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How can we minimize foreclosures?

June 10, 2009

Foreclosures hit record high in the first quarter.  In California, foreclosures and short sales comprise 46% of the housing market inventory.  According to The Mortgage Bankers Assnociation, nationally, 1.3% of loans started the foreclosure process in the first quarter. 
Most common belief is that the cause of borrowers defaulting on their loan is because of high [...]

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Are banks holding on to foreclosure inventory?

May 18, 2009

Rick Sharga, vice president of Realtytrac, a company that compiles data on foreclosures indicated that banks are sitting on foreclosure inventory that they have not put on the market.  These creates ”shadow inventory” that could create havoc once they flood the market.  There is a discrepancy between the number of homes that have been foreclosed on [...]

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7 Months left to take advantage of Buyer’s Tax Credit!

May 4, 2009

To stimulate the U.S. housing market, Congress passed a legislation granting a tax credit up to a maximum amount of $8,000 to first time buyers who purchase a home from January 1, 2009 to December 1, 2009.  To qualify as a first time buyer, you may not have owned a residence during the 3 years prior [...]

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Economic Recovery is everyone’s responsibility

April 13, 2009

The Obama administration is putting a lot of effort to help the country’s economic recovery.  However, did you ever consider that we also have a responsibility to help with this gigantic effort of recovery and not leave it to the govenment?   How can we do our share? 
As I go to different neighborhoods and talk to people, I often hear [...]

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Beware of Mortgage Loan Modification Scams

April 8, 2009

While loan modification has benefited numerous homeowners lower their payments and save their home,  scams are on the rise.  There has been a lot of coverage lately in the news regarding foreclosure prevention scams and it is good because it weeds out the scammers who take advantage of homeowners who are already in financial hardship.  
Here [...]

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Strategies to Keep Your Home

March 12, 2009

Here are the different ways to keep your home from going into foreclosure:
 
1.  Refinance
Refinancing requires good credit, equity in your home and you need to qualify for the loan.  Due to current decrease in price, this becomes less and less of a viable option.  If you anticipate falling behind on your payments but not yet delinquent [...]

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Is it finally time to dive in the market?

March 9, 2009

According to the National Association of Realtors, 41% of the buyers in 2008 were first time buyers. In California, 59% of first time buyers were able to afford a home in the last quarter of last year, compared to 33% in 2006.  As homes were staying longer on the market, homesellers were more willing to [...]

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Why Avoid Foreclosure?

February 28, 2009

A short sale is when a homeowner owes more than what the house can sell for.  If a homeowner has a loan of $450,000 and the value of the home is now only $380,000, the lender on a short sale will pay for the deficiency of $70,000 plus the cost of selling the home.  Why will [...]

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$8,000 Credit to First Time Buyers!

February 23, 2009

It’s been approved!  First time buyers get a one time tax credit of $8,000 when they buy a home and close their transaction anytime from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.  According to the IRS, a first time buyer is someone who has not owned a home in the past 3 years.  This time it [...]

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Rising foreclosures bring more buyers

January 31, 2009

As foreclosures increased, price of homes declined bringing more sales.  While the price of homes declined, the number of sales in December 2008 increased by 111% compared to the number of sales in December 2007.  This means, that the affordability rate increased opening up the market to more buyers.
It is a common misperception that stopping foreclosures will keep prices [...]

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