Dean Rizzi

Now is the time to pay up to trade up

August 4, 2010 · Dean Rizzi · 2 Comments

There was an interesting article about trading up in the Chronicle today. Check it out.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ontheblock/detail?entry_id=69044&tsp=1

With the vaules I see and the interest rates… this could be one of the best times to buy a home in years…. whether you are trading up or not.

Dean Rizzi
www.deanrizzi.com

Lee Ginsburg

To Some Low Interest Rates are Better than the iphone 4

July 21, 2010 · Lee Ginsburg · 2 Comments

Low interest rates also have apps. 30 yr., 40 yr., 15 yr., conforming, adjustable, 1 yr, 5 yr jumbo and more. Oh they are getting the best reception in years.

2010 HSHSite30FRM3yr

You may not see the lines out the door but look at the stack of files on the loan agents’ desks. We are in record low territory. Rates have never been this low in the 50 years of record keeping. How low? Below 5% fixed for the next 30 years. 3.75 fixed for the next 15 years. That’s how low. If you are buying you must understand these are not normal times. Take advantage. Jump in. What other industry will fix their price for the next 30 years. Ask the gas station on the corner, if you would commit to buying your gas there for the next 30 years, will they hold today’s price.

Homeowners, no matter when you re-financed last review the situation again with your loan agent. If you do not have one I can recommend some I work with.

A note to both homeowners and home buyers:      Read more

Kathy Wall

Loan Modifications – They Can Be Done! Lots of Patience Required!

July 14, 2010 · Kathy Wall · 3 Comments

I haven’t blogged in a long time, partially because I’ve been super busy with work, but also because I’ve been so wrapped up and worried about a loan modification that I had been trying to get on my house  since 2008.   Yes… I said 2008!    

This has been one of the most frustrating and stressful experiences of my life.    As mentioned, I started talking with the bank in late 2008.    Around July of 2009, they told me that I had qualified for a certain type of loan modification.   They gave me my new payment amount and I started paying that amount.   I paid them faithfully every month thereafter.     I was concerned, however, because I never received any formal paperwork and, because real estate is my job, I knew something had to be wrong.    I called them constantly and they kept telling me there was no problem, everything was “in process.”   

I believe it was in January this year that I returned home to find a letter from the bank in my mailbox.   The letter indicated that I was in default and that if I didn’t pay them $35,000 by a certain (very near) date, they would start foreclosure proceedings.    Needless to say, I freaked out.       Read more

Dean Rizzi

The Costs are Outweighing the Benefits

June 29, 2010 · Dean Rizzi · 3 Comments

We’ve stated that the benefits of low interest rates have run their course. We hold to our contrary opinion that low rates are actually hindering more than helping markets these days. Consider the mortgage market: Even though mortgage rates are dwelling in the basement, fewer people are applying for mortgages. The MBA reported that purchase activity declined 1.2 percent to the second-lowest level since 1997 last week, while refinancing activity slid 7.3 percent from its May 2009 highs.

The Federal Reserve’s low-rate policy is hardly inspiring confidence. “Rates must be low because the economy is circling the drain,” so the man-on-the-street rationale goes. It’s the wrong message to send, because promoting risk aversion also means promoting inertia. Risk-averse markets are simply less willing to engage in riskier, but worthwhile, economic activity.

This risk-averse sentiment is readily reflected in the capital markets, where the relatively non-productive assets of gold and Treasury securities continue to be the investments of choice. That’s unfortunate, because we’d all be better off if there were more investment in the very productive (though riskier) assets of home purchases and renovation and mortgage lending.

 www.deanrizzi.com

Dean Rizzi

Up, Up, But Not Quite Away

June 15, 2010 · Dean Rizzi · 2 Comments

We were expecting a little more, but at least it’s trending in the right direction. We are speaking of the employment report, which showed payrolls rose by 431,000 last month.

That would be very good news, if not for the fact that 411,000 of the new hires were related to the census. Nevertheless, that still leaves a net positive for the private sector. The increase was enough to push the unemployment rate down to 9.7 percent (though some pundits argue the drop was really due to a lower participation rate).

You never want to read too much into a single month of data, but we remain encouraged: job growth and wages picked up from April to May, while the average workweek lengthened. And although moderate compared to past post-recessions, the recovery is looking more sustainable after consumer spending and business investment rose at a healthy pace in the first quarter.

Overall, we think this latest employment report provides another reason to act now in both the mortgage and housing markets.

www.deanrizzi.com

Dean Rizzi

The Post-Credit Era

May 19, 2010 · Dean Rizzi · 3 Comments

 We’ve been saying for the past month or so that we’re not particularly worried about the end of the federal homebuyers tax credits. We also weren’t particularly concerned when the Federal Reserve said it would cease purchasing mortgage-backed securities. After all, the only way to discover if a market is truly healthy and viable is to stop subsidizing it.

It’s still early to render a verdict, but so far so good. People recognize that the combination of low rates and lower home prices represent a great opportunity, while many shoppers who failed to find a home to qualify for the tax credit remain undeterred and, just as important, rational – understanding the go-go days of the early 2000s are over. And that’s a good thing. The market of that era was driven more by speculation and less by fundamentals. And though it was highly remunerative for many of us, we see how it turned out.

In housing, slow and steady wins the race, which is why we continue to advise our clients that today’s market offers good fundamentally sound deals that can be financed at good economically advantageous interest rates. Sounds like a win-win deal to us.

www.deanrizzi.com

Lee Ginsburg

Appraisal and Loan Contingency

May 17, 2010 · Lee Ginsburg · 2 Comments

Thought this was very well explained for a confusing and very important matter.

“Q: I’m getting an FHA loan to finance my first home. I’m in contract right now. Our appraisal is done and the house appraised for the sale price but the loan process is not yet done, although I was preapproved. My agent says the lender has to review the appraisal.

I’m confused about the difference between the loan contingency and the appraisal contingency. My agent says I should remove the appraisal contingency, but I’m not sure about that.”

Check out Tara-Nicholle Nelsons answer:
http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/tara-nicholle-nelson/plan-a-contingencies-lessons-buyers

http://leesellsmore.com/

Lee Ginsburg

Remodeling? Don’t do it to resell!

May 8, 2010 · Lee Ginsburg · 2 Comments

Midrange Remodeling Costs Vs. Payback from Remodeling Magazine
http://www.remodeling.hw.net/2009/costvsvalue/division/pacific/city/san-francisco–ca.aspx

repair man

Job Cost Resale Value Cost Recouped Project Job Cost Resale Value Cost Recouped Change vs.. 2008-09
$13,114 $10,674 81.4% Siding Replacement (vinyl) $10,607 $8,476 79.9% clip_image002
$12,760 $11,328 88.8% Window Replacement (vinyl) $10,728 $8,217 76.6% clip_image002[1]
$13,804 $12,175 88.2% Window Replacement (wood) $11,700 $9,044 77.3% clip_image002[2]
$47,052 $32,057 68.1% Bathroom Addition $39,046 $23,233 59.5% clip_image002[3]
$18,864 $14,517 77.0% Bathroom Remodel $16,142 $11,454 71.0% clip_image002[4]
$16,956 $13,922 82.1% Deck Addition (composite) $15,373 $10,904 70.9% clip_image002[5]
$12,838 $11,744 91.5% Deck Addition (wood) $10,634 $8,573 80.6% clip_image002[6]
$3,835 $2,930 76.4% Entry Door Replacement (fiberglass) $3,490 $2,275 65.2% clip_image004[3]
$1,353 $1,732 128.0% Entry Door Replacement (steel) $1,172 $1,470 128.9% clip_image004[4]
$100,023 $73,551 73.5% Family Room Addition $82,756 $54,051 65.3% clip_image002[7]
$83,463 $45,245 54.2% Sunroom Addition $73,167 $37,118 50.7% clip_image002[8]
$184,839 $143,073 77.4% Two-Story Addition $156,309 $107,286 68.6% clip_image002[9]
$63,803 $53,923 84.5% Major Kitchen Remodel $57,215 $41,260 72.1% clip_image002[10]
$124,579 $90,616 72.7% Master Suite Addition $103,696 $67,578 65.2% clip_image002[11]
$23,210 $21,991 94.8% Minor Kitchen Remodel $21,411 $16,773 78.3% clip_image002[12]
$24,712 $18,829 76.2% Roofing Replacement $19,731 $13,133 66.6% clip_image005
Page 1 of 1012345...Last »