WABROKER

This darling 3 bedroom, 2 bath home has 1,470 square feet and is currently for sale.  It rents for $750 and the asking price is only $33,000 making it a great investment opportunity.

For more information on this property call WABroker at (916) 454-5400.

I  had a conversation recently with some long time clients who told me they were excited about the rebounding economy, the rise in home prices and the way the stock market is rebounding.

These clients went on to say that their landlord would sell them the home they were renting at a very good price and carry the loan himself. (They were renting after moving out of their dream home which  they had recently  lost in foreclosure).

I asked why would they pay more than they were already paying to live in the very same house and also owe the taxes, insurance and then become responsible for all the maintenance? Read the rest of this entry »

Sacramento homes continue to be excellent values even in the stale and declining markets we are seeing these days. The strength of the job base in Sacramento, the affordability as compared to nearby Bay Area homes and the strong rental market all combine to make Sacramento homes bargains in most cases.

Many lower priced homes actually rent for one percent or more of the homes value. This translates into  10-12% return on an investors money when purchasing rental properties for cash. The higher end homes have declined from their peak and are excellent bargains for those that have the ability to purchase them.

Though still able to grow in any direction the Sacramento area is bordered by much open arable land and gives quick access to recreational destinations. Add to this the mild climate, excellent freeway systems and central access to all of California’s most beautiful locations like the many Pacific coast the Sierra mountain destinations and you have excellent values and desirable communities within which to live work and play. Read the rest of this entry »

Its important to get an accurate house appraisal whether you are buying or trying to refinance. Unfortunately the new guidelines and underwriting rules that apply to house appraisals make it harder for agents or their clients to have any input.

Once upon a time you could talk to the appraiser and tell him what your purpose was in ordering the appraisal and he or she would be able to tell you if you were in the range of possibilities or if you were being over optimistic in your expectations.

Now the rules make it almost impossible to have this friendly chat and the only way to find out what a house appraisal will be is to pay for it and hope for the best.

To make things even more difficult many appraisers are chosen from a pool of appraisers that work for an appraisal management company. These companies are generally very lender friendly and the appraisers working for them are under pressure to have the appraisal favor the lenders as opposed to being actually unbiased. Read the rest of this entry »

The short sale process differs from a regular sale in that once the buyer and seller agree to terms the short sale lender has to review the offer and decide whether or not it is acceptable to them.

Remember in a short sale the house is facing imminent foreclosure and the lender is checking to see whether or not it makes more sense for them to allow the short sale or to go ahead and foreclose with all the expenses to the lender that are involved in actually foreclosing and re-marketing the property.

Each lender has their own policy so the process differs from one lender to the next. Even the lenders that have a streamlined process will not be able to give you a quick answer in most cases. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are in a hurry don’t get into a short sale because they require patience and flexibility.  They do not happen as quickly as a normal sale with a buyer and a seller negotiating, agreeing then closing a deal.

The short sale homes require you to wait while the deal unfolds but they require no outlay of deposits or fees until they are approved. They take only time and patience until they are approved. If they are not approved then you just move on to the next one.

The sales prices of short sale homes turn out to be the best in the neighborhood in most cases. In a market where prices are not going up and in fact are expected to go down again it is to the buyer’s advantage to get a lower price. Read the rest of this entry »

The answer to the question “ How much house can I afford” is a bit tricky. The simple answer is to talk to an honest and capable loan officer and get pre-qualified. This should take 24-72 hours from the time you hand the loan officer – 3 month’s worth of bank statements, the last two year’s of W-2′s and the most recent month of pay stubs.

But what if the bank qualifies you for more than you want to spend each month?

The main reasons that people give me for buying a home are always emotional and not rational. This is a quick way to end in disaster. Bills have to be paid with money not with hope, pride or good feelings.

Not being able to pay your bills will quickly take away your hope, pride, and your good feelings.

Better questions to ask yourself are: Read the rest of this entry »

Mortgage short sale is a term for a mini foreclosure. Short sales are simply foreclosures that get processed before the bank takes title. Seller sells to buyer without first giving title back to the bank. Its better for everyone than a long expensive foreclosure where seller has to move out and the house must be vacant.

Remember there is no such thing as a short sale under the law. Short sales exists only in individual lender policies and can and will vary from lender to lender. Sometimes the differences are slight but sometimes the differences are huge. The best way to  proceed is to get a guide that handles them regularly and that stays abreast of the various lenders’ policies and the constant changes that occur. Whatever you do do not attempt to do it yourself unless you have time on your hands, a penchant for self abuse and a big jar of Xanax.

Just following one from start to finish can takes 1-4 hours per day on any given day. Read the rest of this entry »

The short sale process is very simple.

Give the lender whatever they ask for. Do whatever they say and hope for the best.

Perhaps its time to reclassify short sale negotiators as short sale negotio-beggars.

Negotiating is too strong a term for what we do. Actually we provide things that are asked for and try to explain others mistakes like the BPO providers that give ludicrously high (or low) statements of value. Then we try and communicate to the sellers and buyers why the lender takes so long, asks for such odd requests and then forecloses and sells the property for $30,000 less than what the short sale offer was.

Here are the rules of a short sale in the current short sale process. Read the rest of this entry »

Many Sacramento homes buyers are finding that they can purchase a home for a small down payment and have a mortgage payment equal to or less than what rent would be for the same home.

Investors are seeing prices drop low enough that they can receive one percent or more of the purchase price in gross rents each month. This translates into 10-12$ return on their investment money and is considerably better that the one percent banks are paying for CD and other deposit accounts.

Though the economy worsens and jobs continue to be lost Sacramento still has a stable employed base of owners and renters that are not likely to lose their jobs even at the low point which is still coming. Read the rest of this entry »