Dates to Remember
Thursday Nov. 17 -6:30 – FREE Information Workshop on Energy Rebates -180 El Camino Real, San Bruno
https://energyupgradeca.org/overview
http://www.SDIHomePerformance.com
College of San Mateo, 1700 W. Hillsdale Boulevard, San Mateo, Bldg. 10 – Room 193
The San Mateo Association of Realtors will be hosting this workshop to help you understand the basics of how to buy a home – even if you’re not at that place in life yet – Home Ownership is still the key to reaching Financial Stability and in achieving the American dream. Now is the “Perfect Storm” with low interest rates, low housing prices and low down payments. Professionals in banking, title, credit, law and real estate will provide knowledge and interact with the public on the basics in planning for homeownership. No pre-registration required.
Why Do Banks Hate Short Sales?
Or do they? This question can often arise when buyer & seller alike are faced with short sale situations, as it sometimes feels like the short sale lenders are “dragging their feet” in approving a short sale. I recently attended the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) National Convention in San Francisco and heard from top executives at Chase, Wells Fargo and Citibank regarding short sales. All three of them stated that their organizations are actively seeking ways to improve the short sale process and that they definitely prefer short sales as an alternative to foreclosure. The numbers show that banks can lose between 10-45% in a short sale but that loss becomes 50-75% in a foreclosure situation. I also heard a broadcast from Bank of America just this week, stating that they are planning to “increase their short sales next year by 60-70%” and now have over 3000 people in their short sale division.
So if banks want to do short sales, why does it seem so long and difficult to get an approval? That’s a subject for another blog…
Jean Joh
Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource (SFR) Certified – National Association of Realtors
www.jeanjoh.com
Some Bank Websites re: Short Sales
Bank of America: http://tinyurl.com/ssbofa
Wells Fargo: http://tinyurl.com/sswellsfargo
Citibank: http://tinyurl.com/ssciti
Chase: http://tinyurl.com/sschase
The Future of Police Services in Millbrae
Important Town Hall Meetings are being held this week to discuss the future of police services in Millbrae. The City of Millbrae has reduced the size of its police force by an estimated 26% over the past ten years, and staffing resources are apparently at a minimum, “non-sustainable” level and currently does not even have a full-time Police Chief. The City Council has been exploring several options, and the current proposal involves outsourcing to the San Mateo County’s Sheriff, which is projected to save about $167K in personnel costs when compared to the current police budget. On the other hand, it will take an additional estimated cost of $410K to fund the recommended Police Department staffing.
Personally, at a time when the economy is doing poorly and I’ve been hearing of more incidents of burglary and theft, this seems like the wrong time to cut back on safety and security resources. Both as a homeowner and as a real estate agent in Millbrae, I know one of the big attractions is the “small-town” feel where people can feel relatively safe, and parents don’t have to feel nervous about letting their children go trick-or-treating, and I’d hate to see that go away. Read more
Energy Rebate in San Bruno Up To $17,000 Per Household!
Get an inspection and see if your home qualifies for up to $17,000 in energy rebates. This is a San Bruno City and San Mateo County package funded by Energy Upgrade California. The program ends March 31, 2012 so make your reservation today to join us!
Save Money, Save Energy with Energy Upgrade California
- Air Sealing
- Tank-less Hot Water
- Insulation
- Solar Hot Water
- Heating & AC
- Windows & Doors
- Fireplace
- Solar & Roofing
Thursday November 10th 6:30pm-8:00pm San Bruno Home Owner Workshop Prudential California Realty 180 El Camino Real, San Bruno 94066 R.S.V.P. today! Call 650-989-1220 or register online:
To search for homes www.KarinCunningham.com
For San Bruno community events and activities www.Facebook.com/SanBrunoLife
What is closing or escrow and what is involved in opening escrow?
Closing is when all the funds are disbursed to the seller, lender, other lien holders, taxes etc. and the property transfer from seller to buyer is recorded in the County’s Recorder’s office. This is legally when the buyer becomes the property owner. This is generally the time when the buyer receives the keys to their new home. Many people get the closing and signing confused. “Signing” is only signing the loan documents and that generally occurs several days prior to closing.
Escrow is the period between both parties signing the purchase contract and closing. Opening Escrow is a simple process. It occurs when the buyer’s good faith deposit is placed in the hands of a neutral third party. In Northern Californian we do this with a Title and Escrow Company. The Escrow Company holds the deposit in a bonded account until both the buyer and seller have fulfilled their obligations under the purchase contract. The escrow company is a neutral third party and will not release the funds either to the buyer if the contract is cancelled or to the seller if the contract is fulfilled unless both parties have signed instructions stating so. Basically Escrow begins with the deposit check being given to the escrow company and ends at closing.
Escrow should not get confused with an escrow account. An escrow account is an impound account or reserve account generally for property tax and home owners insurance. It is requested by lenders based on the type loan the buyer is getting.
It is Better To Own Real Estate and Wait Than to Wait to Own Real Estate
Lee Ginsburg
www.leesellsmore.com
Is Foreclosure a Smart Way to Go?
In today’s world I am regularly asked by folks whether they should just give up, walk away and let their home be taken by foreclosure or try to “hang in there” until they can find another solution.
This is a really difficult question to answer. There are so many factors involved. Ethicially and morally, I believe that you should do everything you possibly can to honor the contracts that you entered into when you purchased the property, even if the property is no longer worth what you paid…as long as you can still afford to make the payments.
However, the incredible stress of trying to hold on when you can’t afford to make the payments can be all consuming and emotionally destructive. When all else fails, sometimes the only possible answer is to walk away. Before doing that, however, you should explore all other possible options, such as: Read more
Pumpkin Patch 2011 at Prudential California Realty, San Bruno
The Prudential California Realty, San Bruno, Pumpkin Patch is Sat. October 22, 10-2pm. Please join us for hot dogs, face painting, pictures, and more. It’s all on us as Prudential gives back! Join us!
If you cannot view this video invitation click on this link! Thanks!
Shokoofeh Nowbakht 650-871-3686
FHA appraisals part 1 – Siding Inspection
I am writing this post to help you understand what the FHA does and does not require in regard to the condition of a property being purchased using an FHA loan. The guidelines have changed in this area as the FHA has loosened up on its property requirements. While these guidelines dictate what the Federal Housing Authority will accept to insure a loan, lenders will generally have “overlays” above and beyond these requirements so it is best to check in with a qualified FHA mortgage specialist with questions about a specific property.
There is a common mis-conception that an inspection by a government inspector is required to close an FHA loan. This is not the case. To close an FHA loan, the appraiser must be FHA certified, and the appraiser must make a some extra warranties on their report. We spent some time with Bob Singer with TracAppraisals here in San Francisco to show us what he looks for when completing an appraisal for an FHA loan.
Here, Bob Singer from TRACAppraisals.com explains the FHA visual appraisal inspection of siding in the first of this series.
Jay Sondhi
Guarantee Mortgage
http://www.jaysondhi.com/
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