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Orange County

No More California Tax Liability for Short Sellers

April 8, 2010

The California Legislature just passed SB401, which will bring the State’s laws regarding tax liability for forgiven mortgage debt in line with Federal rules.  The Governor says he’ll sign the bill.  
Up to now, home owners in Orange County, and all of California, that completed a Short Sale of their home faced the prospect of [...]

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What a Multiple Counter Situation Means to an Orange County Home Buyer

March 29, 2010

You put an offer on a great home, and the response from the seller comes – a counter-offer, marked “MULTIPLE COUNTER OFFER”.  What does it mean?  What should you do?  Well, first of all, don’t panic!

What Does “Multiple Counters” Mean?
Often in today’s Orange County Real Estate market, homes in [...]

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Top 4 Tips for How to be a Successful Home Buyer in Today’s Orange County Real Estate Market

March 22, 2010

It’s a seller’s market market in Orange County Real Estate Today – so here are the top 4 things you need to do to be successful as a buyer against pretty staggering odds.

1. You have to have your Money available
You have to have money for an initial deposit – usually about 1% of the price [...]

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Real Tips for Home Buyers – What Every Buyer Needs to Know About Cross Approval

March 20, 2010

Real Tips for Home Buyers – What Every Buyer Needs to Know About Cross Approval
An emerging trend in Orange County home sales is to require the buyer to be Cross Approved in order to submit an offer to buy a home listed for sale.  This means that even though you already have a pre-approval from [...]

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Wells Fargo Joins HAMP Second Lien Program

March 18, 2010

DSNews is reporting that on Wednesday Wells Fargo joined Bank of America to become the second major US bank to participate in the HAMP Second Lien Modification Program.
A Step In the Right Direction
Under the Second Lien Modification Program (2MP), when a homeowner obtains a loan modification on the first mortgage the second lien holder must [...]

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FHA Loan Alternative – 5% Down Conforming on Orange County Homes

March 16, 2010

Robert Collins of Wells Fargo reminded me today that FHA Mortgage Insurance rates are going up.  The current up-front premium is 1.5% of the loan amount, but on April 5, 2010 it goes up to 2.25%!
On a $500,000 purchase, that’s an increase in premium from $7,238 to $10,856, not chump change.  One new alternative Robert [...]

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Trabuco Canyon Home Price Per Square Foot Stabilizes

March 15, 2010

 
Trabuco Canyon Homes Sold –  Median Price by Quartile

This interactive Flash chart shows that there’s been little change in the median price per square foot for homes sold in Trabuco Canyon over the last year.  All 4 “quartiles” (homes grouped by price) have shown little change since March of 2009.  Hover [...]

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Pre-Listing Alert: Bank Owned Condo

March 9, 2010

Sometimes shopping on the Internet ends up leaving you behind the market.  A "Pre-List" is a home that is not quite ready to list for sale yet, but that will be on the market soon.  Often, by the time they hit the MLS they already have a buyer.  Wouldn’t you like to know about Foreclosure [...]

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New Pre-Market Bank Owned Home in Mission Viejo

March 6, 2010

This cute little Single Family Detached home in a wonderful neighborhood is being prepared for market.  It has three bedrooms, one and a half baths, and over 1200 square feet of living space.  Bank Owned homes for sale in Mission Viejo don’t last long these days, so if you’re interested drop me a line or [...]

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Housing Starts Soar To 6-Month High In January… Or Do They?

February 22, 2010

Sometimes, headlines for housing can be misleading and this week gave us a terrific example.
On Wednesday, the Commerce Department released its Housing Starts data for January 2010. The data showed starts at a 6-month high.
A “Housing Start” is a privately-owned home on which construction has started.
Headlines on the Housing Starts story included:

U.S. Housing Starts Hit [...]

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