The annual Realtors Conference and Expo will be held in my town, San Diego California. San Diego couldn’t have been a better choice for the 2009 Realtor Conference. Who wouldn’t want to come to San Diego anyway? Now Realtors in other parts of the country will truly understand why San Diego is America’s Finest City. And why real estate in San Diego is priceless. The event is being held at the San Diego Convention Center in Downtown San Diego from November 13 – 16. Some of the guest speakers are Condoleezza Rice, Sugar Ray Leonard and Reba McEntire. Our great city will be gracious to all Realtors throughout the country coming to San Diego to experience this great event and the finest city in America.
Info from Realtor.org about the San Diego Real Estate Event.
THE 2009 REALTORS® CONFERENCE & EXPO
Chart your winning course through today’s turbulent economy!
The 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo delivers money-making strategies to help you succeed.
Four days of intensive training from real-world speakers in top-rated sessions.
Substantive programs for everyone who makes their living in real estate – brokers, agents, commercial practitioners, property managers, international specialists, and IT professionals.
Watch this week’s tip from a 2009 Conference speaker!
Sail confidently through troubled waters!
REALTORS® Expo has new ideas, products, and services to increase your productivity.
Ask questions, compare features and strike your best deal with 500 exhibitors, all under one roof.
Learn about opportunities to expand your market working with immigrants, foreign investors, and Americans buying property abroad.
Be part of a winning crew!
Network with the most successful real estate professionals in the country.
Build your referral network and increase sales opportunities.
A boat load of fun!
First REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Diego!
Enjoy a wide-range of Conference special events, including the REALTORS® Celebrity Concert starring Reba McEntire.
Combine business and fun — the Convention Center is right on beautiful San Diego Bay and in the center of nightlife, shopping, and dining!
Make sure you don’t miss out. See you in San Diego!
If you need help buying a home or condo in the San Diego area make sure you contact us we’re your San Diego Realtor.
With San Diego real estate moving in an upwardly direction over the past couple of months recent interest rates could slow home buying activity. Home buyers in San Diego have been, in some areas of the county, fighting over homes that come up for sale. Many San Diego home buyers have offers in on short sales and jump all over the bank owned REO foreclosures the day they hit the market. Unfortunately the bank owned REO’s already have offers on them the day they come up for sale and sometime even before they show up in the MLS.
This has many home buyers frustrated and wondering what they have to do to get a house or condo in today’s San Diego Real Estate Market. Another issue that has been waiting to rear its ugly head is interest rates. When interest rates rise home buyers see their purchasing power reduced. Keep in mind when interest rates go up the monthly payment for a homebuyer also goes up and sometimes more than what they are comfortable with. Many times the lender will have to reduce the purchase price of what the homebuyer can qualify for.
This scenario can also have a real negative effect on the real estate market in general. If a home buyer wanting to buy a home has had a certain purchase price and monthly payment in mind for a certain size and quality of home and then they’re told that they can’t buy the same home at the same monthly payment, many of them will decide not to buy. Some will wait for the homes that they were recently able to buy at a certain price range to come down into the loan amount of what the comfortable monthly payment is that they had already had their hearts set on. Some of them won’t be able to afford the same home they thought they could buy and won’t settle for less of a home now. These factors could show a decline in demand and then a decline in home prices. We’ll have to wait and see. Oh, and don’t forget about the foreclosures to keep the median home price in San Diego from gaining too much ground. There are a few years of that left.
If you need help buying a home or condo in the San Diego area make sure you contact us we’re your San Diego Realtor.
Ashlon Langley Writer and Director of The Car a 1970’s film starring James Brolin was interviewed on Shameful Cinema. I write many Blog posts about San Diego and San Diego Real Estate and after reading the Ashlon interview about this 1970 movie I thought I would deviate and write about something out of the ordinary. I like the 1970’s low budget movies without all of the special effects and outspoken actors of today’s Hollywood. Ashlon responding to a question from the interviewer Andy about the car design he said;
Ashlon: The under-cranking was reminiscent of the Adams Family and The Munsters television series, making that quality silly to me. However, the design is choice! I love that one of the confusing points for the cops in the movie is that they can’t tell what make or model the beast is. And… it has no tags! If only they could get a license plate, the bungling cops could stop all the mayhem, yeah right!
I wrote about this movie and this interview because things are also reminiscent of the 1970’s even though it’s 2009. We are now like in the early 70’s in a recession and inflation is due to rise. America has taken a hit in the pride department due to the media’s constant attack on the good things America stands for and good things the United States does for so many around the world. The 70’s brought about the 80’s and the economy started gaining ground again and Americans had a lot of good things to feel good about. Watch The Car if you can and read the Ashlon interview. It’s truly entertaining.
If you need help buying a home, condo, Bank Owned REO, Foreclosure or Short Sale in the San Diego area including Chula Vista make sure you contact us we’re your San Diego Realtor.
May 2009 - The Mortgage Reform and Anti Predatory Lending Act HR1728 passed on Thursday May 7, 2009. The House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 300 to 114 and is said to protect homeowners from questionable and predatory lending practices that were partially responsible for the record home foreclosures and financial crisis.
This Mortgage Reform and Anti Predatory Lending Act sets up rules to ensure that lenders make loans that mortgage borrowers can afford to pay back. The act also bans prepayment penalties on ARMs Adjustable Rate Mortgages that are the real culprit loans in the foreclosure mess. This bill will also hold accountable the secondary mortgage market for following the same rules. One lawmaker said, “The message is simple. Lenders can’t give loans to people who can’t afford them. And borrowers have to tell the truth about their finances when they apply for a loan.” Not to be disagreeing with the administration of hope but isn’t this just common sense?
Nancy Pelosi the Democratic House Speaker said, “The simple fact is that our laws and enforcement efforts did not keep pace with the complexities of a global economy and a financial industry where the greed of some trumped common sense. Insisting on responsible borrowing and lending and ensuring that borrowers enter into mortgages they can repay or refinance will help families protect their most valuable asset — their home — and guard against another financial and housing market meltdown.” I would have to ask Nancy why she didn’t do something about it, she was a lawmaker at the time and there were many economists warning the government about this.
Many San Diego home owners and potential home buyers know the facts about the San Diego housing market and its foreclosure mess. This act, although very important for protecting potential home buyers when getting a mortgage comes in way too late. The damage is already done. I think if anyone dropped the ball it was the U.S. Government and there lack of proper legislation to protect home buyers and the greed that’s within the system itself. Isn’t that what we elect them for? It’s very interesting to see where all of the elected officials got their campaign contributions, the banks and companies now getting all of our future tax dollars in the form of a so called bailout? What a joke.
If you need help buying a home or condo in the San Diego area make sure you contact us we’re your San Diego Realtor.
The San Diego Housing Commission or SDHC has several home buyer assistance programs for San Diego home buyers. Some of the different home buyer assistance programs include deferred loans, grants for down payments and closing costs, tax credits, and opportunities to purchase homes at below market rate prices. This San Diego home buyer assistance program allow a home buyer to purchase a home anywhere in the City of San Diego. This means that the area must start with the Zip Code 921. This encompasses a huge area of San Diego and includes thousands of homes currently for sale.
Most of these home buyer assistance programs in San Diego are for first time home buyers except for the For Sale Affordable Homes Program. A San Diego First Time Home Buyer is defined as a buyer that has not owned any real estate in the previous 3 years. There are also maximum purchase price limits and area median income restrictions as well.
Some of the programs are:
* 3% Interest Deferred Loan
* Grants for Down Payments and Closing Costs
* Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCC). Can be used for San Diego bank owned properties.
* For Sale Affordable Homes
This $10,000 tax credit in the state of California only applies to homes that have never been occupied and purchased between the dates of March 1, 2009 and March 1, 2010. The California home buyers must also reside in the home as their primary residence for at least 2 years from close of escrow.
A qualified home buyer is:
A taxpayer who purchases a single-family residence, whether detached or attached, that has never been occupied, that is purchased to be the principal residence of the taxpayer for a minimum of two years, and that is eligible for the homeowner’s exemption under California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 218.
A qualified principal residence – new home is:
-A qualified principal residence means a single-family residence, whether detached or attached, that has never been occupied and is purchased to be the principal residence of the taxpayer for a minimum of two years and is eligible for the property tax homeowner’s exemption.
- Types of residence: Any of the following can qualify if it is your principal residence and is subject to property tax, whether real or personal property: a single family residence, a condominium, a unit in a cooperative project, a houseboat, a manufactured home, or a mobile home.
- Owner-built property: A home constructed by an owner -taxpayer is not eligible for the New Home Credit because the home has not been “purchased.”
The State of California has set aside $100,000,000 in tax credits for new home buyers. This program is on a first come first serve basis and once the allocated new home tax credit money is gone it’s over. Make sure if your California real estate agent is unfamiliar with this tax credit you let them know about it. You should also contact your accountant. Some details include that the tax credit amount is equal to either five percent of the purchase price or $10,000, whichever is less. Taxpayers must apply the total tax credit in equal parts over 3 successive taxable years which is a maximum of $3,333 per year beginning with the taxable year of when the new home is purchased. This can also be used in addition to the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit in the Stimulus Package.
If you are interested in applying you will need to:
- Do the following within 7 days of close of escrow on your New California Home.
- The seller must complete Part I of Form 3528-A which is the Application for New Home Credit and certifying that the home has never been occupied as well as provide a copy to the buyer or escrow person.
- The buyer will complete Parts II & III of Form 3528-A.
- The escrow person on behalf of the seller and buyer will fax the completed Form 3528-A to FTB at 916.845.9754, and provide a copy to the buyer.
- Fax is the only delivery method that will be accepted and considered for credit allocation by FTB, as the date and time stamp on the fax will determine the order in which credits are allocated.
- Fax only one completed application per residence with all qualified buyers listed. Do not include information on nonqualified buyers. An incomplete application may delay or prevent credit allocation.
- Do not fax the application to FTB before escrow closes.
- Do not fax the application to FTB more than once. We will process the applications in the order received as quickly as possible.
- Escrow companies should only send one application per fax transmission.
- The buyer keeps a copy of the completed Form 3528-A for their records.
- The State of California Franchise Tax Board will have a fill able Form 3528-A online soon. In the meantime, if you fill out the form by hand, please print numbers as clearly and neatly as possible using CAPITAL LETTERS and staying between the lines. The faxes can be very hard to read.
Do you want a list of San Diego Foreclosures? If so we can help you with that. There are thousands of foreclosures in San Diego County and the list changes every day. We thought about putting a daily San Diego foreclosure list together but then thought why not just give the San Diego foreclosure search tools to the buyers. That way a buyer looking for a foreclosure in San Diego or even the whole state of California can search foreclosures by zip code, price, size and any other possible search criteria.
This service costs us money but we feel that if a client wants to search for a foreclosure, why not give them the tools real estate experts use. Buyers then know how serious we are about helping them find a San Diego foreclosure by letting them use our expensive foreclosure analyzer tools for free. A list of foreclosures in San Diego is ineffective compared to how these tools can help you locate the perfect San Diego foreclosure. When you’re ready to buy a San Diego Foreclosure make sure you call us the San Diego Foreclosure Experts!
A San Diego Mammoth Elephant which is technically a Columbian Mammoth not to be confused with the Wooly Mammoth was found at a construction site in Downtown San Diego. The bones were found at the future site for the Thomas Jefferson School of Law located in the East Village of Downtown San Diego. The Mammoth find is estimated to be around 500,000 years old. Paleontologists from the San Diego Natural History Museum are removing the bones and taking them to the Balboa Park location for closer examination. This will be the museums first Mammoth skull.
The site is just a few blocks from PETCO Park home of the San Diego Padres Major League Baseball Team.
The Columbian Mammoth lived in Northern America and Central America during the Middle and Late Pleistocene eras. They disappeared about 12 thousands years ago. The Columbian Mammoths were probably descendants of the Southern Mammoth and had very similar short hair to today’s modern day elephant although 20% larger. Some of the Mammoths in California that were isolated on islands were miniature and called Dwarf Columbian Mammoths. Normal sized Columbian mammoths weighed up to nine tons, and its enormous tusks were up to 16 feet long.
In 2009 San Diego Home Buyers are getting on board with the program. According to the National Association of Realtors many home buyers are out buying homes. Pending home sales has increased which is a great sign for the U.S. Real Estate Market. Pending home sales are measured by the Pending Home Sales Index which is a forward looking indicator based on purchase contracts signed in December. The index for December 2008 rose 6.3% over the November 2008 reading and this is 2.1% higher than December 2007. In the west we are seeing a17.5% higher number than the same month last year.
NAR states that the Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.
NAR – National Association of Realtors stated that the improved affordability conditions such as low interest rates and cheaper homes were a factor to the increase in pending sales. Another great statistic for December 2008 was that the Housing Affordability Index rose to 10.9 %. NAR stated it was the highest on record. This is a very positive trend going into 2009.
Many areas of San Diego and Chula Vista have seen a jump in pending sales in early 2009. I have also been getting many more phone calls and emails from people wanting to buy a home in 2009. If you are ready to buy a home in 2009 please give us a call.
I’m Dawn Lewis and I’m a San Diego Realtor. You have just found the best San Diego Real Estate web site for searching for San Diego Real Estate. I hope it helps you with your San Diego home or condo search and answers questions you have about San Diego real estate. Please use the tools and features like the San Diego MLS with its great maps and community information.
My Experience:
Realtor® in San Diego Since 1989
SOLD well over 1,500 Homes
San Diego Top Producer
San Diego Relocation Expert
Top Real Estate Negotiator
San Diego New Home Sales Expert
San Diego REO Listing Agent
San Diego Foreclosure Expert
Short Sale and Foreclosure Expert
Winner of many Real Estate Awards in Sales and Customer Service
As you can see I have been a real estate agent in San Diego for quite some time. Please put my experience to work for you and give me a call today.
