Home Front: European media want close-ups of capital-area housing crash
By Jim Wasserman jwasserman@sacbee.com
http://www.sacbee.com/736/story/1883525.html
Europeans are making Sacramento a regular stop on media expeditions to the housing crisis that has been pounding their banks.
This year, Home Front has received inquiries from a Swiss newspaper, a German magazine, a Dutch television show and most recently a German public TV program about finding places that reveal California's housing crash and the people who have endured it.
Know this: The big real estate meltdown that defines the Central Valley and the outer Bay Area suburbs is interesting to people who live nine and 10 time zones east of here. It's more than curiosity. Big European banks are taking hits after investing in the risky mortgage-backed securities tied to California real estate.
Public broadcaster ZDF Television of Mainz, Germany, said it plans to show up this Memorial Day weekend in the capital region as part of a Northern California tour. Producers called last week from Washington, D.C., scouting for newer struggling neighborhoods marked by foreclosures and for-sale signs. The aim is to show the audience back home the thousands of homes financed with subprime and adjustable-rate loans sold by Wall Street to German financial institutions.
The Dutch public television current affairs program NOVA also initially planned to have a crew in California this week, but didn't make it. It was looking for partially inhabited and bankrupt apartment buildings, and was scouting Sacramento for possibilities.
"We didn't actually make it to California (yet)," said Lynn Berger, a journalist with the Hilversum-based current affairs show. "But although we didn't make this specific report, we have reported about the California real estate situation in the past (about foreclosures, mostly). It is definitely a topic that has been, and will be, covered widely on Dutch TV and in the newspapers," he said in an e-mail this week.
Several weeks ago, Munich-based Focus Magazine sent reporter Stefan Wagner to Northern California for a magazine story on "effects of the financial crisis on Californians." Wagner planned a trip to Sacramento and the Central Valley's foreclosure belt (Merced especially) to talk with people losing their homes.
A Google search hasn't yet turned up his report yet. But if you see Germans with video cameras this weekend be friendly; wave your adjustable-rate mortgage for the viewers back home.
Expanding affordability
There's more good news on the affordability front. On the heels of last week's California Association of Realtors report that 80 percent of first-time buyers can afford the median-price starter home in Sacramento, a prominent national housing index says three-fourths of homes sold in the capital area are "affordable."
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index reported this week that 76 percent of homes sold in the first quarter of 2009 in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties were affordable to households earning the region's median income of $72,800.
What's most astonishing is how fast that ratio has changed. Just two years ago in the first quarter of 2007, only 13.4 percent of homes in the four-county region were affordable to households with a median income of $67,200.
Don't miss credit deadline
There is one new thing Home Front should say about the state's $10,000 homebuyer tax credit after a phone call from a buyer who missed the boat: Be sure to hound everyone involved in your sale to fax the application to the state Franchise Tax Board within seven days of closing escrow.
This caller said many real estate and escrow agents aren't up to speed on the tax credit for buyers of new unoccupied homes. And he missed the deadline to apply, being busy with moving and paperwork. Goodbye $10,000 tax break.
The Franchise Tax Board says the builder's people must complete a state form and give a copy to the buyer or escrow rep. The buyer fills out more details and then the escrow agent faxes it to the FTB. Advice from one who learned the hard way: Keep an eye on them.
Incidentally, a bill, AB 765, that would add $200 million to the tax credit allocation easily passed its first committee test – winning a 9-0 vote Tuesday in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee. It goes now to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for similar consideration.
Pulte dominates region
The giants are getting bigger and more powerful. If 2009 continues the trends of its first quarter, Pulte Homes will sell one in five new houses this year in the capital region.
Pulte, with its Del Webb subsidiary and pending merger with Centex Homes, had a 20.4 percent market share in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo and Yuba counties, reports market tracker Hanley Wood Market Intelligence.
The firm counted 148 sales by Michigan-based Pulte and its two affiliates among 725 January, February and March sales in the six-county region.
That level of market share is unprecedented in the region in the last 20 to 30 years, said Hanley Wood's Sacramento analyst Kathryn Boyce.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's new rules are raising appraisal costs, critics say
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's new rules are raising appraisal costs, critics say
http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/la-fi-harney17-2009may17,0,5903005.story
The rules, intended to improve the accuracy of home valuations, push most large lenders to use third-party appraisal management companies.
Reporting from Washington -- How about this scenario the next time you refinance or apply for a mortgage: The real estate appraisal that used to cost you $325 now costs $450, even though the appraiser doing the work is getting only $175 or $200.Plus, your appraisal-related charges may now be subject to add-on fees that you'd never heard of before -- $50 to $100 extra in "no show" penalties if you get stuck in traffic and miss your appointment with the appraiser. Or an extra $50 to $150 tacked on if the property is worth more than $500,000.
What's My House Worth?
Find your home's current market value online with HouseValues.com.
www.HouseValues.com
See Todays FHA Loan Rates
$180,000 Refinance for only $639/mo Calculate Your New Mortgage Payment
www.CalculateNewPayment.com
On top of all this, your mortgage loan officer requires you to pay for the appraisal upfront with a credit or debit card, rather than including the fee with the usual lender origination costs at settlement. In some cases your card may be charged more than the anticipated cost of the appraisal, leaving debit cardholders in a potential overdraft situation.Worse yet, the person conducting your appraisal may be new to the field -- willing to work for a cut-rate fee -- and may not be as familiar with local value trends and pricing adjustments as an appraiser with more experience.And if your mortgage application is denied by one lender, you could be forced to pay for a second appraisal because the new lender may not accept the first one.
That scenario is now reality, according to critics of the controversial new appraisal rules imposed nationwide May 1 by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Advocates of the rules vigorously deny that the new system is flawed and say any increase in appraisal costs should be manageable for most consumers.The rules, which go by the name Home Valuation Code of Conduct, are intended to improve the accuracy of appraisals by eliminating pressure on appraisers from loan officers. The code pushes most large lenders to use third-party "appraisal management companies" that contract with networks of independent appraisers around the country who have no direct contact with retail loan officers or mortgage brokers.Mortgage brokers, who formerly chose appraisers and kept a competitive eye on appraisal fees, say Fannie's and Freddie's rules are adding 20% to 30% to consumers' appraisal costs. Jeffrey T. Hawk, vice president of Maryland Mutual Mortgage in Forest Hill, Md., says a standard appraisal that previously went for $325 jumped to $400 or more May 1 when he was forced to use management company appraisers.Some applicants also are balking at handing over credit card information upfront when they're not sure what the charge will be. "I lost three clients the first week" because of the credit card requirement, Hawk said.Buddy McCombs, senior vice president of EverBank, a Jacksonville, Fla., lender that buys loans originated by Hawk's firm and now contracts with management companies for appraisals, concedes that "there's probably a little increased cost" with the new system, "but I don't think it's devastating."Sacramento-based appraiser James Facchini of American Pacific Appraisal Co. says, "What's terrible is what's happening to [long-established] appraisers who won't work for the low fees" management companies pay."On May 1," Facchini said, "I lost almost my entire customer base" -- mortgage brokers who now can't pick up a phone and order an appraisal from him.Instead, Facchini and other appraisers either have to sign up with management companies or find other employment. What "really bothers me," he said, "is that the consumer has no idea what's going on."After Facchini signed up with one management company, he said, two consumers commented to him after he finished his appraisal, "Wow, you really charge a lot."They were each being hit with $550 appraisal fees, although Facchini was getting just $250 through the management company. As he sees it, that leaves $300 of "slush" somewhere in the process -- some going to the management company, but the rest probably "flowing to the lender for doing absolutely nothing."Rich Kuegler, a vice president at MDA Lending Services Inc., a national appraisal management company, says payments to firms like his are compensation for creating, managing and reviewing a network of thousands of individual appraisers -- MDA has 9,000 under contract across the country -- and for the "processing and administrative" costs that have been taken off the backs of brokers and lenders.As to appraisers' complaints about fees, Kuegler said, his firm offers them "the ability to have a steady stream of work, training and support." In other words, appraisers can expect to make up in overall volume what they're sacrificing per assignment.
http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/la-fi-harney17-2009may17,0,5903005.story
The rules, intended to improve the accuracy of home valuations, push most large lenders to use third-party appraisal management companies.
Reporting from Washington -- How about this scenario the next time you refinance or apply for a mortgage: The real estate appraisal that used to cost you $325 now costs $450, even though the appraiser doing the work is getting only $175 or $200.Plus, your appraisal-related charges may now be subject to add-on fees that you'd never heard of before -- $50 to $100 extra in "no show" penalties if you get stuck in traffic and miss your appointment with the appraiser. Or an extra $50 to $150 tacked on if the property is worth more than $500,000.
What's My House Worth?
Find your home's current market value online with HouseValues.com.
www.HouseValues.com
See Todays FHA Loan Rates
$180,000 Refinance for only $639/mo Calculate Your New Mortgage Payment
www.CalculateNewPayment.com
On top of all this, your mortgage loan officer requires you to pay for the appraisal upfront with a credit or debit card, rather than including the fee with the usual lender origination costs at settlement. In some cases your card may be charged more than the anticipated cost of the appraisal, leaving debit cardholders in a potential overdraft situation.Worse yet, the person conducting your appraisal may be new to the field -- willing to work for a cut-rate fee -- and may not be as familiar with local value trends and pricing adjustments as an appraiser with more experience.And if your mortgage application is denied by one lender, you could be forced to pay for a second appraisal because the new lender may not accept the first one.
That scenario is now reality, according to critics of the controversial new appraisal rules imposed nationwide May 1 by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Advocates of the rules vigorously deny that the new system is flawed and say any increase in appraisal costs should be manageable for most consumers.The rules, which go by the name Home Valuation Code of Conduct, are intended to improve the accuracy of appraisals by eliminating pressure on appraisers from loan officers. The code pushes most large lenders to use third-party "appraisal management companies" that contract with networks of independent appraisers around the country who have no direct contact with retail loan officers or mortgage brokers.Mortgage brokers, who formerly chose appraisers and kept a competitive eye on appraisal fees, say Fannie's and Freddie's rules are adding 20% to 30% to consumers' appraisal costs. Jeffrey T. Hawk, vice president of Maryland Mutual Mortgage in Forest Hill, Md., says a standard appraisal that previously went for $325 jumped to $400 or more May 1 when he was forced to use management company appraisers.Some applicants also are balking at handing over credit card information upfront when they're not sure what the charge will be. "I lost three clients the first week" because of the credit card requirement, Hawk said.Buddy McCombs, senior vice president of EverBank, a Jacksonville, Fla., lender that buys loans originated by Hawk's firm and now contracts with management companies for appraisals, concedes that "there's probably a little increased cost" with the new system, "but I don't think it's devastating."Sacramento-based appraiser James Facchini of American Pacific Appraisal Co. says, "What's terrible is what's happening to [long-established] appraisers who won't work for the low fees" management companies pay."On May 1," Facchini said, "I lost almost my entire customer base" -- mortgage brokers who now can't pick up a phone and order an appraisal from him.Instead, Facchini and other appraisers either have to sign up with management companies or find other employment. What "really bothers me," he said, "is that the consumer has no idea what's going on."After Facchini signed up with one management company, he said, two consumers commented to him after he finished his appraisal, "Wow, you really charge a lot."They were each being hit with $550 appraisal fees, although Facchini was getting just $250 through the management company. As he sees it, that leaves $300 of "slush" somewhere in the process -- some going to the management company, but the rest probably "flowing to the lender for doing absolutely nothing."Rich Kuegler, a vice president at MDA Lending Services Inc., a national appraisal management company, says payments to firms like his are compensation for creating, managing and reviewing a network of thousands of individual appraisers -- MDA has 9,000 under contract across the country -- and for the "processing and administrative" costs that have been taken off the backs of brokers and lenders.As to appraisers' complaints about fees, Kuegler said, his firm offers them "the ability to have a steady stream of work, training and support." In other words, appraisers can expect to make up in overall volume what they're sacrificing per assignment.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Index: Price declines leveling
Index: Price declines leveling
Inman News
http://www.inman.com/news/2009/05/22/index-price-declines-leveling
The price per square foot of homes improved from February to March in 11 of 25 metro areas tracked, real estate analytics and data company Radar Logic reported this week.
The composite price-per-square-foot index for the 25 metro areas fell 0.3 percent on a month-over-month basis in both February and March, which is less than the 1.2 percent and 0.9 percent declines in February and March 2008.
Radar Logic noted in an announcement that the price-per-square-foot declines have moderated since January 2009, "after being in a virtual freefall for much of 2008."
Prices decreased on a month-over-month basis in four of the five California metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) tracked by Radar Logic.
The price per square foot shrank in all 25 markets year-over-year in March, with the most substantial declines in Phoenix (-37.1 percent), Las Vegas (-35.3 percent) and San Francisco (-34.5 percent).
The slightest year-over-year decline in March was in Charlotte, N.C. (-4.6 percent), followed by Milwaukee (-4.8 percent) and Columbus, Ohio (-5.2 percent).
Motivated sales -- defined as sales to third parties at foreclosure auctions and sales of foreclosed homes by financial institutions and foreclosure service firms, increased in 23 MSAs on a year-over-year basis, and in 21 MSAs in a month-over-month basis.
Transactions increased on a month-over-month basis in 23 MSAs in March, comparable to the February results.
Inman News
http://www.inman.com/news/2009/05/22/index-price-declines-leveling
The price per square foot of homes improved from February to March in 11 of 25 metro areas tracked, real estate analytics and data company Radar Logic reported this week.
The composite price-per-square-foot index for the 25 metro areas fell 0.3 percent on a month-over-month basis in both February and March, which is less than the 1.2 percent and 0.9 percent declines in February and March 2008.
Radar Logic noted in an announcement that the price-per-square-foot declines have moderated since January 2009, "after being in a virtual freefall for much of 2008."
Prices decreased on a month-over-month basis in four of the five California metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) tracked by Radar Logic.
The price per square foot shrank in all 25 markets year-over-year in March, with the most substantial declines in Phoenix (-37.1 percent), Las Vegas (-35.3 percent) and San Francisco (-34.5 percent).
The slightest year-over-year decline in March was in Charlotte, N.C. (-4.6 percent), followed by Milwaukee (-4.8 percent) and Columbus, Ohio (-5.2 percent).
Motivated sales -- defined as sales to third parties at foreclosure auctions and sales of foreclosed homes by financial institutions and foreclosure service firms, increased in 23 MSAs on a year-over-year basis, and in 21 MSAs in a month-over-month basis.
Transactions increased on a month-over-month basis in 23 MSAs in March, comparable to the February results.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Information on VA Home Loans
Information on the Home Loan Program
PDF Documents - To read PDF documents, you need a PDF viewer. Links to viewer software can be found at this link.
http://www.homeloans.va.gov/veteran.htm
IN THE NEWS:Effective immediately, Certificates of Eligibility will no longer display a veteran’s date of birth. This change was made to limit the amount of personal data being displayed on Certificates of Eligibility. Please note, however, that veterans will still need to provide their date of birth when submitting an application for a determination of eligibility in order to process their request.
Act now to get the help you need through the Making Home Affordable Program. This part of the President’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan was created to help millions of homeowners refinance or modify their mortgages to a payment that is affordable, both now and in the future. Please use the self-assessment tools provided on MakingHomeAffordable.gov to see if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who may be able to benefit from Making Home Affordable. For more information about the plan, and to find out if you are eligible, please go to this link.
VA Reaching Out to Vets with Mortgage Problems. Please read this link for important information to veteran homeowners. Additionally, please read this link which provides some additional information and assistance for Veterans.
Enhanced VA Mortgage Options Now Available for Veterans Of Potential Benefit to Those in Financial Distress. Please go to this link for more information.
Please go to this link for 2009 VA County Loan Limits and this link for 2008 VA County Loan Limits. This link has examples for calculating the VA guaranty.
On October 10, 2008, the President signed S. 3023, the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008. Please go to this link for important information to veteran homeowners.
If you have been affected by natural disasters, please click on this link for important information to veteran homeowners.
Public Law 110-289 has expanded the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant program, and increased SAH grant amounts. Click on this link to read the most recent release regarding these changes. Please note that updates to Specially Adapted Housing Fact Sheet (SAH) – October 2008 and Special Housing Adaptation Fact Sheet (SHA) – October 2008 have been posted, and can be found at www.homeloans.va.gov/sah.
About the Loan Guaranty ServiceThe VA Loan Guaranty Service is the organization within the Veterans Benefits Administration charged with the responsibility of administering the home loan program. See an independent evaluation of the Loan Guaranty program here: Final Report Final Report Appendices
Link To Online Videos for Veterans Short videos provide information on the VA Home Loan process.
Pamphlets on the VA Home Loan ProgramOn-line copies of VA Home Loan Pamphlets.
Home Ownership Education for First Time BuyersValuable information for first time home buyers from the Ginnie Mae Home Ownership Center.
Frequently Asked QuestionsAnswers to questions most frequently asked about he VA Home Loan program.
Information on Specially Adapted Housing for Disabled VeteransInformation on the Specially Adapted Housing program for certain seriously disabled Veterans.
VA Regional Loan CentersAddresses, telephone numbers and websites of our Regional Loan Centers.
Contact VA Loan Guaranty ServiceE-mail, phone numbers and website addresses for the Loan Guaranty Service
Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing LoansHave interest rates fallen since you obtained your VA loan? Do you have an Adjustable Rate VA loan that you want to convert to a fixed rate loan? The IRRRL program, also called the VA streamlined refinancing program, may be for you. No appraisal or underwriting is required and a certificate of eligibility is not necessary.
If You Have Trouble Making Your PaymentsIf you have a VA loan but are having trouble making your mortgage payments, it is very important that you take steps to avoid a foreclosure. VA may be able to help.
Information for Elderly Home OwnersInformation for Elderly Home Owners covers Reverse Mortgages, Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans, and Home Equity Fraud.
VA Direct Home Loans for Native American Veterans Living on Trust LandsVA direct home loans are available to eligible Native American Veterans who wish to purchase or construct a home on trust lands.
PDF Documents - To read PDF documents, you need a PDF viewer. Links to viewer software can be found at this link.
http://www.homeloans.va.gov/veteran.htm
IN THE NEWS:Effective immediately, Certificates of Eligibility will no longer display a veteran’s date of birth. This change was made to limit the amount of personal data being displayed on Certificates of Eligibility. Please note, however, that veterans will still need to provide their date of birth when submitting an application for a determination of eligibility in order to process their request.
Act now to get the help you need through the Making Home Affordable Program. This part of the President’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan was created to help millions of homeowners refinance or modify their mortgages to a payment that is affordable, both now and in the future. Please use the self-assessment tools provided on MakingHomeAffordable.gov to see if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who may be able to benefit from Making Home Affordable. For more information about the plan, and to find out if you are eligible, please go to this link.
VA Reaching Out to Vets with Mortgage Problems. Please read this link for important information to veteran homeowners. Additionally, please read this link which provides some additional information and assistance for Veterans.
Enhanced VA Mortgage Options Now Available for Veterans Of Potential Benefit to Those in Financial Distress. Please go to this link for more information.
Please go to this link for 2009 VA County Loan Limits and this link for 2008 VA County Loan Limits. This link has examples for calculating the VA guaranty.
On October 10, 2008, the President signed S. 3023, the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008. Please go to this link for important information to veteran homeowners.
If you have been affected by natural disasters, please click on this link for important information to veteran homeowners.
Public Law 110-289 has expanded the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant program, and increased SAH grant amounts. Click on this link to read the most recent release regarding these changes. Please note that updates to Specially Adapted Housing Fact Sheet (SAH) – October 2008 and Special Housing Adaptation Fact Sheet (SHA) – October 2008 have been posted, and can be found at www.homeloans.va.gov/sah.
About the Loan Guaranty ServiceThe VA Loan Guaranty Service is the organization within the Veterans Benefits Administration charged with the responsibility of administering the home loan program. See an independent evaluation of the Loan Guaranty program here: Final Report Final Report Appendices
Link To Online Videos for Veterans Short videos provide information on the VA Home Loan process.
Pamphlets on the VA Home Loan ProgramOn-line copies of VA Home Loan Pamphlets.
Home Ownership Education for First Time BuyersValuable information for first time home buyers from the Ginnie Mae Home Ownership Center.
Frequently Asked QuestionsAnswers to questions most frequently asked about he VA Home Loan program.
Information on Specially Adapted Housing for Disabled VeteransInformation on the Specially Adapted Housing program for certain seriously disabled Veterans.
VA Regional Loan CentersAddresses, telephone numbers and websites of our Regional Loan Centers.
Contact VA Loan Guaranty ServiceE-mail, phone numbers and website addresses for the Loan Guaranty Service
Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing LoansHave interest rates fallen since you obtained your VA loan? Do you have an Adjustable Rate VA loan that you want to convert to a fixed rate loan? The IRRRL program, also called the VA streamlined refinancing program, may be for you. No appraisal or underwriting is required and a certificate of eligibility is not necessary.
If You Have Trouble Making Your PaymentsIf you have a VA loan but are having trouble making your mortgage payments, it is very important that you take steps to avoid a foreclosure. VA may be able to help.
Information for Elderly Home OwnersInformation for Elderly Home Owners covers Reverse Mortgages, Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans, and Home Equity Fraud.
VA Direct Home Loans for Native American Veterans Living on Trust LandsVA direct home loans are available to eligible Native American Veterans who wish to purchase or construct a home on trust lands.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Home Front: First-time buyers reap reward of median price in Sacramento County
Home Front: First-time buyers reap reward of median price in Sacramento County
By Jim Wasserman jwasserman@sacbee.com
http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1863568.html
For all the pain and trouble associated with this housing bust, one thing is clear: It's getting better and better for first-time buyers.
And few places beat Sacramento, according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors.
CAR says 80 percent of Sacramento County first-timers could afford a median-priced entry-level home in the first quarter of 2009.
The same quarter in 2008 it was 65 percent – considered then to be amazing.
Only the high desert region of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley's Merced County – which has seen a median entry-level price tumble to an astonishing $89,040 – were more affordable than Sacramento County. (Median is where half the homes cost more and half less.)
In California, 69 percent of buyers could afford a median-priced entry-level house at $213,040, CAR said.
The report, issued Thursday, pegged Sacramento County's entry-level median at $143,870, requiring a qualifying income of $25,720 based on 10 percent down and a 4.96 percent interest rate. Sacramento County tends to do well in CAR's affordability index with its relatively good public-sector salaries and its inland California home values.
Median sales prices for all existing homes sold in Sacramento County have dropped by a third in the past year to $160,000, according to researcher MDA DataQuick. They're off 57 percent from an August 2005 high of $374,000.
Roadblocks still abound for first-time buyers, including qualifying for loans. Many of these great prices, too, are attached to beat-up bank repos that account for two-thirds of sales and reflect the stresses of their previous owners.
Yet there are lots of first-timers out there, say real estate agents, and they're scoring. It's the happy corner of a market still greatly suffering from its many excesses of 2003-2007.
Stagers losing their role
Remember when people "staged" their homes to sell, and an entire industry of stagers grew up around them?
Home Front, wondering what happened to them all, checked in with Placer County real estate agent Lisa Morris, who staged many of her own listings in those good times.
Staging, it appears, is largely another casualty of a market heavy with repos, short sales and price-cutting.
"I just think the Sacramento and Placer area has been hit so hard, there's just no money for that," said Morris. She's working a lot now in San Mateo County, where "almost any normal sale is staged."
Staging still happens in the capital region. But Morris told a story about trying to unload some accessories and spare furniture used to turn houses into showcases.
"Some of the stagers I called were out of business," she said. Many of the rest had their own extras taking space in storage.
A small anecdote tells a big story. There were few takers.
Protect yourself from scams
Chalk up three months between Home Front warnings to dodge loan-modification scams. This one is prompted by a ripped-off caller who urged a new reminder, saying, "These guys are getting rich on other people's heartaches."
An e-mail writer, "under water," also wonders about calls from 800 numbers, hawking a new "bailout program" for Sacramento County residents.
Once more: Be wary of those who call or ring doorbells offering help, and especially wary of those with a friend or relative who can help you.
The California Department of Real Estate says this is what borrowers should know before dealing with someone offering to get a loan modified:
• If your lender has issued a notice of default against you (after you missed numerous payments), loan-modification companies cannot collect an advance fee, even if they have a real estate license.
• Lawyers are exempt and can charge an upfront fee if they are rendering legal services and operating under the scope of their licenses.
• If you haven't received a notice of default you can be charged an advance fee. But the firm must provide an agreement for you to sign that explains what services will be performed, when they will be performed and what they will cost.
• Before you sign it, the agreement must have been sent to the Department of Real Estate for review and permission to collect upfront fees. Those fees then must be held in a trust account and spent only on agreed-upon services.
A look at real estate agents
Finally, here's a new National Association of Realtors survey with a quick, interesting look at real estate agents.
The typical agent is 54 years old, registered to vote, and voted in the last national and local election.
Six in 10 are women and 14 percent are fluent in more than one language. About 40 percent own at least one investment property and 16 percent have a vacation home. Nine in 10 use a computer and e-mail daily and 42 percent use phones with wireless e-mail and Internet capability.
The findings are from responses of 8,113 NAR members.
By Jim Wasserman jwasserman@sacbee.com
http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1863568.html
For all the pain and trouble associated with this housing bust, one thing is clear: It's getting better and better for first-time buyers.
And few places beat Sacramento, according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors.
CAR says 80 percent of Sacramento County first-timers could afford a median-priced entry-level home in the first quarter of 2009.
The same quarter in 2008 it was 65 percent – considered then to be amazing.
Only the high desert region of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley's Merced County – which has seen a median entry-level price tumble to an astonishing $89,040 – were more affordable than Sacramento County. (Median is where half the homes cost more and half less.)
In California, 69 percent of buyers could afford a median-priced entry-level house at $213,040, CAR said.
The report, issued Thursday, pegged Sacramento County's entry-level median at $143,870, requiring a qualifying income of $25,720 based on 10 percent down and a 4.96 percent interest rate. Sacramento County tends to do well in CAR's affordability index with its relatively good public-sector salaries and its inland California home values.
Median sales prices for all existing homes sold in Sacramento County have dropped by a third in the past year to $160,000, according to researcher MDA DataQuick. They're off 57 percent from an August 2005 high of $374,000.
Roadblocks still abound for first-time buyers, including qualifying for loans. Many of these great prices, too, are attached to beat-up bank repos that account for two-thirds of sales and reflect the stresses of their previous owners.
Yet there are lots of first-timers out there, say real estate agents, and they're scoring. It's the happy corner of a market still greatly suffering from its many excesses of 2003-2007.
Stagers losing their role
Remember when people "staged" their homes to sell, and an entire industry of stagers grew up around them?
Home Front, wondering what happened to them all, checked in with Placer County real estate agent Lisa Morris, who staged many of her own listings in those good times.
Staging, it appears, is largely another casualty of a market heavy with repos, short sales and price-cutting.
"I just think the Sacramento and Placer area has been hit so hard, there's just no money for that," said Morris. She's working a lot now in San Mateo County, where "almost any normal sale is staged."
Staging still happens in the capital region. But Morris told a story about trying to unload some accessories and spare furniture used to turn houses into showcases.
"Some of the stagers I called were out of business," she said. Many of the rest had their own extras taking space in storage.
A small anecdote tells a big story. There were few takers.
Protect yourself from scams
Chalk up three months between Home Front warnings to dodge loan-modification scams. This one is prompted by a ripped-off caller who urged a new reminder, saying, "These guys are getting rich on other people's heartaches."
An e-mail writer, "under water," also wonders about calls from 800 numbers, hawking a new "bailout program" for Sacramento County residents.
Once more: Be wary of those who call or ring doorbells offering help, and especially wary of those with a friend or relative who can help you.
The California Department of Real Estate says this is what borrowers should know before dealing with someone offering to get a loan modified:
• If your lender has issued a notice of default against you (after you missed numerous payments), loan-modification companies cannot collect an advance fee, even if they have a real estate license.
• Lawyers are exempt and can charge an upfront fee if they are rendering legal services and operating under the scope of their licenses.
• If you haven't received a notice of default you can be charged an advance fee. But the firm must provide an agreement for you to sign that explains what services will be performed, when they will be performed and what they will cost.
• Before you sign it, the agreement must have been sent to the Department of Real Estate for review and permission to collect upfront fees. Those fees then must be held in a trust account and spent only on agreed-upon services.
A look at real estate agents
Finally, here's a new National Association of Realtors survey with a quick, interesting look at real estate agents.
The typical agent is 54 years old, registered to vote, and voted in the last national and local election.
Six in 10 are women and 14 percent are fluent in more than one language. About 40 percent own at least one investment property and 16 percent have a vacation home. Nine in 10 use a computer and e-mail daily and 42 percent use phones with wireless e-mail and Internet capability.
The findings are from responses of 8,113 NAR members.
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