Orange County Coastal Real Estate

Have Courage. You are capable of more than you know.

2011-08-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

In times of uncertainty, remember to have courage. You are capable of more than you'll ever know. Don't let fear keep you from being amazing in every way. If you are unhappy with ANYTHING in your life, have the courage to make the necessary changes. Face your fears, and believe in yourself! "If you can see it, and you believe it, you can be it."

This is a picture of me facing my fears head-on at the very top of the world famous Half Dome in Yosemite, July 2011.

I am working to make changes in my life to where all of the major areas are in balance. For me, I have not yet realized my fullest potential in my career, but believe me, I will. I am determined to get whatever credentials are necessary to find a place in the workforce for myself where I can best showcase my talents and make a positive difference in the world. I will keep looking until I have found my place. I understand this place may change from time to time, and I will do everything I can to stay flexible enough to realize when it is time for a change. Right now it is time, and I am ready. "Good things come to those who are prepared." I believe good things will come to me.

I BELIEVE!

I believe in myself, in God, and in the good in all beings.

Following passage by Marianne Williamson:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,

Our presence automatically liberates others."

Happy New Year!

2011-01-28T22:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you All. Make this year great!!
I believe this is the year for adventures. I've been actively exploring and experiencing life to its fullest. I hope you are, too. The time is now! Live excellently.
Love and Light ~Julie

Recycle Your Thanksgiving Grease

2010-11-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

C.A.R. Green Tip of the Week: Thanksgiving grease

Recycling cooking grease, especially if you're a fan of those giant turkey fryers, is a better option than clogging sinks and sewers. One use for the goo is powering biodiesel vehicles. Type in “cooking oils” at www.earth911.com to find recycling centers.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

BEST DEAL IN NEWPORT BEACH!!

2010-10-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

OPEN HOUSE -- SATURDAY 10/16/2010 -- 11 AM - 3 PM

Now is a great time to buy a home.

2010-10-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

Time Magazine was very pessimistic in its recent cover piece that called into question the benefits of homeownership. The real facts are now is a great time to buy. Moreover, tomorrow will be a great time to own, as the fundamental strength of homeownership has not changed in 100 years.

Why is now a great time to buy?

Buyers can get a great deal. Prices are down 30 percent on average, and are at a level that makes sense for potential buyer’s income.

Mortgages are cheap. At 4.3 percent on average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, buyer’s costs to own are down by at least a fifth from two years ago. Buyers can get their dream home using someone else’s money!

Tax savings are still prevalent. The combination of mortgage interest and other deduction can bring the cost of owning a home below the cost of renting a comparable residence.

It will be yours! The one benefit of owning that never changes is your ability to make it your own (remodel, landscaping, colors, etc.). How many landlords will let you do that?

Buyers can get better homes in this market. In some markets, it's simply the case that the nicest places are for sale and their prices are significantly less than 2-5 years ago.

Owning a home offers some inflation protection. Historically, appreciation over time outpaces inflation.

Buying a home is a capital investment. When the economy picks up, a buyer will benefit of the appreciation and be living in the home of their choice.

Buying a home is essentially forced savings. Each month a party of the buyer’s payment goes to equity.

The choice of inventory is incredible now. There are some 4 million homes available today -- about a year's supply. Now is the time for a buyer to get the home of their dreams.

Sooner or later the market will clear out the current inventory. The U.S. is expected to grow by another 100 million people in 40 years. These people have to live somewhere, so demand will eventually outpace supply.

Everything is cyclical. History shows that what goes down eventually comes back up due to improvements in the economy and changes in demographics. When investors and builders are buying – this is a great indicator for other buyers to jump in. Owning real estate is still the best investment anyone can make over a 2-5 year period.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Brett Arends (9/16/10)

7 Major Lenders Ordered To Review Foreclosure Procedures.

2010-09-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, September 30, 2010; 8:34 PM

A top federal bank regulator said Thursday that he has directed seven of the nation's largest lenders to review their foreclosure processes after learning about the widespread mishandling of homeowner evictions by the industry.

John Walsh, acting director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, told lawmakers during a hearing on the financial regulatory overhaul enacted this summer that some lenders "clearly had deficiencies" in their system for foreclosures.

The banks contacted by regulators include J.P. Morgan Chase, which announced Wednesday that it was freezing 56,000 foreclosures after finding errors in its preparation of documents, according to OCC spokesman Kevin Mukri. Other lenders contacted include Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.

"We both want to see that they fix the processing problems but also to look to see whether there is specific harm [that has been caused] in individual cases," Walsh said.

Revelations about widespread paperwork problems with foreclosures led Ally Financial, another major lender, to suspend evictions last week in 23 states where a court order is required to seize a property. Since then, the industry's handling of foreclosures has come under close scrutiny from regulators, with attorneys general in several other states calling for Ally to halt foreclosures.

The paperwork problems range from potentially forged documents to bank employees who never read borrowers' files before signing off on an eviction.

In J.P. Morgan's case, Mukri said the bank "determined that its affidavit procedures were non-compliant with foreclosure processing requirements in some states." He added that although J.P. Morgan has fixed internal procedures, the "negative impact or harm to customers has not been determined at this point."

Mukri would not comment about other banks but said that the OCC has teams permanently stationed at each one and that those teams have been in close contact with senior management at the banks to ensure the reviews are completed in a timely manner.

Citibank declined to comment on the OCC's request but said it has strong training to ensure that employees in its foreclosure group are aware that they should have personal knowledge of the information in documents that require this before signing them and that staffing levels are adequate to allow them to review them properly.

There was no immediate comment from the other banks on Thursday.

Walsh made the remarks in response to questions from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) about the spreading problem with foreclosure processing.

Referencing a front-page article in The Washington Post, Dodd said the stories about lenders initiating improper foreclosures "was very troubling" and asked the nation's top bank regulators to comment on the matter during a hearing on financial regulatory reform.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila C. Bair and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who also testified during the hearing, each weighed in on the problem.

Bair, whose agency insures deposits at thousands of U.S. banks, called the issue of document processing errors "troubling" and said "it's just a further indication of how wrong we went with the mortgage origination process and securitization process."

Bernanke said that "it's been a managerial challenge to the banks to deal with these foreclosure modifications." And, he added, "they haven't always met that challenge."

10 Reasons why it's good to buy a home.

2010-09-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

10 Reasons To Buy a Home

by Brett Arends
Thursday, September 16, 2010
provided by
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Brett Arends explains why owning a home is a good thing.

Enough with the doom and gloom about homeownership.

Sure, maybe there's more pain to come in the housing market. But when Time magazine starts running covers that declare "Owning a home may no longer make economic sense," it's time to say: Enough is enough. This is what "capitulation" looks like. Everyone has given up.

After all, at the peak of the bubble five years ago, Time had a different take. "Home Sweet Home," declared its cover then, as it celebrated the boom and asked: "Will your house make your rich?"

But it's not enough just to be contrarian. So here are 10 reasons why it's good to buy a home.

1. You can get a good deal. Especially if you play hardball. This is a buyer's market. Most of the other buyers have now vanished, as the tax credits on purchases have just expired. We're four to five years into the biggest housing bust in modern history. And prices have come down a long way— about 30% from their peak, according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index, which tracks home prices in 20 big cities. Yes, it's mixed. New York is only down 20%. Arizona has halved. Will prices fall further? Sure, they could. You'll never catch the bottom. It doesn't really matter so much in the long haul.

Where is fair value? Fund manager Jeremy Grantham at GMO, who predicted the bust with remarkable accuracy, said two years ago that home prices needed to fall another 17% to reach fair value in relation to household incomes. Case-Shiller since then: Down 18%.

2. Mortgages are cheap. You can get a 30-year loan for around 4.3%. What's not to like? These are the lowest rates on record. As recently as two years ago they were about 6.3%. That drop slashes your monthly repayment by a fifth. If inflation picks up, you won't see these mortgage rates again in your lifetime. And if we get deflation, and rates fall further, you can refi.

3. You'll save on taxes. You can deduct the mortgage interest from your income taxes. You can deduct your real estate taxes. And you'll get a tax break on capital gains—if any—when you sell. Sure, you'll need to do your math. You'll only get the income tax break if you itemize your deductions, and many people may be better off taking the standard deduction instead. The breaks are more valuable the more you earn, and the bigger your mortgage. But many people will find that these tax breaks mean owning costs them less, often a lot less, than renting.

4. It'll be yours. You can have the kitchen and bathrooms you want. You can move the walls, build an extension—zoning permitted—or paint everything bright orange. Few landlords are so indulgent; for renters, these types of changes are often impossible. You'll feel better about your own place if you own it than if you rent. Many years ago, when I was working for a political campaign in England, I toured a working-class northern town. Mrs. Thatcher had just begun selling off public housing to the tenants. "You can tell the ones that have been bought," said my local guide. "They've painted the front door. It's the first thing people do when they buy." It was a small sign that said something big.

5. You'll get a better home. In many parts of the country it can be really hard to find a good rental. All the best places are sold as condos. Money talks. Once again, this is a case by case issue: In Miami right now there are so many vacant luxury condos that owners will rent them out for a fraction of the cost of owning. But few places are so favored. Generally speaking, if you want the best home in the best neighborhood, you're better off buying.

6. It offers some inflation protection. No, it's not perfect. But studies by Professor Karl "Chip" Case (of Case-Shiller), and others, suggest that over the long-term housing has tended to beat inflation by a couple of percentage points a year. That's valuable inflation insurance, especially if you're young and raising a family and thinking about the next 30 or 40 years. In the recent past, inflation-protected government bonds, or TIPS, offered an easier form of inflation insurance. But yields there have plummeted of late. That also makes homeownership look a little better by contrast.

7. It's risk capital. No, your home isn't the stock market and you shouldn't view it as the way to get rich. But if the economy does surprise us all and start booming, sooner or later real estate prices will head up again, too. One lesson from the last few years is that stocks are incredibly hard for most normal people to own in large quantities—for practical as well as psychological reasons. Equity in a home is another way of linking part of your portfolio to the long-term growth of the economy—if it happens—and still managing to sleep at night.

8. It's forced savings. If you can rent an apartment for $2,000 month instead of buying one for $2,400 a month, renting may make sense. But will you save that $400 for your future? A lot of people won't. Most, I dare say. Once again, you have to do your math, but the part of your mortgage payment that goes to principal repayment isn't a cost. You're just paying yourself by building equity. As a forced monthly saving, it's a good discipline.

9. There is a lot to choose from. There is a glut of homes in most of the country. The National Association of Realtors puts the current inventory at around 4 million homes. That's below last year's peak, but well above typical levels, and enough for about a year's worth of sales. More keeping coming onto the market, too, as the banks slowly unload their inventory of unsold properties. That means great choice, as well as great prices.

10. Sooner or later, the market will clear. Demand and supply will meet. The population is forecast to grow by more than 100 million people over the next 40 years. That means maybe 40 million new households looking for homes. Meanwhile, this housing glut will work itself out. Many of the homes will be bought. But many more will simply be destroyed—either deliberately, or by inaction. This is already happening. Even two years ago, when I toured the housing slump in western Florida, I saw bankrupt condo developments that were fast becoming derelict. And, finally, a lot of the "glut" simply won't matter: It's concentrated in a few areas, like Florida and Nevada. Unless you live there, the glut won't have any long-term impact on housing supply in your town.

OUTSTANDING DEAL IN NEWPORT BEACH!

2010-08-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY 10/9/2010 11 AM - 3 PM

Happy Thursday!

2010-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Remember to smile today, because your actions directly and indirectly affect everyone around you. Happy Thursday!

~Julie

July Foreclosures Drop Nearly 10% from a Year Ago: RealtyTrac

2010-08-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010, 11:00 pm

Foreclosure filings in July dropped 9.7% from the same month last year, the second straight month of yearly declines, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.

After a 1% yearly increase in May, filings declined 6.9% on an annual basis in June and the nearly 10% drop in July. There were 325,229 properties that received a foreclosure filing in July, a 4% increase from May. It also marks the 17th consecutive month that foreclosure activity exceeded 300,000, said James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac.

Saccacio added that default notices were down from the previous year for the sixth straight month in July as servicers and lenders have escalated repossessions (REOs) to near-record levels.

In July 97,123 properties received a default notice, a 28% decrease from July 2009 but a 1% increase from the previous month. Default notices are down 32% from the 142,064 peak in April 2009.

But 92,858 properties went back to the banks as REO in July, the second highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began tracking them in April 2005. It's 1% below the peak in May when there were 93,777 REO properties reported.

Nevada holds the highest foreclosure rate of any other state for 43rd consecutive month. There, one in 82 houses received a filing in July, and 13,727 total properties received a filing. That is a 7% uptick from last month but a 30% decrease from last year. July marks the 10th straight month of yearly decreases for Nevada.

Arizona held the second highest foreclosure rate. There, one in every 167 houses received a foreclosure filing, even though filings dropped year-over-year for the sixth straight month. Florida was third, where one in 171 houses received a filing. California registered the fourth highest, where one in 200 houses received a filing.

On the metropolitan-statistical area (MSA) level, the top-10 areas are showing a "bumpy downward trend," according to RealtyTrac. While those areas all showed decreases from last year in July, five of them had decreases from the previous month. The Las Vegas-Paradise area, where one in 71 houses received a foreclosure filing in July, had a 9% increase from the previous month.

Filings in the Cape Coral-Fort Meyers, Fla. area increased 21% from June, and the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area had a 19% climb, the two biggest increases in the country.

by JON PRIOR

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY 8/14/2010

2010-08-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

Please come visit my open house in Newport Beach Saturday 8/14, from 11 am - 3 pm. Amazing deal. Over 6000 square feet of living space for only $1,999,999.

526 Riverside Ave
Newport Beach, CA 92663

Live, Love, Yoga & Real Estate

2010-08-09T01:05:00.000-07:00

I think I'm going to rename this blog, "Live, Love, Yoga, Real Estate." It kind of goes hand in hand with my old "mind, body & business" motto. I've grown a lot since then though, and I'm much more than just mind, body and business these days. I'm also spirit, love, health and laughter. On a side note, I really wish I could add music to this blog. I have a great Muse song playing in the background, and it sets the mood perfectly. Anyway, not to digress, I am changing things. I'm not just going to do what I think everybody else wants me to do. I'm going to try being me for a change. I started this blog to be purely business related. But, then I got bored. I'm much more than just that, so now I'm just going to post whatever moves me at each moment. Don't worry, there will be plenty of real estate updates, but lots of other stuff, too. And yes, I'm going to add yoga into the equation. This may or may not work, but my next question is for who? My potential prospective clients? Well, being that I have 3 followers so far and one is my husband (and I've probably had this blog for about a year), I'm not sure what I've been doing up to this point has been working so well. So, now I'm just going to have fun, and make this a true Web Log. I'll say this in advance, if I offend anyone ever...view something else. Finally, if anyone is ever looking for a different kind of Realtor, give me a call: 949-922-1708.

2010-08-09T00:34:00.000-07:00

I'm Back!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-09T00:04:00.000-07:00

My listing at 526 Riverside is now ONLY $1,999,999. This is unbelievable. This property was originally listed at 3 million dollars! This home is now priced lower than the bank owned distress sales. This property boasts over 6,075 square feet of living space, 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and it's located in the highly desirable enclave of Newport Heights. It will be held open every Saturday from 11 am - 3 pm. Please stop by, take a look, and make us an offer.

526 Riverside Ave
Newport Beach, CA 92663

On a more personal note: after taking a short break from real estate, I'm diving back in head first. Only this time, I'm wearing protective eye wear, ear plugs, and a wet suit. I'm doing it differently. I plan on taking everything I know and that I've learned throughout the years and integrating it into everything that I do. I will make real estate work for me instead of me working for real estate. Most of all, it's got to be fun, because if it's not, I won't do it. I believe that the work you do can be very fulfilling. Once it stops being fulfilling, then something's got to change. Even the best job in the world can become cumbersome if you're not careful. Part time, I teach yoga (my dream job), but even that can feel like work sometimes. This time around, I want all of my work to feel less like work, and I plan on making this happen by setting boundaries. I'm not going to go into much detail about this, but so far so good. I'm smiling a lot lately. I hope you do, too.

New Lower Price & New Look

2009-08-31T15:18:00.001-07:00

My Listing on 526 Riverside is the BEST value in Newport Heights. It has been improved from the inside out and has a new sexy look as well as a new sexy price. At 6075 square feet, it now is only $2,350,000. We have not seen prices this low in decades. It really is an outstanding deal. MUST SEE. For more information, please call 949-922-1708.

Home Prices in 20 US Cities Fall Less Than Forecast

2009-08-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fall Less Than Forecast

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Home prices in 20 U.S. cities fell in June at a slower pace than forecast, signaling the real- estate crisis that triggered the worst recession since the 1930s is dissipating.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index declined 15.4 percent from a year earlier, the smallest drop since April 2008, the group said today in New York. The gauge rose from the prior month by the most in four years.

Lower prices and government stimulus efforts have made homes more affordable to first-time buyers, spurring increases in sales that will eventually stem the slide in property values. Gains in housing and stocks will speed the process of restoring the record loss of wealth that has shackled consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy.

“The sharp freefall in prices is over,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. “People are entering the market and that is starting to normalize prices. It’s a clear positive.”

A report from the Conference Board showed consumer confidence rebounded this month more than economists forecast. The New York-based private research group’s measure climbed to 54.1 from 47.4 in July as Americans became less concerned over job losses would keep mounting in coming months.

Stocks rose and Treasury securities fell after the reports provided additional evidence the economic slump was easing. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 1.1 percent to 1,036.97 at 10:01 a.m. in New York. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was 3.51 percent compared with 3.48 percent late yesterday.

The index was forecast to fall 16.4 percent after a 17 percent drop in the 12 months ended in May, according to the median forecast of 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates ranged from declines of 15.7 percent to 17.1 percent.

Year-over-year records began in 2001 and the gauge has fallen every month since January 2007.

From a month earlier, home prices climbed 1.4 percent in June, the second consecutive gain and the biggest since June 2005, today’s report showed. The figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal effects, so economists prefer to focus on year-over- year changes instead of month to month.

“We are seeing some positive signs,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P, said in a statement. “There are hints of an upward turn from a bottom.”

All of the 20 cities in the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed a year-over-year price decrease in June, led by a 32 percent plunge in Las Vegas. Dallas showed the smallest decline at 2.2 percent.

Compared with the prior month, 18 of the 20 areas covered showed an increase, while two showed a decrease. Cleveland and San Francisco had the biggest monthly gains.

Nationally, prices fell 14.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the smallest drop in a year, today’s report also showed. The measure increased 2.9 percent from the first quarter, the first gain in three years.

Foreclosures represent the biggest risk to a sustained improvement in values as more properties are thrown into an already flooded market. Americans fell behind on mortgage payments at a record pace last quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Aug. 20. The inventory of homes in foreclosure rose to the most in three decades of data, it said. Rising unemployment also may limit demand for housing.

At the same time, there are signs the worst of the crisis is over. Existing home sales in July jumped to the highest level in almost two years, boosted by lower prices, tax credits for first-time buyers and near-record-low borrowing costs, according to figures from the National Association of Realtors.

New-home sales, due tomorrow from the Commerce Department, probably rose in July for the fourth straight month, economists surveyed by Bloomberg project.

Demand has already improved enough for some construction companies to consider cutting back on discounts and incentives. Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder, said contracts rose in the third quarter from a year earlier for the first time since 2005.

“As the supply of unsold housing inventory shrinks nationwide, and if consumer confidence continues to improve, we should see stronger demand,” Robert Toll, chief executive officer of the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based company, said on an Aug. 12 conference call. “It has already positively impacted our pricing power as we are reducing incentives in many markets.”
Builder Index

The S&P builder supercomposite index is up 37 percent since the beginning of July as the housing outlook improved. The yield on Treasury securities has been little changed over that time even as the government sells more debt to finance its stimulus effort. The U.S. is auctioning $109 billion in notes over three days starting today, matching a record.

A home-price measure from the Federal Housing Finance Agency will also be issued later today. The national gauge has shown smaller losses than the S&P/Case-Shiller figures because it excludes houses bought with non-conventional mortgages. S&P/Case-Shiller includes those bought with non-conventional mortgages loans such as jumbo loans.

Robert Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC and a professor at Yale University, and Karl Case, an economics professor at Wellesley College, created the home-price index based on research from the 1980s.

By Shobhana Chandra
To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington at schandra1@bloomberg.net

New Federal Law Affecting Distressed Properties

2009-05-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

This week, President Barack Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 to help homeowners and lenders avoid foreclosure. Previously included in this bill was a measure to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage loans for principal residences, but the U.S. Senate did not pass this "cram-down" legislation.

The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 contains various new laws to address the national foreclosure crisis. Major provisions that may affect California REALTORS® and your clients include the following:

HOPE FOR HOMEOWNERS (H4H) REVAMPED: The new law loosens the H4H program requirements to help homeowners refinance out of their troubled mortgages and into more affordable, fixed-rate FHA-insured loans. Originally launched in October 2008, the H4H program intended to help 400,000 distressed homeowners, but in the program's first seven months, it only helped one family stay in its home. The maximum loan-to-value ratio for an FHA refinance is 96.5% of the appraised value. If refinance proceeds are insufficient to pay off existing liens, the existing lienholders must voluntarily agree to a short payoff, but a new inducement is an opportunity for them to share in the homeowner's equity. Other changes to the H4H program include monetary incentives for both the participating servicers of the existing loans and originators of the FHA refinance. Millionaire borrowers (with net worth over $1 million) are now excluded from the program. HUD will establish the requirements and standards to implement the H4H program as revised.

LONGER STAY FOR TENANTS OF FORECLOSED HOMES: Effective immediately, an REO lender or buyer who acquires title through a foreclosure sale must give at least a 90-day notice to terminate a bona fide tenant as defined. A 90-day notice to terminate is sufficient for a month-to-month tenant or if a new owner will occupy the property as a primary residence at the end of the 90 days. Otherwise, a tenant with a one year or other fixed-term lease with a remaining lease term exceeding 90 days can stay in the premises until the remaining lease term ends. This new 90-day notice requirement applies to foreclosures of a federally-related mortgage loan or residential real property, except for properties under rent control, rent-subsidized programs (such as Section 8), or other state laws that provide additional protections for tenants. This law expires on December 31, 2012.

NOTIFICATION OF TRANSFER OF MORTGAGE LOANS: The Truth in Lending Act now requires a lender to whom a mortgage loan is sold or otherwise transferred to notify the borrower in writing of such transfer within 30 days. The notice must include the new lender's identity, address, telephone number, authorized representative's contact information, and other relevant information. This measure should help alleviate the problem borrowers often face in determining who owns their mortgage loans.

Other provisions of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act include a 4-year extension of the $250,000 FDIC deposit insurance to December 31, 2013, protection for loan servicers who establish qualified loss mitigation plans from liability for an alleged breach of duty to maximize mortgage values for their investors, $130 million for foreclosure prevention counseling and education, and $2.2 billion to strengthen homeless programs.

President Obama has also signed into law the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA) which authorizes the Department of Justice to prosecute mortgage fraud crimes against private mortgage brokers and companies that previously were not regulated by the federal government. FERA also earmarks almost $500 million for federal enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud and other fraud crimes.

Realegal® is published by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, a trade association representing more than 175,000 REALTORS® statewide. Edited by: Stella Ling, stellal@car.org

April Consumer Confidence Jumps!

2009-05-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

Consumer confidence rose more than 12 points in April to 39.2 (1985=100), compared with 26.9 in March, according to a recent Conference Board report. The Board’s Present Situation Index increased to 23.7 in April from 21.9 for the previous month, while its Expectations Index jumped more than 19 points to 49.5 in April compared with 30.2 in March."Consumer confidence rose in April to its highest reading in 2009, driven primarily by a significant improvement in the short-term outlook,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “The Present Situation Index posted a moderate gain, a sign that conditions have not deteriorated further, and may even moderately improve, in the second quarter. The sharp increase in the Expectations Index suggests that consumers believe the economy is nearing a bottom, however, this Index still remains well below levels associated with strong economic growth." Consumers' short-term outlook improved significantly in April. Those anticipating business conditions will worsen over the next six months declined to 25.3 percent from 37.8 percent, according to the report, while those expecting conditions to improve increased to 15.6 percent from 9.6 percent in March.

Courtesy of the California Association of Realtors

Excellent News Via the Wallstreet Journal 4/23/09

2009-04-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Falling home prices are starting to ignite bidding wars in a few parts of the U.S. as first-time buyers compete with investors for the same foreclosed properties.

In most of the nation, the supply of unsold homes continues to swamp demand. Home prices in many markets continue to fall, and foreclosures, which slowed in late 2008 as mortgage companies delayed taking action against delinquent borrowers, are picking up again.
But real-estate brokers say multiple offers on certain homes have recently become more common in parts of California and Arizona and the Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan areas.

Where Housing Is Headed

See changes in the housing markets in 28 major metro areas.

Early Signs of a Turnaround?

Some home buyers are bidding against each other on foreclosures:
· The action is confined to certain markets, including parts of California, Arizona and the Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis-St. Paul metro areas.
· Many markets, including South Florida and New York City, remain glutted.
· The supply of bank-owned homes is expected to grow over the next few months.

Tamby Leonard of Santa Ana, Calif., southeast of Los Angeles, says she has been outbid four times since January when trying to buy a home for her family of five. The more appealing bank-owned homes in her price range, around $300,000, tend to be sold quickly to investors who can pay cash. The market for homes in the Santa Ana area in that price range is "blazing hot," says Ed Mixon of Altera Real Estate, Ms. Leonard's agent.

On Wednesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that home prices nationwide rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in February from January, led by gains on the West Coast. When compared with a year earlier, however, home prices were down 6.5%.
Bidding wars -- common during the housing boom -- had all but disappeared soon after the market peaked about three years ago. Even now, they remain the exception rather than the rule.

The Wall Street Journal's quarterly survey of 28 major metro areas shows that there is still a glut of homes available in most markets. But the glut has shrunk, and some areas are running into shortages of moderately priced homes in middle-class neighborhoods.
Many housing economists expect the market to bottom out gradually over the next couple of years, with some parts of the country stabilizing well before others. California and Washington, D.C., for instance, are likely to recover faster than South Florida, which has an immense glut of vacant condominiums, and the New York City area, which has been hurt by Wall Street's collapse, says Kenneth Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate at the University of California, Berkeley.

Across the nation, there is still a tug of war between bullish and bearish forces. On the bullish side, falling prices and the lowest mortgage rates since the 1950s have made homes far more affordable, luring shoppers like Ms. Leonard, who has been renting for years. Adding to the attraction, the U.S. government is offering tax credits for certain people who buy homes before Dec. 1. The credit -- equal to 10% of the purchase price, up to a maximum of $8,000 -- is available to buyers who haven't owned any other primary residence in the U.S. during the three years before the date of purchase.

On the bearish side, rising unemployment has knocked many people out of the housing market and made those who still have jobs skittish. Even those with secure jobs who want to buy can't always get loans on attractive terms because of today's tightened credit standards.

Associated Press
A foreclosure sign sits outside a home for sale in Phoenix.
In addition, the supply of bank-owned homes is expected to grow over the next few months because many mortgage companies have ended moratoriums during which they refrained from proceeding with foreclosures.

The moratoriums artificially reduced the supply of foreclosed homes listed for sale, says Chad Neel, president of LPS Asset Management Solutions Inc. in Westminster, Colo., which sells such properties for banks. Now "there's a flood about to come on the market," Mr. Neel says. Foreclosures are likely to weigh on the market for years as courts and mortgage companies struggle to catch up with huge backlogs of unresolved cases.

Foreclosures, though far above normal levels in most of the country, are heavily concentrated in a few states, including California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Michigan. In areas with large numbers of bank-owned homes, buyers are mainly concentrating on those properties. That leaves ordinary homes languishing as owners generally refuse to slash prices enough to compete with banks.

In the Sacramento, Calif., metro area, about two-thirds of all March sales were foreclosures, says Michael Lyon, chief executive of Lyon Real Estate. The supply of foreclosed homes currently listed for sale is enough to last only about a month at the recent sales pace, he calculates. But there are plenty of homes listed for sale that aren't bank-owned, enough to last more than eight months.

In West Sacramento, a buyer represented by Cherie Hunt of Prudential California Realty recently competed against two other bidders for a three-bedroom home built in 2001. Ms. Hunt's buyer won by agreeing to pay about $220,000, or nearly $10,000 above the asking price. But that's still way down from $405,000, the price at which the same home sold in 2005.
"I have 20 buyers looking desperately," says Ms. Hunt.

Frank Borges LLosa, owner of FranklyRealty.com, a real-estate brokerage in Arlington, Va., is advising clients that banks favor all-cash bids or offers from people who seem certain to qualify for financing. Sellers may well choose the offer least likely to fall through rather than the highest bid, he says. He and other brokers say banks appear to be deliberately setting asking prices low in some cases to provoke bidding battles.

"There are a lot of buyers who think they can lowball," says Connie Vaughn, an agent at ZipRealty in the Los Angeles area. But in some cases mortgage companies already have cut asking prices enough to generate multiple bids. One of her clients recently prevailed over more than 30 other bidders by offering about $86,000 -- or $20,000 above the asking price -- for a four-bedroom house in Adelanto, Calif., that had sold for $200,000 in 2004.

A mortgage company recently slashed the asking price on a two-family home in Norwich, Conn., to $73,900 from $144,900. That price cut prompted five offers that the company is now considering, says Linda Davis of Re/Max Realty Group, the listing agent. She says the price cut was unusually steep but adds, "At some point, [banks] just decide to let it go."

That's encouraging, says Ronald Peltier, chief executive of HomeServices of America Inc. in Minneapolis, which owns real-estate brokerages in 19 states. "We do need to flush out the distressed inventory," he says, before the rest of the market can stabilize.

One positive trend is affordability. A family earning the national median pretax income of $52,800 a year needs to spend 25% of that income to buy a median-priced home, down from 44% in mid-2006, according to John Burns, a real-estate consultant in Irvine, Calif. For the Los Angeles metro area, that ratio has dropped to 45% from 102%. In Phoenix, it is down to 19% from 46%.

Among the markets Mr. Burns expects to recover earliest are the metro areas of Washington, D.C.; San Antonio; Raleigh, N.C.; Denver; Sacramento; and San Diego.

Home Prices Rebound by $15K in March

2009-04-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Orange County's median home price increased $15,000 in March, the second straight month that prices here have seen a monthly increase. The median price of a home here was $390,000 in March, a 4% increase from February, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick Information Systems, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. Median prices here still are down about 23% from a year earlier and are off nearly 40% from their all-time high in June 2007. Sales, driven by distressed deals in more affordable parts of the county, continue to increase from a year earlier. That is partly behind the rising median price. Sales increased 45% from a year earlier, with 2,413 sales in March. Sales here also were up 28% from February. The median price of a Southern California home was $250,000 in March, unchanged from the past two months and a 35% decrease from a year ago. Southland sales in March were up 52% from a year ago and up 28% from February. An increase from February to March is normal for the season, DataQuick said. Orange County counts the most expensive homes in the Southland, based on March’s median price. Ventura County is the next priciest, at $326,000, followed by Los Angeles County at $300,000. Foreclosure resales—where a foreclosure had occurred at some point in the prior year—made up about 55% of all Southland sales last month. Jumbo loans of more than $417,000 made up just 10% of Southland sales in March, down from 40% of sales two years ago.

By Mark Mueller: Orange County Business Journal Staff

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Be thankful this Easter for all of the blessings in your life!

Southern California Home Buyer's Fair

2009-04-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

Whether you are a first-time home buyer, interested in moving from your current home to a larger one, downsizing to a smaller house, or thinking of adding real estate to your investment portfolio, you will want to attend the second annual Southern California Home Buyer's Fair. Presented by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, and sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, the free, two-day, event is designed to help consumers navigate today's real estate market with confidence and peace of mind.

The second annual Southern California Home Buyer's Fair is scheduled for Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The event is free to the public, and will feature more than 50 educational how-to seminars. Several sessions also will be presented in Spanish. A partial list of seminars includes:

How to Find and Work with a REALTOR®
How to Qualify for a Home Loan
How to Buy Your First Home
How to Monitor and Fix Your Credit
How to Avoid Mortgage Fraud
How to Find and Buy Foreclosures, Short Sales, and REOs
How to Invest in Real Estate
Understanding the Home Inspection Process
How to Avoid Foreclosure
How to Save for a Home of Your Own
What You Need to Know About Homeowner's Insurance

The Southern California Home Buyer's Fair also will feature approximately 70 exhibit booths where attendees can obtain information from industry experts about a vast range of programs pertaining to homeownership and the home-buying process.

For more information, please visit www.homebuyersfair.com/.

Mortgage Interest Rates as of Thursday, 4.9.09

2009-04-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

Mortgage Interest Rates*
Rates as of Thursday, 9th April, 2009:

Conforming

APR

Payment per$1,000

Jumbo

APR

Payment per$1,000

5 Year ARM to $417,000 / $2,000,000

4.125%

4.185%

$4.85

4.875%

4.962%

$5.29

15-Yr Fixed to $417,000/$2,000,000

4.375%

4.482%

$7.59

5.625%

5.779%

$8.24

30 Year Fixed Rate to $417,000

4.750%

4.812%

$5.22

n/a%

0.000%

$0.00

30-Year Fixed Rate to $625,500

n/a%

0.000%

$0.00

5.000%

5.088%

$5.37

30 Year JUMBO Fixed to $5 Million

n/a%

0.000%

$0.00

6.000%

6.093%

$6.00

*Rates are subject to change due to market fluctuations and borrower's eligibility.

Rates are presented as a guideline to rates that may be available. These rates assume the payment of 1 point. Actual rates may vary depending on Loan Amount, Down Payment / Equity, FICO Score, Income/Asset documentation, Occupancy & other factors.

C.A.R. Green Tip of the Week

2009-04-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

In February Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency because of a severe drought and warned of possible water rationing. For 100 water-saving tips for use by you, your business, and your clients, visit the Water Use It Wisely Web site (www.wateruseitwisely.com/index.php).

April 2009 Orange County Housing Report

2009-04-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Orange County Housing Report: Demand Suddenly Surges
April 2, 2009

Coinciding with a drop in interest rates and a Wall Street rebound, demand for Orange County housing increased by 22% in just two weeks. Demand, the number of new pending sales over the past month, increased from 2,670 pending sales two weeks ago to 3,247 today, a 577 home increase. Last year’s high of 3,060 pending sales was reached on June 12. Orange County demand has not reached this level since September 2005, the beginning of the current downturn. Last year there were 962 fewer pending sales, totaling 2,285, and two years ago there were 1,114 fewer, totaling 2,133. The active listing inventory shed 580 homes in the past two week, a 5% decrease, totaling 11,026. The active listing inventory has not seen these lower levels since the beginning of April 2006. Last year there were 15,474 homes on the market, 4,448 additional homes compared to today. Two years ago there were 14,010 homes on the market, 2,894 additional homes. The expected market time dropped from 4.35 months two weeks ago to 3.4 months today. The expected market time last year was at 6.77 months, and two years ago it was at 6.57 months. This is the lowest expected market time since March 2006. The distressed homes inventory, foreclosures and short sales, dramatically changed over the past two weeks, dropping by 581 homes to 4,092. The height of the distressed inventory, 5,950, was achieved on August 7, 2008. There are 1,858 fewer distressed homes on the market compared to the height, a 31% drop. The distressed inventory now represents 37% of the current active inventory, dropping from 40% two weeks ago. Foreclosures now have an expected market time of 0.77 months, or three weeks. There are 170 fewer foreclosures on the market, totaling 731. Demand for foreclosures is at 953 pending sales. The foreclosure market is extremely hot. Buyers can expect to compete with multiple offers and sales prices above their list prices. The short sale inventory shed 391 homes in the past two weeks to 3,379 homes. The short sale inventory height, 4,701, was reached on August 7, 2008, coinciding with the total distressed inventory height. There are 1,322 fewer short sales on the market today. Demand for short sales increased by 205 pending sales, totaling 967. Since short sales are subject to lenders approval and are often not changed to pending status until lender approval is received, this may be a sign that lenders are gearing up to curb foreclosures through the accommodation of short sales. Total Orange County pending sales continues to reach record heights week after week. I started tracking the statistic back in September of 2006. After increasing by 355 homes over the past two weeks, the total pending count has reached 4,905 pending sales. Last year at this time, total pending sales totaled 2,852, 1,698 fewer than today. Two years ago it was at 3,047, 1,858 fewer.

Word within the trenches is that there is tremendous activity out there in the lower ranges and with distressed properties. Many buyers first enter the market with anticipation that they are going to somehow be able to obtain a property for tens of thousands less than the asking price. They are quickly learning that there is a lot of competition in the lower ranges and all distressed homes. There just is not enough news highlighting this aspect of the real estate market. The activity in the lower ranges has reached such a high level, that it is starting to reflect in the median sales price for Orange County, which posted its first month over month increase, from January to February 2009, in eight months. Lower interest rates, a lot of stimulus, the massive return of the first time home buyer, the return of investors, have all equated to a sharp uptick in the current Orange County real estate market.

There is a major difference between the lower and upper ranges. For all home below $750,000, the expected market time has been dropped considerably. The best range in Orange County is homes between $250,000 and $500,000, with an expected market time of 2.09 months. 60% of the inventory within that range is either a short sale or foreclosure. The expected market time for homes below $250,000 is 2.46 months. For homes between $500,000 and $750,000, the expected market time is 3.46 months. It shoots up to a 6.4 month expected market time for homes between $750,000 and $1 million. From there, the expected market time blossoms to a stagnant market. The expected market time ranges from 13.11 month, homes between $1 million and $1.5 million, and 43.44 months, homes above $4 million. What this helps illustrate is that the government’s focus on freeing up conventional financing, loans up to $729,750, is working within the real estate market. For jumbo financing, where loans are much more difficult to obtain and are at a higher rate, especially above $1 million, demand has just come to a crawl. With no focus from the government on higher ranges, it will not be until a bottom is reached in the lower ranges, which some are predicting during the second half of 2009, and confidence is restored in the financial markets, that decent demand will return to the upper ranges.

(Source: Steven Thomas, President Quantitative Economics and Decision Sciences)

Orange County Coastal Real Estate

Have Courage. You are capable of more than you know.

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Happy Thursday!

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Live, Love, Yoga & Real Estate

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I'm Back!!!!!!!!!!!

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Home Prices Rebound by $15K in March

Happy Easter

Southern California Home Buyer's Fair

Mortgage Interest Rates as of Thursday, 4.9.09

C.A.R. Green Tip of the Week

April 2009 Orange County Housing Report