ll qualify for a loan and what loan terms you’ll be able to qualify for.

1. Check for and correct errors in your credit report. Mistakes happen, and you could be paying for someone else’s poor financial management.

2. Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. However, transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score.

3. Don’t charge your credit cards to the maximum limit.

4. Wait 12 months after credit difficulties to apply for a mortgage. You’re penalized less for problems after a year.

5. Don’t purchase big-ticket items for your new home on credit cards until after the loan is approved. The amounts will add to your debt.

6. Don’t open new credit card accounts before applying for a mortgage. Having too much available credit can lower your score.

7. Shop for mortgage rates all at once. Too many credit applications can lower your score, but multiple inquiries from the same type of lender are counted as one inquiry if submitted over a short period of time.

8. Avoid finance companies. Even if you pay the loan on time, the interest is high and it will probably be considered a sign of poor credit management.

1. It protects your ownership right to your home both from fraudulent claims against your ownership and from mistakes made in earlier sales, such as mistake in the spelling of a person’s name or an inaccurate description of the property.

2. It’s a one-time cost usually based on the price of the property.

3. It’s usually paid for by the sellers.

4. There are both lender title policies, which protect the lender, and owner title policies, which protect you. The lender will probably require a lender policy.

5. Discounts on premiums are sometimes available if the home has been bought within only a few years since not as much work is required to check the title. Ask the title company if this discount is available.

Although the national foreclosure rate rose 79 percent between December 2006 and December 2007, the rate was still only 1.033 percent of all homes. This is a regional problem, not reflective of the overall real estate market.

MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS

• Foreclosure statistics are rarely presented in context. Because about 30 percent of homes are owned free and clear, only seven-tenths of 1 percent of all homes were in foreclosure last year.
• If you rank the top 100 foreclosure areas identified by RealtyTrac as reported by MSN Money, only 34 areas had foreclosure rates above the group average.
• Fifty-one areas had foreclosure rates of 1 percent or less.
• Foreclosure rates actually fell in 14 of the top 100 foreclosure areas.

To read the full story, please click here

1. Find a real estate professional who’s simpatico. Homebuying is not only a big financial
commitment, but also an emotional one. It’s critical that the practitioner you choose is
both skilled and a good fit with your personality.

2. Remember, there’s no “right” time to buy, any more than there’s a right time to sell. If
you find a home now, don’t try to second-guess the interest rates or the housing market
by waiting. Changes don’t usually occur fast enough to make that much difference in
price, and a good home won’t stay on the market long.

3. Don’t ask for too many opinions. It’s natural to want reassurance for such a big decision,
but too many ideas will make it much harder to make a decision.

4. Accept that no house is ever perfect. Focus in on the things that are most important to you
and let the minor ones go.

5. Don’t try to be a killer negotiator. Negotiation is definitely a part of the real estate
process, but trying to “win” by getting an extra-low price may lose you the home you
love.

6. Remember your home doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Don’t get so caught up in the physical
aspects of the house itself—room size, kitchen—that you forget such issues as amenities,
noise level, etc., that have a big impact on what it’s like to live in your new home.

7. Don’t wait until you’ve found a home and made an offer to get approved for a mortgage,
investigate insurance availability, and consider a schedule for moving. Presenting an
offer contingent on a lot of unresolved issues will make your bid much less attractive to
sellers.

8. Factor in maintenance and repair costs in your post-homebuying budget. Even if you buy
a new home, there will be some costs. Don’t leave yourself short and let your home
deteriorate.

9. Accept that a little buyer’s remorse is inevitable and will probably pass. Buying a home,
especially for the first time, is a big commitment, but it also yields big benefits.

10. Choose a home first because you love it; then think about appreciation. While U.S.
homes have appreciated an average of 5.4 percent annually from 1998 to 2002, a home’s
most important role is as a comfortable, safe place to live.

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.