Real Estate Information Archive

What a beautiful weekend we had in Orange County and most of us are off today,  Memorial Day. The real estate market, however,  seems to be humming along in North Orange County. If any of you read the Orange County Register over the weekend, it confirmed this. My favorite city of Brea is leading the way in home sales.

We held 2 open houses over the weekend and had over 50 groups of people through both 2151 Clears Springs Rd and 1155 Timbergate in Brea. That’s more people than we have had in the last 6 month holding open houses.

No one knows where the bottom of the housing market is until long after it has passed. There are a few signs to be optimistic about though; 1. Inventory is down for the 3rd month. 2. The number of multiple offers on properties has increased. 3. The length of time on the market is decreasing. These are all sure signs we are in the bottom curve of the market and home sales will begin to improve

And, "Here's Your Monday Morning Coffee"...On Memorial day: it is good to be reminded that veterans and active duty personnel alike deserve our undying gratitude.  Keep in mind that there are heroes from the past and there heroes today, living and dying for our country and our freedom.

There have been 5 Medals of Honor presented in Afghanistan and Irag ... All five recipients gave their lives to save others, 3 of the five literally covered grenades with their bodies to save others... you can read their stories at www.homeofheroes.com

(When you read this story remember our soldiers are in the middle of an ambush, guns blazing, RPG's blasts (Rocket Propelled Grenades), and comrades being injured all happening all around them.)

This story is about a surviving recipient of the Silver Star...

Staff Sgt. Lincoln V. Dockery said he didn't even see the grenade that sent shrapnel into his right forearm while charging insurgent fighters in Afghanistan's Korengal valley, Nov. 16, 2007.

"Someone yelled out,” he said.  “My hand went up and a hot, sharp feeling went through."

Dockery, a combat engineer then assigned to a route clearance patrol with Company A of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Special Troops Battalion, said he decided the injury wasn't major, and continued his charge up a hill into enemy fire.

"I don't want to think about what would have happened had he not been there," said Capt. William Cromie, Dockery's platoon leader that day in Afghanistan. "It would have been a completely different day."

Dockery said the description of the mission for which the patrol departed from Forward Operating Base Asadabad in Kunar Province that day sounded like the description of their mission for any other day: "Out looking for bombs."

"My only concern was for the guys who worked under me," the 25-year-old stated.

His concern became reality when the lead vehicle on the mission, a Husky mine-detecting vehicle, activated an improvised explosive device. Rocket-propelled grenades immediately started hitting the damaged vehicle and it became clear the convoy was in the middle of an ambush.

With RPGs coming at his men and him from two different directions, he realized that the enemy was not only across a nearby river, but also about 20 meters from their position.  He had to make a quick decision. 

"If we didn't assault the hill they were attacking from, they would have taken us out. They couldn't miss with their weapons they were so close," Dockery recalled.

He checked on the lead vehicle’s driver who was barely conscious but not wounded.  Pfc. Amador Magana managed to give a thumbs-up, Dockery said, and soon stood up, manned his M-249 machine gun and returned fire on the enemy.

Dockery and one of his Soldiers, Spc. Corey Taylor, then stormed the hill as their team members provided support from the convoy.  During the charge Dockery was injured, but he kept going, through hand grenade exchanges and incoming RPGs.

The pair low-crawled the rest of the way up, watching bullets kick up rocks and dirt all around them.  They then pushed the enemy back from their position and found the IED command detonator and wire.

Indirect fire, air strikes and other close air support was called in later to deal with about 30 fleeing fighters, but Dockery's assault kept everyone else from the patrol alive.

Dockery received the Purple Heart for his injury in combat and earned a Silver Star for valor.  Both medals were presented on March 11 in Bamberg, Germany.

"Hopefully anybody would have done the same thing I did that day," Dockery said, downplaying his role in the event.

Excerpts from article by Sgt. Micah E. Clare, U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs Office, March 19, 2009.

Support our soldiers by sending a gift this holiday at

www.AnySoldier.com

Have a thankful and enjoyable day and remember to thank our Serviceman and Servicewomen.

Sincerely,

Carol & Jim

A modest gain in the level of home sales is possible over the next couple of months, and an improvement is forecast for the second half of this year as more buyers are able to access affordable mortgages, according to the latest forecast.The Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.3 percent to 88.2 from a reading of 83.0 in March. It's the highest index figure since last October. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said pending sales contracts have picked up notably in areas undergoing significant price drops. "Bargain hunters have entered the market en masse, especially in areas that have experienced double-digit price declines, but it's unclear if they are investors or owner-occupants," he said. "Sharp price reductions are leading to a quicker discovery of price equilibrium points. The West is already seeing year-over-year gains in pending contracts."

To read the complete forcast and pending home sales index at NAR "click here"

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) statement. This form, sometimes called a HUD 1 statement, itemizes all the costs associated with the closing. You’ll need this for income tax purposes and when you sell the home.

In the past year everyone has been talking about short sales and how much money you can save when buying a home. What is a short sale? In the simplest of terms, it is when a home owner has a loan on their home that is more than the current market value of the home.

Is this a perfect opportunity for a home buyer to purchase a new home at a price well below the current market value? The Seller just wants to get rid of the property at any price as he has not equity anyway. The bank doesn’t want the property. Banks are not in the property management business. The bank wants its money so that it can lend to someone else who will pay them back with interest.

If it looks to good to be true, it usually is. Most offers on short pays never get accepted by the bank’s loss mitigation department. It is not uncommon to take 4 to 6 weeks to get just to get an answer back on your offer.  Then there is certainly to be a counter offer regarding the price. Many listing agents of short sale properties list the property very low so that it looks like a “really good deal”. Then when an offer or even multiple offers are presented to the bank usually they will counter even higher than the list price.

Fact is, many sellers do not qualify for a short sale and they are not even aware of it. Before the property is listed for a short sale, a hardship package should be completed and sent to the lender to verify the sellers’ eligibility for short sale. There are strict guidelines that a seller must fall into when selling their property as a short sale. Many homes are listed before the hardship package is even sent to the bank. It can take 4-6weeks to get an approval for a short sale. This process has to be completed with each loan that is on the property.

It must be a true hardship or the bank will not look at it at all. The most common reasons lender will approve a short sale are:

Relocation out of the area
Inability to pay the loan
Death in the family
Loss of job
Court ordered sale of the property, usually due to divorce

The lender will want to see the last 2 years of the sellers’ tax returns. This is to ascertain if they any other assets, in state or out. The bank also wants to verify amounts in checking accounts, savings accounts, and retirement accounts (401k’s included) to see if this truly is are a hardship case. As a seller, the bank feels that you borrowed money from them and they expect you to pay it back. The seller is asking them to “let them off the hook due to them making a poor investment or exercising poor judgment on their ability to repay the loan.” So, before the bank agrees to allow the seller out of the loan for less than they are owed, they are going make sure the seller is truly a hard ship case. If the seller does have other assets, they will not approve the hardship, and the property will go into foreclosure.

Multiple loans on the property increase the difficulty of getting a short sale accepted. With multiple loans there’s a good chance the second will not get any or very little money. And a third is usually just out of luck. So why would you as a lender agree to a short sale at all if you are not going to receive any money? Most won’t. There’s nothing in it for them and the first will more than likely get the property back and get most of their money after they foreclose and the subsequent sale of the property.

This is a highly abbreviated version of what it takes to do a short sale. Look at purchasing an REO (Real Estate Owned) property. The Bank already owns the property and now you will deal with one identity that can make a decision in a reasonable amount of time and you will still get an excellent deal.

Click here and read more information about short sales in Wikipedia

Baby Boomers are putting their mark on yet another one of life's milestones—their retirement years. Increasingly, retirees are looking for part-time work, interesting experiences and learning opportunities. Boomers can network with employers and non-profit organizations offering such prospects at Brea's Retirement Expo 2008 set for 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. on April 19 at Pioneer Hall. For more information click here

Due to recent housing market conditions within the County of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino the Assessor ‘s offices has begun to review the value of properties purchased within the last year in an effort to determine if value reductions are warranted under Proposition 8 (Prop. 8).
 
If you believe the assessed value of your home is greater than its current market value, you may request a review by filling out and returning a Decline-in-Value Reassessment Application (Prop. 8) form. The Assessors staff will review your request and provide written notification regarding their findings.

For Information and forms for your county click on the appropriate link below.

Orange County
Los Angeles   
Riverside 
San Bernardino