Top Rated Real Estate Experts Oliver Graf and Sam Khorramian bring a wealth of knowledge to the market in this exclusive Real Estate Blog. Stay informed on the latest cutting edge Real Estate strategies, Important Real Estate News, and great Real Estate Information
Perched atop the historic Coretz Hill neighborhood, the highest point
in downtown San Diego, ARIA offers a perfect balance in urban
residential living. A five minute walk and you're in Little Italy,
Gaslamp, Marina or the East Village neighborhood home to the San Diego
Padres and Petco Park. Life at Aria gives you access to all the
Restaurants, Nigh Clubs, Gaslamp Bars, Shopping and all of the wonderful
things San Diego has to offer. The beautiful thing about the Cortez
Hill neighborhood is that your home will always be in a quiet, clean,
almost surburban like area. San Diego Copley Symphony Hall, the charming
Tweet Park, and the University Club are right around the corner. Balboa
park and the San Diego Zoo is within a short walk of ARIA's front door
too! At ARIA, you'll find a fully equipped Fitness Center, Lap Pool and
Hot Tub, and an Entertainment Room with catering Kitchen and Wet-Bar,
Pool Table and a 60 inch Home Theater. All the common area amenities
you'd expect with a luxurious downtown lifestyle!
Buying a New Home or Condo has been gaining momentum amongst First Time Home Buyers, Rehab Property Flippers, and Buy and Hold Cash Flow Investors.
When Buying a Home or Condo, you will want to get your loan pre-qualified first. Part of getting your home loan pre-approved is showing your income and how much house you can afford.
Watch this quick video where I interview a top loan consultant to explain the process of how to show income when getting a home loan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O0PNruU4kU
To determine your maximum San Diego mortgage amount, lenders use guidelines called debt-to-income ratios. This is simply the percentage of your monthly income (before taxes) that is used to pay your monthly debts. Because there are two calculations, there is a "front" ratio and a "back" ratio and they are generally written in the following format: 33/38.
The front ratio is the percentage of your monthly income (before taxes) that is used to pay your housing costs, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance, and homeowners association fees (when applicable). The back ratio is the same thing, only it also includes your monthly consumer debt. Consumer debt can be car payments, credit card debt, installment loans, and similar related expenses. Auto or life insurance is not considered a debt.
These are just guidelines and they are flexible. If you make a larger down payment or have sterling credit, the guidelines are less rigid. The guidelines also vary according to loan program. FHA guidelines, VA guidelines, and Conventional Loan Guidelines all vary.
Whether you want to buy a high end home or a nice comfortable starter home, Oliver will be more than happy to assist you regardless of your budget.
When Buying a Property many people ask, what is the first step, Should I Get Pre-Qualified for a Loan first?
The answer is Definitely Yes! Before you start looking to purchase a new home or condo, you should review your finances, discuss your home loan options, figure out how much you can afford, and get pre-qualified. Getting Pre-qualified is a simple process thatwill put you in a much better position because you will have the confidence to move forward with a purchase and it will give you significantly more negotiating power when purchasing.
What does it take to get pre-qualified for your loan? Not as much as you might think... With a short phone conversation, we can briefly review information about your employment, debts, income, and assets. We can also look at your credit profile, discuss your down payment options, and cover the different loan programs that can work for you.
Once you get pre-qualified, your loan officer will give you what's called a Pre-Qualification Letter. This letter states that, as your loan officer, they have reviewed your finances and can get you qualified for a loan up to a certain amount. The whole process is simple and to the point,the paperwork is kept to a minimum, and generally your loan officer can provide most clients with a "Pre Qual letter" within about 15 minutes.
Once pre-qualified then you can go out and find the home or condo that catches your eye. Once you and you decide on "the one", being pre-qualified for your mortgage will do a couple of things. First, it lets you know in advance how much you can offer. Second, your real estate agent(me) wil submit your mortgage prequalification letter with your offer so that the seller knows that a lender has reviewed your situation and that you can afford the home.
It puts you in the best possible position and gives you the most negotiating power when buying a house, so make sure you get qualified in advance.
Contact me if you have any questions or need any help,
Local San Diego Realtor's and National Real Estate Speaker's Oliver Graf and Sam Khorramian reveal the secrets on making sure you don't pay too much when you buy a house or condo.
When buying a home, town house, condo, high rise unit, or an investment property, making sure you don't over pay is key.
Some quick tips on how to make sure making sure you don't over pay when buying a house or condo.
- Be sure to throughly evaluate all the comps. Look at what is active, pending, and sold. Stay within half a mile of the subject property and only look at sold properties 3-6 months back at most.
- Drive the neighborhood and surrounding areas at different times of day so you get a feel for the "location". As they say real estate is all about "location, location, location".
-Find Out How Much the Seller Paid
-Determine the Seller's Mortgage Balance
-Look at how long (how many days) the home has been on the market.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me, Talk to you soon!
Despite home prices in major urban centers decreasing 31 percent between 2005 and 2009, property taxes across the U.S. increased by nearly 20 percent. There is good news, however; homeowners can fight back.
Making sense of the story
- Homeowners should keep in mind that property taxes do not always correspond with home values, because local governments typically don’t measure values every year and some have limits on annual property-tax increases.
- As a result, current property taxes might reflect the home’s value when the market was healthier. According to the Congressional Budget Office, property-tax adjustments lag behind changes in home prices by an average of three years.
Although homeowners cannot change their property-tax rate, which is set by the local government, homeowners can get their assessment lowered if they appeal to their local assessor.
One key to a successful appeal is fact checking the assessor’s work. About half of all successful appeals come from homeowners pointing out an error in the assessor’s description of the home, according to one property tax expert.
- During the appeal process, which is similar to a less-formal court hearing, homeowners may present their case to several local officials or representatives. The simplest way to convince officials that a property has been incorrectly valued is to provide evidence of the sales price of homes that are comparable to the property being discussed. This should include square footage, amenities, and neighborhood characteristics. Sale documents and photos of the property in question, as well as the comparable properties also should be brought in.
- Homeowners who have made improvements or substantial changes to the property should be cautious about appealing an assessment though, as it could have negative effects and actually increase the property’s value and, in turn, the property taxes. From Aug 25th, 2011. C.A.R's Market Matters Reprinted with permission of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Contact me if you have any questions or need any help with Real Estate,
Oliver Graf
Real Estate Expert Follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/OliverGraf360
In this market, housing values are declining as unemployment is increasing. For a homeowner, that means that the value of the house will be “upside-down”, and the market value of the home is actually less than the loan amount. Due to high unemployment we have seen a rise of foreclosures, where the bank takes back the property.
Foreclosure is the proceeding in which a bank or other secured creditor sells or repossesses a real property after the Homeowner has failed to comply with an agreement between the lender and the borrower (a mortgage or a deed of trust).
This happens when a property owner stops making their mortgage payments. After consistently missing payments the lender will usually consider the loan in default and begin with the foreclosure proceedings. The Lender at this point has the right to sell the property or even call the loan due.
All short sale / foreclosures have 3 steps in the timeline towards the property being sold.
1. Notice of Default (NOD): A Notice of Default is a public notice given to the homeowner. In some states the notice is posted on the window or door. When a borrower is in default, or behind in mortgage payments, the lender will seize the home. In California lenders usually do not file an NOD until the homeowner is at least 90 days behind in payments.
2. Notice of Trustee Sale (NOTS): A Notice of Trustee Sale is a public notice, published in a newspaper communicating a date for auction. This is also generally posted on the door; it will be a minimum of 21 days before the sale takes place.
3. Auction: An auction is a public place where properties are auctioned to the highest bidder.
Now more than ever Residential real estate ownership is gaining ever-increasing interest from retail investors for many of the following reasons:
--The current market can provide incredible deals and even in a "bad market" Real estate provides more predictable returns than stocks and bonds.
--Real estate provides an inflation hedge because rental rates and investment cash flows usually rise by at least as much as the inflation rate.
--Real estate provides an excellent place for capital in times when investors are unsure of prospects in the stock and bond markets or when investors expect long-term returns in stocks and bonds to be inadequate.
-- Cash Flow, Cash Flow, Cash Flow
--The equity created in a real estate investment provides an excellent base for financing other investment opportunities. Instead of borrowing from a 401(k) or family member to get the capital, investors can borrow against their equity to finance other projects. The relative ease in borrowing against a real estate investment combined with the deductibility of the mortgage interest makes this option a less-expensive method for financing other opportunities for investors who are comfortable taking on the additional financial risk.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
To your success,
Oliver Graf
Real Estate Expert Follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/OliverGraf360
FICO, the nations leading credit score provider announced some big news....
A brand new FICO® 8 Mortgage Score
This new credit scoring model is designed specifically for mortgage lenders and focuses on providing a more precise risk assessment for the real estate market.
FICO® claims that the new FICO 8 Mortgage Score will reduce borrower, lender, and investor risk, and help support market stability
The FICO® 8 Mortgage Score will analyze the full credit history for the borrower and aids mortgage professionals in better predicting a borrowers risk so they can mitigate the incidence and high cost of foreclosure.
Take a look at this Exerpt from the FICO.com website...
"MINNEAPOLIS—October 26, 2010—FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced that its latest credit scoring product, the FICO® 8 Mortgage Score, is now available from all three major U.S. credit reporting agencies. Mortgage lenders now have access to more precise risk assessment tailored for the real estate market, which can help support market stability and reduce borrower, lender and investor risk.
The FICO® 8 Mortgage Score was built specifically to help mortgage lenders better predict mortgage performance and improve credit decisions for both current and prospective homeowners. The score analyzes the full credit history on file to deliver significantly sharper assessment of mortgage repayment risk, and aids servicers in earlier identification of borrowers at risk so they can mitigate the incidence and high cost of foreclosure. Validation results have demonstrated an additional predictive value of up to 15 percent for mortgage servicing over the broad-based, all-industry FICO® Score used most widely today.
“The FICO 8 Mortgage Score’s broad availability means that all U.S. lenders and servicers can now easily access scores that are fine-tuned for mortgage performance,” said Jordan Graham, executive vice president of Scores and president of Consumer Services at FICO. “Moreover, by combining this superior predictive performance with the FICO Economic Impact Service, lenders are able to adjust policies and strategies quickly based upon forward-looking economic modeling. This is what we mean by the FICO analytic advantage: the ability to use the most advanced predictive analytics to compete and win in this highly challenging environment.”
“To do the best job of evaluating risk and increasing profits, lenders need updated credit scoring analytics that incorporate mortgage credit performance since the subprime mortgage meltdown,” said Craig Focardi, senior research director at TowerGroup. “The availability of mortgage credit scores across all three credit reporting agencies will enable lenders to upgrade their loan underwriting and account management practices.”
The FICO® 8 Mortgage Score retains the same 300-850® scoring range, minimum scoring criteria, authorized user and inquiry treatment as the general-risk FICO® 8 Score. To achieve its significant increase in predictive strength, FICO Mortgage Score assesses several additional data variables from consumer credit files to specifically predict mortgage repayment risk. Accordingly, FICO Mortgage Score includes additional score reason codes compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act that help lenders understand and explain the scores to applicants."
Full Post here: http://www.fico.com/en/Company/News/Pages/10-26-2010.aspx
How do you think this new scoring system will affect the Lending Industry?
Some home buyers who may be concerned about paying high closing costs might be tempted by a “zero-cost” or “no-cost” loan option, which requires no cash outlay, but typically adds a half percentage point to the rate.
However, some financial consultants say these loans tend to be most beneficial to buyers planning to have the loan for less than five years.
KEEP THIS IN MIND
• One of the primary differences between a no-cost loan and similar loans is that no-cost loans do not tack on closing costs to the balance, but instead increase the rate.
• With no-cost loans, third-party fees including the appraisal, credit report, title insurance, recording, and the use of a mortgage broker are paid by the lender. The fees, including the amount the broker is being paid, are disclosed on the closing statement.
• Home buyers who bypass a broker and work directly with a lender may encounter less transparency, as loan officers are not required to disclose the amount the bank is making on the loan.
• Borrowers weighing their loan options are advised to use a mortgage amortization calculator to compare the costs for a conventional loan compared with a no-cost loan. The Federal Reserve provides an amortization calculator on its Web site at www.federalreserve.gov.
Read the full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/realestate/24mort.html?ref=realestate
Here is a great loan program if you are looking to do Rehabs or buy a property that needs work...
A little-known loan program for fixer-uppers
Home buyers thinking of purchasing a distressed property in need of repair, but who are concerned that the cost of the repairs could drain their savings account may qualify for the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) 203(k) rehabilitation program.
MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS
* The FHA’s 203(k) rehabilitation program provides loans for covering renovation costs as well as the purchase price of the primary residence. Investors are not eligible for this program. Additionally, similar to traditional FHA loan programs, the rehab program allows for a down payment of as little as 3.5 percent.
* A common misperception about the program is that the house needs to be unlivable. Realistically, the property just needs to be outdated, according to a lender familiar with the program. The property “just has to appraise below market value and then at market value with the repairs.”
* Improvements deemed “luxury” are ineligible; however, the program has a wide range of definitions for “repairs” and “modernization.” Covered repairs include items such as a new roof or heating system, as well as decorative changes, like replacing vinyl with ceramic tile on the kitchen floor or painting the interior.
* In addition to putting down at least 3.5 percent of the current value of the property, buyers also must use a HUD-approved lender, appraiser, and a contractor approved by the lender for the repairs. One list of approved businesses can be found at 203kcontractors.com.
* Borrowers considering the FHA rehab loan program should be aware that loan rates typically run around a percentage point higher than conventional loans, and come in 15- to 30-year terms, either fixed or adjustable. Additional paperwork for inspection, appraisal, title updating, and the like can increase closing costs by $1,000 or more higher than the average.
* For additional information about the FHA 203(k) rehabilitation program, please visit http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/203k/203kabou.cfm
From Oct. 21st, 2010. Market Matters Weekly Advisory Reprinted with permission of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
How do you think buyers can benefit from this program?
You have to take a look at the following list of the top 7 free real estate-related iPhone apps to help take your real estate game to the next level.
Now more than ever homeowners, agents, and investors are doing more business remote, this list of apps will help you navigate the real estate market and take your super charge your real estate business. Try them out and let us know what you think?
1) Real Estate Resource Directory - This is a great app that provides real estate agents and investors resources like comparable sales data, easy to use calculators, property valuation functions, demographics for a particular area, and a nice list of contractors and real estate related professionals.
2)Realtor.com: With this app you can search homes that are for-sale in given areas, view property details, store searches and listings, find open house information, send listings to friends and family, and save ratings and notes.
3) Real Estate Hunter: Real Estate Hunter lets you store and maintain all of your search information of for-sale or for-rent listings by inputting the property information such as what type of property, prices, property address, square footage, property tax information and other fees. It also allows users to automatically calculate mortgage and monthly costs. You can compare asking and offer prices for various properties and add your own photos and contacts. Within the application, the user can rate each property; save additional information in custom fields; and e-mail a CSV file of your data to open in Excel and other programs. The free version lets you store information for up to three properties; you can add additional properties for a small fee.
4) Google Maps: This is one of my favorite apps because it is so easy to use and has a solid list of features. With Google Maps you can search Driving directions, Transit and walking directions, Biking directions, Latitude, Layers, Street View, Satellite view, Real Time Traffic Reporting, Location Business listings, and Business reviews.
5) Zillow Real Estate: With Zillow’s app you can find property valuations by address, filter properties by monthly payment, price, number of bed and baths, publish listings by email, Facebook or Twitter. You can receive updates when properties pop up that match your criteria.
6) Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Home Selection Assistant: This one is a lot of fun, you can track and organize photos by location; see comparable home values, local school information, area demographics and amenities; store photo albums of favorite properties and different rooms; easily share photos on Facebook or through e-mail; and access the vault of read real estate-related articles directly through bhgrealestate.com.
7) AgentFirst Real Estate: This is a top notch tool while out in the field. With this app you can Search First American Title's property information database, find parcel/tract information and property sale data. You can directly order tax information, recorded documents, sales comparables and property profiles. To use this app you have to first have an active AgentFirst account.
Bonus Tip: Another great tip for Real Estate Agents and Investors who have an iPhone or iPod is TubeTilla. With Tubetilla it is easy to store and watch videos of properties you are working on your iPhone or iPod. Being able to store and play videos with your phone can be an incredibly powerful sales tool because anywhere you meet prospects, agents, and clients you can show them videos of all your properties without even having an internet connection. As they say a picture is worth a thousand word and a video is priceless! You can store and watch YouTube videos right on on your iPhone, iPod or Zune!
To your success,
Preston Matix
Real Estate Investor
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Because we want you to be as successful as you possibly can in the world of Real Estate, we are doing something a little bit different with this blog. This blog looks at buying and selling Real Estate with both a telescope and a microscope - at times speaking broadly, at others going into the trenches with specific tactics you can use on a daily basis, or focusing step-by-step on specific niches that you can make big money in. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a new to the game of Real Estate, a Realtor/Broker, or a Property Owner this blog aims to expose you to the absolute best information in the industry.
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Oliver Graf - Bringing you the most valuable market information available
This Blog (RealEstateBlog360) is intended to be a general discussion only, and must not be considered legal advice. Your use of it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Any liability that might arise from your use or reliance on these blog posts, or any of its links, is expressly disclaimed. This blog is not legal, loan, accounting, or tax advice, and is not to be acted on as such, it was outdated the moment it was written, and is subject to change without notice. If you are dealing with a potential real estate investment, foreclosure, short-sale or any other type of transaction, you are advised to consult the appropriate licensed professionals.
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