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Archive for October, 2009

Will the First Time Homebuyer Credit be extended?

“First-time buyers would continue to get an $8,000 credit, while repeat buyers of primary residences would be eligible for a credit of $6,500.”

In an article on the CNBC website, we are told that key senators have agreed to extend the popular first time homebuyer tax credit through April of next year. In addition, the credit will apply to non-first time homebuyers in the amount of $6,500 for the purchase of primary residences. First time homebuyers make up a large percentage of home purchases, and extending it is key in keeping the housing market going. Read the entire article here.  If you would like more information on taking advantage of the credit, give me a call!

5 Tips to Getting Your Short Sale Offer Accepted

Why is it so competitive for buyers? The answer is that 68% of distress sales are receiving multiple offers. This is especially true in the affordable home range. Here are some strategies for your offer to make its way to the top of the pile.

1. Ask your lender to provide FULL loan approval and submit it with your offer. Your offer will have a huge advantage over others because it shows that financing will not be an issue in closing the transaction.
2. Submit your offer with Direct Lender approval. If your lender is not a direct lender, you can seek a preapproval from a direct lender, such as Bank of America, but you are under no obligation to use that lender.
3. Use Rebate Pricing to help pay for closing costs and minimize seller contribution. As a buyer you pay a slightly higher interest rate (.25 or so) and the lender credits additional commission back the buyer to assist with closing costs.
4. Ask your lender to contact the listing agent on each offer you submit. A good lender will communicate the highlights of you as the borrower and instill confidence about closing on time.
5. Communicate to the seller through your Realtor® that you are a committed buyer and will stay the course through the sometimes difficult transactions we are experiencing in this market.

If you have questions, or need a referral to a lender who can assist you with this high level of service, contact me and I will forward you on to the right person.

Tango serves up yummy frozen yogurt in Auburn CA

It’s about time we have a frozen yogurt shop in Auburn CA!

That’s what Lisa Swisley decided one day while walking in downtown Auburn with a friend from out of town who asked, “Where’s the fro-yo shop?” Well, there wasn’t one. Lisa, who was facing layoff from Hewlett-Packard, saw her opportunity. The result is Tango, a wonderful little yogurt-by-the-ounce shop, located at 940 Lincoln Way , just across the street from Wells Fargo Bank.

Tango has been open for just about a month and serves up a variety of flavors, from Vanilla Bean and Triple Chocolate, to Orange Sorbet, California Tart, Espresso and Cheesecake. To get started, you can use a tiny cup to sample the flavors, and then use a serving cup to create your masterpiece! You can mix and match flavors if you like and then add toppings to your heart’s delight! Choose mini caramel cups, brownie or cheesecake bites, strawberries, blueberries and other fruits, nuts, candies and other sprinkles of all shapes and sizes, and caramel, chocolate and many other sauces. Top it off with Read the rest of this entry »

6 must-haves for your short sale package.

In order to have a successful short sale, the following items must be assembled asap upon deciding to list your home as a short sale.

1. Recent mortgage statements for all loans.
2. Copies of your most recent tax returns (last two years ) with W-2’s and 1099’s.
3. Copies of your last two pay check stubs (husband & wife).
4. Copies of your most recent bank account statements.
5. A letter, written in your own words, outlining the facts associated with the hardship that caused your financial distress (hardship letter).  
6. Completed financial disclosure, a form usually provided by the lender. Include copies of credit card statements, financial obligations, divorce decrees, physician letters, or anything else that shows you are having difficulty making payments.

Once an offer is received, your Realtor® will submit these items to your lender(s), along with the other documentation necessary for a succesful short sale!

For more information, feel free to contact me.

Is your Loan Modification Company legitimate?

5 Tips to Avoid Being Scammed - from the Office of the Attorney General of California (visit site)

I found these tips o the Office of the Attorney General’s website and thought they might be valuable to readers who are considering or are in the midst of loan modification. The website provides the capability to search for trustworthy resources.

1. Don’t pay up-front fees. Foreclosure consultants are prohibited by law from collecting money before services are performed.
2. Don’t ignore letters from your lender or loan servicer. Responding to those letters is your best bet for saving your house.
3. Don’t transfer title or sell your house to a “foreclosure rescuer.” Beware! This is a scam to convince homeowners they can stay in the home as renters and buy their home back later. It might also be part of a fraudulent bankruptcy filing. Either way, a scammer can then evict the victim and take the home.
4. Don’t pay your mortgage payments to anyone other than your lender or loan servicer. Mortgage consultants often keep the money for themselves.
5. Never sign any documents without reading them first. Many homeowners think that they are signing documents for a loan modification or for a new loan to pay off the mortgage they are behind on. Later, they discover that they actually transferred ownership of their home to someone who is now trying to evict them.

For further information visit the site. There you can enter the name of your Loan Modification company to see if they are a registered foreclosure consultant. Also, you can search for HUD-approved agencies here. If you have questions, feel free to contact me.

Visit the Bernhard Museum in the Gold Country, Auburn CA

By Lonnie Crider

The Gold Country is a treasure trove of both passive and active historical landmarks available to the public for visitation. They bring to life the rich and romantic history of California and the west in general.

Many of the “passive” sites are commemorated with numbered State Historical signs found almost everywhere along major and minor highways. In addition there are more complex and informative stone and bronze plaques paid for and erected by such organizations such as E. Clampus Vitus and the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West.

The most interesting sites that can be better described as active or even better “interactive” are the sites which attempt to give their visitors and the community an ongoing flavor and lesson about its contribution or role in the history of the area. These sites rely on the generous donation of time, labor and money from local citizens and businesses that want to keep the living history lessons alive and available for generations to come.

We are fortunate to have one of these special interactive sites just off Highway 80 in the historic area of Auburn, CA (Less than 2 minutes to the parking lot when taking the Maple Street exit).

The Bernhard Museum, located at 291 Auburn Folsom Road, is right next to the Gold Country Fairgrounds and is easily seen from the road. The Museum complex

Includes a white 2 story main house, believed to be one of the oldest wooden frame structures in Auburn, a hand built stone wine cellar which now houses an active local winery, a large barn which displays a horse-drawn hearse, sleigh, buggies, wagons, and the blacksmith implements used to maintain them.

The main structure was originally built in 1851 by George Bishop and John Long of Pony Express fame, and served as a Traveler’s Rest Hotel. Prior to the winery being built in 1874, Auburn Folsom Road ran by just off the front porch of the main house and was frequented by teamsters delivering supplies to the many gold diggings and towns exploding in the mountains, as well as stage coach travelers coming to California, and Pony Express riders who needed re-mounts or repair.

The house was sold to the Bishop family in 1858 and was then acquired at public auction, along with the adjacent 30 acres, by Eliza Caruthers in 1864. The Bernhards purchased the Mansion and 30 acres from Eliza for a whopping $3,500 in 1868!

Benjamin Bernhard was an industrious immigrant from Germany who immediately added a single story west wing in 1870 and purchased an additional 10 acres for $85. The beautiful stone winery was added in 1874 and is joined to the house by a unique underground tunnel. Auburn Folsom Road was then moved down the slope near the large iron doors at the end of the winery so that Mr. Bernhard could load his many cases and barrels of Claret, Sherry, Port, Zinfandel and Brandy on to the mule drawn freighters that traversed the road from Sacramento to the gold fields on a daily basis.

The Bernhards continued to prosper until their passing in 1902 at which point the property passed to their daughter Anna Barkhaus. Anna eventually sold the wine making equipment, and planted fruit trees in place of the vineyards. Barkhaus and subsequent generations lived in the mansion until the 1960’s at which point the complex was abandoned and in rapid deterioration. Concerned citizens stepped in and restored the premises under direction of the Placer Historical Museum Foundation. The completely restored and period furnished complex was dedicated in April 1982 by the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West.

Today this delightfully restored treasure is open to the public on Tuesday through Sunday from 11am to 4pm. Not only can you tour the period furnished and equipped main house, but you can also roam the 2.3 beautifully landscaped grounds, the huge barn filled with period carriages and wagons, and the fort-like wine cellar with its colorful local stone walls and massive iron doors.

A dedicated staff of local docents also makes it possible for thousands of local 3rd graders to visit the museum’s Living History Program annually. The students get a chance to cook biscuits in a wood stove, wash clothes using a wash board, dasher and wringer, make various crafts, clean leather and sew a marble bag.

The Bernhard Museum offers a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages to take a trip back 150 years to the early days of a young and burgeoning California culture with roots in the romantic Pony Express and the perennially romantic wine industry.

Map Link

Does it have Mello Roos? Checking assessments for Placer County homes for sale.

You have found the perfect home, and then the question, “Does it have Mello Roos?” rears its ugly head.

Many new homes in the Lincoln CA area, as well as Rocklin CA & Roseville CA, carry Mello Roos assessments which can add upwards of $300 to your monthly payment. So how do you really know if there are Mello Roos assessments affecting the property you are interested in buying? Well, there is one surefire place to find out: the County Tax Assessor’s website!  Here’s what to do:

1. Go to http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/Tax/Taxes/TaxBillSearch.aspx
2. Enter the Assessors Parcel Number (APN) into the form (you may need to scroll down a bit to see the box).
3. Voila…the tax bill appears.

On the tax bill you will see various entries including the tax year and if taxes are paid up or not. Toward the bottom of the table is section called  Tax Code. You will see a list of assessments with the amounts broken down for each half of the year when taxes are due. The first entry will be Property Taxes, followed by various school bonds, local assessments, such as mosquito abatement, etc. Any entry that has MR after it is a Mello Roos assessment.

Don’t assume that just because the property is in a Mello Roos-laden area that there are Mello Roos to be paid. A few years ago, as property values began to fall, builders gave incentives to home buyers, one of which was to pay off the Mello Roos bond.

If you need help finding any of this information, or need an assessor’s parcel number for a particular property, ask me. I’m happy to help.

What is Mello-Roos?

Is there Mello-Roos?  is the familiar cry heard in many communities around California from buyers shopping for homes. So what is Mello Roos?

The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act was created in 1982 to provide a means of funding community infrastructure such as sewer systems, streets, landscaping, fire and police protection, libraries, parks, schools, etc. Mello Roos bonds remain in place and are paid along with property taxes for as long as it takes to pay the bond off, oftentimes for upwards of 20 years. When a property changes hands, the obligation to continue paying this bond is passed to the new buyer. It is the responsibility of the seller to disclose any knowledge of this bond to the buyer.

To find out if a property has Mello Roos assessments, check out this post.

To search for homes in the area, click here.