Gorgeous, huge new homes now available in Fremont! For the first time in years, the Mission San Jose district is seeing some gorgeous and spacious new homes being built. The development is Mission Estates by Robson Homes. The homes are located on the land behind the McDonald’s and Shell gas station on Mission Blvd. near 680. Not only are they lovely homes with 4-6 bedrooms and up to 5.5 baths, but the best part is that they are in the Mission schools attendance area! Raise your children in a great home and have them attend Chadbourne Elementary, Hopkins Junior High and Mission San Jose High School!

You can always view new homes by walking into the sales center on your own, and if you like what you see, you can make an offer right there with the seller’s staff. However, this will not always get you the best deal. Buyers who go in with their own broker to negotiate the purchase of a new home are far more likely to get a favorable deal. That’s where we come in! Don’t go to the model homes and register until you’ve spoken to us. We can take you in, save you the sales pitch, and help you negotiate the best purchase price and terms.

In a recent Money article, the publication reported that 10.7 million borrowers in the US owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Such a staggering figure begs the question, are more foreclosures on the horizon, or short sales, or government bailouts?

We at the Mission Valley Real Estate Company hope to be able to help such “underwater” borrowers by completing short sales. A short sale is when a home is sold for less than what is owed to the bank. The homeowner walks away from the transaction with no profit, and the bank agrees to accept the purchase price as a pay off of the mortgage. Since the bank’s security interest was in the property, it may not pursue the borrower for the difference between the loan amount and the pay off from the sale.

The brokers at the Mission Valley Real Estate Company are experienced short sales agents who understand how to negotiate with the banks. Many banks are making it difficult to get a short sale approved, placing many homeowners in the difficult position of either paying on a mortgage that is far higher than their home’s value or allowing it to be foreclosed upon. We work hard to get the banks’ attention and avoid foreclosure for our clients.

The City of Fremont has launched a new system to alert community members when an emergency situation arises. Visit the City of Fremont website to sign up to receive phone calls, emails or text messages when an emergency happens.

Fannie Mae last week announced a new Deed for Lease™ program. The new program allows borrowers to voluntarily transfer their property back to the lender and then lease back the house at market rate. The lease period is for up to 12 months, with month-to-month contract extensions after that period. The program is designed for borrowers who do not qualify for or have not been able to obtain other loan-workout solutions, such as loan modifications.

To participate in the program, borrowers must live in the home as their primary residence and must be released from any subordinate liens on the property. Tenants of borrowers in this circumstance also may be eligible for leases under the program. Borrowers or tenants interested in a lease must be able to document that the new market rental rate is no more than 31 percent of their gross income.

Homeowners thinking of participating in the Deed for Lease™ program should visit Fannie Mae’s loan look-up Web site to see whether their loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie. Mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration and other government agencies are not eligible for the Deed for Lease ™ program.

To read the full story, please click here.

Reprinted with permission from CAR.org

Look here for our latest newsletter detailing recent market activity in Mission Valley.

Check out the new housing statistics for October 2009. http://mvreco.com/housing-stats Now including Danville and San Ramon.

Thinking of halting payments on house?

Some homeowners underwater on their houses—who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth—wonder what would happen if they were to stop paying their mortgages.

When lenders do not receive payments, the first action taken by the lender is to report the missed payment to the credit bureaus by the first day of the next month. Sometimes this can happen in as little as two weeks from the due date, depending on when the payment is due. Generally, this action will leave a negative mark on a credit report and decrease the homeowner’s credit score by as much as 200 points.

Because of the negative mark on the homeowner’s credit report, within the next 30 days, homeowners can expect their other creditors to take note of the late payment and to take action. Credit card issuers may raise interest rates, lower credit limits, or close credit card accounts. The borrower’s auto insurance, student loans, and other forms of credit also may change, as these are tied to the borrower’s credit score as well.

If the homeowner does not pay for 90 days, the lender likely will start calling, trying to persuade the homeowner to enter into a loan modification. If a loan modification cannot be agreed upon between the homeowner and the lender, and the homeowner continue missing payments, the homeowner likely will be served with a foreclosure notice. After the foreclosure notice is received, the lender asks a court to issue a judgment against the homeowner, and a county sale is arranged.

Homeowners at risk of defaulting on their mortgages, or those who already are behind, should contact their lender immediately to work out a repayment plan and/or loan modification.

From Nov. 5, 2009 C.A.R. Market Matters Weekly

Reprinted with permission of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Great news for homebuyers! Congress has just voted to extend the $8,000 credit for first time homebuyers though April 30, 2010 (with an additional 60 day extension for buyers who are under contract at the time of the expiration)! Moreover, current homeowners are now going to be eligible for a smaller credit of up to $6,500 to buy a new home. Current homeowners must have lived in their current residences for five years or longer.

The new legislation also increases the income limits for the credits. Until now, only tax filers earning a maximum of $75,000 (single filers) or $150,000 (joint filers) could claim the credit. Those limits have now been increased to $125,000 and $225,000, respectively.

For either credit, the home being purchased cannot have a price exceeding $800,000.

Contact us for more details on this credit!

Loan limit extensions signed into law

President Obama late Friday signed a congressional resolution to extend through 2010 the current conforming loan limits of $417,000 for most areas in the U.S. and $729,750 for high-cost areas, including many in California. The resolution was part of a broader piece of budgetary legislation that will prevent a government shutdown.

Both C.A.R. and NAR have long advocated making permanent higher conforming loan limits. As a result of C.A.R.’s and NAR’s efforts, a provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 included temporarily raising the conforming loan limits. Last week’s actions effectively extend the higher conforming loan limits for Fannie, Freddie, and FHA loans through 2010.

The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) can buy or “guarantee.” Non-conforming or “jumbo loans” typically carry higher mortgage interest rates than conforming loans, increasing monthly payments and hampering the ability of families in California to purchase homes by making them less affordable.

From Nov. 4, 2009 C.A.R. Newsline

Reprinted with permission of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

List/sale price gap diminishes

Home buyers still are paying less than a home’s asking price, but had slightly less negotiating power in August than they did in July, according to the August Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Buyers paid a median $6,525, or 3 percent, less than the last listing price on homes bought in August, down from $7,018, or 3.3 percent, less for homes bought in July, according to the report. Negotiating power peaked in January 2009, when buyers were paying 4.5 percent less than last listing price, a median of $10,096.

Sellers also continued to cut prices on unsold homes. One quarter (24.7 percent) of all homes listed for sale on Zillow had at least one listing price reduction as of Oct. 1, 2009. For the U.S. as a whole, the median U.S. price reduction was 6.6 percent off the original listing price.

Several Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in Florida made the top 25 list of markets nationwide with the greatest gap in list price to sale price; no MSA in California made the list. In two California markets, buyers paid more than asking price during August, according to the report: In the El Centro MSA, buyers paid 2.2 percent, or a median $2,479, more than asking price; in the Stockton MSA, buyers paid 1.3 percent, or $2,515, more.

“Negotiating power is a clear reflection of inventory levels, which dropped nationally in August. Tighter supply in some markets is translating into less of a discount off listing price,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “Unfortunately, the brisk spring and summer home shopping season is drawing to a close now, and with foreclosures on the rise again, inventory levels will likely head back up in the coming months, leading buyers’ negotiating power to regain the ground it lost in August.”

From October 15, 1009 C.A.R. Newsline

Reprinted with permission of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®