I Googled San Diego Real Estate this morning and saw the top rated spot was a news article from the Union Tribune, Real Estate Expert: San Diego at Leading Edge of Recovery. The Real Estate Expert they site in the article is Lawrence Yun the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors. Yun is known for making many blunders and erroneous predictions in the past. Check out http://www.lawrenceyunwatch.blogspot.com/ for some in depth research on Yun’s other predictions and faux pas. I’m a big fan of laying all the facts out on the table for anyone buying a home in San DiegoCounty. A prediction like this headline needs to have all the facts including the ones behind the scenes.
The article Real Estate Expert: San Diego at Leading Edge of Recovery bases the recovery on rising prices and sales. Yun states that there is only a 2.5 month inventory of homes for sale and new home construction sluggish. He said that the demand is strong. In an excerpt from the article Yun confesses: “He began with a confession about how he missed the real estate bubble of 2004-06. Surely, the system had enough checks and balances to avoid a runaway market, he thought at the time. “I was clearly wrong,” he said.” My concern now is what else is Yun overlooking through assuming that others have checks and balances in place.
In the UT Article, “He also predicted that foreclosures will continue at high levels for the next 12 months because of the weak economy. But unlike last year, he said this year’s foreclosures are being snapped up in many markets, including San Diego.” The market in many areas of San Diego is saturated with many short sales. Many of the short sales have homeowners in them not making mortgage payments and in the foreclosure process while trying to short sell their home. I think the foreclosures at high levels will carry on well past 12 months. Related Blog Post : http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/tools-resources/new-foreclosures-by-state-for.html
Many agents and asset managers speak of the tidal wave of foreclosures that are coming. I wonder why the banks are holding back all of the foreclosures that should be on the market. If the foreclosures are being held back and not put on the market for sale then there is a false sense of inventory. They are foreclosed on or will be soon but the homes are intentionally not being made available to home buyers. Why? Maybe this is to stabilize and firm up the market. But is this real or false stabilization?
The question is by doing this is it creating another problem of false values like the bubble we just came out of. I don’t know but the information needs to be out there for potential home buyers so they have all the facts when buying. Let’s face it, when NAR says something the news and the public listens. Let’s make sure they have all the facts not just the talking points for getting buyers to buy homes.
Is this last spike in sales and home prices in San Diego due to the mass of foreclosures being held off the market and only a trickling of foreclosures being released for sale? Is there a Great Wave of foreclosures coming? Just do a Google search for REO Tsunami and you will have plenty to read.
I think it is a great time to buy a home in many areas of San Diego County in certain price ranges. I think interest rates are low and the $8,000 tax credit is a helping hand for first time homebuyers. I also think that a home buyer needs to be aware that there are many more foreclosure due to hit the market and the word on the street is that the banks are holding back many foreclosures. If you are considering a home purchase in San Diego do your homework and gather all of the facts.
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I think “Making Home Affordable” the title and the name of the web site have it all wrong, it’s supposed to be “Buy a Home You Can Afford” but most things right now in the world are either upside down or just plain wrong.
I checked out the Obama led web site “Making Home Affordable”. The standard Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline mantra with the HOMES of HOPE 888-995-HOPE number in red to get you to call for urgent help. This government has hijacked the word HOPE from day one and probably won’t stop until they’ve moved on. Which is HOPEfully soon. Not that the next elected group of thugs and profiteers will do much better … I’d settle for doing nothing than the direction we’re heading now.
It was the HOPE of homeownership for many who should never have qualified for the loan that drew them into this burden that now is destroying their lives …. THE MORTGAGE PAYMENT. A HOPE fueled by GREED that lent money to anyone with a faint heartbeat with little regulation and little to no verification of the homeowner’s real ability to pay it back after the ARM would readjust. Lenders were making money hand over fist and could sell the note quickly on Wall Street to a sea of buyers, so why should they care to verify or tighten up on their lending practices. Now the banks and mortgage holders are losing money hand over fist as taxpayer’s bailout them out as well as our government and their buddies…… hand over fist.
The printing presses ($100 machines) are rolling at the Department of Treasury and the money going in every direction imaginable except to where it needs to go. The cost “PAYBACK” is left to our children and their children and so on….. while the baby boomers will have their nest eggs refilled with government pork, $4,500 car buying credit and free healthcare. WHOOOOPI. One of the saddest parts of this whole mess is putting the burden of this generation’s foul-ups on the children and their children. Well I guess they’re doing what they like to do, borrow and spend and expect someone else to pay or somehow get out of it. Their best answer is to pin it on the kids because they don’t have a voice, YET!
HOPE. I used to think HOPE was something like a wish, a dream that you wanted one day to be fulfilled, something in your life or in another’s life that would happen to bring joy into it. Now HOPE is a slogan, a word used by agenda pushers to play on people’s emotions and to get them to go in a specific direction. After all, who doesn’t want HOPE? Right?
Back to the web site …….
On the home page of this web site it asks
Are You Eligible? Please use the self-assessment tools provided on this websiteto see if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who maybe able to benefit from Making Home Affordable.
Right below this is a “Find out if you are eligible” button.
The next web page will ask you to choose if you want to see if you are eligible for “Home Affordable Financing” or “Home Affordable Modification”. Select the one that best fits your desire.
Under “Home Affordable Financing” you have to answer YES to every question to be eligible. That means that you own a 1 -4 unit home, your loan is with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, your current on your mortgage payments and “the kicker”- you believe that the amount you owe on your first mortgage is about the same or less than the current value of your house. Remember that last question asked about first mortgage only, not first and second. If you answered yes to all of these cross your fingers and toes and HOPE.
Under “Home Affordable Modification” you also have to answer YES to every question to be eligible. That means your home is your primary residence, the amount you owe on your first mortgage is equal to or less than $729,750, you’re having trouble paying your mortgage, you got your current mortgage before January 1, 2009, and your payment on your first mortgage (including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and homeowner’s association dues, if applicable) more than 31% of your current gross income? HOPEfully you can answer YES to all of the questions and then there’s HOPE.
I don’t want to give a sense of false HOPE to troubled homeowners so I want to be clear about this. Please try and use this web site to see if they can help you. From what I have seen in the San Diego area including Chula Vista is that most homeowners that purchased a home in the past 1-4 years can’t truly answer YES to all of the questions in either category. The ones that can are still only eligible for the Making Home Affordable program.
Most of the homes in many neighborhoods in San Diego County are short sales. This means that there was no loan refinancing or loan modification for the homeowner that allowed them to successfully stay in their home. If there was they would not be short selling the home, and many are short selling their homes and condos. Some truly just didn’t try, shame on them. Most are just way upside down in property value and can’t make the monthly payments since the ARM readjustment or loss of job.
Its simple math, let me show you;
Paid $800,000 for home … worth $500,000 – why do I want this home?
or
Monthly income $5,000…. house payment jumped to $4,900 – need to eat!
These short sale listings will either be sold short or be taken back by the bank through a foreclosure and end up on the market as a Bank Owned REO. I have spoken with many homeowners who just want to get out their homes or condos and just move on. They want to close that door in their lives and open the next one. The choice of keeping a home that has decreased in value 40% in 3 years and a monthly mortgage payment that is just not possible to pay is destroying families.
I have met many that have said “enough, I’ll take the credit hit and short sell my home or let the bank foreclose on it” and they have. I will always ask them if they contacted an attorney and a CPA to go over all of the ramifications of both. This is essential if the path of short sale or foreclosure is in any ones future.
I HOPE this review of the Making Home Affordable web site helps you.
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.
There are many foreclosures because of the Foreclosure Moratorium that are waiting to be put on the market for sale by banks, asset managers and REO agents. The foreclosure moratorium here in San Diego County as well as most areas of the United States has kept homeowners in their homes through the 2008 holidays and then extended into 2009. Now that we’re well into 2009 there are many wondering why hasn’t the banks released the foreclosures. Many of them are vacant and the buyers are looking for new foreclosures to buy. In fact there are so many buyers here in San Diego they are starting to get discouraged in some San Diego markets and price ranges on the lack of inventory. There are also multiple offers on many homes sometimes exceeding 30 offers.
Some say the foreclosures are being held off the market because the banks are waiting to see if the Obama administration will subsidize the banks for their toxic assets. If that’s the case one of two things will happen the government “our tax dollars and our kids and grandkids tax dollars” will bailout the banks once again and then the foreclosures will come onto the San Diego market or the administration wont bail them out and the foreclosures will come on the market. Either way if this is the hold up let’s make a decision already because my buyers are getting real tired of waiting.
The word here in San Diego is that there are buyers galore and not enough homes for sale in some areas and some price ranges. Mostly first time home buyer price ranges. The inventory is filled with REO’s that are heavily damaged and needing lots of work or short sales with many offers and slow moving negotiators at banks. I HOPE by summer the Obama administration will CHANGE what’s going on.
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 National Association of Realtors® NAR reported that the February 2009 sale of existing homes in the U.S. including single family homes, condos, town homes and co-ops rose by 5.1% from the 2009 January sales numbers. This is great news for the real estate market especially here in San Diego. The Southern California Real Estate Market has seen a huge influx of buyers in early 2009. Some of this could be due to the great $8,000 Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers and the $10,000 New Home Buyers in California. I am working with a lot of investors in the San Diego Real Estate Market and so are many other Realtors® I know.
This news is also coupled with the news of median home prices of existing homes across the nation has dropped 15.5% from February 2008. Buyers should delight in the fact that prices are low and interest rates are also down. San Diego REO or foreclosed homes in lower price ranges are getting multiple offers and are even having appraisal problems when selling because comps are lower than the new sales. These are good signs and investors and home buyers “especially new home buyers” are out in force in the San Diego area. The new foreclosures “dubbed the Next Wave” are hitting soon and from what I see the buyers will be there to gobble them up.
San Diego in 2009 should be a year of high volume sales!!!
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.
What’s the deal? There are many ways to look at foreclosures and bank owned homes in
San Diego and Chula Vista California. I have noticed some companies cramming buyers on a bus to look for deals on foreclosures and bank owned homes. Many real estate agents look at this as the most uncomfortable and ineffective way to look at foreclosures and bank owned homes.
Home buyers that are interested in buying a foreclosure in the San Diego area usually select a real estate agent that can help them find the right home in the right area in the right price range. Home buyers don’t pay an agent the seller does. It’s not any cheaper to cram on to a bus with many other buyers and compete for the same deals on homes than it is to have an agent dedicated to working with just you. Usually a day of driving around the wrong neighborhoods and looking at homes not even in their price range or not even the kind of home the buyer wants will cure a buyer of wanting to do this ever again.
Let’s just say you find a foreclosure you like and 3 other families on the deal bus want to buy it. Now you’re competing with 3 other buyers driving the price up and who’s representing who? Like I said as a buyer you don’t pay the agent the seller does. You can have excellent one on one service with a local real estate agent who will research exactly what you’re looking for and find the homes that fit that description. Then the agent will pick you up or meet you at the office and show you the homes that exactly fit your description of what you want in home. Being crammed on a bus and looking at mostly homes that don’t fit what you’re looking for is a wasted day. Your time is valued with us.
When you want to take your San Diego and Chula Vista foreclosure and bank owned home search seriously give us a call. We’re here for one on one professional experienced service for the same price, Nothing! You can either eat with your family at a fast food restaurant or eat at a fine upscale restaurant either way it will cost you the same amount of money, nothing! It would be the same as the restaurant owner paying. When buying a home the seller or the bank on a foreclosure pays the real estate agent not the buyer. Take your time and think this one out. You can have great one on one service or be crammed on a bus. What do you think the deal is?
If you are a San Diego Border Patrol Agent buying a home in San Diego County including Chula Vista, Otay Mesa, San Ysidro and Imperial Beach make sure you call us. We have helped many Border Patrol Agents in San Diego buy a home. We appreciate all the hard work you do in San Diego County and want you to know when it comes to find a Real Estate Agent in San Diego we’re here to help. If you’re a Border Patrol Agent relocating to San Diego make sure you give us a call. We can get started right away emailing you homes for sale in San Diego and get things ready for your move to Southern California.
We have some great tools on our San Diego Real Estate Web Site to help you find your new home. We also have great maps to assist you in the location of the home to the rest of San Diego and distances to freeways. Also due to the large amounts of foreclosures in San Diego we have a San Diego Foreclosure Search Tool. If you’re in the U.S. Border Patrol and you need help buying a home or condo in the San Diego area make sure you contact us we’re your San Diego Realtors.
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.
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