Tucked deep inside the "New England" tract, This is Orangecrest living at its best! With ample room inside (4 bedrooms and a bonusroom), a garden-like setting outside, custom tile downstairs and a spacious master suite, you'll be ready for everthing from quiet candlelight dinners with that important person in your life to super bowl gatherings with family and best friends to quiet sanctuary.

Bedrooms: 4. Baths: 3. Home size: 2,761 sf. Lot size: .18 acres.
Year built: 2001. Pool No. Garage: 3-Car. List Price: 553,000.

For 24-hour recorded information about this home, call 1-800-941-1900, ext 4789

Your home could be next. To get a free market analysis, or for other local real estate imformation, call Scott Chappell & Brian Bean's 24-hour hotline at (800) 941-1900. It's a community service by one of Riverside's leading real estate teams.

Ask about Scott & Brian's 100% Satisfaction Guarantee program. If you aren't satisfied, they'll refund their commission.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

In this affordable Orangecrest home, you're the king of the hill! Imagine lounging on your covered patio, the spa burbling just a few yards away as you sip your beverage of choice. Perched above your neighbors, you relax in the privacy of your new slumpstone wall and take in the magnificent mountain vistas, stirring only to partake of the prolific fruit trees. Ready for a tour?

Bedrooms: 3 Baths: 3 Home size: 1,677 sf Lot size: .18 acre.

Year built: 1988 Pool: No Garage: 3-car List Price: $439,900

For 24-hour recorded information about this home, call 1-800-941-1900, ext. 3789

Your home could be next. To get a free market analysis, or for other local real estate imformation, call Scott Chappell & Brian Bean's 24-hour hotline at (800) 941-1900. It's a community service offered by one of Riverside's leading real estate teams.

Ask about Scott & Brian's 100% Satisfaction Guarantee program. If you aren't satisfied, they'll refund their commission.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Friday, September 29, 2006

Trying to maximize your sales price? You can't "wait for your price"

After a summer slowdown and an inverted real estate season, home sales in the Riverside area haved picked up in September. There are buyers, albeit fewer than a year ago, and they are making offers. And homes that are priced appropriately -- based on the Sold comps, not the Active listings -- are selling.

Our listings have registered 25 showings this month through our Internet tracking system, which counts how many times an individual agent opened the lockboxes to obtain a key to the home. Compare that with an average of about six showings a month in June, July and August!

There are more than 200 homes on the market in the Orangecrest neighborhood. That's three times the number for sale a year ago. With the number of home sales down about 40 percent from a year ago, and the fierce competition from home builders offering many great incentives, there are tough times out there for many sellers. Many of the homes that have been on the market for more than 60 days are those that have been priced too high. If home prices continue to drift downward, as they have been the past few months, those sellers who aren't attuned to the trend will fall farther and farther behind, and consequently, lose more and more.

Imagine turning down an offer a few months ago because it seemed like a lowball offer. And now, as the market has turned, you've dropped your price to the very same amount that someone previously offered. ... It can be painful. Now, you're praying for that offer to come back.

How do you make sure it doesn't happen to you? Price it right, from the start. Time is not your friend now. The days of, "I'm not in a hurry to sell my home. I can wait for my price," are over. If you try to wait for an above-market price now, you may be waiting five years. When the market is flat-lined or heading down, and you want the highest price possible, you are in a hurry. More time most likely will mean less money, not more.

And hire the right Realtor. The old days of slapping up a sign and counting the multiple offers are gone -- for now. You have to expose your home to every potential buyer out there, immediately. The MLS is only one tool. Your Realtor should be plastering your home all over the Internet, including Realtor.com Featured listings, which garner 10 times the number of views as traditional entries, the plethora of real estate portal sites, and most importantly, regional real estate sites, such as www.LiveInOrangecrest.com.

Next, make sure your Realtor is doing more than the basic cliche-ridden marketing that does nothing to set your home apart from the competition. This is marketing, which means "attracting" potential buyers to your home. A reiterated laundry list of your home's features in the Description field capped off with "This one won't last," is the last thing you need. Are there the maximum number of photos and Virtual Tours? That's a bare minimum to have the best chances of success.

According to the Wall Street Journal, some agents insist that sellers price their homes under the competition to generate attention, while others are urging clients to shave 10 percent off the price if there have been no showings or showings but with no offers after a certain length of time.

Other agents are telling their clients to increase asking prices to line them up with the increments of $5,000 to $25,000 used by Internet house hunters, according to the Journal. A home priced at $474,500, for instance, should be listed at $475,000, according to Kerwin Holloway of Reece & Nichols. The original asking price puts it in the high end of the $450,000-to-$475,000 range, says Holloway, while boosting the price slightly made it appear to be a bargain to those searching in the $475,000-plus segment.

Sellers also are increasingly offering such incentives as paid closing costs, media rooms, and day-care assistance or writing personal letters to prospective buyers to showcase the neighborhood's positive points, the Journal article said. Meanwhile, builders are implementing new strategies, such as adjusting prices or offering cash refunds if home prices in their developments decline before a buyer closes.

What will work for you? There are many factors to make a success story in today's real estate market. Pricing, staging and marketing are just the beginning. Call Scott & Brian for a free consultation and find out how to do the best you can. Before the market drifts even lower.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Here's a column about builders to avoid ...

Why would builder jeopardize sale in a down market?

Thursday, September 28, 2006

By Ilyce R. Glink
Inman News

QUESTION: I saw an article in the newspaper about a subdivision near where I live in Southern California, so I stopped in to view a model home.

The builder's sales representative informed me that because I didn't have a Realtor at the time of the first visit, even if I were to come back to pursue a potential purchase with a buyer's agent, my agent would not be entitled to any commission.

Is this true or is it a ploy to discourage buyer representation? How can I be denied fair representation or have to pay for it myself when it was a builder's model home that's open to the public?

ANSWER: I hate when builders do this. They're trying to save the commission they'd pay to a buyer's agent. Or, perhaps the builder's representative you spoke with gets a bonus if she brings in a buyer without paying a commission to another agent.

The builder is giving you fair warning, as required by the law, that you're now considered "unrepresented" and they'll never recognize your representation. But that's not necessarily the final word. More on that in a moment.

The builder is trying to save a buck, but all the company is doing is discouraging qualified buyers from coming back. It's a lousy way of doing business in a time when builders around the country are desperate to get buyers through the door.

And, it really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

But just because the representative says that's how the builder will treat you and your buyer's agent doesn't mean that's how it will be by the time the contract is signed.

Here's what you do: If you decide to go back to see this development again, hire an agent first. Then, don't turn up without your agent in tow. If the salesperson gives you a hard time, push back. Inform the builder's representative that you're going to make an offer but only with your agent. If that's unacceptable to the builder, you'll take your business elsewhere.

Then, walk out the door. Most builders won't let you get too far before they call you back.

As I say, some builders are in fairly desperate straits right now. That may put you in the driver's seat.

Q: How important is the loan servicing agreement? What happens if the buyer doesn't sign it?

A: The servicing agreement you're referring to is part of a package of disclosures that a lender gives to a buyer for his or her signature at a closing. This document tells a buyer that it is likely that the loan will be sold to an investor or another lender on the secondary mortgage market. It also describes the process that the lender will take in notifying the buyer of the transfer of the servicing rights to the loan.

When you buy a house and get financing, the lender may end up selling the loan to another bank or investor, or, in some cases, may sell the rights to service the loan (that is, to collect your monthly payments) to a company that specializes in loan servicing.

As an owner, you'll want to know how to contact the lender that is servicing your loan and need to know where to send the monthly mortgage payments. Signing the disclosure means you understand that it is likely that your loan will be sold and that you understand how you'll be notified of this change.

What I don't understand is why you'd object to signing the servicing agreement form. In some cases, the lender may refuse to give you the loan if you fail to sign the disclosures and documents that it requests at the closing.

Unless the document is somehow out of the norm or the document changes the economic terms of the loan, there shouldn't be any reason not to sign it.

In some cases, some lenders have inserted documents into a loan package that are out of the norm for a closing, such as a requirement for you to obtain mortgage credit insurance as a condition for closing on the loan. If you get a document like that, you can refuse to sign it. But a loan servicing agreement is fairly standard and I'd sign it.

Contact Ilyce through her Web site, www.thinkglink.com.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Here's an article about homeowners' expectations for the housing market ...

Only 13% polled have interest-only, ARM loans

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Inman News

Homeowners may have overly optimistic expectations that their homes will continue to appreciate as the housing market cools, according to a survey by investment bank RBC Capital Markets.

Nearly half of those polled expect their homes will continue to appreciate by at least 5 percent a year for several years -- down from 60 percent of those polled last year.

But only 13 percent of those surveyed have potentially risky adjustable-rate and interest-only mortgages, and 25 percent said they'd already paid off their mortgages. That suggests most homeowners will be able to weather a slowdown or reversal in the record rate of home-price appreciation during the boom years.

More than 80 percent of the 1,003 homeowners surveyed nationwide in the second week of September said they had at least $50,0000 in equity built up in their homes. Nearly 60 percent said they have at least $100,000 in equity.

Of the homeowners with adjustable-rate and interest-only loans, less than half are concerned with their ability to meet higher payments, and 13 percent haven't even considered whether they will be at risk when their mortgages "reset" at higher rates and their monthly payments go up.

"While this is a fairly small segment of the overall survey (approximately 6 percent), it suggests material risk to this segment of the population," RBC Capital said in a press release announcing the survey.

One of the goals of the survey was to determine how a slowdown in the housing market might affect consumer spending.

"While real estate expectations are lower than they were last year, consumers still seem optimistic despite what we are seeing in the marketplace," said Scot Ciccarelli, managing director and equity research analysts for RBC Capital Markets. "Declining real estate values could eventually impact consumer spending as people don't feel as wealthy as they used to and become less likely to borrow against the equity they have built up in their homes."

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

30-year fixed rate at 5.75%; 10-year Treasury yield at 4.58%

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Inman News

Long-term mortgage interest rates continued lower Tuesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4.58 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average sank to 5.75 percent, and the 15-year fixed-rate declined to 5.47 percent. The 1-year adjustable was down at 5.26 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield increased to 4.72 percent.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

More Americans optimistic about jobs, incomes

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Inman News

The Conference Board today announced that its Consumer Confidence Index gained in September -- rising from 100.2 to 104.5 -- as Americans expect more jobs and rising incomes in the coming months.

"A more favorable assessment of current conditions coupled with a less pessimistic short-term outlook boosted consumer confidence this month," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "However, even though consumers' concerns have eased, there is little to suggest a significant change in economic activity as we enter the final quarter of 2006."

Consumers' appraisal of ongoing conditions improved in September, as the present situation index increased to 127.7 from 123.9. Those claiming conditions are "good" increased to 27.4 percent from 26.2 percent.

Those claiming conditions are "bad" eased to 15.4 percent from 16.6 percent. Labor market conditions were mixed, as consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" improved to 25.9 percent from 24.5 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" edged up to 21.3 percent from 21.1 percent in August.

Consumers' outlook for the next six months was less pessimistic in September than in August, as the expectations index rose to 89 from 84.4 last month. Those anticipating business conditions to worsen decreased to 10.6 percent from 12.9 percent. Those expecting business conditions to improve, however, remained virtually unchanged at 16.3 percent.

The outlook for the labor market improved moderately. Those expecting more jobs to become available in the coming months edged up to 14.4 percent from 14.2 percent in August. Those expecting fewer jobs decreased to 17.1 percent from 18.1 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating their incomes to increase in the months ahead rose to 19.7 percent from 17.9 percent.

The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Here's an article about negotiations on home repairs ...

Successful negotiation involves give and take

Monday, September 25, 2006

By Dian Hymer
Inman News

Negotiating a purchase contract isn't easy when home sellers cling to expectations based on last year's real estate market, and buyers refuse to overpay. Equally challenging are the renegotiations that can occur after buyers do inspections.

How do you successfully navigate the second round of negotiations? The goal is to come away from the bargaining table feeling that you've struck a good deal, ideally without alienating the sellers. After all, you may need to impose on the sellers for return visits to the property before closing. And, you hope the sellers will leave the place clean and tidy.

Before you begin a dialogue with the seller about who is to fix what, you should have a clear understanding of your purchase agreement. For example, does the seller warrant the condition of the property, or are you buying the property in its present condition?

Let's say the contract states that the seller warrants the roof is free of leaks. You ask a roofing contractor to inspect the roof. He says there is evidence of past leaks and recommends replacing the roof before the next rainy season.

In this case, it's reasonable to expect the seller to provide a leak-free roof at closing; it's in the contract. However, this may not mean that you're entitled to a new roof. Most sellers would seek a second opinion. Another roofer might recommend patching rather than replacing.

Transactions can break down over differences of opinion about the extent of a problem and the appropriate remedy. It helps if both parties have open minds and a willingness to cooperate on reaching a mutually satisfactory solution.

In a few cases, a seller warranty is not a part of the contract. Instead, the buyer agrees to purchase the property in its present condition subject to inspections.

Depending on how the inspection contingency is written, the buyer may have the unilateral right to withdraw from the contract and have his deposit returned, without even giving the seller the opportunity to repair defects. Likewise, the sellers may be under no obligation to make repairs. If a good faith effort is not made to work out a solution to property problems, the deal is off and the buyer's deposit will probably have to be returned.

Negotiations over inspection issues often fall apart because one party feels that the other is taking unfair advantage. A successful negotiation involves give and take.

Many people think it's acceptable to ask home sellers to repair health and safety issues. Even so, some sellers refuse to pay if they have lived comfortably with these issues for years with no problems.

Sellers may feel a buyer is negotiating in bad faith is they ask sellers to pay to correct a defect that they were aware of before they made their offer.

Suppose you are buying "as is." You signed a seller disclosure that said the roof needed to be replaced. An estimate to replace the roof was included with the disclosure. When you removed your inspection contingency, you made it conditioned on the sellers replacing the roof.

This kind of a request would enflame some sellers. Emotions can run high during a residential home purchase transaction, particularly if the sellers are still occupying the property.

Sellers are often offended when buyers lose sight of the big picture and insist that the seller take care of minor defects. It's best to focus on the major issues.

THE CLOSING: Make sure you understand what happens if the sellers turn down your requests to repair defects, particularly if you don't want to lose the house. In California's purchase contract, the seller can't simply cancel the contract if he has a beef with the buyer. The seller must issue a 24-hour notice to give the buyer a chance to perform.

Hymer is author of "House Hunting, The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers" and "Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide," Chronicle Books.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Here are some tips on hiring a listing agent in today's market ...

Good agent, inspection among keys to pricing right

Friday, September 22, 2006

By Robert J. Bruss
Inman News

Just in case you haven't been paying attention, most cities are now in a "buyer's market" for home sales. That means there are more houses and condos listed for sale than there are qualified home buyers actively in the market. Nationally, home sales volume is down about 10 percent compared with 2005.

The best way to tell if your area is in a buyer's or seller's market is to check the average number of days homes are on the market before selling. When this number rises above 60 days, it's definitely a buyer's market. That means it's a great time to be a buyer, but not such a great time to be a home seller.

Another method is to look at the number of months' supply of homes for sale at the current sales pace. Just divide the number of local homes sold during the last 30 days into the number of homes listed for sale. If the result is more than a six-month supply of homes, the oversupply of listed homes shows it's a buyer's market.

Fall is usually the second-best season to sell a home (spring is the best because that is when the largest number of prospective home buyers are in the market). But 2006 is proving to be unusual.

The number of homes listed for sale in most cities is at or near an all-time record high. The result is prospective buyers know they can negotiate hard over price and terms.

For example, a few days ago a Realtor told me about his $1 million house listing where a buyer offered $800,000. Normally, the seller would be insulted. Instead, his seller counteroffered at $950,000, a $50,000 price reduction. But, according to the Realtor, the buyer wants a bigger price reduction.

THE FIRST STEP TO A SUCCESSFUL HOME SALE. If you seriously need to sell your house or condo, and are not just "testing" to see what price you might get, the first step is to get your home into tip-top, near-model-home condition. Most buyers don't want to buy a fixer-upper; they prefer to turn the key in the door and move in.

Cleaning, repairing and painting are the most profitable actions to take. Install new light fixtures and new carpets or flooring if needed. But don't waste money on major renovation, which you won't get to enjoy and buyer prospects might not like.

If you have lots of unneeded "junk" you don't want to move, September and October are ideal times to hold weekend garage sales. Better yet, call it an "estate sale."

THE SECOND STEP IS HIRING THE BEST LISTING AGENT. Today's home-sale market is not a good time to be a do-it-yourself "for sale by owner" home seller. The reason is there is so much competition from serious home sellers whose listings are professionally marketed through the local MLS (multiple listing service).

Most MLS agents also put their listings on the Internet at www.Realtor.com and other Web sites where more than 80 percent of today's home buyers begin their searches, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Before selecting the best listing agent, smart sellers interview three or more successful agents who sell homes in their vicinity. Successful home sellers should understand they are hiring an individual listing agent, not the impersonal brokerage with the well-known name on the agent's door or the fancy franchise name with expensive image advertising.

Smart home sellers ask the agents interviewed lots of questions. Ten examples include:

1. What are the names, addresses and phone numbers of your five most recent home sellers?
2. If I list my home with you, what price will you get for it in today's market?
3. What is your minimum listing term?
4. How long have you been selling homes in this area?
5. Do you sell homes full time?
6. What professional courses and designations have you completed?
7. How many listings do you have now?
8. What is your written marketing plan for my home?
9. What sales commission do you suggest?
10. Do you recommend "staging" my home?

As part of their listing presentations, each of the three or more agents interviewed should anticipate these questions. The best agents will present you with a written CMA (comparative market analysis) showing recent nearby comparable home sales prices to justify their estimate of your home's market value.

Sharp agents will suggest a 90-day listing. If the agent asks for a longer term, be sure it includes an unconditional cancellation clause after 90 days just in case you chose a bad agent.

As for the sales commission, although 5.1 percent is the national average according to Real Trends, in today's market it often pays to raise the commission to get buyer's agents to show and sell your home first. Low commissions to buyer's agents often result in no sales.

Although agents being interviewed will be reluctant to criticize your house or condo, be sure to ask if the agent recommends "staging" the home to make it appear more attractive. Staging a home means bringing in a professional "stager" to make the home more marketable.

Stagers often suggest removing old-fashioned furniture clutter during the sales period and renting more contemporary furnishings. An excellent new book on this topic is "Home Staging" by Barb Schwarz, available in stock or by special order at local bookstores, libraries and www.Amazon.com.

THE THIRD STEP IS TO HAVE YOUR HOME PROFESSIONALLY INSPECTED. After selecting the best listing agent, but before exposing your home to the market, be sure to obtain all the customary local inspections, such as for termites, energy efficiency and building-code compliance. Your listing agent will know what's required.

Although not required, a professional home inspection avoids surprises later. I recommend hiring a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). The cost is around $300 and takes two to three hours.

Be sure to attend the inspection to discuss any defects discovered. Then you can decide if you want to repair them or merely disclose them to buyers and let the buyer make the repairs.

If the repair cost is minor, it's usually best to have repairs completed before listing the home, thus removing possible buyer objections. Local ASHI members can be found at www.ashi.com or 1-800-743-2744.

THE FOURTH STEP IS TO SET A REALISTIC ASKING PRICE. After getting your home ready to sell, hiring the best listing agent and having all professional inspections completed so you can disclose your home's defects, it's time to set a realistic asking price.

With the help of your listing agent, study those CMAs prepared by all the agents you interviewed. Consider whether the local market for homes in your price range is rising or falling. In most markets, prices have leveled off from what was attainable a year or two ago. If you really want your home to get sold quickly, don't get greedy.

Asking a few thousand dollars less than your closest competitor homes can mean your home sells while the others don't. Holding your home an extra month or two often costs far more than setting a realistic asking price.

Here's another asking price secret: Set your asking price $1,000 below threshold amounts. For example, if your home is worth around $300,000, set the asking price at $299,000 rather than $300,000 or higher. The reason is buyers who tell their agents they will pay up to $300,000 will then see your home on their MLS computer search. But if you set the asking price at $300,000 or above, those buyers might not learn about your home.

THE FIFTH STEP IS TO CONSIDER ALL PURCHASE OFFERS. Many home sellers are insulted if they receive a written purchase offer substantially below their asking price. Some sellers and their listing agents won't even make counteroffers.

That is a major negotiation mistake. Always make a counteroffer to keep communications open with that prospective buyer. Negotiations often take several weeks, back and forth, before determining either a sale will result or the parties are too far apart in price or terms. But unless the seller counteroffers every purchase offer, even a "low ball" offer, you will never know if a sale can result.

After buyer and seller sign a firm purchase contract, the sale isn't over. This can be the most difficult time period. You and your listing agent must keep on top of deadlines, especially to be certain the buyer follows though on obtaining the mortgage appraisal and other essentials.

Sellers should be aware the buyer might be encountering the dread "buyer's remorse" disease. For this reason, it is essential for sellers and their listing agents to keep in touch with buyers and their buyer's agent to be certain the sale closes on schedule successfully.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Here's an article about options for home sellers before they buy ...

Friday, September 22, 2006

Sellers who haven’t sold resort to bridge loans and other options to buy their new homes before selling the old ones

BY RANDI F. MARSHALL
Newsday Staff Writer

At a time when it may seem easy to purchase a home, potential buyers may want to jump on a good deal, but in a real estate market that has slowed, they are finding a stumbling block: Selling their current home isn't as easy as they had expected.

Suddenly, these buyers are facing the prospect of sitting down at the closing table with checks to write and papers to sign without having sold -- and they need the money to buy.

It seems more and more home buyers are finding themselves in this situation, and they quickly need a way to bridge the time gap.

Although no one keeps detailed data on the subject, mortgage professionals say they're finding more borrowers in need of a bridge loan, as it is called, or a related product such as a home equity line of credit, which allows them to have the funds to buy the home they want while waiting to sell the one they own.

"Obviously, when it was a seller's market, it was never an issue," says Ellen Bitton, president and chief executive of Park Avenue Mortgage Group, a broker in Manhattan and Bridgehampton. "Now, people are getting a little more concerned."

A number of options

A traditional bridge loan often comes with a high interest rate, several points and a short term, because the bank expects the borrower to pay it off fairly quickly. It's the product consumers first think of when they need the money to finance their purchase but can't sell on time. But mortgage experts say they're now advising clients to choose from a number of other options.

"Nobody's expecting their house to languish on the market for six months," says David Blumenthal, general sales manager at First Allied Mortgage, a Jericho-based mortgage banker affiliated with Century 21 Laffey Associates. "But there are always ways around it."

Like many mortgage experts, Blumenthal no longer recommends the typical bridge loan. It's too expensive and too risky, he says. Instead, home buyers can turn to home equity lines, likely on the home they are planning to buy but sometimes on the one they hope to sell, or they can borrow on their 401(k) plans.

Of course, none of this is easy or without risk, because homeowners in this situation will likely have to carry two monthly payments -- their mortgage and the new loan -- for an undetermined period.

"You've got to be careful," says David Peskin, president of Mortgage Warehouse, a Melville banker. "If you're not economically set, and if you don't have enough reserves to carry two homes for at least a year or however long it could take, you could be in trouble."

Marianne and Charles Webber never expected to be paying on two loans for nine months - without an end in sight. When the Port Washington couple first found the house they wanted last November, they pounced on it. They quickly put the three-bedroom home they were living in, also in Port Washington, on the market for $979,000.

But there were no takers. The market was just starting to shift, giving buyers an edge. When the Webbers needed to close on their purchase in January, they were stuck - and took out a $200,000 home equity line of credit, at about 7 percent interest, on the house they are still trying to sell. That acted as their bridge and allowed them to close the deal on their next home. They moved in May.

So their other house, only a few minutes away, stands empty. In its nine months on the market, the Webbers have reduced the house's price twice, now listing it with Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty at $789,000.

Unexpected development

"I didn't expect it would take this long," says Marianne Webber, 37. "It's frustrating for me because it's hard to market it."

The Webbers, who have an 18-month-old son and co-own a Manhattan garment manufacturer called Webberwear, hope to pay off the home equity line as soon as they sell. For now, they're handling the monthly payments, and, Marianne Webber says, still think they made the right call.

"It's so hard to pay your mortgage no matter what, so you might as well live in a house you want to live in," she says, adding it helps that the interest on the loans is tax-deductible.

Nonetheless, that choice isn't for everyone. Some can't afford two mortgages, and even if they can, a life change such as a job loss could quickly push them over the edge, experts say. "It could be financial suicide," says Bob Moulton, who heads Americana Mortgage Group, a Manhasset broker.

Today, nearly a year into the housing market slowdown, many financial experts say they simply don't recommend buying before selling anymore.

"You're in a better position always if you sell your home first, particularly in this market," says Francesca Blass, the Daniel Gale agent working with the Webbers, who notes that she has other clients also carrying two mortgages because they bought before they could sell.

Just a year ago, some experts would have recommended the opposite: to buy before you sell, notes Beth Marten, who owns Home Buyers' Resource Center and another broker, Mortgage 1,2,3, in Baldwin.

"Find a buyer first," Marten says firmly, in a change of tune. "If you can't do that, then make sure there's enough equity in your home to get into the next one."

That's particularly true because a home's selling price might end up lower than anticipated, leaving a homeowner without the funds to pay back an extra loan.

Feeling stuck

Babylon resident Barbara Michaels has listened to Marten's advice, but she doesn't want to wait until her house sells. With a 2-year-old son, Michaels says, she and her husband, Michael, don't want to end up renting or rushing to buy an imperfect house.

"We're kind of stuck here, because the market is really very flat," says Barbara Michaels, 43, who is hoping to move to Pennsylvania, Delaware or Maryland. Now, Michaels, who is working with Mortgage 1,2,3, is leaning toward getting a large home equity line of credit that would give the family the security to be able to buy as soon as they find the house they want - and then worry about selling.

"It makes me feel nervous, but I also know that if that house did come up ... somehow, we would make it," she adds, noting that her family has built up enough equity to handle a purchase elsewhere.

Taking it slow

Mona Malmsheimer, a Bayport resident, put her home up for sale in June for $839,000. Malmsheimer, who said she hopes to move to Delaware or South Carolina, isn't even looking for a home to buy until she gets a buyer herself.

"I like to know how much money I have before I spend it," says Malmsheimer, who is retired. "It gives me a better bargaining chip."

And she is in no rush.

"If it doesn't sell this year, it'll sell next year," she adds.

Those who feel a time crunch should prepare for the possibility of needing a bridge, even if they may never use it. Don Romano, a Lake Success mortgage broker, says he sets up a home equity line of credit for his clients before they even put their homes up for sale.

"They effectively have a bridge in place if they need it," Romano says. "We always did that as a matter of course for anybody who is selling and buying."

Consumers who don't have such a credit line in place can turn to their retirement accounts or, in what may be the best option, monetary gifts from family or friends.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Here are the latest real estate market statistics ...

Number of sales drops nearly 25 percent from year ago

Wednesday, September 19, 2006

John Karevoll
DQ News

La Jolla -- Home sales in Southern California continued at their slowest pace in nine years as price levels increased but sales volume dropped, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 25,628 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in August. That was up 12.8% from 22,712 in July, and down 25.3 percent from 34,292 for August a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

Sales volume has declined on a year-over-year basis the last nine months. Last month's sales count was the lowest for any August since 22,308 homes were sold in August 1997. DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988, August sales have varied from 12,769 in 1992 to 35,339 in 1988. An average August has 25,845 sales.

In Riverside County, 4,879 homes sold in August, down 24.4 percent from the 6,452 homes sold a year earlier. The median price increased to $415,000, up 7 percent from August 2005's $382,000, according to Dataquick.

"There's an awful lot of moaning going on right now. Potential buyers and sellers need to be careful what they believe and exercise common sense in their decision making. The market is certainly off from its frenzy, but we have to remember that it takes much more downward pressure to push prices down than upward pressure to push them up. Prices have doubled the last four-and-a-half years. So does the market keep all of that gain, or only ninety percent?," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

The median price paid for a Southland home was $489,000 last month. That was down 0.6 percent from July's $492,000, and up 2.7 percent from $476,000 in August last year. Last month's increase was the smallest since July 1999, when the $193,000 median also rose 2.7 percent from $188,000 a year earlier.

DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

The typical monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $2,339 last month, down from $2,437 the previous month and up from $2,123 a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are about 8.7 percent above typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle.

Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. Financing with adjustable-rate mortgages has trended lower during the past year. Foreclosure activity is increasing but is still low in a historical context. Down-payment sizes are stable, as are flipping rates and non-owner-occupied buying activity, DataQuick reported.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Here's an article about the state's fight to reduce insurance rates ...

State Farm, USAA agree to reduce rates -- Allstate files for increase

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Inman News

California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi today announced that State Farm Insurance has requested a 10.6 percent reduction in homeowners' insurance rates.

The Department of Insurance in June ordered four major insurers to justify their rates after a study alleged they had been paying far less to resolve claims than they collected in premiums.

USAA filed for a 22 percent reduction in August, while Allstate is seeking a 12.2 percent increase. Garamendi said State Farm's move would save about 1.2 million homeowners an average of $103 a year.

The California Department of Insurance is also seeking to reduce title insurance rates, proposing a 23 percent rollback in March that would save consumers $1 billion a year. Title insurers say the state lacks the authority to cap rates unless there is a lack of competition in the industry.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Here's an article about how dropping interest rates have rekindled the real estate market ...

Borrowers eye home purchases as rates fall

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Inman News

Overall mortgage applications were up 1.8 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, as refinancing activity dropped for the first time since July, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased by 3.7 percent to 389.7 from 375.9 the previous week, while the refinance index decreased by 0.9 percent to 1,594.7 from 1,609.2 one week earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 41 percent of total applications from 41.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 26.2 percent of total applications from 26.8 percent the previous week, and is now at its lowest level since October 2003.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.31 percent from 6.39 percent, with points including the origination fee increasing to 1.1 from 1.03 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans.

Points, which are fees charged by lenders for loan processing, are expressed as a percent of the total loan amount.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.97 percent from 6.06 percent. Points including the origination fee increased to 1.14 from 1.06 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 5.91 percent from 5.97 percent, with points including the origination fee decreasing to 0.83 from 0.91 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans.

Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association is a national association representing the real estate finance industry. The survey covers approximately 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.

Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula

Bedrooms: 4. Baths: 3. Home size: 3,270 sf. Lot size: 0.16 acre.
Year built: 2000. Pool: No. Garage: 3-Car. List Price: $589,900

For 24-hour recorded information about this home, call 1-800-941-1900, ext 6789

Your home could be next. To get a free market analysis, or for other local real estate imformation, call Scott Chappell & Brian Bean's 24-hour hotline at (800) 941-1900. It's a community service offered by one of Riverside's leading real estate teams.

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Labels: Corona, Foreclosure, Home Prices, Inland Empire, Loan Modification, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Real Estate, Riverside, Short Sales, Statistics, Temecula